I’m Not Scared, Part One (Masked Men of Fear Island #1)

Chapter 1

Clay

My favorite part of the day is hearing the island come to life as the sun sets over the horizon.

We run the whole place as an all-age theme park year-round, and people travel from all over the world to visit.

But they are only welcome here during daylight hours.

After dark is when the real fun begins, and entry is by invitation only.

It’s our biggest moneymaker, and the twilight hours become an over twenty-one paradise for adults.

I manage security for the island, ensuring everything runs smoothly. Every day my security staff have to check every place you can imagine for stowaways: the people who have heard from their friends about our after-dark activities and want to see them for themselves.

“Found one.” Kodi’s voice comes through the earpiece.

“Escort them out and take their picture. They are banned from the island.”

“Will do, boss.”

We do not give second chances. We cannot afford to. You try to stay without an invitation, and you get a lifetime ban.

“Clayyyyyy.”

I grind my teeth and turn to see my little sister walking toward me.

She is the last person I want to see right now.

I love her more than anything in this world, and the little shit knows it, but she is not allowed here after dark.

Murder is not something I would like to add to my resumé, but I will if I have to.

“Clay Aaron Rourke, when are you going to stop?” she huffs, and I glare at her.

“I am busy, Jess. This is my job, and I need to make sure no one is left on the island before nightfall.”

A smile crosses her face. “Why? So, you can do your kinky little night chases?”

My mouth opens and snaps shut. I swear to fucking god, whoever told her is going to die.

She breaks out into a fit of laughter.

“You should see your face, but don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. What you do here is your business. But you know I’m not a child anymore, right? I’m twenty-two.”

I try to compose myself. “You are my baby sister, so you are still twelve,” I snap, and she pouts in response. “Is there a reason you’re here? I really need to get back to work.”

“I need your help.”

I sigh, then speak into my comms. “Kodi, take charge of doing the exit reports—my sister needs me.”

Kodi doesn’t argue; he wouldn’t dare. I am the head of security, but also the only one our boss trusts besides Nixie to make sure everything runs smoothly.

“Follow me,” I tell Jess. “I hope you can walk and talk at the same time.”

Jess laughs. “Have you met me? I can talk underwater, brother. So you know how I told you I’ve been dating that guy for a while now?”

I grunt. She won’t tell me his name—as if she thinks that will keep him safe.

But I already know everything there is to know about him: his name, age, address, and where every person in his immediate family lives.

I don’t tell her, of course, and so far, he seems to be treating her well, though I know she will get bored soon and move on.

“How could I forget?” I reply sarcastically.

“Well,” she says as we walk toward the big tent. “His ex is proving to be a bit too much. I thought I could deal with her myself and she would go away eventually, but she isn’t.”

“I don’t have time for college bullshit,” I snap as we slip through the entrance to the circus tent.

“She is stalking us, Clay—she’s everywhere we go. She even threatened to blow up his car with us inside.”

I stop and Jess runs straight into my back, then I pivot and grab Jess around the waist, throwing us to my right as a knife blade sails past my head.

Jess laughs and claps her hands as Karo bows.

“Too slow, motherfucker,” I tell him, and he flips me off.

“What does he do with that wheel?” Jess asks as Karo steps to the side and lights it, flames immediately surrounding the edges.

“I tie bad girls to it,” Karo says with a smirk.

I grab Jess by the arm and pull her out before she gets any ideas. “Not happening.”

I don’t stop moving until I get her to the safest part of the island, the alley that leads out to the front gates.

“I will handle your little ex-girlfriend problem, but you need to leave. Now.”

“Thank you,” she chirps, pushing up onto her tiptoes and pressing a kiss to my cheek. “But don’t murder her—I don’t want to be an accessory. Just scare her a little. It shouldn’t be hard when your face always looks like that.”

I glance around and spot Brooks watching our exchange. “Yo, come walk Jess to her car and make sure you watch her until she is across the bridge.”

Brooks nods his understanding.

“I don’t need an escort. I am not a baby. Clay, I am capable—”

Her words are cut off as Brooks picks her up and tosses her over his shoulder.

“Clay, this is bullshit, and you know it! Put me down, you big bastard. I can walk.”

I laugh as she beats against his back, thankful she is safe with him. Brooks doesn’t like anyone or anything, and I really have no idea why he works here. He hates the costumes and the masks, yet he still stays. So I guess he doesn’t hate it all as much as he says.

“Has anyone seen Nixie?” I ask over the comms.

“She is in the bar,” Ares replies, and I head that way.

It’s in the alley as soon as people enter the gates. The path lights up and leads guests there, to the bar, a gift shop, food stalls, and more.

I push through the doors and find Nixie sitting at the bar, laughing at something Ares says. Nixie is the operations manager of Fear Island. She sends out the invitations, conducts the background checks, processes the contracts, and deals with all the business shit.

