Page 73 of Broken Empire
Three monthslater
I thoughtit was over years ago, but I was wrong.
Dead wrong.
They were after me again.
I stumbled over a mushroom-covered log, chest heaving. All around me, tall trees rose from the earth, blotting out the cloudy sky and providing me with some much-needed cover. It wasn’t enough, though. I could hear footsteps pounding the ground somewhere behind me, crunching over the decomposing leaves and old twigs.
Panting, I regained my footing and dodged around a spiny shrub before slipping behind a thick tree trunk and peering out to the east. A dark, blurry shape moved through the trees in the opposite direction, passing me without incident.
Thank god.I lost him. There were others looking for me, though. I had to push forward; had to get out of these woods before it was too late.
I headed northwest on an old hiking trail, creeping around the edges of a large patch of dead foliage so no one would hear my footsteps on the dry leaves and pine needles. Up ahead, a clearing was coming into view.
A loud crack pierced the air, and I gritted my teeth and clamped a hand over my mouth to stop myself from screaming. It was just a tree branch falling somewhere behind me.
A log cabin was visible now, on the opposite side of the clearing at the end of the trail. I breathed a heavy sigh of relief, letting my shoulders droop. There could be help inside. Someone with a phone. Better yet, someone with a gun.
I sucked down another deep breath and stepped into the clearing. Soft music was spilling from the log cabin, telling me it was definitely occupied.
I stepped toward the front door, which opened a second later. The sight of the man on the threshold made me stop dead in my tracks.
“You,” I said, voice barely above a murmur.
“That’s right,” the man replied, eyes narrowing. “Weren’t expecting to see me again, were you?”
“No.” I shook my head, eyes wide. “It… it can’t be you. You’redead.I saw you die!”
A cruel smile stretched his thin lips. “You actually thought you got away with it, didn’t you?” he said, taking a series of slow, measured steps toward me. “You really thought you won.”
I backed away, hands trembling at my sides. “Please,” I said, voice coming out in a pathetic squeak. I wasn’t even sure what I was begging for.
The man let out a bark of laughter and took another step forward, one hand brushing over the gun at his hip. “We were always going to come back for you, sweetheart. You can’t destroy us. No one can.” He smiled again and cocked his head. “Nice try, though.”
With that, he lifted the gun and aimed it at my face.
“And… cut!” The Cruel Summer director clapped his hands together. “Excellent work, everyone! That’s it for today. Pack it in!”
I relaxed my shoulders and exhaled deeply. Ryan—my fellow actor—grinned at me and gave me a thumbs up. “Nice job,” he mouthed before heading out of the clearing.
I trailed after him to meet up with the rest of the film crew, who were gathering around the director. When we were all present, he cleared his throat and spoke up. “Thanks for your hard work this week, everyone. It’s the Tribeca Film Festival this weekend, so you’re all getting two days off. Weather permitting, we’ll be back at it on Monday.” He briskly clapped his hands together again. “Enjoy your time off!”
I accepted a bottle of water from a production assistant and headed away from the outdoor set, toward the trailers. A familiar face awaited me by the trailer at the end.
“How was it?” Killian asked, eyes twinkling as he stared down at me.
“Great,” I said with a bright smile. “We’re done for the day.”
“That’s it?” He cocked his head and raised a brow. “You’re not going to tell me what the big twist is?”
I laughed and playfully swatted his arm. “If I tell you, it’ll spoil the movie for you.”
“Fine. I’ll suffer in suspense.” He grinned and wrapped his arms around my waist. “I already know the killer has to be Ryan or Todd, anyway.”
“No comment.” I smothered a yawn. “God, I’m so glad to be done for the week.”
Killian drew back, smile fading slightly. “Are you okay?” he asked, voice softening.
