Hallowed Night: A Halloween Romance Anthology, page 32
I held back. There’d be time to savour her later.
A small noise came from the back of her throat, her chest heaved, and just like that, my control slipped.
“Did you miss me, Hailey?” Stalking across the kitchen to her, I crowded her up against the sink, grinding my hardness against her softness. Sliding one hand around the back of her neck, I angled her head to the side so I could drag my teeth along the curve of her throat.
Just a taste.
Except with Hailey, a taste was never enough.
“Elijah,” she whimpered, the sound going straight to my cock. Her hands went to my chest to push me away, so I released my grip on her, grabbing her wrists instead.
“I’m going to give you two options.” I lightly bit down on her earlobe, and she gasped, so I did it again. “Option one: you walk out of here with me and get in my car like the good girl you pretend to be.”
“Wh-what’s option two?” she whispered, her heart pounding against my chest.
Trailing my nose up her throat, I breathed in her scent, a combination of sweetness and spice that was so fucking addictive. “You know what it is,” I rasped against her skin, feeling her shiver beneath my touch. “What’s it going to be?”
She was silent for a long time, but I could be patient.
When her words came, breathed out on a sigh, they were worth the wait.
“Option two.”
7
HAILEY
I knew that the second I said those words, I’d sealed my fate. Elijah wasted no time, either, his teeth clamping down on my throat, sucking a bruise onto my skin, then licked over the bruise. He hadn’t kissed me yet, and I craved the taste of his lush, sinful mouth against mine, even though I knew it was wrong. Even though I knew I shouldn’t want this.
His grip on my wrists loosened, and I took my chance, twisting out of his hold and making a run for the front of the house. If I could just get outside, then I could escape.
I was almost at the door when he yanked me back against him. “Hailey, Hailey, Hailey.” His voice was a soft caress. “Did you really think you could run from me?”
Silky material slid against my hands, and it took me a minute to realise that he was binding them behind my back. I struggled against him, kicking out and catching his shin.
“I fucking love your fight, baby.” His hand came up to grip my throat, the other around my waist, my wrists securely bound.
Swallowing hard against his grip, I forced the words out. “Where are we going?”
He reached out to open the front door, moving me with the press of his body and his tight hold on me. “Back to the abandoned house. The boys want to play a few Halloween pranks on the Four, and I said I’d help, but…” Pushing me up against the side of his car, he lowered his head to my ear. “I wanted my girl with me.”
What? “E—”
Cutting off my words with his hand over my mouth, he kissed the shell of my ear. “Don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe from the monsters in the dark.”
Didn’t he realise he was the monster in the dark?
When we arrived at the abandoned house, Elijah drove around the side of the crumbling building, parking out of sight of the main entrance.
“What’s really going on?” I looked over at him, unable to move, my arms still bound behind my back.
“I told you. The Four won’t be able to resist coming here, and we’re going to play a few pranks on them.”
“You won’t hurt anyone will you?”
“What kind of monster do you take me for?” He slid closer to me, unclipping my seatbelt and lowering his head to my throat. His hot mouth closed over my skin, and I couldn’t have stopped my shiver if I’d tried. My questions were all but forgotten as he palmed my thigh, placing open-mouthed kisses to my neck and then onto my jaw. When he eventually took my lip between his teeth, a whimper fell from my throat.
“I wish you’d stop lying to yourself,” he murmured against my lips. “We’re so good together.”
“We’re not, Eli. There’s nothing right about this,” I whispered, my eyes falling shut. “The way you are…it’s not normal. I don’t want this. I want normal.”
His body stiffened against me, and he abruptly let me go. Then he was out of the car, and opening my door from the outside. He pulled me out, then came to my back, loosening the ties around my wrists, although I remained bound. “There. You can go.”
I spun around, staring at him. “What? Just like that? How am I supposed to get home?”
Our eyes met, and all I could see was darkness. His lip curled. “Not my problem, Hailey.” Moving around me, he disappeared in the direction of the house, leaving me alone.
I knew he expected me to follow him. I could read him so well by this point. But I wasn’t going to follow him, just because he expected it. Instead, I glanced around me, thankful for the bright moonlight that illuminated the grounds. There was a small overgrown path leading into the trees, and just before the tree line there was the remains of a crumbling stone wall. I ducked down behind it and prepared to wait. I couldn’t go anywhere at the moment, and I didn’t even have my phone on me, so my best option at the moment was to stay somewhere away from the house, and watch what happened without being detected. I needed to get my arms free as well—I was sure the material was now loose enough that I could manage to get out of it.
But for now, I watched, and waited, hidden in the shadows behind the wall.
What could have only been a few minutes later, Tim showed up, along with a few of his friends. Another car followed behind his, bumping up the track and coming to a stop behind Tim’s car. The new arrivals disappeared inside the house too, and I caught glimpses of torchlight and the glow of flames from inside. Smoke curled from one of the crumbling chimneys, so I deduced that someone had lit a fire inside one of the fireplaces.
For the first time, I felt real fear. A premonition. Climbing to my feet, I took a step back in the direction of the house.
