Protecting His Windflower (A Spirit Hunters Series Novel Book 1) by Temperance Dawn (best ereader for epub TXT) 📗

“What the hell, Dad? You makin’ my girl cry?”

Liam stocked over to Emily and took her in his arms. “It’s okay, Liam. Your dad is very sweet. I’m sorry. I’m just really emotional lately. I’m not upset. I’m grateful. No one has ever made me feel so welcome before.”

Janet and Clay had made themselves busy in the background setting the table and making more coffee when Janet said, “Come on, everyone. Let’s have some more coffee and eat.”

“Are you hungry,” Liam asked. His hands gently cupped her cheeks.

“Yes. I want to finish my plate. Your mom is an amazing cook.”

“Yes, she is.”

Eighteen

“M

y gut’s telling me there’s a lot more going on here.” Clay sat in the leather lounge chair in the office. His hand stroked his chin while he thought.

“Yeah, we know.” Trey looked up from his laptop that he’d set up at Clay’s desk.

“I’m hoping once I meet with the attorney, we’ll be able to find some more answers.” Liam and his friends had gathered in the study, and his father had joined them to discuss the haunting and Phil’s passing.

“Liam,” Trey continued to stare at his computer screen. His eyes moved rapidly, reading the information in front of him. “I think I found something.”

Everyone stood and made their way to him. Liam stepped into the hallway and called for Emily. Moments later, both Emily and Janet walked into the study.

“I found this news article. It’s about a man who mysteriously took possession of a home after his business partner’s death,” Trey told everyone as he turned his computer around. “Liam, the home is your address.”

“You’re kidding,” Clay said as he and Liam leaned closer over Trey’s shoulders.

Liam read the article. “It says, Robert Banks, a San Francisco socialite, was taken in for questioning about the possible involvement in his business partner’s death, Henry Mitchell. Banks was questioned due to his sudden inheritance of the home not long after Mitchell’s son, James Mitchell, and friend, Abigail Quine, disappeared.”

“What?” Luke said in a shocked tone.

Liam looked at Emily, who was staring at the screen blankly. “Em, baby? What is it?”

Emily looked at him, her eyes full of shock. “I’m not sure. Those names sound familiar to me, but I have no idea why.”

“Liam,” Trey pulled Liam’s attention back to him. “That EVP we got the other night. It said, Abigail.”

Liam straightened and looked into Emily’s eyes. “What if Abigail used to live in the house and the spirit is referring to her?”

Trey turned in his seat and asked, “Could this spirit be Abigail?”

“No,” Emily answered. “The spirit is a man. I don’t know how I know, but I do. It’s definitely male.” Emily looked back up at Liam. “How do we find out who she was?”

Liam shook his head. “We keep digging. This is good, baby. We’ve needed history of the building. With this piece of information and the EVP from the other night, this may just be the piece we need to start putting this puzzle together.”

Clay asked as he straighten and took a step back, “Trey, did you find anything else?”

“No. So far, just this. There wasn’t enough time to research the other night. We were focused on gathering evidence after Liam and Emily caught the shadow figure on camera. We are just now able to dive into the history of the building. But it hasn’t been easy. Though this information here can help us a lot.”

“You boys keep me updated,” Clay urged. “I want to know what else you guys find.”

“We will, Dad.”

“Liam, your mom and I talked to Casey. We’re going to go visit her and the kids in a few days. But if you need to come back down here to get away, you guys feel free to come down. No need to call.”

“Thanks. How is she doing?” Liam asked as he sat down with Emily on the large leather sofa in the study. Liam’s younger sister, Casey, had been going through a rough time. She insisted all was well, but he knew—everyone knew—something was up, and he was glad his parents were going to check in on her.

“I’m hoping she’ll take us up on our offer and come stay here,” Janet said.

“I have some words for Mike,” Clay said, his tone harsh.

“You need back up?” Luke asked.

“No, I think we’ll be okay.”

“Call and let us know if you need any help, Dad. We’ll be there as fast as we can,” Liam told his father.

“Appreciate that, son. I will. And I’ll keep you posted on what happens.”

“Is everything okay?” Emily asked, concerned.

“Yeah. My sister’s husband is a real pain in the ass. But don’t worry, Dad’s gonna set him straight. How about we go rest for a bit?”

“That sounds like a great idea.”

Liam guided Emily to the bedroom, where they snuggled next to each other. He couldn’t get enough of the feel of her warm body next to his. He gently pushed a lock of curls off her face and kissed her lips. Emily curled herself into him, tucking her head under his chin.

“Liam?”

“Yeah?” Liam moved his hand to the back of Emily’s head, holding her to him.

“I don’t know why I know those names. I’ve heard them before. I just can’t put my finger on it.”

“We’ll get to the bottom of it,” he whispered. “It will just take some time. This is what we wanted. We needed some information, and we got it. We’ll keep going about our lives. Enjoy our beach getaway and use the clues once we get back to the city. Either to help us research further or to provoke the damn thing during our next investigation.”

Emily lifted her head. She gazed into Liam’s eyes, and he felt the invisible strings in his chest reach out further and lock onto Emily. “Why do I feel like I know you so well?” she said.

Liam caught her mouth, kissing her passionately. They went from slow