Page 33 of Ghosts of Halloween

“Trick or treat, princess?” he asks, voice low and threatening, and I whimper, unable to form words.

A beat passes. I stand, frozen to the spot, my breath so shallow it’s as if I’m not breathing at all. Waiting to see the impossible.

The beam of light slowly slides up and up and up, revealing his face.

And it’s Jack. Jack, with green eyes full of mischief, dark brows and sharp cheekbones. Jack, who whispered filthy things in my ear all those years ago. Jack, who wanted to date me and threatened to kill my boyfriend if I didn’t break up with him.

Jack, who said he loved me.

It can’t be him, but it is.

We stare at each other, his eyes taunting, mouth curved in a cruel smile, and the world tilts around me, my head woozy. I lean against the wall, not daring to take my eyes off him, until my throat loosens enough to let me speak.

“But… you’re dead!” I choke out, staring at him with wide eyes.

He rises slowly higher until his feet are level with my head, and I can’t help but follow him with my eyes. Jack grins, slowly gliding closer.

“Yes. And?”

18

Harlow

He moves closer, gliding through the air like he weighs nothing, and I let out a terrified squeak. He’s dead. Jack’s dead, just like Noah, and I don’t… I can’t…

He reaches out his hands, face cruel, and I stop thinking. I duck under him and sprint down the stairs, my heart in my throat. Jack laughs behind me, and I whimper from terror.

Oh, God. I need out. A way out.

My legs take me to the kitchen. I’m so scared, I barely notice anything around me, and when I hit my shin against a broken piece of furniture, there’s no pain. Only terror.

Jack’s laugh follows me, and cold sweat pours down my neck.

I crash into the kitchen door, not even slowing down. I hope to barge through, but the door seems to be made of something sturdier than old wood. I cry out and land on the floor, sobbing out of fear and helplessness.

“You all right there, angel?” comes an amused voice, and I spring to my feet, facing the doorway.

I freeze, my eyes going wide with recognition.

“Silas,” I whisper. “Caden.”

They flank the doorway, both of them looking comfortable leaning against the wall. I have an urge to ask them for help, but then I realize they are dead, too. All three of them are dead, but… they are the ones who tied me up. Who touched me.

Jack is Groomer. Silas is Butcher. And Caden is Strangler.

I stare at them, my face blushing as my insides twist, terror, embarrassment, and awe mixing into an explosive cocktail that makes my knees shake and my cunt throb.

“You… But you…”

I can’t form words. It’s too much. They are dead, yet they are here, and just moments ago, they got me off. Silas guessed I was raped. Caden had his mouth on me. And Jack…

“Long time no see, little bird,” Caden says with a predatory smile, and I hiccup. “Tell you what. If you get caught, you’ll be fucked. Don’t want that? Don’t run.”

I gasp, my throat and chest too tight, my body thrumming with the electrifying fear. I’m confused, and at the same time, everything is so real. I am hyperaware of them, of the room, of the darkness pressing in, of how alive my body feels.

Silas takes a step closer, grinning, and then readies himself to pounce. I shrink against the back door, too terrified, too aroused, tooeverythingto figure out what’s going on.

He makes as if he’ll jump at me, his wicked grin telling me he’s just playing, but at the same time, there is something so cruel in his eyes. I shiver from fear. I never even talked to Silas. Just a few words here and there. It blows my mind that he would be the one to… That he…

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