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I made my way to the basement stairs and looked back one more time for any sign of my hot skeleton. I couldn’t see him, but I knew he was watching me. It sent another spasm to my core.
But then a darker image came to mind. A flashback of Billy making me touch myself in front of him and Chad. Nausea crept up my throat as I remembered the way he ogled me fingering myself. Goosebumps pebbled my flesh as I wondered if Billy was in here, down in the basement, watching me again…
Bailey
It was almost midnight and Wickford Mansion was packed to the brim. I hadn’t seen Saint or Raine other than an occasional flash of a skeleton face in my peripheral. But it made me feel good knowing they were lurking about.
I hadn’t seen Billy either. Although, he didn’t scare me like he used to. Now that I’m dead. But I had to remind myself that he was still bigger and stronger than me. Even though he couldn’t kill me, there were other sick things he could do to my body.
I stumbled upon Maureen in the kitchen, laughing and batting her eyelashes at the group of toga-clad guys surrounding her. “Bales!” she shrieked. “I’ll be right back, guys.”
She sprinted over to me, almost rolling her ankle in the process. She was a lot drunker than the last time I saw her. “Did you see the arms on that one? O. M. G,” she spelled out, slightly slurring the last letter.
I nodded, giggling. “Looks like you have your hands full.”
An uneasiness stirred in my belly as I glanced around the kitchen. Some faces I recognized. Some were wearing masks. But none of them resembled Billy or Chad in the slightest.
Maureen yanked on my arm, almost spilling my drink. “Oh! I almost forgot to tell you. I heard those witchy bitches from earlier talking about Billy. One of them said he was going to meet her here. They were all oohing and aahing about it like he’s some Greek god or something.”
A figure caught my eye just as she said his name. Speak of the devil. As if he’d been summoned. Adrenaline coursed through my veins as I locked eyes with Billy. Dressed in full gladiator garb, he stepped into the room. “No, but he fucking thinks he’s a god,” I rasped.
Maureen’s eyes widened as she followed my gaze. “Fuck.”
I nudged her back over to her group of admirers. “Whatever happens, you need to stick with these boys. Stay visible.” I plucked the jello shot out of her hand. “And no more drinks.”
Her face paled as she nodded. “What are you going to do?”
A fury that had been building for days bubbled to the surface. I clenched my fists. “Finish what he started.”
“Be careful, Bales…”
“You too,” I whispered as one of the toga-clad guys slipped an arm around her waist. She giggled at him but not before throwing one more worried glance in my direction.
I jerked my head back toward the kitchen entrance only to find a drunk mermaid leaning against the doorframe. Fuck. He slipped away. But now I knew he was in the house. Game. Fucking. On.
I raced into the sitting room and gave Poe a slight nod. He instantly jerked his head up and scanned the room. I followed his gaze. If Billy was here then Chad was probably lurking about as well. But the crowd had grown in the last hour, and it was impossible to get a good look at everyone.
A firm hand landed on the small of my back. “Don’t turn around,” Saint whispered in my ear. “Go upstairs like we planned.”
I sucked in a deep breath.
Earlier this morning, the five of us had gathered around the breakfast table and agreed that I would have to lure Billy away from the party. It was my idea and Raine was the only one who backed it, of course. But after realizing there weren’t any other options, Poe, Grim, and Saint conceded. Billy was after me. He’d follow me. Unless we wanted to murder him in a sea of witnesses, getting him alone was the only way.
I grabbed a drink off the bar and headed into the foyer. There were only a few people lingering in here. None of them even looked up as I passed, too engrossed in their own conversations. I pushed through the hanging slabs of meat, my heart racing. Hot Killer by Julia Wolf blasted from the speakers.
Wrapping my hand around the railing, I glanced up at the spiral staircase. This was it. I sauntered up slowly, making a show of it to give Billy enough time to catch up. Not that it mattered. I knew he would find me.
But this part of the plan was a mystery even to me. Raine had insisted that I don’t appear to be setting a trap. We needed Billy to believe that I was drunk and wandering around alone.
As I crept down the dark hallway, my stomach knotted. My hands trembled as I tried to open each door in our massive hallway of rooms. So far, each one was locked, including my bedroom. As I turned a corner, the hall grew darker. I whipped out my glowstick and held it in front of me as I continued.
Footsteps sounded behind me. I didn’t want to turn around. It could’ve been Billy or one of my guys. Shivers crawled up my back. I was being watched. Followed. And I was going to be sick. The feeling of being hunted, stalked… it was unnerving.
The farther away from the party I got, the quieter it became. There was softer music piped into this wing of the house. It was dark and sinister with the sounds of violins wailing. Goosebumps pebbled my arms. I shuddered and suddenly wished I hadn’t volunteered to be the bait.
After trying a few more locked doors to rooms that I hadn’t even entered before, the last door at the end of the hall opened. I sucked in a sharp breath as I walked into the pitch-dark room.
I jerked my head toward the door just as it clicked shut behind me. Fuck. I didn’t close it. Something rustled in the dark. I was definitely not alone.
