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“Wow,” I said dryly, setting a hand on each of their backs. “I really hate to break up this stimulating conversation, but, uh, this is where I leave you.”
Fortunately, they seemed fine with that. Alec even hugged me and thanked me for cleaning up his vomit. Keene told me he loved me again, and then they both trudged into their respective rooms.
I shook my head and had to smile as they closed their doors behind them.
Then I bounded up the stairs to check on Hudson. He was passed out on his bed, fully clothed, and curled around one of his pillows. I stepped into the darkened room to pull off his shoes for him before covering him with a blanket.
And from there, I finally retired to my own room. Inside, I slumped onto my bed and pulled up my phone to text Foster and tell him I had my wards safely tucked away.
He wrote back, calling me a lucky bastard because he had no idea how to get the passed-out waitress home.
I chuckled and took my turn to wish him luck.
Still smiling, I started to exit the messaging app, only to pause and bring up Oaklynn’s name instead.
I wanted to leave some kind of message for her to read when she woke up, something a little funny, a little sweet, and a lot erotic to reassure her that I hadn’t done anything with any other girl. She was the only one for me.
I ran my thumb affectionately over her name, trying to think up the perfect line, when the text bubble on her side of the conversation appeared with three little dots in it, telling me she was awake too and also thinking about me.
My heart rate accelerated, eager to read what she had to say. But then, I checked the time and hesitated, thinking she should be dead asleep right now.
It was after three.
The witching hour.
A rash of cold dread rushed up the back of my spine just before her message finally appeared.
SOS. COME NOW.
30
OAKLYNN
Iwas dead asleep when it happened.
I’d stayed later at work than expected, getting everything just right at the studio, so that I’d basically collapsed in bed as soon as I’d gotten home.
Which meant I was deep into my REMs when a door banged shut down the hall, jerking me from my comatose state. Next, really loud rushing footsteps followed before the door banged again.
I groaned and rolled onto my side, silently cursing Thalia in my head.Jus’ go back to sleep, I would’ve begged aloud if my brain had been awake enough to actually form speech.
Then, through the wall, I heard muffled begging. “No…no. Please… Stop! I saidno!”
My eyes flew open wide.
What the…?
“Get your damn hands off me. What do you think you’re—”
The question was interrupted by a blood-curdling scream that felt as if it were right in the room with me.
I flew upright, suddenly wide awake.
“Thalia!” I gasped, whipping off my sheets and scrambling off the super-high mattress.
Blood thundered through my head as my heart rate roared into overdrive, rushing so fast that it momentarily blinded me. But I hurried through the daze in the direction of the door, anyway, and found the knob in the dark by feel. Ripping it open, I shot into the hall and dashed to her room.
She was still screaming as if something was killing her.
