Page 49 of Hollow

Outside, the fog has gotten thicker, coating everything in a layer of damp. We walk in silence for the first minute, Briar hugging herself against the cold despite the flannel shirt.

“About what you saw...” she finally says, her voice uncertain. “Damiano and I... thatwasn’t planned.”

“You don’t need to explain anything to me.” I keep my eyes on the path ahead.

“I just don’t want things to be weird between us.”

I almost laugh. Like burying a body together wasn’t weird enough.

“It’s not weird,” I lie. “You’re both adults.”

“Right.” She steps over a fallen branch, still not looking at me. “I just thought, given your history with him...”

“Ancient history.” Another lie.

“It felt like more than that, the way you two looked at each other.”

I shrug, trying to play it cool. “We’ve known each other a long time. That’s all.”

“And I’m complicating things.”

“Everything about this situation is complicated. You and Damiano is the least of my concerns right now.”

She nods slowly, clearly not believing me. Smart girl.

We’ve reached the back patio of the main house. All the windows are still dark.

“You should go in through the kitchen,” I tell her. “In case anyone’s watching the front.”

“Right.” She hesitates, then adds, “Be careful out there tonight.”

“Always am.”

“Lock the doors behind you,” I remind her. “Anddon’t answer if anyone comes knocking before morning.”

Once she’s safely inside, I stand in the shadows for a few minutes, watching for any movement around the property. Nothing but fog and darkness. The search parties must have moved to a different area.

I head back toward the greenhouse, my mind racing with everything at once. The search. Viktor. The body in the maze. Damiano and Briar together on that narrow cot…

Yeah, complicated doesn’t even fucking begin to cover it.

Chapter 16

Briar

“I had a party. It got bigger than I expected. I went to bed early. I don’t know everyone who was there.”

I repeat the lines in my head for the twentieth time, trying not to sound too rehearsed while Viktor Bastian stares me down from across the kitchen table. His eyes haven’t left my face since he sat down ten minutes ago.

“And what time would that have been, Ms. Waters? When you went to bed?”

“Around midnight, I think.” I fidget with my teacup. “I was tired. My condition?—”

“Yes, your condition.” He glances at the medication bottles lined up on the counter. “Must be difficult.”

Something about the way he says it makes my skin crawl. Like he doesn’t quite believe me.

Two other men stand near the back door—ex-military types with hard eyes and crew cuts. One ofthem keeps checking his watch. They brought dogs, currently sniffing around the perimeter of the house with handlers. I’m trying not to think about what would happen if they decided to explore the maze.

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