Page 56 of Haunted Spurs

"Okay, okay, we're going in, take it easy," I humor him, letting him drag me up the steps of the creaking porch. "I just wanted to let you stretch your legs in the fresh air."

I watch my dog wag his tail restlessly and whine at the solid wood. Maybe he misses Selene.

I push the heavy double doors open. And the second I step over the threshold, voices and chaos wash over me, nearly making me take a step back.

"See? It was him!"

Emerson's whiny, irritating voice acts as my welcoming committee.

The entryway is a madhouse. Practically everyone is down here, huddled together in their pajamas. They're looking around, babbling, pointing outside.

"No, it wasn't him," Emma shoots back, her voice high and trembling as she peeks out through the living room window panes, pulling her oversized sweater tighter around herself.

"No offense, beautiful, but... I don't think there's anyone else here besides us," Emerson insists, pushing his glasses up his nose with his usual, insufferably smug air.

"I'm telling you, I'm positive it was someone else! He didn't have a hat!" she continues, visibly panicking as she takes a step back, moving away from the glass.

"Hey. If she says she saw someone, she saw someone."

Levi's commanding voice cuts through the air, immediately grabbing my attention. He inserts himself between Emerson and Emma, acting as a human shield.

What the hell is going on here?

"And now we just have to figure out who it was," Levi continues, dropping his voice just for her. "Don't worry, Emmy... I've got you." And, as if sealing the promise, he wraps a solid arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah, well, don't worry," Cole chimes in. Or Cade. I still haven't figured out how to tell the twins apart. "Assuming something goes wrong, in horror movies it's always the blonde and the nerd who bite the dust first." With a cheeky grin, he points unmistakably at Emerson and Susan.

Carolina, standing next to Indya, claps a hand over her mouth in a poor attempt to hide a laugh that slips out anyway.

"Excuse me?" Susan, wrapped in a silk robe, frowns, visibly irritated by the joke. "Cade, that is seriously idiotic."

"But... I'm blonde, too!" Emma squeaks at the same time, looking at her hair with pure terror painted on her face. Levi, by her side, shakes his head with a reassuring smile, rubbing her shoulder as if to say, I told you I've got you.

"No, hold on a second, darlin', I am Cade," the other twin steps forward, raising a hand with an outraged look and pointing an accusing finger at his brother. "Don't confuse me with my idiot twin."

"Okay, okay, quiet!" I cut in, raising my voice over the overlapping chatter. My brain is about to explode and I can't follow a damn thing. "What is going on?"

The group falls silent, turning toward me.

"We heard a noise and we all came downstairs to check it out," Levi gives me the rundown, quick and concise. "Then Emma saw someone out in the woods."

I take a breath. I don't think it's anything to panic about. We're on a reality show, for fuck's sake; it's probably just a crew member who showed up early, or maybe one of us stepped outside for a breath of fresh air.

But despite logic, somehow my brain goes on high alert anyway. A sudden chill grips my stomach.

I quickly scan the crowded room, taking in the tired faces around me. Levi, Emma, the twins, Carolina, Indya, Emerson, Susan, Josh, Lizzie, Sam, Katherine.

"Where's Selene?" I ask. My voice comes out hard, tense, as my boots are already moving toward the main staircase.

"She didn't come down..." someone murmurs, I think it's Indya, glancing upstairs.

Before I can take the first step, the leash is yanked right out of my hand. Ollie pulls in the opposite direction, planting himself in front of the wide archway leading to the old formal living room, and starts barking furiously. Barking at empty air.

Dammit. I know perfectly well it's nothing. But for some fucking reason, I feel a burning urge to get upstairs and make sure Selene is okay.

Ollie keeps barking, growling with bared teeth as he pulls toward the room.

And then, suddenly, from the dark living room... the old grand piano starts playing all by itself.