CHAPTER FOUR
LUNA
“Did you hook up with that hottie?” Athena loudly whispered into my ear. “Don’t hold out on me, girl.”
Ripley leaned in on my other side to catch my response. The two of them had dragged me away from the others so they could get the juicy details. Unfortunately, I had no juicy details. Not unless murder and chaos counted.
“No, we really didn’t hook up,” I insisted. “Like I said, we went to find the restrooms. That’s all.”
Athena studied me closely, her expression skeptical. “Seriously? That’s disappointing. Casper totally wants you. It’s so obvious every time he looks at you.”
“He does not. Stop talking about it. I don’t need him to hear you.” I risked a glance back over my shoulder to find Casper and the others strolling along several feet behind us.
Even though I denied her claim, there had been a moment in the washroom when he looked at me with this dark hunger in his green eyes. I got the feeling he was thinking about kissing me but decided against it. Probably afraid I would scream bloody murder. I might have.
When he tied my hands with his belt, I’d been sure he was going to choke the life out of me and leave me for dead in the restroom.
That would be a solid way to get rid of the witness.
I told him what he wanted to hear. I wouldn’t say a word to anyone.
Even though my instinct told me to call the cops and wipe my hands of this whole mess, I knew that I had to keep Casper’s secret.
If I ratted him out, the authorities wouldn’t only look at Casper. They would look at all of the Kings. Two of my best friends were involved with those guys. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if they all went down because of me and everyone’s lives were ruined.
Besides, it wasn’t as if Casper had killed an innocent man. That guy had threatened me. He was going to hurt me. Casper saved me. Even though I’d seen something dark and disturbed lurking in his eyes, he was the good guy here.
That’s what I kept telling myself as we walked through the park to the next haunted house.
All I wanted was to go home and curl up in my bed in my nice safe, quiet dorm room.
The girls would never let me leave without an explanation.
There was nothing I could tell them that would convince them I needed to go home.
We were all supposed to party at the graveyard after this anyway. I had no choice but to stick it out.
“Do you think he’s that silent when he’s fucking?” Athena continued, a mischievous smile on her face. “Find out. Let us know.”
My jaw dropped. “I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that.”
I so did not need such thoughts in my head. Casper and I were much too different. He wasn’t my type at all. Not that I really had a type. I’d dated all kinds of guys, preferring personality over anything else. Unfortunately, a lot of the guys at WU had a shit personality.
We reached the next house, and this time I made sure to enter with Athena and Ripley. Keeping my distance from Casper felt like the safest move. I didn’t think it was a good idea for us to hang out anymore.
This haunted house was as scary as the last. Maybe even scarier. It had no effect on me though. After what I’d seen, the costumed character actors did little to frighten me.
I kept seeing it over and over again in my mind. The man’s grotesque mask. Casper grabbing him. The two of them struggling for the knife. Then the brutal moment Casper stabbed the blade into his throat. The blood spilling. It was a horror movie come to life. Nothing here compared to that.
I was so immersed in the horrible memory that I didn’t see the plastic sword someone had dropped. In the darkness it blended in with the uneven wooden floor. My foot landed on the sword. It rolled beneath me, tossing me backwards. I flung my arms out, bracing for the fall.
Strong arms went around me, stopping me before I hit the ground. Casper’s familiar aroma engulfed me. His hard body pressed against me as he helped me to stand upright.
I jerked out of his grasp and spun around to face him. He offered me a small smile and a head tilt before stepping back. The sudden absence of his warmth left me cold.
“Thanks.” I kicked the sword aside. “Someone must’ve dropped that.”
Feeling awkward, I quickly put distance between us, hurrying to catch up with the girls. I needed to stay away from Casper. He was bad news in a gorgeous as hell package. I didn’t need that kind of temptation in my life, especially if what Athena said was true. Had he been looking at me?
It didn’t matter. All that mattered was getting through this night without any more trouble.
