The Prize: An Enemies-to-Lovers Romance (Diamond Lake Romance Book 3)

by K. L. Middleton

  “Yeah. Lina was actually the one who heard it. Unfortunately, the noise had stopped by the time I went down here to investigate.”

  I looked at his wife. “What exactly was it that you heard?”

  She wrapped her arms around herself and looked around uneasily. “Rock music. Like, from the seventies.”

  “Can spirits actually do that?” Chloe asked. “Produce music?”

  “Never heard of it before. Most people report whispers, screams, or things getting knocked down, when it’s a poltergeist trying to get attention,” I replied. “There isn’t a radio around here or an old record player, is there?”

  “No,” Rob replied.

  “What about windows?” From what I could tell, there didn’t appear to be any.

  “None,” Rob said.

  Suddenly, there was a loud thud from above us. It sounded as if something fairly heavy had dropped down to the floor.

  Lina gasped. “What the hell was that?”

  Rob and I raced upstairs. When we entered the kitchen, he picked up a hammer that was lying on the floor, and sighed.

  “Let me guess, one of your missing hammers?” I asked.

  He nodded. “Yep.”

  Chloe and Lina met us in the kitchen. Lina was also holding a hammer and had a bewildered look on her face. “Look what I found. One of our missing hammers.” Her jaw dropped when she saw that Rob was holding the other one.

  Rob set his one the counter. “Apparently, our ghost doesn’t need them any longer.”

  “Wish I would have known they’d be returned. Wouldn’t have wasted all my time driving into town,” Lina muttered.

  “Looks like you might have a poltergeist messing with you.” I checked the kitchen with my EMF meter, still not finding any strange fluctuations or energy surges. Meanwhile, Chloe walked over to the back door and informed us that it was unlocked.

  “That’s probably how our ghost made his getaway,” I joked.

  Rob walked over to the door and peered outside, into the darkness. “Doesn’t look like anyone out there.”

  “That’s because the culprit is still in the house,” Lina said. “Our friendly, neighborhood poltergeist.”

  Rob locked the door and headed over to the fridge. “Well, at least we have our hammers back.” He grabbed a bottle of beer and opened it. “Either of you want one? I’m going to turn into an alcoholic if this keeps going on.”

  Chloe and I both declined.

  “We should go back upstairs to the attic and see if the camera picked up anything,” I said to Chloe. I’d left it running, just in case.

  “Good idea,” she replied.

  Rob sat down at a small dinette table in the kitchen. “We’ll be down here. Just holler if you need anything.”

  “Will do,” I replied.

  “Do you two need any chairs?” Lina asked. “We have some metal folding ones in the pantry.”

  Knowing that we could be there for a while, it sounded like a good idea. “Actually, that would be great.”

  She walked over to the pantry and opened the door. “They’re in here. Help yourself.”

  “Thanks.” I grabbed two chairs and we headed up to the attic. Once upstairs, I checked the video, but there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary on it.

  “That was pretty creepy. The hammer thing,” Chloe said.

  “Yeah. I’m not sure if it was a ghost though.”

  “Why?”

  “I usually get this gut feeling when there’s an entity around. I’m just not feeling it right now. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just off because…”

  “Because?”

  You’re here.

  I knew I couldn’t tell her the truth. That I was distracted by her. Chloe would definitely not appreciate me flirting with her. I’d tried at the diner and she hadn’t looked too happy.

  “I don’t know. I guess it just doesn’t feel right to me.”

  “What about the hammers?”

  “The back door was open. Maybe someone is trying to freak everyone out.”

  “Why would they do it?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

  She sighed. “So, what do we do?”

  I grabbed one of the folding chairs and opened it up. “Hang out here for a while and see if anything else happens.”

  She grabbed the other one. “What about the storm?”

  I walked over to the window and peeked outside again. There was at least two or three inches on the ground. “My truck can handle it.”

  She looked around the cellar uneasily. “I hope so because I’m not staying here tonight. You might not think it’s haunted, but this place freaks me out.”

  I walked back over to her and smiled. “Don’t worry. I won’t let anything bad happen to you.”

  She cringed.

  “What?”

  “Isn’t that what they say in horror movies… before someone dies?”

  Something loud struck the window, startling us both.

  “Okay, I’m officially freaked out,” Chloe said, her face pale.

  I walked back over to the window and looked outside. She joined me.

  “See anything?”

  “No. It was probably the wind blowing something against the window.

  “Or a message,” she said in a shaky voice.

  17

  Chloe

  As we stepped away from the window, and walked back toward the tripod, the heel of my boot caught onto one of the floorboards. Fortunately, I caught myself before falling flat on my face.

  “You okay?” Adam asked, smiling.

  A little embarrassed, I grinned back. “Oh, yeah. Just me being a klutz again.”

  Looking over at the spot where I’d tripped, his smile fell. “What’s going on here?”

  We noticed that I’d knocked part of the wood out of place. There were also other pieces that appeared not to be nailed down properly. Adam pulled up the wood, and we found a black backpack stuffed inside.

  I stared at Adam in surprise. “I wonder who’s this is?”

  “I don’t know.”

