“Spider, are you okay?” Hannah asked.
Blinking and sitting forward, she used the excuse of having the cat in her lap. “Allergies, I think.”
Hannah tilted her head and smiled. “I hate to run, but we’ve got reservations for dinner and I don’t want to be late.” Hannah made kissy sounds at Abbott, Costello and Charlie.
“Hannah, quick question.”
“Sure.”
“How well do you know your neighbour? Um, the guy across the street.”
“You mean the hunk who just moved in?” Hannah wiggled her eyebrows. “I only met him once. Things have just been too crazy to welcome him properly. Why?”
Spider shook her head. “Just curious.”
“I was surprised when he moved in,” Hannah continued as she adjusted her earrings. “That house has been vacant for a long time. You know, all of the neighbourhood kids say it’s haunted.”
Spider sat forward. “Haunted?”
“I doubt it is. You know how stories get started. I’m sure Alexandra would have mentioned it if it was.” Made sense, since Alexandra saw dead people.
“Yeah, you’re probably right.”
“Remember. You can text us if there’s an emergency. Thanks again, Spider. Take care of my boys.”
Spider logged out of the chat, but her mind was stuck on the information she’d attained. It funneled through the conversation she’d had with Noah, about the woman in the window, his claim no one should have been in the house, and what she’d experienced that morning in bed.
Holy corndogs.
Had she seen a ghost?
“Shut the front door!” Spider’s fingers flew over the keyboard, this time typing in the address for Hannah’s house. It took her only a few seconds using satellite maps to figure out the house number for Noah’s place, and then—
Dozens of hits returned on that address, many from a ghost-hunting forum connected to an Atlanta-area paranormal group. The topics posted under the address sent ice-cold chills racing down her spine.
GeorgiaHunter414: Snuck into abandoned house at this address one night. Saw some freaky stuff.
MysticMerlin: Got some creepy EVPs here. This place is truly HAUNTED!!
A curse word she never used slipped out of Spider’s mouth. Noah wasn’t a maniac who chained up young women in his attic. He was being haunted!
***
Noah dropped his satchel in the doorway and threw his hands up in a gesture of resignation. His morning had been a waste. After the electrician had stolen a wad of money to tell him his house’s wiring was absolutely normal, he’d followed Alexandra King to the airport, watched her board a plane to Colorado and tried to figure out what the hell he was going to do now that his second best source of information had left the city.
His eyes stung with exhaustion as he sank into the recliner in front of the TV. A few hours of sleep would be so damn nice right about now. Help him clear his head.
Bam. Bam. Bam.
Every muscle in his body clenched tight until he realized the banging sound wasn’t coming from upstairs or the kitchen. Someone was at the front door. He really needed to get that doorbell fixed.
He swore and waddled to his feet.
A peek through the peephole gave him the back of a ginger-haired woman. He yanked open the door.
“Emma? Everything okay?”
She turned around, holding a tray full of cookies. The sight and smell of melted chocolate triggered his mouth to start watering. He swallowed.
“Oh, boy. You’re gonna keep calling me Emma, aren’t you? Fabulous.” Her tone was as resigned as it was dry. She shook her head a little before lifting the tray and smiling. “I made you some cookies as a thank you for checking on me. I mean, they’re only the kind out of a box that you stick in the oven for like, 10 minutes, but hey – cookies!” She lifted them higher.
“Come on in, and we’ll eat a few.” He opened the door wider and gestured her inside. His gaze skated toward the room he’d been using as an office and verified the door was closed. “I take it there haven’t been any more scares today.”
“Scares?” Her eyes widened.
“Yeah, remember this morning? You thought someone was in your room.”
“Oh, right. No. No scares.” Her gaze strayed toward the stairs. “This is an interesting house. Do you like it?”
