Page 5 of Séance

It’s only then that I become aware of the raised voices. Knowing the spirit is correct, that if I don’t leave now, I’ll never escape, I shuffle toward the door, doing my best not to hyperventilate.

I avoid my father, knowing better than to get within striking distance. It only takes a moment for one of the officers to spot me. Some police look the other way when confronted with my abuse, apathetic to the job after the horrors they’ve witnessed, while others take the easy paycheck my father offers. In my experience, very few officers actually give a shit about justice.

The police officer’s expression hardens when he catches sight of me, and I’m not sure which category he falls under…until he offers me his hand. “Miss, if you need help, all you have to do is step out the door.”

I must look terrible, or he’s one of the good ones. Either way, I take a chance. Despite my hellish life, I desperately want to live. I’m not ready to give up yet. Ignoring the way my father silently fumes, his eyes narrowing with the promise of vengeance, I slip out the door. Inhaling deeply, I feel like I’m breathing fresh air for the first time in my life, like I’ve been pardoned from a lifelong prison sentence.

My father won’t let me go easily. Not only do I make him too much money, but he hasn’t made me suffer enough yet for killing his wife. He’ll come for me—either to take me back or kill me. The only way to survive is to outwit my father, learn how to control my abilities before the dead destroy me, and not die in the process.

Easy-peasy!

Chapter Two

ELLIS

Ifocus on my computer, conscious of Hicks blasting his music in the background as he works on some deal on his phone. While I can sit in front of a computer for hours and lose track of time, Hicks is always in motion—a nervous tic that helps him concentrate. He’s only still when he’s sleeping, and that’s only for a few hours before he’s up and doing it all over again.

While he might bitch that he hates his parents for focusing more on money than family, he has the same Midas touch. Not content to live off his parents, he works hard to build his own fortune. Given all the stipulations his family placed on his trust fund, I can’t say I blame him.

I’m currently digging into one of the businesses he’s thinking about investing in, hacking their firewall to see what skeletons they might have buried in their basement. Their security is surprisingly good, which only makes me more suspicious. This company has been on the rise for the last ten years, eating up the competition.

No one is that lucky.

A piercing beep of a truck backing up shreds my concentration, and I glare out the window at the offending vehicle, pausing when it looks like a large delivery truck is backing up to the house next door.

We just returned from summering in Europe, and it’s taking me an annoyingly long time to adjust to the time shift. It’s only eight in the morning, but I’ve been up for hours.

Just as I turn away to go back to work, the neighbor’s door opens, and the most gorgeous creature I have ever seen practically skips down the steps in her rush. Her hair is a dark cotton candy pink, the sides pulled back to display her stunning face. Curls bounce with every movement, and they look so alive that my fingers itch to touch the strands.

Her face is like something you only see on the front of those fancy girl magazines. Her lips are full and painted a bright red that should clash with her pink hair, but it does the opposite, drawing my attention to her luscious mouth. She has lips that beg to be kissed, and a mouth that has my cock hardening with the need to fuck.

I’m not a man whore like the others, but I do enjoy my share of attention from the opposite sex. Seeing her makes me realize I’ve been looking for women in all the wrong places. She’s like a jewel catching the light and sparkling amongst dull stones. Although she’s slim, she has curves in all the right places, and my mouth waters with the need to taste every inch of her.

I don’t realize my face is pressed against the glass for a better look until Hicks stops beside me.

“What are you doing?” He elbows me aside, a scowl on his face as he peers out the window. “What did the crazy old coot do now?” His voice is full of both exasperation and affection.

I know the instant he spots the girl—he stills completely, like a predator ready to pounce. I’m not even sure he’s breathing, but I can’t turn away from the girl to check, enchanted by her elegantmovements as she guides the truck up the driveway. “Did you get a new neighbor while we were away?”

“You have new neighbors?” Jaceson queries, sauntering in from the bathroom with a towel hanging low on his hips and another towel in his hands as he scrubs his hair. He spent the last week up in mud country. The instant he got home, he jumped in the shower, working to chisel off the two inches of dirt he accumulated on his trip.

Although we aren’t brothers in blood, we’re closer than any family, and we spend nearly every minute in each other’s company. We’ve been best friends since kindergarten, when we realized we all have a crappy home life. Most of the time, we either stay at Hicks’ place or the twins’. None of their parents are around much, so it works.

Hicks only grunts in response to our question, and I shake my head. “No, look, Mrs. Killaghan just walked out on the porch.”

Hicks doesn’t even spare the old woman a glance, too busy tracking the new girl’s every move. Jaceson drops his towel and yanks on a pair of jeans before joining us at the window. Since he’s taller than us, he easily looks over our heads.

“That’s prime pussy. Jameson is going to be all over that if he catches a whiff of her,” Jaceson mutters to himself. The hand toweling his hair stills, and I sigh when he falls under her spell as well.

Hicks scowls but doesn’t turn away from the window. “Not if I get to her first and win her over. It would be convenient to have pussy next door.”

“Since when?” My eyebrows shoot up at his uncharacteristic reply, but I don’t bother to tear my gaze away from the girl to call him on his bullshit. “Wouldn’t that mess with your fuck them and leave them motto? You hate when the girls you fuck getpossessive and clingy. Fucking the girl next door is just begging to be stalked.”

Instead of putting him off, he just shrugs, a look of curiosity on his face. “Being stalked by her wouldn’t be so bad.”

There goes any hope of my winning her affection. Between Hicks and Jameson, I’ll be left in the dust. Not that I don’t have my own way with women, but we each have our individual sexual preferences. While the other guys are much more aggressive in their pursuit of a woman, I like to wine and dine them and do the whole romance thing before taking them to bed.

This is the first time we’ve run across someone who captures all our attention.

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