Chapter 10
Vero
I have had a lot of good ideas in my life.
Handcuffing myself to Kayla was a good idea, and climbing onto the roof of the Asylum was a good idea in theory, even if the execution needed some work.
Convincing Gerald to let me borrow one of his baby rabbits for a night to cuddle was a phenomenal idea.
But I think this is going to top them all.
I watch as Kayla holds up a costume bag.
“A clown?”
“A sexy clown,” I correct her, because trust me, there is a huge difference.
She reaches into the bag and pulls out the short skirt, then pulls out the mesh shirt with a painted collar and the little hat.
“Vero, I can’t wear this.”
I rush to her side. “Yes you can, and you will look incredible.”
“I will look like I’m about to perform at a children’s party, then with one strong wind it will take a bad turn.”
“It’ll be fun. Nixie has already cleared you, and I have been waiting my whole life for this. Well, not my whole life, but for the right person to have fun with me. You’re that person. Be my person.”
“And you picked this? It’s not Clay trying to fuck with me?”
I laugh because Clay would pick something like this to mess with her, but not me. “I picked it because I knew how hot you would look in it. And with the right makeup, you will look the part.”
“If I do this . . .” she says.
“You’re doing it,” I push.
“You do not ditch me. I will not walk around like this alone.”
“I would never.”
Well, not unless one of the other guys was with her.
We already know what happened when I thought someone was looking at her while she was working.
Sure, I wasn’t myself at that moment, but if someone were to come into my territory and touch her, it would be very easy to make them have a run-in with the Scarecrow.
Surely he gets bored in there at night all by himself.
“Vero . . .”
“I would never intentionally ditch you.”
My words seem to ease her mind, and she looks at the costume one more time. “Go wait outside.”
I stand outside the room, but have zero patience, so I press my ear to the door. I’m not sure what I think I will hear, but waiting sucks.
“I can hear you breathing,” she calls out.
“That is literally impossible.”
“Get away from the door.”
I move away from the door and lean against the opposite wall. When she comes out, she looks incredible, and my brain short-circuits. I almost tell her to get back in the room and change into my orange jumpsuit instead.
“Well?” she says.
“I’m a fucking genius,” I reply with a grin.
“Let’s go before I change my mind. I haven’t worn a skirt since I was a teenager.”
Having a partner for this is going to be the best. Normally I’m always in the Asylum, but tonight I’m out on the grounds.
I know every hiding spot on the island, and we start near the alleyway between the circus tent and the Asylum, the one people use as a shortcut.
I send Kayla to wait, and she tucks herself in so she can’t be seen.
A cluster of visitors walks down the passageway together; they must have come as a group. Their green wristbands light up the night, meaning they are here to be scared, not screwed.
She waits until the last person almost walks past her before jumping out. The man’s scream is impressive. Then, as I run out, they all disappear within seconds. Kayla laughs as they run away.
“You’re supposed to stay in character,” I tell her, but can’t help smiling at her.
“It’s your fault. You looked freaky running down there and you laughed as they ran away.”
“There’s a hierarchy.”
She scoffs. “There is not.”
“There is so—I will tell you about it later. But right now we are going to the cemetery.”
I grab her hand and drag her along. The cemetery is the best place at night for jump scares, and we make it there just before the same group walks inside the gates.
I position her between the headstones, then climb a tree and watch her waiting.
She stands motionless and silent as a statue.
As the group walks by, they almost bump into her, but she still stands there completely still, her head tilted.
Three of the five back up, and I drop right behind them and cackle.
Their screams as they run are music to my ears.
“You are good at this,” I say.
“Yeah, well, I grew up knowing how to make myself invisible and quiet.”
“That makes me sad, but it is useful here.”
She shakes her head and looks up at the sky for a moment, and when she looks back at me, she smiles. I love it when she looks at me like that.
“What’s next?” she asks.
“Follow me.”
I take her to the Asylum. At first, I was worried about taking her to my spot, as it has solely been mine since I came here and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to share it.
