“What’s the point of using one of those outside of water? Seems highly ineffective.”
Nico chuckled and sucked a deep breath through his teeth. “That’s the point of research, right? Solving life’s ineffectiveness.”
Before I could bombard him with more questions, he called over his shoulder, “Rae! You have company.”
She walked through the adjoining door from the neighboring room. From how Nico barred the door, I knew there would be no way I’d be getting an invitation inside.
“Hey.” Rae took over blocking the door, giving Nico a nod to leave. He shut the sonar machine, giving me a half-smile before turning to help Jonah organize the vials.
I twisted my mouth to the side, still wanting my question answered as I retrieved the rolled stack of bills from my pocket. “The deposit.”
Rae accepted the money, turning her shoulder slightly so no one outside could see her counting the bills. She’d shed her jacket from earlier, now only in a black tee that exposed an impressive set of biceps and an implanted glucose monitor.
“December,” she called after she finished counting the money. “We’re all set.”
Her cousin appeared to take the cash, slipping it into a pouch. “I’ll get the contract sent over ASAP.”
I nodded, taking a deep breath. “So…that’s it? We’re good to go back together tomorrow?”
“Two of us will go back with you tomorrow. We’ll do the assessment, and if it’s a job that’ll take more than a couple of days, we’ll have the entire team on the case.” Rae crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the doorframe as she spoke. Her team kept moving in the background, trying to figure outwhich one of them had misplaced the “stakes” and who’d overseen divvying out the silver bullets.
“You own us for as long as it takes to fix your pesky ghost problem,” Rae promised. “Or…group hallucination.”
She smiled, dipping her head a bit to see if I’d do the same. My gaze had blurred, though, distracted by the hope that maybe I’d finally be able to sleep tonight. A small, dusty corner of my brain wondered if whatever nightmare clung to me at Elmwood followed me here. My heartbeat quickened at the thought of the nightmare coaxing me to sleepwalk outside of my motel room. Sleepwalking wasn’t an immediate concern while at the ranch as it’d be in a strange motel parking lot.
“All good?” she asked, wariness dragging her tone down a notch.
“Sure.” I nodded, though my internal thunderstorm leaked through, casting flashes of warning lightning across my expression. Rae studied me, her smile fading into something unreadable to my untrained eye.
With a glance over her shoulder, she told her team, “I’m going to step out for a sec.”
She didn’t give them much time to protest as she joined me outside, gently shutting the door behind her. “Take a walk with me?”
“Um…sure.” I followed Rae down the breezeway. The dim light from the motel’s red signage outlined her. When she glanced over her shoulder to make sure I followed, the curve of her smile seemed less vixen and more sweetheart in the absence of other company.
“Why a ranch?” Her hand hovered over the staircase railing, her fingers never actually contacting the chipped green steel. Rae’s long hair swayed with every step she took, flyaways reaching toward thesky.
“Huh?” I blinked, trying to process the question after my gaze slipped to her hips. Rae’s shirt rode up a little, revealing a small sliver of skin. Her sweatpants hung low, allowing the waistband of black boxers to peek through.
“Not many people like you own a ranch.” When we reached the bottom of the stairs, she started walking backward. I kept my gaze trained on hers. Rae was used to people fawning over her. And though I wasn’t special enough to resist her brand of beauty, I couldn’t find a logical reason to desire anything more than an assessment from her. The cockiness in her charm soured the taste.
“Do you frequent ranches?” I asked, shoving my hands into my back pockets.
She shrugged. “Sure, they’re prime hotspots for paranormal activity.”
I raised a brow. “Really?”
“Clean air, lots of land, plenty of history.” She held up a finger for everything she listed. “There’s a belt of them on the west coast.”
“Belt?”
“Of prime hotspots.” She frowned as if confused why I couldn’t keep up.
“You realize this isn’t an average conversation,” I said, voice tight with defense.
“Averages differ.”
“Yeah, but…”
