My mouth dropped open. “Come again?”
“Yes, I know, not ideal.” Gretchen gave a nervous laugh. “But if Alexander possesses a body, then he will feed off the energy of that soul. I’d imagine it will give him enough strength to stay with us for a long period of time.”
I swallowed, not liking this one bit, and hesitantly turned to Alexander. “You want to possess me?”
He shrugged.
“Though,” Gretchen interjected, “it wouldn’t be wise for it to be you.”
I snorted. “That’s good, because for a moment there, I was thinking you were honestly suggesting I allow a ghost to enter my body.” Gretchen’s brows rose knowingly and I rolled my eyes. “That is so not funny. But exactly, the only ghost coming into my body is Kipp.”
She smiled softly. “What I mean to say, is when a possession happens, whoever belongs to the body will have no control. As in, they’ll be asleep. We need you here and awake.”
“Oh, okay that makes sense.” I pondered for a moment, glancing out at the swamp to the bullfrog who kept on singing, sure-as-shit liking the fact it wouldn’t be me. Sure, I’d do anything for Kipp, but the thought of a ghost entering my body and taking over…I shuddered, not even wanting to consider it. “Well, I need you with me, so it can’t be you either.”
She agreed with a nod. “Which means we need to find someone else who is willing.”
I hesitated. “Why willing?” A similar situation engulfed my mind, reminding me of a memory I’d rather forget. “The demon in Memphis possessed the man without permission.”
“Because that’s evil and Alexander isn’t.” The bullfrog croaked, forcing Gretchen to pause until he finished, then she went on. “The participant needs to welcome him into their body.”
I grunted, realizing this wasn’t going to be a quick decision. To Alexander, I said, “Since you burn out quick, if you leave now will you have enough strength to come back later and do whatever it is you need to do?” At his nod, I added, “Go then and we’ll figure this out.”
In a blink, he shifted back into the freakish white orb and only a moment later, it vanished. The dark sky once again looked a whole lot darker without the orb. Spinning on my butt to face Gretchen, I asked, “Do you have any ideas on who to ask?”
She glanced down, shined the flashlight at her jean-covered legs, and picked off a piece of lint. “I’m sure if we asked Amelia, she’d agree without hesitation.” She lifted her head, the beam of light making her look a little spooky. “But since we don’t know who is involved in this, I don’t think that’s a good idea. Amelia will tell both Wayde and Dane.”
“Ah, smart thinking, because what if one of them is the killer,” even though, I really doubted that was the case, “and realizes what we’re doing and to stop us, thinks we need to join Alexander?”
“Exactly,” she agreed with a firm nod, standing up and angling her flashlight away from my face. “We need to find someone who we won’t need any time soon and who won’t raise any warning signals to whoever is behind this.”
My choices sucked, at best.
Those choices: go to a group of people who might include the killer or to a group of people I did not want to ask. Even I wouldn’t dare allow Alexander into my body—or maybe I would, if I had another choice—but I was more than glad it wasn’t me.
With little options and the solid help Alexander could give to fix Kipp, I suspected by nightfall, I would have a willingly participant. “All right, I have an idea.” I shuddered in horror. “Damn, this going to be so, so, so bad.”
Chapter Sixteen
Gretchen paid the cab driver and I slammed the car door behind me. The Best Western wasn’t nearly as pretty as Wayde’s house, but heck, I’d give anything to be staying here rather than the latter. Not to say the hotel wasn’t charming, with its yellow paint on the top half and red brick covering the lower part of the building. It even had a fake clock tower.
Once Gretchen joined me, we hurried through the front door and entered the typical hotel lobby with dark wood concierge desk straight ahead. Two brown couches rested in the middle of the room and a pretty chandelier hung over the glass coffee table. We ignored the man with the friendly smile at the desk and entered the elevators to the right, making it quickly to the second floor.
The hallway resembled the rest of the hotel—sophisticated with its burnt orange paint and fancy patterned rug. At room, 212—the number Zach had texted me—I knocked, and a moment later, the door whisked open to Eddie.
