Epilogue Presley
THREE MONTHS LATER
Penny growls.
I stop halfway through turning the page.
Slowly, I lower my book.
She's standing at the end of the couch, staring toward the window.
Her little body goes rigid.
“No.”
Another growl.
“Absolutely not.”
Her ears perk.
I close my book and set it on the couch beside me.
Snow falls steadily beyond the windows, blanketing the backyard and the woods beyond it in white.
It's been coming down for hours.
The kind of snow that makes Hollow Creek feel completely cut off from the rest of the world. Quiet. Peaceful. Beautiful.
And apparently, it’s perfect weather for a psychopath to lurk in the woods.
I narrow my eyes at the trees.
Nothing.
“Penny.”
She looks at me.
“If this is another squirrel, we're having a serious conversation about your performance.”
Her tail wags.
“That wasn't praise.”
I stand.
Penny immediately turns back toward the window.
I walk closer. I don’t see anything but snow. Trees. And then—
Movement.
My pulse jumps.
A figure steps from behind one of the trees. Tall. Dressed entirely in black. A hood pulled over his head. And a weathered bone-colored mask covering his face.
My heart pounds.
For half a second, instinct takes over. That old rush of adrenaline. Fear. Anticipation.
Then warmth curls low in my stomach.
“Asshole.”
Penny's entire ass starts wagging.
I look down at her. “Oh, don't you fucking dare.”
She whines.
“That's the man you're supposed to protect me from.”
Her tail moves faster.
“Seriously?”
She scratches at the window.
“You are the worst guard dog in Vermont.”
Penny sneezes.
“Don't take that tone with me.”
My phone buzzes on the coffee table.
I don't need to look. I already know who it is.
Still, I walk over and pick it up.
Psychopath: Do you see me?
I smile.
Months ago, those words would've sent me racing for the locks.
Now?
They send a delicious thrill through me.
Me: Unfortunately.
Three dots appear.
Psychopath: Liar.
I glance toward the window. He's still there, watching. Waiting.
Me: It's twenty degrees outside. Normal boyfriends knock on doors.
His response comes immediately.
Psychopath: You didn't choose a normal boyfriend.
Fair.
Me: I question that decision daily.
Psychopath: No you don't.
Cocky bastard.
I look toward the window again.
He's gone.
My smile disappears.
I search the trees.
Nothing.
“Shit.”
Penny starts running toward the back door.
“Oh no you don't.”
She ignores me. Obviously.
I follow her through the kitchen.
She's dancing in front of the back door when I reach it.
“Do you remember our conversation about unauthorized entry?”
Her tail thumps against the floor.
“Of course you don't.”
I check the latch. It’s locked.
My phone buzzes again.
Psychopath: Good girl.
Heat shoots through me.
I stare at the message, then immediately look through the glass in the back door.
Nothing.
“You're such a fucking creep.”
Another message.
Psychopath: You like me.
Me: Debatable.
Psychopath: You love me.
My smile comes back. Unfortunately, also true.
Me: What do you want?
The response takes longer this time.
Psychopath: You.
My stomach flips.
Three months of trying to figure out what loving a man like Hades actually looks like.
It turns out it looks surprisingly normal sometimes.
Coffee in the morning.
Hades fixing the loose railing on Grandma's porch after I mention it once.
Dinner with Wilder.
Working at The Crooked Spine while Hades sends me inappropriate texts that Margaret absolutely cannot ever see.
Horror movies on the couch.
Penny abandoning me every time Hades walks through the door.
Arguments.
Apologies.
Rules.
Trust rebuilt one piece at a time.
And occasionally... a masked psychopath standing in my woods.
My phone buzzes.
Psychopath: Come outside.
I stare at the text, then respond.
Me: That's how women die in horror movies.
Psychopath: You know who I am.
And there it is. Five words that change everything.
I do.
I know exactly who's standing in those woods.
I know the man behind the mask. The things he's done. The darkness inside him. The things he regrets. The things he doesn't. How fiercely he loves his brother. How he takes his coffee. How his entire face changes when I call him my boyfriend.
I know how carefully he's respected every boundary I've given him since that night in the cabin.
And I know exactly what he wants from me tonight.
Choice.
My choice.
I look down at Penny.
She's staring at the door.
“Should Mommy make him freeze?”
Her head tilts.
“He deserves it.”
Tail wag.
“Stop taking his side.”
I walk upstairs.
At the back of my closet, I find black leggings and a fitted black sweater. Then boots.
