An amateur medium races against the brink of her own sanity to track down a serial killer who is already in possession of his next victim.
And she only has 23 days to solve the case or else.
***
Devyn Brooks has only ever had one fear: don't becom...
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I'm embarrassed. Humiliated. Want to crawl under a rock. Tuck tail and bail.
But I'm stuck here, laughing off my boyfriend's uncharacteristic show of possessiveness so that white people don't get the wrong impression.
I feel a sling of stares, all turned this way. It's been that way since Ace stepped on the floor. Ma taught me that an angry Black woman will be seen as unstable or uncivilized, so I need to watch the way I carry myself—especially my tone and dialect while in public. What I've come to realize, though, is that a Black man who shows any sort of discontent will immediately be viewed as a threat.
Of course, I know who Ace is at his core—they don't. So it's up to me to diffuse this situation.
"I'm not sure what got into him," I say, attempting to laugh this all off. "He's got a lot going on with basketball."
"I deserved that," Cole replies. "He had every right to whoop my ass in your honor. Let's just say I'm glad he didn't. He'd have won, hands down."
This earns a chuckle out of me. Cole is right. It's not to say he isn't in good shape. Teegan said it herself—the guy has some toned biceps. But working out is all Ace does. From sunup to sundown. Not to mention he's easily taller than Cole, who almost looks six-foot.
"Now that's a fight I'd pay good money to see," Teegan hums, tapping Cole's pectoral region.
Cole brushes his chest involuntarily; goosebumps crawl up his neck.
I give her a warning look.
Cole finishes writing out his email. Then he hands me a post-it. "That's all the contact I can think of."
I glance down at it, noting he listed his personal cell phone, his IG account, and email. Damn. He must really want me to reach out.
"Thanks," I reply, folding it into my leggings.
"Don't hesitate to contact me whenever it's a good time for you. I'll be waiting." His eyes revert back to that same, desperate intensity he had before Ace came upon the scene. Which lets me know he really means it. He wants to hold those cops accountable.
"Mm, I've seen that look before," Rosario says, scrutinizing him. She jabs her finger right into his nose. ""¡Debería darle vergüenza, señor! She's a taken woman."
I nod and wave goodbye, slowly backing away. My ghost girls follow me and it isn't until I'm back in the elevator that I inhale from my diaphragm.
Shiiit. What a day this is turning out to be.
"Devyn, I do not like that man," Rosario declares.
"What's not to like?" Teegan counters. "Do you have an aversion to tall drinks of water? Handsome smiles? Tight, round asses?"
Rosario sputters so much that if she were still alive, her whole face would turn into a tomato. She pushes up her wired glasses before balling fists at each side of her white capris, demonstrating self-control.
