Twisted Sisters (The Orion Circle Book 2) by Kimber Leigh Wheaton

nodding in agreement. “You may not see or hear spirits, but you can feel their energy.”
    “I don’t know if that’s good or bad.” Raven tips her head, deep in thought. “I feel the energy of monsters too. I guess that’s just my superpower.”
    “So, is it safe to talk about the ghosts now?” Rebecca asks, glancing between Kacie and me.
    “You really don’t feel any change in the air, do you?” I ask, wondering how she can be oblivious to such an obvious change in pressure.
    “Nope, not a thing,” Rebecca replies with a frown. “I can’t decide if that’s a good or bad thing.”
    “Our ghost friends are gone.” I stare at the safe sitting at the bottom of the pool. “I suppose they’ve returned to the sorority house.”
    “Great, then I can tell you all about my research.” Rebecca rubs her hands together, not in a nervous gesture but rather eager. Her excitement is a tad creepy. She disappears through the sliding glass door into the house. Before I can take a step, she pokes her head back out. “Are you coming or not?”
    Kacie puts her arm around my waist and grins at me. Without a word, I allow her to assist me on the walk back to the family room. Though, truth be told, I don’t need it. For some reason her actions fill me with warmth, and after the crap I’ve been through, I’m not ready to let go of that. After I’m seated at the sofa with my leg propped up, she leans down and kisses my forehead.
    “Need any ice for your knee?” Kacie asks, brushing her fingers through the hair hanging over my left eye. “Maybe a haircut?”
    “Ha, funny,” I reply, shaking my head to move the hair back. “You love my hair like this.”
    “True. Ice?”
    “No, I’m fine.” I pat the sofa and she curls up against my side.
    “Is everyone settled yet?” Rebecca asks in an exasperated tone. “Can I get y’all anything? Coffee, doughnuts, a paper?”
    Carl lifts his hand in the air like a kid in class. “Actually, I’d like a Coke.”
    “Sarcasm, Carl. Learn it,” Rebecca snaps at him. Then she stalks into the kitchen and returns with a can of Coke.
    From the shocked expressions of my friends, I guess I’m not the only one thrown by her sudden kindness toward Carl.
    “Logan, why don’t you start,” Rebecca orders, back to her commanding self. “You got the ball rolling.”
    “Yeah, sure.” I sit up a bit straighter while organizing my thoughts. “I was in bed last night in pain, unable to sleep ‘cause I didn’t want the meds Dr. Hayes prescribed and something occurred to me. The ghosts all sounded like they were from an old episode of Scooby Doo. You know, like from the seventies. So I did some digging online and hit the jackpot.”
    The dull ache in my side turns into an annoying throb. When I squirm a bit, Kacie leans away looking sheepish.
    “Sorry, forgot about your ribs,” she whispers, scooting away.
    “No, it’s fine, really.” I don’t want to tell the whole Circle that I need the comfort but… “Can you switch to my other side?”
    She switches places with Blake and leans gently against my side. Careful not to move too fast, I place my arm around her, resting it on her shoulders.
    “Better?” she asks.
    “Better. So, long story short, three girls were killed in and around that sorority house in 1972. The killer was an assistant psych professor who claimed he was conducting research. Our spirits names are Amy, Renee, and Tracy. The professor was either trying to replicate the CIA’s MKUltra experiment or working for them‌—‌not sure. He dosed the three women with dangerous levels of LSD then played horror movie with them. Amy fell down the stairs and broke her neck while running away in terror. Renee ran out into traffic in front of the house in a panic-fueled fugue and was hit by two cars. Tracy… well she was hacked to bits by a meat cleaver or something.”
    “No wonder those spirits are so angry,” Raven says, wrapping her arms around her chest.