What was that about? Was she mad at me? “If you want to turn them back on-”
She waved her hands in front of her, eyes rounding. “It’s fine.”
I wanted to believe it was nothing, but a nagging feeling made me wonder what she was withholding from me.
“Everything okay over there?” my brother asked.
“Stellar. Hey, in the meantime, watch your backs. Maybe take off a few days and tell Sam to do the same. Whoever comes after me will be hearing soon that I’m still alive and may come for you all instead. They already started something and may not want to back down. Also, I’m not ruling out that someone in the business could be behind this. Including family.”
“Why would our family and allies want you out?”
“You know they hate the way I run things. And allowing you to leave still pisses them off. There have to be consequences. At least that’s what Dad used to say about leaving. And I hear grumblings of disapproval about the truces I’ve entered, among other things. Some might think I’m too soft. I’m not, but some folks only speak in violence. You understand that.”
“I do. Brother, I got your back. Don’t worry about me, and I’ll watch Sam.”
I could be pissed at my brothers all I wanted, but they were family, and with all our faults, we would be there. I could do better at remembering that.
Camilla had gone back inside before I finished the call. We’d determined that we could be a floor apart as long as the door remained open. I took some comfort that she was so close, but I also worried about her. I had to remember that, despite my tracking her all this time, I didn’t see everything. I’d wanted to put cameras in her home, but I forced limits on myself because I wasn’t a total asshole. Okay, I put one in her foyer, but nothing further in.
When I walked into the house, I didn’t see her. However, I did see something else. Something that made the hair on my arms stand on end.
Chapter Seven
Harris
Ididn’t scare easily. I’d faced a few challenging foes in my lifetime. Although my days of fighting were few and far between at this stage of my life, I never stopped preparing for battle. However, all of my battles were with real-life beings. I’d been in shootouts with humans, hand-to-hand combat with shifters and vampires, and demons. Ghosts were another thing entirely, and I could only describe what I was seeing as a ghost.
It was human-shaped but not human. Instead, it appeared to be a hovering black shadow that seemed to flicker like a candle. Its fingers were pointed at the end like claws. It was tall, over six feet, and broad. I squinted my eyes for a better look. Eyes flashed open, a dim yellow.
“Die,” the thing demanded simply, sending chills down my spine. The voice was deep and rumbling. It was one word, but he, it was definitely a male voice, sounded foreign, although the word was English.
I balled my fists, ready to attack whatever the fuck this was. I searched behind the creature, willing Camilla to stay wherever she was. I didn’t need that thing getting to her faster than I could.
I pointed my finger at the entity. “I’m not dying, but you are,” I said in an even voice before racing for it. My claws pushed out, and I swiped down when I reached it. Only I didn’t connect to a body. It was like air. I felt nothing, and the creature remained intact as if I hadn’t done anything. How could I fight this thing?
I swung again and again with no damage done. The only positive was that the creature did not fight back. This had to mean it was defenseless. But that didn’t mean it was harmless. How the fuck did I get it out? What exactly was ‘it’?
I moved to the kitchen, keeping my eyes on the creature who just stood watching me. Between my wards and my security, how the hell had it gotten in here? What was it planning to do, just stand there glaring at me? I opened a drawer in the island and took out a lighter. I then stormed back to the thing with the lit lighter. I didn’t know if it would work, but I wanted the fucker out, and fire seemed to universally work on many things.
The creature finally moved, floating away from me so fast it looked like a blur. At the same time, Camilla appeared from the guest bathroom behind the creature. She gasped, stopping in her tracks.
“Stay back!” I shouted at her.
She didn’t listen to me and instead swiped out her hand, balling it into a fist at the same time. The creature soon dissipated, swirling in a circle as if it were its own tornado, growing smaller and smaller until it disappeared.
She looked at me, wide-eyed. “Are you okay?”
I pulled out my phone. “We have to leave. My enemies have sent some ghost or something to try to scare us. It couldn’t fight, so it was obviously sent as a warning to show they know where we are. Pack your things, baby.”
She rushed over to me and placed her hand over the one holding my phone. “No calls. That’s not what’s going on.”
I glared down at her, puzzled. “What’s going on then?”
She sighed and closed her eyes. “My realm magic is working again.”
I wasn’t surprised. Suppression magic rarely lasted forever. “Cammy, if you’re worried that something will happen to you like your father, then don’t be. I won’t let it. I’ll put an inter-realm tracker on you if I have to.”
She quirked her lips up, side-eyeing me. Something told me she didn’t believe I’d do that. That was disappointing. I thought she knew me better than that. “Please don’t. Does something like that even exist?” she asked.
