Page 11 of Property of Anchor

When we stepped back out onto the front porch, I didn’t want to tell her to leave.

She looked up at me and shielded her eyes from the sun.I liked that she had to tilt her chin to meet my gaze.She was at least six inches shorter than me.

“When can you start?”I asked.

She blinked, surprised.“I passed your test?”

I shrugged.“Didn’t expect much.Got more than that.”

Her lips curved slightly, like she was trying not to smile too big.

“We’ll need to work early mornings and into the day,” I added.“The haunted house opens at night.Gotta have things cleaned up enough so tourists don’t notice fresh paint drying under the fog.”

She nodded.“That works for me.Though...I’m not exactly a morning person.”

I grinned.“You’ll survive.”

She tilted her head.“Anything else I should know?”

“Yeah.There are two cabins behind the clubhouse.You and your crew can stay there while you work.”

Her brows shot up.“Seriously?”

I shrugged again.“Only commute you’ll have is walking from your cabin to the haunted house.”

She hesitated.Just a second.Like the idea of staying here unsettled her, but not enough to make her back out.Smart girl.

“When can you start?”I asked again.

She squinted up at me, eyes sparkling.“Tomorrow?”

I nodded, slow and deliberate.“Perfect, doll.”

And just like that, she was staying.On Skull Island.Under our roof.

What the hell could go wrong?

Chapter Six

Pearl

My phone was wedged between my ear and shoulder while I tried to zip the side pocket on my duffel bag with one hand.Of course, the damn zipper stuck.

“Just yank it, Pearl,” Dad’s voice said through the phone.“You always overthink the damn zipper.”

“It’s not the zipper, it’s the overstuffed pocket,” I muttered, finally managing to get the metal teeth to close over the bulging edge.“And maybe if I didn’t have to pack my entire life for this job, I wouldn’t be fighting with it.”

“You’re going forty-five miles north, not the Amazon.”

“Yeah, well, you haven’t seen this place, Dad.It’s spooky.In a good way.But still spooky.”

He chuckled.“You’re going to be fine.Just don’t let Anchor scare the sass outta you.”

I rolled my eyes.That man.Just his name made my stomach flip, like a bucket of nerves had upended itself in my gut.

“Speaking of,” I said carefully, sitting down on the edge of the bed, “is everyone staying in the cabins?”

There was a pause.

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