Chapter 7
Devon woke suddenly in the middle of the night and froze, listening to something moving downstairs.
Slipping out of her bed, she crept to the railing and looked downstairs.
She had no weapon, nothing at all. However, after what she had seen today, she wasn’t at all sure that this was even human.
The fact that she was even here and not freaking out said a whole lot and yet said nothing because why wasn’t she freaking out? That made no sense to her.
That fact freaked her out more than a nocturnal visit from a ghost.
She had never really thought about ghosts before, so why hadn’t her first encounter—in a house she had already purchased, no less—sent her screaming from the rooftops?
Of course the answer hit her instantly—because of the kids.
She didn’t want them finding out this place was haunted.
It had quickly become special to them, something they so desperately needed.
Yet she also couldn’t forget about the weird things Toby had said when they first came to tour the house.
She didn’t know how to reconcile that with all this either.
Therefore, she’d stuffed it all deep inside.
As she moved toward the staircase, she sent a text to Camden, about noises downstairs and how she was going to check it out.
She got a text back that simply stated Stop.
She froze. Another text followed.
I’m on the way. Wait.
She frowned at that, happy he was coming, yet how long was she supposed to wait?
Was she supposed to wait for him every time?
That thought really shocked her because it meant she’d already accepted that there would be more times. She didn’t even want this time, so what the hell was she doing putting up with this attitude in her own mind? That was just bad news all around.
Frowning, she waited a little bit longer, hoping Camden would show up quickly. Then suddenly she heard something at the back door. While he shouldn’t be able to get in, he was also a cop, so she had no freaking idea if he could or he couldn’t.
As soon as she slid down the stairs, she looked at the back door to see Camden staring through, his hands cupped around his eyes. She quickly opened up the door and held a finger to her lips. She whispered, “I heard it in the living room.”
He stepped forward and whispered back, “Stay here.”
When she frowned at him, he shook his head and disappeared.
It was just unlucky that the way the staircase came down, she could either go around the corner to the upstairs, to the front door, or she could go through the kitchen to the back door.
She took a step toward the front of the house, then another, and, taking one more, she froze.
She wasn’t sure just what she heard, but it didn’t sound right.
She bolted forward to see what was going on, and there in front of her was Camden, with something otherworldly right in front of him.
As soon as it saw her, it faded into nothing, and she let out the breath she’d been holding.
“Oh my God,” she muttered, blinking furiously, trying to compute what she’d seen.
“You’re not very good at taking orders, are you?” he noted.
Her eyes widened, staring at him. “No, I’m really not,” she agreed, “but I also heard something very strange, and you were in here alone. I couldn’t just leave you, not when I’m the one who got you into this shit show. That’s just not me.”
He stared at her, and a smile cracked his face. “I can’t say anybody has ever said that to me before.”
She frowned at him.
He continued. “So, thank you for thinking along those lines, but also remember that I’m a cop.”
“You’re a cop,” she confirmed, “but, unless you’re some spectral cop, that really won’t make much difference here, will it?”
He gave a short bark of laughter. “I hadn’t really considered that, but you’re right.”
“Uh-huh,” she muttered. “You’re welcome.”
He gave her a quick hug before releasing her so fast that she didn’t really comprehend what had happened. “Thank you.” He walked around a bit and asked, “Same thing as last time, wasn’t it?” He turned to her. “Or did you get something else?”
“No, I think it was the same thing, but I’m not positive. I heard something downstairs, but I wasn’t sure what I heard.”
“Let me go outside and take a look,” he shared, “just in case.”
“Just in case?” she repeated, blinking.
He added, “Don’t worry about it. Just let me check it out. I’ll be right back.” And, with that, he headed outside.
She stepped out onto the back deck and watched.
He turned to her and asked, “Did you hear noises inside or outside?”
“I woke to noises inside.”
He nodded and went silent for a moment, spending a few minutes looking around. “Okay, I’m not seeing anything here right now. I’m wondering, … and I’m just throwing this out there. It’s possible that your spectral visitor chased away a different visitor entirely.”
She stared at him, her heart sinking. “Please tell me that I didn’t have two uninvited visitors tonight.”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “All I can tell you is that it’s an option.”
“An option I don’t like.”