Page 235 of Shhh…It’s A Killer Story

Seraphina

I unlocked the screen.

Good morning, honey. ❤️

Don't be mad...

I had to leave for a little while.

I need to see a friend in Hollow City.

Please don't worry about me. I'll be okay.

I don't know when I'll be back... but I promise I'll come home.

Don’t miss me too much.

I read it twice. Then a third time. Hollow City. The smile that had found me seconds earlier disappeared. Every detective in three counties knew that name. Disappearances. Missing persons. Bodies with no identities. Cases abandoned because nobody ever came back with answers. Nothing good lived inside Hollow City. My thumb hovered over the keyboard.

Be careful.

I erased it. Typed again.

Call me when you get there.

Deleted that too. Finally, I settled on the only thing she'd actually listen to.

Baby, come home to me.

I hit send. The message was delivered instantly. I stared at the screen for another moment before locking it. A strange feeling settled inside my chest. Not fear, not exactly. Something quieter and heavier.

Hope.

I slipped my phone back into my pocket and looked toward the highway stretching north.

Toward Hollow City. Toward whatever waited for her there. I still needed to find them. The hunt wasn't over.

It had only just begun.

Seraphina

I woke up smiling not because nothing hurt.

Gosh, everything hurts. Every stretch tugged at bruises blooming beneath my skin, purple fading into sickly yellow. Every breath reminded me my ribs still hadn't forgiven Collins. Even lifting my arm made the cuts hidden beneath fresh bandages pull just enough to sting but for the first time in my life… Pain wasn't the first thing I noticed.

Elias was.

I lay there for a long moment, staring at the weathered wooden ceiling above me, unable to stop the ridiculous smile spreading across my face. A laugh escaped me before I could swallow it.

God.

Detective Elias Reed.

My detective.

Mine.

Who would've thought?