No More Secrets (Book 2)

4. Caught

It was about halfway through my shift when a familiar face walked through the door. I smiled when I saw her. "Hey, Nina," I said. "How are you?"

She shrugged. "Eh, same old, I guess. I'm looking for a book."

I chuckled. "I sort of gathered that. What kind of book? More ghost stuff? I don't know how many more I have that'll be helpful to you..."

"Nah." She gave me a small smile. "They've actually been behaving themselves these days. I think I might check out your romance section."

She started heading down the romance aisle, but I stopped her. "Dylan didn't talk to you this morning, has he?"

"No...?" She walked back over to the counter I was standing behind. "What's going on?"

I told her about the ghost in our bed last night and how Jenny was able to change the channel. The more I talked, the paler Nina's face got.

Nina shook her head, her fist pressed against her mouth. For a while, she didn't say anything. Then she moved her hand and spoke. "I would have said it was just a poltergeist that found you last night. But if Jenny was able to put in a little effort and press a button... She's not a poltergeist. She shouldn't be able to touch things or people. That's not how it works."

"I know." Hearing Nina so freaked out worried me. Dylan seemed freaked out too, but more so because there was a ghost touching me. He didn't say anything about what he thought of Jenny being able to change the channel, so I didn't know if the whole thing bothered him the same way. "It's weird that Dyl didn't call you."

Nina shrugged. "He might. Later. Maybe he and Jenny are trying to figure it out for themselves."

I wouldn't put it past him. The two of them were close, and if this was a new thing for Jenny to be able to do, I'm sure she's not going to stop trying until she completely figures it out. Dylan would be right there next to her the whole time.

"Well, I guess reading for fun is going to have to wait," Nina said. "Thanks, Travis. I'll see you around."

I watched her leave, hurrying out the door so fast, she almost ran down a woman who was coming in. Part of me wanted Nina to call Dylan so the two of them could figure out what the hell was going on with the ghosts. But the other part of me wanted Dylan as far away from the situation as possible. I didn't need him getting himself hurt or killed again.

As the elderly woman Nina had almost run down meandered around the shop, I opened a new tab on the computer. One of the perks of being a supervisor now was that I was usually the person in charge. If I wanted to look up personal things on the store's computer, I could.

At first, I typed in "ghosts touching objects". But before I could hit enter and do my own research on the topic, I deleted it. What was the point in trying to help when I knew I couldn't? Nothing I could do or look up on the internet would make a difference.

Instead, I started looking up potential venues for the wedding. Despite being engaged for a few months now, Dylan and I really haven't done any planning yet. I guess there was just too much going on with moving in together and everything, but I figured at least one of us should get a jump on it sooner rather than later. Not that I don't like being engaged to Dylan. I would just rather be married to him.

Eventually, the woman came up to me, ready to check out. I took my eyes off the screen to look at her. "Find everything you were looking for?" I asked.

She didn't say anything. Instead, she placed both books on the counter.

I scanned both the books quickly and told her the total. When she didn't react, I was worried she didn't hear me. I repeated the total and then asked, "Are you paying with cash or card?"

As I watched her face, I noticed something odd about her. For a second there, it looked like she flickered out of view. I blinked a few times. I really needed to get more sleep at night.

But when she still didn't move, I started getting concerned. "Ma'am?" I asked. "Everything okay?"

She lunged forward, wrapping both her hands around my wrists before I had a chance to move out of her way. Her hands were icy cold and her skin felt as tough as leather. For an elderly woman, her grip was surprisingly strong.

"Ma'am, please," I said, my voice cracking despite me trying to sound in control of the situation. I was the only one here until Kelly was scheduled to come in an hour. And with this woman's grip on my arms, I doubted I was going to be able to break free from her hold. "I'm going to have to call the cops if you don't let go."

My heart was pounding in my ears. There was nothing I could do against this woman. I knew I wasn't some super strong muscle guy, but I should have at least been able to break her hold. But I couldn't move.

"Travis," she said, her voice hoarse and barely above a whisper. "You're coming with me."

I couldn't breathe. I stood there, frozen in place, as she squeezed my wrists tighter.

Then the world started to blur around me. At first, I thought I was passing out, but I realized the woman was still clearly visible in front of me. We were moving, but I couldn't feel any of it. I shut my eyes, having quickly become dizzy.

When I opened my eyes a few moments later, the world had stopped spinning. We were no longer in the store. Instead, we were in what looked like a small, empty room, no bigger than our kitchen. There were no visible doors, only a small window letting in just a tiny amount of light.

The woman let go of me, reaching instead for the pendent around my neck. I could only watch, unable to move, as she touched the small metal piece. She flinched, like it had burned her, hesitated a second, then grabbed it. She yanked on it, making the clasp in the back snap. The next moment, both her and my pendent were gone.