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Heather holds out her hand.

I take it. For now.

She leads me into the hallway.

My brain clears a little the second I step out of the bedroom. Stairs to the left. More rooms down the hall. Doors closed. Bathroom. Window at the far end, also shuttered.

Heather turns toward the stairs.

Downstairs, I get my first look at the rest of the house. Living room straight ahead. Kitchen to the right. Front door beyond both. Three deadbolts.

Jesus Christ.

There are no keys in them.

Heather gives my hand a little tug. “Come on.”

I follow her past the living room.

Heather stops in front of a closed door near the back of the house.

She looks back at me. “I think you’ll like this.”

She opens the door.

I look inside. “What the fuck?”

Stuffed animals cover two shelves and spill out of a net in one corner. Coloring books are stacked beside a huge beanbag. Hula hoops are leaning behind the door. Actual fucking hula hoops.

And taking up most of the wall across from me is the biggest dollhouse I’ve ever seen.

Heather squeezes my hand. “This is my playroom.”

I look at all the toys arranged neatly around the room. “You kidnapped me to play with you?”

Heather looks up at me like I’ve finally understood something obvious.

“Dolls are meant to be played with.”

Oh.

CHAPTER 6

Heather

Jamie stands just inside the playroom, looking from the shelves to the beanbag to the dollhouse.

I wait.

The first time matters. If I tell him where to sit too quickly, he’ll spend the whole time thinking about the door behind him. If I let him look, he’ll see there’s nothing here to be afraid of.

His hand is still in mine. That’s promising.

“What do you want to play?”

Jamie finally looks at me. “I don’t want to fucking play. This is insane.”

“Aside from looking pretty and not being a pain in my ass, playing is your only function now. I suggest you get used to it. What do you want to play?”