Chapter 6

6

Cash speddown the back roads of Keating Hollow, desperate to get to Harlow. He knew he should have never left her side. Not after what went down at the pub. He tightened his grip on the steering wheel and said a silent prayer of thanks that he had previously taken it upon himself to find out where she lived, despite the fact that it made him feel a little bit like a stalker.

If there was anything he’d learned over his years of ghost hunting, it was that one could never be too prepared. Knowing where she lived just made good sense. That fact was proven when Shaun had his vision and Harlow’s phone had gone straight to voice mail.

He hadn’t hesitated. The moment Shaun indicated that Harlow was in trouble, Cash had bolted. Shaun hadn’t tried to tag along, and Cash hadn’t offered. He’d rather his brother stay home, safe from whatever was going down at Harlow’s place. Once Cash got there, he’d be putting all his efforts into helping Harlow and didn’t need a distraction in the form of his brother, who had never wanted anything to do with ghosts.

The horror of what had happened to Harlow’s sister was enough for him to insist that his brother never get involved with any spirit, especially a vindictive one. Since he was a seer and not a ghost hunter, there wasn’t much he could do anyway.

The five-mile drive seemed to take hours. Cash stepped on the gas, taking the curves faster than he should. And when his Jeep swerved due to his reckless driving, he just tightened his grip and kept his foot on the gas.

Harlow was in danger. Nothing, not even curvy back roads, were going to slow him down. When he finally reached Harlow’s long driveway, he whipped the Jeep in and skidded to a stop. A quick glance told him the Subaru she’d been driving earlier wasn’t in sight. The ball of unease that had settled in his gut grew as he bounded out of the vehicle and ran up the stairs to her apartment.

His insistent knocking went unanswered. Cash pulled his phone out, hit her number, and was once again greeted by her voice mail.

“Dammit.” Unwilling to just leave without checking to make sure that Harlow wasn’t lying hurt inside, he pulled out a set of lock picks and went to work on the door. Over the years, the tools had come in handy more times than he could count. Surely Harlow would understand his need to invade her privacy once she heard about Shaun’s premonition. She’d witnessed his gift—or curse—almost as many times as Cash had. She knew just how accurate his visions were.

The lock clicked and Cash burst into the apartment, only to be hit with a wave of nausea. The place was a mess. There were broken dishes strewn all over the kitchen. A few lamps had shattered. And the furniture was askew as if there had been a struggle. Swallowing the bile that had collected at the back of his throat, he rushed into the bedroom, confirming that Harlow wasn’t in the apartment. And judging by the open drawers in her dresser and the random pieces of clothing that had fallen to the floor, he guessed she’d left in a hurry.

Cash stalked back into the living room and narrowed his eyes as he scanned the area, taking note of all the details. The door hadn’t shown signs of a forced entry. Most of the items that had been smashed or tossed to the ground were relatively lightweight. And just near the kitchen, he saw it. Evidence of salt thrown all over and a thicker layer of a salt circle, one that had surely been drawn for protection.

He slowly walked over to the area and stopped a foot away from the circle.

The nausea he’d felt when he first entered intensified so much that he nearly stooped over in pain.

“You’re back,” Cash said.

The wave of nausea intensified again, and he knew he was right. The spirit that had destroyed his life a year ago was trapped in Harlow’s kitchen.

“I don’t know when or how,” he promised the spirit, “but one way or another, I’m going to find a way to banish you for good.”

Wind rushed through the open door, the force so strong that it nearly knocked him over. His entire body tensed, ready for a fight. But the wind suddenly vanished, and he wasn’t quite sure, but he thought he saw a glimmer of light in the circle, indicating that the spirit was still there.

“Good for Harlow. Looks like she figured out how to trap you at least. That will help when I finally send you to hell where you belong,” he said with a low growl before he walked out.

As he climbed back into his Jeep, he let out a sigh of relief that it didn’t appear that something terrible had happened to Harlow. But still, he knew he’d never rest until he was certain that she was okay. And for the first time since she’d walked out of his life, he did something he’d told himself he wouldn’t do. He opened his phone, hoping that she hadn’t disabled his ability to see her location. To his immense relief, a small dot appeared on his screen, indicating that she was on the far side of town. Or at least her phone was.

Would she be angry if he just showed up at her location?

Yes.

There was no doubt about it. Likely she’d be mad he’d tracked her, but that little bit of technology was a holdover from when they’d been together and hunting ghosts. They’d used it as a safety measure, and it had come in handy many times. Still, he knew she wouldn’t appreciate the invasion of privacy, though she could have turned it off at any time. But she hadn’t. And neither had he.