There was a roar of engines, and a motorbike came rumbling up the track, followed by a black SUV. Ducking back down behind the wall, I watched as a group of guys climbed out, all in black hoodies, their eyes shadowed and skull bandanas covering their mouths.
The Four had arrived.
“Seems suspiciously quiet.” The driver of the SUV, who I knew was Cassius Drummond, although I couldn’t see his face, spoke up.
“We knew it would be a setup, but we’re prepared.” That was Caiden Cavendish, their unofficial leader. “These fuckers will regret ever messing with us.”
“Keep to the shadows. We’ll go inside, you two start the fire.” Zayde Lowry, the guy who had been on the motorbike spoke softly, but held everyone’s attention effortlessly. The two guys he’d been addressing both nodded, and then Zayde, Caiden, and Cassius melted into the shadows.
I watched, frozen in place, as the two guys that were left headed over to the side of the house and crouched down on the ground. They moved with purpose, and I realised with utter certainty that whatever Tim and his friends had been planning, these guys were more than prepared to face it.
Every part of me was on red alert, and the only thing I could think of was that Elijah might be in danger. Why I even cared when I knew that he could handle himself, and he was the worst monster of them all…I wasn’t prepared to face that. All I knew was, I needed to find him.
My mind made up, I headed in the direction of the house. I scanned the empty windows, hoping for a glimpse of him. I almost missed the flash of blonde hair in one of the windows. My stomach dropped. Fallon? What was she doing here? Now I had even more reason to get inside, to warn the others that the Four had come prepared.
As I slipped through the front door, I heard the whoosh of flames behind me, and glanced back to see that the guys had lit a fire in a semicircle, ensuring that whoever came out of the doors of the house would only have one direction in which to go. My heart pounded harder, but I reassured myself that the fire looked controlled, and all the area surrounding it was completely clear.
Turning back around, I headed inside. The open doorway illuminated a long hallway with cracked black and white tiles. A tarnished chandelier hung at a crazy angle overhead, swaying slightly, and a gilt mirror with huge spiderweb cracks spreading all over it hung on the wall to my left. There was a set of stairs leading to the upper floors, with missing spindles along the bannister. Everything else was blackness, too far for the moonlight to penetrate.
I held my breath, listening. The silence was absolute.
My palms were clammy, and my heart was beating so hard that I could feel it in my throat. I couldn’t get enough air into my lungs.
Closing my eyes, I took one long, deep, breath. Then I opened my eyes, took a step forward, and was swallowed up by the darkness.
8
HAILEY
I couldn’t see. Pressing my shoulder to the wall, I used it to guide me forwards, wishing more than anything I had my phone with me.
There was a soft click behind me, and as I spun around, the front door swung shut.
‘Wh-who’s there?” I whispered into the darkness.
The answering voice was low and seductive. “I knew you’d come back to me.” Arms came around my waist, holding me in place, and teeth scraped down my throat, followed by soft, biting kisses.
“Wait, no. Elijah—I need—”
The urgency in my voice made him pause in his movements. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s the Four. They’re here and they have something planned. Eli, please. There’s a fire, and, I have a really bad feeling, and Fallon.” By this point I was pressed against his chest, shaking with adrenaline and the certainty that something was very, very wrong. “We need to get away from here. All of us.”
“What about Fallon?” His grip on me tightened.
“She’s here.”
“Fuck,” he muttered, taking a step away from me. “Don’t move. In fact…” He spun me around again, pushing me down the hallway in front of him. I couldn’t see a thing, and I had to trust him to guide me. How he could even see where he was going, I had no idea.
Stopping suddenly, he manoeuvred me into a small space that felt like an alcove. “Stay here until I get back. Do not move.” His tone was low and threatening, but I thought I could detect an undercurrent of concern in it. At least it meant that he was concerned enough about Fallon being here to actually listen to me and take action.
He disappeared, and I was left alone.
My frayed nerves stretched, every single noise seeming magnified in the blackness. The light of a torch suddenly swung across the hallway, and I held my breath, shrinking back into the alcove as much as possible. Muttered voices sounded as footsteps passed my hiding place, and by the time they’d gone, I was so on edge, that I was gasping for breath. Being here, alone in the dark… All I wanted to do was leave, to get away from this place, from Elijah, but I couldn’t, not until I knew Fallon was okay.
The air seemed to thicken around me, becoming hotter, making it harder to breathe.
More noises came from overhead—footsteps pounding on the floor, accompanied by shouts. Lowering myself to the floor, I attempted to start working my wrists free. When it was time to make a run for it, I’d need all the advantages I could get.
Before I could completely free myself, a hand closed around my arm, pulling me to my feet, and I cried out.
“Shhh.” Elijah pressed into me.
“F-Fallon,” I whispered.
“Tim’s taking care of it.”
That was all I needed to hear. Putting all my strength into my movement, I ripped my body away from him, aiming in what I hoped was the direction of the door.
I didn’t get very far.
In fact, I didn’t get anywhere.
Elijah's breath hit my ear as he held me immobile, his solid body hot against my back.
"You’re not gonna try escaping, are you, baby?"
