Any Moment Now
Esme couldn’t remember laughing so often or having so much fun with a group. Living with Nans had been perfect, but Esme had preferred to stick close to home rather than spend time with groups of kids.
With her mom, she’d rarely spent time with other kids, and after arriving in Giblet, Esme had spent a few years being shy and awkward. Eventually, the other kids had broken through her walls, and she’d made friends, but nothing like the friendships she was experiencing on the farm.
Gomez was nervous with some of the activities, so Wyatt kept him close on his leash, reassuring him often. When he needed a break, either one or both of them stepped to the side to watch rather than participate.
All the guests wore costumes, with a few saying they’d brought two sets so they could wear different ones the following night. Pumpkins, witches, fairies, and zombies filled the yard.
Knox whistled and drew everyone’s attention to him.
“Okay, it’s time for the photo scavenger hunt.
It’s okay to work in pairs or family teams. There’s caution tape in the orchard, showing the outside limits of the game.
Charlie and Wyatt hid everything you’ll need to find within those borders, although you’ll need to be creative to check off some items on the list. I hope you brought your spooky imaginations tonight because that’ll help. ”
“What do we get when we win?”
The tiny unicorn’s question made everyone smile.
Knox grinned at her. “I love the confidence. It’s a surprise, but I hope you have a sweet tooth along with that sparkly pink horn.”
The unicorn bounced up and down. “I do. I do. Daddy says I’m powered by sugar.”
The unicorn’s parents laughed along with the crowd.
Knox continued. “Get your phones out. I’m sending the scavenger hunt list in five, four, three, two, one. Sent. Have fun, everyone.”
The groups all gathered around the phones, looking over the list, although some kids were already pulling their parents towards the orchard.
Wyatt grabbed Esme’s hand. “Ready?”
She laughed. “You know where everything is. You and Charlie set it all up.”
He shrugged. “I won’t help unless you need it. Want to play?”
That made her laugh. “With you? Always.”
He kissed her. “Where do you want to start?”
She pulled up the list on the phone. “I imagine most of them will start at the top or the bottom of the list, but Nans taught me to look over the entire list and check off the easy ones first.”
They’d made the list together, so she already knew what they were looking for. Still, she pointed at the screen. “Let’s start with number ten. Family.”
Wyatt’s eyes warmed. “I like that one.”
He picked up Gomez and then grinned into the phone as she took a selfie. “Family. Check.”
Wyatt kissed her with Gomez between them. “Family.”
Her heart shivered again, and she knew she’d tell him tonight. When they were relaxing on their own after the scavenger hunt, she’d have time to show him exactly how much she loved him.
With a sigh,Wyatt set Gomez on his feet and took Esme’s hand. “It would be irresponsible for the Halloween committee leaders to disappear into their room for the rest of the evening, so let’s go check off the list and see if anyone needs help. Then we can have some time to ourselves.”
She nodded, and they moved into the trees to find a ghost holding an apple.
Laughter and squeals filled the orchard. They’d provided everyone with solar-powered flashlights, and the beams cut through the trees, showing where the teams searched. She took a video with only the lights shining through the orchard and the sounds of fun and laughter.
Tiny goblins and teddy bears hid behind trees, popping out to scare whoever they could catch. The giggles gave them away long before they popped out, but no one ruined their games.
They checked off items, swapped ideas with other teams, and worked with one family to make a pyramid.
Near the caution tape, one of the guests called out. “Hey, Wyatt, can you help us lift our teddy bears so Judy can get pictures of them picking apples?”
“Of course.” Wyatt passed Esme Gomez’s leash and moved to help. Esme used her phone to take her own picture, although she was more focused on Wyatt than the cute twin teddies. Then she moved to take a video from behind so she wouldn’t reveal their faces.
A grim reaper holding a scythe appeared beside her, making her jump. Laughing at herself, she grinned. “Great costume. You scared me for real.”
The reaper didn’t speak, enhancing the creepy element. Beside Esme, Gomez howled.
She smiled at the reaper. “Sorry, he’s not used to all the costumes.”
Instead of replying, the reaper dropped their costume scythe and pulled a knife. A very realistic knife.
Flashbacks filled Esme’s vision. LA. A dark alley. A man in a balaclava. The knife lifted, looming closer. Slashing.
Trying to shake off the memories and the fear, Esme reminded herself this was Halloween. The guests were in costumes.
But she didn’t remember seeing a grim reaper up at the farmhouse yard.
