Page 73 of Chasing Your Ghost

He let out a loud huff. “Sure, why not? I’m already out of the loop, so what’s the harm of more secrets I won’t be involved in.”

Before Riley could make excuses and promise he’d be in the loop soon, Chris was walking down the front steps of Ella’s house to give them privacy.

“We’re here because Asher specifically included Ella on his list of people he wanted me to tell the truth to,” she told Noah for the fifth time. “You know he cared about her, so put your hatred aside while we’re here because we both know Asher would want Ella to be included in this stupid truth fest you’re so determined to hold.”

Noah’s jaw worked as his teeth audibly ground together, and Riley was surprised flames weren’t coming out of his flared nostrils. His spirit animal was probably a dragon, but she chose not to enlighten him on that delightful fact, especially not when they were there to see the source of his rage.

“Fine,” he eventually growled out. “I’ll try to play nice.”

It wasn’t exactly the promise of civility she’d been hoping for, but Riley took it, knowing she wasn’t likely to get much better. “Thank you. Now, where is she? She should have answered the door by now.”

“Maybe she didn’t hear me knocking,” Noah replied dryly before shrugging. “Let’s just go. She’s probably not here.”

Riley pursed her lips. “Her car is in the driveway,” she reminded him. “Let’s try one more time,” she insisted before knocking on the door herself.

“Guys,” Chris called out from where he’d retreated to the sidewalk in front of Ella’s house. When Riley and Noah turned, he pointed down the street.

Riley’s head swiveled to find what he was gesturing toward, and she smiled when she saw Ella walking toward them, a Yorkie trotting in front of her on a leash. The Yorkie started barking at Chris when Ella got closer, and the girl picked up the black and tan dog, who immediately went quiet and started licking its owner’s hands.

Ella’s steps slowed as she took in her three visitors. Wariness exuded from her facial expression and body language, and Riley didn’t miss how her eyes grew vulnerable and scared when she looked at Noah. The circles under her eyes were just as dark as the last time Riley had seen her, their presence a sure sign that despite Noah and Chris’s doubts, Asher’s disappearance was still hitting her hard.

“Hi,” Riley said, stepping down the stairs and joining Ella and Chris on the sidewalk.

Ella’s dark brown eyes moved to land on her, suspicion lending them a furtive quality. “Hi,” she replied. Her gaze flickered to Chris and Noah. “What are you doing here?”

“We tried to call you, but you didn’t answer your phone,” Noah said tersely, his promise of trying to be civil apparently forgotten.

Ella swallowed and looked down at the dog in her arms. “Sorry. I left it in the house to charge,” she explained quietly.

“Who’s this cutie pie?” Riley asked in the hopes of breaking the tension, her hand lifting to scratch behind the dog’s ear.

“His name is Archie.”

“Hi, Archie,” Riley cooed, chuckling when the dog began licking her fingers instead of Ella’s. “He’s so cute.”

“Yes, he’s just adorable,” Noah ground out. “Now, can we please stop wasting time and get to it?”

Riley took in a deep calming breath and nodded. “Can we go inside?” she asked Ella. “We need to talk.”

“Uh, okay,” the young woman replied uncertainly. “What is this about?”

“I’d like to know that, too,” Chris muttered.

Riley tugged on her lip with her teeth, hoping Noah wasn’t wrong about this. If he was wrong, and Chris and Ella reacted the way most people would, things would end badly. Drawing in another deep breath, Riley took a leap of faith. “It’s about Asher.”

Chris started swearing and demanding answers from his friend, but Riley kept her attention on Ella, who had gone rigid, not even seeming to notice when Archie began whining and licking her chin.

“Oh,” she choked out. “Let’s go inside then.”

Riley, Noah, and an agitated Chris followed her into the house, trailing after her as she led them through the entrance hall and into a slightly messy living room. Several mugs stood haphazardly on the wooden coffee table, and loose pages with illegible scrawls were scattered across the coffee table, the blue fabric armchair, and the light gray couch. Ella put Archie on the floor, unclipped his leash, and hastily began gathering the pieces of paper.

“What are these?” Noah asked, picking up one of the pages from the armchair and squinting at the messy scribbles.

“None of your business,” Ella replied firmly and a bit too loudly as she snatched the page from his hands. She clutched the pile of collected papers to her chest as though they were a treasure she had to protect or a secret that needed to be hidden from their prying eyes.

Noah held up his hands and backed away, but the gesture screamed of mockery. He didn’t care about reassuring Ella, and Riley hated seeing this ugly side Ella brought out in him.

“Can one of you please tell us what the hell is going on?” Chris said with an impatient sigh.

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