Sympathy pulsed through me at the same time an unnerving wave of anger crashed through my nervous system. Both had their weight within me, but I couldn’t bring myself to be belligerent toward Lincoln. He might have done some awful things, but I knew that deep down, he wasn’t a bad person.
“You went about it the wrong way, Lincoln.” I stated, giving him an even glance as I saw Chrizel and Betz returning with police officers. “I’m sorry you weren’t able to prove yourself right.”
Without another thought, I reached for Arze’s outstretched hand and curled into his side to regale the police officers of the devastation that we’d been able to evade.
Chapter 28
Falloutfrom the excursion in the forest followed. Lincoln was taken down to the police station and questioned. Given what I’d heard about the Rhodes family, who the hell knew how long he’d actually stay there. But for now, Phoebe was safe from the likes of him. More importantly, Arze and I were safe from him.
The Hellgrammites were also questioned by police as well, but I’d heard that most of the were let go. They didn’t have enough on them to keep them, and they’d all sold out Lincoln at the first chance they’d gotten. I hated that a hate group was free to go, but they’d fled Phoebe from what we saw, the RV park completely free of them.
As far as we knew, no tythwig had learned of what transpired. Arze had told me repeatedly that there weren’t any tythwig within the area during any of the adrenaline inducing moments before Khalice and her family had come to our rescue. Of course, it still made me nervous that that could easily change if a tythwig overheard the townspeople gossiping about what had transpired.
News of the forest incident had made its way back to Jane, which made her give Arze and I the following day off. Which we’d spent together, ordering takeout and lounging in the RV.Myers was away again, presumably with Larsky, and we’d ended up watching a movie until Arze had fallen asleep next to me on the couch. He couldn’t be more adorable if he tried.
“We’re really going to miss you around here, Krueger.”
Jane’s words snapped me out of my thoughts like a rubber band pulled to meet the skin of my wrist, severe and immediate. Today was the day before Halloween, as well as the last day before the infamous Hell-O-Ween festival that had brought us to Phoebe.
After having the day off with Arze, I knew the dreaded time had come for me to talk to Jane about leaving work. I loved working the haunts, and since they were year-round and only served as an appetizer this time of year for the Hell-O-Ween festival, there was no reason for me to quit aside from the fact that we were only going to be in Phoebe for another forty hours or so. My heart hurt just thinking about it.
She’d taken the news of my quitting easily enough, because after I’d started, I told her the timeline that we were on and we’d be leaving after the festival. Jane had understood, but now that the time had come, it still sucked to leave the people I’d come to know as my friends high and dry without my help to set up for the big event tomorrow.
Her smile made me focus on her words. “I know. I’ve absolutely loved working here and I wouldn’t even be leaving if I wasn’t going back to Virginia.”
“I totally understand.” Jane nodded, reaching out across her desk and tapping my hand, where it rested lazily. Her kooky office surroundings came back into my recollection, my thoughts of recalling Lincoln and his nefarious intentions long gone. “If anything ever changes, or if you guys come back, you’re always welcome here.”
She stood up and I followed, taking her now outstretched hand and shaking it with familiarity. “Thank you so much, Jane.I’m really going to miss this place.” Emotion welled in my eyes, but I tried my best to bury it. I careened my neck, taking in the tchotchkes and knick knacks that littered her office walls.
“No sadness today,” Jane chuckled, walking from behind her desk and gesturing for me to follow her out. “Let’s make your last shift a good one.”
I agreed, following her out of the purple victorian. I made my way over to the haunted maze while Jane broke off to check on a few things in the haunted house before we officially opened to guests. We had a little bit before we had to get in our spots.
A grin spread across my face as I sauntered up to Arze at the maze, the back of him coming into view. I was paired with him and Chase tonight, making this the official last time I’d work with the Orb I’d grown so fond of.
I mentally chastised myself. Jane was right, no sadness today. I didn’t want to dwell on the fact that I was actually leaving town in less than two days.
Nearing him by the entrance of the maze, I witnessed the ending of a phone call that he was on. I could only make out him saying something along the lines of “thank you so much” before he hung up and turned to see my approach. The smile that had already graced his face strengthened when his orange eyes registered my frame.
“Hey.” His velvet voice came to me, and he moved to wrap his arms around me, but he did that freeze frame thing he did, silently searching for nearby tythwig, and he retracted the movement. I totally understood. After everything that had happened with Lincoln, the last thing either of us wanted was to give the tythwig reason to summon us. “Everything squared away with Jane?”
I’d mentioned that I was going to remind her that I wasn’t going to work anymore after today, but I wasn’t letting him shift the conversation that easily. “Yep, all good. Everything good onyour end?” I pointed toward the phone he was still attempting to shove into the pocked of his green jeans.
“Oh, more than okay.” He smiled again, keeping it at that. I really hated that he was clearly overjoyed with something and refusing to give me more to go on.
With a simper, I made a face that said as such. “You’re not going to tell me?” I teased with a smirk.
Arze immediately shook his head. “No, not until I get a few things confirmed. It’s a surprise.”
I groaned. “Is it too late to mention how much Ihatesurprises?”
“You’ll enjoy this one, I promise.” Arze chuckled, his fingertips twitching next to him, telling me he wanted nothing more in that moment than to pull me close to him. God, I wanted the same thing. As hot as it was to have to restrain ourselves, I was really wanting to be free of the restriction. I hated that my brain decided to remind me that I’d be free of it soon enough, when my sister and I left Phoebe for good. My mood instantly soured.
“Alright, well, can you tell me what it’s concerning, at least?”
He stayed silent as he mulled my words over, thinking about whether or not he was going to give in a little or not. Luckily for me, he did. “It’s about the tythwig decree, that’s all I’ll say.”
Interest shifted my eyebrows higher on my face. “Oh? Should I be ready to defend…” I paused, looking around us. No one was visible, but the idea that a tythwig could have been in earshot made me rethink my words really fast. “To defend things?”
