“I’m fine. Promise me we’ll get rid of him. I want to move on from this.”
“We will. I can’t promise it will be tonight. I hope like fuck it will be. Otherwise, me and you are finding another place to live. But I promise I won’t stop until he’s gone.” Liam kissed her again, only more passionately this time. Then he pulled away. “We’re going to get started. We’ll do some investigating first before we start digging. I’ll bring you back in a little bit. There won’t be any solo investigations this time. Things are just too unpredictable. It’s best to stay together as a group.”
“Okay. I’ll be watching from the van. Be careful.”
“Always.” And Liam let her go. He watched as she reached the front door to the building where Trey held it open for her, and she proceeded down the steps to the van where Lexi was waiting for her.
“I forgot to ask you,” Luke said. “Why do you want to investigate first? Shouldn’t we start digging first?”
“I want to tear up that ground just as much as you do, brother. But I want to gather as much evidence as possible in case we do find a body or any bones and have to stop and call the police.”
Luke nodded his head at his friend’s explanation. “Where do we begin?”
Twenty-Seven
Emily tried to calm her nerves by watching Liam on the monitor. The night vision camera was trained on him as he walked around the basement with a camera in hand. She fiddled with her hands in her lap, trying to distract herself from the burning of the scratches left on her arm. She’d put Liam’s jacket on, the one he always kept in the van, and with each breath she inhaled deeply to soak up his scent.
Thankful more than ever that Lexi was with her. She’d missed her. Lexi’s companionship through their childhood had been Emily’s one constant. The one element in her life that she could count on to stay the same.
“So. You and Liam seem pretty serious,” Lexi stated while she poured a cup of coffee.
“Yeah,” Emily said with a grin. “We are.”
“Despite everything you told me that’s happened since you’ve been here, you look so much more relaxed and so happy.”
“I am happy. Liam is amazing. He’s kind and thoughtful, and his parents and friends are incredible. With everything that’s happened over the years, if I could go back and change anything, I wouldn’t. I would keep it all the same because all of it led me to Liam.”
Lexi smiled at her friend. “Em, did you sleep with him?”
Emily looked up. No verbal answer was needed. The smile and crimson color she felt taking hold of her face told her friend everything.
Lexi’s eyes widened, and her eyebrows lifted. “Yeah?”
“Yes,” Emily said, letting out a sigh of relief. She hadn’t intentionally kept information from Lexi. The two just hadn’t found time to connect long enough for her to confide in her friend. “I’ve never been more okay. It’s weird. Even with all of this shit going on, I’m still happy. As long as I’m near Liam, everything is perfect. I don’t know why, but it is. And I’m not letting this asshole of a ghost take that away from me.”
“I’m so proud of you, Em. Promise me you’ll stay positive. I know you’ll get through this.”
Emily nodded and took a sip of her coffee. When she looked up, she noticed Lexi fixated at the monitor that had Trey on camera. “So… You and Trey?”
Lexi shook her head and moved her attention away from the video screen. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“Oh, come on!” Emily said. “I saw the look he gave you.”
“What look? There was no look.”
“I think he has the hots for you, girl.”
“What!” Lexi said in disbelief. “He does not. We just met! He’s nice, and I’ll admit, good looking too. Really, good looking. But I don’t have time for a relationship. Right now, my only focus is landing this job and finding a place to live. And, making sure you’re okay.”
Emily was about to respond, but Lexi held up her hand to stop her and pointed her attention to the gentleman walking toward them.
He was of average height, with dark skin, similar to Trey’s complexion, and wore a jacket that featured a local sports team’s logo.
“Good evening,” he said as he reached the van. “I take it this is Liam’s team’s van. Liam sent me a text and told me you would be waiting here. I’m Dave Larson. They called and said they needed my help.”