A tear rolled down my cheek, and I bit down on my lip to stop a cry from escaping. I refused to let my tormentor think he'd won.
"Hailey..." His fingers curled tightly around my throat, cutting off my air momentarily, before he released me. I gasped for breath, then stifled another cry as his teeth clamped down on my earlobe. "You—"
The words died in his throat as there was a loud thump, a crunching sound, and then a chilling scream.
More screams joined the first, piercing the darkness, echoing in my ears, joined by shouts and cries. The pressure of Elijah's body against mine was suddenly gone as he ran for the door.
Stumbling after him, my arms bound behind my back, I made my way towards the now-open door, guided by the orange glow that penetrated the darkness surrounding me.
I faltered in the doorway, poised on the threshold as I took desperate gulps of air into my burning lungs.
Then, I lowered my foot and stepped into hell.
Flames raged, and thick smoke billowed into the night sky, choking the light of the stars. The cries and shouts grew louder as I drew closer to the group of people crowded around something on the floor, silhouetted against the fire.
My mouth dropped open, and bile rose in my throat as my mind tried to make sense of what I was seeing.
Fallon, kneeling on the floor, screaming over and over, her eyes wild and unseeing. Some of the guys I'd gone to school with crowded around her with expressions of horror or fear on their faces.
And in front of them all...a body, crumpled on the dirty ground, neck bent at an unnatural angle.
Then the sirens sounded.
“Oh, fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” Finally getting my hands free, I ran. Throwing myself down next to Fallon, I threw my arms around her shaking form. My gaze scanned the crowd, catching Elijah’s stricken face as he stared at the body on the ground.
My heart caught in my throat. The boy that I’d never seen cry, who’d never once shown any sign of weakness, had tears in his eyes. Unable to tear my eyes from him even as my hands stroked up and down Fallon’s back, I watched him drop to the floor, and take the limp, lifeless hand in his. The tears brimming in his eyes spilled over, and fell to the ground.
Next to me, Fallon’s screams turned to deep, racking sobs, full of so much pain that my own tears spilled over, tracking down my cheeks and blurring my vision. I held onto her as tightly as I could, murmuring pointless words, and she clung to me like a life raft.
“Fallon?” My head lifted at the voice, just as Fallon’s shot up. Zayde Lowry crouched down next to her, reaching out a hand to her arm, something flashing in his eyes that looked a lot like concern.
“Get away from me!” Her scream was hoarse, as she flinched back from him like she’d been struck. “Get away, get away, get away!” She spun away, throwing herself at me, and I let her curl into me as much as she could, glaring at Zayde over her shoulder. The look on his face as she turned away…it was completely shattered. He sucked in a harsh breath, letting his features smooth out, turning blank and impossible to read. His icy eyes met mine, his lips setting in a flat line as he met my gaze. Right now, I didn’t care who he was. All I cared about was the fact that I’d never seen a person in such absolute agony before, and I needed to protect her in whatever way I could.
“You need to leave,” I said softly, stroking my hand over Fallon’s hair, trying my hardest to soothe her.
He stumbled back, and one of his friends, Caiden, came running over, taking his arm and dragging him away from us. A man appeared—Caiden’s dad, accompanied by a policeman, and then everything was a blur of sirens, and activity. Fire hoses directed at the house doused the fire that had broken out inside, while close to us, near the outside fire that still raged, paramedics attended to the broken body, Elijah still gripping onto his hand and refusing to let go.
Fallon was wild, shaking and screaming and hyperventilating so much as she took in what the paramedics were doing, that when they took her away, carrying her into one of the ambulances to sedate her, I was relieved.
Then, a policeman on the scene forcibly took a distraught Elijah away from the paramedics.
Both of them were gone by the time they covered Tim Hyde’s body with a sheet, and pronounced him as dead.
9
HAILEY
After being questioned by the police, I was free to go. As I stumbled down the driveway, I heard Mr. Cavendish talking to a man who I assumed was the police chief, something about “making it all go away.” I didn’t care. I just wanted to see Fallon, to let her know I was there for her. Then…I owed Elijah Ripley nothing, yet I knew he needed someone to be there for him. He’d just lost his best friend, the guy who he’d grown up with, the person who knew him best.
When I was almost at the iron gates that marked the entrance to the property, I realised that I didn’t have a way of getting home. I looked back towards the blackened, charred house, at the smoke still curling in the air, although the fire was extinguished now. There were still several cars around, so I was sure I could at least borrow someone’s phone to call for a taxi. Police tape covered the area around the house, but I could wait at the end of the driveway for a cab.
As I started walking back in the direction of the cars, a large, matte black SUV pulled up alongside me, the window rolling down. Cassius Drummond, one of the Four, eyed me from the driver’s seat. “Do you need a lift home?”
His face was compassionate, and in that moment, I trusted him. “Yes, please.”
He indicated his head towards the rear passenger door, and I climbed inside, next to another couple of guys that I recognised as former students of Alstone High. The rest of the Four must have been elsewhere.
The atmosphere in the car was heavy, the silence only broken by Cassius asking for directions to my house after he’d dropped one of the other guys off.
