Chapter Six.
Inglorious
N anci sat with Kate and the other women, so I headed towards where the men were speaking in low tones. None of us wished to scare our wives. Drake and Chance had washed the blood off their arms in the kitchen, but both wanted a shower.
“What’s the plan?” I asked.
“Damn good question,” Lucian replied.
“There’s honestly no way out? No basement or anything?” I pressed. How Nanci would react worried me; she hated being cooped up.
“Are you okay? Do you need to talk?” Chance inquired softly, and I looked at him and snorted.
“Chance, I’m fine. Trust me, I don’t need a drink. Ain’t gonna lie though, I’m pretty damn scared about what’s happening. I don’t believe in the paranormal, but this shit is making me think twice,” I replied.
Those in the know about Inglorious’s alcoholism nodded while Lucian, Daniel, and Vladimir looked awkward.
“Sure this isn’t one of Phoe’s fright nights? If so, come clean because Kate’s frightened,” James said from his chair.
“No. This has nothing to do with Phoe. She’s scared, too,” Drake replied.
“What now? Where are Jacques and Eden? All this shit is happening, and yet we’ve barely seen them. Do you think they’re part of this?” I wondered out loud.
Vladimir shook his head. “No. Maybe they’re ghost hunters or similar, but I don’t believe they’re behind this.”
“Dude, I disagree,” Chance stated. “They are in the middle of this, and we’re the bystanders.”
I was with Chance.
“Clio, Nanci, and Rosie all saw something. I did too. Clio is petrified, and that’s not like her,” Chance continued.
“Gotta admit, I’m worried about us splitting up tonight. It minimises our defences,” I said.
Lucian nodded. “Yes, I agree. If we stick together, we’re more of a threat and a deterrent.”
“What are you suggesting?” Calamity asked.
I spoke up, my sight drifting around the room. “Bring mattresses and whatnot down here and take turns being guards. Something shitty is going to happen, I can sense it.” If we pushed the furniture back, there’d be plenty of space for the double mattresses. It’d likely be warmer, too.
My gaze landed on a portrait of a particularly nasty-looking woman.
She dated back a couple of centuries and wore a sneer that was unsettling.
Even more disturbing was the way her eyes captured mine.
Almost as if she was watching me. With effort, I moved my gaze away, but moments later, I returned to her.
A shout left me as the bitch blinked. “Fuck!” I roared and jumped.
“What?” multiple people called. Jumpy, I pointed at the portrait, and cries abounded as the eyes glowed red, and a cackle rang out. It faded quickly, but the damage had been done. Nanci was in my arms before I could even blink. I was trembling, and so was she.
“Shit!” I growled out and passed Nanci onto Chance as I strode forward and, with shaking hands, removed the portrait. Honestly, I expected to find a hole or something, but it was a solid wall behind it.
“Inglorious, we saw it! Nobody imagined that,” Drake announced, closing in. Together, we banged on the wall looking for a hidden entrance, but discovered nothing.
“Do you believe we’ll be safe here?” Drake murmured.
“We won’t all fit into one bedroom,” I said, confidence shaken.
“Let’s remove these fuckin’ things.” Calamity growled, staring at the portraits.
He was pale, and I guessed I was too. Shit, I was a damn biker, President of the Unwanted Bastards MC.
This crap shouldn’t be rattling me, but it was.
Mainly because I was terrified deep down that Nanci would get hurt.
I’d burn the fuckin’ world for her and put myself between Nanci and death for sure.
Perturbed, I glanced over at my motivation for living and caught her eyes on me.
Nanci forced a brave smile, but I sensed she was scared with damn good reason.
This was the last time I took a road trip with James Washington.
The man was cursed! Nanci continued clearing away the remains of the meal we’d eaten before this shit kicked off.
I checked my phone and blinked. It was only seven p.m. Christ, I figured it was later than that, but I was clearly wrong.
“Come on, brother, let’s clear these things out,” Drake muttered.
I nodded and got my ass in gear. Calamity was draping a cloth over the huge mirror hanging above the fireplace.
Good idea, I thought. Anything could crawl through that monstrosity.
I’d seen enough horror movies to know anything was possible.
As we worked, conversation rose about everyone sleeping here tonight. Nobody baulked, to my relief. Discussions arose about how to proceed, and Nanci spoke up, offering a logical suggestion. Damn, I loved her.
“Look, let’s hit our rooms, shower, and clean up. Then we can bring our cases down here, and we’ll wait here with James and someone while the guys fetch the mattresses. It’s not rocket science,” Nanci stated, and Phoe chuckled.
“Nanci, you’re a bitch sometimes, but I like it,” Phoe said.
