The Ghost Files 3 (12 page)

“But why?” he asks. “After years and years of ignoring them, why do it for one girl?”

“She wasn’t just a girl. She was Sally, my foster sister. Foster kids take care of each other,” I explain. “We don’t have anyone but us. Foster parents don’t really care—to be honest, most of them are only in it for the money. I felt like I owed it to Sally to make sure she wasn’t just written off as another runaway.
I
was her family and if it had been me that died, I’d want someone to find me, too.”

“You guys stick together, huh?”

I wait a moment before answering. “Are my shoes here?”

“Yeah, in the closet, why?”

“Can you get them for me, please?” He frowns, but does as I ask. Then I flip my right shoe over so that the bottom is visible. “See that? Carved into the flat of the rubber?”

“The 29 with four marks out from it? What does it mean?”

I trace the carvings with my fingers. I’d received my first mark the night I’d been released from the hospital and went to stay with my first set of foster parents. One of the kids, I think his name was Mark, showed me how to put the marks there, out of sight. He told me that it was our badge of honor when we went into a new home. He’d been nine and had three marks. It’s something I’ve never forgotten to do and every time I was put into a new foster home with other kids, we always compared.

“These are all the foster homes I’ve been in. Thirty-three since I was five. I’ve met hundreds of other kids and we all have one thing in common
—we were castaways that no one wanted. Kinda like Peter Pan’s Lost Boys. That kind of despair binds you in ways love never can.”

“I’m sorry, Mattie.”

“Don’t be.” I smile. “I’ve grown up a lot over the last few months, Eli. More than I’d even realized. Or want to admit. I used to be all ‘poor Mattie, the kid no one wanted,’ but I realized something. If I hadn’t grown up tough and if I hadn’t had those experiences, I don’t think I could have survived what happened next.”

“What happened next?” he asks softly.

“When I questioned the ghosts about Sally, I met Mirror Boy.”

Eli frowns. “Why do I know that name?”

“Eric,” I say flatly.

“Oh.”

Yes, oh. Eric sacrificed his life for mine in New Orleans. He’d made me reap his soul into mine. My Mirror Boy was a part of me now, would be with me until the day I died and took both our souls to the other side.

“Eric didn’t know he could hurt me,” I say and wince at the memory of the pain he’d caused. “I ended up in the hospital and told my social worker that Sally was missing. She’d made Mrs. Olson call the cops. That’s how I met Officer Dan. He was one of the cops who showed up to take the report and the only one who believed me when I said Sally didn’t run away.”

Eli makes a face and sits back. I laugh at the disgruntled look. “You need to learn to get along with him, you know. He
is
your brother.”

“I’m trying,” he says, but neither of us believe him.

“Try harder,” I tell him. “If you plan on hanging out with me, get used to him. Dan is my family as much as he’s yours, and where I go, he goes. Besides, he really
is
trying.”

“I like him less and less,” Eli mutters.

“Whatever.” I roll my eyes at Eli. “Anyway, while in the hospital, I got a visit from another ghost, or so I thought. It was Mary, only she wasn’t dead yet. She was dying, though, so we figure that allowed her soul to travel to me.”

“Wait, what?” he asks, confused. “You’re serious?”

“As a heart attack.” I nod. “Long story short, I eventually found her and the killer who just happened to be my
then
foster mother, Mrs. Olson. Sally had seen something she shouldn’t have and Mrs. O. killed her. When I followed Sally to where her body was, she led me to Mary. Before I could get help, Mrs. O. took me hostage.”

I stop and shiver, the memories of those awful days flood my mind. I still have nightmares about it. Even now, just thinking about it sends me into a small panic. Eli takes my hand and squeezes it. Warmth radiates from his hand into mine and I smile, grateful.

“I spent three days tied up and enduring torture, including the sledgehammer she used to break both my hands,” I continue. “It was the ghosts that helped me escape. Eric and several of the ghosts I’d seen were all her victims. They were terrified of her, but they still helped me. Once we were okay, I helped them cross over. All except for Eric. He said he’d wait for me.”

