Page 80 of Your Masked Haunting

I blink, and I’m moving, barreling into the side of the man choking Mona.

I blink, and I’m on top of him.

I blink, and my knuckles are painted red.

I blink, and I’m hauled upward, Kol and Ledger pulling me off him.

I blink, and I’m kneeling beside Mona, scooping her up in my arms and running through the parted path formed by Bates and Ransom.

“I’ve got you, baby. I’ve got you.” I squeeze her tightly to my chest, her body limp.

I blink, my vision blurry and wet as I burst out of the maze and onto the lawn.

The grass is painted with flashing red and blue lights, a thousand officers running straight toward me, guns drawn.

“Help!” I scream, the sound tearing through my throat, rough and ragged. “Here!”

Everything’s slow. The speed of the officers, their approach as they rush toward me, ushering me past the face-painting booth, past the corner of the house, and out through the gate toward the ambulance on stand-by.

My body is shaking, tears streaming down my face as paramedics meet me, eager to get her onto a stretcher and into the unit. My heartbeat is too loud, too overwhelming, and I wish I could force the sound away, desperate to hear her voice instead.

The EMTs speak calmly to one another as we load into the back and take off for the hospital. One of the EMTs ushers me into the seat, muttering something about wishing I were up front. And while I get that, there’s no way in hell I’m leaving her side for a second.

My gaze trails from her hair, disheveled and chaotic, to the fingerprints bruised into her skin. Her lips are a horrifying shade of purplish-blue.

“Please be okay,” I murmur, rocking back and forth in my seat as much as the seat belt will allow. “Please.”

It’s the only word that I can manage to say during the entire ride. When we get to the hospital and she wakes while being wheeled out, screaming my name, all I can shout back is Mona. And when I’m brought to see her, immediately taking her hand in mine, not feeling an ounce of peace until I’m in her presence again, it’s her name on my lips.

The hospital pushed back about me visiting her at first because we’re not married, but unfortunately for them, Caroline Ridley, who met us at the hospital, gets what she wants, and as far as anyone in the entire world is concerned, we are her family. I’m forever thankful to whichever of my friends called her and filled her in.

Cupping Mona’s hands in mine, I bring them to my lips, kissing them tenderly, over and over again as I prop myself up on the edge of her hospital bed with my elbows.Instantly, she stirs from the movement, coming to and shooting up in bed and reaching for me.

I meet her halfway, hovering over the bed, her arms wrapping around me in a death grip as she murmurs into my ear, “You’re here. You’re here.” The biggest sigh rips through the room, and her shoulders relax in my embrace.

My throat burns, tears welling up in my eyes as I cradle her, holding the back of her head with my hand.

“Always.” My lips find her black locks, pressing infinite kisses into her hair as we cling to one another like a lifeline. But it’s true because I’m damn sure that I can’t live in a world without her.

Mona’s discharged a few hours later, and my parents drive us back to my condo. Even though she says her legs are fine to walk, I carry her the entire way inside, up the elevator, and into my unit, not putting her down until we’re tucked safely behind the door.

She’s quiet, her mind likely running rampant as she strides through the living space and down the hallway.

“The last door on the right is our bedroom.”

“Ours?” A smidgen of her personality slips free in her tone, the first glimpse of it I’ve seen.

I follow behind her, but a few steps back so she can take her own pace. “Yes, ours. I don’t care if you want to go back to The Schrader House; you’re staying here with me.”

Her head whips around, and I already know what she’s panicking about. I had Bates and Kol get the eight-legged lady and drop her off.

“She’s here, on your nightstand.”

She strides toward the bedroom, wincing as she steps with her right leg, the pain seemingly manageable as she continues on. Throwing the door open, she rushes inside and toward Penelope’s enclosure, crouching down beside the nightstand.

“Oh, thank God!” she cries out, bursting into tears and gently pulling the plexiglass container to her chest.

Many people wouldn’t understand this moment, but to Mona, Pen is one of the few souls she’s willingly brought into her life, no matter how small. But I also think seeing her might have forced her back to reality, emotion suddenly pouring out of her as she sobs uncontrollably.