Page 50 of Ravaged Devotion

“She’s got a point,” Penn chimed in. “I mean, what are the odds another person dies, really? That worker got eaten by a bear, and the Smiths were the unfortunate victims of a man with a few screws loose. That’s all. Statistically speaking, this should now be the safest place to wait out the weather. The likelihood of there being another person with sociopathic tendencies is slim.”

Ellery broke out in a laugh and then tried to cover it with an unconvincing cough.

Ryker didn’t say or do anything. His friends aside, just because the worker had killed two people randomly in seemingly cold blood didn’t make him a sociopath, but he wasn’t about to waste his breath correcting Penn.

The only reason Ryker had ever even tolerated him was because of his father’s position on the board.

“The kitchen staff apparently are no shows, and I’m guessing the staff in charge of the indoor amenities are as well,” Darea stated. “I refuse to stay here twiddling my thumbs doing nothing. I don’t know about the rest of you, but my time is money, and spending another coin in a place as unprofessional as this one is out of the question.”

Darae instructed her daughter and Hollis to follow and then started confidently for the front entrance, her heeled boots clicking against the polished wooden floorboards.

Eulalie went after her, calling her name and trying to reason with her, while the rest of them stood around watching.

Penn and Ishleen’s fathers were still out fishing with Rhys, so it wasn’t surprising when neither of them made moves to join. Rue and his friends appeared at the end of the hallway leading to the dining hall, no doubt drawn by the noise, but Ryker wasn’t worried about them either.

Bowie and Lenore weren’t stupid enough to suggest driving through the fog, so there was no fear of them attempting to convince Rue.

Not that Ryker would allow him to leave even if they did. As far as he was concerned, Rue wasn’t going anywhere without him ever again.

His father’s threat last night returned to the front of his mind and Ryker clenched his jaw. He didn’t have time to deal with foolish idiots willingly getting themselves into car accidents. What he should be doing was figuring out a way to either convince his father to change his mind, or threaten him against it.

No one was separating them. As pissed as Ryker still was at Rue, he refused to give him up. Refused to allow him the satisfaction of getting away a second time. Even if it made them both miserable, he would chain the other man to him until Ryder either woke or one of the three of them died waiting for that to happen.

Reminded that Ryder had had him, and that he’d thrown him away, brought another wave of fury, and a low growl rumbled up his throat before Ryker could help it.

No one else seemed to hear or notice amidst the rest of the chaos, but Rue tipped his head in Ryker’s direction, eyes going wide when he saw whatever expression Ryk must be wearing.

Did he know the anger was directed his way?

Probably.

“This is absurd.” Eulalie had stopped just beneath the doorframe.

Darae and the other two had already been swallowed by the fog. The parking lot was a few yards away, so it would take them a minute to reach the bus—if they could even find it—so there was nothing to do but wait and see if the sound of an engine coming to life came.

“Guess watching Delta die really messed with her,” Ellery tutted at Ryker’s side. “Maybe we should have offered to let her gut the worker responsible. Cool her off. Even though I’m not driving through this shit, that bus is our only mode of transportation.”

“Cosima and the rest of the staff who did arrive must have vehicles,” Ryker disagreed. “And since we’re waiting it out, once we call—”

He heard the hissing noises first, the sounds instantly stopping him. He’d only just taken a step toward the door when a piercing scream followed by shouts shot through the fog, along with an accompanying harrowing roar.

“Darae?!” Eulalie leaned over the doorframe, and from the corner of his eye, Ryker saw Rue take a step forward.

Before Ryker could tell him to back off, a figure appeared from within the fog, Hollis’s arms coming into focus before his face. There was absolute terror flashing in his eyes, his pallor as ghastly as the white tendrils that seemed to lick at his skin and try to cling to him as he raced toward them.

He practically shoved Eulalie out of the way when he got there, tripping over the lip of the doorway, slamming hard on his hands and knees. It didn’t slow him, and he scrambled forward on a crawl before twisting onto his ass. “Close the door!”

“The others are still out there,” Eulalie said, and almost as soon as she had, Esti’s voice called out.

“Help!” She materialized five or so feet outside, dragging her left leg behind her. There was blood smeared across her cheeks, and when she saw Eulalie, a desperate sob passed her lips.

Eulalie ran out, grabbing the girl around the arm and pulling it over her shoulders. They weren’t far, a few steps at most, but with the way Esti was struggling, their movements were slow going.

“My mom!” Esti sobbed. “My mom!”

“What happened?!” Eulalie asked, turning to glance over her shoulder. Doing so caused them to pause just before the entrance, but the moment she noticed something the rest of them couldn’t yet see became apparent when her whole body tensed.

A large shadow loomed in the gray, slowly rising until it seemed to hover at nine or ten feet tall. There were no lights like before, when Ryker had gone after Rue, but the hissing noise was there, and when the thing directly behind Eulalie and Esti bent forward, the unmistakable sheen of bone jutted through the thick fog.