“Look… see that… you’re already starting to fluster.” He clicked my video on the phone, making my face larger.
Really?
“I’ll hang them after I get back from my ride this afternoon.” He placed his hands on my shoulders and tried to rub out the tension, but with each squeeze I felt my shoulders tighten.
“Fine,” I breathed.
And with that, he jumped up and headed out the door.
I let out a slow breath through my nose. “Sorry, Katie, I guess today is out.”
“Mags, why do you let him order you around like you’re some slave of his?”
My throat tightened. “Because I ruined his life. I need to let him live like I never cursed him.”
“So you’re going to just give up everything—let him control you? Does he even know what you are? Has he been in the attic? Have you worked on the grimoire we started after Graham left?”
Katie’s rapid-fire questions should have made me see the obvious consequences of hiding who I was, but they didn’t. Maybe it was my stubborn side acting out, or maybe it was that deep down I didn’t want Hunter to know all of me—not really anyway.
“No. I just… you don’t understand.”
“You’re right. I don’t. I’m coming over.”
“No, Katie, don’t!” I yelled. “I’m sorry. Maybe you can come tomorrow.”
“You know what, Maggie, update us when you’re done being his puppet. I’m sure Chester would love to be the first to know.” She hung up.
Goddamn it!I hated this. My actions were hurting people I really cared about. But even if I did leave Hunter, he’d just cling to me like the others, like I was the only thing keeping his boat upright in stormy waters. But I couldn’t take it anymore. He was micromanaging every single thing about my life. He told me when to eat, what to wear, how long I could bathe for—every minute of every day needed his approval first. And now he was keeping me from my only form of therapy—Katie.
In the beginning I was fine with his demands. They weren’tactuallythat bad. Some of them I found sweet. He never restricted my access to my friends—and I figured I owed him. But now that Graham washere, it was like he didn’t trust me. Like his obsession had been sent into overdrive and the only way he could control me was if he could chain me.
Maybe I was being selfish.
I mean… I’d be nervous too if the woman I was in love with suddenly had the ex she couldn’t get over randomly show up and the only stories told were that they were the best thing that’d ever happened to one another.
Fuck!
I’d promised Hunter I’d follow his rules: No sex without him in the room. He was the only one to finish inside—even with a condom. And he always had the final say.
“Enough of this at once, dear girl.” Uncle Silas materialized in front of me. “I’m not about to spend my afterlife cooped up in some tiny pocket mirror listening to you destroy your friendships because of some silly man—especially the wrong man.”
“Uncle Silas!” I jumped up and wrapped my arms around his frigid ghostly form. “I’m sorry. I forgot all about you.”
“I see that.” He hugged me back. “Now, have you told that new beau of yours about your powers?”
“No. I wouldn’t even know where to begin.”
“Have you told him about me?”
I looked away. “Not any more than you left me the estate in your will.”
“Blasted dear girl!” Uncle Silas pushed off of me and hovered near the center of the sunroom. Light streamed through him, making him harder to see. “How are we supposed to go about our paranormal investigation dealings if you haven’t even told your live-in that this bloody establishment is haunted?”
“Well, I didn’t think he’d need to know.” I shrank.
“Didn’t think he’d need to know? Simply unbelievable—and after everything?” He tsked. “Maggie, I’m hurt.”
“Uncle Silas, I didn’t mean to hurt you. I didn’t even know where you were.”