It needed a paint job and lots of repairs, but he supposed it was all right. “I’ve lived in worse places.” He couldn’t remember if he’d left any revealing papers in the living room, so he touched her arm and guided her toward the kitchen. “I bought some milk yesterday. It’ll go great with those cookies. Want some?”
“Sure.” She followed him into the one room he barely used. “Look, Noah, I wanted to explain that—”
Bam. Bam. Bam. Bam.
They both froze. Noah’s heart did a quick step around his chest until he realized it was again coming from the front door.
“Sorry. Be right back.”
“Um, Noah—” She opened and closed her mouth.
“Give me a minute.”
He peeked out and saw the same uniformed officer from yesterday standing on his doorstep. Pushing a hand through his hair, he opened the door. “Officer. What can I do for you?”
“Mr. West, I was wondering if I could take a look around.”
“Oh?” He crossed his arms. “Mind if I ask why?”
“I told him about the woman I saw in your window.”
Noah turned at Emma’s rushed voice behind him.
“I’m sorry,” she hurried to add. “I think I might have overreacted.”
Noah clenched his jaw to keep from swearing. This was the last thing he needed. If he refused the officer’s search, it would seem suspicious. If he allowed the man to look around, he’d expose his surveillance from the past month, the photos of the Collins and King pinned to a corkboard, which would look damn suspicious indeed.
He stepped aside. “Come on in, officer. Do whatever you need to do.”
“I’m sorry,” Emma said again, red-faced. She took a step forward. “Jack, you don’t have to look around. I, um, tried to call and tell you not to worry about it.”
Noah watched the older man consider the young woman, his right hand not far from the weapon holstered at his side. “I don’t see what the harm is in checking things out. Do you, Mr. West?”
He shrugged and leaned against the wall. “Like I said, do what you need to.”
The officer’s gaze lifted toward the stairs. “I’ll start upstairs.”
“Help yourself.”
A grimace tightened Emma’s features as the officer walked past her. Her eyes pleaded an apology as she turned and followed the other man up the stairs.
Noah swore softly and ducked into the office, hiding the corkboard and moving his camera away from the window. He left the room’s door open and hurried to find them. He couldn’t remember if he’d left any documents or photos lying about upstairs.
The officer was thorough, opening closets, inspecting every room, even lowering the overhead attic door and climbing up to look around. When he came downstairs, he glanced into the office and went into the living room, and Noah hurried to distract them from the pile of documents on the table.
“As you can see, there’s no one here.” A cold sweat trickled down the back of his stiff neck. Emma stood beside the folder he’d left open on the end table last night, so he shifted to stand closer to her, to block the folder with his body. One of his business cards almost screamed “Noah West, Insurance Claims Investigator” in bold print on top of it. His investigation could be jeopardized if she – if anyone – saw it.
The officer grunted an agreement. “No signs of intrusion either. If anyone was in here last night, it’s not because they broke in.”
“I did see someone,” Emma insisted. “She had long dark hair, was wearing a white t-shirt and a jean jacket. She looked my age, maybe younger.”
Lanier frowned. “You know anyone like th
at, Mr. West?”
Noah shook his head, losing his balance under the movement. He sagged into the recliner behind him. A week ago, he’d dreamt about a woman matching that description exactly. He found it difficult to breathe as memories from the dream overwhelmed him. The dark-haired girl walking alongside the road, carrying a backpack. An old truck pulling up alongside her. A man’s voice muffled as he asked, “Need a ride?”
“Noah, are you okay?” Emma touched his forearm, calming a tide of dizziness and bringing him back to the present.
“Fine. Just tired. I haven’t been sleeping much.” He rolled his shoulders in an unsuccessful attempt to relieve the tension gathered there. “I appreciate you taking time out to come check my house, officer.” He stood and held out his hand.
The cop’s narrow-eyed gaze raked over him, dismissing the gesture. Noah sucked in his breath until the cop nodded. “Emma, can I have a word alone?”
