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I clutch my phone against my chest as another series of blows hits the door, sending me to my knees beside the bed.

Thwack. Thwack. Thwack.

“Come on! What’s taking so long?” Jordan complains after a while.

“You want to do it?” Sydney snaps.

“You shouldn’t be doing it either. Give it to Delaney. She’s stronger anyway.”

“Delaney,” Peyton orders. “Go.”

“Fine,” Delaney grumbles. “But I’m getting really fucking tired of being the dude in this group.”

They all laugh as if this really were nothing more than a game to them.

“Wait!” Misty shouts from somewhere downstairs. “Shit.”

Everything goes quiet.

Then come whispers and the sound of retreating footsteps. Lots of them.

Another voice booms through the house.

“Whoever the fuck is in here, you have three seconds to get the fuck out!” Milo shouts. “And trust me, you don’t want me to find you.”

Tears of relief immediately stream down my cheeks.

“Milo.”

I scramble to my feet and unlock my bedroom door.

“The fuck?” he breathes when I pull it open.

His eyes aren’t on me, though. They’re fixed on the whole The Shining situation going on with my bedroom door, his gaze taking in the deep gouges and splintered wood where the Reds tried to hack their way inside.

“Who did this to you?” he asks, but that’s when I notice the baseball bat gripped tightly in his hand.

I don’t explain. I don’t say anything. I just throw myself into his arms, the bat hitting the floor as he catches me. And it’s only when he pulls me against his chest that I finally break, all the fear and anguish of the past week pouring out of me in uncontrollable sobs.

“It’s okay.” He holds me tighter. “I’ve got you. No one’s going to hurt you.”

I wish that were true.

Still, I bite down on the words and bury my face against him, allowing myself to take comfort in his embrace.

For the first time in six days, I feel safe.

“Max.” He pulls back just enough to cup my face between his palms. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?” He quickly scans me from head to toe, searching for injuries.

Good thing he can’t look inside my head. That’s where the real damage is.

“No.” I shake my head. “I’m okay.”

Milo doesn’t look convinced. Especially when his attention shifts past me to the damaged door again.

“What the hell happened here?” His expression darkens. “Who did this?”

When I don’t answer, he lets out an exhale.