Page 204 of Shhh…It’s A Killer Story

Tell me something. Have you figured it out yet? Have you finally seen the monster? Or are you still searching the trees while it smiles beside the campfire? I genuinely hope it's the first one because if it's the second...we're all in considerably more trouble than you realise.

SPLASH.

A bucket of freezing water crashed over me.

It hit like a collapsing lake.

The shock ripped every last breath from my lungs as icy water flooded my face, rushed into my nose, soaked my hair, and slid beneath Elias's jersey until it clung to every bruise and cut decorating my body.

I coughed violently, choking on it.

"Oh..." I sputtered between coughs.

"That's refreshing."

Water dripped from my eyelashes.

"I was beginning to think the hospitality around here had completely disappeared. Thank you. Truly. Nothing says welcome to your kidnapping quite like hypothermia."

Someone sighed. Not irritated. Disappointed. That was somehow worse.

"Enough."

The single word settled over the warehouse like wet cement. Immediately the room obeyed. The two men behind me stepped back without argument, boots scraping softly across the concrete before disappearing into the shadows. Interesting. Hierarchy. Someone here wasn't simply participating. Someone here was in charge. I slowly lifted my head.

One eye refused to open properly, swollen almost shut beneath the bruise blooming across my cheek. The other looked through blurred halos of yellow light hanging from the ceiling.

I smiled anyway.

"What?"

I croaked, blood running into the corner of my mouth.

"Not enjoying yourself anymore? I was just starting to understand the plot."

The slap cracked across my face so hard the chair rocked on two legs before slamming back onto the concrete. Pain burst behind my eyes.

"Ow."

I blinked.

"...That one actually had effort behind it."

"Seraphina."

There it was again. My name. Spoken slowly. Almost gently. The grin faded from my lips not because I was frightened but because something about the way he said it made every instinct inside me quietly stand up.

"Seraphina..."

The voice moved closer. Calmer. Lower.

"We can do this all night."

A rough hand brushed wet strands of hair away from my face. I recoiled instinctively, jerking my head sideways before his fingers could linger. The movement earned another sharp grip beneath my jaw.

"The warehouse walls are thick," he murmured.

"No one's listening. No one's coming."