Page 91 of Chasing Your Ghost

“Everything about this is supernatural,” Asher pointed out drily.

Riley gave him a flat stare. “Thank you, Sherlock, but what I meant is that it sounds like whoever took you could have supernatural abilities.”

“It makes sense,” Ella agreed. She slowly and gingerly sat up, grimacing with pain and clutching her head as she did so. “Someone with abilities like ours has to be somehow blocking me from getting to him in my dreams.”

“Okay, so whoever took him has some kind of supernatural gift,” Noah said. “But what does he want from Asher? Why is he keeping him alive? Does he know that Asher’s spirit is leaving his body? And how is he keeping Asher alive? It’s been weeks since he was taken, but if he’s still alive that means whoever has him is somehow keeping him from dying of starvation or dehydration.”

“One question at a time,” Chris said. “What do we think he wants from Asher?”

“Well, I could feel cuts on my body,” Asher said, and Riley held up a hand for everyone else to be silent. “That has to mean something.”

Riley told the others what he’d said, her stomach roiling with nausea as she thought of the reasons a supernaturally-inclined kidnapper might have for putting cuts all over their victim’s body.

Everyone went silent after that, the danger Asher was in becoming even more frighteningly evident. While they tried to come to grips with their friend’s situation, Riley thought about the ability Ella had hidden from the rest of them.

Riley wanted to ask her to try it, but she knew it wouldn’t go down well. Ella had been adamant that no one could know. There was another option, though. One that might just be crazy enough to work. And if it didn’t, then she’d beg Ella to reconsider. But, hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that.

“I have a weird idea,” she said, her voice breaking the somber silence. “I have no idea if it will work, and I’m not even sure if it makes any sense, but what if Ella falls asleep holding my hand while I hold Asher’s hand.”

Everyone stared at her like she’d gone completely bananas. It wasn’t precisely the reaction she’d hoped for.

Noah scratched the back of his head. “Uh, I’m not really clear on how holding each other’s hands like we’re about to sing Kumbaya will help.”

Riley pursed her lips. “Think about it. Asher’s body and spirit are connected in some way, right? And I can touch his spirit, which is connected to the body that Ella would be looking for while she’s dreamwalking.”

“You think I’ll be able to use your contact with Asher as a kind of anchor that will make it easier to find his body,” Ella surmised.

“In theory, yes. Whether it will actually work…” She shrugged.

“It’s worth a try,” Noah said. “It’s not like we have any other ideas or leads.”

Asher sent Riley a hopeful smile. “It’s a good idea.”

She felt her cheeks warming under his attention, and her mind strayed to what they’d been doing before Ella called. She cleared her throat and shook her head clear of inappropriate thoughts about Asher’s skill with his tongue. She turned to Ella. “Think you’re up for a nap?”

“More than,” she replied, resting her head in her hands. “But I’d need to sleep for more than an hour to dreamwalk, and I got plenty of sleep last night. I don’t think I’ll be able to do it until tonight.”

Riley suppressed a disappointed sigh. “Right.”

“So, I guess sleepover at my place,” Ella said. “You, Asher, and I can sleep in my parents’ room, as ridiculously awkward as that sounds. Noah and Chris can take my bedroom and the guest room.”

“Typical,” Chris huffed out in amusement. “It’s been my dream for years, but Asher’s the one who’ll be sleeping with two girls.”

“Ew, ew, ew,” Ella squealed. “That’s disgusting. Both that you want that and that you’re implying I would ever do anything non—” She broke off to gag. “Platonic with Asher.”

“Don’t worry, the word ‘platonic’ also makes me nauseous,” Chris assured her.

“I have no words,” Ella told him while the rest of them, Asher included, chuckled.

“Come on,” Chris continued. “You can’t tell me you’ve never thought about having a threesome.”

Ella’s lips slowly curled up. “You know, now that you mention it, I had a threesome in a dream a few nights ago.”

All the boys looked stunned speechless, but Riley bit back her grin, somehow sensing that Ella was going to ruin whatever image had formed in their minds. The woman didn’t disappoint.

“You and Noah were both in it,” Ella told Chris, sending him a wink for good measure. “What do you say we recreate it? Since it’s been your dream for years and all.”

Noah and Chris’s heads slowly turned to look at each other. They quickly put more distance between themselves. “Not the kind of threesome I had in mind,” Chris grumbled.

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