It didn’t matter if she was angry. Cash just couldn’t live with himself until he knew for certain that she was all right.

After setting his GPS to her location, he put the Jeep in gear and took off across town.

When he pulled into the long drive of the cute house that sat at the base of the forest, he was gratified to see Harlow’s Subaru parked out front. But when he went to the door and no one answered his knock, that unease began to settle in his gut again.

Now what?

Peeking in the windows only told him what he’d already known. Harlow wasn’t there. No one was. The only thing he saw was her overnight bag. The one he’d given her at Christmas two years ago. He’d bought it to replace the ratty one that was so old the wheels had broken and the threads were starting to fray. At least he knew she had somewhere safe to stay other than her tiny apartment that was now housing a trapped spirit.

He pulled his phone out again and confirmed that her phone was indeed inside the house. Had she gone somewhere with whoever she was staying with?

Or had someone forced her to go somewhere?

His tracking skills kicked in and he looked around the dirt road, checking for fresh tire tracks. The only ones he saw were from his own vehicle and Harlow’s.

Did that mean she wasn’t staying with someone else? Maybe she was renting the house for the night.

Convinced there wasn’t any foul play by the lack of any sort of struggle, he walked around the house to check for any other clues.

He turned on the flashlight app on his phone and scanned the area. Just outside the back door, he spotted the single set of footprints that led right into the forest.

Cash let out a sigh of relief as the tension started to drain from his taut muscles.

The forest made sense. It was the solstice after all.

He was willing to bet his shirt that if he followed the narrow trail that eventually he’d find water and Harlow.

He hesitated for just a moment, knowing that if Harlow was doing a ritual, she would not want to be interrupted. But he just couldn’t turn around and go home until he proved to himself that she wasn’t in danger.

Squaring his shoulders, he moved quickly down the moonlit trail.

He heard the waterfall before he spotted it. The rush of the water filled the silent forest, and he knew without a doubt that Harlow was just beyond the trees. He could sometimes just sense when she was around. His soul soothed and he just felt right.

Cash knew he could have turned around then. Harlow was just beyond the trees, clearly not in any danger. He’d have felt that, too. But he was too close now. The odds were good that she’d already felt his energy, and if he retreated now, it would leave too many lingering questions between them. He didn’t want her to think he was spying on her.

The trees opened up to a small moonlit lagoon with a waterfall on the far side. His eyes immediately focused on Harlow and her bare skin under the spray of the waterfall. Her eyes were closed, and her hands were raised high in the air as she chanted a cleansing spell in Latin.

Her eyes opened, and Harlow stared straight at him. Her lips turned down into a frown as she lowered her arms and crossed them over her bare chest.

Cash couldn’t help it when his gaze scanned her body, the one he hadn’t touched in over a year. Unconsciously he took a step forward, his entire being drawn to her with an intense magnetic pull. But before he could move more than a few inches, a flash of white came from the woods to his left, followed by a snarling growl.

His eyes focused on the large white wolf that stood in front of him with its hackles raised and its teeth bared.

“Whoa,” Cash said, holding his hands up as he took a small step backward. “I mean no harm.”

The wolf snarled again and inched closer.

Cash stood his ground, knowing that if he showed any weakness the wolf would likely lunge for him.

“Who are you and why are you here?” a female voice of steel asked just before a woman appeared from the trees. She had long black hair and her green eyes pierced him with suspicion.

“Cash Moses,” he said automatically. “I’m a… friend of Harlow’s.” He nodded his head toward the waterfall.

“Friend?” She raised one eyebrow as the wolf started to growl again. “Something tells me that friend isn’t the word Harlow would use.”

“It’s not,” Harlow said from behind them. She was wrapped in a green robe and was scowling at him. “He’s my ex, and for the life of me, I can’t understand why he’s here or how he even found me.”

“Harlow, I can explain,” Cash started.

“You know what, Cash? I’m not sure I even care. Please just go,” she said with a tired sigh. “You’ve already interrupted my ritual. Don’t make things worse by trying to justify this gross invasion of privacy.”

Disappointment mixed with frustration as he stared at her, trying to see past her anger to the person he used to know. The one who’d been so connected to him that she sometimes knew what he was thinking before he even had a chance to process his own thoughts.

“It’s like that, is it?” he asked in a flat tone.

“It is.” Her jaw was tense, and her eyes flashed with irritation.

“Fine,” he said and looked at the wolf. “You can call off your guard dog. I’m going.”

He glanced at Harlow one last time. “Shaun had a vision that you were in danger. I’m glad to see that you’re okay.”

Then he turned on his heel and silently fumed as he strode back to his Jeep, trying to keep from pressing his fingers to the ache that pulsed just below his breastbone.