Total pages in book: 238
Estimated words: 231781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1159(@200wpm)___ 927(@250wpm)___ 773(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 231781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1159(@200wpm)___ 927(@250wpm)___ 773(@300wpm)
Will gazed between them, a smile slowly forming at his cousin diving into the fray with us. “And my wolfpack, it grew,” he said, choking on fake tears, “it grew by two.”
“Shut up,” Ryen told him.
Misha snorted, all three of them grinning ear to ear at The Hangover reference.
Misha and Ryen stepped away, and I didn’t know much about them, but I knew Misha wasn’t a Horseman and he wasn’t the typical Thunder Bay rich boy. Will was family, though, and he was here for family.
Will grabbed one more mask out of the bag, a yellow one with blood around the mouth and eyes.
“They could be distracting us,” Micah told him. “Drawing us out there, so they can destroy the town while we’re running around in circles.”
“They have nothing to gain,” Will told him. “Their beef is with us. They want to confront us. They’re not going to make it hard for us to find them.”
Then he held the mask out to me.
“Real monsters don’t wear masks,” I teased.
He shrugged. “Real monsters might not care about being identified, either. No mask, no fun for you.”
Aw, my man. Layin’ down the law. God, it turned me on.
I reached in and pulled out a black one to match his white one instead, both with a thick red stripe down the left side.
“I like this one,” I said.
He smiled and pulled his out, closing the back hatch and locking the car.
“Martin could be there,” he told me as all of us walked into Coldfield so we could sneak into the Cove undetected.
“Or he could not,” I pointed out.
But he shook his head, leading the way through the crowd. “Somehow I don’t think we’re lucky enough that all of this isn’t connected, Emory.”
Connected…
I slowed, thinking about Martin, Evans Crist, Aydin...
Who put Will in Blackchurch? We still didn’t know. Who had something to gain?
Aydin and Taylor had been in town two days. Why wait so long to make their presence known? What were they doing?
Like Micah and Rory, Aydin, Taylor, and their families would be useful allies to someone.
Evans knew Will had escaped, and now…
My chest caved. Evans put Will in Blackchurch.
Evans was connected to Martin.
It had been two days.
Two days.
I tipped my eyes up, looking around us, my face drifting from mask to mask to mask inside the haunted park.
Plenty of time to plan…
Shit.
“Wait,” I called out, and then turned my head and raised my voice as everyone continued to drift ahead. “Wait!”
Everyone spun around and stared at me, and I rushed for them as Will rushed back to me.
“They’ve been here for two days,” I said, everyone crowding around us. “Two days. What have they been doing? Taking in the sights?”
“They’ve been getting ready,” Michael guessed.
“No,” I told him, glancing around again for danger. “They’re not alone.”
Everyone gaped at me.
“They didn’t come here without help,” I clarified in a louder voice.
Blackchurch’s caretakers would’ve sent them home or to another facility. They escaped and got here fast with someone’s help.
A still figure caught my eye, and I did a double take, seeing him standing in the crowd and staring right at me as people bustled around him in a blur.
My whole body turned hot.
He wore a mask—a devil painted black—and I watched him as he watched me, my heart echoing in my ears.
Coldfield continued to rage like a party around us, people running, screaming, and laughing as “Highly Suspicious” played over the sound system.
“Their parents?” Rory threw the idea out there, and Micah shaking his head, not knowing.
But I answered for him. “No.”
“What are you saying?” Alex asked, stepping in.
I looked to Will. “It’s all connected. Evans Crist solicited Martin’s help to cripple your parents by sending you all to prison, but he didn’t anticipate that you’d get organized on your own when you got out. In time, you became a threat he needed to deal with, too.”
“My father may have done shit,” Michael chimed in, “for which he will pay, but he’s been quiet for years.”
“But mobile,” I retorted. “What if he sent Will to Blackchurch to cripple you like he did to your parents all those years ago?” I looked around at all the guys. “You haven’t moved forward with the resort in Will’s absence, after all. It worked.”
I shot my gaze to the right, seeing the figure again.
Or someone who looked exactly like him. He was also dressed in the same black jacket and black devil mask with the hood pulled up.
I darted my gaze back to the other one, noticing he still stood in the exact same spot. They were both staring at me.
“What if he knew the moment Will was broken out?” I asked Michael. “What if he enlisted the remaining prisoners and their families and had them brought here? What if Aydin and Taylor have been sleeping right down the road this whole time at your parents’ house?”