Page 75 of The Spirit Key
“Hold on, Karen.” The screech of wheels, a muffled curse from Karen, and then Ryan came back on the line. “So what am I supposed to do?”
That was a good question. I mean, Tim needed to be stopped, but how to do it without hurting him in the process? Was that even possible anymore?
“I don’t know.” I swallowed hard. “You do what you need to.”
“What? You can’t be suggesting—”
If someone had torn my heart out and showed it to me, I don’t think it could have hurt as much as my next words. “What you need to, Ryan. That’s not Tim. The ghost is wearing him like a skin. I think he’s still in there, but you know he’d want you to save your kids.”
“But he’s my best friend. I can’t—”
“The hell you can’t! You protect your kids, no matter what. And, Ry? Don’t try to approach him or reason with him. He’s insanely strong.”
A cab rolled by, and I stood out in the street, frantically waving my good arm. Thank God he stopped. I got in and gave him Ryan’s address.
“Look, I’m on my way there. I’ll do my best to help you.” A thought occurred to me. “And I’ll try to get in touch with someone who can help too.”
I disconnected the call without saying goodbye, then scrolled through my contacts and found the number I was looking for. I pressed Dial and hoped to hell Gavin would answer.
“Hello?”
“Gavin? It’s Scott. I need help.”
“Anything, Scott. What do you need?”
It took a few minutes to go through the story, and the driver kept scowling at me in the mirror. When I was finished, I admit, I thought Gavin would scoff like Ryan did, but he surprised me.
“Okay, what do you need me to do?”
“You believe me?”
He snorted. “This isn’t the kind of story someone makes up. Knowing what you can see, I believe what you tell me.”
Thank God someone did. “I need you to meet me at my brother’s house. I’ll text you the address, okay?”
“Sure. We’ll be there.”
“We?”
“Rachel will be coming with me. She’s his friend, and she wouldn’t forgive me if I didn’t bring her.”
“Okay, fine. Just make sure she stays at a safe distance.” I thought about it for a moment. “Do you have a gun?”
“Yeah, I’m licensed to carry.”
“Bring it.”
He was quiet for a moment. “Are you sure?”
“No, but I can’t let him hurt the kids. I know he’d want me to stop him.”
So why did it feel like my heart was being run over a cheese grater?
The cab turned the corner onto Ryan’s street, and I could see his car parked out in front. Karen was standing outside, looking up and down the street. The cab pulled up, and I threw money at the guy and rushed over to her.
“You okay?”
“Ryan went in ten minutes ago, and I haven’t heard from him. What’s going on?”
