Page 55 of Off the Rails

“You got it.”

Biting the inside of my cheek, I tried to make sense of it. It felt impossible that two normal, kind people did what my Freaks did. By day, they were helpful citizens. And by night, they were murderous, masked killers who wanted to have me any way they pleased.

As we approached the checkout, Nash slowed at an end cap and grabbed a few candles from the birthday section. Tossing a number two and a number five into the heap of groceries in our cart, Nash pushed forward — her forearms straining as she shoved the heavy cart on.

My brow furrowed, looking between the two of them. “Whose birthday is it?”

Blade zipped past, snapping her fingers. “Cyrus. On Friday.”

“Friday?”

Fuck. Fright Night.

Cyrus will want a special present. Her night alone with me.

And I needed to make sure that didn’t happen.

32

TESS

I’ve gotta get out of here.

I’d been thinking it for weeks, but it was different now. It wasn’t just Cyrus’ stoniness, Nash’s perversion, or Blade’s ferality driving me out. I’d taken too many days off. And if I called out for another shift, Nico was going to kill me.

She might be the only person who scares me more than these psychos.

The Freaks had offered up a pretty penny for my participation in Fright Night, but I only got paid if I won. And so far, I hadn’t had much luck in that department.

I wasn’t giving up on a future victory. But I also knew that only an idiot would give up on a steady paycheck in this economy. And frankly, I fucking missed the pole.

I was good at my job — like, really fucking good. A decent night at the club made me more than a whole week flipping burgers would have. And nothing would work up a sweat like dancing in nine-inch heels under the stage lights.

Of course, the job had its downsides — assholes who thought it was a free show, the odd creep who took things too far. But the bouncers usually stopped things from escalating too far. Fights were bad for business.

Ultimately, every job had drawbacks. And these were ones I could live with.

Plus, I’ve got about five less creeps to worry about thanks to the Freaks.

I should have been more perturbed by the idea, but honestly, the world was better off without a bunch of creepy, would-be rapists stalking around town.

More stressful was the idea of telling the Freaks where I worked. It wasn’t a topic I tended to bring up with strangers. I wasn’t ashamed of my work, but there was no predicting other people’s reactions to the news. Especially when they didn’t know me well.

But the Freaks weren’t exactly strangers at this point. It seemed like we’d be shacked up together for at least the next few weeks. And even if we weren’t, I simply couldn’t afford to call out again.

Besides, if they already knew my name, it wouldn’t be that hard for them to figure out where I worked with a bit of digging.

Still, as the hours ticked down to the start of my shift, I couldn’t get the words past my lips. The pay structure of Fright Night had been one matter, but the terms of my stay here were pretty hazy. How the fuck did my shifts fit into things?

It wasn’t like I was confined to the park — the trip to the supermarket had shown me that much — but I highly doubted that Cyrus would be game for the idea of me heading out on my own.

But there was only one way to find out. And as Cyrus excused herself to go check on something at her own shady job, I saw my opening.

Time to rip off the Band-Aid.

Once Cyrus disappeared with her own car keys, Nash called out to Blade before grabbing her own. “I’m gonna run into town and grab one last thing for Friday. You keep an eye on Tess?”

“Actually,” I stood up, taking a hesitant step toward the door. “Maybe I can catch a ride with you?”