“Sure.” She followed the officer onto the front porch, and Noah could only catch a few snippets here and there as he hurried to cover up the papers on the table. The officer murmured something about her being careful and that Noah seemed strung out of his mind. Her whispered reply was too soft to make out.
A few seconds later, the creak of the door opening again signaled her return. She slowly entered the room. “Hi.”
He clenched his jaw and met her gaze.
“The reason I came over was to warn you about that.” She hitched a thumb over her shoulder. Her words spilled out in a rush. “I’m really sorry. I tried to call him, but I couldn’t reach him again and I thought you were, well, never mind what I thought.” She took a deep breath. “Do you hate me?”
He forced a smile. “No, Emma, I don’t hate you. I’m glad you called him.”
“You are?”
He nodded and gave up on sliding the manila folder underneath some magazines. He wasn’t happy she’d called the cops on him, but he’d managed to avoid a messy scene and that was all that mattered. “Shows you’re more cautious than I first thought. Maybe I won’t have to keep an eye on you after all.”
“I don’t mind if you do.” Their gazes locked, and a slow simmer of lust stirred an arousal in his jeans. She looked away. “I guess I’d better be going.”
Stay. The thought caught him off guard. Asking her to stay would only lead to a complication he didn’t need right now.
Grabbing the base of his neck, Noah frowned. “Maybe you should.” She turned to leave, and he called out, “Emma?”
She lifted wide eyes to gaze at him. “What?”
“Just be careful. I meant what I said. If you need anything, give me a call.”
“Okay.” A few seconds later, the screen door banged shut behind her. Noah glanced around as unease settled in his gut.
Hell if he knew why.
Chapter 5
Sweaty palm tightening around the strap of her messenger bag, Spider sucked in a deep breath and pressed the doorbell. When a minute passed, she knocked on the door before she lost her nerve. She had no idea what kind of reception she’d get, but she knew that she could do this. Three espressos, a pep talk in the mirror, and enough remorse bottled inside her chest to induce groveling were the perfect recipe for courage.
Then the door opened, and she wished she’d had something stronger than three espressos.
Noah stared back at her from beneath hooded eyes, and he was dressed… well, actually, he wasn’t dressed. That was the problem. Her gaze immediately fell to his naked chest and lower, to the towel draped below his glistening rock-hard abs, to the trail of hair that led down. Eyes up, girlfriend! Jerking her head up, she focused on his face. The hair on his head hung in wet curls around his perfectly chiseled features, and he had the clearest, most enticing green eyes she’d ever seen.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Fine,” she squeaked. Tightening her grip on the shoulder strap again, she cleared her throat. “I didn’t mean to catch you at a bad time. I can come back later.”
The little courage she’d mustered vanished at the sight of his half-naked body. She turned to make a run for it, but his strong grip on her arm prevented her from getting very far.
“Give me a minute to pull on some clothes.”
“I can come back later,” she said again.
“No need.” One side of his mouth quirked up. “Do you want to wait here, or would you rather come inside?”
She steeled her spine and walked past him into the foyer, glancing around to keep from looking at his sculpted body. And it was fine, too. She half tripped on his hallway rug and tried to pretend that she’d meant to lean into the staircase rather than using it to catch herself.
“Make yourself at home,” he told her.
His heavy footsteps climbing the old staircase signaled it was safe to untangle herself from the railing, and she sank into the comfy-looking chair inside the doorway to the living room. Peeling, faded wallpaper decorated the walls, but the oatmeal-coloured carpet seemed new and most of the furniture, too. The floor above her head creaked with movement, conjuring images of her hottie neighbour stripping the towel away and—
Shaking herself, she reached for her bag and pulled out some of the pages she’d printed before coming over. She spread them on the coffee table in front of her and waited, wondering how best to start the conversation.
Hi Noah, I think your house is seriously haunted and you should probably move.
That would likely get her tossed out faster than reminding him that she’d called the cops on him yesterday.
