Page 11

Lavender

Sinclair, or Sin, as she preferred to be called, agreed to come the next day. I could hear Sin yelling at someone named Jett, and then she cut the line.

“She’ll kill him.” Phoe chuckled.

“Oh?” I said, wondering if this Sin was mentally stable.

“Yeah. Sin and Jett have been together… since twenty-fifteen, eight years roughly. And in that time, she adopted Jett’s baby girl and then has given birth to seven kids. Jett just kept knocking her up!”

“Good lord, how old is she?” I gasped. I’d been under the assumption Sin was a younger woman like me.

“Sin’s… thirty. And Jett tries her patience, but you’ll not find a more devoted couple. The funniest thing was, Jett got a vasectomy and still knocked Sin up because it failed. And they had twins as their last set of kids. This time, Jett’s had a second vasectomy, and Sin has had her tubes cut and tied. Sin is shy and socially awkward, but she’s very bright and clever,” Phoe explained with pride.

“How do you know her so well? You’re part of Hellfire, aren’t you?” I asked.

“Oh, yes, I am. Their only female member. I’m also Drake’s old lady and Queen Bee in Rage MC,” Phoe said.

“Confused as hell here,” I replied.

Phoe laughed. “Chance and Drake are cousins. I met Drake through Chance. We fell in love, and I became his wife and then the mother of his children.”

“Ah.”

“And as Drake is President of Rage, I’m Queen Bee and therefore responsible for the old ladies and Hellions. That’s what we call the kids. Hellfire’s Queen Bee is Clio, and their children are called Holy Terrors. And trust me, both sets of brats earned those names.” Phoe chuckled.

“Thanks for explaining that. I look forward to meeting Sin,” I said.

“Anyway, I better be getting back. Lavender, I’m staying at the clubhouse tonight. But around these spooky occurrences, why don’t you try the local library? A librarian always has the gossip,” Phoe suggested.

“Good idea. I’d considered it but haven’t had the time.”

“Let Sin assess the book, and we can head into town tomorrow. Field trip!”

“Won’t you need to get home to your husband and family?”

“Hell, no, honey. I’ve got eighteen kids. Trust me. Drakes on his own with them,” Phoe replied cheerfully and waltzed her ass out.

Damn, I must be going deaf because I could have sworn that she said eighteen children.

Jinx opened my door and nearly knocked me over. His wide eyes met mine.

“Tell me you’re hearing that too!” I gasped as I clutched at him.

“Yup, I want you to stay here. I’m phoning for back-up,” Jinx said.

“The students are upstairs,” I cried.

“The fuck we are!” Dan exclaimed as the five flew down the stairs.

“Thank God!” I exclaimed, relieved.

“Everyone into Lavender’s bedroom,” Jinx ordered, and he punched at his phone. I’d no idea who he was calling as I urged my team into my bedroom.

“You really need to do a seance,” Harriet declared, looking excited.

Jinx walked back into the room. “Hellfire is riding. Back-up will arrive soon!” he cried.

A loud smash accompanied his words from somewhere in the house.

We all jumped as ghostly laughter followed it.

Jinx’s pallor mirrored my own as the lights flickered. Another crash proceeded that. Footsteps thudded above our heads, and I swear there were chains rattling.

“We need to get a ghost hunter in here,” Harriet stated, looking excited.

Dan and Heidi didn’t look too enthused, but Emory and Kelly nodded.

Emory turned to speak and instead shrieked and pointed. We spun around to where she stared, and I noticed a white face peering at us through the window. A flash of lightning lit outside, and the face disappeared.

“Axe murderer!” Heidi screamed.

Before I could stop him, Jinx, the brave fool, barrelled out of my bedroom, and I heard the front door open.

“Shit!” Dan yelled and gave chase.

“Crap!” Kelly stated, looking worried. He looked between us and the door and finally shook his head.

“I’m not leaving you alone,” he announced.

Minutes ticked past, and we heard rain begin pounding down outside. The front door opened, and I heard running footsteps.

“It’s us, we’re heading for the widow’s tower. There’s somebody up there!” Jinx declared.

“What?” I cried. But he and Dan raced up the stairs.

We exchanged glances. What the hell was going on?

The front door banged again.

“Jinxy! Lavender?” Fanatic yelled, and my shoulders relaxed.

