Page 54 of His to Haunt

“Okay, cool. Then who was it?”

“The man. Ya know, Big Daddy. Man of the house.”

I stare at her, trying to make sense out of nonsense.

“Does Big Daddy have a name?”

“Says I can call him D for short.’

D as in Diavol? No, it’s nonsense.

I stare at her, stunned, my gut deep-diving. It seems that no matter how hard I try to keep my wits about me in this hell hole, the odds are stacked against me.

I take a calming breath, inhaling and exhaling through my nose.

“What does he look like?” I ask calmly.

“He looks…hm…like Zand. But older. Taller.”

I throw my head back, losing my cool.

“This is ridiculous,” I say through gritted teeth.

“Fine, then. See ya later,” she hisses, slamming the door behind her like an angry teenager as she goes. I open the door, going after her.

“Hold on! Are you taking a cab?”

“That’s my business,” she shouts over her shoulder.

“I will drive you,” I offer, not wanting her to go out alone. It’s not just her I’m worried about; it’s this fucking town!

I chase as she hurries out the door halfway down the hill when I catch up to her. The cab is waiting on the other side of the gate.

“Mom, stop! I will take you.”

“I don’t need your help, Leena!” she says, pushing the code into the gate and hurrying out as it opens. She gets into the cab and shuts the door.

“Do you have your phone on you?” I call out, worried I won’t be able to track her. But she ignores or can’t hear me, looking downward as if sorting through her purse. The cabbie turns the car around and heads off.

Defeated, I throw my hands up, dropping them down. I think I’ve had enough now. Tears spurt from my face in frustration as I close the gate. As I walk back up, the great old alien house looms over me, and I feel no motivation to return inside.

Instead, I head across the grounds until I reach the path that leads to the cemetery. It’s bright and sunny and clearly visible through the woods—the one good thing about today.

When I reach the cemetery full of Byrons, I find three large headstones with caged cemeteries. One has fresh dirt. My stomach drops. Fuck. My sister really dug that up? Was she caught? What happened after that? What happened between the time when she dug up this grave and the time when she went missing? Who spilled my sister’s blood, and why?

This is pure, rage-inducing insanity!

Furious, I follow the path until I reach Zand’s cottage. His cars are parked. Angry and wanting answers, I bang on his door.

He answers, pulling me inside.

I go from knocking on his door to suddenly looking up at him with my back against the wall, his hands on the wall above me, his stormy eyes peering into me.

“I want answers!” I scream at him, tears spurting from my eyes.

With that, he kisses me.

It isn’t a cold kiss. Not an angry kiss. His kiss is full of sadness, like a desperate goodbye between lovers, and…it is the sexiest kiss I have ever experienced.

---