Chapter One
Teagan shifted uncomfortably on the tree stump that had been his seat for the past thirty minutes. His damn tailbone throbbed, and tiny bugs kept thinking his shoes and pants were their detour destinations. He’d lost count of how many he’d swatted away. If they didn’t figure something out soon, he might become their new ant farm.
As he brushed away three more bugs he couldn’t identify and didn’t want to, Hayden continued his relentless orbit around their sedan, muttering curses with each lap. Crickets chirped in the darkness, making Teagan’s skin crawl. He’d always despised anything with more than four legs. Or eight eyes. Sharp teeth. A long, wiry tail.
Squinting into the darkened woods not ten feet away, Teagan prayed this remote mountain town wasn’t known for wolves or bears. The only defenses he had against wild beasts was their broken-down sedan and his boyfriend.
Not in a sacrifice-by-running-faster but a shield Teagan could duck behind while shaking in his space boots.
Moonlight flickered between passing clouds, casting strange shadows across the deserted road. His mind conjured images from every horror film he’d ever watched—isolated woods, stranded couple, mysterious town.
Breathe. And stop psyching yourself out before you have a complete meltdown.
Teagan had had enough of those to last two lifetimes. The biggest reason for his meltdown, the reason for their abrupt move.
Their shift started in an hour. Fat chance they’d make it now. Crimson Hollow was supposed to be their fresh start, their chance to maybe heal. Just thinking about it made his stomach clench. Friendly smiles and kind gestures had led to Teagan’s world falling apart.
The memory of that night still haunted him. Hard knuckles to the face, the beep of the heart monitor, recounting to the detective, and the subsequent trial. Teagan had sat in that chilly courtroom, feeling judging eyes on him whenever someone looked his way.
A fresh start was exactly what they needed.
Hayden’s friend Trevor was the one who’d helped them get their jobs and had even found them a rental two towns over from where they used to live. It had been only three days since they’d arrived, and now this.
They wouldn’t even be in this predicament if it hadn't been for those two asshole who’d befriended Hayden. In Teagan’s opinion, prison was getting off easy. Edwin and Ramos hadn’t just physically broken him, but shattered his trust in humanity.
A friendly smile and willingness to lend a hand were no longer harmless gestures but a reminder that evil dwelled behind the mask.
Rotating his shoulder, which still bothered him a year later, Teagan felt himself spiraling to a place he didn’t want to be, so he forced those memories back into the abyss where they belonged.
Watching Hayden kick at the dirt beside their broken-down car, Teagan wondered how in the flip they were going to get to town.
“Come up with an idea yet?” he asked, biting his bottom lip as Hayden glared at the hood of the car, as if willing the engine to suddenly turn over.
Shoulders finally slumping in defeat, Hayden threw his hands up. “We’ve got no choice but to walk to work. If we start now, we should cover the three miles in no time.”
A high-pitched, hysterical bark of laughter escaped Teagan. “Did you just say three miles? In the dark, with no way to defend ourselves if a wolf or bear decides to eat us? Sure. Why not? And what about when we get off of work?” Teagan stood, gesturing wildly at the trees on both sides of them. “This is exactly how every horror movie begins. Alone in the dark at night, on a desolate road, starring two unsuspecting idiots.”
Hayden sighed, his breath visible in the cool night air. “I agree, but we can’t blow off our first shift just because our car died on us and some lunatic with a chainsaw, knife, or bad lines might chop us up and sell our parts.” Hayden opened the driver’s door and hit the automatic buttons that would lock it up tight before shutting it.
“Did you just secure our nonworking car from potential thieves?” Teagan stared incredulously at him. “Who the hell’s gonna take it, a wayward groundhog with a rebellious streak?”
“Do you want to get back here to find our car on blocks and the rims gone?”
Teagan blinked at the half-bald tires and banged-up rims. “How could I have ever doubted you?”
“Let’s just get moving, dork.” Hayden glanced behind them then started walking. “Just try not to think of how this could go horribly wrong.”
“Those crickets sure do sound ominous.” Teagan smacked his sweaty neck at the feel of a pesky mosquito. “Like the background music to the start of act one.”
“I will make you sleep on the couch for an entire week if you don’t stop,” Hayden warned, eyes sliding to the woods on his right.
Teagan fell silent, wondering if they’d make it to Frothy Pine by closing time.
Headlights swept over them from behind, creating a halo of light that had Teagan looking for a set of glowing eyes or flash of something trying to stay out of sight.
Just normal woods with normal animals. No one is hidden behind a tree tracking your every step.
The loud, throaty sound of an approaching truck drowned out the cacophony of crickets. For a second, the instinct to run and hide seized Teagan. Maybe the nonexistent guy tracking him would share his tree to hide behind.
