Chapter 3
THREE
I arrived at the Midnight Motel fifteen minutes before I had to meet with Rae Jones and company. While I waited for their rustic RV to pull into the lot, I stuffed my face with a protein bar and updated Wilson.
Octavia
Got a meeting with Jones. My location is on in case things get weird, but I’m hopeful this will get figured out tonight.
Wilson
Best news we’ve had in weeks! So, it’s confirmed? You’re staying in town for the night?
Yeah, the plan’s to hit the road bright and early tomorrow. Hopefully with them in tow.
Wilson
Sounds good. Should I switch over some money from the business account for your room? I think we have enough to cover it.
No, it’s okay. I’ll use my personal account.
My brother and I both had equal access to the business account. But currently, I had limited access to transfers because of my flip phone. Downgraded tech proved nice on the ranch when I wanted to be disconnected. In civilization, it’d transformed into more of a hindrance than a gift.
Esther took you into town?
Wilson
We’re on the way now.
“Would you like to upgrade to our premium package?” the woman at the front desk offered with a toothy grin.
She pointed her bony finger at the sign behind her.
Yellow lights flickered as I read their premium offerings.
An upgrade would give me access to the laundry room and complimentary desserts.
A stack of doughnuts sat in a clear plastic case.
There were two flies trapped inside with them, one circling while the other crawled through a puddle of icing. My nose flinched.
“I think I’m good.” I grabbed the faded key card from the yellow, peeling counter.
She smiled, unblinking. “You sure?”
“I’m sure.” I backed away, trying to return her smile, but my mouth didn’t cooperate under duress. “Thank you…for the offer.”
She waved at me with two fingers. “Have a lovely sleep.”
I’m exhausted and overworked, I reminded myself as I went back to my car. Not everything or everyone poses a potential threat.
As I tried to catch my breath, I clicked the lock on my truck door more than once. I kept a firm eye out for any movement, especially from the lobby building, until an RV blocked one of my viewpoints.
“I’m going to check us in,” the woman who looked like Rae was saying when I got out of my truck.
Rae nodded and then turned to the guys who’d hopped out of the RV behind her.
“What’s this?” the large, tattooed one asked, on guard the instant he laid eyes on me.
“Our new client.” Rae motioned me closer. “This is Octavia Daniel. She owns a ranch in Colorado.”
The guys studied me as if they’d be able to figure out my entire story by simply taking in my choice of clothing and style of hair.
“Octavia, this is Nico Byeon.” Rae gestured to the big guy. “He’s our main researcher and tech guy. Has a decade of experience in the field. Specializes in spirits.”
Nico was about an inch or two taller than Rae. His pair of red glasses balanced on his nose this time, almost softening the intimidating glare of his dark eyes. Nico’s large muscles had a soft edge to them, making them appear less gym-grown, more born from daily use.
“His family’s one of the founding families of our guild,” Rae continued. “So, you’re basically in the presence of royalty.”
“It’s tradition to bow,” Nico said deadpan. “Deep at the waist.”
I blinked at the pause in the conversation. They couldn’t be serious.
“Okay…um…” I fumbled, trying to move the bag hanging on my shoulder to accommodate a proper bow.
“He’s teasing you.” Rae held up a hand, stopping me. “The Guild’s not a monarchy. We vote for our leaders. Blood rarely factors into the decision.”
“Which is why we’re here, unfortunately,” Nico said sarcastically.
Rae ignored him in favor of introducing the younger guy. “This is Jonah Rivera. Our hunter-in-training. This’ll be his second job in the field. But he’s probably the smartest of all of us.”
Jonah’s rounded cheeks and wide eyes hinted at barely being old enough to drive, let alone ghost hunt.
“Sorry.” I studied them. “How old are you guys?”
After turning thirty, everyone seemed like fetuses. I had nothing against prodigies, but I’d rather have adults helping dispel “evil spirits” and being listed on my business taxes.
The team exchanged looks. Rae smiled, while the guys favored frowns.
“We’re old enough to vote, drive, and host seances,” Rae said. “Would you like to see IDs?”
“That would be great.” I nodded and took out my phone. “I’m sure you don’t mind if I take photos and send them back to my assistant to run checks?”
“Not at all.” Rae offered her license and motioned for the guys to do the same.
I snapped the photos quickly, noting Rae was the oldest at twenty-eight. Nico was a year younger. And baby-faced Jonah was twenty-three. She’d been telling the truth. They were indeed old enough to vote, drive, and host seances.
