Page 1 of Ghost Hunted

Prologue

Logan

“She’s dead.”

“No. Impossible. That’s not true. She can’t be.”

“I’m sorry, Logan. I’m so sorry. It’s just as hard for me, you know. Poor Lia. Poor little baby.”

He lets out a shuddering sigh, then sags into a chair, resting his head in his hands.

Liar. It can’t be just as hard for him. He’s a dirty, filthy liar.

But that’s not fair. He’s her father, after all. He might have been ashamed of what happened to her in high school, he might have forced her into a marriage with the don’s son, but still, he loved her, didn’t he? That’s what fathers do. They love their children.

So maybe he is suffering. But he’s not suffering as much as I am. He can’t be. No one can possibly be suffering as much as me.

I squeeze my eyes shut, pressing my fist to my forehead hard enough to leave an imprint on my skin. It’s just not possible.

I never for one second thought the night would finish in any other way than with me lying dead on the ground. I was supposed to die. And Lia was supposed to live.

It’s all wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

“What about…” I swallow painfully. “What about Aurora?”

He looks up at me, seeming to hesitate.

“Aurora. She’s still alive, isn’t she? She must be.”

The only other reason I have for living. The child whose existence I once despised. She’s come to mean as much to me as Lia does.

“Logan… she’s still breathing.”

My heart clings to his words. My one little morsel of hope in the bleakness of my new world.

“I need to see them both. Lia… Aurora…” I struggle into a sitting position.

“Hold on.” He puts an arm on my shoulder. “Take it easy. You’re not out of the woods yet yourself. You’re going to pass out if you get up. You haven’t been up in a week. Just take it easy, man.”

“A... a week?” I stare at him in utter bewilderment.

“Yes, you’ve been out cold. A bad concussion or something. All three of you—dead to the world. Lia’s already buried, Logan. We didn’t have a choice. The funeral was yesterday.”

Each word rings out in my ears like a shot. The mind fog is slowly clearing, replaced by a cold, sterile sense of loss. My skin feels clammy, and I’m exhausted.

“Lia… buried.”

“She has a tombstone.” His voice shakes, and I stare at him, suspicion momentarily taking the place of the exhaustion. His voice isn’t shaking right. The way he’s talking, the way his voice is thick and trembling… it all feels off.

I’m insane, I must be. I’m so incapable of accepting what he’s telling me that my mind is jumping through hoops, hunting for anything that could prove to me that he’s a liar.

Dead. Buried. It just can’t be.

I would know, wouldn’t I? I’d feel it. My body would ache. My skin would burn. There’s no way I could lose the love of my life and just… not realize it, is there?

I can only shake my head helplessly as he continues.

“I wish we could have waited for you. But we didn’t know when you’d wake up, or even if you’d wake up, and I needed closure. We buried her, Logan. I buried my little girl.”