Right. New plan. Blowing out a breath, she considered what to say as his footsteps grew louder and evaporated all cohesive thoughts in her brain.
Noah’s voice was strong as he spoke from the middle of the stairs. “I’m surprised to see you.”
Moving to her feet, she turned and managed a smile. Not only was he barefoot with his wet hair still curling around his face, but he was also wearing a pair of snug jeans and had left a dark shirt hanging open over his muscular chest. A very nice, smooth muscular chest. The kind you usually saw on underwear models.
Down girl.
“I’m kind of surprised you let me in,” she countered.
He walked past, shot her a grin, and began buttoning up his shirt. Thank goodness. “I told you I wasn’t mad. What’s up?”
Following his lead, she sat down and began fiddling with the papers she’d laid out for him. “You’re gonna think I’m really strange when you hear what I have to say, but…” She chewed at her bottom lip and leaned forward. “Can I ask you something?”
“Go for it.” He leaned forward too, so close the scent of soap teased her nostrils and threatened to scatter her thoughts again.
She pushed back, needing to clear herself of the distraction. “Have you … noticed anything odd about this house since you moved in?”
“Define odd.”
“Things moving on their own. Unnatural sounds or smells. Weird feelings you get in certain rooms. That kind of thing.”
Some of the twinkle dimmed in his eyes and his smile fell just enough to be noticeable. Ah ha! He had experienced weird stuff. Excitement sizzled through her veins, and she continued before he could answer.
“Have you seen anything, like a ghost? You have, haven’t you? I knew it!”
“Whoa. Hold on.” He shook his head. “I haven’t seen a ghost. I don’t believe in ghosts.”
“But—”
He held up his hand. “Maybe you should explain why you’re asking.”
Sucking in a deep breath, she tapped her finger on the stack of papers. “You should Google your house, man. It’s listed on a haunted places index, and you would not believe some of the messages people have posted on forums about it.”
His forehead crinkled as he considered the printouts. “You’re telling me this house is listed on a website, encouraging people to snoop around because they think it’s haunted?”
“Well … yeah.” Actually, she hadn’t though
t about trespassers. “What did the realtor tell you when you bought the place?”
“I didn’t buy it.” Frowning, he picked up the paper sitting on top of the others. “I’m renting it, and the realtor didn’t say a damn thing about any of this.”
Oops.
“Have you caught anyone snooping around since you moved in?”
The dark circles under his eyes seemed more pronounced as he skimmed the story: the one about a group of teens who believed the house was haunted by two ghosts, one good, one evil, after their friend was thrown down the stairs during a ghost-hunting expedition. The front door had been locked, trapping them inside, until a gentle voice had whispered, “Hurry. The back door. It’s unlocked.”
A chill caused Spider to tremble, remembering the tale.
“No.” His voice was gruff now. “I’ve only been here a month. I don’t know, maybe it only happens around Hallowe’en.”
The calendar had just flipped over to April, so maybe he was right. “I’m sure people stay away if someone’s living here.”
His gaze lifted, amusement again in its depths. He set the papers back on the table. “So you think I’m haunted?”
It was an effort not to roll her eyes. She gestured upstairs. “The lady in your window, remember her? I saw her as clear as day, and ever since I saw her—”
Wait. She hadn’t meant to mention the strange things that had been happening to her since the night she’d glanced up and seen Miss Pretty Ghost in his window.
“What, Emma?”
He probably already thought she was cuckoo for cocoa puffs. Might as well tell him the rest. “First there were the sheets being ripped off me in bed. Then there was a weird message on my computer. The words help and danger kept scrolling across for absolutely no reason. No reason!” She sucked in a deep breath. “Last night, I ended up huddling with the boys in bed after—”
His brow lifted. “The boys?”
She flicked a dismissive hand. “The dogs and cat. Anyway, the TV in the living room kept turning off and on while I was trying to watch it, and after I changed into my jammies and went to bed—”
Spirited Away Page 5