Ghostly Business

by Lily Harper Hart

  She rolled her eyes. “That’s a Zander thing to say.”

  “Except Zander would never go into that tunnel at night.”

  “That right there is a true story,” she agreed. “I’m not going either.”

  “Fair enough.” He squeezed her hip and continued down the hallway. “I don’t suppose your friend Patty is hanging around, is she?”

  Harper shook her head. “No. Is that why you wanted to come over here, though?”

  “I do have a few questions for her. I couldn’t ask them this afternoon in front of Jenny because I didn’t want to look like a nut, but the operation seemed somehow smaller than it should and I would like a little clarification.”

  “She broke it down for me. Maybe I can help.”

  “Yeah? I guess it’s worth a shot.”

  “Also, the longer we’re here, the more likely she is to show up.”

  “There is that, too.” Jared moved to the next room and stepped inside. It hadn’t been damaged in the fire. Even the water and smoke seemed to have missed it. Inside, there was nothing of note except a pair of heels and a discarded wine bottle. “I think people were in here when news broke of the fire.”

  “It looks like,” Harper agreed. “Natalie is still the only girl who was living here, right? We’ve pretty much confirmed that.”

  “You’ve pretty much confirmed that,” he countered. “I’ve yet to see her.”

  “I knew I shouldn’t have brought that up,” Harper groused, causing Jared’s lips to quirk. “Sometimes I don’t think my brain works.”

  “Your brain works fine. As for Natalie ... I don’t know what to think. Did she flee the area? Is she still hanging around waiting for her stuff?”

  “You said you thought her bedroom was on the third floor,” Harper noted. “Maybe we should go up there and see what she left behind.”

  Jared hesitated, but ultimately nodded his head. It was a good idea. He’d meant to go through the items in the room previously and then got distracted. “Okay, but you’re going to follow directly behind me. In fact, I want you to grab my belt loops so I can feel you back there. The floor is safe. We tested it. I still want you close.”

  “I think you just want me to touch your butt when we’re going up the stairs,” Harper teased, her eyes sparkling. “You can just admit it if that’s the case.”

  “If I wanted you to grab my butt, I would have no problem putting in the request.” He smiled ... and then sobered. “I’m being serious. I need you to promise to stick close to me.”

  “I promise.” Harper mimed crossing her heart in the beam of the light. “Trust me. I have no interest in being separated from you. This house creeps me out in the dark.”

  For a moment, Jared considered suggesting they hold off until the morning. It was a whim that propelled him to leave the safety of their house in the first place. Now that they were there, though, it was too late to turn back. They were both keyed up and they would regret it if they left now. “Okay. Stick to me like glue.”

  “That’s how I like to live my life.”

  He grinned as he headed for the stairs and picked a slow pace. With one hand on the railing and the other pointed at the ground so the steps would be illuminated, Jared slowly ascended the stairs. The only noise was Harper’s feet on the steps behind him.

  The house was eerily quiet and the atmosphere was dark. It was almost as if there was some malevolent force inside that was angry about the disturbance. By the time they hit the third floor, Jared was on edge.

  “The room is this way,” he indicated with his head, taking a moment to study Harper’s features. She looked paler than normal, although that could simply be the way the light hit the angles of her cheeks. “You’re still okay, right?”

  She nodded without hesitation. “Yeah. My heart is beating a little fast, but I’m blaming that on my proximity to you.”

  “Cute.” He inclined his head to the right, although a noise caught his attention to the left. “Did you hear that?”

  The question only served to ratchet up Harper’s blood pressure. “What?”

  “That ... clicking sound.” Jared pursed his lips. “Stay here.”

  Harper didn’t like that idea one bit and she moved to grab him, but he’d already taken three steps. “Jared ... .”

  “Shh. It’s okay.” His tone was soothing, but his full attention was on the other room. “That’s Patty’s office. That’s the room the safe was in.”

