“Still, that would just be a summer thing,” Jared noted. “It’s definitely too cold for them to be out here in the winter and if they get to enjoy a month or two in the spring and fall that would be the maximum.”
“Maybe they’re afraid,” Shawn interjected, swallowing hard when three heads swung in his direction. “I just mean that … they were probably afraid in life because they were being mistreated. Maybe they’re afraid in death, too.”
“That’s not a bad theory,” Harper mused, reaching to rub her sore neck. Jared brushed her hand away and dug his fingers into the tender flesh there. “Maybe something is controlling them.”
“What could that possibly be?” Jared asked, legitimately curious.
“I don’t know. I want to look at those plans again, though.”
“I’ll grab them.”
“You can finish your massage first,” Harper said, grinning when Jared lobbed a rueful smile in her direction. “Please.”
“You’re lucky I love you,” Jared muttered. “Still, I think looking at the plans and picking out specific places to search tomorrow is our best option.”
“I think surviving the night and getting backup is our best option,” Zander corrected. “I’m not convinced this is going to be an easy-breezy evening.”
“Why is that?”
“Because Anna Pritchard warned Harper not to be in here after dark.” Zander jerked a thumb to the window, where the sun was barely visible as it made its inevitable descent into the horizon. “I don’t happen to think that was an empty threat.”
Jared remained calm, but an involuntary shudder ran down his spine. “I forgot about that.”
“Yeah, well, let’s just say that I think it’s going to be an eventful night,” Zander said. “I also think we should forego any hanky panky and sleep close to one another.”
Jared made an exaggerated face. “I can guarantee I would never do hanky or panky under these conditions.”
“I totally would if I wasn’t so afraid,” Zander countered. “Fear shrinks my manhood, though, so I’m totally out tonight.”
Jared blinked several times in rapid succession before focusing on Harper. “We’re definitely going to have separate couple’s nights when we get back to Whisper Cove. I’m warning you now.”
Harper giggled, delighted. “I can live with that.”
HARPER WOKE to bright sunshine filtering through the window above the foyer and Jared wrapped tightly around her. They shared a sleeping bag since they didn’t save enough for everyone to have their own when the storm hit, but it worked out fine because Harper felt safe the entire night.
Other than her dreams, of course. Her dreams were bloody and disturbed. Thankfully she only thrashed about once before Jared managed to lull her back to sleep.
“Nothing happened,” she murmured, realization washing over her. She’d been so tense the night before because she assumed the ghosts would run wild during the overnight hours that she had trouble falling asleep. She was so exhausted, though, she couldn’t fight off slumber. Now, in the bright light of day, she felt a bit silly.
“What?” Jared stirred next to her, lifting his sleepy head. “Is something wrong?”
“No. Nothing is wrong.” Harper struggled to a sitting position and glanced around the room. They were the only ones awake as far as she could tell. “Nothing happened.”
Jared rubbed the sleep from his eyes and regarded her with a lazy smile. “That’s good, right?”
“It’s … odd,” Harper replied, lifting her arms over her head so she could stretch. “I expected something bad to happen. I’m not going to lie.”
“I’m just glad it didn’t.” Jared trailed his fingers down Harper’s arm. “Come here and cuddle with me for a few minutes. Once everyone gets up we won’t have a chance for any alone time.”
“That hasn’t stopped you before,” Trey called out, smirking when Jared jerked his chin in that direction. “You two are a walking billboard for sexual chemistry.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Jared said dryly. He sat up, resigned that his morning plans weren’t going to come to fruition. There would be no soft kisses and roaming hands in his immediate future. “No one heard anything?”
“I slept hard,” Trey said, his hair standing on end as he sat and looked around. “I had weird dreams, though.”
“You did?” Harper was intrigued. “What did you dream about?”
“You and your boyfriend putting on a sex show for everyone and the gay dude withholding food while everyone watched.”
Harper scowled. “You’re a sick man.”
“It’s not my fault you guys won’t stop petting each other,” Trey shot back. “You’re the ones who made my mind go wonky.”
“Whose mind went wonky?” Finn asked, joining the conversation. Compared to everyone else he looked relatively put together, although that wasn’t saying much because he had bags under his eyes. “Are you guys talking about weird dreams? I had one, too.”
“What did you dream about?” Harper was almost afraid to ask, but she couldn’t stop herself. “If it’s sexual in nature, you can keep it to yourself.”
“It wasn’t sexual.” Finn wrinkled his nose. “It was weird. I kept hearing kids talking.”
“Kids?” Jared rolled his neck before moving his hands to Harper’s back to give her a morning massage. She always enjoyed a vigorous morning rub, and since they slept on the hard floor he naturally assumed this would be no exception. “Why would you dream about kids?”
Finn shrugged. “I have no idea. I heard them talking – even crying – and then I heard adults telling them to be quiet.”
“Were kids ever housed here?” Jared asked Harper.
“Yeah. They had a children’s ward. I don’t believe they ever had many of them at one time, though. Visiting was difficult and most children weren’t considered violent offenders.”
