Page 102 of Blood Bound (Blood Mafia 3)

Chapter Twenty-One

Mateo

X is sitting at the kitchen table, tied to the chair. Maria hurries over to untie her.

“What are you doing?” A specter materializes, its form vibrating as it speaks. The curtains in the house flutter in response to its presence.

“Howard?” I ask. Taking a step, I squint at the grayish version of him.

He turns to face me, eyes not registering who I am. “What are you doing?”

“Daddy?”

I recognize the tiny voice which belongs to Sammy, Nix’s daughter. She appears next to X who thrashes against her bindings, and screams through her gag.

“Hold on, X. I’m almost through.” Maria’s knife slides through the zip tie on X’s ankle.

“What are you doing?” Sammy tips her head to the side, her specter form warbling. “That’s Mommy’s toy.”

“What the hell kind of freaky Friday shit is this?” Maria mutters to herself, ignoring the girl and slicing through the zip tie around X’s wrists.

X rips the gag out of her mouth. “Run!”

She dashes from the chair, falling in her haste. Scrambling to stand, she continues heading to the exit.

“You can’t leave!” Howard’s voice booms through the house.

The door snaps shut.

“What the fuck?” I ask no one in particular.

Maria huffs. “Fucking poltergeists.”

X staggers to her feet, stumbling into the wall. “We need to get out.” She wraps her fingers around the handle and twists it. When she jerks on it, it doesn’t budge. X whines. “No, fuck. No.” She bangs on the wood. “Fucking whore. Let me out!”

I flash to her and yank her against me. “You’re okay.”

She shakes her head. “You don’t understand.”

A knife whizzes through the air, flipping end over end. I spin in time to avoid getting hit in the face. Maria shouts and drops to the floor when a pan flies toward her.

“Break the fucking window!”

I flash to the dining room, grab the chair and hurl it at the window. Except Howard raises his hand, stopping the chair mid-flight and flinging it back at me.

Flashing out of the way, I try the next chair. And the next. Every time I throw one, Howard stops it. X and Maria are yelling and cursing, dodging whatever Sammy is sending their way.

“This is ridiculous. Howard, let us go.” Specters can listen to reason, right?

“You can’t leave,” he says again before shooting his hand toward the ceiling.

I glance up. The metal chain holding up the chandelier shakes and rips free. The ten-point candle holder swoops toward me. I kick my foot out, sending it in Howard’s direction instead. The metal passes straight through him and makes its way back to me.

How do you fight a ghost?

Someone screams outside. My heart gives a heavy thump. I have to get out there. Demi needs me.

“Howard, I need to go help Nix. Let me go to her, she’s in trouble.”

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