  Harper started to follow — the idea of being left alone in the dark was too much for her to bear — but Jared was already thinking ahead.

  “Stay right there, Heart,” he ordered. “I just want to check and see what that is. It’s probably nothing. I think the window in there was open earlier because Sorenson wanted it to dry out some. An animal probably climbed in.”

  That sounded like a relatively reasonable assumption ... and yet Harper’s anxiety was practically through the patchy roof. “Jared ... .”

  He moved into the bedroom, slipping out of view. She could still see the beam of light, but he had disappeared. Her mouth was dry, her heart hammering, and she legitimately thought she might pass out.

  Then things got worse.

  “You shouldn’t be here,” Patty hissed, appearing at Harper’s side and causing the intrepid ghost hunter to jolt. “It’s not safe.”

  “What do you mean?” Harper didn’t care that she couldn’t see Patty. She knew who she was dealing with and she was beyond caring about the dead. Right now, all she cared about was the living ... and the most important piece of her living world was in another room and she’d completely lost sight of him.

  “The devil is here,” Patty replied. She sounded vacant, as if she wasn’t entirely entrenched in this world. “You have to run. It’s not safe for you.”

  “But ... Jared.”

  “It’s already too late for him.”

  The words would’ve frightened most people, but Harper wasn’t most people. Instead, the statement galvanized her and she hurried toward the room. At the exact moment she found her courage to step inside, she heard a grunt from the office and the sound of people struggling. That was enough to make up her mind.

  “Jared!”

  The flashlight was rolling across the floor when she hit the room and it was hard for her to make out what was happening. All she could tell with any degree of certainty was that Jared wasn’t alone. Someone was with him ... and they were struggling.

  Harper couldn’t make out any features. The individual was dressed entirely in black. Even though it was dark, the only thing Harper was reasonably assured of was that Jared was fighting with a man. Otherwise he would’ve already overpowered his assailant.

  “Harper, get out of here,” Jared barked, his protective instincts taking over.

  Before she could respond, the masked man managed to get the upper hand. He shoved Jared at the same time the flashlight rolled to a spot behind him. As Jared staggered back, he tripped on the rolling flashlight, lost his balance ... and fell straight toward the window.

  Harper recognized what was going to happen a split-second before the sound of shattering glass assailed her ears. The last thing she saw was Jared tumbling through the opening ... and then she was alone with a stranger, and the sort of fear that only children afraid of monsters under their beds felt.

  She was in real trouble now, and she had no idea how to get out of it.

  15

  Fifteen

  Harper stood for a beat, frozen in place, and then her instincts took over. She grabbed the flashlight, which was still rolling around, and slammed it into the shoulder of the man walking in her direction.

  He clearly wasn’t expecting it. He let out a loud “oomph” as he listed to the side. She took the opportunity to hit him hard again. She was aiming for his head — hoping she could knock him down if not out — but his reflexes were still intact and he darted away at the last second and the blow hit the same left shoulder.

  Instead of g
oing after her a third time, he ran for the door. Harper paid him little heed as she raced to the window, leaning through the opening as she searched the ground for Jared. Her fear was profound. Could he survive a fall from the third story? Had she already lost him? To her utter surprise, she found him hanging on to the ledge, his knuckles white from the effort as he tried to pull himself through the opening.

  Their eyes locked in the beam of the flashlight and a lifetime of love passed between them in the beat of their hearts. Then Harper managed to wrap her head around what was necessary and she dropped the flashlight and reached for him.

  “Run, Heart,” Jared pleaded. He hadn’t seen what had gone down in the room and was convinced she was in danger. “Don’t worry about me.”

  “Shut up.” She was terse as she gripped his forearms. “You need to let me help you.”

  He shook his head. “You need to run.”

  “He’s gone.” She was matter-of-fact. “He ran when I hit him with the flashlight. I’m fine.” She concentrated on what she was doing and dug her fingers into his arms. “You have to put your feet against the house to get traction and let me pull you in.”

