34. Kiera
KIERA
After being chased through the streets of this ghost town, we’d learned our lesson. The freaks that lived here played by different rules, and we were to follow them.
Now, we only stepped outside when it was bright out.
And when it wasn’t, we spent hours poring over any document Dom could find that explained when or how Zeus Industries was going to be made public.
We were hunting for a ticking clock, something that could tell us how much gas we needed in our tanks.
But everything turned up empty.
Maybe she’ll bring something useful home.
Dom had started going back into the office a couple days ago. Having her moving around town while the house stayed empty drew suspicion off the mansion. Clearly she wasn’t staying there. And with any luck, Isaac’s goons would stop suspecting the old house and move on to a new target.
It did mean she had to undergo an absurdly long commute home though, changing bikes and cars a few times before being able to get back to the park — all before the safehouse doors locked.
The rest of us spent our days playing cards, reading legal paperwork, and making strange food concoctions in the kitchen.
Sitting in the Eames chair, Leo rubbed her face and groaned.
I stood up from the couch and crossed the room, pulled the laptop from her legs, and set it on the ground before climbing into her lap. I put my arms around her neck, waiting for her to speak.
“There’s nothing.” Leo shook her head, letting it fall back into the leather of the chair. “How is there really nothing?”
Biting my lip, I met her golden eyes. “Maybe they really didn’t know them that well.”
“The inner circle?” Leo’s face scrunched.
I knew it was implausible but it also felt insane that all of these men had managed to hide so much.
“How about a break?” I shrugged. “The dog needs a walk.”
Looking over at Lady, she was sprawled across the white couch. Belly up, her dark fear had covered every inch of it. She hated going out for walks — would’ve been a couch potato for life if we let her.
Leo raised an eyebrow as she looked out the window.
“It’s bright out, they won’t mess with us.” I pushed, desperate for a break myself.
Catching a bit of our chat, Spencer set down the dumbbells she was curling. “A walk? I’m so in.”
“Dom won’t like this.” Her eyes bore into me, knowing I’d be most likely to face Dom’s wrath if we got in trouble.
Leaning into Leo’s ear, I whispered. “What she doesn’t know, won’t hurt her.”
Leo gave my ass a spank, signalling for me to stand up. “Fine, but let’s not goof off.”
“Buzzkill.” Spencer laughed as she headed for the door.
As usual, Spencer and Lady jogged ahead of us. Ever since our encounter with the masked clown, Lady was persistently marking the abandoned amusement park with her piss. And Spencer likes to scout ahead, making her feel like she could predict the freaks that lurked in the shadows.
The place had gotten way more eerie, all of us aware that it wasn’t as safe as we’d thought.
“I’m sorry you keep hitting dead ends.” I nudged Leo as we walked.
Her hands buried in her pockets, Leo smiled at me. “Thanks, Princess. I just don’t know where else to look.”
“Me either.”
Up ahead, Spencer ripped a stuffed animal from its morbid noose and tossed it to Lady. “Here ya go, girl.”
Lady grabbed it in her teeth and gently carried it around the park as we moved forward.
“Maybe there’s some articles or something about it? I can’t imagine some journalist wouldn’t write about their ties.” It was just an idea, a last ditch effort really. “Some obscure blog might have it.”
“Not a bad idea.” Leo shrugged, watching the path ahead. “I think I just need to think on it.”
Jogging back toward us, Spencer was a bit out of breath. “Want to go toward the coasters? We haven’t gone that route yet.”
“Sure.” Leo nodded before pulling ahead to walk with Lady and get some quiet time.
Spencer and I stuck together, walking in tandem.
Licking her lips, Spencer looked down at my outfit. “Those shorts look unfucking real on your thighs, Bunny.”
“Is that right?” Raising a brow at her, I couldn’t help the pulse of excitement that spread between my legs. We’d spent days in the safehouse. And those days had been full of extracurricular activities too.
“I miss our alone time. That big mansion, all to ourselves. You with nowhere to run.” Spencer’s voice grew deeper with each word, getting lost in the fantasy of having me just a little afraid of her.
Before I could tease her for being such a pest, Spencer’s face turned stern. “Maybe I should make you a little scared again.”
“Shut up.” I rolled my eyes and kept walking.
But Spencer stopped in her tracks. “10… 9… 8…”
“Oh fuck.” From the look in her eyes, I knew she wasn’t joking. At the end of that countdown, she was going to grab me. And I wasn’t so sure that I wanted our hosts to see what I let Spencer do to me.
Taking off, I ran as fast as I could. Leo’s eyes darted back at me, smelling a game afoot.
I had a lead, and if I turned down the labyrinthine paths, I just might keep it.
As my feet pounded pavement, I looked up at the arrow-shaped signs.
Haunted Hills. Sounds like a good hiding spot. Spencer had a home-court advantage and I needed to take every opportunity I could.
I knew ten seconds had passed and they would be hot on my tail.
I zipped into the entrance to the halloween-themed ride, using the fast-pass lane to get inside as quickly as possible.
But when I hit the tracks, I wasn’t sure where to go. If I went farther inside, it would be pitch black without any lights to guide me. And if the lights were to flick on, the ride might start moving on the tracks.
Footsteps closed in behind me.
Hopping the barricade, I dropped down onto the tracks and ran inside. The darkness swallowed me, only the glow-in-the-dark features of the ride illuminated. In the first room was a haunted funeral parlor, a skeleton's hand peeking out from under the lid of a casket.
If the ride was running, I was certain the skeleton would pop out from inside.
I kept moving, skipping through the ghostly bedrooms.
Until I made it to the dark forest, all I could see was the vague silhouette of trees.
Perfect.
I could hear Spencer and Leo calling to each other, their voices echoing off the walls of the enclosed ride.
As I moved through the forest, their footsteps got louder. One of them was hot on my tail.
I zipped between the cut-out trunks, trying to find one to hide behind.
Once the sound of my angels’ feet faded, I turned a corner, quick to press my body into the flat tree-trunk.
I barely had a second to think before a hand was pining my chest to the wood and even less time to realize it wasn’t Leo or Spencer.
Instead, I was face to face with another clown who laughed in my face as she pressed a flat palm into my chest. The words were a rolled cackle. “Out of luck.”