“Yes,” Emily held out her hand to introduce herself. “I’m Emily, and this is my friend Lexi. Liam, Trey, and Luke are in the house. There was an incident a little while ago. They wanted us to wait in the van for a little bit while they got started. I can radio Liam and let them know you are here.”
“Please do. Is everyone okay?”
Emily nodded. “Yes. Everyone is fine. A bit shaken up, but okay.” She reached for the walkie talkie in the van and radioed Liam.
In a matter of seconds, Liam opened the front door to the building. “Dave!” he called out as he walked up to the man to hug him. “It’s so good to see you.”
“You too, Liam. Tell me. What is going on? This place feels so much heavier than the last time I was here.”
***
Dave inhaled deeply as they passed the threshold of the house. “Liam, can I walk around first? There’s a lot of energy here. I need to try and sort it out. Find out what exactly is going on.”
“Of course. We are right behind you.” Liam brought Dave up to speed with everything related to the haunting, but he purposely left out the information about who they believed the presence in the house was.
“Liam, this is not good. I don’t know how I never picked up on it before. Emily, you moving in was definitely the catalyst of this presence waking up,” Dave huffed out. He continued down the hall. “I don’t need to go upstairs, Liam. Everything is centered down here, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” both Emily and Liam answered. Then Liam added, “The only time any activity happens upstairs is when Emily is up there with me.”
Dave walked into Emily’s flat. After circling around the living room, he stopped. “Okay. This is what I’m getting in here. It’s definitely a male energy. He’s not demonic. Although it might seem like it at times. He’s powerful and possessive. His view on this is ‘she’s mine’ ” Dave pointed at Emily, trying to convey what he was picking up. “He thinks you belong to him. He is adamant about that.”
Liam asked, “Why now? Why haunt her to this extreme now after all of these years?”
Dave looked at his friend and said, “It’s you. You are in the picture. You are her love, and he knows it. He’s always known it. He’s pacing back and forth, agitated. He’s frustrated because as far as he’s concerned, she’s his, like a piece of property. And you stole her from him. We need to move downstairs. Is that possible?”
“Yes. Of course,” Liam said as he led the way to the stairs to the basement.
Downstairs Trey and Luke were busy doing some EVP sessions. “Anything?” Liam asked.
“Nothing, man. It’s totally quiet,” Luke responded. “Dave, how are you?”
“Good, thanks. Guys, this spirit feels really unpredictable. He’s possessive and can go into a rage at the flip of a switch. Be careful. He is here even though it seems quiet. He’s right here, watching. I haven’t felt a haunting this strong in a very long time.”
Trey and Luke looked at Liam, surprised. Dave was already in full investigation mode, and he had only just arrived. Dave noticed the rented equipment to the side and immediately knew what the guys were planning on doing. “I have to tell you guys, you won’t find any bodies here.”
“You’re certain?” Luke asked.
“I can feel it. They were here. You might find evidence of a grave, but you won’t find bones.”
“We are pretty sure we won’t find anything either, but we want to be sure,” Liam stated.
“I believe they were here at one time. Two of them. A man and a woman. But the earth was disturbed aga
in and they were removed.”
“Any idea where they might be now?”
“I don’t know,” Dave answered.
“I think we should dig anyway. Just to be one hundred percent sure.” Trey suggested.
“I agree,” Luke responded
“Me too.” Emily looked at Liam. “We should dig. Even if it’s only a little ways down. Just to make sure. I know what I’ve seen in my dreams. I just need to know.”
“Okay,” Liam told her.
“If it’s okay with you guys,” Dave spoke up, “I would like to stay for as long as possible. I feel like things will really pick up, and I don’t want to leave you guys yet. I think he’ll let me communicate with him at some point.”
“Absolutely, Dave. Stay as long as you like. We really appreciate all of your help.”
Luke, Trey, and Liam all grabbed shovels.
“Man, I am glad this floor is only dirt in here,” Liam quipped as he began digging. “That son of a bitch has been enough of a pain in the ass lately. Having to bust through some concrete would have been even more of a pain in the ass.”
