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He did not get much time to ponder as Aaron and the rest joined him, and they parted ways outside the Greene Mansion’s gate.

A look of relief washed over the couple’s faces as they merrily distanced themselves from the mansion, and the scared driver looked all too eager to take off without the pair.

Aaron flung a hand over Evan’s shoulder, almost sending his feet burrowing into the ground. “As I said, jackpot.”

Evan snorted as they walked back to their car. But even as they left the old mansion and all that it contained behind, two things kept bugging Evan. The twitch in his left eye.

And something in the forest, watching him.

3. What Was Plan B?

Two days later at Greene Mansion, an hour before midnight, Evan discovered the reason why his left eye had been twitching constantly.

Bruce and his three minions stood at the darkened porch of the mansion, glaring daggers at Evan. The candles he’d lit around the hall lent a dramatic glow to their contorted faces, highlighting their invisible enthusiasm and palpable disgust as they stared at Evan. No matter how much he searched his memory, Evan couldn’t recall asking the lot of gentlemen to hang out with him in a haunted mansion.

He glanced at Aaron, who seemed just as confused on the phone with Mrs. Greene, his brows furrowed and shoulders tense.

“Why are we doing this again?” One of Bruce’s minions scratched his unruly beard, narrowed eyes darting around the property with a mixture of dread and distaste. “I heard this place is haunted.”

As if on cue, leaves rustled behind them, a distant howl of a beast making the group flinch. In the way their legs trembled under them, one would have misunderstood that they were terrified.

Bruce scoffed, swirling the toothpick between his clenched teeth. “Haunted, my ass.”

“Someone died in here!” the bearded man grunted.

“I heard his blood was sucked dry.”

“A vampire—”

“Is it really haunted?” One of the men poked his head around Bruce, glaring at Evan like he was the one who’d invited the ghosts to dine with them.

Annoying bastards.

“Veryhaunted,” Evan said, accentuating every word. “Even I don’t know what’s haunting this place.” With that, he turned around, several pairs of eyes bulging behind him as he casually walked away. As he approached, Aaron ran an irritated hand through his dusty brown hair, cursing someone under his breath.

“Well?” Evan folded his arms across his chest. “What went wrong now?”

Aaron sighed. “It seems Mrs. Greene hired them for us.”

Evan blinked, then reached up to rub his throbbing temple. When he’d asked the couple to hire a few men, maybe he should have added “reliable” and “volunteering” men. Men who didn’t want to kill him at first sight.

What made it even more absurd was the fact that Bruce and his minions worked full-time for Tiago’s private corporation. They couldn’t be simplyhiredfor running errands.

Which meant this was Tiago’s doing. Sticking his nose exactly where it didn’t belong: in Evan’s business.

Now Evan was stuck in a haunted mansion with men who passionately hated him and would probably be utterly useless. In fact, he had a nasty feeling they were going to screw things up before the night was over.

Rubbing his temple raw, Evan groaned through the rising headache. “I can handle this on my own. Send them back.”

“It'll take forever with just the two of us,” Aaron argued.

“Better forever than never.”

The risk of failing this exorcism was more severe than just Evan’s body being found sucked clean of blood and flesh. Itcould lead to everyone in there losing their lives. Worse, the evil that was tied down on this property could escape and wreak havoc in the town.

How many lives wouldthattake?

“I’ll look for some other people,” Aaron’s fingers moved furiously over his phone screen, then abruptly halted. “Shit!”