Haunt the Mall (Love at Westbrook Mall #1)

1. Beckoning

1

Beckoning

The black widow animatronic dangling from the theater’s balcony seemed to honor the delicate truce between man and spider: leave me to my darkness, I’ll leave you to yours. Except this one wanted us to see its movie: The Widow. And we were coming.

“See you soon, darling,” I crooned, wiggling my fingers through fishnet gloves at it as we hurried past.

My coworker Willow twisted her muddy, seaweed-colored hair in front of her face. “Hey, Kat, do they ask for your ID when scanning you in for R-rated movies?”

I grinned. “Is this your first one?”

Her shoulder twitched. “I don’t notice ratings when they’re on TV.”

I bumped her arm with my elbow. “This is so exciting. Your first R-rated movie, and it’s probably a masterpiece.”

I caressed the black cords on my cross necklace and smiled at this year’s monster. Her limbs flexed like long, bony fingers beckoning her prey. My pulse quickened with the urge to lift my arms for a dance macabre—not that I could reach. She was low enough for fun photo ops but high enough to dissuade bored teens from taking a swing. How did they get eight jointed legs to move? Her head swiveled too. Black eyes glinted red—almost as bright as the marking on her back. God, she was magnificent.

Just beyond the tangle of legs and fake webbing, a guy in the theater’s black and blue uniform leaned over the railing like some phantom spider guardian, his sleeves rolled up over toned forearms. Dark hair swooped across his face as he scanned the guests below. Did he want to dance with the widow, too, or was he enjoying the view?

Willow cringed to avoid the crowd and accidentally knocked into me. “I guess a lot of people are excited about spider-things.”

“‘Tis the season for it, and for us to make money. Widow merch will be hot this year, but Halloween costumes sell like you wouldn’t believe.” Especially if they were a little slutty. I adjusted my lace-up top and flashed a smile at the teenaged ticket-taker.

He blushed and fumbled the scanner over my phone. “Theater six. Enjoy your movie.”

“We intend to.” I strode across the lobby with Willow clinging to my side. I patted her hand. “See how easy that was? Prepaying for tickets is the key. That’s how my sisters and I snuck each other in.”

Willow raised her eyebrows. “Did they take you to your first scary movie?”

“No.” I laughed. “Not unless you count smutty vampire series as horror.” Those movies had their own level of intrigue. Pretty boys who promised their lovers forever. Villains who’d burn the world for a single person. Captive situations, biting…

I shook my head and marched into the theater. No fantasizing about fictional men until I got home. Tonight, my team needed me.

Bree barely looked up from her phone as we approached our seats. “Hey, you almost missed your own party.”

“Yes, long close. Lots of folding.” Mostly because she hadn’t done her share of it this morning. I forced my tone to stay positive. “But we’re here now. A spider didn’t eat us on the way in.”

“Did you see that big one in the lobby?” AJ pushed up his thick, black-framed glasses. “That’s some expensive movie promo. I totally thought it was gonna snatch somebody.”

“Maybe that’s how they get rid of annoying customers,” I joked, sitting between him and Willow.

The lights dimmed. Chatter dropped as the curtains swished aside to reveal a wide, glowing screen. Electricity and air conditioning prickled the fine hairs on my arms. My aching feet wiggled in my thick, tight leather boots. This was it. The big, magic portal feeling. I scooped popcorn into my mouth and leaned back in my seat.

The movie was everything . Serious but silly. Relatable and thrilling. By the time we got to the first big spider scene, people were gasping and clutching various seats, drinks, and dates.

My chair wobbled. We hadn’t signed up for the 3D experience. Next to me, Willow trembled, holding her hair tight in front of her face so that she could only peek through. She was almost as pale as the victim being wrapped in spider silk on-screen.

“Are you okay?” I whispered.

She shook her head.

I knew she was young, but I thought she’d be fine with a monster flick. This wasn’t even that scary. Bree and AJ clawed for popcorn as the movie spider descended from the ceiling.

I scooted to the edge of my seat. Yes, yes, it was finally happening!

A low noise stuck in Willow’s throat, her eyes shining with fear.

Shit. She wasn’t gonna make it through the movie.

I sighed and shoved the popcorn bucket into AJ’s lap. “I have to take care of something.”

He gave me an incredulous look. “You’re going to miss the movie.”

As if I didn’t know that. But this was supposed to be fun, not nightmare fuel. Even if Willow did volunteer for it. So much for our group outing. Bree snatched the popcorn from AJ. I rolled my eyes and got up, gesturing for Willow to follow me.

“I-I’m so sorry,” Willow whimpered as we hurried up the aisle. “I can just close my eyes. Or sit in the lobby and try to work up the courage to go back in.”

“Don’t be silly, this is a team-building thing. I’m not leaving one of my teammates by themselves.” Especially when they were sixteen. Plus, a tall guy lurked in the exit hall. The whites of his eyes flashed as they slid from the screen to me and my employee. He had rolled-up-sleeves and the same shape of that guy from the balcony. It was hard to distinguish his features in the dark—and I didn’t want to stare him down like a creep while he was clearly watching the movie. He bowed slightly and sidestepped into the shadows to let us pass.

I looped our arms and put myself between her and the slender figure.

She scrunched up her shoulders. “I know how badly you wanted to see this.”

