I feel flattered.
He sighs, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “My brothers and I went to school there. I have copies of keys. Access—”
“But the second-grade teaching position…” Tears form in the corners of my eyes, and my nose tingles. “It’s not a real position. Is it?”
His evil grin has me pursing my lips to hold in another sob. I was fucking catfished by a job listing.
“Why?” I whisper, my breath still labored from running.
He steps into my body again, and I swallow, wishing the sharp claws of the shadows would reach through my body and end me so I don’t have to live in this nightmare.
The hard ridges in his chest brush against my breasts. “Because we needed someone gentle. Caring. Someone with no ties who can vanish and not raise suspicion. And what better way to find that perfect person and learn everything about them than through interviews and background checks, Little Ghost.”
The first tear falls, and his eyes track the movement. It drips off my chin, the soft earth soaking it up.
“Why do you keep calling me that?” I mumble.
“You know why.”
My eyes squeeze shut.
Colten’s voice chills me to the bone. “There’s nobody to look for you, is there? Nobody who will notice you’re gone.”
He’s wrong. I may go weeks between checking in with my parents, but at some point, they will realize something is wrong when I don’t contact them.
Right?
Someone will notice. I refuse to believe that my parents are so out of touch with their own daughter—their only child—that they won’t wonder why she hasn’t called or texted.
Colten whistles, the sound vanishing into the night, disturbing my thoughts. What is he do—
A moment later, Rossco emerges, his black coat blending seamlessly with the darkness. He runs up to Colten, panting, happy, and entirely oblivious that this man is more of a predator than he is.
If teeth could kill, I’d bet on Colten. They would probably still look flawlessly white afterward.
Reaching into his sweatshirt pocket, he pulls out a leash that makes my pulse hammer. Colten bends down, hooking it to Rossco’s collar.
“Run.”
My voice trembles. “Wh—what?”
Standing to his feet, he grins. “You have about one minute until they’re here. I suggest you start running.”
Huh?
I reach for the leash, and simultaneously, he retreats a step. I grit my teeth. “If you’re letting me go, I want my dog.”
His low, menacing laugh rings in my ears, his green eyes piercing mine. “Yes, I’m letting you run, but you’re not going anywhere. My brothers find pleasure in the chase, and it wouldn’t be much of a hunt if I held you here, would it?”
I peer at him through watery eyes. “You’re taking Rossco and leaving me here with them?”
His eyes bore into me. “I can’t be here to witness what they will do to you.”
A tremor seizes my muscles, making my lip quiver. “Why? What are they going to do?” I whisper.
I flinch as his hand, the one not holding the leash, darts out and wraps around my throat, the pads of his fingers pulsing into the skin below my ear. His sleeve hikes up further on his right forearm, revealing the ink embedded in his skin. He tilts my head upward before I can get a good look at the tattoo, which looks like decaying leaves.
His voice is low, hot, and sticky, dripping down my spine. “Unlike my brothers, I don’t share. If and when you find yourself being punished by me, I will be the only one you submit to. I’m not as forgiving as they are.”
