Page 65 of Haunted Prey

As she slammed her door behind us, Emery slipped past the others. I titled my head at him, still so shocked to see his face and not a skull.

“You’re alright, no one’s going to hurt you,” he said gently. He glanced at Lena, then offered his hand to me. “Either of you.”

I believed him. He was different. Not like my ghost.

Was he really here in front of me? How was it possible?

My throat tightened as I slid my hand into his, and his large hand closed firmly around mine. He felt solid—so real. He had to be real. And yet, it was so hard for me to accept it, when I saw him fall, saw him go under. I was so afraid this was a trick that my mind was playing, so afraid any moment I’d wake up back in Severfalls, strapped to a bed, my ghost laughing over me.

His touch grounded me. As long as I felt him, I wouldn’t slip away.

I clung to his hand like an anchor as he gently guided me into the main room, which I assumed was some kind of community space. It had a few tables and chairs, along with a small window looking into the kitchen. A couple of overhead lights illuminated the tiled ceiling, casting a muted glow. The walls were mostly grey and bare, save for a few old decorations—a Christmas tree and some snowflakes—that looked like they’d been made by children long ago. I doubted anyone here had put them up recently.

On one side of the room, a row of narrow, shuttered windows overlooked a computer station. It was an impressive setup, spanning a long table with a widescreen TV mounted above it. The tables scattered throughout the room each told their own story—one held a game of cards, another was covered in paperwork, and a third displayed knives alongside the masks they had worn the night before. The rest were empty.

The checkerboard floor was cold beneath my feet as Emery led me toward the center of the room, where a deep red rug lay near the computer station. Opposite it, in a shadowed corner, sat an old piano, untouched and forgotten.

I hadn’t taken any time the night before to look around, too shocked by what was happening. Now, I saw how simple it was, a place where people used to gather, maybe even where children used to play. It was being used as a safe haven, a hideaway for a group of damaged individuals, with violent pasts.

Emery wasn’t the only one. Leslie turned his head, and I saw his damaged ear which contradicted his sharp features and dark complexion, with green eyes. Dominic, who looked almost exactly like Leslie except for the eyes, had scars along his throat and jaw. Dom had tattoos to cover up the scars.

I remembered them from the files I had. There hadn’t been as many videos of the twins but I had seen their pictures—Leslie’s arms around Dom’s shoulders, neither smiling. Dom stared at the camera while Leslie glanced at the person taking the photo, looking scared but ready to protect his brother at all costs.

Never would I have believed I’d see any of the victims again, not like this. It was surreal.

Leslie glared at me for a moment, sharp eyes assessing me, then he quickly glanced behind me to Lena who had also broken out of the dark hallway and wheeled into the room. She stared at him, studying him now that his face was no longer hidden by amask, and I thought for a brief second, I caught her turn slightly red. She quickly looked away as she moved closer to me.

“I’m sorry about Cassidy,” Andrea said. “But Emery is right, you’re safe here.”

“Are we?” Lena chimed in. “I don’t exactly feel safe knowing—one, that you seriously kidnapped us, and two, Eve and I can’t leave, at least without the possibility of creepy knife guy over here stabbing me.”

Leslie laughed. “Oh, don’t worry, sweetheart, I won’t need to stab you. We all know you won’t get far enough for it to matter.”

Lena gritted her teeth. “Okay, jackass. So I can’t walk, but I can crawl and I can find your room easily. And when you're asleep, maybe it will be you who should be worried.” She pretended to grip something tight in her fist while making an up and down motion.

Lez arched his brow. An undeniable smirk crept over his face. “Or what? You’ll jack me off?”

She gaped at him as she stilled her hand. Her face turned red again. “I’ll STAB YOU, FUCKER.”

I had to look away to stifle my sudden laughter. Emery didn’t try to hide his smile at all, and I wanted to jab him in the stomach.

“Leslie,” Andrea warned, covering her eyes in embarrassment. “Can you not be an ass for two seconds?”

“For two? Maybe.” He went over to the table with the cards and took a seat. Dom went to his computer station, rummaged around and grabbed a pen. He offered it to Lena. She took it, giving him a confused look. Dom pointed at it and made the same up and down motion as Lena.

“He’s saying you can use that to stab me with. Not like we don’t have a fuck-ton of knives lying around,” Lez said.

Dom smiled at her, then went to join his brother at the table. Lena held the pen tight with a baffled expression.

“This is the kind of shit I’ve had to deal with for the last few weeks,” Emery remarked, still looking more amused than annoyed.

“I’m astounded you haven’t stabbed him yet yourself,” I teased.

His expression brightened at my casual teasing. I felt his thumb tracing along my wrist in response. “Trust me, I’ve considered it. Many times.”

“All right, enough child’s play,” Andrea said. “Micheal should be coming soon and we’ll have a lot to discuss. Do you girls need anything? Are you hungry?”

“I’d like to know what the hell is going on, personally,” Lena said, dropping the pen in her lap.

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