Page 126 of Touch Me

She giggles.

“Look.” She turns the card around and it says.Come get Psalm. For private confessions, call Father Russo.Followed by a phone number.

“It's funny right? I mean it’s blasphemy, but it’s funny.” She tucks the card in the back of her phone case. “Is there a church around here?”

I shove her shoulder. “Ashley. Oh my god.”

“What? I just want to feel the Holy Spirit within me.”

“Deep within you.” Alex laughs.

Ashley bounces in place. “Look, it's been weeks. I don’t want it to close up.”

Cassie puts her hand on her forehead. “It’s not like your ears if you don’t wear earrings.”

“How would you know? You have Sexy Sweats stretching your cookie every night.”

Jace chokes on his drink. He manages to croak, “Sexy Sweats?”

Cassie blushes. “Nevermind. Let’s go look at the song list for karaoke. Ella is going to sing.

I whip my head back and forth. “No, Ella is not.”

She stomps her foot and her curls bounce. “Come on. You’re dressed like a famous lounge singer and you have an amazing voice.”

“Yeah, in the shower.”

“How about you pick the song?” Cassie offers.

“I’ll look, but no promises.”

Twenty minutes of very intense negotiation later, after two shots of tequila, and a promised week in the Lancaster’s Lake Tahoe cabin, the song is cued up and I sing the first line ofNightmareby Halsey. Not exactly lounge singer material but the song speaks to me. Halfway through the song my throat burns with the intensity and the hairs on the back of my neck rise.

I try to shake off the feeling but the song is... intense.

Take back your power.

My eyes burn when I end the song and have the urge to turn and look behind me. I squint toward the darkened hallway. Nothing is there, no one.

The crowd erupts and I walk quickly off the boxing-ring-turned-stage. The lump lodged in my throat keeps me from heading into the crowd, so I follow the signs for the restroom.

I need a minute.

I splash some cold water on my neck so I don’t destroy my makeup any more than the few errant tears managed to do. I dab under my eyes with a napkin and smooth my face. I blow out a long breath and step back from the sink.

I push my boobs back up in my dress and take stock in the mirror.

They are impressive, aren’t they?

The only thing I’m willing to accept that I inherited from my mom. that and the red hair.

I exit the restroom and nearly collide with the proverbial tall, dark, and handsome stranger. He grips my shoulders and spins me up against the wall. Not meaning to be sexy at all, just trying to avoid a disastrous collision, I assume. But the hairs on my neck stand again and I take in a few ragged breaths. His eyes dip to my cleavage and darken. When his hands slip down and off my arms, my skin chills in their absence. He takes another look at my chest and backs away into a darkened doorway.

I smile.Thanks, Mom.

I rejoin my group and the priest behind the bar starts to shush the crowd. He points the remote at the TV and turns the volume all the way up.

...the victim has yet to be identified but authorities have confirmed it’s another victim of The Hangman. Police stress the need to travel in groups and urge women not to go out alone...

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