Lust (Saints & Sinners #1)

Chapter 24

24

brAD

N ot long after Luke and I confirm our relationship status, Seth and Cody arrive, and we go over our plan.

Seth doesn’t give Luke any attitude. Seems like he’s more concerned about making sure we’re on top of everything than giving Luke hell, which is good for him because I don’t know what I’ll do if he gives my boyfriend trouble tonight.

Boyfriend.

There was something so satisfying about hearing that word escape his mouth. Now we just have to survive the night so that we can enjoy all the things that come with the label.

We take stock of our weapons before heading out, cutting through the woods to get to the Alpha Alpha Mu house. Some guys are hanging out in the back, but it’s not nearly as busy as in Luke’s vision.

The calm before the storm.

Using the night-vision apps on our phones, we navigate through the woods, creating three large salt circles, and then Seth, Cody, and I run through our ritual to cast a spell of entrapment. Once we finish, there’s some commotion behind the house, and as we check, we see some guys cracking up as they head through the yard, carrying something large. I can’t make out what it is until they prop it upright—

Bucktooth Beaver.

“Holy hell,” Seth mutters.

“You think they snatched it from the fairgrounds?” Cody asks.

Luke stares at the statue, surely as unsettled as I am at how things are lining up. I rest my hand on his shoulder, but he doesn’t take his eyes off the beaver.

“It is what it is,” Cody says. “It doesn’t change anything. Now, Seth and I will take the other side of the yard, and you guys take this side. If anyone comes out here, get them to back the fuck off or at least make sure they step around our traps.”

Seth smirks as he caresses the head of his baseball bat. “Kind of amusing thinking about drunk frats getting stuck in these things.”

Cody ignores his remark, sticking to business. “Anything I’m not thinking of? Thoughts? Feelings? Reservations?”

“All of the above,” Luke says, his eyes still locked on the foreboding reminder of what’s to come.

Cody glares at him. “Okay, I get it. This isn’t ideal, but it’s the best we can do on short notice.”

He’s right, but fuck if that isn’t a bleak truth.

“Come on, Seth.” Cody starts toward the other side of the yard.

“Wait, wait,” Seth says. “Shouldn’t we do like, a go team or everyone puts their hand in or something?”

“You know we’re not actually playing football tonight, right?” I remind him.

“Shut the fuck up. It’d be good for morale.”

It’s not gonna hurt anything, so I put my hand in front of me, and Luke finally shakes free of the grip the statue has on him before joining us.

“On three,” Seth says, and he counts us down before we all give varying levels of feigned enthusiasm for the moment. Despite how dumb it seemed, I must admit it gives me a much-needed boost of confidence as we brace ourselves for a night of uncertainty and impending doom.

“We’ll text if we need backup,” I say.

“Or…” Seth begins, “scream like you’re being ripped from the inside out by a creature from another dimension.”

He searches our faces to see if his joke landed, which it didn’t. Then he and Cody head to cover the other side of the house, disappearing into the darkness.

“Here we go,” I mutter, turning to Luke, who scans his phone around the darkness, already alert. I consider asking him how he’s feeling, but I don’t really have to.

We wait in silence, watching from the distance as Alpha Alpha Mus usher guests into the backyard for drinks and games. Gradually, more and more people step into the backyard, which makes Luke and me even more on edge, knowing how many of them could become the Slasher’s victims.

It’s a little over a half hour before we accept that this could be a long night. I sit on a fallen tree, facing the woods, searching around via the night-vision app.

It’s not like us to be around each other without speaking, but the chatter and bass of the music has kept it from being awkward. Besides, why chat when we can spend our time imagining all the different ways a monster might tear through this crowd, decapitating and tearing out entrails?

Luke eventually sits down beside me, and I notice that despite his jacket, he’s rubbing his arms, so I hook my arm around him and pull him close.

“Fuck,” he whispers.

“What’s wrong?”

“I just remembered I have a paper due on Monday.”

“You think you can get an extension?”

“Yeah, but my professor has a policy about deducting the grade for every day it’s late. It’s nothing. This is the last thing I should be worried about right now.”

“You still have tomorrow.”

He shoots me a look I read as, You know damn well I might not have tomorrow.

He pulls his gaze away and searches around before adding, “I talked to Dan today.”

The comment seems out of nowhere, like mentioning his paper.

