Protecting His Windflower (A Spirit Hunters Series Novel Book 1) by Temperance Dawn (best black authors .txt) 📕

in front of Emily. Her chest moved rapidly with each laborious breath as she leaned against the wall. Her hands grasped his upper arms. Liam leaned over her, caging her between his body and the wall.

Liam lowered himself and placed his forehead on hers while he spoke to Trey. “We were in the basement. We felt a tremendous temperature shift. That’s when I radioed to you guys that we need to get into this locked room. We decided to come back up because it was becoming too much for Emily. Then, we heard a loud bang, we booked it up the stairs. We were halfway up when a fucking cold breeze—No, not a breeze, a fucking whirlwind—went right through us. Almost knocked both of us back down the stairs.”

“Shit,” Trey mumbled. “Let’s get her outside.”

Liam nodded in agreement. “Give her a minute first. She’s really shaky.”

Emily looked up at Liam, eyes wide and pleading. “Get me out of here.”

Without another word, Liam wrapped his arm around her shoulder and led her out of the house and down the steps to the parked van in front. Luke was already aware of them rushing down the steps and helped Emily into the back of the van. Trey followed close behind. He carried a blanket that he’d grabbed from Emily’s flat and handed it to Liam.

Liam settled Emily in front of the monitors in the back of the work van that the team used as headquarters while on investigations. He grabbed a jacket that he always kept handy and put it on. Hoping the lightweight fabric would ease the chill he felt still coursing through him. A few feet away, Liam heard Trey filling Luke in on the activity that had just taken place.

“What was that?” Emily asked.

“My guess is that something doesn’t want us down there,” Liam answered. His voice carried a bit of enthusiasm. He couldn’t help the giddiness take over. Whenever contact was made with a spirit, the rush always shocked him at first, followed by a thrill of excitement. His only regret was that Emily had been with him, and she was now frightened by the activity. He reminded himself that the occurrence was a good thing, despite the fear that it caused. He had recorded the mist he’d seen in the basement on the night vision camera. He was also sure he’d caught the moment when he and Emily had almost been knocked down the stairs. Their job was to gather as much evidence as possible and use it to help rid people of hauntings. They had accomplished that. Now, they just needed to figure out who or what the entity was and how to detach it from Emily. “Something wants to keep us away from that locked room.”

“But we aren’t giving up, right?” Emily stared at Liam with bravery. “We’re still going in. Can we break the lock to find out what the fuck is hiding out in there?”

Liam heard both Trey and Luke chuckle behind him. He couldn’t help but smile at Emily. “Yes, we are. But not tonight. After what just happened, I’m not taking any chances with pissing it off any further until we find out more about what we are dealing with. There will be another investigation soon.” He told her while leaning forward, taking in her sweet scent. “I’m going back in there with Luke to finish up. Trey will stay here with you. You’ll be able to watch us on the monitors.”

“I really want to go with you. But I don’t think I can just yet.”

“I know you do. You stay here and get warm. Trey will make some coffee.”

Emily glanced around, her brow furrowed, confusion clearly visible on her face.

Trey stepped into the van and pulled a small portable coffee maker out from one of the shelves.

“We always make sure we can brew coffee anytime, no matter where we are.” Liam said as he pulled Emily close to him.

“It’s hard to get coffee in the middle of the night, and sometimes our investigations are in remote places.” Trey plugged the coffee pot into a power strip that ran to the main power in the house. He grabbed a bottle of water and a bag of coffee from a crate that also held a supply of coffee cups and powder creamer.

“Wow. You guys are really resourceful.”

Liam placed a kiss on her lips. “I need to make a phone call. Are you okay by yourself for a minute?”

“Yes, I’ll be fine.” She smiled at him and kissed him back.

Liam stepped out of the van and pulled his phone out of his back pocket. He swiped it open and sent a text message. A moment later, a ping notification sounded, and he pressed his dad’s speed dial number.

“Son? What’s going on?”

“Hey, Dad. I don’t have a lot of time to explain, but I was wondering if you and mom are around this weekend. I need to be somewhere where I can think clearly and know Emily is safe. I want to bring her down to Carmel for a few days. Longer if I can convince her.”

“We are in town. Don’t plan on going anywhere. Especially now that I know you two need a safe house.”

Liam chuckled at his father’s statement.

“Head on down here as soon as you can. Are Trey and Luke coming with you?”

“I don’t think they need to come. I don’t want to—”

“Bullshit?” Liam’s dad interrupted. “You bring those boys with you. You know your mom would love to see them. It’s quiet here. Your mom and I spend most of our days on the beach anyway. Bring everyone down. You guys can work, and Emily will be safe here. You’ll have a larger support system while you research.”

Liam knew it was no use arguing with his dad. Once Clayton Wesley made up his mind, it was set in stone. “Okay, Dad. I’ll talk to everyone later, and we’ll head down in a couple days.”

“Good. You have the spare key. Don’t