“My cousin December’s checking us in,” Rae added. “She’ll get her license, too, but I can vouch that she’s twenty-five going on sixty-five.”
I handed the IDs back to them. “I’m sure it’ll all check out.”
“Your turn,” Nico said gruffly as he waved his license back and forth.
“Oh, right, of course.” I dug through my bag, retrieving my wallet.
Nico reached for my ID, but Rae grabbed it first. Our fingers brushed, her nails lightly dragging against the back of my hand. It was the slightest tickle. My eyebrows knitted at the lingering sensation. I massaged my fingers as she ran my license through some app on her phone.
“What’s that?” Nico asked in a low voice as he studied the phone alongside her.
“You have a record?” Rae looked at me, but instead of worry, intrigue colored her eyes.
I winced at having forgotten to warn them. “I was eighteen with a delayed pull to rebellion.”
And newly dead parents who’d left me with a modest inheritance, a (then) absent older brother, and a selfish filmmaker boyfriend who wanted to “push the envelope.” Life had been lonely…and boring.
“It was silly. Just some trespassing.” I laughed, trying to lighten the mood, but they stared back with blank looks. I cleared my throat and added, “Nothing I condone, of course. Nothing I’d ever repeat.”
“Trespassing. We do it all the time,” Rae whispered to a suspicious Nico. He grunted but seemed willing to bend.
“Two grimy rooms primed and ready for service,” December announced with a bright smile as she joined us. “The lady at the front was so sweet. She gave us gift baskets.”
I frowned at the mention of the front desk lady and the sight of two large, plastic-trapped gift baskets in her hand.
“Looks like breakfast.” Rae approved, eyeing the assortment of muffins and oranges.
I swallowed, trying not to let the tightness in my chest jade my perspective of the baskets.
They were just baskets. The lady at the front had just been a hotel clerk.
These people standing before me were just freelancers who made a profit from ghost stories.
And I was just a rancher with a problem that would be fixed by the end of the week. There was no need to catastrophize.
“Have we seen the footage?” December asked after pawning the gift basket off to Nico and passing out the room keys.
“We were getting there.” Rae nodded to me, granting permission.
I struggled to keep my hands steady as I grabbed my camcorder and turned it on. My skin burned under their curious gazes. I mumbled an apology as I tried to rewind the tape.
“You want to set it on your hood?” Nico asked when my shaky hands made it nearly impossible to keep the screen steady.
“Yeah.” I nodded, grateful for the idea and the chance to put some distance between myself and the camera.
They gathered around, remaining silent as I pressed play.
I moved out of the way once the image of my bedroom came on screen.
I’d lived through the moment once; I had no interest in doing it again.
No interest in going back and forth, wondering if it had truly happened.
Wondering if my mind created some fantasy to go along with Wilson’s claims that we were being watched by something on the other side.
Rae and Co. filled my space, blocking my view of the bedroom bathed in moonlight and my sleeping body on the four-inch screen.
I counted the number of doors on the first floor of the motel when the candle on my bedside table blew out.
I wondered what type of biohazards the green-tinted pool at the far end of the motel held while the door of my closet creaked open.
And why two men in sweatshirts and swim trunks seemed totally oblivious to said hazards as they dipped their toes into the water and took long drags from e-cigarettes.
The sound of footsteps ventured out of my closet and to the foot of my bed, where my blanket had been torn off.
I narrowed in on the motel’s flickering No Vacancy sign, red burning my retinas.
Once the footage stopped, Rae turned away from the camera first.
“Alright, initial thoughts?” she asked her team.
“If not a wildly skilled prankster…” Jonah said.
“Then definitely a spirit,” December finished.
Nico reached for the camera, trying to rewind it. The noises of one of the most unsettling nights of my life played as background while Rae asked, “Is there even the slightest possibility this is someone you know messing with you?”
I shook my head. “There’s no one in my life who’d go through the trouble. And it’d be tough to get away with considering we live in the middle of nowhere.”
“None of your workers have a terrible sense of humor?”
“I only have one worker right now. Esther. She doesn’t smile much—part of the reason I hired her.”
Rae laughed a little. I was taken aback by the gentle vibration. A buzzing pride bloomed in my chest.
“Esther lives in town with her family and only comes on site during the day. My brother and I are the only ones who stay in the house at night. And though Wilson can tell a decent joke, he’s paralyzed from the waist down. My room’s upstairs.”
“What made you record this?” Rae asked.