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Winter strolled into the living room. “Nope, but after all of last night’s activity, it might have exhausted itself. On the bright side, ghosts are rarely active during the day. I don’t know the reason, but they seem to lack the energy they need to make noises and move objects, so if you’re stuck with the ghost, it shouldn’t bother you while you’re sleeping.”
“But at night, when I’m here?”
The scary vampire kind of winced. Yeah, that said enough. Gideon was fucked if the ghost was in the mood to play and he wasn’t.
Winter walked over to the sofa and thumped the side of the trunk with the toe of his worn combat boot. “This the trunk you picked up?”
“Yes.”
“Nice. Had one like it myself a long time ago. Loved that thing.”
Gideon thrust both of his hands out toward Winter while looking at Ryder. “See! They’re a treasure. I can’t get rid of it.”
Ryder only had to lift his eyebrows at Gideon, and his shoulders slumped. Keeping the trunk meant possibly keeping the ghost.
Without hesitation, Winter reached down and tried to open the trunk. It appeared as if he were being cautious. Fearful of a pillow to the face? But the trunk wouldn’t open.
“I didn’t lock it,” Gideon called out.
Winter grunted and tried again. Still no luck. “Let me try something. I’ll be right back.”
Before Gideon could even reply, the Varik brother disappeared as if he were swallowed up by a darkness he hadn’t even known was there. A squeak escaped Gideon. No matter how many times he saw that, it didn’t stop being creepy.
Ryder stood beside him and draped an arm across his shoulders, drawing him into his chest. Gideon cuddled close. How did this man always know exactly what to do? Leaning on Ryder, Gideon kept his eyes locked on the trunk.
The lid suddenly jumped open, followed by the same high-pitched giggle. A chill wind swept past him toward the dining room. One of the stools spun in place as if someone had hit it. Lights that had been off popped on. There was another breeze, and the trunk slammed shut.
Winter slipped into existence in the dining room doorway, and Gideon jumped. Even Ryder flinched, his arms tightening on Gideon.
“Warning next time!” Gideon cried out.
Winter just stared, and Gideon sighed. Right. How the hell was Winter supposed to warn him?
“Well?” Ryder prodded.
“You’ve got a ghost,” Winter replied as he pulled his phone from the back pocket of his jeans. He typed out a message and shoved the phone into the front pocket of his hoodie. “Fox is on his way up.”
“We already knew we had a ghost. What kind of ghost? Is it dangerous?” Gideon demanded. He was ready to strangle Winter. This was why the brothers were constantly bickering. They were constantly driving each other insane.
“It’s hard to say. The ghost moves fast, but it’s small. Definitely the ghost of a child. I think it’s a little girl,” Winter explained.
There was a distant pounding up the exterior steps, followed by the door opening.
“Seriously? You have a child ghost haunting your place?” Fox called out as he entered. The witch grinned broadly at them as he crossed to his vampire mate and wrapped his arms around his waist, snuggling him as if they’d been separated for days rather than minutes.
Not that Gideon could talk, since he was still in Ryder’s arms. But he had an excuse—the ghost startled him.
“Please don’t sound so excited about this,” Gideon sighed, leaning his head on Ryder’s chest.
“But this is so cool!” Fox countered. The man sounded as if he were going to explode with his joy. “This is one of the first times I’ve heard of a ghost interacting with the living. Most of the time, they barely even acknowledge Winter in the dead world.”
“Except she can be unnerving,” Ryder said.
As if to underscore his point, a soft giggle drifted out of the trunk.
Fox jumped, squeezing Winter tighter before catching himself. He laughed and held his arms out in front of him. “Holy shit! I’ve got goose bumps! What else does she do?”
Gideon dropped his face into his hand.
