Page 8 of The Penitentiary (Ghost Seekers Inc. #1)

Sunny

C allie was on a roll. We’d all had a hot drink while we reviewed the footage, and then she’d headed straight back to cellblock eight.

Jesus, I swear to God she was trying to turn me completely grey—or send me to an early grave.

My woman, my precious, beautiful wife, was pregnant, and she was off tramping after ghosts.

Sure, I could protect Callie from physical threats, but not from invisible ones.

Right now, she and Madi were calling out to Dutch while Phil recorded them.

“Dutch, this is called a spirit box. This makes lots of static sounds, but you can use it to speak through and possibly save some energy. You must expel a lot, talking,” Callie said, showing the item in her hands.

I hated that thing. It made a shitload of noise, and I could barely understand what it was saying.

Callie was fluent in understanding spirit box speech.

The damn thing often left me with a headache, and I was ready to strangle Callie, but I grinned and ground my teeth.

Well, okay, maybe I wasn’t grinning, but I was definitely grinding my teeth.

“Ask some questions, Madi,” Callie said. I wanted to gag Madi, but I didn’t think Levi would take kindly to that. A guy could only dream.

“Dutch, are you here? Who was the man you’re frightened of?” Madi paused and waited.

“Demon.” The spirit box moaned.

Of course it would be a fuckin’ demon. Callie had encountered one before that had been totally terrifying.

“Was the demon brought in, or did he already live here when the prison was built?” Madi questioned.

“… Board.”

“Ouija board?” Madi wondered, looking to me for confirmation.

How the hell would I know? I don’t speak spirit box!

“Yes.”

“Did some other paranormal investigators use an Ouija and leave it open for a demon to come through?” Callie asked.

She didn’t get a reply. Dutch really disliked her. Madi repeated the question.

“Yes… death… die… blood.”

“Um, I don’t like the sound of that,” Phil said before I could comment.

I agreed with a nod. Took the words right out of my mouth, Phil.

There was movement out of the corner of my eye, and I grabbed Callie and Madi, shoving them behind me. Our eyes widened as we saw a dark, long, deformed shadow arm appear on the wall. The limb appeared elongated, with its fingers overlarge and curled into claws.

Phil yelped as it made contact with his shadow, and I gazed as blood welled on his arm. That was something I’d never seen, and I had a healthy respect for the danger it posed.

“Out! All of you!” I bellowed.

“Sunny, we need—”

“You’ve got fuckin’ answers, Callie. That thing just touched Phil’s shadow and harmed him. There’s a demon. You understand what you have to do. Call the fuckin’ exorcist, but you’re leaving right now!” I stated.

Callie’s expression set, and without another word, I swept her up for the second time in a night and began carrying her down the walkway over my shoulder. “Madi!” I growled out.

“Oh! You did not talk to me like that, Sunny!” Madi howled and chased after me. We all froze when Madi’s scream echoed back at us and bounced off the walls.

“What the hell?” Madi murmured, paling and looking around. “That wasn’t me.”

“Move,” Phil said as he held his arm.

I jogged down the walkway as cackles and screams broke out.

My two-way buzzed like a madman, but I wasn’t stopping to answer.

Anxiously, I slammed through the exit with Madi right behind me and Phil guarding her.

We headed for the door leading outside and, for the second instance that night, we stared at each other in shock.

I was unprepared when Callie sank her teeth into my ass, and at the same moment, Madi slapped it. Madi’s slap hit Callie full on, and Callie bit deeper than she meant to.

“Ow!” I howled and placed Callie carefully on her feet. If she hadn’t been pregnant, I’d have dumped her on her ass.

I rubbed my butt cheek, knowing that Callie had left a bruise and teeth marks on it. That little… A growl escaped me.

Callie looked worried before defiance crossed her face. “Sunny, I was investigating!” “A damn demon. When a fuckin’ ghost tells you to get out, there’s a problem. That fuckin’ wing is escalating. You’re not returning without an exorcist!” I stated and folded my arms.

“No, we’re not. We’re going to head toward cellblock twelve… and send Jack’s team in.”

I considered that and smirked even as Madi broke into a big grin. “I can live with that.”

◆◆◆

Levi was not amused when he was told he was returning to cellblock eight.

His scowl was one for the records, as was his running from the prison like the hounds of hell were after him a few minutes later.

Freddie was slung over his shoulder, shrieking her displeasure.

Jack was on his heels and glanced periodically behind them.

“Damn, they didn’t last long,” Harry stated as we watched. My team hadn’t even gone back inside to check our new target.

“Fifteen minutes.” Solace grinned and held a hand out to Harry. “Pay up.”

“Girl, you bet on them?” I asked, knowing the scene where Callie bit me, and this one, would go into the programme.

“Yeah,” Solace replied, wriggling her fingers. Harry slapped a twenty in it and glowered as I chuckled.

