Page 143 of Off the Rails

When the home got shut down, I really thought I’d never hear Rubin’s voice again. But I certainly never guessed he’d be on every screen in a twenty mile radius.

From the hallway, Blade hollered at Nash in the living room. “Please turn that fucking clip off. I’m sick of his shit.” I could hear her dragging her fingertips along the drywall outside my bedroom.

We all needed Fright Night.

As I pulled my hair back into a tight ponytail, smoothing out the top of my scalp, I tried to center myself.

Brimming with energy, none of us knew where to place our frustration.

Even digging into The Messenger’s compound had just led to more dead ends. There were no records of contractors or construction companies being paid for the work.

Staring at myself in the mirror, I tried to understand how I’d gotten here. If I hadn’t stumbled into Feverpoint, would I even know what Rubin was up to? Or would I still be too worried about finding a place to sleep and making my minimum card payments?

I almost missed it — how easy it was to detach back then. But I knew it had rotted my brain. The not caring just kept me away from what I really needed.

Something new. A fucking wake up call.

Out my window, the sun was beginning to lower in the sky. Fright Night would start soon. We all needed the release. And I needed to win.

Breaking out of my routine had been good, the Freaks that haunted Feverpoint had brought me back to life.

But I wasn’t so sure that I was ready to jump into their darkness.

Not when I was still battling my own.

My certainty waned every day. Right when I thought I knew that I should leave, my three roommates would pull me right back in.

I’d gotten so comfortable here, taking walks with Blade and Butch every day, helping Nash in the kitchen. Even Cyrus’s pissy attitude had become a part of my day. She was cold, aloof, and difficult. But she was better than any of the men I’d met outside of Feverpoint’s fence.

And if I could rough it out, I had the opportunity to make more money than I could imagine.

If I can survive Cyrus’s wrath.

Winning gave me options. And I wanted options.

Once I had the cash in my accounts, I could make my choice.

Nash’s heavy bootsteps walked down the hall toward her room. Pausing at my door, she leaned against the frame and took a look at me. “You look ravishing, Sweet Lamb.”

“Is that right?” I lifted my brow, meeting her gaze through my makeup vanity mirror.

Nodding, she growled. “When I catch you tonight, I won’t be sharing you with Blade.”

“Oh, really?” Licking my lips, I turned around in my chair.

Her jaw was tight, desperate for her night with me. “Mhm. And I promise it will be… electrifying.”

With a wink, she disappeared from the door.

A flush of heat traveled from my cheeks down to my center. I didn’t want to need them like this. But god, if I was going to lose out on forty grand, I was glad that I got fucked by them.

In the silence, I tried to go over my strategy in my head. My mistake in the past was waiting too long to run. But as fast my captors were, I could outrun them. I’d done it once before.

I just had to run before they got too close.

With any luck, the recent news would keep them all distracted. Sure, it had also made them antsy for a hunt. But anxiety might make them sloppy.

I can exploit that.