Page 55

‘Rhodes has seen her, sure, but this isn’t an exact science. There’s no guarantee he’ll be able to see her again, or when.’

I frowned, deflating. This morning had been a rollercoaster ride of emotional whiplash, and I didn’t think I had the mental capacity to handle much more. ‘Oh.’

‘Did you really see her?’ he asked, something like hope flickering behind his eyes.

‘I think so. I recognised her, and I asked her if she was Kali. She nodded.’

‘What did she look like? Did she seem okay?’

‘I-I,’ I stammered, unsure what answer to give. She was a ghost. How was she okay?

‘Shit, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be bombarding you with questions. Are you okay, Dakota? You look pretty freaked out.’

‘I’m being haunted by my husband’s ex-wife,’ I said in a small voice. ‘I’m not sure how that’s okay.’

‘Kali wouldn’t hurt you. Ghosts can’t physically interact with the living, so she couldn’t even if she wanted to. Which she wouldn’t,’ he hurried to add when my face drained of blood.

But his words weren’t comforting. ‘She moved my bed.’

He blinked at me, slowly processing what I’d said. ‘Sorry. What?’

‘I was sitting on the edge of my cot, and it was like something bumped into it. It moved, Chance. She moved the bed.’

‘But… that’s not possible,’ he argued. ‘Are you sure you didn’t just move it by accident?’

I felt like I was going to be sick, and my head swam nauseatingly, making it worse. ‘I didn’t move it, Chance. I was literally just sitting there. I was still. I didn’t even twitch.’

His eyes were wide, his shock and disbelief evident. I could tell he believed me, but he was also struggling with the new information that directly opposed the knowledge he already had. The knowledge he had worked for years to curate and compile into evidence to prove the existence of the paranormal.

‘Holy shit.’

‘I know,’ I agreed wholeheartedly. ‘I came running to find you as soon as it happened.’

A sharp, high-pitched, mechanical whine pierced through the air and was quickly followed by shouts of alarm and excitement from Mikey and Rhodes.

‘Come quick!’ Rhodes yelled, bouncing up and down like an excitable puppy. ‘We’ve got a hit!’

Chapter 24

Chance

We had been sitting out here for hours with no results. Every one of our devices was going off, each one lit up and either buzzing or beeping with sounds that were just annoying us at this point, because we were getting nothing. No attempts at communication were being made by whatever entity was present, and Rhodes had confirmed that he wasn’t seeing Kali.

I had a bad feeling about it. I suspected that we were in the presence of the very entity that was responsible for the drownings, and I was concerned we were putting targets on our backs. No, they were already there.

I had tried to tell Mikey and Rhodes to leave, to get somewhere safe, but both of them had refused. Dakota had been spooked enough that when I sent her back to the campsite, she went willingly with a parting order to call her if we heard from Blake.

That was another issue we had to deal with. No one had heard from my little brother since yesterday, and it was causing quite the stir. I had a feeling he was trying to decompress a bit by shutting himself away from the world. Hearing that Kali mighthave been alive and nearby was hurting him just as powerfully as it had struck me.

Blake was struggling, but he had Dakota now. He would get over it eventually because he had already moved on. If he would just pull his head out of his ass. Dakota deserved better than that, and he knew it, too. He would be so mad at himself when he finally snapped out of it.

Footsteps crunching over sticks and dead leaves preceded Rhodes as he came back to check on us, greasy paper bags in each hand. ‘Figured you guys might be getting hungry. Hope nobody’s a vegetarian, ‘cause I got burgers.’

‘Burgers are great,’ Mikey said with a grateful grin, taking the bag Rhodes handed him and immediately shoving a fistful of fries into his mouth. He moaned as he chewed, closing his eyes in satisfaction.

‘Well, now. I’ve never made a man moan quite like that before,’ Rhodes teased as he placed the other bag down beside me.

Mikey blushed a deep red colour that I had seen on him pretty much every day since we’d met. ‘Sorry,’ he muttered shyly around the mouthful of food.