CHAPTER NINETEEN
The door opened with a soft snick. Gage waited, remaining hidden behind some furniture until he was sure it was Jess. She looked around the room, missing his shape entirely before she closed the door behind her and walked toward the window.
“See? Not locked,” he said softly, stepping from the shadows and standing close to her. “Glad you showed up.”
He didn’t really think she would have stayed in her room, or at least, he’d hoped she wouldn’t. The fact that she’d met him here in the middle of the night told him Jess was at least curious. With any luck, her curiosity extended beyond why he’d asked her here. He thought about her far too much lately. He couldn’t get Jess out of his mind.
“How’d you do it?” she asked.
“The door, or getting here without anyone seeing me? The door was easy to pick. All the doors here are. And, Bryan is keeping his mouth shut.”
“Why didn’t he come with you?”
Gage grinned. “I told him I was meeting you.”
Jess’s eyes met his for a moment, then he looked toward the door and said, “He’s a little envious, I think, but he’s cool with it.”
“I—”
Gage’s eyes met hers again. “I know you didn’t meet me here for that. Not that I’d mind.”
Jess smiled softly. He tried to tell himself their close proximity made it easier to hear each other and not be overheard by anyone else who happened to pass by the room, but that’d be a lie. At least on his end. He hoped on hers, too.
“Why are we here?” she asked. He glanced at her lips, thinking of what it’d be like to take her in his arms and kiss her, to show her the most important reason he’d asked her here. “I suppose you want the real reason?”
Jess fidgeted and the corner of his mouth tilted upward again. She gave him a look, clearly indicating he’d better start talking. Gage sighed.
“Allison thinks Dr. Brandt wants to free whatever is trapped here. I agree. She also thinks the place is evil, and whatever lives here is evil, too. All of it.”
“I know most of that,” Jess said.
“I’m not sure if Dr. Brandt is really into the experiment anymore, or if he’s just saying he is. He might still think there’s a way to control evil spirits, but he’s changed somehow. He’s less interested in the experiment for EPAC’s sake. EPAC isn’t going to be happy. Brandt is supposed to be sending them reports on our progress. No company funds an experiment like this—pays us what it has without wanting something. Like a way to control the stuff of nightmares.”
Jess studied his face as she considered his explanation. Gage hoped he hadn’t sounded too crazy.
“You think that’s what Brandt was sent here for? But, how can anyone control ghosts? Or demons or the dead? It’s sort of far-fetched, Gage. Don’t believe everything Allison tells you.”
He’d have to tell her. There was no other way. “I went through some of Dr. Brandt’s notes.”
“What?”
He grimaced. She must really think the worst of him—breaking into rooms, smarting off, trying to get her alone. It was all true, but not the way it appeared. “Look, Allison has already been snooping in his office. She’s the one who told me the conspiracy theory. I always thought the goons who showed up at my parents’ house were up to something. Remember when I went through his things looking for the Ouija board? Well, I sort of came across his notes in a locked drawer.”
“Locked drawer?” Jess shook her head. “You picked the lock?”
“Seemed pointless to suddenly grow morals on picking a locked drawer when I’d already picked the lock to his room and gone through his stuff.”
“Why didn’t you say something earlier?”
“Because I hadn’t finished going though everything. I needed to be sure before I said anything, and I wanted to put everything back where I found it.”
“Wait. You’re kidding, right? You took his notes?”
“Yeah, but like I said, I put them back,” Gage replied. Bryan and Allison watched the hallway for me. At first, I thought Allison was a little crazy, but I think she’s telling the truth—at least about the experiment and EPAC. Anyway, Jess—some of what I read—it’s about you.”
She blinked. “Me? Why were you going through my files?”
“Not files, notes. I only read a few days worth of notes because I needed to have them back in his desk drawer before he went to his room for the night. Those notes just happened to revolve around you. Mostly,” he said. “Well, you and Allison. But, since Allison already knows, I figured I’d tell you.”
“Why didn’t Allison tell me?” Jess asked.
“Would you believe her if she did?” He didn’t want to tell Jess that Allison had wanted to tell her, but he’d convinced her to let him do it. Alone. Allison had smiled at that, which meant no matter how crazy everyone thought the girl was, she was at least observant. Then again, it was hard not to see he had a thing for Jess.
She chewed on her bottom lip. “No. I guess not.”
“So, do you believe me?”
Arms folded, she smiled warily. “Depends on what you have to say about the notes.”
Gage nodded. It was fair enough. “Seems this whole paranormal thing interests the military.”
“Military?” Her eyes widened.
“I’m not kidding,” he said. “I know it’s only one page of notes, and some suspicions based on a few visits from men in black to each of our homes, but the real takeaway here is that EPAC is a private sector company that works with military intelligence. I’m not sure what they want. I can only tell you what I read.”
Jess shook her head slowly, as though taking all of it in. Good. She hadn’t stormed out or called him paranoid yet. He couldn’t prove any of this to her without stealing Brandt’s notes again, but so far, so good. He had a chance.
Jess walked toward the window. “Are you sure?”
Gage went to stand alongside her. “Positive. For some weird reason, he doesn’t have a password on his computer. Brandt’s been corresponding to some Colonel Blackwell. It wouldn’t be the first time the government has tested ESP, telekinesis or even mind control. Who knows what they’ve dug up. At any rate, it’s not anything they’d share with us, right?”
