Page 92 of Lights Out

Going to them had clearly been a mistake. Josh and I should have taken our chances, hacked Brad apart ourselves, and dealtwith the aftermath in therapy later. Or at least I should have. After Josh’s initial reaction to Brad’s body, jumping straight to dismemberment probably would have been a step too far for him.

The light turned green.

“Just focus,” I told myself, easing my foot off the brake.

Greg gave me a list of instructions I still had to follow, including scouring myself in the shower and scraping underneath my finger and toenails. I’d changed at my house, handing my dirty clothes and shoes over to a guy named Guido, minus the bra and underwear because, ew, no. I wasn’t about to give my unmentionables to some gross old mobster.

The phones Josh and I had been texting on were burners. He’d had a spare for me “just in case,” and yes, I had side-eyed him for that statement. We’d left our real ones at my house, so if our phone records were ever looked into, it would show we’d been there throughout the night. I had them with me now, along with Josh’s laptop and two bags filled with mine and Fred’s things.

Another yowl echoed through the car, louder and longer than before.

“Cross your legs or something,” I told Fred. “We’re almost there.”

A second later, I realized it wasn’t him but a siren.

The leather covering the steering wheel creaked as I death-gripped it. A check in my rearview revealed a cop car screaming up the street behind me, lights flashing. My heart slammed into my ribs as I slowly eased the car toward the side of the road along with everyone else.

Please don’t be after me,I prayed.

The cop slowed alongside the car, and I started to panic before I realized we were right before the intersection, and they were probably checking to see if anyone was coming from the otherdirection. I turned my face away as they eased past and then picked up speed again on the other side of the intersection.

“Holy shit,” I wheezed, dropping my forehead onto the steering wheel. Nope. I wasn’t cut out for a life of crime. Blood and gore, I could handle. Constantly worrying about being arrested? Hard pass.

Someone behind me honked, and I jerked upright. Now wasn’t the time to have a breakdown.

I waved to the person and started driving again, careful to keep beneath the speed limit. Yes, the car was clean, and no, there wasn’t any reason for the cops to be after me so soon, but telling myself that didn’t magically erase my paranoia. I had a feeling it’d be weeks, if not months, before I could fully relax again. What would happen to Brad’s body? Could Lucius be trusted? He’d seen my face. He could ID me to the cops if questioned.

Goddammit, I just had to go and piss him off with that Azkaban joke. Maybe I could send him flowers or a new wrench set by way of apology and weasel my way back into his good graces.

Five minutes later, I pulled into Josh and Tyler’s parking lot and rolled into the guest spot next to Tyler’s SUV. Fred was non-stop meowing, so I eased the strap to his carry bag over my shoulder and grabbed his litter box before heading up. I had their entry code but paused to buzz in instead, giving Tyler a heads-up that I was there. It’d be super awkward to walk in on him when he wasn’t expecting it, even though Josh said he was cool.

“Hey, Aly,” his voice crackled through the speaker before he buzzed me up.

He met me at their door a few minutes later, holding it open. “Well, hello.”

His dark blond hair was still wet like he’d just gotten out of the shower, and it looked good slicked back from his face like that. He was shorter than Josh, maybe six feet, and just as muscular, though he appeared more so somehow, without any tattoos to mask his physique. There was no mistaking how handsome he was, but he didn't hold a candle to his roommate in either looks or personality, and I felt nothing for him as I strode past.

“Sorry,” I called over my shoulder, heading toward Josh’s room. “Cat bathroom emergency.”

I saw nothing as I rushed inside the bedroom, too focused on getting the litter box set down and Fred out of his carrier. He bolted straight into the box once free, and I swear I heard an audible kitty sigh before he started peeing. Poor little guy.

I lifted my head and – oh, damn. I was here. On the set of all my favorite videos. There was the couch along the far wall. To my right was a massive bed, complete with hook holes for bondage play. Straight ahead was the wide bank of windows that Josh had stared out of while pretending to be sad.

I was instantly, painfully aroused. My lizard brain expected me to turn around and find the Faceless Man waiting just behind me, chest heaving and covered in blood, and, god, I hoped Josh got home soon. I’d never been so ready for kinky, athletic sex in my life.

Of course, that’s when Tyler knocked on the still-open door. “You want coffee or anything?”

I grimaced, glad my back was to him so he wouldn’t see my expression and misunderstand. “Coffee sounds great, thank you,” I said, my voice two octaves higher than usual.

So awkwaaard.

I waited until I heard him walk away before turning around. Fred was pretty well-behaved, but I didn’t know how Tyler would feel about him having free rein in the apartment, soI closed the door to Josh’s room behind me to keep him sequestered.

“I’m just going to grab the rest of my stuff!” I called as I paced through the entryway.

“You have the code?” Tyler asked.

“Yup.”

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