“In here!” I replied.

“Stay there, we’ve got people chasing somebody through the woods. Jinx?”

“Upstairs in the widow’s tower. Jinx saw someone in there!” I explained.

“Is everyone down here?” Chatter demanded, running in.

“Yes,” I said. “Jinx and Dan have headed to the tower, though.”

“A woman’s staring out of a third-floor window!” Chatter exclaimed. He turned to leave when a strangled gasp left his lips. The next thing I knew, Chatter keeled over, full length, in a dead faint.

“What the hell?” Fanatic demanded, leaping forward to catch him and missing him completely.

“I’ll go!” another guy stated and disappeared.

“Shit!” I spat as I realised what Chatter had spotted. Tatum’s gift to me! Oops. I grabbed it and shoved it in a drawer as Fanatic gazed at Chatter in consternation.

“Dude, you so need therapy,” Fanatic drawled as he slapped Chatter to wake him up.

“What the hell is going on?” a loud and irritated voice demanded, entering my home.

“Pres, in here,” Fanatic called.

Chance stormed in, looking like a drowned rat and none too happy.

“Explain now!”

“I got a call from Jinx that somebody was in the house, and then he claimed that someone was peering through the window at them. He said he chased after them and put the phone down. Smokey, Chatter, and Wraith were at the clubhouse, and Harlequin was on gate duty with Rascal. I grabbed them and left Rascal to inform you,” Fanatic replied.

Chatter murmured and opened his eyes. He babbled incoherently about spider dolls and closed his eyes again.

“It’s safe, Lavender removed it,” Fanatic said.

Chatter warily reopened his eyes. “Why would you have something like that?” he howled.

“It was a gift from Tatum,” I muttered.

“That’s not a present!” he yelled, sitting up.

Footsteps thudded down the stairs, and the guy who’d been with Fanatic returned. “The doors are locked, and there’s no sign of an intruder.”

No sooner had the words left his lips than two manly screams sounded from somewhere in the house.

“Go!” Chance ordered, rubbing his brow.

A flash of lightning illuminated the room, which blew the lights and plunged us into darkness. Curses abounded through the Manor as men yelled and cussed.

“What the hell is that?” someone shrieked.

“Fuck!” another person shouted. Above my head, footsteps began pounding hard on the floor, and Chance looked up with an open mouth.

“Fanatic, go!” he ordered.

Fanatic used the light on his phone and headed out. Moments later, he shouted down to us. “The door’s locked!”

Chance stared at me as the footsteps hit the floorboards harder, and Fanatic shouted as someone banged on the door he was standing next to. The lights flickered before staying off again, and silence fell.

“Lady, I don’t know what you’ve got going on here, but it ain’t right,” Chance said firmly.

“No shit,” I muttered.

◆◆◆

We sat in the kitchen, all cupping mugs of hot chocolate. Jinx and Dan had returned down from the widow’s tower and hadn’t discovered a way in, nor any sign of anyone. Fanatic had come down with Smokey and Harlequin, who’d headed for the third floor. Fanatic appeared shell-shocked, but not as much as Smokey and Harlequin, a candidate. Wraith and a guy called Bone came in from the woods, where they’d chased a floating white light. In the meantime, Bear, Chance’s VP, and Sunny had also arrived.

The storm outside showed no signs of lessening and luckily, we’d got the electrics back on.

“Can we start from the beginning? It’s three forty in the morning,” Sunny asked.

“I was woken about an hour and a half ago by the usual footsteps and noises in the room above me. They woke Jinx as well as they tended to. But tonight, they were more. Something was banging on the walls, but there was nobody present. Then there was a massive crashing sound like someone had broken a window,” I explained.

“I’ve got guards out checking the building,” Slaughter said, entering the kitchen. “They’d called me when the activity started. They captured something you’ll all want to see in a bit.”

“Took you long enough to arrive,” Sunny commented.

“I was in Deadwood. Trust me, as soon as I received the call, I rode out,” Slaughter replied.

“What happened next?” Chance asked me.

“There was a loud groaning that echoed through the house and further bangs and crashes. I was worried about the students, but they came downstairs together,” I continued.

“Yeah, Dan and I collected the girls and deemed it safer down here. We’d no idea if somebody had broken in,” Kelly interjected.

