“Why would I come all the way out here just to lie to you? How do I gain in that?”
She only blinks once before this time she cuts me with her words. “I don’t know ... Why would you lie about who you are for a whole fucking year?”
My tongue darts out as I lick my bottom lip. “Killer ...” She raises an eyebrow. I drop the nickname. “Goldie, I promise I’ll tell you everything if you just come with me. Time is actually of the essence.”
She shakes her head and crosses her arms, and it’s a look I know all too well. It’s the equivalent ofYou’re fucked.
“No,” she levels. “Tell me everything right now, and then I’ll decide whether I’m leaving with you or we’re fighting to the death.”
“Jesus,” I breathe out as I run my hands through my hair, my cool breaking. “This is not the time to be stubborn.”
A scream from outside quickly draws my head over my shoulder. And that means like an amateur, I take my eyes off her. The next thing I know, the sound of the bathroom door shutting and locking echoes through the small space.
“Goddammit,” I grit through clenched teeth before banging on the door. “Goldie, I’m not fucking playing. We need to get out of here.”
“You’re a criminal,” she yells. “You stalked me, and now you’re trying to kidnap me.”
I bang on the door again. “No. I’m not. Will you please use your head? This is fucking ridiculous. I’ll knock the door down.”
I step back as I eye it up ...Jesus, are those real logs?
She doesn’t just yell back at me; fury oozes off each word.
“Are you calling me stupid? Fuck you, Noah! You don’t even know how to spell ‘convenient.’”
I throw my arms in the air. “Nobody spells that correctly. Would you please just come out of the goddamn bathroom.”
I’m met with silence, which makes my fucking jaw clench.
“Goldie!” I take in a deep breath, letting it whoosh out before I drop my forehead against the door. “Baby, please ...”
She’s giving me the silent treatment, and unless I can put on another hundred or so pounds, there’s no way I’m getting past this door and keeping the use of my shoulder.
Something’s got to give.Fuck it.
“You want the truth ... fine. I’m scared to death. There are truly fucked-up things in my past that are putting you in harm’s way. And I couldn’t ever tell you because I was afraid of losing you. Joke’s on me, though, right, because that’s exactly what happened anyway. I fuckinglove you, killer. I haven’t been able to eat or think clearly without you. This week’s been torture, but I swear I stayed away to try and keep you safe. So please just let me get you out of here, and I’ll explain everything with all the finest detail you want.”
My palm presses to the door as I wait for her to say something. To say anything. She doesn’t understand what this feels like, for her to look at me the way she does. It’s hell.
“Baby ...” I say again, waiting, but the front door swings open, and I spin around, meeting Chase’s face.
“What are you doing? You’re supposed to be the lookout.”
His forehead wrinkles. “Well, your girl just ran by in her pajamas, flipping me the bird, so look out.”
“Fuck,” I groan, and run past him, out the front door.
“She’s faster than I thought,” he yells at my back. “The chances someone picks her off are slim.”
I bark back, “Get to the party and get Evie ...”
If we don’t die tonight, Goldie’s going to be the death of me.
My feet carry me quickly as I weave through the crowd, getting glimpses of her red hair as she walks quickly ahead of me.
She glances back at me as I call out her name. “Goldie, wait.”
My heart is beating a mile a minute because everywhere I look, someone poses a threat. This place is fucking unreal. Chase wasn’t wrong when he said Halloween was the perfect night for a serial killer to hide out in the open.
