Quin coughed pointedly, coming up behind Kit and throwing a possessive arm around him, pulling Kit’s back to his front. It was over the top and unwarranted, but Kit liked it.
“Xavier, stop winding the werewolf up,” Roxy said.
“But it’s so fun.”
Roxy let out a sigh. “So, what’s all this about, then?”
Kit swallowed. “We’re being haunted. I don’t suppose there’s anything you can do about that?”
“‘Haunted’?” Roxy repeated. “By what?”
“A…ghost?” Kit tried.
She cocked her head. “Really?”
“You think I staged a murder attempt to tell you a made-up story about seeing ghosts?” Kit bit out.
“That wouldn’t make much sense now, would it?” Quin added. “The ghost of Kit’s creator possessed me.”
“Huh,” DJ said. “I’ve just realised it’s like paranormal turducken.”
“Paranormal what now?” Shaun asked.
“That’s a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken. This is like a…werewolf stuffed with the ghost of a vampire,” DJ said slowly.
“A vampire ghost. Right,” Roxy said, contemplative. “I haven’t encountered one of those before.”
Kit’s hope, which had been rising with each successful step of their plan, fell right into the pit of his stomach. “You haven’t? Do vampires not come back as ghosts often?”
Roxy’s face screwed up. “As cliché as it is, ghosts stick around because they’ve got something they need to do. Vampires live so long that they tend to achieve everything they want to across their multiple lifetimes. Your creator must have a good reason to hold on.”
“Wait, unfinished business is a thing?” Shaun asked. He was standing with Rake and DJ flanking him, all of them facing Roxy and Xavier. Conroy had slunk over to a sofa and was watching the back-and-forth with a scowl.
“It certainly is,” Roxy said.
“We killed him,” Kit admitted, one hand reaching out and grabbing hold of Quin’s arm. “I’m guessing that Lawrence’s unfinished business involves killing all of us in revenge.”
“And before you say anything about us taking him out, Conroy,” Shaun said, “I had the permission of the Brighton territory leader to take such action.”
“That mess with Lynette was y’all’s doing?” Conroy asked, a deep frown furrowing his brow.
“Yes. Keep that in mind the next time you try to kill any of us,” Rake said mildly.
“I can’t say for certain what your creator’s unfinished business is,” Roxy said, putting an abrupt stop to the back and forth. “But revenge sounds likely.”
“Damn, so we can’t just help him satisfy his unfinished business to banish him, can we?” DJ asked.
“Not unless you all plan on offing yourselves,” Roxy agreed.
“I’d not oppose that option,” Conroy muttered.
“Fuck off, Conroy,” Kit and Quin said in unison.
“Aw, you guys are so in sync,” DJ said, clasping his hands in front of him and looking at them both with eyes so large he looked like he belonged in an anime. “But yeah, fuck off, Conroy,” he added, breaking the illusion.
“So, do you know how to get rid of him?” Kit asked.
Roxy exchanged a glance with Xavier before speaking. “We can trap him inside an object. How long has he been dead?”