“Wait for you?”

“I was almost dead myself,” I whisper. “If Dan hadn’t found me when he did, I’d be dead. Eric stuck around after that, said I needed someone to keep me out of trouble.”

“He saved your life,” Eli says.

“Yeah, he did,” I agree. “When I woke up, I learned they’d found Mary, and she was alive. When Mary was well enough to talk, she told her mother everything. Mrs. Cross gave me a home after that, grateful for her daughter’s life. She accepted me for me and what I do, however weird.”

“So if it hadn’t been for Sally, you’d still be ignoring the ghosts,” Eli murmurs.

“Yeah, I’d still be living in relative peace, too.” I nod and wince at the pain that ratchets through my head. “I wouldn’t be dealing with psychotic ghosts all out to hurt me, either.”

“This
will sound awful, Mattie, but…bear with me,” he says softly. “I’m glad.”

“You’re glad?” I all but shriek. He’s not serious? How can he be glad I went through all that?

“Don’t freak out, Hilda,” he chides. “I
said
bear with me. I’m glad you decided not to ignore the ghosts and embrace your gift. If you hadn’t, I never would have met you.”

“Oh,” I say meekly. Wow.

“You definitely threw me for a loop,” he says ruefully. “The first time I saw you was when Caleb carried you into the house, blood pouring out from everywhere. You looked so pale…fragile. The only thought I had was to hurt whatever was hurting you, but I didn’t see any ghosts. From the moment I saw you, my first inclination was to protect you, same as Caleb and even Dad. I also wanted to kiss you. It was damned hard to concentrate when I was trying to ink you, too. You had the softest skin and I winced every time I applied the tattoo needle to your bare flesh.”

“Glad I was out for that,” I say honestly. “I don’t do pain very well.”

“You sure do a mean left hook, though.” He grins at me and I laugh.

The first time I’d met him was in New Orleans. I’d just woken up after being unconscious. The room was dark and he’d grabbed me. I came up swinging and when he fell, I’d bashed his head into the floor and managed to get his arm behind his back in a grip guaranteed to break it if he moved.

“I understand the first beat down,” Eli says, “but not the second time you hit me. Care to explain?”

I hadn’t meant to do that. I’d gone to find him to apologize to him for the first smack down, but I’d fallen into the memory of the man killing his wife. When I opened my eyes and seen his aqua ones staring into mine after just having seen those same eyes look at me while he killed me, my survival instincts kick
ed in. I’d given him a black eye. He and I seem to have a bit of a violent history up until this point. So I’m not telling him that one.

“All I’ll say is well, you deserved some of those punches,” I grouch. “I warned you often enough not to call me Hilda.”

“Aw, but I love to see you get all flushed and riled when I call you Hilda,” he purrs and moves closer to me, the heat intensifying as it pours off his body.

“I was pretty sure you despised the very sight of me,” I whisper, my insides clenching, curling, and fluttering all at once. I’m slightly sick, but now I know what that feeling means. It’s intense desire. I want him to kiss me again.

“No,” he says softly. “I was embarrassed at all the ribbing from Benny and Caleb. You confused me too, Hilda. No one has ever affected me the way you do. It was so intense, I ran away from you, but once you looked into my eyes, I was a goner.”

Holy smokes. “You’re a goner, huh?” I ask, my voice breathy.

“Yeah.” He stands up and sits down on the bed next to me. “From the second I saw you, I knew. I could run and I could hide, but I knew.”

“What did you know?” I ask as he leans down until all I can see are his eyes.

His lips brush mine in a feather kiss. I gasp at the sensation. He rubs his nose alongside mine and trails butterfly kisses along my jawline.

“I knew you were the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen.” His lips find my earlobe and I nearly come off the bed at the intense sensation that grips me. “I knew you were special and amazing.” His lips find mine again, but are gone before I can even think about kissing him back. “I knew you felt like home to me.” Those wonderful lips of his trail down my neck. “I knew, Mathilda Louise Hathaway, you were it for me.”