Jess bit her lip again. He really liked it when she did that. It was sexy as hell. He tried to stay focused on the conversation. “You believe in ghosts, right?”
She eyed him suspiciously. “Of course I do.”
“Do you think Allison lied about the demons? Was I lying? Or Bryan?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Then don’t you think someone might want to figure out a way to use abilities like ours?”
Jess closed her eyes and nodded. Finally. She was starting to understand. “Yeah. I guess they would. Not exactly what we thought we were signing on for, is it?”
“You got that right. Except Bryan doesn’t seem to mind some of it. He’s kind of looking forward to seeing if he can do it, I think. Make stuff vanish. But not necessarily in front of Brandt. Like us, he’s leery about the government wanting to tap into his talent. But, if he can make other stuff vanish, it’ll prove he made his dad disappear. Deep down, he’s afraid he’s not really gone. That one day, he’ll show up again. He didn’t tell anyone else, but Bryan’s dad threatened to kill them all if they ever called the police on him again. I think he still has nightmares. He’s sort of messed up about it.”
“You’re saying Dr. Brandt is keeping information from us? More than he’s told our families? I can’t say I’m surprised, but…wow.”
Gage nodded. “There’s a huge grant for this. It’s why we were all offered such a large check, and why we all had to sign non-disclosure agreements. Someone way above Dr. Brandt’s pay grade is behind this.”
Jess frowned. “How do you think they were able to go through all our psych records without court orders?”
He rubbed a hand through his hair. “I have no idea. Big Brother and all that crap, I suppose. As for why they’d conduct such an experiment, think of it from their perspective. If the four of us can actually talk to, conjure, bring back whatever is on the other side, then send it back again, that’d be pretty handy.”
Jess took a deep breath. “Okay, so back to the notes about me. What did you find out?”
“That other than Allison, you show the most promise. Brandt’s initial notes said EPAC is going to be thrilled to finally have a communicator to deploy.”
“Communicator? Deploy? Are you sure?” Jess asked. “I never agreed to anything like that in the contract!”
Gage shook his head. “Siler House is a testing ground for them. Honestly, I’m not one for conspiracy theories, but I figured something was up when some guys sporting official badges came to the house one day. Wanted to talk to my parents about Max.”
“Max?” Jess said. “Your brother’s dog.”
“Yep. Seems after the funeral, Mom started talking about it. About me. No one really believed her, though. The town thought she was just too grief-stricken. I came home from school for the summer to help around the house and to help get their minds off Ben. About a month ago, these guys showed up in suits and asked a few questions. They left, not really saying much. Then I got a letter in the mail.”
Jess nodded. “One that mentioned a federal grant, a study into group psychosis and the paranormal.”
Jess seemed to be thinking about what he’d told her. Probably putting together her own pieces to the puzzle. Not that any of them had all the pieces, Gage thought. Whoever sat at the top of the food chain wasn’t likely to come straight. Why would they? Well, except in the case of Allison. From what she’d said, her family was banking on her never coming back.
They both looked out the window at the moon shining down on the back lawn. Jess rubbed her arms and stood a little closer to him.
“And back to Dr. Brandt, this whole thing about not pushing us as much?” she asked.
“Allison has a theory about that, too. But you already know it. She thinks the house is getting to everyone.”
Jess smiled. “Yeah, she already told me. It can’t be true, can it?”
Gage didn’t want to think so. It was just a house. But then, he didn’t know what to believe anymore. “We’ll all be okay,” he said, carefully wrapping an arm around Jess. She didn’t seem to mind. He’d dumped a lot on her; the least he could do was try to reassure her they’d be okay.
Besides, he couldn’t help himself, and holding her felt right.
Down the hallway, a floorboard creaked.
“Mrs. Hirsch!” Jess whispered.
Gage took her by the arm and gently pulled her behind a bulky armoire wedged in between some other pieces. Sheets draped the furniture, and best of all, it was in the darkest corner of the room.
“Quiet,” he whispered into her ear.
More footsteps. Definitely Mrs. Hirsch’s. They were louder now, just outside the room. Jess drew closer to him and he nearly stopped paying attention to Mrs. Hirsch. Outside the door, her keychain rattled.
Gage pulled Jess closer, lifting a corner of one of the sheets and letting it fall over them. He brought Jess even nearer, moving them to the center of the furniture they were hiding behind. The sheets hung thicker here, blocking out even the moonlight filtering into the room. Jess was pressed up against him in the small space. How he wished Mrs. Hirsch would go away.
The door opened with a loud creak. Jess started to take a deep breath and Gage placed a finger against her lips.
“Don’t breathe,” he mouthed. Reluctantly, he returned his hand to his side, although not before brushing against Jess’s collarbone and shoulder.
Mrs. Hirsch’s footsteps drew closer as she walked into the room. She paused somewhere in the middle of it, judging by the sound.
Gage’s pulse picked up when Jess leaned into him, her face mere inches from his. He carefully wrapped his arms around her waist, keeping her as still as possible. They could only wait for either Mrs. Hirsch to find them, or for her to walk out of the room.
After another minute, her footsteps indicated she was leaving. Even then, Gage didn’t relinquish his hold on Jess. Not that she seemed all that anxious to move away from him, even when the door closed and the floorboards creaked as Mrs. Hirsch walked away.