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

distract herself from the burning of the scratches left on her arm. She’d put Liam’s jacket on, the one he always kept in the van, and with each breath she inhaled deeply to soak up his scent.

Thankful more than ever that Lexi was with her. She’d missed her. Lexi’s companionship through their childhood had been Emily’s one constant. The one element in her life that she could count on to stay the same.

“So. You and Liam seem pretty serious,” Lexi stated while she poured a cup of coffee.

“Yeah,” Emily said with a grin. “We are.”

“Despite everything you told me that’s happened since you’ve been here, you look so much more relaxed and so happy.”

“I am happy. Liam is amazing. He’s kind and thoughtful, and his parents and friends are incredible. With everything that’s happened over the years, if I could go back and change anything, I wouldn’t. I would keep it all the same because all of it led me to Liam.”

Lexi smiled at her friend. “Em, did you sleep with him?”

Emily looked up. No verbal answer was needed. The smile and crimson color she felt taking hold of her face told her friend everything.

Lexi’s eyes widened, and her eyebrows lifted. “Yeah?”

“Yes,” Emily said, letting out a sigh of relief. She hadn’t intentionally kept information from Lexi. The two just hadn’t found time to connect long enough for her to confide in her friend. “I’ve never been more okay. It’s weird. Even with all of this shit going on, I’m still happy. As long as I’m near Liam, everything is perfect. I don’t know why, but it is. And I’m not letting this asshole of a ghost take that away from me.”

“I’m so proud of you, Em. Promise me you’ll stay positive. I know you’ll get through this.”

Emily nodded and took a sip of her coffee. When she looked up, she noticed Lexi fixated at the monitor that had Trey on camera. “So… You and Trey?”

Lexi shook her head and moved her attention away from the video screen. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“Oh, come on!” Emily said. “I saw the look he gave you.”

“What look? There was no look.”

“I think he has the hots for you, girl.”

“What!” Lexi said in disbelief. “He does not. We just met! He’s nice, and I’ll admit, good looking too. Really, good looking. But I don’t have time for a relationship. Right now, my only focus is landing this job and finding a place to live. And, making sure you’re okay.”

Emily was about to respond, but Lexi held up her hand to stop her and pointed her attention to the gentleman walking toward them.

He was of average height, with dark skin, similar to Trey’s complexion, and wore a jacket that featured a local sports team’s logo.

“Good evening,” he said as he reached the van. “I take it this is Liam’s team’s van. Liam sent me a text and told me you would be waiting here. I’m Dave Larson. They called and said they needed my help.”

“Yes,” Emily held out her hand to introduce herself. “I’m Emily, and this is my friend Lexi. Liam, Trey, and Luke are in the house. There was an incident a little while ago. They wanted us to wait in the van for a little bit while they got started. I can radio Liam and let them know you are here.”

“Please do. Is everyone okay?”

Emily nodded. “Yes. Everyone is fine. A bit shaken up, but okay.” She reached for the walkie talkie in the van and radioed Liam.

In a matter of seconds, Liam opened the front door to the building. “Dave!” he called out as he walked up to the man to hug him. “It’s so good to see you.”

“You too, Liam. Tell me. What is going on? This place feels so much heavier than the last time I was here.”

***

Dave inhaled deeply as they passed the threshold of the house. “Liam, can I walk around first? There’s a lot of energy here. I need to try and sort it out. Find out what exactly is going on.”

“Of course. We are right behind you.” Liam brought Dave up to speed with everything related to the haunting, but he purposely left out the information about who they believed the presence in the house was.

“Liam, this is not good. I don’t know how I never picked up on it before. Emily, you moving in was definitely the catalyst of this presence waking up,” Dave huffed out. He continued down the hall. “I don’t need to go upstairs, Liam. Everything is centered down here, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” both Emily and Liam answered. Then Liam added, “The only time any activity happens upstairs is when Emily is up there with me.”

Dave walked into Emily’s flat. After circling around the living room, he stopped. “Okay. This is what I’m getting in here. It’s definitely a male energy. He’s not demonic. Although it might seem like it at times. He’s powerful and possessive. His view on this is ‘she’s mine’ ” Dave pointed at Emily, trying to convey what he was picking up. “He thinks you belong to him. He is adamant about that.”

Liam asked, “Why now? Why haunt her to this extreme now after all of these years?”

Dave looked at his friend and said, “It’s you. You are in the picture. You are her love, and he knows it. He’s always known it. He’s pacing back and forth, agitated. He’s frustrated because as far as he’s concerned, she’s his, like a piece of property. And you stole her from him. We need to move downstairs. Is that possible?”

“Yes. Of course,” Liam said as he led the way to the stairs to the basement.

Downstairs Trey and Luke were busy doing some EVP sessions. “Anything?” Liam asked.

“Nothing, man. It’s totally quiet,” Luke responded. “Dave, how are you?”

“Good, thanks. Guys, this spirit feels really unpredictable. He’s possessive and can go into a rage at the flip of a switch. Be careful. He is here even though