Page 70 of Property of Anchor

I stood with him and dragged my fingers down my face.“I’ll rest when this son of a bitch is dead.”

He didn’t argue.

We both knew that was the only kind of peace I’d get.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Pearl

I didn’t know how long I’d been standing in the middle of the haunted house, staring at the same damn wall, but the paintbrush in my hand had gone dry.Again.

Bernice’s voice cracked across the empty air like a whip.“You planning to paint that wall with your mind, girl, or are we actually working today?”

I blinked.“What?”

She waved her own brush in a lazy circle.“You’ve been holding that thing like it was a magic wand, but unless you’re about to conjure me a new back and a margarita, I’d suggest actually dipping it in some paint.”

Molly snorted from a few feet away.“If Pearl starts conjuring drinks, I’m gonna need a double.My arms are killing me.”

I gave them a half-smile and dipped the brush back into the tray.“Sorry.Just zoning out.”

Bernice raised a brow but didn’t press.She’d been giving me a little side-eye ever since I showed up this morning, same as yesterday.I didn’t blame her.I’d been off.

Most people would be if they knew there was a psycho out there planning to kill them.

We all got to work, but I knew they were watching me.Dad especially.My dad didn’t hover, not usually, but today, he kept drifting close, asking if I needed water or a break.I appreciated it, I really did, but it only made the anxious little buzz in my chest worse.

When lunchtime rolled around, Jake and Brian took off down the path to grab their lunch from their trucks, and Molly joined them, claiming she needed fresh air.

I sat on the bottom step of the grand staircase, paint flecks clinging to my skin, and leaned my head back until it hit the banister behind me.

Lost, who’d been stationed by the front door since eight a.m., cleared his throat.“You good, Pearl?”

“Fine,” I lied.

“You’ve been off today.Normally you’re all over the place painting.”

I looked at him through half-lidded eyes.“You keeping tabs on my productivity, too?”

He shrugged.“Kinda my job, isn’t it?And you didn’t put me to work today.”

That made me grin, just a little.“Your job is to keep me safe, and I’ll make sure to put you to work after lunch.”

“Forget I said anything,” he chuckled.

Bernice clomped down the stairs like she was trying to scare the ghosts out of the walls.She huffed once, dramatically, and planted her fists on her hips.

“I’m headed to the cabins.This body don’t run without fuel, and I’ve had just about enough paint fumes to give a horse a headache.”

I turned to look at her and smiled.“Do you want me to walk with you?”

She waved me off like I was a nuisance.“You stay.This old lady can make it to her cabin without dropping dead.”She paused, scanned the big room, and her gaze lingered on the front door.She sniffed.“Though this place feels weird today.Make sure that biker man keeps his arms tight around you, Pearl.Some things can slip through the cracks.”She gave me a look that landed like a chill and then turned on her heel, marching out the front door.

I watched her go, confused and a little uneasy.I moved out the front door and sat on the top step of the porch.

“What the hell was that about?”Lost asked.

“I...don’t know.”I turned toward him.“Bernice says a lot of things that sound like metaphors wrapped in riddles.But that one?That felt off.”

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