“Just wanted to make sure I told him I loved him and appreciated everything he did for me growing up. And as I was telling him all this, I kept thinking about when Mom and Dad died. This is gonna sound fucked up, but I felt like they abandoned me. Even knowing the circumstances, it was like part of me believed they’d done this on purpose. Like they’d just left me one day without notice. And I felt so guilty every time I had that thought. I hated myself for so long because I know that’s wrong. And it wasn’t fair to put that on them. I know neither wanted to leave me, but that’s how it felt.”

I hold him tighter. “Luke, you can’t help how you feel through shit like that.”

“I’ve told myself that so many times, but earlier, when I was talking to him, all I could think was how many times I was mad at them for leaving me, and now here I am, putting myself in danger. And he cares so much about me, and I don’t want to leave him with that awful feeling…”

Tears flow freely from his eyes, and there’s relief in seeing them. I prefer this to when he feels like he has to be strong or tough.

I kiss his cheek, his warm tears pushing up against my flesh.

As I pull away, he turns to me, really looking at me for the first time since we came out here. “If anything happens to me tonight, promise me you’ll meet him. He’s a great guy. I think you’d really like him.”

And now he’s got the waterworks going for me.

“Luke—”

“Please just say you will. I want you guys to meet.”

Again, I’m tempted to tell him nothing will fucking happen and that he shouldn’t think like that. But that won’t do any good. Not now.

I press my lips together, stifling words I know won’t help. “Of course I will. And when things turn out all right, maybe you can invite him to come with you to Thanksgiving, to meet my mom.”

Despite how forlorn he looks, a gentle smile tugs at his lips. “I’d like that.”

There’s a light in his eyes—it’s the first time since the vision we shared that I see hope in them. I take his hand, interlocking our fingers, gripping gently. He grips back.

“Thanks for listening to me …boyfriend ,” he says, stressing the word in a way that gets my pulse racing with excitement.

“That’s what a boyfriend’s for,” I assure him.

He chuckles, and I lean in to take another kiss.

He closes his eyes as he’s about to receive me, when an unusual sound catches my attention—

I jump into action, readying my bat, before I realize it was just his phone vibrating.

“Fuck,” he mutters.

My heart’s racing, muscles tense, nerves on edge.

I settle back on the fallen tree as Luke checks the message. “Alexei’s asking if I’m coming to the party. I’ll say I’m not so he won’t look for me.” He replies to Alexei, puts his phone on silent, and returns it to the night-vision mode.

As the night wears on, more of the guests head out to the back.

Drinking. Loud laughter. Loud music.

Kids celebrating life, blissfully unaware of the danger awaiting them.

My anxiety’s already high enough, when I notice two guys heading out the gate, which clangs behind them.

“Looks like we have company,” I mutter. I’m hoping they’ll stay along the trail, where we intentionally didn’t set any traps, but they move toward Cody and Seth.

Fuckin’ A.

Luke and I tuck our bats down near the tree, and then I flash on my phone light and start toward them. As I near, I recognize Preston Wade and Finnegan Holmes, both members of Alpha Alpha Mu.

Preston flashes his signature charming-ass smile. “Hey, stud,” he says with a wink. “You’re missing a hell of a party.”

“I kind of got distracted out here,” I say, indicating Luke.

Preston glances between us, and I can tell the moment he understands what I’m suggesting.

“Oh, is this your plaything for the night?”

A low growl escapes my lips. “He’s my boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend? Oh, really?” Preston says. “Now I’m intrigued. Word’s gotten around that you kept hanging with a guy. Breaking a lot of hearts, you know?”

“Yeah, I guess…”

“Uh…is your boyfriend okay?” Finnegan asks.

I turn to Luke.

He isn’t exactly being discreet as he continues searching around, holding his phone high, like he’s waiting for that monster to jump out and grab us at any moment.

“Sorry,” Luke says. “I was just thinking I might have forgotten something back at the dorms. I was debating with Brad if we should head back.”

“We’d offer to walk with you, but we’re heading the other way.” Preston and Finnegan start to go around me, but I block their path.

“Really? Where are you guys off to?”

Preston’s forehead creases. “Not really any of your business, is it, stud?” He pats my shoulder, then tries to get around me again.

“Where’s this attitude coming from?” I ask.

I notice Luke texting, I assume to get backup. I just need to buy some goddamn time.

“Back off,” Preston says. “It’s none of your business.”

“I’m only curious.”

“We’re gonna go to the pond and smoke some weed. Why? Did you want to come with?”

“Uh, no. We really want to hit the party, but you guys should stay. We can all do shots.”

Preston winces. “How about you meet us in there when we get back?”