“They had a children’s ward?” Michael furrowed his brow as he sat. He looked to be a slow riser, which was fine with Jared because the last thing the agitated policeman wanted was another fight, especially before Zander served breakfast. “I don’t remember reading about that.”
“It didn’t get a lot of press,” Harper explained. “Plus, I don’t believe any children ever went missing. The local story – the one from the St. Clair newspaper – said that only five or six children were ever housed here and they were all accounted for when the state came in and started removing patients.”
“That doesn’t mean they weren’t mistreated,” Jared pointed out. “If Bennett was as sick as you say, it sounds as if he was doing experiments on people.”
“It does sound like that, but he might not have seen it that way,” Harper countered. “In his mind he was probably conducting medicine. The things we find so abhorrent about this place were considered common back then. You have to remember, they didn’t know the things we do now.”
“I still don’t know how anyone thought a lobotomy was acceptable medical practice,” Jared grumbled.
“I don’t either, but I believe they’re still done in some instances today,” Harper said. “I don’t know exactly what they are, mind you, but I swear I read about it in a newspaper article from not that long ago.”
“Well, there went my appetite.” Jared grabbed a small piece of discarded wood from the floor and chucked it in Zander’s direction, smirking when he heard the annoyed man groan. Zander and Shawn shared a sleeping bag, too, although they were both muscular men so they didn’t have as much room to move around as Harper and Jared. “Get up.”
“Go away,” Zander complained, tugging the sleeping bag over his head. “I need my beauty rest. We’ve been over this.”
“We have.” Jared was clearly enjoying himself. “We’ve talked about it almost as much as we’ve talked about the fact that I don’t like it when you crawl into bed with us on weekday mornings.”
“He crawls in bed with you?” Trey smirked. “How … cozy.”
; “No one asked you,” Zander spat, rolling to his back. “Harper and I like to gossip in the morning. It’s our ritual. We do it in bed because we live in Michigan and it’s warmer that way.”
“I guess I can see doing it when it was just the two of you, but now there’s four of you,” Trey pointed out. “Doesn’t that get crowded?”
“Oh, I don’t crawl into their bed with them,” Shawn offered, showing his first signs of morning movement. “I find the entire thing weird. I’m still getting used to Harper climbing in bed with us when Jared has to get up for an early shift.”
Jared stilled, surprised. “Really?”
“Oh, geez.” Harper averted her gaze. “Do we have to talk about this?”
“You said it was always Zander who did that,” Jared pressed. “Come to find out, you both do it. I feel so … betrayed. You lied to me.” He wasn’t really angry so he poked her side in a playful manner. “You’re going to have to make up for the lying later. I’m going to think of a punishment for you, and I don’t want to hear any complaints when I do.”
“Whatever.” Harper yawned as she focused on the empty sleeping bag on the other side of the spot where Zander and Shawn slept. “Who’s missing?”
“What do you mean?” Jared was only half listening, his mind traveling to punishment possibilities.
“Molly.” Harper’s body stiffened. “Where is Molly?”
Jared read the worry in her voice and tore himself out of his perverted reverie. “What do you mean?” He rolled to his knees and glared at the empty sleeping bag, taking a moment to count heads before swearing under his breath. “Did anyone see Molly get up in the middle of the night?”
“No.” Trey poked Steve in the side to wake him. “Hey. We’re missing another one.”
“We don’t know that yet,” Zander protested, his face flushing with color. “She could’ve just run out to go to the bathroom. It’s sunny out.” He said the words, but he wasn’t convinced.
Jared crawled to Molly’s sleeping bag and ran his hand over the interior. It was cool to the touch. “She hasn’t been here in quite some time.” He risked a glance at Harper and saw her eyes flooding with tears. “Son of a … . Okay, everyone get up. We have another man down.”
“Woman,” Shawn corrected. “We have another woman down. We officially have one woman left in our group.”
Jared’s stomach twisted. He hadn’t put that together. “Okay, we’re starting a search and we’re starting it right now.”
14
Fourteen
“Come on.”
Jared grabbed Harper’s hand and dragged her behind him as he headed for the door. He tried to maintain a calm demeanor despite his worry, mostly because he was convinced Harper would never get over it if something terrible happened to Molly and he didn’t want her to see the fear coursing through him.
“Search the outside of this island very carefully,” Jared ordered, his eyes briefly locking with Shawn’s, something unsaid passing between them. “Do not go back inside the asylum unless we’re together. Do you understand?”
Shawn mutely nodded and clapped Zander on the shoulder to propel him to move to the west side of the island. Instead of doing that, Zander shuffled closer to Harper and wrapped his arms around her.
“She’ll be okay,” Zander whispered.
Jared wanted to kick Zander into action, but he thought better of it when Harper responded to the hug by stiffening her spine. If she was close to falling apart before, she thought better of it and forced herself to remain strong for Zander’s sake when she realized her best friend was near tears.
“We’ll find her,” Harper said, her tone firm. “I won’t leave this island without her.”
“None of us will.” Jared tugged on Harper’s hand. “Come on, Heart. She’s waiting for us to find her.”
