Muscle memory took over as I pulled my gun out and unloaded the entire clip along the seam of the door before the locking mechanism released. I heaved the door open and slammed a new clip in as I followed the sound of Sara’s screams, shoving monsters into walls as I sprinted through the haunted house after her.
And then, what was worse than her screaming was when I couldn’t hear her at all. Loud music blared, and there was cackling and howling from every corner of this hellscape, but no sound of her.
I sprinted from room to room, screaming for her without a response.
A zombie sprinted past me, cackling, and I grabbed it clean out of the air, shoving it against the nearest wall. “Where the fuck is she?” The zombie screamed as I ripped its mask off. “I will make you hurt in ways you didn’t know you could.” I growled, adrenaline and panic pounding through me as precious seconds slipped away. “Where is she?” I shook him.
“I don’t know.” He gasped, wide-eyed. “It’s not real, it’s just part of the performance.”
With a broken laugh, I lowered my voice to a lethal growl. “You have exactly two seconds to give me an answer before I start making things hurt.”
“There’s a room.” He sputtered. “Please don’t shoot me. I just work here.”
“Where?” I dropped him to the ground, holding him by the scruff of his neck.
As he led me through several rooms, I hoped this was all just part of the haunted house theatrics, but what if it wasn’t, what if someone more dangerous had abducted her—say someone who had just threatened that, a mere twenty-four hours ago.
One thing at a time.
The zombie quickly led me down into a basement, and when I saw one goblin guarding a locked door, I dropped the zombie.
“Is she in there?” I demanded.
The goblin launched into a script, and I shoved him out of the way, trying the door. It was locked.
A hand landed on my arm. “You can’t just go in, you have to break the code, and then sacrifice?—”
I pinned him with a lethal look, because I was not fucking around. “The only thing I’ll be breaking is your fucking arms if you don’t get out of my way.” He immediately backed up.
I shouldered the door open and inside, I found a woman tied to a chair, looking mildly alarmed. Not Sara. My stomach rolled. If she wasn’t here…
“Who areyou?” The woman asked as I stared at her, recalculating.
A man, who I assume was her date, hurried in. “What the hell took you so long?” She complained as I stormed out of the room and grabbed one of the goblins.
“The brunette in the Air Force hoodie.” I demanded. “Did you take her?”
One of the goblins in the corner chimed in, “Yeah, I think that hot piece of ass in the green dress is upstairs in the cooler.” My eyes snapped to him. “I got quite a handful, if you know what I mean.” He shook his head with a laugh, not looking up from hisphone. “It’s always easier to cop a feel when they’re flailing around.” Then he added more quietly, “God, I love this job.”
Everything went red. “What did you just say?” I stalked towards him.
He turned to look at me. “Oh, shit!”
I kicked his chair out from underneath him and sent him crashing to the floor. “You’re the one who fucking touched her.”
He scrambled back, but I stepped on his chest, slamming him back into the floor. “I was just joking around.” He pleaded.
“Was it a joke when she was screaming at you to get your fucking hands off her?” I leveraged more of my weight onto him as he wheezed. Good, let this piece of shit suffocate in that mask. “It’s not so fun when you’re the one who can’t fight back, is it?” I growled, bearing down harder.
He started begging, and this was wasting time. I hauled him up and twisted his arm behind his back, right before the point of breaking, muttering. “Take me to her right now, or I promise you, I will break every bone in your useless body.”
CHAPTER 39
So Incredibly Generous
CARTER
It was muffled, but I could hear it from down the hall.Her screaming.I’d never heard a more sickening sound, and my body took over as I dropped the goblin and launched myself towards that scream.
