The Departed Read Online Free PDF Page A

over my head in this. Granted, I know I told you once that I had seen my granddad’s spirit and all, but this is some messed up shit.” She lowered her voice. “I won’t even watch any movies that deal with possession because they freak me out too much. And now there’s a possibility that some insane ghost can mess with me and my friends. Um, no thanks.”
    I knew the feeling when it came to those movies. I’d always felt the same way. Now one of my greatest fears had become a reality. I wanted to tell them about the dream I’d had last night, about Laria’s possible burial site, but I was still processing the dream and how to proceed.
    The last thing I wanted was the five of us coming up with a half-assed plan to wander into the woods and go searching for a two-hundred-year-old grave. Even though we were in rural Scotland, the forests changed with time. Trees were larger, brush was denser. It would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.
    While everyone was quiet and continued to eat, I did what I told myself I wouldn’t do with my buddies. I decided to try and read their thoughts.
    Megan was completely twisted. Her energy was scattered, and I could feel jealousy toward Cait coming off her in waves. I still didn’t quite understand why she was so jealous when she was clearly in love with Milo. I’m sure what she felt for Shane was a crush, but I wished that crush would go away because it would only make things more awkward. Maybe if Cait and Shane ended up together, that would put a fork in it for her.
    Reading Cass, I could tell there was a part of her that was actually kind of into the ghost hunting part of what we were going through, and yet she was terrified, which was understandable. Going from seeing a ghost to talking ghost possession was a lot to accept.
    Cait was the toughest of my friends to read. She seemed overly calm. Too calm in some ways. Then again, she might just be processing everything, especially since her family was so intimately involved. Her mind kept skipping to Shane, and I had to smile to myself, knowing that she was really into him.
    Shane took a drink of juice. “Everyone just needs to stay vigilant and if you see or experience anything, to let all of us know.”
    Everyone seemed in a better mood by the time they left my house just before noon. I went to the back patio and looked over at the hillside beyond the castle. Somewhere up in those woods was Laria’s grave.
    Find her, and you find them all.
    That warning would stay in my head for as long as I lived.
     

Chapter 4
     
     
    At ten minutes after one I finally texted Kade and told him I was ready to talk. Five minutes later the doorbell rang. Honestly, I was happy to know he was as anxious to talk to me as I was to talk to him.
    I glanced at my reflection in the mirror. I had made an effort to look my best. My hair hadn’t been cooperating, so I had slicked it back in a high ponytail, and wore a flowy cream shirt with a pair of cobalt blue slim-fitting pants and cute flats.
    Kade knocked and I opened the door. His gaze skimmed my body and slowly lifted to meet mine. A boyish smile spread across his lips and my stomach did a flip.
    His navy button-down shirt was rolled up at the elbows and open at the neck, exposing part of his strong chest and the Celtic cross necklace, like the one I wore. He had on my favorite jeans, too…the ones that cupped his butt in the nicest possible way.
    I was toast.
    All the reasons I had come up with to put our relationship on hold evaporated. I wanted to slide into his arms and tell him immediately that everything would be okay. That all was forgiven, and yet I stopped myself short of doing that.
    I already knew the reason behind his infidelity, and though it was Laria’s handiwork, the video of him hooking up with Dana had been permanently burned into my brain. There was a part of me that felt betrayed and I guess I wasn’t ready to jump back in with both feet…even though my heart was