Page 36 of Sins of Autumn

“Yes, you were,” Daniella interrupted.

I should’ve felt relieved and defended, but guilt was already setting in and effectively shutting me up. A severed head and the creepy-ass gas station girl, I refused to take the blame for, but if my ex really did have something to do with this, then itwasmy fault.

“Liz, you’re entitled to whatever you want to think. You can be as pissed at me as you want, but we can’t fight amongst ourselves right now.”

She sighed and rubbed her forehead. “I’m sorry. I just--.”

Music began to play again. The same song that had just been playing on TV.

“Where is that coming from?” my sister asked quietly.

“If that’s his phone…” Jason trailed off, turning so that he was in front of us.

“Someone is in the house,” Liza whispered, her voice shaking.

“No. We just went from room to room.Twice,” Daniella reminded her.

She shook her head, blonde curls bouncing. “I can’t…I’m not staying in this goddamn house a second longer. I’ll take my chances in the woods.”

“That’s the dumbest thing you could possibly do right now,” Gabe retorted.

She backstepped, damn near shoving Jason across the room to get around him.

“Liza, stop! Don’t be a fucking idiot,” Naija yelled.

I ran after her, grabbing her from behind in a desperate attempt to stop her. “You can’t go out there!”

“Getoffme!” She shrieked, twisting in my hold. Her elbow came dangerously close to connecting with my face, and I instinctively let her go before she could land the hit.

The heavy door swung wide, and for a split second, everything seemed to still. Liza didn’t have a chance to react before the person on the other side grabbed her by the throat.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Thorne carried the blonde into the house like she was nothing more than a rag doll. She kicked and clawed at him, but he didn’t even flinch, making her resistance laughable.

Lucian and I followed close behind him, stepping into the chaos with unhurried strides. The screams inside were already echoing through the house. We’d expected this to happen much later. She just moved our timeline up and I wasn’t complaining.

Romeo and Atlas had broken away to go in through the sunroom, setting themselves up to cut off any retreat. Hunter had been inside since the night before. For as many times as they went through this house, I couldn’t believe they hadn’t found him. He wasn’t exactly subtle about it either, he’d moved around just enough to stay in plain sight while staying under their radar. Jason, the fucking fool, clearly didn’t know what situational awareness meant.

Hunter had been right beside him at one point. Every floor was accounted for; we’d been meticulous.

Naija ran up the stairs with Gabe right behind her.

“What are you doing?” Autumn yelled after them. They were gone without a reply and she was left with Cherish and Daniella, moving down the hallway that connected all the lower rooms. Daniella turned towards the kitchen, more than likely thinking they could make it out of the rear exit, but Rome and Atlas had got inside by this point.

“Fuck.” She backtracked and shoved Cherish and my girl further down the hall.

“Lower level,” Cherish yelled.

She must have meant the basement. That was smart in a limited, narrow-minded way. That would keep them away from us for a while, sure, but it was also a death trap. No exits. No chance of escape. She was about to box my girl in for us.

Lucian caught sight of them too, his laughter softening into a hum of interest. “Desperation always makes for good entertainment.”

“Mint,” I called, my voice clear even through the distortion of the mask.

She and her sister both turned to look at me. Autumn’s eyes swept over me, her fear and fury rolling off her in waves. She was trying so hard to stay strong, but I could see the cracks beneath the surface. Fuck, she was so beautiful like this. It made my bloodsing.

“If you come to me now, this will go a lot easier.”

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