Page 103 of If I Stopped Haunting You

“Not really!” Laszlo admitted.

Daniela stood and turned to Laszlo, curls whipping aroundher face and phone held tightly in her fingers as she pushed past Pen. “We still don’t have cell service either. How do people live like this? I haven’t checked my socialsin a day.”

“You should be more worried about calling for emergency services than having enough internet to check your socials,” Laszlo said. Pen agreed silently.

“Hey,” Pen started, raising a hand. This was not going as planned. She hopped on her good leg, biting the inside of her cheek as pain dragged icy-hot fingers up through her hip.

“What are we going to do?” Laszlo cried out.

Pen pointed behind her, voice wavering. “There’s a…” she said, trailing off. She did not have their attention in the least. They were all scattered.

Grunting, Pen turned and hopped back down the hall. Squeezing her eyes shut, she counted to ten before she nodded to herself and ran toward the kitchen once more.

“Help!” she screamed as she rounded the corner.

“Pen?” Laszlo asked.

This is it.

“Why are ye yelling?” Fanny called.

“There’s a—I saw the—” Pen shook her head, waving down the hallway.

Laszlo crossed to her, drawing her into his side. His grip was firm, reassuring, and it took the weight off her ankle, an instant relief.

“Pen,” he said, voice tight, “tell me what you saw.”

“The ghost,” she said, looking to Daniela. She lowered her voice. “The woman in white.”

“I thought it was the woman in black?” Laszlo asked.

“Ye saw her, then?” Fanny asked, suddenly behind them.

“Come on,” Daniela said with a laugh. “We all know ghosts aren’t real.”

“They’re real! If you’ll come with me, I’ll show you.” Laszlo,Daniela, and Fanny all shared a silent look. Pen knew Laszlo and Daniela didn’t believe her, but if they would just trust her, follow her up those stairs.“Please,”she begged. “Neil needs our help.”

With a sigh, Laszlo nodded. “For your man.”

“He’s not my man,” she muttered under her breath, blushing as he helped her down the hallway. Although, she still wasn’t entirely surewhathe was to her. She liked him, no doubt, but there was a question lingering in the space between them, and she wasn’t quite ready for whatthatmeant.

Up the stairs the lot of them went, steps creaking under their weight. Pen stared down at the painting of Georgina hanging in the foyer, and she could swear those painted lips curved up into a knowing smirk, her silver eyes following them until they were out of sight.

“Where?” Laszlo asked on the landing.

Pen pointed shakily to the west wing. “Down there.”

“Ye were not supposed to go there,” Fanny chided.

“We had no choice,” Pen insisted.

Laszlo shared a final look with the others. This was it, their last chance to turn around. Laszlo moved first, hauling Pen down the darkened hall, practically hiding behind her as they approached the door.

Though she knew the story, though she’d been down here several times in a matter of days, Pen couldn’t help the shiver that traveled down her spine or the chill that left her shaking. The west wing was daunting as ever, shadows leaking from the corners, movement skittering under the doors like critters, and ghosts lying in wait.

Daniela blew out a string of warm air somewhere behind her, and someone was humming quietly under their breath, voice ragged with fear. They were nervous and terrified, and they had every right to be.

“Neil’s in here,” Pen said, voice trembling.