Suppressing a sigh, I nodded. “I can always come back next week.”

“Really?” she asked.

“Yeah, it’s a good date movie. I’m sure I could get some unsuspecting victim to take me,” I said.

The guy in the shadows exhaled sharply.

Was he laughing? That guy probably couldn’t even see me in this lighting. Anyone would be lucky to date me. I shot him a sharp look and towed Willow out of the theater. Once in the warm lights of the lobby, I unlinked our arms and stepped aside. “Okay, what do you want to do?”

She tugged her long, striped sleeves. “I don’t know. I can’t call my parents for another hour.”

Nothing else was open unless she wanted to spend exorbitant fees on sickeningly sweet cake at the restaurant on the south side of the mall. I gestured to the adjacent screening room. “How about we try another movie?”

She glanced around. “Are we allowed to go in? I thought it was all assigned seating.”

I shrugged. “They already got our money, and I’m sure there are a few spare seats.”

Willow tangled her arms into her stretchy sleeves. “Are you sure? I can wait out here.”

And hang with a giant mech of the spider that scared her shitless?

I crossed my arms. “Pick. Another. Movie.”

She scanned the posters. “Okay, how about ‘Mummy’s House?’ It’s a cartoon, but it’s probably funny.”

She was sixteen going on six, it seemed. Although, I had hired a teen. So, she wasn’t ready for her first R-rated movie. It wasn’t anybody’s fault. Just annoying. “Sure. Our store carries some of that mummy stuff, so we can still consider it job research,” I said.

For the first time since we got to the theater, Willow smiled.

Damn her youthful innocence. Why did doing the right thing feel so shitty?

I texted the group chat an update and confirmed we’d all be out around the same time. At least my team got to enjoy themselves tonight.

Understandably, very few people were at the late-night showing of a kids’ movie, so we snuck into the back row without any trouble. The plot was easy enough to pick up part way through. A mummy ran a foster care of various creatures with crappy or otherwise unavailable parents, like Frankenstein. Willow propped her Converse on the empty seat in front of her and tickled her lips with her hair. She giggled at a zombie chicken decapitation. I smiled and shook my head. When it came to appreciating the macabre, everyone had to start somewhere.

My fingers itched to swipe open my phone and browse paranormal fanfiction, but even in the back row, I wouldn’t dare defy basic theater etiquette.

I sighed and settled in for the next hour of colorful humor and mild thrills. At least the black and red theater combined with the faint candlelight-esque glow of stair LEDs gave us some spooky ambiance.

A long limb stretched above the side railing dividing the stairs and seats from the entrance.

I craned my neck. Was I hallucinating? The limb bent, its outline blurry. Was it furry? I certainly wasn’t going to ask Willow and risk scaring her again.

Another limb climbed over the railing, then a creature’s head popped up, beady eyes shining in the low light of the projector. It was a spider plush. Looking this way.

I chuckled at the audacity. Who was pranking the audience? Some kid? A parent?

The spider twisted as if to check if anyone else saw it before ducking under the wall. Whoever was puppeteering escaped out the doors before I could get up to investigate. Had they had their fun already?

“Everything good?” Willow whispered.

“Yeah. Thought I saw something.” It was potentially more entertaining than the movie. I grinned and peeked at the railing, hoping for an encore. Sadly, by the time the credits rolled, it hadn’t returned. At least I had a fun anecdote to share with AJ and Bree.

Willow and I waited a few minutes for the theater to clear before trekking to the lobby to meet our coworkers, who’d probably camped out for a post-credits scene.

She flashed me a tentative smile. “How’d you like the movie?”

Oh geez. I couldn’t let her down emotionally as well as theatrically. I scanned the movie posters as we sauntered across the abstract carpet. “It was fun.” At least playing peek-a-boo with the spider plush was.

“You think so?” Willow pushed her hair behind her ear. “I, um, I really liked the mummy.”

I gestured vaguely. “Yeah, it was a cool allegory for preserving your true self and…”

A phantom caress slid up the back of my knee.

I shrieked and whipped around, but the force of the crowd pushed past me in a sea of bodies. Who did that? And with what? People glanced at my boobs but otherwise walked past me as I sussed them out. The touch had been prickly, almost fuzzy. It wasn’t a finger, although it was shaped liked one. Was it a scarf, maybe? No one seemed to be sporting any. Who might’ve even seen the incident except me?

The only nearby staff member was halfway into the emptying theater. He was probably the same guy who’d been watching the movie. His sleeves were rolled up to his forearms, and the way he walked, he was clearly carrying something. Was the guy from the balcony our stalker and our puppeteer?

I followed him into the dark abyss of the empty theater, my heart beating fast. His uniform shirt was loosely tucked in, the drape of it drawing attention to his nice, rounded ass in black slacks. A thick, leather belt cinching in his waist screamed casual quality. I imagined it would bind hands—er, clothes, nicely. Or smack flesh. He turned ever-so-slightly, his dark hair curling out like a scythe by his ear. I could hardly breathe.

What did the rest of him look like? Did he want to touch me? Punish me?

“Kat.” Willow tugged my arm and jerked her head to the bright lights of the lobby. “They’re in the other theater.”

“Right.” I yanked my skirt down. “This is the wrong movie.”

I was not living in a romance, no matter how much that guy’s mystery beckoned me.