I smiled at his cute face, spotting the usual twinkle in his blue eyes that remained most times, but noticed his brown hair was longer around the ears, meaning I wasn’t the only one who desperately needed a haircut. “Hi—” I barely got the word out before I was wrapped into a body of strong muscles. I gasped in surprise since Eddie hadn’t been the hands on type.
“You all right?” he asked.
I returned his hug, leaning my head against his chest. Maybe being surrounded by people who hadn’t been overly welcoming made the people who truly accepted me a little more special now. “Just dandy.”
His chuckle sounded gentle in my ear before he stepped back, nodding at Gretchen and opening the door wider.
The moment I stepped over the threshold, I spotted the cream-colored paint on the far wall where the window was surrounded by deep brown curtains. To my left, two double beds with white linens rested against the coffee-colored wall. The bathroom looked to be at the very back, a large wooden desk sat in next to the television stand and abstract art decorated the walls.
On the far bed, Caley, with the remote control in her hand, was watching a romantic comedy, a favorite thing of hers to do. I snickered, completely understanding why when I looked at Max. He had a deep crease in his brow over his warm chocolate eyes.
Poor men probably didn’t have a chance to refuse her. Of course, Caley would watch what she wanted to and I could only imagine the exasperated sighs filling this room as she tormented them with her chick flicks.
As Eddie shut the door behind me, Max immediately stood, striding forward to take me into another tight hug. Funny thing, I never used to be close to men, only Caley. Now every single person in this room was family to me. With my true family long deceased in the car accident that gave me my gifts, maybe I appreciated their friendships more than others would.
These men I never wanted to live without.
I settled into Max’s loving embrace. There, I felt nice and safe. “So, do tell, how’d you pull off coming here anyway?”
Max gave me another firm squeeze, indicating he didn’t want to let go, and in truth, I didn’t want him to either. He eventually released me, staring down at me with his dark hair, silvered at the temple, hanging over his forehead. “I told the higher-ups we needed to come to Louisiana to investigate a witness who lived here.”
I gasped with fake horror. “You lied?”
“Now and again, it does come to that.” He winked, not an ounce of guilt showing in his gentle eyes. “Any new developments?”
“Well…” I glanced at Gretchen, watching her settle into the seat by the front door when I heard running water in the bathroom.
Only a second later, Zach strode out, drying his hands on his jeans. His blue eyes were focused and intent. “Found the hotel okay?”
I nodded, striding forward to take a seat by Caley on the bed, and sighed as the bed bounced beneath me. I liked squishy mattresses and the one at Wayde’s was rock hard; this one felt like a huge pillow. “Can you turn that off?” Caley looked at the television with sadness, but the movie flicked off. To Max, I asked, “Okay, first, do you have anything for us?”
He returned to his seat by the desk, currently full of papers on top. “Sadly, no.” His voice deepened with frustration. “None of the names we ran came up with any hits. I called a detective here in White Castle, but he hadn’t heard of any of the people and there have been no issues at the house.”
“Figured as much,” I grumbled.<
br />
Zach dropped down on the edge of the bed, while Eddie leaned up against the wall, arms folded by the television stand. I turned to Max. “So, looks like we’re shit out of luck in that department?”
He jerked his chin in agreement before he laced his hands behind his head and leaned back in the leather chair, sending it squeaking beneath him. “There must be something we’re missing that’s hidden within what appears to be straight-laced people.” His gaze firmed. “There’s always a motive.”
“Yeah.” I knew that well enough and didn’t doubt for a moment that behind Alexander’s death there had to be a motive. “But finding it is the problem.”
“We’ll keep at it,” Eddie said, exuding much more confidence than I thought he should portray, considering they were getting nowhere. “The further we look into it, and now that we have names, the likelier it is someone will stand out.”
Max lowered his hands from his head, sending the chair to squeak again. “Everyone has skeletons. It’s just digging deep enough to expose them.”
