But you kept me here. You chained me to this place and made a mockery of my memory with that abomination you call art. This is all your fault. I’ll be with you forever.
The women on the outside of the car continued to call his name.
And then Royal spotted them. On the edge of the property, spilling out from the trees, a number of police officers, guns drawn and aimed at him. With them, several men in plain clothes emerged. He recognized them. They were from the Ursa Resort. He was completely surrounded.
They’re coming to kill you, Royal, his sister said, her voice echoing in his head.But I won’t allow them.
“You were always a good sister, Jinny. You’ll protect me, won’t you?”
I won’t allow them to kill you because I’ve been waiting for my opportunity. You silenced me. Now I’ll silence you.
His sister appeared before him inside the car, her face floating over the dashboard in front of him. She reached an ethereal hand toward his chest, right over his heart, and squeezed.
“No!” Pain shot through his heart, lancing down his left arm. He’d never felt anything like it before. It made his eyes bulge and his throat seize. Was he seriously having a heart attack? Shit like that didn’t happen to people like him. His shoulders bunched as the pain spread. His stomach turned, and for a split second, he wondered if he was going to throw up.
Jinny angled her hand on his chest.Goodbye.
As Royal’s vision faded to black, the last thing he saw was her blonde hair.
*
“Hey, lady. Come away from there.” Connor gently pried Elaine away from Hill’s car. “You don’t need to see that.”
“Did you see her?” Elaine couldn’t look away. “The woman in the car?”
“There’s no one in the car.” His lip curled. “Just that piece of shit.”
“No, Connor, I mean it. I saw a woman in there with him. I think it was…I think it was his sister. Don’t laugh.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Do I look like I’m laughing?”
“You don’t think I’m seeing things?”
He slung an arm around her shoulder. “Sweetheart, I’ve seen some strange things myself. I’m not going to tell you what you saw wasn’t real.”
“I think Jinny killed him.”
“Hmm.” He glanced toward the sky. “Good for you, Jinny. I hope he rots in hell.”
Elaine wished she could close those sightless eyes and his gaping mouth. Thanks to her enhanced senses, there was no escaping the cloying scent of death, as it already clung to him. “I wanted to kill him, Connor.”
“So did I. The important thing is he’s dead.” He turned her chin to make her face him. “Royal Hill will never hurt anyone else.”
As their friends from the Ursa regrouped, the police took charge of the car and its morbid contents. Over to Elaine’s side, four blonde wigs fell to the ground. Marci, Charlotte, Nina, and Suzan all shook out their hair. Their mates Anton, Bart, Killian, Percy, and Byron joined them, their faces somber.
No one in the group looked pleased. Elaine knew they’d all come with the intention of teaching Hill a lesson, but none of them enjoyed watching another person die.
“Well,” said Charlotte, “mission accomplished, I’d say.”
“What a waste of life.” Killian looked away in disgust.
“He brought it on himself. If you ask me,” began Byron.
“It’s exactly what he deserved,” finished his twin, Percy.
“I don’t want to bring those wigs back to the lodge,” said Marci. “They’re already giving me the creeps. My days as a blonde ghost are officially over.”
Her mate, Anton, picked up the wigs and tossed them, one by one, into a nearby trashcan.
