Page 24 of Ghost Girl

He raised his hands, fingers splayed as he backed away, softening his features to make himself seem less threatening. ‘Okay. All right. No touching. Got it. But you’re really starting to freak me out now, miss. I can’t help you if you don’t let me.’

I had two options here, as I gazed upon his openly compassionate expression. He truly was concerned for my well-being. I was a stranger to him, and from his perspective, I was trespassing on his property, yet he was still extending me a kindness I had learned the hard way was more than likely an act. Except, I wasn’t that same naïve woman I was when I was alive. He might be another Blake in the making, but there was nothing he could do to me. I was already beyond his help.

So why was I still hesitating to try to communicate?

I knew the answer, of course. I didn’t want to get my hopes up in case his ability to see me was limited to just that. I had no clue how my voice would sound to him. He believed me to be a solid, tangible human being, so it could mean that he could hear me like I was one as well, right?

Only one way to find out…

‘I’m Kali.’

He blinked once. Twice. Then a broad, bright smile stretched across his cheeks to reveal two deep dimples in his cheeks and straight white teeth that gleamed in the setting sunlight. ‘Kali. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Rhodes.’

‘Rhodes…’ I repeated slowly, rolling the name around on my tongue to get a feel for it. All the while, I was immensely pleasedthat I must not have sounded like something from a horror movie to him. He seemed to be registering me as if I were alive, and that built an excitement inside of me, momentarily feeling the gaping hole that loneliness and the need for vengeance left in its wake. I realised with startling clarity that Ihadbeen lonely, and that I didn’t want this interaction to end.

But luck had never been on my side.

His phone rang, the ringtone cutting through the thoughts racing through my mind with the implications of this discovery. The familiar guitar solo fromThunderstruckfilled the space between us, and he pulled it out to check who was calling. He raised a finger to me, asking me to hold on a moment while he took the call, but another sound drifted to me that he couldn’t seem to hear. A deep, warning growl echoed out from the shadows of the trees, and I knew my time was up.

I knew innately that the shadow man could and would hurt Rhodes if I stayed any longer. I almost believed he was jealous that this man had stolen my attention, even if only for the briefest of moments.

I slunk back behind the trees, and my heart clenched painfully in my chest when I watched from behind a trunk as Rhodes noticed I’d disappeared. He frowned into the foliage, hanging up the phone to step over the property line as he searched for me, calling out my name.

But I couldn’t let him get close. With my stalker now in play and Blake’s murderous tendencies hanging over our heads, it wasn’t safe for him to be near me, no matter how much my soul screamed for the companionship he could offer.

‘Mine.’The shadow man materialised in front of me, close enough to touch, but his tendrils still blurred his features to hide his face, but then he was disappearing again, leaving me with one last parting phrase that sent chills racing through me. ‘You’remine.’

Rhodes finally gave up after one last glance into the woods, accepting that I was long gone and out of his reach and leaving me more alone than I had felt in a long time. I just hoped that, one day, we could have a real conversation. One where I told him my story. One where I might be able to recruit him in my vengeance. Soon, I would destroy my husband the way he had destroyed me, and this strange man with the ability to see through the veil might just be my only hope.

Chapter 10

Rhodes

Iwas still debating whether or not to call the police when I pulled Bessie back into my parking space behind the service building. The entire gang of entitled pricks I’d checked in early today were already waiting by the locked door, arms crossed, feet tapping, and lips pursed in impatience. It was the type of pose only the rich could pull off, and I immediately disliked them.

‘What seems to be the problem, folks?’ I asked in my best customer service voice. The one that said what the customer wanted to hear, but really meantfuck off, you prick.

‘We have been waiting for over an hour, Mister Rhodes. We need access to the facilities at all hours, not just when you deign to grace us with your presence. I suggest you open this door before I sue you out of home and country,’ the eldergentlemanthreatened, and I was so going to enjoy watching him fall off his high horse.

‘And you thought this was something I needed to come handle after I’d already gone home for the night, did you?’ I asked, hiding my derision behind a sickly sweet voice.

‘How are we expected to survive the night without use of the facilities, sir?’ a younger woman asked, her lips so large that they flapped about whenever she spoke. Or moved. Or breathed.

‘Perhaps you could start by following the signs and entering the correct door. The bathroom facilities are open twenty-four-seven, which I informed you of while you checked in. May I also remind you that contacting me out of hours is foremergencies only,’ I deadpanned.

The younger married couple with the group chose that moment to exit the shower room, hair still wet from their showers. They noticed the pile-up in front of the closed main entrance and changed directions to see what was going on.

‘Is something the matter?’ the man asked.

‘No, sweetheart. Everything is fine. Just a misunderstanding,’ the older woman responded with a huff, her voice terse. No one blinked an eye, so I assumed that was just her normal voice. Poor guy, stuck with parents like that. I’d watched the whole debacle when they’d ambushed that Chance guy, and all the pieces fell into place. With a family like that, no wonder he was such a grump. He had every fucking right to be.

‘All right,’ the younger man said, unsure where to put himself until his wife stepped forward.

‘Why don’t you get a hot shower and wash off the day, Mallory?’ she suggested, expertly manoeuvring the tense older woman in a way that didn’t demean her uppity attitude while working to calm her. What a woman. Her husband was a lucky man.

‘Yes. I do feel quite awful after a day spent travelling and setting up that tent. Florence, darling, let’s wash off the day’s grime so we can be fresh and rested tomorrow. Calvin, honey, you too. You worked up quite the sweat today.’

I watched as the trio headed into the shower room without any towels or toiletries, and decided it was best to leave beforethey demand I supply those, too. What a waste of my damn time, especially when it should have been spent trying to find that Kali girl. I couldn’t believe how quickly she’d disappeared into the trees, and I wondered way she came from. I was worried about her.

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