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“What do you mean?” She was breathless and buzzed with ecstasy. The shirt I picked out for her had a deep neckline. I brushed the shirt open and out of the way as I pulled her into my mouth. “Oh! Jaiden, we’re in the kitchen. There are people.” She pulled me closer despite her statement. I released her and fixed her shirt.
“If they see past me, I have more questions than arguments.” I laughed. My hands framed her face, and I pushed her cheeks together with my thumbs. “I love you.” Her smile was wide, and her nose started turning red. “I love it when you blush.”
She made a line across my collar with her finger and traced a random pattern down.
“I love touching you,” she admitted.
“Don’t stop doing it,” I begged. The kitchen warmed as more people showed up, and I was suffocating. “Come with me, go put on my flannel from the front.” I pulled her off the counter, and she darted for the closet.
I took a cup from the cabinet and got water from the fridge. Mari stood across the room by the food, and I started toward her. A hand on my wrist stopped me and almost made me drop my drink.
“Hey, man,” Brent said when I looked down at him. “Nice party, it’s been a great run this month.”
“Thanks, but I’m not in charge of them. If you want, Callum could use the ego stroke.” I tried to dismiss him with that, but he wouldn’t let me leave.
“Yeah, yeah. Well, listen, we should get together after this. You, me, Bex?” He was smiling, but his eyes were dull. Whatever he was drinking had him out of it.
“I don’t know what Bex’s wants are for the night, but you can ask her later. She’ll probably want to be with Mari. They’ve been apart for a while now.” I was getting agitated the longer he kept me here.
A hand slid down my back and I glanced to see Bex snuggling and pushing herself under my arm. I chuckled and kissed the top of her head. Brent’s face cracked, and his smile was no longer genuine.
“We’ll get back to you though. I’m taking her on a walk. We’ll be back soon.” I fist-bumped his shoulder and made our way to Mariana.
The girls fawned over each other. There were discussions about brunch, making plans for birthday celebrations, and something about a double date that had my eyebrow arched.
“I love you, go have fun,” Mari muttered as she hugged Bex. She returned the embrace and kissed her cheek before slipping her hand into mine. I threw Mari a wink and walked through the back foyer, taking the deck’s stairs down to the grassy lawn.
It was quiet out here. No one was in the hot tub, and it was too cold to have idle conversations. The sky was clear, and the moon was bright. It was perfect.
I took a sip of the ice water, and it cooled all the way down. I passed it off to Bex.
“Water, and I made it myself. It never left my hand,” I promised as she brought it to her lips. She sighed as she handed it back.
“I needed that.” She laughed. The intensity of the party started to settle in my temples.
“Over break, I want to take you—” I started when Bex tripped over something in the grass and stumbled. I caught her arm, but when she looked up, she panicked.
“Jai, something’s wrong,” she slurred. Her body started to go slack, and I caught her in my arms.
“Bex, what is it? What do you feel?” I asked, but my question was answered as my head spun and started to get fuzzy.Fuck.“It’s okay, I promise.” I lowered her to the ground. Tears wet her face as she looked around and tried to focus on something. She fought it. “I’m not leaving you, baby,” I whispered as I stroked her cheek. Her face blurred, and I couldn’t keep her in focus. “I’m here. I love you. I’m here,” I choked out.
“Jai,” she muttered as her eyes closed and her head fell out of my hold and into the grass.
“I’ll fix it,” I promised as tears fell and dropped onto her cheeks. I pulled out my phone and hit the emergency contact for Bishop. When it started ringing, I put it in my pocket and looked around. A figure emerged from under the house. There wasn’t a distinguishable face, just a Ghostface mask that was stained red.
I covered Bex with my body, holding her to me. “Nothing’s going to happen to you, I promise. I love you,” I whispered as I kissed her forehead. Tears slid from my nose and puddled at her temple. I threaded my fingers through her hair as the drug overtook my consciousness.
I’ll die before he touches her.
November 1, 2020
Detective Bishop
I walked back into my office after the team briefing. They wanted to be prepared for tonight. There was pressure to update the public, but it was a tiring effort because there were no updates to give. It was Halloween, and Sigma’s last party. If there were a ritual strictly surrounding October, we’d be lost if he went dark until later. There would be another murder tonight. I could feel it.
It made my stomach turn.
I looked at the clock to see that I’d lost nearly two hours in that meeting. Overnight cases brought moments of clarity as you sat in darkened rooms with ambient silence. My phone lit up on the stack of folders on my desk. I walked over and looked at the screen.