“Sounds good.” I drew in a deep breath, inhaling the odd potpourri in the air that I couldn’t quite place—cinnamon…no maybe vanilla. I gave up on figuring it out and pondered.
Even if I didn’t believe their assistance would help at all, since it hadn’t showed anything yet, who was I stop them? I currently suffered the same level of determination I saw on every face here. They wanted to help with Kipp’s predicament. I wasn’t about to refuse them that right.
Zach pulled up one leg onto the bed and leaned his elbow against his thigh. “Anything else come up?”
I shook my head, wishing I had more to tell them, especially considering how much I knew they all wanted this to end, especially Caley. She hadn’t said a word—definitely not like her—and simply stared at me with furrowed brows. It became obvious she was restraining herself from ordering me to go home. “Not much has happened since we last talked.”
Disappointment shined in Zach’s features. “Did you speak with Alexander again?”
“Yeah.” I cringed, seriously not wanting to do what I was about to, and hoping I’d discover a way out. Sadly, the longer I thought about it, the more I realized I had no choice.
A long awkward pause followed, all eyes on me, since I couldn’t find the strength to spit it out before Max asked, “Do you plan on elaborating?”
“So…you see…” I heaved a sigh, staring at Zach in front of me on the bed, Caley next to me, who rested against the pillow, and Eddie as he leaned against the wall, frowning at me. And Max who looked mildly impatient. Why prolong the inevitable? “I need someone to become possessed.”
A silence so thick filled the room and I bit the inside of my cheek, glancing from face-to-face. The ripple of shock crossing everyone’s face was almost comical. If I had the power to turn people into statues, it appeared I’d unleashed it.
Zach’s mouth finally dropped open, showing some type of movement. “That’s a joke, right?”
“Err…no.” I waited for the foreseeable outburst, but when everyone continued to stare at me as if my head had suddenly fallen off, I added, “The problem is, it’s the only way to get Alexander stronger.”
Max cleared his throat, standing from his seat to approach the bed. “By allowing him to take over someone’s body?”
I smiled tightly. “Not so bad, right?”
Eddie barked a laugh, pushing off the wall to settle in next to Max. “Nah, just everyday business.”
The heavy quiet once again took over as I looked at everyone and they continued to stare blankly at me. Blessedly, moments later, Zach finally turned to Gretchen, who had remained silent through our talk and asked her, “You don’t have any other suggestions except that one?”
She shrugged and crossed a leg over her knee. “It’s the only spell that will allow us a longer time with Alexander. I do have spells that would last minutes, but it wouldn’t get us anywhere. This way, we know he can stay as long as we need him to.”
“Yes…and well,” I continued, still less than pleased since what I said next would create a shit storm, of that I was sure. “I need Zach in case things get scary since he can go die-killer-die on them. Max and Eddie, you need to stay here and finish the investigating to see if anything comes up on that end, so that leaves….” I could have sworn a unison gasp filled the air when I glimpsed to my right.
Caley’s eyes were huge, her face paling before my eyes. “You cannot be suggesting?”
I worried my bottom lip, and no doubt, the horror displayed on my expression since she glared at me. “There isn’t anyone else I can think of. We need to find a way to get Alexander to be able to talk because right now it’s impossible. And so…there is you…and you’re here…not doing anything…so I thought…”
“You didn’t think, Tess Jennings,” Caley said through gritted teeth. “Because if you did, you would know I would never agree to let a ghost come inside my body.” She shuddered before her glare deepened. “Are you out of your fucking mind?”
“I’m thinking, yes,” I told the truth.
Her eyes blazed.
I sighed, trying a different approach, a common sense one. “What other choice do we have? I’d ask Amelia since I know she would do it, but I don’t trust she won’t tell Dane and Wayde. Right now, I don’t trust any of them.”
Once again, silence drifted throughout room and I glanced between the stunned faces. After a long irritating pause, I finally settled on Zach, who stared at me incredulously. I waggled my eyebrows, gesturing toward Caley in encouragement.
