Page 130 of Haunted Prey

“So we aren’t leaving just yet…” I said to her as I pocketed her phone.

She grabbed a hold of my jacket. “I don’t plan to be seen, but I need to settle a few things. Just another couple of days.”

I let out a breath. “I’ll be ready.”

She leaned into me and pulled me down, bringing her lips to mine, her breath mingling with mine. “I know you will.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Dear Mrs. Conley,

I’ve sent you a copy of my finished thesis. Only, it’s not much of a thesis anymore. It’s a story. A story about those who were lost, those who walked through hell and came out never the same. Whose minds were altered, broken, disturbed, but still found a way to love, even when the odds were against them in every possible way. I was the perfect subject as events unfolded.

Thank you for giving me the chance to walk this path, even though it was the hardest one I’d ever faced. The truth hurts most of all, and the pain will always be there, but it’s a truth that needs to be realized. And it needs to be said.

Sincerely,

Eve Martel

I hit send and sat there staring at the screen. Sleet and rain pattered on the window of the little room I occupied. I could hear Lena, Jamie, and Marcus talking softly downstairs. My phone vibrated, and I smiled, knowing it was Emery, texting from the phone Micheal gave him, wondering if he could come over yet and sneak into bed with me, to keep the nightmares away.

I always told him he was taking a big risk, that I was scared he’d get caught, but he said he’d always be careful, and of course he was.

While I’d finished the final edits of my thesis in the last couple of days, I’d gotten things settled between me and Uncle Wes and my father’s company. I pulled my assets and sold my stocks in the company, transferring over to a new account.

I was being investigated by the police for questioning seeing as I still had ties to Severfalls even if I did run off. I was scared at first, but then to my relief, Micheal got a hold of me and agreed to help me with any dealings with Severfalls. Any questions they had he would help me answer, and for that I was grateful.

Luckily enough, the police had little to ask. They were still going through all the evidence, through all the witnesses, but so far no one claimed to see me. Micheal learned later on through his sources—Dom, probably—that no one who had initially seen me with Cassidy in the beginning had survived the attack or the fire.

“What about Mr. Mercury?” I’d asked Micheal.

He’d paused on the phone. “You mean, Tyler’s father? Are you saying you encountered him?”

“Yeah.”

He dug deeper into the report and discovered that those searching through the rubble had found a body lodged in an elevator shaft. They believed the person had been trying to climb down but had become stuck, ultimately cooking alive, leavingbehind melted flesh and bone. As disturbing as that was, I was just relieved to know he wasn’t still out there hunting me. I saw his face in my dreams and had nightmares of being chased in the dark. But at least I knew now that’s the only place he’d find me.

As for Adrien, Rebecca, Maria, Sasha, and Jonsei, they hadn’t recognized me that night in the mask, claiming it was too dark to see anyone, let alone remember considering the jarring series of events. They did mention Micheal, but with his face covered by the surgical mask, there was still little to go by. And they didn’t feel obligated to give up the man who had led them out of the building to safety.

I did get a hold of them like I said I would, letting them know I was okay, that I hoped they would be too. They were transferred together to safe housing for women and new mothers and were working on a lawsuit against Severfalls and Kennedy, asking if I wanted to be a part of it with them.

I’d declined at first, afraid of anything leading me back to that night, but I hoped they got all the justice they deserved.

“We’ll miss you,” Rebecca said on the phone the night I called. “Promise you’ll come see us when you can.”

“I’ll try,” I said.

“You have to see Adrien’s baby. He’s cute. Though he’s got funky-colored eyes, and he’s rather quiet,” she whispered. “Don’t tell her I said that.”

My stomach flipped a little, happy at least she was okay, and hoping her baby would be too. I didn’t ask how much they knew about what was done to them, I didn’t think they needed the reminder.

I said my goodbye and wished them the best. That night Emery came and stayed with me as nightmares plagued me, and I fell a little into myself again. But I always came back to him. The episodes came in waves, but they got a little easier to deal with each time.

As my computer screen darkened in front of me, I caught the shadow of my skull-faced phantom behind me.

Come with me, Evee. Come back into the dark.

I ignored him, snapping the lid of my computer.

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