Page 50 of Descent

The mattress has been sliced open, literally. A jagged cut through the material leading down to a sunken knife. That’s not the only thing on the bed, though. Beneath the knife is a picture; technically, the picture is stabbed through. Slowly, I take a few steps forward, my hands shaking as I get a better look at it. My stomach rolls the instant I do, and I immediately regret my choice.

It's from yesterday, all five of us tangled up on the bed together. The image captured is a private moment, one drenched in passion and love, feelings that are easily conveyed through the photograph. The most chilling part, though? The angle is obviously taken from my closet.

My eyes look up to see Asher already staring in that direction, before he dumps my bags on the floor and begins ripping through my closet. Piece by piece, my clothes, shoes, and bagsare thrown to the ground as Asher hastily searches for a camera. When he doesn’t find what he’s looking for, he punches a hole in the wall, grabbing the broken sheetrock and ripping it apart as he searches deeper.

I don’t realize that my entire body is shaking until Maggie is beside me, wrapping her arms around me in an attempt to stabilize me.

“Are you okay?” she asks softly.

Asher’s head whips in my direction, eyes wild and panicked.

“D-did you find anything?” I ask.

He shakes his head.

“S-sso that means, he was there? Taking the pictures real time, as we were….”

My skin crawls at the thought, goosebumps scattering across my body. There was no letter this time, no note. The intention far too clear, though.

Chapter Twenty One

Skyla

Asher immediately called the calvary in. In a matter of an hour, all four of them plus Wesley were here, prior responsibilities abandoned. They all started screaming at each other, Ronan actually putting hands on Asher when Wesley pulled him away. Ronan blames Asher because he assured everyone the house is well equipped with security, and it is, at least I thought it was.

Liam hasn’t left my side; some part of him knowing that I need him. While Vincent, Asher, Ronan, and Wesley have some kind of blame-game pissing match. Maggie slipped out quietly when the chaos began, can’t blame her. I wouldn’t want to be here either.

“How you doing, babygirl?” Liam asks, with a squeeze against my thigh.

I look over to him numbly, he’s hard to see through my watery eyes.

“I’m scared,” I say, though my voice lacks any real emotion. I sound more like a robot than anything.

He frowns, wrapping his arm around my shoulders tightly, as he kisses the side of my head.

“I know. We all are. Why do you think they are tearing each other’s heads off? They all are scared for you, even Wesley. I think he has a little crush on you,” Liam teases, in a way that tells me he’s trying to get a reaction out of me. It doesn’t work, though.

Wesley looks over to us like he heard Liam before those concerned blue eyes land on me. He doesn’t come closer, and he doesn’t say anything, but there are so many emotions playing across his face it damn near hits me square in the chest.

Turning back to the guys, his demeanor changes, and one word has everyone quieting.

“Enough!”

Everyone in the room stares at him, and he takes his time collecting his thoughts before he speaks again.

“It doesn’t matter whose fault it is or how the guy got in. What matters is we prevent it from happening again. Ronan and I will sweep this place top to bottom, installing new security measures that will turn this place into an extravagant bunker. Anyone who wants to help is welcome.”

Without another word, he stalks off to his car, Asher and Vincent hot on his heels as Ronan hangs back. He comes over to me, sitting beside me on the couch as he cups my knee.

“What can I do, baby?”

I shake my head. “I just want to feel safe. I’m tired of this. Every time we start to let our guard down, he shows back up again. He’s getting more violent. What if he tries to hurt me or one of you or—”

“He won’t get the opportunity. He’s been relatively quiet because he hasn’t had the same access that he did to you at school. I don’t know how he managed to get inside this time, but I can promise you it was a mistake that will not be repeated.”

I nod.

“This is what Wesley specializes in; there is no one with better access to tech apart from maybe the Hutchinson’s.”

---