I pull my hair into a ponytail.
When I return downstairs, Penny is still guarding the door. Or waiting for her accomplice. Hard to say.
I grab my coat and zip it.
My phone hasn't buzzed again.
Hades asked. Now he's waiting.
I walk to the back door. My hand closes around the lock. Penny starts vibrating.
“You're staying here.”
Her excitement dies instantly.
“No.”
She whines.
“You have four-inch legs. The snow is deeper than you are.”
Her tail droops.
“Also, this is adult time.”
Her head tilts.
“Don't make me explain that.”
I open the door just far enough to step outside, then close it behind me before Penny can launch herself into a snowbank.
Cold air hits my face.
“Jesus.”
This seemed sexier from inside.
I shove my hands into my pockets and scan the woods. “Hades?”
Nothing.
Snow crunches beneath my boots as I cross the yard. My pulse begins to climb.
I know he's here, watching me.
And I fucking love it.
I reach the edge of the woods.
Still nothing.
“You know, freezing your girlfriend to death would seriously undermine all that personal growth.”
Silence.
I step between the trees.
The house remains visible behind me, warm light glowing through the windows.
I walk farther.
A branch snaps somewhere to my right.
I spin around.
He’s not there.
My heart beats faster.
“Hades.”
A dark figure steps from behind a tree.
I freeze.
Even knowing it's him, the mask does something to me.
Maybe because I remember the first time I saw it.
The terror. The confusion. The fascination I didn't want to admit.
Back then, I didn't know the man underneath.
Now I do.
Every fucked-up piece.
And somehow that makes the sight of him even hotter.
He tilts his head. His distorted voice says, “You came outside.”
“You told me to.”
“You could've said no.”
“I know.”
He takes one step closer.
I don't move.
Another.
My pulse jumps.
He stops several feet away.
“How long have you been out here?”
“Long enough.”
“That sounds suspiciously like a loophole.”
“It isn't.”
“How long?”
“Twenty-three minutes.”
I blink. “Twenty-three fucking minutes?”
“Yes.”
“You're insane.”
“Yes.”
“It's freezing.”
“It is.”
“You could've come inside.”
“I wanted this.”
I shake my head. “Psychopath.”
His head tilts again. “Little bookworm.”
My stomach flips.
I step closer. “You know, this isn't very scary anymore.”
“No?”
“No.”
“That's disappointing.”
“Maybe you're losing your touch.”
He goes very still.
I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling.
I probably shouldn't antagonize the masked stalker.
Except—
Why not?
I take one slow step backward.
He follows the movement.
Another.
Something changes in the air.
“How much of a head start?”
His voice comes through the mask. “One minute.”
I laugh. “That's what you gave me last time.”
“You didn't make it very far.”
My mouth falls open. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
“Cocky asshole.”
“Fifty-five seconds.”
My eyes widen. “You’re already counting?”
“Fifty-two.”
“Oh, you fucker.”
I turn.
“Presley.”
I look over my shoulder. The black eyeholes of the mask stare back at me.
“Yeah?”
His voice changes. It’s dark and raspy. “Run.”
I take off running.
His laughter follows me through the trees.
I laugh too, dodging around a trunk as my boots crunch through the snow.
“Forty!”
“Stop counting out loud!”
“Thirty-nine.”
“You're cheating!”
“Thirty-eight.”
I run faster.
Behind me, Hades keeps counting. And for one fleeting moment, I remember the woman who stood at her bedroom window staring into these woods. Afraid. Curious. Drawn to something she didn't understand.
She had no idea what waited for her between the trees.
No idea the monster she feared would become the man she loved.
I understand now.
Hades isn't safe. He'll never be safe.
Neither is loving him.
But he knows my boundaries.
I know his darkness.
And neither of us is hiding anymore.
“Ten!”
Shit.
I run harder, laughing as I nearly slip in the snow.
“Nine!”
“You better not tackle me in this!”
“Eight!”
“Hades!”
“Seven!”
His voice is closer.
Fuck.
I squeal and sprint toward the next tree.
“Six.”
Way closer.
Oh God.
“Five.”
I can hear him now. Boots hitting the snow behind me.
My heart pounds. Adrenaline surges. I grin so hard my cheeks hurt.
“Four.”
He's going to catch me.
“Three.”
Of course he's going to catch me.
“Two.”
I chose this. I chose him.
“One.”
I feel him behind me.
And I run anyway, knowing I’m about to be caught by him.
And that’s exactly what I want.