Jared opted for a fast pace as they picked their way down to the beach they camped on their first night. He remained hopeful – although it was dim – that Molly needed something from her tent and innocently headed to the beach because she thought it would be safe.
By the time they hit the camp, though, Jared was fairly certain that wasn’t the case. The tents that remained looked limp and ragged and three of them were completely ripped apart.
“That storm was worse than we thought, huh?” Jared didn’t bother faking a smile as he released Harper’s hand and hunkered down so he could peer inside one of the tents. The few belongings left behind were drenched and filthy. “She’s not in here.”
Harper knew it was a losing proposition, but she bent down so she could look inside the next one. “She’s not here either.”
“We’ll find her, Harper.”
Harper didn’t respond, instead planting her hands on her hips and turning to face the water. “Molly!” She screeched so loudly she caused Jared to jolt. He opened his mouth to chide her and then realized it wouldn’t do any good and instead let her scream as much as she wanted. “Molly!”
Jared thought his heart might break due to the expression on her face. She took things to heart, especially guilt, and it was the one thing he would change about her if he could. She carried the weight of the world on her shoulders at times and he was desperate to ease her burden.
“She couldn’t have gone far, Harper,” Jared said, choosing his words carefully. “I’m sure she’s … .” What? Close? Jared had no idea if that was true. He had no idea if Molly was even alive. All he knew was that the expedition started out with three women and they were down to one. His woman. The one he loved beyond reason. “I need to get you off this island.”
Jared meant to say the words to himself, but Harper snapped her head in his direction, signifying she heard them.
“I just told you that I’m not leaving this island without Molly,” Harper exploded. “If you think you can bully me into leaving, you’ve got another think coming.”
Jared held his hands up in mock surrender. “I didn’t mean to say that out loud.”
“You meant to think it, though.”
“I did.” Jared refused to back down. “You’re the last woman standing and if you think I’m going to lose you then you’re crazy.”
“Who said anything about losing me? I have no intention of getting lost.”
“I’m going to bet Molly didn’t either.”
The simple statement was enough to cause Harper to rear back as if she’d been slapped, her stomach rolling as she vainly fought to hold off the tears burning her eyes. Jared read her expression and hated himself for being so callous.
“Don’t cry. Please don’t cry.” Jared moved to her, jerking her into his arms as she burst into tears. She struggled so hard to be strong even when the situation didn’t warrant it that Jared couldn’t help but be bowled over by her determination. “Heart, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“I’m afraid,” Harper choked out, burying her face in the hollow between Jared’s neck and shoulder. “I’m afraid she’s dead and we didn’t even wake up when she was taken.”
Jared stroked the back of her head, doing his best to soothe even though he knew it wasn’t possible. “We don’t know that she was taken, sweetheart. She could’ve walked away on her own and … .”
“And what?” Harper challenged. “She didn’t disappear on her own. She knows it would drive us crazy.”
“I know.” Jared held her as close as he could manage without crawling inside of her. “I’m going to do my very best to find her. I swear it.”
“I know you will.”
“I won’t lose you, though. No matter what, you cannot separate from me for anything. Do you understand?”
Harper sniffled a bit as she lifted her tear-streaked face. “What if I have to go to the bathroom?”
“Then we’ll do it together.”
Harper immediately started shaking her head. “No way.”
Jared adopted a firm expression. “Then you’ll have to hold it.”
“That’s how you get bladder infections
.”
“Then I guess you’re going to have to get used to going to the bathroom with me around,” Jared charged. “I’ve seen everything you’ve got anyway. It’s not a big deal.”
Harper’s lower lip trembled, this time for an entirely different reason. “You’re mean.”
“Oh, geez.” Jared pinched the bridge of his nose to ward off an oncoming headache. “We’ll have this argument later. We need to focus on a plan now. Maybe the others will luck out and find her wandering around the island.”
“You don’t really believe that,” Harper argued. “Besides … now that it’s been brought up I really have to go.”
“Then go.”
Harper shook her head. “I would rather get a bladder infection.”
“Then get a bladder infection.” Jared was well aware what she was trying to do and he refused to kowtow to her whims. “You can knock those out with antibiotics, right?”
Harper narrowed her eyes to dangerous blue slits. “You can. Of course, while I’m on the antibiotics we won’t be able to have sex because that could make things worse.” She was totally making that up, but she internally rationalized that there was no reason Jared had to know that.
Jared responded with a growl. “We’ll figure something out. In fact … .” He didn’t get a chance to finish because he heard someone yelling his name. He snapped his head to a spot farther down the beach, hoping against hope Zander and Shawn found Molly, but instead he saw Zander waving wildly as the flamboyant man tried to get his attention. “Can you go in front of Zander?”
“Not in front of him, but I can go if he’s close and doesn’t look.”
“Then come on.” Jared grabbed Harper’s hand and broke into a run. Zander was far too animated to have found nothing. He didn’t slow his pace until he was within hearing distance. “What is it?”
“Look!” Zander gestured toward the water.
Ghostly Asylum Page 13