Ares nods, and Nix turns around and smiles at me.

She is the mother I always wanted. Mine died when Jess was a baby, and maybe that is why I’m so protective of her and my other sister.

Our father is a good man, but he works long hours to provide for my sisters.

Nixie has taken on a motherly role for me, even if I wasn’t keen on the idea at first. She wore me down, and I seek her out for advice and help when it comes to my sisters.

“My boy, I saw little Jess here before. Is everything okay?”

I take a seat beside her as Ares pushes a shot of whiskey across the bar. The best thing about working here is that you can be a little drunk and no one will notice; everyone here is a little unhinged, some more than others. I drink the shot and turn to Nix.

“I need some more background information on her boyfriend’s ex. Apparently, she is causing issues, and I need to make them stop.”

“Consider it done. I will have her name, address, and employer by the end of the night.”

The door to the bar slams open, and Vero darts inside. “Hide me,” he says as he jumps up onto the bar, then ducks down behind it.

“What did you do this time?” I drawl, raising an eyebrow, and he laughs maniacally.

“I tried to stick a finger in Brawley’s ass—you know, to spice things up.

He didn’t believe me that a finger in the ass is amazing, and now I’ll have a black eye tomorrow.

If he finds me, my asshole will be ripped to shreds, literally.

Actually, that doesn’t sound like a terrible thing.

” He pops back up and leans over the bar.

“Maybe this can be our new form of foreplay.”

Vero and Brawley are two of the people I am closest to on the island, though they are an odd couple.

Vero exudes crackhead energy and has no self-control.

He does things just to see what happens.

Brawley fits every part of his name; the guy is massive.

He is fueled by violence, and if you saw him walking down a dark street, you would turn and run the other way.

He didn’t get the nickname “The Grim Reaper” for nothing.

Most of those who fight him no doubt wish they’d meet Jesus, as it would be a hell of a lot less painful.

“Shit!” Nixie says, standing from her stool and glancing at her watch. “Everyone needs to meet outside.”

At 8:00 p.m. every night, everyone meets in the stunt area. Nixie gives a little speech about not killing anyone, goes through who will have customers, and who is in full character.

“Do I look fat in this?” she asks me.

“Of course not, you look fucking stunning as always.”

She shakes her head at me. “Boy, I blinked and gained three pounds, but thank you for lying. Now let’s get a move on. Doors open at nine.”

We all follow Nixie, and everyone seems to be here already. She gets up onto the stage, and I move closer to Brawley, who grabs Vero by the back of the neck.

“We have no one tonight, so your ass is grass,” Brawley growls into his neck.

I snort as Nixie taps the microphone.

“Alright, you beautiful bastards, listen up,” Nix starts.

“We’ve got fresh meat coming in, and I need you all to actually use your fucking brains tonight.

First, wristbands. You know your colors.

Find out who is wearing yours and that’s your person for the night.

No stealing or switching—I don’t care what you think, you stick to your assignment.

The contracts are specific. You violate them, and you stop the entire night’s events. We don’t want that happening.

“Second, check the fucking profiles. I sent every single one of you a detailed breakdown on your assignments. Limits, safe words, triggers, medical history, everything. If you haven’t read it, you’re a fucking idiot.

Read it. Know it. Live it. Third, CONSENT IS NOT OPTIONAL.

It’s the only reason we’re not all in prison.

The moment someone taps out, you stop. Fourth, respect your zones.

If someone’s actively engaged, fucking, scene play, whatever, you stay the hell out until they’re done.

Avoid and move on. Fifth, if someone is seriously injured, the game stops.

Immediately. The medical team moves in. Sixth, have fun, but remember, they signed up for fear, not death. There’s a huge fucking difference.

“You’ve all done this before. You know the rules. Tonight, we’ve got some interesting participants, including one who doesn’t scare easily. Now go get ready, and if anyone breaks protocol? You answer to me. And nobody wants that.”

She gives a similar speech every night. It covers the boss’s ass, and that way no one can say they didn’t know the rules.

Nixie jumps off the stage and walks over to me. “I will send you the information as soon as I can. Make sure these idiots don’t kill anyone tonight.”

I nod as she walks away. The night security guards will be here at 8:30 p.m. and we typically only have five staff at night. It pays to have them walking around in case something goes down, and we also have Crow or Vesper in the security room watching over the cameras.

The end of the alley has gates, which open at 9:00 p.m. The after-dark guests arrive at 8:30 p.m. to check in and collect their wristbands.

They can browse the gift store or have up to three drinks.

They get stamps on their wristbands, as we do not need any drunk people saying they were too intoxicated to know what they were doing.

I head over to the circus tent to find Brawley, hoping I can watch him throw Vero around a little before the guests arrive.