  He unzipped the backpack and we found several things inside – bottled water, matches, binoculars, a switchblade, an assortment of snacks, a pair of men’s sneakers, and two packs of cigarettes.

  “These are still pretty fresh,” he said, checking the dates on the chips and crackers.

  “I don’t get it. Why would someone hide a backpack here? It’s not like there’s anything of value in it.” I lowered my voice. “Unless, Rob isn’t supposed to be smoking and that’s why it’s hidden?”

  “Actually, I think I might know what’s going on here.”

  We showed Rob and Lina the backpack and secret hiding place. They were just as surprised as us.

  Adam sighed. “I don’t think you have a ghost. I think it’s a squatter.”

  The couple’s eyes met. They both looked shocked.

  “Great. I actually think that scares me more than a ghost,” Lina replied in a shaky voice.

  “The question is, where’s this squatter now?” Adam said.

  I lowered my voice. “Could he be somewhere in the house right now? Listening in on our conversation?”

  “If he is… he’d better get his ass out of here before I get my hands on him,” Rob hollered loudly.

  “We should call the police,” Lina whispered.

  “On it,” Rob said, heading back downstairs.

  “You two might want to stay here while we look for the squatter,” Adam said, also heading toward the stairs.

  “Not on your life. With our luck, he’ll climb back up here looking for his backpack while you’re out searching for him,” Lina said.

  “Good point,” Adam replied.

  We followed him downstairs, to the kitchen, and saw that Rob was already on the phone, talking to a nine-one-one operator.

  Adam walked over to the window and looked out into the night. “He must be getting into the house through a window or possibly the cellar.” He looked
over his shoulder at Lina. “There’s a door that leads outside, isn’t there?”

  She nodded.

  “Or, maybe he somehow has a key?” I added.

  Lina shivered. “I hope not.”

  Adam, looking outside again and then tensed up. “Hey, I think I saw a flicker of light in your barn. Like someone may have turned a flashlight on and off.”

  Rob hung up the phone and walked over to check it out. “It would make sense he’d be hiding out in the barn right now. The asshole put the hammers back and then snuck out there. We should go check it out.”

  Lina gave him a stern look. “Hold on. You don’t know if this person has a gun or a knife. Wait for the police to arrive.”

  Rob began to pace. “If he sees the cops coming, he might take off. I’m going to sneak out there and see if I can catch him. Or her. Or whoever the fuck is trespassing on our property.”

  Lina crossed her arms under her chest, still not convinced. “Rob, that’s too dangerous.”

  He headed toward the living room. “I’ll be fine. I’m going to get my coat.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll go with him,” Adam said. “I’ll grab my jacket from the attic.”

  Lina threw up her hands and looked at me. “Dammit, he can be so stubborn at times.”

  Not knowing what to say, I just nodded.

  She sank down in the kitchen chair and rubbed her belly. “I wasn’t kidding when I said I was less scared with a ghost living here. The fact that someone might have been living up in the attic terrifies me.”

  “Yeah. I hear you. At least now you know what’s really going on and can do something about it.”

  She nodded. “True. I just hope the cops arrive before someone gets hurt.”

  “Me, too.” With the weather the way it was, however, I doubted they’d be there for a while.

  A few minutes later, Adam and Rob snuck out to the barn while we waited on pins and needles, watching through the window. Because of the falling snow, it was hard to see much of what was going on.

  “I’m terrified that something bad is going to happen.” She groaned. “Why couldn’t he just wait?”

  “At least there’s two of them,” I whispered, although I was pretty frightened myself. For the first time ever, I was scared that something bad was going to happen to Adam. My stomach was in knots and I actually had to pee. But, I didn’t want to look away from what was happening at the barn. Unfortunately, we couldn’t hear or see what was really going on inside. All we could do was wait.

  18

  Chloe

  “Where are the damn cops?” Lina muttered.

  It had been less than ten minutes since they’d been called. I knew it would be probably be much longer before they arrived.

  A few minutes later, we saw three shadows leaving the barn, heading back toward the house.

  Lina’s eyes widened. “Someone is with them!”

  I was surprised too. I couldn’t believe they were bringing the squatter into the house.

  As they drew closer, we noticed that it was a teenager with them. A boy.

  Lina gasped. “That’s Gabe! Rob’s younger brother.”

  When the three entered the house, Gabe, who looked to be about sixteen or seventeen, gave Lina a sheepish grin. “Hi.”

  Lina started hounding him with questions and we soon learned he’d run away from home. Apparently, he’d gotten into a fight with his stepdad and had been sleeping in the attic the entire time.

  “Why didn’t you come to me instead of hiding up there?” Rob asked.

  “I was afraid you’d tell Mom where I was. I’m not going back home,” he said firmly.

  “I can’t believe this. I didn’t even know you’ve been missing,” Rob said angrily.

  “How long have you been away from home?” Lina asked.

  He shrugged. “A week.”

  Rob ran a hand through his hair in frustration. “Great. And I’ve been in the dark about this the entire time.”

  Gabe sighed. “She probably didn’t want to worry you. She thinks I’m staying at a friend’s.”

