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“Hey, Pheebs,” Dakota called out, “you sure you wanna go through with this? Austin might need you to hold his hand.”
Phoebe whipped her head around, her ponytail flying behind her as she narrowed her eyes at Dakota. “Puh-lease. I’m not your ticket outta here, Auntie Kota. I’ll be the one leading the way. Besides, Austin can handle it... right?”
Austin shifted, clearly not wanting to look weak in front of her. “Uh, yeah. I’m good.”
I could see Dakota’s shoulders stiffen slightly, like she was gearing up for something big. It made me grin just a little.
We approached the entrance, where an older man in a vampire cape half-heartedly waved us through with a plastic scythe. Why would a vampire carry a scythe?This town…
“Enter at your own risk,” the vampire-reaper drawled, looking about as thrilled as a kid eating raisins on Halloween.
Dakota inched forward and tried to look tough, but her eyes flicked toward the darkness inside the school with clear hesitation.
I leaned over and whispered in her ear, “What’s the matter, Wildcard? Afraid of a few homemade cobwebs?”
She shot me a glare, but her lips twitched. “I’m not afraid. I just think I’m allergic to fake fog. Or maybe it’s all the glow-in-the-dark paint particles in the air.”
“Right,” I said, smirking.
Her lips pressed together like she refused to give me the satisfaction of admitting she was scared. But when we stepped inside and the musty scent of decades-old building materials hit us, I noticed her hand brush against mine—whether by accident or instinct, I wasn’t sure.
Either way, I took it in mine.
For the witnesses, of course.
Phoebe and Austin were already charging ahead, Austin letting out a low whistle as we entered the first room. The whole place was lit with dim, flickering lights, and the walls were decorated with what I could only assume was supposed to be a crime scene—cheap plastic bones and chalk outlines on the floor.
A boombox in the corner played eerie music, and I had to do a double-take at the sight of it. Who still had a tape-playing boombox these days? Had it been in here since the school was open?
“Yikes,” Phoebe said, voice dripping with sarcasm. “This place is real spooky, huh?”
Austin snorted. “Yeah. Really creepy. I might faint.”
But Dakota wasn’t looking at them. She was glancing around the room, her eyes darting from shadow to shadow, like she was waiting for something to jump out at her.
I leaned in closer. “You’re really scared, aren’t you?”
She shot me a look, her eyes narrowing, but the slight tremble in her voice gave her away. “I’m not scared. I just don’t like?—”
Before she could finish, a loud crash echoed from the corner, and some sort of ghoul on a wire jerked toward us, shrieking like a banshee. I watched as Dakota jumped nearly a foot off the ground, her hand immediately clamping onto my arm, her knuckles white.
“Sure, you’re not scared,” I said after the wire pulled the ghoul back into the corner, biting back a laugh. “Just... allergic to that guy, too, right?”
“Shut up,” she muttered, her face flushed. “It was just... unexpected.”
I raised an eyebrow, not even trying to hide my grin now. I could’ve indulged her. I could’ve wrapped my arms around her and whispered soothing things in her ear until she felt more at ease. But… that wasn’t what she needed. I wasn’t sure how I knew it, but I’d been following my gut for as long as I could remember, and right now? My gut told me the only way to get this woman to relax and have some fun was to… Well, make her.
“Uh-huh,” I teased. “Unexpected. You know, we can turn around if it’s too much for you. Maybe there’s a coloring station in the back for people who don’t want to get scared.”
“You’re hilarious,” she deadpanned, though she didn’t let go of my arm. “I’m fine.”
Fine or not, she jumped again when a ghost on a pulley came flying out of nowhere. I couldn’t help it—I let out a deep laugh, which earned me another glare. On its heels, however, was a hint of that sweet smile she’d given me at the diner the first time she’d heard me laugh like that. Correction: the first time she’dmademe laugh like that.
My plan was working.
“Okay, okay,” I said, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her a little closer as we walked. “I’ll stop messing with you... for now,” I lied.
Phoebe and Austin were laughing up ahead, clearly enjoying the ridiculousness of the whole thing. “Tucker, you better watch out,” Phoebe called over her shoulder. “Dakota’s gonna get you back for this. She’s got that look in her eyes.”
