"Uh..." I licked my lips and flicked a look from Beetlejuice to the other man. "Sorry, we'll get out of your way."
I tugged on Bree's hand, ignoring Beetlejuice's grip on my arm as I urged her past me on the outside, away from Beetlejuice's leather–jacket–wearing friend. It was dark enough that I couldn't make out what patch he wore, but it didn't really matter. They were both bad fucking news.
"What did you hear?" Beetlejuice demanded, shaking me a bit and getting up in my face. His friend just watched. Uncaring.
"Nothing," I snapped back at him. "We were just getting out of here. Some bad shit is going on in the big top."
Beetlejuice sneered, and the leather-jacketed dude snickered. Like they already knew and were happy about it.
"Let me go," I said, my voice firm. "We didn't see or hear anything, and we honestly don't care. There's already one dead girl in this park, and a whole ton of witnesses. This place will be crawling with cops any second now."
Beetlejuice narrowed his eyes at me, his gaze suspicious before jerking a nod. "You saw nothing," he snarled, the warning clear as he released me with a shove. "Dumb bitches." This was muttered to his friend as he dismissed us from his presence.
I walked a few paces, not wanting to run while they could see me, but gave Bree a look that practically screamed hurry your ass up!
"Wait." That one word hit me like a lightning bolt, and my whole body tensed, my foot frozen in the air. "Don't I know you?"
It was the other guy speaking, and his deep familiar voice sent chills down my spine. He was closer now; I could feel his intimidating presence looming behind me. He was near enough that I could smell the leather of his jacket. He could simply reach out and break my neck if he wanted to.
Panicked, I made a snap decision.
"Bree, whatever you do, don't stop until you get to the car. I'll meet you there." I said this under my breath, but the glare I gave her silenced any protests she might have. "I mean it," I assured her. "Fucking run."
She gave me a tight nod, her eyes brimming with fear and determination, then kicked off her heels and disappeared into the night.
"Fuck this," Beetlejuice snapped, and his footsteps quickly faded in the opposite direction. But only his. My creepy shadow hadn't budged an inch.
"Yeah," he murmured, his breath stirring the hot pink strands of my hair. "I thought I recognized that ass. Now what is a girl like you doing in West Shadow Grove, Madison Kate Danvers?"
I didn't run after Bree because I wasn't a fucking idiot. There was no way I'd outrun this guy in what I was wearing. And now that he knew who I was, he wouldn't just stand back while I took off either.
Instead, I did the only thing that came to my mind.
I spun around and punched him right in the face.
2
Pain exploded in my hand, and I stifled a scream as the guy fell backward with a dumbstruck look on his face. I wouldn't get another opportunity like that, so I'd damn well better not waste it.
"What the fuck!" the guy roared, but he was shouting at shadows because I was long gone.
My heels clicked against the pavement as I ran, and I cursed my choice of footwear for the thousandth time inside my head. Bree had been smart to kick hers off, but my boots would require me losing precious seconds to unzip them and wiggle my feet free.
Footsteps pounded somewhere behind me, and I held my breath, ducking inside the fun house, and then froze. I was safer staying hidden, staying silent, than randomly sprinting through the park.
"Give it up, little princess," my pursuer shouted from somewhere way too close. “You're not getting away that easily."
Fury underscored his voice, and fear sank into my bones. I'd escaped because I’d had the element of surprise, but I wouldn't be so lucky a second time.
"Madison Kate," he called out again, closer. "Don't make this harder than it needs to be."
I stayed silent, frozen dead still.
His boots crunched on dead leaves, and I held my breath. He was so close. So freaking close.
Any second now, he would find me. He'd find me and drag me back to the Reaper's clubhouse and...
Panic flooded my system, and I made a dumb decision.
My brain screamed at me not to move, not to give away my hiding place, and hope that the leader of the Shadow Grove Reapers didn't find me.
But my body reacted like a startled rabbit, so I ran.
A shouted curse came from behind me, but I didn't spare a second to look. I knew who it was, I knew he was chasing me, so why the fuck should I need to look?
Deeper into the fun house I ran, ducking and weaving between obstacles and grotesquely aged mannequins, but still those heavy boots followed.
Something moved ahead in the shadows, and I swallowed the scream of terror clawing at my throat when a spring-loaded clown popped out in my face. I ducked under it and kept going, desperate to locate somewhere to hide, somewhere that Zane D'Ath couldn't find me.
Strong hands grabbed me from the shadows, and a blood-curdling scream spilled out of my throat, only to be muffled by the hand clamped over my mouth.
Instincts kicked in, and I slammed my elbow backward as hard as I could, making my captor grunt with pain, but his grip didn't falter as he dragged me into the shadows. I thrashed, fighting against him but pausing when I heard his voice again. Zane.
"I don't have the time or patience for this, Madison Kate," he shouted, his voice echoing but... not coming from behind me. Who the fuck was holding me captive?
My terror kicked up a notch as I realized there was more than one person lurking inside this fun house, and I stomped hard on my captor’s instep, attempting to break free. When it didn't work, I tried to slam my heel up into his groin—only to have him trap my ankle between his legs instead.
"What the fuck?" His curse was a muffled whisper, and instead of loosening, his grip around my waist and over my mouth tightened.
"Shut it," someone else whispered, and I damn near leapt out of my skin. Even though the sound was soft, it'd clearly come from a man. So that was three. Three men, all undoubtedly a whole lot bigger and meaner than me.
I was so fucked.
"Keep her silent," the second man breathed, his breath warm on my cheek from how fucking close he stood. They'd dragged me into an area of the fun house that was pitch black. I couldn't see a fucking thing, and it was taking every inch of my self control to hold back the bone-shaking fear running through me.
What kind of idiot hides in a fun house when they're terrified of small, dark spaces?
"Easier said than done," the guy holding me whispered back, his voice pitched equally quiet. There was no way Zane would hear them, and I wasn't sure I wanted him to. So far these two hadn't hurt me... The same couldn't be said for Zane D'Ath. "Fucking bitch just tried to nail my balls."
Boots scraped over hollow wooden floors farther into the fun house, and I jerked against my captor’s grip. Whatever they wanted, it wasn't to safely escort me to Bree's car. I'd take my chances with the demented, moth-eaten clowns and shit.
"Quit it," the guy in front of me growled, and I got the distinct impression he was towering over me. I fucking hated when guys did that. Like their height automatically made them so intimidating.