Page 192 of The Darkest Chase

“Mr. Peters.” I smile.

“You’re welcome to call me Joseph.” I wonder if he’s defrosting a bit. But he reaches for the door to open it, then stops, and suddenly his arm is a barrier as he gives me a long look. “You really shouldn’t be here tonight, Miss Grey. If I told you to turn around and go home, would you listen?”

My heart stops.

“What? Why? Do you know something I don’t?” I search his face.

“No,” he says, shaking his head. “I simply know there are people here tonight who prefer not to be seen—and it would be unwise for you to see them, Miss Grey.”

What people?

The Jacobins?

That rips at my heart, but I mask it behind a numb smile.

“If I’m going to call you Joseph, you should call me Talia. Look, I promise I’ll be in and out. Less than five minutes. I’m just picking up a check before Xavier leaves the country.”

He gives me a long, heavy look that makes me realize I would never be one of the final girls in those movies—you know, the ones who survive because they listen when the creepy, seemingly crazy old man with the bulging eyes warns them before they head into the woods where their friends will be murdered.

I mean, Joseph doesn’t really fit the crazy old man bill, but…

I’ll be fine. He’ll be close by.

What could happen just by sneaking in to grab a check?

Joseph’s look lingers a little longer.

I check to make sure my phone is in my bag and that app Micah had me install is on the main screen. Even if we’re strangers again, I still think he’d come running if I needed him.

“I promise,” I repeat with a smile that’s braver than I feel. Everything in me screams to turn around and go home, forget the check. But I can’t forget my grandfather’s bandaged hands and that nearly empty pill bottle. “Five minutes. Go ahead and count. I’ll keep my head down and avoid eye contact with anyone else. And you’ll be there, won’t you?”

The look he gives leaves me so uneasy.

“Hurry. He should be in his office.” Silently, he pulls one of the double doors open and waits for me to enter.

For once, I lead the way with Joseph close behind me like a shadow—guardian angel or stalking demon, I don’t know. My back suddenly feels too exposed and it’s a little harder to breathe.

Stop it.

You let him get inside your head.

You let him scare you.

My chest aches by the time I stop outside Xavier’s partly cracked door.

The halls are a little dimmer, making the golden light falling through that slit brighter. I rest my hand on the door and turn back to Joseph with a smile and a wink.

“Start the timer,” I tease.

He doesn’t answer.

He just stares like this is the last time he’s ever going to see me.

A cold lump settles in my stomach.

I hold my breath and knock on Xavier’s door.

“Mr. Arrendell?” I call. “It’s Talia Grey.”

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