Page 68 of Purrfectly Haunted

He frowns, watching me intently, and I almost squirm. “Yeah. I’ll take a quick shower too and join you downstairs. Wait for me before dropping the bad news on them.”

Had he said yes just now, that he wanted to come again, I’d have dropped to my knees without hesitation.

“Alright."

I walk to the door, but before I can reach for it, I hear footsteps and I’m whirled around. My back hits the door as James kisses me. I moan, desire and need clawing through my body like an insatiable beast.

Then he lets me go and says with a wicked smile, “See you in a bit.” He opens the door and pushes me out of the room.

I find myself standing in the middle of the hallway with an erection and a heart threatening to explode.

As expected, Lana and Shirley don’t take the news well.

“So let me get this straight. My great-great-great-not-so-great-grand-father is rotting my house from foundations because he’s still an evil bastard even after death?” Lana says.

James nods. “That sums it up.”

“That fucking asshole!” she roars. “I’m going to drag his ghostly ass out of the house and send him to hell where he should have been all along!”

“Great plan,” Shirley says from her seat around the table. “But how do we do that?”

I pace the kitchen. “We could call ExorSquad again? Someone must know what to do.”

James snorts. “Don’t get your hopes up.”

Lana pulls out her phone. “I’ll be the one to give them a call this time.”

She puts it on speaker and we all wait as the dial tone echoes in the kitchen. Nobody answers, so she tries again. By the time someone picks up on the third call, she’s fuming.

“ExorSquad, where all your hauntings go to die. What can I do for you?”

“Mr. Pickett?” she asks.

“Depends who’s asking.”

Her eyebrows climb higher. “Lana Lynch.”

“Who?”

“Oh my god...” Shirley whispers, while James just shakes his head in disbelief.

I only ever met Gerald Pickett once, during my job interview. He’s a sixty-something man with limp, gray hair and a gold tooth. He reminded me of an eel, for some reason. Slimy and slippery.

“Lana Lynch, one of your clients?” Lana says. “You know, the people who pay your bills?”

“Are you calling to pay? Are the boys done with their extermination?”

She closes her eyes, trying to keep her calm. “No. We have a sort of a ghost problem here, and we need help. You see, my ancestor—”

He cuts her off. “Well, a ghost problem is exactly why I sent them. Tell them they won’t get paid for a half-arsed job.”

Lana snaps. “Listen here, you useless piece of shit. I won't—”

“Thank for you calling.” And he hangs up.

She blinks at the phone for a heartbeat. She tries to throw it through the kitchen, but I grab her hand before she can. “This... this... cunt!”

Shirley snorts. “Said like a true local.”