Page 17

“What?” Sunshine asks.

“You!” I point my finger at him, then over to the other two. “Stay.”

Midnight again raises a brow and crosses his arms like I amuse him. “We’re not dogs, Bunny.”

“I’ve watched enough movies to know being alone in the woods with killers is not a good idea. So, you three, stay there and I’m just gonna...” I don’t finish my sentence, spinning around on my heel and high-tailing it the fuck out of there.

My legs and arms pump as I run for my life. Quite possibly in the literal sense.

“Probably should rethink going into abandoned warehouses alone next time then!” one of them shouts at me, his laughter growing more and more distant.

“Fucking asshole,” I rasp out, my lungs screaming at me to stop.

Despite the pain, I keep running. I don’t stop until I’m forced to.

Sucking in lungfuls of air, I look around. My brow drips with sweat, my legs aching as I try to figure out where the hell I am.

Groaning, I reach into my pocket to grab my phone, pausing when I feel nothing.

“No,” I breathe out, eyes widening in horror. I pat my ass pockets as if it’s just going to magically appear. “No, no, no,” I groan, looking around for my phone.

There’s no point. I could have lost it at any point since I started running.

“Great. Another thing to add to the list of things I can’t afford to replace.” And I just got that damn thing too.

Needing a moment to rest and catch my breath, I make sure to stay on alert, checking to see if they followed me.

Not wanting to stay in one place too long, I find the first thing that resembles a path and follow it, sending up a Hail Mary that I’m not going to get lost and die in the woods.

Being murdered by three sexy killers, bears, wolves, or cougars is not on my list of fun things to do.

By the grace of the gods, I manage to make it home just before nightfall.

I’m a sweaty mess as I stumble up my back steps, bones aching, and muscles screaming. I’m just fucking done with the day.

“Screw you!” I shout at the darkened treeline. “This is what I get for trying to take a moment to myself and escape reality. Not again!”

Throwing the front door open, I curse, realizing I never locked it.

Not like there's much in here to steal.

Luna greets me with a loud meow, rubbing against my ankle as I make sure to lock the door behind me.

“Hey, sweet girl,” I sigh, bending down to pick her up. My normally cuddly cat immediately starts to fight my hold, forcing me to drop her. She stares up at me like I offended her.

“What the hell, Luna?” I ask. “What’s wrong with you?”

That's when I get a good whiff of myself. “Ewwww,” I groan. “Okay, fair reaction. Let me feed you quickly, and I’ll go shower.”

Once all the dirt and sweat is cleaned from my body, I walk to my room barefoot with my towel still wrapped around me.

Not caring that my hair is wet, I flop onto the bed, ignoring my growling stomach and surrender to sleep.

I’ll most likely wake up in a few hours for food, but after the day I had—hell, after the whole damn week I’ve had—my body, mind, and soul are done.

Of course, my sleep doesn’t come soundly. I dream of that midnight hair, those sky-blue eyes, and the sunshine strands, my dream self letting them do all the dirty fucked up things they want to while I enjoy every messed-up moment.

What were they doing in the woods? Do they live nearby? Have we crossed paths before and I’ve never known?