  “So, was that you taking the hammers and making all that noise in the middle of the night?” Lina asked.

  “I wasn’t trying to. Anyway, I took the hammers to try and fix the barn. My friend Scott was going to help me, that’s why I took both of them.”

  As they talked, Adam nudged me. “We should get going. Before the weather gets any worse.”

  I nodded.

  We packed up our gear and then Rob and Lina walked us to the door.

  “Sorry to waste your time,” Rob said, still looking frustrated.

  “You didn’t. It was a pretty intense night. Look at it this way, we found your missing brother and that beats a ghost any day,” Adam replied.

  He smiled. “True. Teenagers. I tell you.”

  “It’s probably good practice for you two,” Adam said.

  Rob chuckled and then his face became serious. “You going to be okay driving in this?”

  Adam assured him that we were good to go. “I’ve got my four-by-four. It’ll be fun driving in this,” he added.

  “Yeah, at least there won’t be a lot of other driver’s on the road. They’re the ones you usually have to worry about,” Rob said.

  Adam nodded. “No doubt.”

  We said our goodbyes and then left the house. I climbed into the truck and Adam cleared the snow off of the windows with a brush.

  “Are you sure we should be driving in this?” I asked, when he was finished.

  “We’ll be fine. I’m a good driver. If anyone can get through this shit, it’s me.”

  “Okay.”

  Unfortunately, the roads were much worse than we’d anticipated. Even with Adam’s excellent driving skills, it was hard to see and travel was very slow. We were definitely in the middle of a full-on blizzard.

  “Maybe we should just stay in town,” I suggested as a bar and motel sign came into view ahead of us. I didn’t want to tell him, but all I could think about were Mackenzie’s parents.

  He nodded. “Yeah. It’s probably a good idea. The last thing we need is to get stuck between towns, in the middle of nowhere.”

  We pulled into the parking lot, parked, and went into the office together.

  “You’re in luck. We have one room left with two queen beds. It’s yours if you want it,” the clerk said.

  “Yeah, we’ll take it.” Adam handed over his credit card.

  “I’d better call my grandma back and let her know what’s going on,” I said. She’d already called earlier, worried sick about us driving. I knew this would put her mind at ease.

  “Good idea.”

  After checking in, we parked outside of our room and went inside. Unfortunately, there weren’t two queen beds like we’d been told. Just one king.

  “I’ll call the office,” Adam said, pulling out his phone. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything the clerk could do but offer us two free drink vouchers at Lloyd’s Bar and Grille next door.

  “At least it’s clean,” I said, grateful that the room smelled like lemons instead of stale cigarettes or beer.

  Adam walked over to the closet. “The manager said there should be a cot in here.”

  Sure enough there was, but it was small and made the floor look more comfortable.

  I glanced over at the mattress. I highly doubted that Adam would try anything. “We can share the bed. It’s big enough for both of us.”

  “You sure? I can take the floor.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. You’re not sleeping on that nasty carpeting. I’m sure people have spilled all kinds of gross crap on it.”

  He sat down on the edge of the bed and yawned. “Yeah. Or pissed on it. One of our old roommates used to sleep-walk and pee in odd places. One night I woke up to use the bathroom and saw him pissing in the dryer.”

  In the dryer? I made a face. “You’re kidding?”

  “Nope. Claimed he was dreaming but… I don’t know. It was weird. H
e’d even opened up the door and everything. Crazy.”

  “Yeah.”

  His stomach growled. “I don’t know about you but I’m hungry. I made those sandwiches but I could go for something hot to eat. Like a steak.”

  “That does sound good.”

  “Let’s go get our free drink passes and head on over to Lloyd’s. Hopefully they have some decent grub.”

  “I’m game.”

  19

  Adam

  The bar was actually pretty packed when we arrived. We learned later that most of the customers were from the motel, which made sense.

  “You still serving dinner?” I asked the waitress when she showed up at our table.

  “Yep. The kitchen is open for another thirty minutes,” she replied and then grabbed us a couple of menus. “Look it over and I’ll be right back.”

  I nodded. “Sounds good.”

  After she stepped away, I asked Chloe what she wanted to drink. I knew she was underage, but I had a feeling they weren’t going to card us. Especially with the free drink vouchers.

  She bit the side of her lower lip. “I don’t know.”

  “Maybe a margarita?”

  She leaned forward and whispered, “What if they card me?”

  “Tell her you lost your driver’s license. Anyway, you’ll be twenty-one soon, right?”

  “I’ll be twenty next month,” she replied looking embarrassed.

  “Just play it cool. You’ll be fine.”

  When the waitress returned, I ordered a beer and Chloe ordered a glass of wine.

  “Would you like the bottle? We can apply the credit toward it,” the waitress suggested.

  I answered for Chloe. “Yes. That would be great.”

  The woman stared at me, squinting in the dimly lit bar. “You look familiar. Like, I’ve seen you some place before.”

  I smiled. “Are you into ghosts?”

  She chuckled. “No.”

  “Racing?”

  Her eyes lit up with recognition. She smacked her hand on the table. “That’s it. I just saw something about you on television. You’re Adam Knight. Indie Racer turned ghost hunter.”