“That’s what we thought at first, but the groaning… nuh, huh. That sounded like someone being tortured,” Harriet said.

“I phoned Fanatic, as suddenly a face appeared at the window. Dan and I gave chase, but we didn’t see anyone. There was a light in the trees, so we chased that, thinking it was an intruder. Neither of us had a torch, and it wasn’t safe, so we came back and noticed the widow’s tower fully lit. There was a hulking figure moving about inside, so Dan and I went up there,” Jinx said.

“I got the call and woke up Chatter, Wraith, Smokey, and I grabbed Harlequin from the gate. I left Rascal there. Wraith knocked Bone up, and we all headed here. Wraith and Bone were in front, and we spotted a light in the trees. They pulled over, and we continued. When we arrived, there was chaos. The widow’s tower was lit up and there was a shadow, probably the same one Jinxy saw.

“Chatter, Smokey, Harlequin, and I came and noticed a female watching us from the third floor. Smokey and Harlequin headed up there, and Chatter passed out,” Fanatic explained, rolling his eyes.

“Don’t say a fuckin’ word. That was some fucked up shit,” Chatter growled out.

“We ran upstairs and checked every door, and they were all locked. But as we turned to come downstairs, there was an old woman at the end of the corridor and fuck me…” Smokey said.

“She faded right before our eyes!” Harlequin exclaimed.

“A ghost!” Harriet squealed.

“Shut up,” Emory hissed.

“And then everything went to hell!” Smokey added.

Chance nodded. “I was there for that bit. Well, can’t say shit ain’t got interesting here.”

“Give me a few,” I said, slipping out of the kitchen and heading to my bedroom. I picked up a picture frame and hurried back. Nobody had moved, and I showed them the photo.

“Was this her?”

“Yes!” Smokey and Harlequin yelped.

“Aunt Aggie,” I muttered, exchanging looks with Jinx.

Why the hell was my aunt haunting Ravenberry? Didn’t she want me here? Or did she wish to tell me something?

“You need the ghostbusters,” Wraith announced, staring at me.

“Good job we have one in town,” Chance said. Hellfire exchanged glances, and Bear began to grin.

“We’ve got the best fuckin’ one out there!” he exclaimed.

◆◆◆

Well, now. This was unusual. Calliope Dixon stood in front of me with her team. She’d hit it big in twenty-twenty with her popular ghost-hunting show. Calliope was looking around Ravenberry and frowning.

“There’s something here,” she murmured. “Hi, I’m Callie. You must be Lavender. Chance is my brother-in-law, and he said you had an issue. We’re in-between filming right now and on a break, and I’m back in Spearfish for a bit.”

“I don’t think I want Ravenberry Manor splashed all over the TV,” I replied.

“Oh no. I do private investigations as well. The money I make from TV lets me fund them. This won’t be on TV unless you choose it to be. But I do need cameras setting up to catch things and also, I’ll want a chat with everyone that experienced anything,” Callie said.

“You don’t think we are crazy?” I asked.

“Nope. And if Chance is saying shit’s happening, it must be. Chance is as bullheaded as they come,” Callie replied.

“He is your brother-in-law?”

“He’s married to Clio. We’re part of quads. Thalia and Clio are identical twins, and Polly and I are. And finally, Rain, he was a boy and wanted to be unique,” Callie said.

“And your quads!”

“Yeah. Let’s begin with, could I have coffee, please? Then let’s start talking about the history of this place,” Callie replied.

“Coffee I can do. History might be a bit difficult. Come on, I’ll explain.”

“Can my guys take base readings?” Callie asked.

“A security guard will accompany them as most of the rooms are locked, but sure, they can wander around. The second floor houses the bedrooms of the students. You’ll need permission to enter them. Right now, everybody’s in the kitchen with doughnuts for breakfast. Come along, and you can ask them,” I said.

Callie nodded, and we headed into the kitchen. Her eyes widened a little when she saw Sunny, and I caught a faint blush on her cheeks, which faded quickly.

“Everyone, this is—”

“O.M.G! It’s you! I’m a huge fan!” Harriet squealed as she rushed around the island to gape at Callie. Then she glanced at the team behind her. “All of you!” Harriet bounced like a bunny.

“Calm down, kid,” I teased, leading her to her breakfast. Harriet was about to burst.

“You didn’t tell me it was Calliope Dixon coming!” Emory said, beaming.