Panic ripped through her in the seconds it took for the knife to lift.
When it slashed at her face, she ducked to the side, preparing to grab Gomez and run.
Another person grabbed her from behind, covered her mouth with a hand, and picked her up. Before she could get free, he raced away from the crowds with her in his arms.
Esme dropped the leash to yank at the hand, but she couldn’t budge it from her mouth.
Her kicks and twists were useless because he was far too strong. She couldn’t scream, couldn’t call for Wyatt, couldn’t escape.
Terror made her lightheaded, or maybe that was the fact that she could barely breathe. Were they going to kill her?
The man raced with her through the orchard and into the surrounding bush. He zigged and zagged through the vegetation until Esme was disoriented.
When the man stopped suddenly, he shifted his grip until Esme was suspended in front of him.
She struggled to get free, but he held her tightly with one arm banded around her throat and the other around her waist, trapping her arms. She tried to kick, but couldn’t get leverage as he held her off the ground.
The knife reappeared in Esme’s vision, and she realized the shorter reaper stood in front of her. The reaper traced the knife over her cheek, following the raised edge of her scar.
Esme froze despite the terror racing through her, despite the desperate need to fight, to run.
“This time, you won’t recover.” The feminine voice shocked her almost as much as the knife. She could hear the smile in the whispered words and wondered who could hate her that much. Who could savor the thought of her injury and want to see her suffer again?
“Why?” The whispered word eased past the fear clogging her throat.
The knife moved to her other cheek, and the point bit into her skin. “Because you stole what was mine. You ruined everything.”
What? Esme didn’t have a clue what that meant. She’d never stolen a single thing from anyone. The words didn’t give her a clue to who was behind the mask.
The woman dragged the knife and pushed the tip into Esme’s temple. She sucked in a deep breath to keep from moving.
“Maybe matching scars? The first one didn’t ruin your life. Didn’t get me what I wanted. This time I’ll do the job myself, and I’m not stopping with a scar.”
No. No, no, no.
But Esme could hear the joy of anticipation in the woman’s voice, and she wondered if she was about to die.
Fear consumed Wyatt as Gomez howled. He set the teddy bear kid on the ground and turned to Esme. He had his gun out in a heartbeat, but he was too slow, too far away, and there were too many trees in the way.
A large man in a grim reaper costume held Esme trapped in his arms as he easily leaped over the caution tape and raced into the bushes surrounding the orchard.
A second grim reaper, a woman judging by her size, held a knife as she raced after the man, her knife glinting in the roaming flashlight beams.
“Call the others. Get help.” Wyatt didn’t check to see if the teddy-bear family followed his words. He wasn’t sure who was close enough to help.
Thanks to his training, the terror didn’t knock his feet from under him. Instead, it fuelled him.
Track. Observe. Strategize.
He wasn’t far behind them, but if the man had any training, he could snap Esme’s neck even if Wyatt was a foot away. The woman with the knife was a worry, but not as dangerous as the man with his hands on Esme.
If the man wanted to escape, he wouldn’t kill her immediately. Their endgame had to be escape, so maybe they’d treat Esme as a hostage. Why?
Were these the people who’d attacked her before? If so, were they after disfigurement?
Shit, Esme had to be terrified.
He shoved that aside. Later, he’d let his emotions in later.
He heard voices ahead and slowed enough to keep from alerting them to his presence. Did they think they were far enough from the group? Didn’t they realize he would follow Esme to the ends of the earth?
Maybe the man needed a breather. Carrying a pissed-off, terrified woman wasn’t easy. She’d be fighting every step of the way.
As Wyatt slowed, he realized Gomez was at his side, trailing his leash. The mutt kept quiet, but Wyatt could feel anger radiating from his little friend.
He couldn’t reassure Gomez out loud, but dogs were intuitive, so Wyatt reinforced his emotional shields and focused on his confidence that they could rescue Esme. They would rescue her. Unharmed.
Too bad Gomez didn’t have Boomer’s training, but he knew the dog would do anything for Esme.
The woman’s voice reached Wyatt.
“Maybe matching scars? The first one didn’t ruin your life. Didn’t get me what I wanted. This time I’ll do the job myself, and I’m not stopping with a scar.”
Holy shit. The woman was deranged. She had to be another model, one who saw Esme as a competitor, not a colleague.
The man growled. “Come on, John. Let’s get out of here first. We’re too close.”
John? The woman’s name was John? With a shudder, Wyatt remembered the nasty social media comments using that name.