They all laughed, including Emily and Dave.
“Don’t provoke too much, Liam,” Dave added.
“I’m not provoking, man. I’m just speaking the truth.”
A while later, Liam and his teammates managed to move a few feet of dirt from the center of the room. The floor may have been dirt, but it was compacted and hard to work through. They stopped when something caught Luke’s eye. He pointed to get everyone’s attention. “Look there.”
Liam bent down to move more loose dirt away from the area Luke pointed out. At first, he couldn’t see what had caught his friend’s eye until his hand touched what felt like damp, rough fabric. The realization that he was touching fabric caused his stomach to tighten into a knot. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to continue at that point. Part of him wanted to grab Emily and run. Fuck the house renovations. Fuck the ghost. And fuck his plans. He just wanted to leave, didn’t want his girl seeing whatever was lying beneath that dirt.
After taking a few breaths, he managed to calm his nerves. The thoughts that crossed his mind were an easy way out. Too easy. He knew the mother fucker would follow them. It had been tormenting Emily her entire life. There was no reason to think that it wouldn’t continue to follow her. And now that he had found her, he was going to make sure Emily would be able to finally live her life in peace, and hopefully, he would be right by her side.
“Oh my god. Is that clothing?” Lexi whispered.
“Looks like it,” Trey nodded and bent next to Liam. “Does it feel like it’s attached or stuck to anything?”
“No. At least not yet.” Liam resumed shoveling. Luke reached down and pulled the fabric once it seemed like it was uncovered enough to move. Liam was right. It wasn’t attached to anything. It was a small, beige-colored lace sewn to another solid piece of fabric underneath. And it was clear that it had come from a piece of clothing.
Emily bent her knees and knelt on the dirt floor. Lexi was still standing next to her and bent with her, placing her hand on her shoulder. “Em, it’s okay.”
Liam was up and out of the ditch in seconds. “What’s wrong, baby?”
“It’s Abigail’s,” Emily spoke and with her trembling shoulders hunched over.
“She’s right,” Dave confirmed. That belonged to a woman. But she’s not here anymore. Neither is the man. They were moved. But they died here. I know that for sure.”
Liam looked at his friends and back to Dave. “I know. We know.”
Luke walked to the corner of the room where they had placed some of their equipment while they were digging and picked up what looked like a small, round device that looked like a speaker.
“What is that?” Lexi asked with a shaky breath.
“It’s what we call a spirit box,” Luke answered. “It’s similar to the voice recorder, only we can actually hear a spirit come through in real-time. So, there’s no delay in reviewing the audio. We can ask questions and hopefully get a response immediately. It’s going to be loud because it scans frequencies. So, we will hear a lot of white noise. And if we are lucky, this assholes voice will come through.”
Luke switched on the device, and just like he had explained, the room was filled with the sound of static. He held the device out to Liam, and he took it from his friend. Liam asked, “Who are you?”
To everyone’s shock, a voice immediately came through. A deep one who both Emily and Liam recognized. Emily paled. Liam hugged her tighter, trying to keep his anger under control when the voice replied, “James.”
Liam felt sick. He had encountered many entities in his years of doing paranormal work—even demonic and dangerous ones. But none had ever given him the feeling of dread like this one. His skin broke out in a sweat, and his stomach churned, nauseating him. The anger he’d brought under control from earlier in the evening rose to the surface. The only thing that helped keep it in check was that he knew the end was near for this spirit. He had his best friends and Dave. He knew they had his back—both his and Emily’s.
“Banks.” Liam gathered all of his will power to tamp down his fear and anger once more. The last thing he wanted to have happen was for Emily to see him scared. But he was scared. Down to his core, he was terrified and pissed the fuck off too. He blew out a breath and managed to speak with a clear and calm voice. “Why are you still here?”
“You stole her from me.” The voice came through, clear.