  He simply nodded. “Okay. I love you.”

  “You can tell me that again in exactly thirty seconds.” She took a deep breath and held his gaze. She refused to let him say his goodbyes because failure wasn’t an option for her. “I love you, too, though.” She pulled with everything she had.

  On his first attempt, Jared missed when he tried to find leverage with his foot. On his second, he managed to accomplish what was needed and he thrust himself upward. He flew through the opening, his forward momentum enough to take both of them down to the floor in the room.

  There, he wrapped his arms around her as she gasped and buried her face in the hollow between his neck and shoulder.

  “I thought I lost you,” she heaved out, tears sliding down her cheeks. “I thought I was going to look through that window and find ... .” She didn’t finish. It wasn’t necessary. They both knew what she was afraid to find.

  “It’s okay,” he reassured her, ignoring the cuts on his hands and stroking her hair. The only thing that mattered now was that they were together. “I’m here. We’re okay.”

  She nodded and rubbed her nose against his shirt. “I’m just going to cry for a second anyway. I don’t think I can stop myself.”

  The simple statement made him laugh. “I’m okay with that. I might cry, too, although I’ll save it for later.” His lips were warm against her forehead as he kissed her. “I love you so much.”

  “I love you, too.”

  “This was probably a bad idea.”

  “You’re only saying that because you almost died. It would’ve been a good idea otherwise.”

  “That’s a big caveat.”

  “Yeah, well ... .” She held tight, refusing to let him go. “We should probably call Mel, huh?”

  “Yeah. I’m going to need a paramedic, too. I have a couple deep cuts on my hands and they might need to be stitched up.”

  For the first time since they’d landed, Harper took the time to look him over. His hands really were a bloody mess. “I’ll call Mel. I’ll get him here right away.”

  “Thank you.” He rested, his back against the floor. “Don’t even think of moving away from me, though. I really will freak out.”

  “You have nothing to worry about. I’m not leaving your side. Not ever.”

  He pressed his eyes shut. “Good. That’s exactly how I want things.”

  IT WAS RARE THAT HARPER WOKE BEFORE Jared, but the paramedic gave him mild pain meds for the discomfort and he passed out without eating his cake as soon as his head hit the pillow. She followed not long after, making sure to double-check the locks and look through every window to ensure nobody was watching them. She woke long before him, though, and proceeded to spend an hour reminding herself how lucky they’d gotten only a few hours before.

  “Hey, Heart.” Jared stretched as he emerged from slumber, smiling lazily at her pretty face. She matched his expression but there was something sad in her eyes that immediately clued him in that something was wrong. “What is it?” He sobered with a vengeance.

  “Nothing.” Harper internally cursed herself for ruining what should’ve been a lazy morning. “I’m just so happy you’re here.”

  “Oh, I’m happy you’re here, too.” He slid his bandaged hand under her waist and tugged until she was practically on top of him. “I could show you if you like.”

  His flirt was on full display and it made Harper laugh. “I might be open to that ... in a few minutes.” Carefully, she snagged his right wrist and lifted his hand so she could study the bandages. Ultimately the paramedic said he was lucky. He hadn’t hit any veins or tendons. He’d only needed six stitches and was provided with an ointment to help with the itching. Still, the bandage was a reminder of how close she’d come to losing him.

  “Harper, I know that what happened last night shook you,” he started.

  “I’m okay.” She forced what she hoped was a bright smile on her face. “You don’t have to worry about me. In fact ... I’m better than I’ve ever been. Last night taught me a valuable lesson.”

  “Don’t go into burned-out houses that used to be brothels when there’s no electricity?”

  “Ha, ha.” She kissed his jaw. “No. I’m going to stay out of police investigations from here on out.”