He leans back until he’s looking into my eyes.

“I knew you were mine.”

Chapter Eleven

His lips crash against mine and the fires of Hades himself are unleashed upon my poor unsuspecting body. It feels like my very soul is bubbling up and pouring over. The emotions are intense and scary, but at the same time, I reach up and pull him closer, kissing him back with a vengeance. I can’t seem to get close enough to him and pull him so close, I feel like I’ve fallen into an inferno. I am Icarus flying into the sun. My body relaxes, the heat from his chasing away the cold and I sigh in sheer joy.

Eli presses closer, pushing me back into the pillows, but one of my many goose eggs makes contact with the nurse’s call button and I let out a small, painful cry. Eli pulls back and is instantly contrite.

“Did I hurt you? I’m so sorry!”

“Ahem.”

We both swivel our heads to see Ezekiel Crane in the doorway. I’m not sure if he’s amused or pissed. Eli’s eyes widen and he steps back, only his foot catches on the chair leg, making him land on his butt with a loud thud. There’s a definite chuckle from Ezekiel. Yes, he’s amused, but not angry.

“What is going on in here?” Nurse Leigh demands from behind my father. He turns to look at her and I can see her eyes glaze over just a bit. She blinks several times and then blushes. I smile. I’m pretty sure he has that effect on most women. He’s one of those men that are just too handsome for their own good. Why couldn’t I have inherited some of that?

“I do apologize,” he murmurs. “I came to see my daughter and startled them. They weren’t expecting me.”

Nurse Leigh hadn’t noticed Eli picking himself up from the floor. She’s flustered and even Eli grins a bit at the formidable Nurse Leigh losing her composure.

“Your daughter?” Nurse Leigh frowns and glances at me. “I thought she was in foster care.”

“She is for the time being,” he says and gives Nurse Leigh another melting smile. “I just found out about her a few days ago.”

“Oh, my, well that’s wonderful news.” She returns his smile and throws me one. “I’ll let the two of you visit, then. Do you need anything, Mattie, dear?”

“No, ma’am,” I say and can barely hold in a chuckle of my own.

She backs out of the room and lets the door swing shut. Ezekiel turns his attention back to us and moves further into the room. His face is concerned, but the eyes are sharp, landing on the salt lines Caleb had placed along the window seals of the room. I’d told him it was useless since he couldn’t block the door, but doing something made the boy
feel better.

“Are you al
l right?” he asks at last. “I got a call to say you’d been admitted into the hospital and rushed right over. I knew you’d fallen earlier and hit your head. Is it something to do with that?”

“Partially,” I say. The concussion is probably the result of hitting my head so many times in almost the same spot over the last few days. “I’m a klutz. I just slipped in the bath and hit my head. Got a little water in my lungs
, too. The doctors just want to keep me for observation. I’m fine.”

He cocks his head and stares at me. I have the distinct impression he knows I’m lying to him. A liar always knows a liar when they see one. Instead of pushing the subject, he asks, “Hmm. When are they releasing you?”

“A couple days,” I tell him. I get the hinkiest feeling I’ve had in a long time and my flight or fight instincts kick in. There’s just something about him that makes me want to run in the opposite direction as fast as I can.

“I’ll have them move you to a private room then
,” he nods.

“That’s not necessary,” I say quickly.

“Nonsense,” he waves my protests away. “I can afford it and you deserve some privacy. I do like that nurse, though. I’ll make sure she stays on as your primary nurse.”

Eli and I exchange a glance. Oh, yeah, he’s getting the same hinky feeling I am. “Look
, Mr. Crane…”

“Please call me Zeke.” The smile is
supposed
to be reassuring, but it doesn’t feel like that to me. “I know you won’t be comfortable calling me Dad for a while, so until then, you can call me Zeke.”