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“Yonas?”

She stepped into the hallway with confusion all over her face, wearing one of those sexy-ass gowns I loved seeing her in. The thin material hugged every curve, and when she came farther out of the room, her ass had enough jiggle to make me forget for half a second that we had a whole terrified nigga running for his life.

Shit.

My eyes dropped before I could stop them.

Being dead and not even being able to get my dick hard was some cruel-ass shit. Had I still been working with full living-man equipment, Yonas screaming would’ve been the least of everybody’s problems. I would’ve been trying to figure out how fast I could get Lakelyn back in that bedroom and that gown up around her waist.

Willow’s door flew open a second later, her voice yanking me straight out of my thoughts.

“Who the fuck is screaming?!”

Yonas stopped halfway down the staircase. “Lakelyn! Willow!”

Lakelyn appeared at the top of the stairs, looking half asleep and completely irritated.

“Yonas, what the hell is going on? Why are you screaming at the top of your lungs when everybody in this house is trying to get some sleep?! Now, I don’t remember you having night terrors, but if you just developed some, I’m gonna need you to figure that shit out quick because I value my sleep, Kaidence needs his, and Granny definitely doesn’t need to be waking up thinking somebody is getting murdered in the hallway.”

Willow stood next to her, just as irritated. “And don’t forget me. I got work in the morning, and I am not using PTO because this man decided to audition for a horror movie at one in the morning.”

Lakelyn cut her eyes toward her. “Willow.”

“What? I’m tired.”

Yonas looked from one sister to the other like neither of them understood how serious this was. “Lakelyn, I’m sorry! But I need your help!”

Willow looked down at him, then at his bare feet, and finally at his boxers. “Her help? And why the fuck are you walking around damn near naked?”

Yonas pointed behind Lakelyn. “Ask him!”

Both sisters turned, but their attention passed straight over me.

They couldn’t see me.

Lakelyn looked back at him. “Ask who?”

“The nigga behind you!”

Willow slowly looked over her shoulder too, found absolutely nothing there, then turned back toward Lakelyn with an exhausted expression.

“Girl, I do not have time to be playing Guess Who at this hour. If this man is invisible, imaginary, or hiding somewhere, somebody need to start giving better clues because I’m not standing in this hallway doing a whole damn scavenger hunt.”

Yonas pointed harder. “He’s right there!”

Willow squinted toward the empty space again, then frowned. “Well, tell him to wave, cough, jingle some keys, do something!”

Yonas looked directly at me, panic starting to take over his whole face. “Oh, now you’ve gone mute! Say something, nigga!”

The way he was carrying on reminded me of that woman in Child’s Play when she had Chucky held over the fireplace, demanding that little redheaded mothafucka talk before she tossed his ass in the flames. Yonas was about two seconds away from grabbing the nearest piece of furniture and threatening me with it if I didn’t prove to everybody else that he wasn’t losing his damn mind.

I smiled at him tauntingly and folded my arms. “Nah. I think I wanna watch you explain this shit by yourself.”

He pointed so hard his whole arm shook. “He just said something! Tell me y’all don’t see him… or at least hear him?!”

Lakelyn blinked. “See who, Yonas? Who are you seeing?”

Willow rubbed one eye and leaned against the wall. “Yeah, inquiring and sleepy minds would like to know, because if I’m gonna be up at this ungodly hour solving a mystery, I at least need a suspect, a motive, and preferably some coffee.”