Liam answered, “No. She was never yours.”
“She was mine,” it growled.
“You lied to her. You killed Abigail’s parents just to get to her.” Now, Liam was yelling. His hands shook with the adrenaline pumping through his veins.
“She is mine.”
“I was never yours,” Emily shouted. Her voice shaky but stern. “You took my life and the life of the man I loved. You’re a monster.”
“Good girl.” Liam leaned into her and whispered in her ear. “You heard her, Banks. Over a hundred years later, and she still feels the same. And so do I. We found each other again. You still lose. You will never have her.”
“I’ll have her.”
“You’re dead, Banks. You may be haunting this house, but you’re still dead. We are alive, and you’re going to leave us alone.”
A frightening growl then came through the audio of the spirit box. Liam turned off the box. He looked at Emily and held her close. “Dave?”
“Right here.”
“What do you suggest? How do we get rid of this son of a bitch?”
Dave bent his head and closed his eyes for a few moments before looking back up at his friend. “He feels conflicted. Mentally, when he was alive, he wasn’t right in the head, for lack of a better term. He was always conflicted. Knowing what he wanted to do wasn’t right, but he couldn’t help it. He was mentally unstable and knows what he’s been doing by haunting Emily isn’t right. Knows what he did was wrong. But he doesn’t know any other way to be. I think doing a cleansing will work. I know it doesn’t seem like it, but he’s scared and is worried about what he will encounter once he moves on. This place has become his safety zone. He was trapped in this house?”
“Yes,” Liam confirmed. “Phil stated in his note that a seer trapped him here, to keep him contained. I have a feeling she was more of a witch. He mentioned spells and that she put one on Phil as a boy to keep him alive. Phil was the son of Charles, Banks’ Butler.”
“Oh. My. God,” Dave said in disbelief. “Okay. This is making more sense to me now.”
“What do you mean?” Trey asked.
“I’ve been seeing flashes of a woman. Not Abigail, another woman. I think she may be the seer Phil is referring to. She left these images specifically for me. She’s showing me that her spell can be broken. That Banks can be released from this house if I can convince him to move on.”
Everyone looked to one another as Dave spoke words containing a glimmer of hope. “Because
he’s so strong, Emily, he was able to keep an eye on you. He wants to continue controlling you even from afar. He still feels like he has the right to be possessive over you. It will take a lot of convincing, but I feel like I may be able to move him to the other side.”
Twenty-Eight
“W
hat’s the plan?” Liam stated in a half growl when he entered his living room where everyone had gathered. He hadn’t meant to sound brash, but he couldn’t help it if he tried. His only concern at that moment was getting through the rest of the night and sending Banks to wherever the hell he needed to go was. He wanted to move on with his life with Emily. He’d left her in the bedroom of his flat with Lexi. The sight of the marks Banks had put on her killed him.
Luke looked up and put his finger to his lips in a hushed motion. That’s when he noticed Dave sitting in the corner of the room, meditating. He’d seen Dave in this state before and knew he was preparing for what was to come. Dave needed to ground himself and gather energy. This was going to be a hell of a fight.
Liam sat in a chair next to Trey and Luke. The three men huddled close together and spoke in a whispered tone.
“Dave is going to open a portal and try to move Banks toward the light.”
Liam nodded.
“This is going to be intense. Not just because Dave feels the need to prepare like he is, but we haven’t come in contact with as powerful an entity as Banks in a long time. He’s not going to go without a fight.”
“I agree,” Liam told his friend.
“Liam?” Luke spoke. “I know this is a personal case for you. For us. But I have to ask, do you want us to continue to roll the cameras and equipment and gather evidence. Because we’ll understand if you want to keep this private?”
“Hell fucking yes,” Liam replied. “I appreciate your guys’ concern, but this is still a case. We gather evidence. All of it and treat it like we do all of our cases, with confidentiality and respect.”
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