Page 58 of A Haunting at Keystone Manor

“Thanks. I feel like we made a major breakthrough there,” I tease back. “Maybe you could talk to me about your parents sometime?”

“I’d love that. I’ll check my calendar and see when I can pencil you in.” He gives me another hug before he leaves me to my gardening. I'm feeling flayed open but lighter. Maybe this therapy thing isn’t so bad.

***

Alex

I leave Jake to his gardening, feeling inadequate. I know I can’t do the work for him, but seeing him struggle hurts. I want this hotel to be a haven for the both of us. We’re supposed to be happy here, running this haunted hotel together and yet, it’s still the source of so much pain. I change direction, heading to the basement to find Sasha. We’ve got to expedite Operation Take Down Jake’s Dad; it’s the only way he’ll feel safe and happy again. And I will do anything to put a smile on that man’s face, always.

I find Sasha in one of the rooms of the basement, sitting on the damp floor in the dark and smoking a cigarette, the only light in the small room coming from a table lamp he must have nicked from one of the rooms. I let it go for now.

“Sasha, good to see you. I need you to put together any evidence you have and call Mr. Covington, get him to come here to the hotel. Alone. Tell him that we agree to his demands, that Jake will hand over the hotel and come home, on the condition that he will not be harmed. Once he gets here, we’ll throw him into a woodchipper.”

“You have woodchipper?” he asks.

“No, but you can easily rent those,” I say with a wave of my hand. “Not the point. We need to get rid of him.”

He takes a drag of the cigarette and blows the smoke in my direction, dark hair falling in his eyes. “He will never agree to this plan. He will know you are up to something.”

“Maybe, but we have to try something! I doubt the next guy he sends after Jake will be as nice as you, and I can’t take any chances with Jake’s safety. Mr. Covington fucked around and now he’s going to find out. He could have left us alone, but he chose violence instead and we’ll dish it right back to him.”

“You have killed someone before?”

“No!”

“How do you know you can do this?”

“I don’t! That’s what the woodchipper is for. If he accidentally falls into it, it’s technically not murder.”

He eyes me like I’m a crazed lunatic. I roll my eyes and wait for his response.

“Okay, I will make call. Can I come out of the basement now?”

I sigh. “Take room twenty-eight, it’s empty. Stay away from Jake for now. He knows you mean no harm, but he’s still skittish.”

“Understood.” He stands up and dusts his jeans off. I study the scars and tattoos on his hands.

“Where’d you get all the ink?”

“Prison,” he says simply.

“I knew it!” I blurt out, before slapping a hand over my mouth. “Sorry.” He just shrugs and moves to walk past me.

“If you don’t mind, I will shower first.”

“No problem,” I say as I watch him leave. I spend the rest of the afternoon doing busy work around the hotel, trying to decompress.

***

“I want you to fuck me,” Jake says that night in our room.

I look over at him, his hands balled and spine straight. He needs to release some tension, and I am always down for sexy time.

“Ooh, you want to fuck, baby? How do you want me? Hands and knees? Over the dresser?” I purr. I’ve been working on my seduction techniques, and I hope he notices.

“I want you on top.”

“Wait, on top? You want me to fuck you? As in, fuck?” I thrust my hips a little and instantly feel silly.