“Gotta admit, I can still feel that blood on my arms,” Chance replied. “I’d love a shower.”
“Then let’s do this. Can we take this lot back to the kitchen and clear the mess away? While we’re there, let’s find some snacks too. When we come down, we can pick the coffee vats up and bring everything here. We need to stick together as a group,” Sabine suggested.
“Snacks are good!” Vladimir replied with a kindly smile.
“Honestly, I’m surprised this place is so well stocked,” Phoe mused, and we all looked at her. “What? This has nothing to do with me!”
“Never said a word,” Rosie muttered.
“Let’s do this,” Nanci interjected before a fight broke out.
“Agreed.” I nodded at my woman—so damn proud of her.
Nanci
Inglorious shut the door behind us as we entered the room we’d been given. He placed his phone down and pulled me into his arms, brushing his lips against mine.
“Babe, you okay? You’re tense,” he asked softly, gazing into my eyes as he massaged my shoulders.
“Just scared.”
“Want to know a secret? Make that two of us. Phoe’s shenanigans don’t compare to this!”
I laughed as Inglorious intended me to. “Come on, we’ll shower together. Safety in numbers and all that!” I teased.
“Good idea,” he muttered, and I felt his hardness through his jeans. I winked at Inglorious and waltzed off into the shower. Shower sex seemed a perfect way to rid myself of this tension, and my man agreed.
◆◆◆
Thirty minutes later, I pulled my boots on and shoved everything back into my case. Inglorious was drying his hair with a towel, and I loved watching the muscles in his arms flex. With a glint in his eye, Inglorious reached for his phone. He scrolled through an app and pressed on something.
A love song came over the speakers, and I cocked my head.
“Dance with me,” Inglorious murmured, holding out his hand. My heart melted as I took it, and Inglorious swept me up. The music played as we swayed together. This had to be one of the most romantic things Inglorious had done, and he’d done plenty.
“Love you,” I whispered.
“My addiction,” Inglorious replied softly, and I knew he meant me.
I was Inglorious’s obsession. He often told me he couldn’t get enough of me.
Happily, I leaned my head on his chest as the song played in the background, and I thanked my lucky stars.
If not for Drake coming to fetch me, I wouldn’t have had this.
I’d still be mired in pain from my brother’s death.
Grateful, I raised my head and pulled Inglorious down for a kiss. Our lips met, and Inglorious held me tighter. Before we could go any further, a piercing scream cut through the air, and we both jumped and raced for the door.
“Phoe!” Drake bellowed as we entered the hallway. He threw his body against the bedroom door as Phoe screamed again.
“Drake!” Chance roared, coming out of his room.
“Phoe’s locked inside!” Drake yelled. Inglorious rushed past me and slammed into the door. He bounced off it.
Phoe shrieked again. There was no denying her terror.
“Wait! Hit it together,” Lucian called out. Drake and I swapped glances and counted to three. The door shuddered but didn’t budge.
“Inglorious, step back, I’ve more bulk than you,” Chance exclaimed as he appeared. Inglorious moved out of the way as Phoe began whimpering in sheer fright.
Chance and Drake crashed into the door hard, and it refused to crack even an inch. Phoe screamed long and loud and then went quiet.
“Phoe!” Drake shouted, panic-stricken as he shoved at the door again.
“Move!” Daniel cried as he and Lucian raced forward carrying a bench. Drake moved just in time as they slammed it into the door. There was a cracking noise, and they stepped backwards and rammed it again hard.
Inglorious wrapped me and Clio up in his arms as panic overwhelmed us. Phoe had gone quiet, and we had no idea what that meant. My gut twisted as an insidious thought entered my mind. Was Phoe alive?
Phoe
Drake and I walked upstairs after Chance, Clio, Calamity, Rosie, Vladimir, and Emmaline.
We’d split into two groups. Despite agreeing we’d stick together, there wasn’t room to clean dinner away with all of us in the kitchen.
The first group had gone to shower. They’d come back and hunt for snacks and make hot drinks while the rest of us cleaned up and got ready for bed.
Lovingly, I slid my hand into Drake’s back pocket and cupped his ass.
Drake shot me a smile, and I grinned in return.
My husband was the sexiest man I knew. While he infuriated the hell out of me sometimes and vice versa, I couldn’t live without him.
Drake owned me, heart, body, and soul. To say I was the luckiest woman alive was an understatement.
Sure, we argued, but we never went to bed on a fight.
We’d learned far too often that life was short.
As we approached our bedroom, Chance said something to Drake, and he paused to reply. I didn’t see a problem with entering, so I entered.