Where are Teagan and Capri?
The Axeman is still out there, and he’s still after us. I take a deep breath, staving off another rush of emotions. A lone tear slides down my cheek. Lochlan reaches down and brushes it away. “No crying allowed, lassie. You might scare me more than anyone else in my life, but seeingyou cry is even more terrifying than seeing you sneer at my shoes. The L-Team has no space for tears.”
“The L-Team?” I ask.
Lee sighs, an amused smile painted on his dry lips, before explaining. “Lochy boy has decided to call our original trio, sorry Kristi, the L-Team. You know, Lexi, Lee, and Lochlan. He’s a weird dude, but I like him.”
I give a slight nod.
“Anyways,” Lee continues, “Some short-term memory loss is typically common with a concussion. It should come back sooner or later. But until then, Kristi is right. We need to find somewhere to hide and regroup while you rest.”
Kristi shrieks, making the rest of us jump up in panic. I’m instantly nauseated again, but ready to run the moment someone says run. I’m not letting some crazy ass author get the last word with me, and I’m certainly not going to let him decide my fate.
Only I have that power.
Kristi lets out a loud, unabashed laugh before limping back toward the tree-line, where a lanky guy in an oversized grey suit is smiling back at her. He’s another one of Pierce’s guests. At least I can remember that much.
“Sammy!” Kristi screams, throwing herself into his arms. “I thought that psycho killed you after we got separated! How’d you escape?”
The two of them talk a mile a minute while the rest of us slowly make our way over to them.
“When we got out of that house of horrors, he chased you instead of me,” Sammy explains, his hands gripping Kristi’s arms like he’s checking to make sure she’s real. “I tried to taunt him into coming back for me, but by the time I followed him, you were nowhere to be found. I tried, Krissy-girl. I’m just glad you’re okay.” His dark, ebony skin glistens in the sunlight. He looks mostly unscathed. The grey suit he’s wearing is torn,and leaves and twigs are stuck in his hair. He definitely looks worse for wear, but his smile lights up the world as he gazes down at Kristi.
I find myself jealous as I watch them. I wish someone had given me a cute nickname and looked at me that way while we navigated this nightmare together.
Instead, I’m stuck with my best friend’s husband and Lochlan.
Though, and I really hate to admit it, Lochlan might be growing on me a bit.
“How do you both know each other?” Lee asks, gesturing from Kristi to Sammy.
Sammy throws his arm over Kristi’s shoulder and grins. “We work together on a bookish blog back home. We were both invited by Mr. Pierce.”
“I really, really wish we had ignored that invite now,” Kristi adds in before they go back to talking amongst themselves.
Lee glances at me, then quickly looks away before clearing his throat loudly several times. I swear he’s blushing.
I’m startled when something warm and heavy covers my shoulders. I turn to see Lochlan fixing his dress shirt, which is filthy and torn. I reach up and pull his suit jacket tighter around me.
“Thanks,” I say, flashing him a grateful smile. I guess I didn’t realize how frigid it is with all this adrenaline coursing through my veins.
“Lee’s just too polite to tell you that your tits were hanging out,” Lochlan grunts out, grinning like a madman as Lee rolls his eyes. “You were one good stretch away from a nip-slip there, lassie.”
I look down and see that Lochlan is, in fact, right. My dress must have torn during my fall because it’s in tatters hanging off my skin. I flush red and throw my arms into the jacket before buttoning it as high as it’ll let me. It’s huge on my small, yet curvy frame, but it helps me feel less exposed.
Still, at least I’m not stuck in a robe.
“I actually might have something that’ll help with all that,” Sammy chimes in. We all turn our attention to him and wait for him to elaborate. “I found this, like, underground bunker thing as I was running. Nearly missed the damn thing, honesty. I just happened to trip, you know I’m clumsy as all get out, Krissy.” He smiles at her, and they both share a knowing laugh. “Fell right on top of the handle and chipped my tooth!” he exclaims, lifting his lip to show us the large chip on his front tooth. “Come, I’ll show you. It’s not far.”
I stare in awe at the fully stocked supply room. This is like winning the lotto. No. It’s better than winning the lotto. What could money do for me in this situation? It’s not like I can go ahead and Venmo the Axeman and bargain for our lives, now can I? But food, clothing, running water, and a real pillow? That’s something I can work with. It’s like finding a knife slipped under your pillow in a slasher novel. It’s rejuvenating when all hope feels lost.
This might just be a real slice of heaven amidst all this chaos—or at least a very well-placed miracle.
Sammy led the way and brought us to an underground bunker as promised. Only this bunker is more than just a place to hide. It locks from the inside so that nobody can get in. It’s a place of safety, but it’s also the perfect place to regroup, heal, and figure out what to do next so we can get out of this mess we’re in.
This is how we turn the tables on the Axeman. We can use Pierce’s annoyingly rich hobbies against him by using his secret bunker to get the upper hand.
But first, food and a shower take priority.
