Page 74 of Haunted Prey

I stepped out into the hall, shutting the door behind me. I hugged myself, wincing as I clutched my bad arm.

Emery placed his book on the ground and stood, now a towering shadow before me. “Are you cold?”

I didn’t know what to say at first so I nodded, even though the hall wasn’t too cold. They had heaters in most of the rooms including ours and a large one in the main room.

Emery picked up the jacket from his seat. One he must have swiped from someone else, but I didn’t ask who. He put it around me, letting me slip my good arm into the one sleeve while keeping the other out for now. The jacket was heavy and definitely too big for me, but it was warm and smelled like him. He adjusted it around me, wrapping it close while taking my hair and carefully setting it out of the jacket, over my shoulder. My heart fluttered as his fingers trailed through the ends of my hair. As he rubbed a lock, the heat of his gaze made me shiver.

“I couldn’t sleep…”

“Yeah?”

I chewed on my bottom lip. “Yeah.”

He smirked, as an ache settled between my thighs. He slipped by me and picked my shoes by the door. “Go on and sit.”

I did as he asked, plopping in his seat. He then kneeled before me and slipped my shoes on my feet.

“Are we going somewhere?” I asked, my pulse quickening.

“Not far. Just a little walk.”

He tilted his head to the side, the way he always did when he heard his sister’s voice. Then, just as quickly, he straightened. It struck me that it was the first time I’d seen him do that since I’d arrived here.

I wondered what she might be saying to him now, but I had no desire to bring her up if I could avoid it.

He tied my laces and straightened up. Without hesitation, I took the hand he offered, letting him pull me to my feet to stand beside him.

“Stay close,” he said.

“Are we going somewhere dangerous?” I asked.

“Maybe.”

I gave him a look and his slightly wicked laugh made my damn knees weak.

“Nothing too dangerous,” he said gruffly. “Remember you’re safe, you just have to watch your step.” With my hand still clasped in his, he led me down the hall, away from the main room. When we reached the end, we turned right. There, I saw a dark wooden double door. Emery stopped before it. “Ah, we also might need to watch for any intruders.”

“What do you mean, intruders?”

“You know, people trying to find shelter? We are in a desolate area, but we’re still close enough to the city. Sometimes, we find squatters.”

A sudden chill went down my back. “S-squatters?”

I heard something behind me in the dark and glanced over my shoulder. There was an image of a girl with a sunken face and pleading eyes in the dark. Behind her, just above her head, was a skull face.

For a second, I was sure my heart had stopped.

“They usually get scared off just seeing me,” Emery said, not noticing my sudden terror. “But just in case.” He showed me the blade on his belt.

I wanted to hug the jacket closer but couldn’t. Instead, I inched myself closer to him. “Where did you get that?” I asked, trying to shake the vision.

“Swiped it from Leslie. Motherfucker has more than enough to share. He’ll notice it’s gone eventually. Not that I care. Come on.”

He unlatched the lock and then shoved the double doors open.

Beyond was a stone-laid staircase. On the first step was a flashlight. Emery took it and clicked it on as we made our wayupward. I could see the cracks in the stone and even along the walls. Some of the steps that were crumbling he carefully maneuvered me around. When we got up to the landing, he swung the light across. There, I froze, peering around with wonder.

I’d assumed he was taking me to the church. What I didn’t expect to find was a smaller version of a gothic cathedral. In disarray. Abandoned.

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