“You don’t have anything else going on today?” I feel a little bad that they feel like they need to go with me, but not bad enough that I’m not going to take him up on his offer. If this was work, someone from my team would be with me.
“Not really. It’s a pretty cushy gig.”
“Is that why you do it?” I lean back with my arms still wrapped around his back so I can see his face.
His eyes dart away from mine, and he looks over my head. “I do it because there’s no one else who will.”
“But do you enjoy it? Is it what you want?” I urge.
Finally, Gray looks down at me. “It’s not what I had planned, but it works for now. Sometimes, I hate it on principle, but that’s only because I like to pretend I didn’t have a choice. I did—dohave a choice. Besides, it makes my grandfather crazy, knowing he can’t control me, and I love that part.” Gray smirks before leaning in to give me a light kiss on the lips.
“As long as it makes you happy,” I tell him, and that’s the truth. It’s not the life I would have predicted for him, but the town is flourishing, and I trust him to know what he wants.
“You make me happy.” He steps forward, urging me backwards into the room. The shift in his tone and the fact that he’s trying to get me back into the bedroom suggests he has other things on his mind than a shower at this point.
The rattle of coins hitting the floor has me turning. There’s a penny rolling along the ground with a few other coins that seem to have been swiped off the bedside table. Gray makes a huffing sound that I feel rise from his chest.
“I should probably go make those calls,” I mumble, not acknowledging what just happened. I don’t like knowing it’s in our room.
“I’ll be down soon.” Gray steps away from me and moves toward the bathroom door. “We should have put a second shower in here. I see your dick almost as much as I see my own.”
I snicker and make my way out of the room. It may seem like I’m in a hurry, but that’s because I want to call the MBI before everyone gets busy for the day, not because I’m scared of the ghost in the room. That’s what I tell myself anyway.
After gathering Percy, I head to Felix’s casting room. The supplies I’ll need to make sure I have privacy are in there, and it’s as good a place as any to call Lewis. Once I spread a thick line of salt at the door, Percy takes off to explore and I pull out my phone.
Lewis answers on the second ring. “Lo.”
“Hey.” I get comfortable in a chair. I can see the embedded circle and tree in my peripheral vision. I think this is one of my favorite rooms in the entire house.
“I thought you were calling in a couple days.” She’s referring to the scheduled call I have with my dad. My supervisor is never one to beat around the bush.
“For that I am. This is unrelated.”
“I have a feeling you being on my team is always going to be an adventure. What’s up?”
“I was honestly trying to mind my own business,” I hedge.
“Uh-huh,” she hums, and I can’t tell if she believes me or not.
“Long or short version?”
“Give me the relevant details. I have a meeting in…seven minutes.”
“Missing woman, this isn’t the first time it’s happened with her. She has a medical history. Her husband came to me for help when my father wasn’t around. The woman, Aisling, turned up, but I’m suspicious about the entire situation. I can look into that on my own, but I think a spirit attached itself to me when I was at her house.”
Lewis makes a whistling sound. “Not my area of expertise. How serious has it gotten?”
“Small things so far, but definitely making itself known. I’m being proactive,” I tell her instead of admitting how much it freaks me out.
“I know someone that used to be on the entity team. You might know her. She’s on Wuornos’ team now, Lisa Nash.”
“I do know her!” I exclaim, rather surprised. She mentioned she’d only been on the team for a year, so I guess I shouldn’t be that stunned. Plus, I would much rather talk about this with her than someone I don’t know at all.
“Just because I’m too damn nosy, let me know how this plays out,” Lewis tells me.
I chuckle and promise, “Will do. Thank you for the info. I’m going to give her a call.”
“Speak to you soon,” she says, and the line goes dead. I thumb through my phone and find Nash’s contact info, debating whether or not I should call her directly. I shoot off a text first.
