Page 29 of Haunting Phantom
“I’d rather gnaw off my foot, suck out my bone marrow, and die a million times over, then ever be involved with someone like you. Let alone obsessed. Keep dreaming, Mr. Holes.”
Damien casually drops his hand around my shoulders before stopping so he can look me in the eye.“You have no idea what my dreams are capable of, Dollface. There are things going on in this mind that would make you squirm for weeks.”
“Gross! I didn’t need that image. Now will you fuck off? I want to hear more about this séance shit.”
But the conversation is already over, and whatever I was supposed to hear, Krueger doesn’t look too happy about it.
“He’s making a fucking mistake,”he grumbles, moving back to his normal booth.“You don’t invite someone like Pippa in. You let them wander and stay lost forever.”
A weird sensation quakes through me. Almost like an omen passing over my skin. For the first time since meeting him, I find myself agreeing with Krueger, because everything feels off and icky, and deep down, I know it’s because of the weird girl outside.
Chapter Eleven
Phantom lights up a cigarette as he stands outside the pool hall, his bike parked silently next to him like it’s waiting to be stroked to life. Bigfoot and two of the triplets, Frankie and Chupie, stand nearby, waiting for a signal from Gremlin.
They got word that some of the Raging Misfits had returned to town and were now hanging around a local pool hall. Gremlin and Wolfie are supposed to go in and blend in with the crowd, but something tells me this shit isn’t going to go as they plan.
“How’s things going with the ghost talker?” Bigfoot questions, his voice, a low hum in the silence of the night.
“Depends on what you’re asking. If you mean helping me eradicate my ghost problem. Not well. If you mean that I can’t stop fucking thinking about her. Then it’s fucking fantastic.”
Bigfoot grins. “So, you’re starting to like her?”
A plume of smoke rushes out of the side of Phantom’s mouth, unable to hide his smile. “I’ve honestly never felt like this about someone before, Biggie. It was like the second I saw her, part of me felt completed.”
“You have no idea what you’re saying, Blake. Just shut up before they get the wrong idea.”
Bigfoot frowns. “You’re falling in love with her, aren’t you?”
“Um, no, big man, he loves me. Only me. Not her.”
Phantom shrugs. “All I know is that I’d do anything to protect her.”
“Have you guys kissed yet?”
Phantom’s cheeks darken as he scrubs the back of his neck. “Nah, not yet. But I want to. I’m just afraid of Eve lashing out if I do.”
“You’ll lose your goddamn tongue and dick if you do,”I threaten, though without Autumn, neither of them can hear me.
Bigfoot’s laugh reminds me of a grizzly bear. But everything about him is big. He fucking towers over anyone near him. I once heard him say he’s close to 6’8, and with all the fur on him, you’d think he was part bear already. His salt and pepper hair covers not only his face and head, but his arms as well, making him look like a big fluffy polar bear.
“You gotta stop fearing your ex, Phantom. She ran your life when she was living, and she’s still doing it dead. It’s not healthy. You’re going to make yourself go fucking crazy if you keep feeding her energy like this.”
“I know,” he says, sounding defeated.
Gremlin and Wolfie walk into the pool hall, neither of them giving away the other's location. This is the one time I wish I could move freely without Phantom, because I want to know what’s happening inside.
“We should get closer,” Phantom suggests.
“Yes, please get closer.”
“If we all move in, it’ll look suspicious,” Bigfoot states. “I’ll stay here. Move closer if you need to, but keep out of sight.”
Phantom nods, making sure to slip into the shadows as he crosses the street, his cut left at his bike just in case. He stopsjust outside the window, giving him a good spying location as he presses his head against the brick, and lights up another cigarette.
He's close enough that I can slip inside and do what ghosts do best… eavesdrop. Or in my case… Eve’s drop.
Gremlin and Wolfie are stationed up at the farthest table. Gremlin looks calm as fuck, but it’s Wolfie who's giving them away. The poor kid looks terrified as his eyes dart around the room, taking in the big burly bikers a few tables away, and the cloud of smoke that lingers just below the ceiling. It’s enough nerves to get them noticed, and a few guys in Raging Misfits cuts approach.
