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Noise causes my head to jerk up.

I freeze, staring at what’s ahead.

What the hell?

A Halloween street festival is in full force along the road.

People are everywhere, decked out in a variety of costumes.

The air smells of cider and pumpkins. Faint music, shrieks, and screams come from a house down the road.

Shit. I must be woozier than I thought. I missed the damn turn that would’ve led me straight to my truck.

I blow out a breath and consider my options.

I could turn around and try to find the trail in the dark that leads to my truck.

Or I could risk walking along the road, hoping no one spots me, trying to find my vehicle that way.

Then I hear it. The crunch of footsteps over some leaves behind me.

My hand instinctively moves toward the knife at my side, and I whirl around just as a woman’s voice chirps behind me.

“Wow.”

She’s wearing a black costume—a tight black bodysuit with cat ears—and she’s staring at me with wide-eyed delight.

“That,” she says, gesturing to the blood soaking my shirt, “is the most realistic costume I’ve seen all night.”

I blink. “…Costume?”

I look down at what I’m wearing. Black suit. White shirt soaked with blood.

She grins. “Serial killer? Zombie accountant? Oh—wait.”

She circles me, apparently admiring my costume.

Then she stops in front of me, a gleeful smile on her lips.

“I’ve got it. Hitman,” she announces proudly.

I stare at her for a beat.

What the hell should I do?

I don’t want to kill her and leave her in the woods. Though I probably should since she’s seen my face.

Instead, I decide to play along. “Hitman.”

She bursts out laughing. “Oh my God, that’s perfect!”

“Perfect?” My brows fly up.

She bounces up and down excitedly on her heeled boots. I don’t know how the hell she walks in those things, let alone jumps around in them.

“The haunted attraction is already starting.”

Her hand curls around my arm. Small. Warm. Completely trusting.