“Shh,” he whispers, his breath warm and heavy on my neck.
Reaching my free hand out, I slap it around in the air, hoping to catch someone or something. I can’t see a damn thing. “Talon, is that you?”
“Would you shut the fuck up,” he grits through his teeth. Pulling my back to his chest, he slaps a hand over my mouth while his other arm wraps around me.
Impulsively, I bend my head down, biting into the meat of his thumb. The taste of sweat—salt, hitting my tongue.
“You bitch!” he screeches, spinning me around and bringing my hands behind my back.
“Show me your face,” I demand.
“Would you shut your damn mouth for two seconds.” I can hear his jaw tick as he lifts me up from behind and carries me, step by step, holding me tightly, until I’m faced with a broken window that looks out in the front yard.
Headlights shine in the driveway, right next to my car. “Is that—”
“Sheriff. It sure as hell is,” he says. After hearing him speak calmer, I’m assured that it is Talon who is holding me like I’m his own special prisoner.
“Do you think he knows?”
His hand clamps over my mouth as his other arm continues to squeeze my body against his. “I said shut the fuck up.”
With my heart hammering in my chest, I remain still. Watching as the sheriff walks around my car with a flashlight, looking inside each window, as if he’s expecting to find something—or someone.
Floorboards creak above us, and instinctively, I try to look up, but Talon’s hold on me forces too much resistance. It has to be the other guys. They’re who I saw in the window. They knew I was here the entire time and watched me in the front yard from the window. Instead of just coming down, they had to instill a little more fear in me first. Bravo to them, they did it. I should have never come here. I should have just gone to the police. What the hell was I thinking?
My heart rate picks up when the sheriff begins shining his flashlight in our direction. Talon takes a couple of steps back as the light beam hits my face. I contemplate trying to free myself, running out to the sheriff and telling him everything, but I can’t squirm out of his arms.
His raspy breath hits the fold of my neck. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll just stand here and be quiet like a good little girl.” His firm grasp tightens around me with my arms still behind my back. Bony fingers hit the skin of my waist while the other is still shielding my mouth from saying a word.
Picking me up again, he continues to walk backwards, until the only thing I can see out the window is a small flicker of light that resembles a firefly. Slowly fading into the distance, it’s gone. The sheriff is likely still there, but his presence diminishes from my vision as Talon spins me around to face him. “You are going to walk up these stairs, slowly and quietly. If you say a single word, I’ll be forced to use this.” He holds up a ring of duct tape.
“This has to be some sort of Halloween joke. Come on, Talon. You aren’t seriously—” I stop when he begins pulling the gray tape off of the roll. He tears a long piece off and the sound of the tape ripping makes my body jolt.
“Walk.” His voice is demanding and full of warning.
Swallowing down the lump in my throat, I take a deep breath and begin walking up the wooden staircase. It’s so dark. I have no idea what exactly I’m walking up to. For all I know, there could be holes in these stairs and one wrong step could send me flying into a cave.
Walking directly behind me, Talon places both hands on either side of my waist, guiding my steps and sending waves of chills through my entire body. If I were to stop abruptly, his face would plant right into my ass. The closer I get to the top, the more I notice that burning smell again. “What’s up here?” I mutter under my breath.
He doesn’t respond. Instead, he turns my body when we reach the top of the stairs, pointing me to the left, in the direction of a bedroom that shows a glint of light coming from a lantern.
A thick black sheet hangs over the only window in the room, and other than the lantern in the center, it’s completely empty. Colorful graffiti is written all over the four walls. So much so, that I can’t tell what color of paint is beneath them.
“What is this place, and why am I here?” I ask, looking all around at the artwork. It’s apparent that it’s the job of many because it’s all scattered and each piece is different.
“You talk too much. That’s why you’re here.”
A small breeze hits my bare legs, carrying that smell into the room. Turning around to face the door, I notice a room across from us with the windows wide open, and there they are: Tommy, Lars, and Zed. All three standing there, with their arms crossed over their chests, glaring at me.
“Come on in, boys.” Talon waves his hand through the air. When they join us, Talon tosses something in the air to Lars who catches it with his eyes still pinned on me.
Once he spins it around and begins pressing his fingers into it, the sparkle of purple glitter catches my eye. “Hey, that’s my phone.” I jump toward him, but Zed’s arms wrap around me.
“Calm down, Little Thorn.” He sweeps his fingers over my neck, moving any stray strands behind my ear. “I heard you were a feisty little thing. Maybe you can show me just how feisty you can get.” His hushed tone alarms every cell
