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

within her, raising her confidence that Liam could be trusted. He sat and nodded his head when she finished speaking.

“Okay. We will figure out what is going on here. I’m going to call Phil and see if anything like this has ever happened before. I’m also going to call my team and let them know what has happened and see what we can come up with. Are you okay with me telling them what you saw?”

Emily’s throat was stuck. Emotion collecting into a tight knot, she found it difficult to find her voice. She only nodded her head to let him know that she understood what he was saying. “Are you going to be okay if I go back upstairs and make some calls? If anything happens, just come upstairs and bang on the door. Hell, you can even yell or scream for me. I’ll hear you.”

“I think I’ll be okay,” Emily managed a smile. “I woke up with a terrible headache. I’m going to lay right here and watch some TV.”

“Alright. I’ll come back and tell you what I find out from Phil in a little bit.”

Liam stood and took Emily’s hand, helping her stand up. “Lock the door behind me,” he told her.

She did and made her way back to the sofa, where she plopped down and pulled a blanket over herself. Emily grabbed the remote and flipped through the channels until she found the weekend morning news. She tried to settle herself and relax. But it was no use. Her anxiety was too high. She needed to talk. She needed her best friend.

Grabbing her phone, she swiped it open and called Lexi. Relief swept over her when Lexi answered. She briefly explained the morning’s phenomenon. “He’s a paranormal investigator?” Lexi screeched into the phone so loudly, Emily had to pull it away from her ear. “Em, you have to tell him! I know you think he’s going to think you’re insane, but he won’t. He shouldn’t. If he’s any good at what he does for a living, he’ll want to help you and not pass judgment.”

Emily knew Lexi was asking her not to compare Liam to Ben, a psychologist who she dated briefly a few years back. Emily thought that since Ben had been a psychologist, she could confide in him and tell him what she had been experiencing her entire life. Boy, was she wrong. Instead of comforting her and offering to help her figure out what was happening around her, he basically made her feel like a nut case and tried to get her to take prescription anti-anxiety meds. She ended the relationship shortly after his insistence that she be on medication. He was the only other person, aside from Lexi, who Emily tried to explain what had been haunting her. She knew Lexi was right. Liam was not Ben. Maybe he would be able to help.

“I know, Lex. It’s just hard. I don’t want to scare him away.”

“You like him?”

Emily grabbed the remote and began flipping channels again. “If you’re asking if he’s a nice person and polite, then the answer is yes.”

“Is he hot?”

Emily threw her head back against the sofa, huffing out a breath in frustration. “Lexi!” she yelled at her friend’s assumption.

“What? You’ve been living there for a couple weeks. You guys have talked a bunch. What’s the big deal if you notice he’s attractive or not? Ghostly stuff aside, if you like him, see if he’s available.”

“We only just met. Last night, Lex. We’ve had two conversations, Lexi. Two. One of those two was after I’d come face to face with a fucking ghost and could barely stand or speak because I was shaking so badly. So what if he’s attractive? He’ll probably still think I’m a basket case. Who wants to date a person who’s had a ghost following her practically her entire life?”

“A paranormal investigator, that’s who! Em, you need to go after that.”

“Alexis, drop it.” Emily knew her friend meant well, but she was exhausted and the Ibuprofen she had taken did not seem to be working.

“Okay, okay. But hey. I’ll make you a bet. I bet he asks you out in the next week. It’s obvious he likes you. If he didn’t, he wouldn’t have run down stairs to check on you or insist that he come in to talk to you about what you saw. Just saying.”

Emily thought about Lexi’s statement. She was right. But she just couldn’t bring herself to think about that at the moment. “Bye, Lex. I’ll call you tonight and let you know how things go today.”

“Okay, hon. Try not to worry. Don’t forget to call. You know I’ll worry myself sick if you do. I’ll talk to you later.”

They both hung up. Emily felt relieved after talking to her friend. Aside from her relentless attempt at getting her to hook up with Liam, she knew Lexi only had her best interest in mind.

Closing her eyes and willing her head to stop pounding, she barely registered the conversation between the news anchors on the morning news program. Emily pulled the blanket to her chin, cocooning herself into a ball, and fell asleep.

Four

Holy shit! Liam’s mind combed through possible explanations on what could have started a haunting in the home. Liam’s heart hammered in his chest. Nothing along any paranormal lines had ever happened in the five years he lived in the building. Why now? What was going on?

Emily’s confirmation that she had seen a shadow both relieved and mystified him. It confirmed that there actually was something lurking in the basement the night before. But why? And who or what was the shadow?

He needed to call Phil. Maybe he had information on the history of the house. He would also inform his fellow investigators, Trey and Luke, on what was going on. They would help dig up information about the property that could explain the strange and sudden haunting.

Liam walked through his flat, contemplating pouring