“You’re welcome,” I muttered and sought my coffee.

A male hand pushed a mug into mine, and I looked up to see Chatter staring at me. He smiled slightly and stepped back, and I frowned, confused.

We’d hardly spoken since the ride, and honestly, that rejection stung. I was an adult and had fully understood Chatter when he explained he did not want long-term. Fine. He didn’t need to drum it into my head during the bike ride. So yeah, that rankled a little still.

“Busy in here today,” Tatum announced as he entered.

“Shit happened! We saw ghosts!” Harriet exclaimed just as Phoe arrived with another woman.

“Sinclair!” Tatum said warmly and greeted with her a hug.

“Tatum. I had to come when I heard you were here. It is rare you travel nowadays. It’s good to see you!” Sinclair replied.

I leaned back in the corner of the worktops and sipped my coffee. I’d been sociable for all of ten minutes; I wanted my coffee.

“Someone explain what happened last night?” Tatum asked again. I snorted as Harriet, Emory, and Jinx all began telling those who’d just arrived what had occurred.

I slipped out as they were doing so and headed to the library, unlocked the door, and stopped. What the hell? Stacked haphazardly in the middle of the aisle was a stack of books. I blinked. That hadn’t been there yesterday. I sidled around it and discovered a second and third. And for the pièce de resistance, there were several chairs balanced on top of a table.

I avoided all of them, completely bewildered, and headed to the secret compartment. I checked to see if anyone was watching and then pulled out the Bloodsworth Journal and placed it on the book stand. Carefully, I unwrapped it and blinked as I saw a bookmark poking out of it.

I opened the journal to a page where I saw Aunt Aggie’s writing. A piece of paper that had been inserted inside.

“Exciting times, my darling. Don’t you think this ought to be recorded?” I gasped and stepped back.

“Lavender?” Chatter said softly, and I looked up. “What’s wrong?”

“A note from Aunt Aggie, but it can’t be. She’s dead,” I answered somewhat hysterically.

Chatter moved around and read the note. “Are you sure that is her handwriting?”

“Positive. It matches the page,” I replied as I put on gloves and showed Chatter Aunt Aggie’s writing.

“What is this?”

“The Bloodsworth Journal,” I muttered and explained what it was used for.

“That’s why Sin’s here. That makes sense.”

“Yup. Phoe said Sin can scan the journal and put it into a computer program. We’d be able to search faster for any hints of a haunting,” I reasoned.

Chatter stared at the book before nodding and turned to me. Taking me by surprise, he brushed a lock of hair away from my face. “Are you okay after last night?”

“Very tired. My sleep is disturbed almost every night. Last night was just extreme,” I murmured as he held my eyes.

“It scared me when the call came in and I knew you were in danger,” Chatter admitted.

“Don’t! You made your stance clear, and I respect that,” I stated and tried to draw away.

Chatter reached down and captured my hand. “And maybe I made a mistake.”

“Then that’s your problem. I don’t like being picked up and put down again. I’m not a toy. Chatter, I have feelings, and you hurt me. Please, I need to work,” I said.

Chatter nodded and stepped back. “I’ll fetch Sin before taking coin boy upstairs. He has been very excited by the French coins he’s been valuing.”

“That’s good,” I replied weakly.

“Are you going on another date with Tatum?” Chatter inquired.

“That’s my business, isn’t it?”

“No. Lavender, I’m making it mine. Are you planning to date Tatum again?”

“Only as friends, there was no spark,” I admitted.

Chatter trailed a light touch down my face, and I leaned into his hand despite my reservations.

“I’ll take you out tomorrow, I think you’ll be too busy and tired to enjoy anything tonight,” Chatter said.

“What the hell is this? Oh wow, Callie, come look at this!” Harriet’s loud voice made me jump.

“Lavender?” Phoe called.

“I’m down here with the journal,” I shouted as Chatter stepped away, giving me distance. But his scent of sandalwood—and I could swear orange—remained in my nose. It was a smell I liked very much.

“I’ll take coin boy to his room,” Chatter said, and I nodded. He walked off as Sin and Phoe came around a bookcase with curiosity on their faces.

“This is the Bloodsworth Journal,” I explained, ignoring their questioning expressions. This was enough to distract Sin. Phoe, however, wasn’t fooled. Damn it!