Raphael barely paid any attention to the driver as he stared at Francine. She was his future. His love. His reward for living alone for so long, feeling like he was unworthy of anyone good.
“Sir,” he heard from what seemed like a long distance. “Sir?” the driver repeated, zipping him out of his daydreams. “Will that be all?”
“Yes. Sorry. Yes.” Raphael needed to pay attention. He had a job to do. Help Victor. “I’ll contact you again in a week when we’re ready to depart.”
“Yes, sir. I’d be happy to set that up now.”
Raphael hesitated. He glanced in Francine’s direction. She stood looking at the house, seemingly captivated. A breeze ruffled her beautiful cinnamon hair. This engineered space station asteroid was exactly like being on a small planet.
“Sure,” he said absently. He gave the driver a date and time without taking his gaze from his fiancée, the first real one he’d ever had.
“Very good, sir. I’ll be here promptly.”
Raphael gave the man a generous tip and approached his bride-to-be. “What do you think?”
“It’s charming and very historic looking.”
“It’s one of the oldest homes still standing in the city. I gather there was vast repair work on the outside to make it look exactly like it used to and equally massive renovations inside, of course, to make it modern so they can charge more.” The stone façade in varying shades and sizes of burgundy with tan stones forming the trim made the two-story home look stately, even if it was an older house.
She grinned. “Of course. Historic often means very expensive.”
“Shall we go inside?”
At her nod, he grabbed her hand and led her down the central walkway, up four steps to the landing under a small overhang. He unlocked the burgundy door and opened it, gesturing for her to enter as he moved the bags from the porch to just inside.
“Wow,” she said, crossing the threshold into the two-story entryway.
The home was relatively small, only three bedrooms, with three-and-a-half bathrooms. The large master bedroom was downstairs on the other side of the house from the living room, dining room and kitchen areas. There was a full bathroom directly off the living room.
The other two bedrooms, each with a full bathroom, were upstairs. From a small alcove next to the kitchen, an old staircase led to an unfinished storage space in the basement. The only finished spot down there was a half bathroom that looked like it was original to the house.
As lovely as it was, Raphael had rented the house with a specific purpose in mind. It suited his needs perfectly.
After a quick tour of the main level, Raphael left Francine in the master bedroom while he fetched their luggage from the foyer. He’d been out of her sight for less than a minute when Francine’s heart-stopping scream pierced the air.
Raphael dropped the bags and raced toward the bedroom. Before he could reach it, her earsplitting cream cut off and silence filled the space.
The instant quiet sounded so much worse.
Francine floated through her day like she lived on a cloud. The trip from Ichor-Delta to Alpha-Prime, then to this unusual space station created on an ancient asteroid had been idyllic. A small part of her wondered if she was dreaming, but then Raphael would kiss her hand or her lips and she knew it was real.
Prudence’s wedding was behind them and Francine was very satisfied with how things had turned out. She had initially only hoped to escape her parents’ wrath or being called out or, worst of all, kicked out of Pru’s wedding, sent to Earth and billed for a second expensive trip to the colony planet. One she would be hard-pressed to afford.
Now she was engaged to a member of Ichor-Delta royalty, even if Raphael wasn’t interested in being reinstated into the family he’d been separated from for a decade. He also seemed content with how things had turned out. He mentioned that his brother, William, had requested a meeting in the near future to catch up and set things right. “Whatever that means,” Raphael said, but smiled as though he was eager to find out what his brother meant.
All in all, this trip had been an exuberant success for all involved.
Francine was charmed by the house Raphael had rented for their stay on the Ossuary Valerian Space Station, or rather the aged engineered asteroid. As a rule, she wasn’t typically enamored with old homes. Not because they weren’t charming and nostalgic, but because Lucy—who read everything—once told her about a refurbished home on this space station that had been haunted, with specters popping up out of the floorboards to terrorize any and all who dared trespass.
The thought of someone popping out of the floorboards gave her a chill, though she didn’t truly believe in such things. Did she?
No, she did not.
Shaking off her foolish fears, Francine peeked into the adjoining master bathroom, noticing a beautiful double-sink counter and a lovely large tub she planned to make use of later. Perhaps she’d invite Raphael to join her for a good, long soak.
The creak of a floorboard behind her sent her pulse pounding. She banished the stupid fear to the back of her mind…until she turned and saw the menacing strange man looming over her, dusted in white chalk from head to toe with what looked like a planet full of spider webs clinging to his frame. The shriek came from the very depths of her terrified soul. She closed her eyes and bolted for the door.
