Page 24 of Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places
Solo investigations cleared that issue right up. Some people were meant to be alone. She’d made her peace with being one of them.
“I don’t know if I’m up for that. Other people only hold me back.”
“A good partner wouldn’t.”
“Bold of you to say that, never having worked with me before. My style clashes with literally everyone.” Her tone unfortunately betrayed her beliefs, making her sound bitter. First her honesty, now this. How was he ripping open her healed wounds too?
“I’ll prove it to you, then. Give me tonight. If it doesn’t work, I’ll step aside and let you be.”
One night out of thirty. She bit her lip as she considered it. “Promise you won’t distract me?”
“What counts as distraction?”
“I don’t know yet. We’ll play it by ear.”
“Sounds good.”
“I’m leaving my suite now.”
Hennessee House had turned off its lights. Either that or they were on a timer. She’d ask Stephen about that tomorrow. The long hallway stretched the darkness past the stairs. Three doors on the left, her door and two more. Four on the right, which included the communal bathroom.
A cloud of peppermint blew into Lucky’s face. She instantly recoiled back into her room. Not doing that again, nope. She swallowed hard against the memory, resisting the urge to blowher nose to get it out. Why could she still smell it? Not as strong, but unmistakably present, it felt pleasant as cooling mint now.
Rebel said the smells didn’t move between rooms unless it wanted to lead someone somewhere. Was that why Hennessee House attacked her earlier? To train her to follow it?
Lucky squeezed her eyes and mouth shut as if that were enough to stop the peppermint from obliterating her senses. She stepped back into the hall, cracked one eye open, then the other, and slowly began to relax. Still tolerable—pleasant. She clicked on her flashlight, took two more steps down the hall, and stopped. The smell vanished. She stepped back—there it was. Forward again—gone. It seemed to want her in front of her suite.
She eyed the bedroom door across from hers. “In there?” she whispered, shining her light on it.
The door slowly drifted open in response.
“Oh, shit.” Her entire body shivered, skin erupting in goose bumps.
“Everything okay?” She’d almost forgotten Maverick was there.
“I amgreat,” she answered honestly, grinning within an inch of her life.
This bedroom was significantly smaller than hers but furnished almost identically. A bed, a chest, a chair, and two nightstands. Cream-colored bedding and curtains, accented with marigold.
Maverick asked, “Can I ask you a question?”
“Shoot.” She felt along the wall for the light switch, keeping her eyes and the light forward.
“Why did you want to be on the show?”
“Hmm, I think I already passed this interview.”
“Considering new developments, I don’t know if I believe your initial answers. Sorry, I meant story.”
“Cute.” When she found the light switch, nothing happened, even after flicking it several times. She even tried the bedside lamp to no success.
Hennessee wanted the lights off—confirmed.
“Why did you apply? Be honest with me, please.”
Lucky made her way farther into the room, sniffing as she went. The peppermint unerringly led her to the window. It reminded her of those old cartoons, where characters would float on the air lured like a fish on a hook by a scent. She pulled back the curtains on the street-facing window to make use of the moonlight. “If I do, can it stay between us?”
“I don’t have any issues with that.”