  Jared waited a beat, convinced she was going to add “just kidding” a few seconds later. When she didn’t, he turned serious. “I don’t want that. I mean ... I don’t want you in danger or anything like what happened last night, but I like it when you’re involved in my cases. It makes me happy.”

  Harper let loose a sigh. “I know, but there has to be a way for me to be involved without splitting your attention.”

  “Is that what you think happened last night?”

  “I ... .” She wasn’t sure how to answer.

  “Harper, I didn’t see him until he was already on me. If you hadn’t been there, I still would’ve gone through the window. In that scenario, though, I wouldn’t have been able to pull myself up. I would’ve fallen and ... I don’t think I would’ve survived the fall.”

  Harper swallowed the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat. “I ... didn’t think of that.”

  “Oh, baby, don’t be upset.” Jared wasn’t sure how to soothe her, but he was determined to do it. “You saved me last night. You’re my hero. It’s going to be okay.”

  She mutely nodded as he brushed his hand over her back. Her emotions were jumbled and he couldn’t figure out why unless ... . “You’re not pregnant, right?”

  She jerked up her head at the question. “Excuse me?”

  “I didn’t mean that as an insult.” He held up his hands in a placating manner. “I just ... you’re very emotional.”

  “Oh, so it must be pregnancy hormones, huh?” She rolled to a sitting position and pinned him with a dark look. “I most certainly am not pregnant. I can’t believe you think that.”

  “It would be okay if you were. I mean ... I thought we would have a little more time before we expanded our family — I’m really looking forward to spending time with you on our honeymoon and beyond — but I want kids with you. If it happens sooner rather than later, it’s not the end of the world.”

  Instead of being touched by the sentiment, Harper rolled her eyes. “I’m not pregnant. That’s not what this is.”

  “Okay, then what is this?”

  “I ... .” She didn’t know, and the realization frightened her. She was determined not to let him see it, though. For right now, they had to focus on the individual who tried to throw Jared out of a window the previous evening. He was their primary concern. “I’m fine. I swear I’m not pregnant, though. You don’t have to worry about that.”

  “Okay.” He traced his fingers over her soft cheek. “What are you going to do today?”

  She hadn’t gotten that far and wasn’t sure
how she should respond. “I don’t know. I thought I would play it by ear.”

  “You know I have to go into work, right?”

  She nodded without hesitation. “I do. I also know that Mel is going to make sure you don’t do anything too strenuous. You need to take it easy.”

  “I’m fine.”

  She gestured toward the bandages. “Those say otherwise.”

  “I’m mostly fine,” he clarified. “You don’t need to worry about me, though. What happened last night was a ... fluke.”

  Harper wasn’t sure she believed that. “I’m not worried. I know you’re okay. You don’t need to worry about me either. I’m totally staying out of trouble.”

  “That would be a nice change of pace.”

  JARED AND HARPER ATE BREAKFAST TOGETHER and then he left for work. Her emotional instability was heavy on his mind when he landed at the office. Mel suggested they return to Patty’s house so they could search the premises again in the bright light of day and he accepted on the spot. Even though he put on a brave face, Mel could read his partner better than most.

  “Do you want to tell me what’s wrong?” he asked as they searched the third-floor office. Absolutely nothing looked different from the previous day except for the broken window. Still, they went over every surface and corner.

  “What makes you think anything is wrong?” Jared asked, his gaze automatically falling on the window. “We should probably get some plastic up to cover that. We don’t want the elements to ruin any potential evidence ... not that there’s anything else to find here.”

  “I’ll call Henry at the hardware store. He’ll come and fix it.” Mel folded his arms across his chest and studied his partner with unblinking eyes. “You seem off.”

  “I almost died last night. Maybe I’m taking stock.”

  “No, that’s not it.” Mel let loose a long-suffering sigh. “I’m guessing this has something to do with Harper. She was a crying mess last night. I’ve never seen her that way.”

  And that right there was the thing Jared was worried about most. “She’s really emotional. I don’t know what to make of it.”