He shook his head, frustration darkening his face. “What will happen to her?”
“What will happen to me?” Caley spat, jumping up on the bed into a kneeling positing with her arms folded. “You’re not honestly considering—”
Zach raised his hand to silence her, then to Gretchen he said, “Go on.”
“Not much of anything,” Gretchen replied. “When Alexander enters her body it will be as if she’s sleeping. She won’t remember what has happened in the time of the possession. When he leaves her, she’ll likely stay sleeping because he’ll drain her energy. Once she’s restored, she’ll wake up.”
Caley cursed some incredibly nasty words before she said, “This is disgusting. I cannot believe I’m even having this conversation.”
I nodded at her in pity, since it did suck and royally so. “Gretchen has said there are no lasting effects and we can order him out of you at any time.”
Her glare intensified. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“Sort of,” I admitted.
As her eyes burned with hell’s fury, I hurried along. “Okay, I realize it’s gross. I wouldn’t want to do it either. But it’s a means to an end. You said it yourself, you want this over with, and this is the way to do it. Alexander will hopefully have the answers to help Kipp or help himself, which will mean Wayde will give me the Lux.”
When practically the devil stared back at me, I scooted toward her and took her hands. “I know I’m asking a lot. Trust me, I know. But we are out of options. Please do it, for me.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Playing the best friend card, huh?”
I smiled tightly. “Is it working?”
She studied me for a long moment, then snorted. “Yes. I hate you.” Blowing out a very loud breath, she turned to Gretchen. “I’m perfectly safe doing this? No weird ghost bits left over and there’s no chance he’ll want to keep my body?”
Gretchen shook her head, standing from her seat and staring at Caley dead-on. “I’ll ensure you have protection against all of that. I won’t let anything happen to you. Promise.”
After Caley cursed another few impressive words, Zach lay across the bed and placed a hand on her thigh. “This is tough, yes. But that ghost will have answers that will help.” His expression softened. “I’ll be proud of you.”
Her narrowed eyes lowered into slits. “Now the boyfriend card?” At his sheepish grin, she glanced between Za
ch and me, and then she frowned. “I seriously loathe you both, you do realize this?”
We nodded.
“Good Lord, I cannot believe I’m agreeing to this.” Her firm gaze shifted to mine. “I will do this for you. After this is over, you will kiss my ghost-haunted butt for months.”
At my nod and big-ass smile, she flicked her hands as if creepy crawlers were invading her blood, then she jumped off the bed. She stared me down with a look of retribution. “Fine. Let’s go. But if he takes over,” she glared at Gretchen, “you exorcise his dead ass!”
Chapter Seventeen
To say boredom had set in while looking at the swamp was an understatement. If I never heard a bullfrog or smelt stinky water again, that would officially be a good night. But considering what Caley had to do, I did my best to put on a happy face and pretend this wasn’t going to be horrible for her. “Nice night, isn’t it?”
Caley gazed at the swamp with a scrunch to her nose, clearly not enjoying the musky smell either. “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m thinking about.” Her glare nearly set me on fire. “How beautiful of a night it is.”
The beam of her flashlight swept out from side-to-side as it fought through the darkness. The cloudy night made the area by the swamp pitch black. After she examined the spot behind her with a good hard look, she asked, “So, is this ghost here?”
I looked off to her side to the ghost, who presently smiled at me and stood by the tall swamp grass. “He’s right beside you.” Alexander had arrived within minutes of our arrival. While I worried he needed to stay away to preserve energy, he didn’t seem as concerned, giving me a shake of the head when I asked if he had to leave.
Caley looked to her left, eyeing the spot next to her, and I added with a bite to my voice, “No, Alexander is on your right. But there’s another ghost on the other side of you.”
“There is?” Caley gasped, jumping to the side and placing herself right into Alexander, which she didn’t realize.
Alexander smiled at me, his head showing overtop of Caley’s, since he was a bit taller than her. He removed himself from standing within Caley’s body by stepping to the side and out of the way.
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