Page 105 of Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places
Specter-Reggie disappeared before Lucky could say anything else. She sighed, sitting back against the bench. “Well, that didn’t go as planned.”
But it was good, solid progress, and it only took another week for Lucky to discover why Hennessee had run away.
Reality made specters unravel.
Days later, Lucky was squaring off against Specter-Reggie in the library. “Talk to me, Hennessee! Come on! You are not my brother, and you know it,” she said with conviction. “You are not Reggie. This is not real.”
When continually denied, Hennesseeglitchedout of the hybrid state and briefly seeped through its specter-avatar. She could force it to speak to her directly, but the connection only lasted for a few costly minutes.
“Who made you?” she demanded. “Where did you come from?”
Specter-Reggie’s eyes turned black, jaw slack and mouth hanging open.
She readied herself, waiting for its voice to echo inside her mind. “What do you want?” she pleaded. “I’m not afraid. Tell me, please.”
“give me what I want—are you not happy—will you stay—will you run.” Specter-Reggie winked out of existence faster than Lucky’s eyes could catch. She fell back onto the floor, closing her eyes and trying to slow her heart rate. A fine layer of sweat coated her skin. Her head swam, eyes pulsating in her sockets.
Connecting with the house like that had formed a tremendous psychic link and she routinely collapsed from the stress of standing her ground. Exhaustion stretched between them—infecting and commiserating. Forced glitching had become just as draining for her as it was for the house.
Progress required sacrifice and she was only hurting herself. Every night it got closer and closer to being able to speak to her purely as itself in the hybrid state. It demanded information, consistently struggling to offer any return. She steadfastly refused to give in even when it resorted to insults. Close to sunrise, when the house was at its weakest, it cooperated while she forced the glitch.
Because they were in it together now. For better or worse.
Gengar climbed on her chest, activating bread-loaf mode and staring at her.
“Does the house talk to you too?”
He blinked once and she narrowed her eyes. “You’re next on my list, mister. Don’t think you’re not.”
Lucky talked to Gengar regularly for the company. She spoke to Georgia once per day and Xander once per week, but it didn’tfeel like enough. She’d spent so much time with NQP, she began feeling the absence ofpeoplemore acutely than ever before.
Now that she’d secured an investor (that philanthropic asshole), she also began thinking about her next steps. When she finally unraveled the secrets of Hennessee House, where would she go? What would she do? She quit her full-time live-in nanny gig for the show. She didn’t even have her own apartment waiting for her at the end of this.
She’d have enough money to start her own supernatural PI business, but was that really all she wanted? It was—weeks ago, before she’d met NQP and began working with them. Before she’d met Maverick.
In the kitchen, she downed an entire bottle of water in thirty seconds flat and then inhaled a granola bar. Her stomach kept rumbling so she ate two more while making eggs and toast.
Lucky nearly hit the ceiling when her phone suddenly rang. Clutching her chest, she checked the screen and gasped. While not quite sunrise, Hennessee was exhausted. It’d be safe to drop the brick wall. “The world must be ending,” she said after answering. “This is your final goodbye.”
“Hardly,” Maverick said dryly. She hated how her entire body seemed to react to the sound of his voice. “I’m sorry I didn’t call. I needed some time to reevaluate where I’m at.”
Lucky sighed as she brought her breakfast to the table. “How did that work out for you?” She tried to be understanding but that ship had set sail a week ago. All she felt was bitter and a little hurt.
“I know you can take care of yourself. Trusting you doesn’t mean I trust that house. I’m terrified it’ll take things too far and you won’t want to stop until it’s too late.”
Lucky glanced around the room—Hennessee House’s sublimely retro and inviting kitchen. She thought of Eunice, how the NQP team found her alone and passed out, close to where Lucky sat now.
“I’m trying to balance trusting you and being afraid for you, but one side keeps outweighing the other.”
His fear, his caution, was winning. She didn’t need him to say it.
“On top of that,” he said, “I can’t stop thinking that this is just the start of it. It’s always going to be like this. You’re always going to prioritize your career over our relationship. I’ve already been down this road with Rebecca, and I can’t do it again.”
Lucky forced herself to ask, “And where is she?”
“Off studying some super scientific gene sequencing thing in Massachusetts. You’ll meet her at some point.” His breathy laugh caused an eruption of butterflies in her stomach. She rolled her eyes at herself, becausereally?
He continued, “I didn’t want to talk to you about this until I was sure. I know it hasn’t been that long, but I’m not interested in anything temporary or short-term with you. Before, it kind of felt like you weren’t as all-in as I was.”
