Free Inevitable by Michelle Rowen Page B

future.
    She sensed it without much concentration. Lorraine might be nice and friendly, but her husband wasn’t the type who looked forward to entertaining guests. That light flickering on the fourth floor was not the most welcome sight Emma had ever seen.
    â€œI don’t have any exorcism paraphernalia,” she whispered.
    Ryan glanced at her. “I didn’t know that was a possibility.”
    â€œI’d prefer not to have to go to those extremes, but if he’s too much to handle…”
    â€œIf he’s too much to handle, we’ll just leave. All we’re doing is checking this out and letting Lorraine know what we find. She’s looking for peace of mind before she’ll move on. Her peace of mind seems to be entirely centered around this husband of hers.”
    He looked at the front door after following her up the five steps leading up to it. True to his word earlier, he was attempting to keep some space between them. He knew that if he got too close, she’d have a hard time keeping her mind on business. And with a case like this, she didn’t need any distractions.
    She turned the knob but failed. “It’s locked.”
    â€œGot a couple bobby pins?”
    She raised an eyebrow. “You’re kidding.”
    â€œNot at the moment.”
    Emma pulled the pins out of her hair that were keeping her long bangs back from her face. She’d spent an hour getting ready for her date tonight, but her hair hadn’t been co-operating. She handed the pins to Ryan and watched him skeptically as he stretched them out, then inserted them into the lock and began wiggling them around.
    â€œPicking locks,” she observed dryly. “What a huge surprise.”
    â€œI’m a man of many hidden skills.”
    â€œI have no doubt about that.”
    He looked at her as if realizing he’d admitted to something illegal. “This might not work. I haven’t done it in a long time.”
    â€œI don’t even want to know where you picked it up.”
    â€œI locked myself out of my house once upon a time.”
    â€œSure.”
    He grinned. “I know you think I’m a master criminal,but I haven’t hotwired a car since I was a teenager. This is as bad as it gets.”
    She was about to say something when she heard a click. Ryan turned the knob and the door swung inward.
    He waved a hand at the dark interior of the hotel. “After you, madam.”
    She ventured past him slowly, ignoring the momentary swell of lust she felt when she got too close to him. After all, she’d almost lost what few inhibitions she still had left just outside the restaurant only minutes ago. She couldn’t deal with that again now.
    She’d swept her gaze around the hotel lobby. It was dark, but she could see outlines of furniture under plastic wrap. There was a check-in desk with mail slots behind it. A staircase rose up at the far end of the lobby leading to the second floor. It smelled musty, but not as much as she might have thought.
    No security system. She’d half expected a siren to blare, but there was only silence.
    No, not complete silence. She could hear something very faintly.
    â€œDo you hear that?” she whispered.
    â€œDo I—?” Ryan cocked his head. “Yeah, music. Upstairs. It sounds like something from the thirties or forties.”
    â€œHarold’s listening to some old tunes.” She looked at the staircase in front of them. “Let’s go.”
    Ryan frowned. “You’re sure you want to confront him? Why not just give a report to PARA tomorrow? You said you didn’t have any exorcism stuff on you.”
    Even as a child Emma would seek spirits out, as if drawn to haunted locations like a magnet. Sometimes they were tricky to talk to, but it was always because they had some struggle, some issue they still were dealingwith. It was a vicious cycle for them until somebody—like Emma—was