He tries to get around me yet again, but I block him.

Preston sneers. “Brad, what is this weird-ass game you’re playing? Step the fuck out of our way and enjoy the party.”

“Why are you being such an ass tonight?”

“Me? I only want you to get off our fucking backs.” He gives me a shove.

God, this is gonna get real messy, real fast.

He and Finnegan start to head on, right toward one of our traps, so I throw myself at Preston, giving him a shove that sends him tumbling to the ground.

“The fuck, man?” Finnegan calls out, and as I turn to the yard, I notice some gazes shifting toward the woods.

Finnegan helps Preston to his feet.

There’s rage in Preston’s tense expression as he comes at me, fists at his sides, but fuck, a fistfight might be the only way out of this.

Preston gives me a shove. “What the fuck is your problem?”

I shove him right back.

“You fucking ass.” Preston comes back for me when I hear from behind me, “Stop!”

Preston halts just before me, and I turn to see Seth and Cody jogging toward us.

“Hey, hey, guys, what’s up?” Cody asks.

Preston glances himself over, then looks around, clearly unsettled.

“Everything’s fine, guys,” Seth tells them, and Preston’s and Finnegan’s expressions fall, the tension diminishing as they just stare at me.

“You were heading back to the party,” Seth pushes.

“Yeah, we were…” Preston says, searching around.

He and Finnegan exchange a look, as though neither can figure out why they’re even in the woods to begin with.

“I guess we wanted to see if you guys were gonna join in on the fun,” Preston says.

I unzip my jacket and display my jersey. “Eager to join in on the fun.”

He smiles, though he still looks unsettled.

As they start back toward the gate, Finnegan spins around. “You guys coming?”

“We’ll be a minute,” Seth says, pushing on them, hopefully for the last time. They both nod, and as they turn back, a cracking sound catches our attention.

Preston and Finnegan stop in place.

It could be anything , I tell myself, turning with the rest of the gang toward the sound, which comes from where Seth and Cody were guarding.

Luke and I retrieve our bats, figuring Seth can manage this just like he has everything else.

“What’s going on?” Preston asks.

“Quiet,” Seth snaps.

It’s hard to tell whether he’s pushed on Preston and Finnegan again or if they’re scared enough to just follow the instruction, but they remain silent with us as we listen and use our phones to look for whatever’s making the sound.

Part of me wishes it’s a deer. Another part wants to fucking end this, find the monster that threatens my goddamn boyfriend and kick its fucking ass.

I move closer to Luke, readying myself, when another crack fills the night air. Then another, on the opposite side of the yard.

“We’re…gonna…get back to the party,” Preston says.

Luke taps my arm. His wide eyes are fixed on his phone, which points toward the house. I follow his gaze to a tree between Preston and Finnegan and the party.

Backlit by the light coming from the party, on a branch maybe ten feet up, a silhouette, tall enough to be a person, perches. There’s a quick movement, then something flies through the air—part of a branch, maybe. It lands farther in the woods, that same noise coming from behind us.

That’s how it’s been sounding like it’s in different places.

Fuck.

I don’t take my eyes off the shadowy figure, but in my periphery, I see Finnegan and Preston starting in that direction. The black mass drops from the branch, landing in front of the guys.

Everything happens fast—

Seth, Cody, Luke, and I don’t hesitate, racing for Preston and Finnegan to pull them out of harm’s way. But before I can get to them, Finnegan is struck, and warm moisture hits my face. For a moment, I think spit, but no, this is blood.

I was expecting an animal, but it’s wearing something to cover its body, like a cloak, which makes it look like Death coming to collect. By the time I reach the Slasher, it’s got Preston by his jersey collar with long, narrow fingers clutched into a fist.

“Release him,” Seth pushes, but it doesn’t faze the Slasher, who keeps Preston held high.

I slam my bat against its neck, and Seth and Luke grab Preston and yank him back, tearing him from the creature’s grasp.

As I strike at it again, it snatches the baseball bat, demonstrating its superior power as it pulls me off the ground and tosses me over its shoulder like a dirty rag. My body slams against a tree, then plummets to the ground.

While I’m recovering, I hear the guys freaking out.

And something else…growling?

“What the fuck? What the fuck?” Preston calls again and again.

“Preston?” Finnegan groans.

By the time I reorient enough to crawl to my knees, I see the creature’s divided the group—Luke and Cody on one side, Seth and Preston on the other. And then it lurches at Luke and Cody, who shoot off into the woods, the monster on their heels.