Page 64 of Ghost Girl

‘But-‘

‘No, Dakota. Go back and wait there.’

Rhodes, seeing her protest brewing, wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gently manoeuvred her away, leaving just me and Mikey left. We listened as Rhodes convinced Dakota to leave, promising her he’d tell her if something happened, and then the door snicked shut behind her. I heard her footsteps walking away on the gravel of the driveway, pausing for a moment like she was debating the action, then continuing, and I breathed a sigh of relief that she wouldn’t be around for this.

My stomach revolted at the taste of bile in my mouth, and when Rhodes came back in, I asked if he had a spare toothbrush I could use. He ran upstairs and came back with an unopened toothbrush, some toothpaste, and a bottle of mouthwash, each of which I took gratefully.

Both men kept me company as I rinsed out the bad taste from my mouth, but I stayed in the bathroom in case the conversation we were about to have made me sick again.

I had a feeling it would.

Mikey surprised me by bringing it up first. ‘It can’t be him, can it?’

‘Him? Him who?’ Rhodes asked, his gaze darting between us as his brow twisted in confusion.

‘I fucking hope not.’

Looking a little green himself, Mikey nodded, grim understanding darkening his entire aura. ‘What are you going to do?’

‘I need to know,’ I admitted.

‘Need to know what? What have you two figured out?’ Rhodes pushed for his own answers, and I realised it was probably a good idea to let him know. If I was right… fuck, I didn’t want to think it, but if Iwas,then I might not be returning. Not tonight. Not ever.

Mikey’s breath hitched before a sob tore loose, and he was suddenly wrapping his long, lanky arms around my much taller and thicker frame. Tears soaked through my shirt in seconds, and I returned the hug with just as much fervour.

‘Shit, guys. You’re acting like this is a last goodbye,’ Rhodes commented, and I watched as realisation his and his eyes widened in shock. ‘Oh…’

‘I’m so fucking sorry, Chance. I’m so sorry. You both deserved better,’ Mikey whimpered into my shoulder. ‘None of this should have happened. If it is him,’ he pulled back to look me in the eyes, the depth of this betrayal echoing between us, ‘make him pay.’

‘Make who pay? What the fuck is going on?’ Rhodes demanded, his voice rising in pitch as his anxiety and frustration bled through.

I didn’t answer. One shared look with Mikey told me he wouldn’t force me to say it out loud. He would handle it because I was very likely about to confront the man who murdered the love of my life.

My brother.

Chapter 27

Chance

Isnuck out the back door so Ashe and Gloria wouldn’t see me leave with one last final glance back at my friends, both old and new, as I potentially walked right into my grave.

The shadows pooled in dark puddles when I entered the woods, pulsing with a freezing cold energy when I was forced to brush by them. And I meant it when I saidforced.They followed me, pushing me in one particular direction. Or herding me, more like. I couldn’t tell if they were trying to push me towards the neighbouring property or away, but I did my best to ignore them and the shivering they caused.

It didn’t take long to make it to the other side of the woods, though I kept just inside the treeline to get a lay of the land before I went ahead and trespassed. It wouldn’t be worth it if it wasn’t Blake, because then I’d have lost my chance to find justice for Kali’s death.

The property was sprawling, with chunks of the lawn either missing or showing signs of new growth. Graves, perhaps? Fuck, was Kali buried back here somewhere? The thought made me physically ill, and I had to swallow down the bile as it rose up my throat. I couldn’t throw up here. The sounds of my retching would give me away before I could get the information I needed.

A small log cabin was perched in the centre. It looked cosy, like a romantic getaway spot or something. It was utterly innocent in its looks, with no signs of anything evil happening within its walls. In fact, the entire property was beautiful. The front lawn, or at least what I could see of it from my vantage point, was well manicured and functional, but there were no flowers or plants to give it a lived-in feel. It was plain and functional.

Behind the cabin, the trees were sparse at the edge of the land, leading towards a winding section of the Little Deschutes River as it ran through the property. The trickle of water was a deceptively soothing backdrop to what I feared was an incredibly macabre site. But nature didn’t care about death or grief. It didn’t care how gruesome the manner in which a person was killed. It just absorbed the death into itself and continued on like nothing had happened.

When there was no sign of life, no movement, for so long that I began to worry that no one was home. The only thing that kept me in place was the black SUV sitting out front. I suspected someone was inside, and I just couldn’t see them.

But any hope I had that my brother wasn’t responsible for his own wife’s death, that all signs didn’t point to him being a serial killer, was doused when he walked out of the cabin toward the SUV. Worse was when he opened the trunk. I couldn’t see from here, but when he closed the door and walked back into view, something large and long and very human-shaped was slung over his shoulder.

Jesus fuck. No. No, no, no. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t want to believe it. But the evidence was right there in front of my eyes. Blake wasn’t fishing like his note had claimed. He was bringing a victim into a cabin he owned in secret.

I felt faint.

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