As we emerged from the house, chaos broke out in the park. People started shouting that a body had been found. Everyone needed to leave. Moments later a voice came over the loudspeaker asking everyone to calmly exit the park due to an unexpected emergency.
The body had been found. The police would be here.
Nervously, I glanced at Casper. His expression was neutral. Unruffled. Either he genuinely felt untouchable or he’d simply done this so many times that it no longer fazed him.
Catching my eye, he mouthed, “It’s okay.”
Was it though?
“Holy shit.” Storm held tight to Rebel’s hand as we all made our way toward the exit. “I wonder what happened.”
“People are saying a body was found,” Codie said, standing on her tiptoes to survey the growing crowd of people rushing to get out of the park.
“And they’re making us leave? Right as things get good? Go figure.” Auryn Brewer chuckled. Another Graveyard King, he’d joined our group before the last house. “Oh well, I guess that means the party starts early.”
Again I was struck with the urge to go home. To hide out in my bed with my favorite fuzzy blanket. I racked my brain, trying to think of a valid excuse to leave, and coming up empty. The girls would be suspicious.
Maybe a party was just what I needed. Plying myself with alcohol felt like a good way to help me get through the night.
Since Athena, Ripley, and I had taken an Uber here together, we split off from the others at the exit to wait for a ride.
We would meet everyone else at the graveyard.
That gave me some time away from Casper to gather my thoughts and brace myself for the evening ahead.
The Graveyard Kings were known for their parties.
Maybe even more so than their criminal antics.
They ran year-round, no matter the weather.
They’d claimed an old, abandoned church on the edge of town, using it for their illegal business dealings.
The church came with a crumbling graveyard that backed onto the forest flanking the city.
It was the perfect location for a party.
One might think the city would find a way to shut it down. Tear down the church or something. They never did. I suspected they had decided that to do so would only drive the parties into the city.
“I wonder what happened,” Ripley said as we got into our rideshare. “Wintervale never has anything exciting going on. It would be crazy if someone died in there.”
Yep. Crazy.
“Pretty sure this town has a lot more insane shit happening than we even know about. Nothing would surprise me at this point.” Athena pulled a compact out of her bag, checking her makeup in the tiny mirror.
“Maybe there was an accident and it’s not as bad as it sounds,” I said, trying to be part of the conversation so they wouldn’t suspect anything.
While Athena turned to social media to try to find out what happened at the park, I stared out the window. So easily I’d become wrapped up in something huge. Something life changing.
It wasn’t exactly the kind of thing I could talk to my friends about. Maybe Storm and Codie. They already had first-hand experience with the Kings and their world. I wasn’t sure if they could help, but maybe they would have some useful advice.
The closer we drew to the graveyard, the more my stomach began to turn. Casper would be there. I needed to stay away from him. Hopefully he would be too busy with his friends to pay any attention to me.
“Have you seen the new quarterback that just transferred from Henderson?” Athena held up her phone, showing us a picture of a dark haired guy in a football jersey. “I wonder if he’ll be at the party. He’s yummy.”
“Cute,” Ripley agreed. “Too bad the football players always have such huge egos.”
Athena grinned. “Usually for a good reason. He’s going to the top of my list.”
Ripley and I exchanged a glance, both rolling our eyes and smiling. Athena was definitely the Blanche Devereaux of our group. She enjoyed men, and they enjoyed her right back.
My anxiety grew when we arrived at the graveyard.
Since we were well into the Canadian fall, the sun had set hours ago.
Orange patio lanterns hung from the trees and perched atop the headstones, bathing the graveyard in a warm glow.
A generator powered the church, lighting it up. Too bad it wasn’t heated.
Although we hadn’t had any snow yet this season, the chill in the air promised that it was coming soon. A fire pit in the middle of the graveyard already had a small crowd gathered around it.
The girls were ready to party. They got out of the car chattering about the night ahead. Eager for some fun. I was more than ready for Halloween to be over now.