Page 25 of Preying Game

That made her cheeks heat.

I’m shameless.

Of course not.

As he silently spoke the words, she heard a noise in the hall.

Oh no.

Jonah moved away from her just as she heard the lock turn. Her eyes flew open, and with a shaky hand, she pushed herself up, leaning back against the wall just as the door opened.

She knew her face was still hot, her breathing ragged.

The light in the cell had been dim. As it flashed to brightness, she lifted her arm to shield her eyes. But she could see a pair of men’s legs standing in the doorway. Hayward. Who else would it be? Moving her arm a little, she saw he was holding a gun, the way he had last time she’d seen him.

“What the hell is going on here?” he demanded, his fiery gaze searing her.

She shook her head. “Nothing’s going on,” she protested, her voice quavery.

“You’re moving around. Talking to someone.”

“Maybe I’m finally going crazy,” she answered, repeating what she had said the last time he’d questioned her.

“Yeah, maybe.”

She used the light as an excuse to shield her face, but she knew Jonah had gotten up and moved away from her. He had seemed to flicker out of existence when Hayward had opened the door. Now his image steadied as he walked to the side, where he had a line of sight to her captor.

Her gaze swung back to the man with the gun. She had always figured the way to stay alive here was to be compliant. Perhaps that was no longer true. And perhaps she could give the man who thought he had the upper hand something to worry about.

“Is this place haunted?” she asked, putting a shiver into her voice.

Both men in the room looked startled. Hayward recovered and gave her a hard look. “Not that I know of. Why?”

“You asked if I was talking to someone. I think I saw a ghost.”

He laughed, although she could hear a little waver in the sound. “That’s ridiculous.”

Jonah apparently liked her inspiration. He stepped toward Hayward and waved his hand in front of the man’s face.

Hayward made a low sound and took a quick step back. “What was that?”

“I don’t know. Did you see something?”

“You didn’t?”

“No.”

He punched out his next words as he said, “You’re the one who mentioned ghosts.”

“Because I think there’s one down here.”

His voice was icy now. “What did you see exactly?”

“A flickering in the air in the room.”

As she spoke, Jonah waved his hand again, and Hayward moved quickly to the side. The gun in his hand swung toward Jonah, and she gasped.

“What?”

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