Tonight I spend most of the time watching her scare the life out of people.
As the night goes on, she keeps appearing in places I didn’t send her; she has worked out on her own where the best hiding spots are for the best scares.
I catch her eye across a dark hallway, and she smiles. I wonder what it would take to get her to stay here? She belongs with us. I want her to stay so badly that I can feel pressure in my chest every time she laughs or does something unexpected.
She will stay if they all want her to—I know it.
It has to be all or nothing. That’s how it started, and she wouldn’t choose now.
Clay has claimed her. It’s no secret that I want her, and Brawley wants her if I do. All I need is Ares to admit that he feels something for her. But that will be hard; that man is impossible sometimes.
Looking back, I realize Kayla has vanished, but it’s not a problem—she has been doing it all night.
She pops back up when people walk through.
But when the signal comes that the last group is coming through and she doesn’t appear, I head out and check the cemetery.
When I don’t find her there, I circle to the circus tent.
Karo has a woman tied to his spinner of death.
Honestly, anyone who lets him tie them to it while it’s on fire and he throws daggers at them has a death wish. What if he misses? No thanks.
My hands shake as I check the park section by section. I try not to overthink it, as by now she knows the island well enough. I tell my hands to knock it off—I will not spiral. She is fine.
I pull out my phone and send her a message:
Where are you?
I wait thirty seconds, but when nothing comes back, I walk toward the security room. It’s on the residential side of the island and has monitors covering every corner of every path. If she is anywhere on this island, I will be able to see exactly where.
The security room door is not fully closed, and I push it open slowly.
The monitors are on, and I find the right screen immediately.
Clay has Kayla bent over a desk, and her hands are cuffed behind her back.
He is behind her, one hand on her shoulder blades pinning her down, and his mouth on her neck. I flick on the sound and take a seat.
“I told you that mouth of yours would get you into trouble.”
Kayla says something I don’t catch as I slide my hand beneath the waistband of my pants.
Clay’s response is to bring his hand down on her ass, and she gasps loudly. He fists her hair when she laughs, and then he whispers something in her ear. Pulling her back, he releases her hair, then grips her mesh shirt in both hands and rips it clean down the middle.
As an objective observer, the sound is extremely satisfying. This is pure gold and my cock agrees.
He leans over her and sucks the shell of her ear into his mouth as she pushes her ass back against him.
Then he straightens, hooks his fingers into the cuffs, and pulls, making her arch her spine.
I fist myself as I watch him flip her skirt up over her perfect ass.
He slides his finger under the fabric of her thong and tears the part that connects it to the top.
Clay steps back and undoes his belt, letting his pants drop to the floor.
I lick my lips as he fists his cock, just like I am stroking mine, and I wait for the moment he puts the tip in and drives into her.
One of his hands grips the chain between the cuffs as the other slides around her neck, and she moans his name.
He pauses, and I slowly stroke my cock again, wondering what he plans to do next.
He thrusts inside her, and the sound she makes has me moving faster, wishing she was here to wrap her pussy around my dick and ride me.
Clay fucks her hard and fast, and I’m almost ready to blow my load to the sound of her moans and screams.
“Clay,” she cries out, and he pulls her upright against his chest. Kayla tips her head back onto his shoulder, and he bites down on her neck. Her entire body trembles and comes apart for him, sending me over the edge.
Clay holds her through it, his face pressed to the side of her head. He whispers something I can’t hear, and she laughs. Then he does something I have never seen him do in the entire time I’ve known him.
He smiles.
Not his smug smile; an actual, real, genuine smile. I’m not sure it suits him, but I will take it because it means he wants her as much as I do. Locating a box of tissues, I wipe my hand and tuck myself away.
She is staying—I can feel it in my bones.
With my hands in my pockets, I stroll back toward the Asylum. The noise in my head is perfectly quiet. Everything is falling into place, and I decide pursuing her has been my best idea to date.