Page 265 of Trick or Stalk

I close it again, lock it, then push hard until I hear the telltale click.

This time, when I pull on the knob, it stays closed.

Even so, I look around for something—anything—to make sure no one can get inside.

I settle on a dining room chair.

It’s not enough to keep him out, but it’s something.

I move to the counter, put my head in my hands, and close my eyes.

But all I can see is an image of Hades’s face morphing into the Masked Man.

Same hands.

Same eyes.

Same fucking man.

I open my eyes, lift my head, and stare blankly out the window into the dark woods surrounding the house.

“How could you do that to me?”

No one answers.

That's somehow worse.

A hysterical laugh escapes me, ugly and broken. I swipe beneath my eyes.

I'm not crying over him.

Absolutely not.

I’m furious.

And furious people don’t cry.

They plot murder.

Maybe Callie can come back with her SUV.

My phone is still buried in the tiny purse I carried tonight.

I yank it out. No messages.

Good.

Hades listened.

I should be relieved.

Instead, something sharp digs beneath my ribs.

“Oh, fuck off.”

Penny trots into the kitchen and tilts her head.

“Not you.”