Page 124 of Shattered Souls
I don’t give two shits about that. Good fucking riddance, if you ask me. We’d planned to do the same with Lydia and David, so I couldn’t care less. David deserved the ending he got after his role in Bertram’s fucked up plan. “Well, Bertram definitely didn’t bring the girls here,” I say instead, focusing on what’s important. “Which means he’s got somewhere else he’d take them.”
“Maybe he took them to his house?” Royce suggests.
Grayson sighs. “Maybe. I dunno where else he’d take her.”
“So we go there next?” I ask, frustrated and feeling like we’re running around in circles chasing our tails at this point.
“Let me check in with Dax,” Royce says. He sounds just as defeated as I do.
He steps away to make the call, and I hesitate before striding to the apartment next door and rapping on the door.
“What are you doing?” Gray demands.
I shrug a shoulder because I don’t fucking know. I just need to dosomething.
“It’s unlikely the neighbors will know anything relevant,” he continues.
Yeah, probably, but it’s worth a chance, right? It’s better than doing fucking nothing.
No one answers, and I knock again. After another moment of being left unanswered, I figure they’re maybe out or away on holiday or some shit. It would explain why they haven’t smelled the horrific stench next door.
Moving further down the hallway, I try to remember which windows had lights on inside when we pulled up. This one has light seeping from beneath the door, so I’m guessing someone is in.
I knock my knuckles against the door. Despite clearly not agreeing with my plan, Gray follows. “Hello,” I call through the door. “I know you’re in there. I just want to ask you a few questions about your neighbor down the hall.”
Still, no one comes to the door. I knock again, sharper this time. My patience is long fucking gone. “I need to talk to you.”
It’s more of a demand this time, but I’m done with being fucking ignored.
In a moment of pure frustration, I fist the door handle. My eyebrows hitch when it turns, the door cracking open an inch. Who leaves their front door unlocked? I lift my gaze to Gray’s, finding him frowning down at the handle in confusion. It was one thing for Bertram’s apartment to be unlocked if he left in a rush, but a second unlocked door?
“Hello?” I call, pushing the door open another inch to peer inside. Just like Bertram’s apartment, what little I can see is sparsely furnished. Straining my ears, I’m met with a silence that doesn’t match the overhead light, which is turned on.
“Hello? My name is Logan,” I explain in a loud, clear voice. “I was hoping to speak to someone about your neighbor.”
Nothing.
I share anotherwhat the fucklook with Gray. “You shouldn’t leave your front door unlocked,” I try again. “You never know what type of crazy might just waltz inside and make himself at home.”
Me. I’m that sort of crazy.
Officially done pandering, I shove the door open and enter the apartment. “Be careful,” Gray whispers as he follows me inside.
I do a quick scan of the open-plan layout. No dishes are sitting beside the sink. No coffee cups on the end table. There isn’t even a television in the living room. What sort of neanderthal doesn’t own a TV? Stalking to the kitchen, I rip open the cupboards. Empty. Empty. Empty. No food. No cutlery. No plates.
What the fuck?!
“Gray,” I bark. “Try the apartment next door.”
He hesitates before leaving, and I move deeper into the apartment. The hairs rise on the back of my neck. Something isn’t right here. It’s possible this is just an empty unit and the realtor forgot to turn the light off earlier, but it feels like something more is happening here.
Every room I peer into is empty, and once I’ve checked the entire apartment, I move back to the door. Gray meets me there, his eyes wide. “Every apartment door is open, and they all look like empty units.”
Except, there were names beside every mailbox downstairs.
“No one lives in this building,” I deduce.
What. The. Actual. Fuck.
