42. Cary

42

Cary

I felt it like an electric storm. I was sitting in Deke’s little motorboat, which he left down at the dock for when he and I could get away for some salmon fishing. I’d told Christie if I was lucky, she could make her excellent salmon with rosemary and mustard glaze. It was one of my favorite meals.

Unfortunately, I’d only just settled in when all my instincts told me to get to the manor and get there quickly. I started the engine and headed toward the shore.

The moment I’d tied up the boat and secured it, I looked up and saw another spirit. I recognized him instantly, the Asian man from my dreams—Andre’s lover. The guy who’d left him, not that I blamed him. Those times were not good for gay men. Being afraid for himself and for Andre made sense, but I also couldn’t imagine abandoning someone you cared about, especially knowing how much I cared for Evan.

To leave him would be like stabbing my own heart. The spirit watched me but didn’t speak. Not until I reached the car.

“He will be tested. He’ll be at risk. He will tell you to leave like he told me to, that the only way to save him is for you to let him go. Don’t believe him. It’s a trap.”

I turned to face him, but he was gone. I didn’t know their whole story, but I was getting a clearer picture in my mind. I drove to the manor as fast as I could along the backroads that led there from the river.

It made sense that the old man would’ve told Andre’s lover he needed to leave to save him. His life and freedom had been at risk as well. Of course, it had.

I drove up to the manor and could feel the nasty entity’s presence. It was laced with anger and… malice. That was something new. Something I hadn’t sensed there before. The entity was hateful and mean. He was violent too, but this was different. Something deep and foreboding.

I rushed through the front door, past a group of people taking selfies, and into the foyer just in time to see a man put his hands on Evan and shake him. “I’m not paying that, do you understand?”

I immediately grabbed the man and pulled him away from Evan. I was about to put the asshat on his butt when Evan stopped me. “You should go,” Evan told the stranger. “You came here to stir up trouble. You’ve succeeded. Now you should go.”

The man stared at Evan and then looked to me. “I’ll go, but you’ll be hearing from my attorney.”

“You know where I’m at,” Evan said.

“Do you need me to escort him out?” I asked, and Evan shook his head. “No, but, Andy, if you don’t get your things and leave now, I will be forced to call the sheriff. Do you understand?”

The group who’d been taking selfies walked in and luckily hadn’t noticed anything off, but Andy glanced at them and back over to Evan before looking at me. “I’ll go,” he said, and turned to walk up the stairs.

I was about to ask questions when Evan shook his head. So, I began pacing around the foyer. We’d done all the work in here before opening, so there wasn’t really anything for me to do maintenance-wise , but I pretended to be busy until the arrogant jackass came back down, luggage in hand.

He slammed the room key on the reception desk so loud, the guests in the foyer jumped and looked at him. He sneered at me again, then scowled at Evan before making his exit.

I didn’t need Evan to tell me who the man was. I could feel it now that I’d calmed down. He and Evan had been intimate once. It only made sense, the man was Evan’s ex.

The moment the asshole walked out the door, slamming it behind him, the lights began to flicker and charged energy flowed around us.

I chanted quietly, eyes closed, and turned slightly to make it look like I was whispering to Evan. In fact, I was chanting to force the nasty one back. That should’ve worked, but instead of him withdrawing, I felt someone’s hands around my neck.

Clear a path, feel this charm,

End this spirit’s power to harm.

The spirit fell back, but somehow, some way, he had regained his strength. I instinctively knew, it had something to do with Evan… with his ex, that is.

The entity came back, slightly weaker with my spell, but still strong enough to strangle me. Then I caught sight of Inez and Andre’s spirits.

They came at the entity in a rush, and I felt more than saw the struggle as it happened around me. Lights flickered, again, and occasionally, I’d catch sight of the three of them as they fought.

After what felt like an eternity passed, the evil one retreated, but there was no doubt he was back with a vengeance. Fear and a deep sense of foreboding surrounded me. Fuck if the reckoning we’d been expecting hadn’t just begun.