“Cut out of the action again,” I said, shaking my head. “Some teammate you are, Solace.”

“Hey, dude, it’s every woman for herself out here,” Solace teased, and I laughed.

“Okay. It’s time to eat.” I sighed. “And then we’ll proceed towards our targets for the second part of the evening.”

Solace grinned. “Easier to fight someone when we can see them, isn’t it, boss?”

“Damn right!”

Callie – Tuesday.

Happily, I headed out of the RV to check the equipment.

Sunny had been sending me baleful looks all day, and I’d been feeling guilty.

I had to admit I didn’t understand how he was sitting down.

Sunny’s right butt cheek was bruised to hell, and I’d left tiny teeth indentations.

Sunny had made me rub it better, and then I rubbed something else demanding attention.

I knew my man; getting laid put Sunny in a great mood. As I headed onto the tour bus, I was surprised to see Sunny glowering at his phone.

“What’s up?”

“We’ve got an issue,” he replied, still frowning.

“What? I checked all permits and everything else. The insurance is current—”

“Not that type of problem, babe. It’s Hellfire,” Sunny complained.

“Do you need to go? How long will you be? Sunny, I have to stay and finish this investigation; I could fly to Spearfish—”

“Callie, take a breath, baby. It’s nothing like that; relax, angel. Madi has been speaking to Lavender. Lavender wishes to know if we’re doing Xochimilco? She said you’ll understand what that is.”

I was certain I looked horrified. “Are you sure Lavender said Xochimilco?”

“Yup. Why, what is it?” Sunny demanded.

“The Island of the Dead Dolls, Sunny. Lavender wants to go to a place that is literally filled with dolls,” I muttered.

Sunny stared at me in horror. “The one we’re going to in Mexico? Chatter’s—”

“Yeah, I know! The whole world knows about Chatter’s doll phobia.”

“Holy crap. Lavender’s fuckin’ evil,” Sunny gasped.

“What’s the likelihood of Chatter staying behind?” I almost begged Sunny.

“Zero. He won’t let Lavender come alone,” Sunny replied, sinking into a chair.

“Chance! Chatter trusts Chance. We can ask Chance to come with Lavender!”

“That’s the next problem. Clio has asked to go on a ghost hunt. And so has Bunny, although Pyro’s not too keen.”

“Wait a minute,” I asked suspiciously. “Are you telling me Hellfire wants to come out as couples and do an investigation at each new site we move to?”

Sunny winced and gazed into the distance before nodding.

“Seriously? With Chatter’s phobia and the fears of the rest of the brothers, this will be fuckin’ amazing! The ratings will shoot through the roof!” I cried. “Viewers would love seeing big, burly, badass bikers racing through haunted properties.”

“You’re okay with this?” Sunny asked, looking relieved.

“That we are about to be invaded by your club? Yeah, as long as they get their own RV. They’re not sharing ours.”

“Not a problem. Shall we get started with tonight’s investigation?” “Yeah, I’m a bit bummed. Considering the activity Jack’s team recorded on twelve, we captured nothing.”

“Which, babe, after cellblock eight, I was mightily relieved by,” Sunny said with a grin.

“We’ve got cellblock four tonight, and Jack’s taking the women’s cellblock in nine. That should be interesting,” I replied.

“That was the one with the faces, and they beckoned you over for a closer look? I’ve gotta know how ghostly faces beckon. Do they blink or twitch at you?” Sunny mused, and I laughed.

“We’ll soon find out!”

“Yup!”

Levi.

We’d changed the teams up for tonight. Madi was with Jack and Phil, and I was following Callie and Sunny—and we had Freddie with us.

“Will Madi be okay with them?” I demanded for about the tenth time.

“Jack is a seasoned investigator. At the first sign of danger, he’ll get Madi out,” Callie assured me.

“Asshole wasn’t too worried about me,” I retorted.

Callie sent me an incredulous glance. “Levi, you’re over six feet, and while not as built as Sunny, I know you’ve got muscles.”

“Hey, I’m cut!” I glowered at Sunny as he laughed uproariously. “Take a look at these abs!” Proudly, I lifted my top and flexed.

Callie’s eyes looked down, and she nodded. “Very nice. I bet Madi loves them.”

“Thank fuck Shee, Celt, and Diesel ain’t here. I can only handle one of these idiots at a time,” Sunny grumbled.

“Hey, thank your lucky stars the Holy Terrors ain’t here,” I shot back and grinned evilly as Sunny turned horrified. “What’s the bet I can arrange a visit to Uncle Sunny for them? Especially Kit, Finn, and Brax. Of course, Rooster and Kenny would probably appreciate a break.”

Callie looked terrified, which amused me. “No,” she whispered.

“Hey, they’d even throw in Troy for good measure,” I added.