“I have a dark fairy costume from a few years ago. What about you?” I ask, pulling out my costume and undoing the wrapping.
“I’m going to wear a witch costume. Cliché, I know, but it’s the only thing I could find while I was trying to organize all this.”
I laugh softly. “Well, fair enough. I’m sure you’ll look great. What about you, Kaity?”
Kaity lifts a big white sheet with two big eyeholes cut out and drops it over her head. We all burst out laughing.
“Let me guess,” Marlie giggles. “Couldn’t be a ghost, could it?”
Kaity laughs from under the sheet, pulling it back off her head. “No one said I was original. I couldn’t be bothered going and finding something, so I found an old sheet and decided what the hell, that would do.”
I strip down to my bra and underwear, Marlie doing the same, and I catch a glimpse of her knees. I’ve seen them before, of course, but it never ceases to amaze me how strong she is. The scarring and odd way they move tells of a terrible story, a story everyone in the world knows about, yet the girl standing before me shows nothing but strength and determination. She’s not weak. Not even a little. I admire her for that. She’s half the reason I didn’t let myself sink after what happened with Terry. If Marlie can survive something like that, and continue living, then I sure as hell can deal with a frustrating ex.
“Oh my,” Kaity says when I pull the black and purple dress over my head. “That’s . . . sexy.”
I look down, realizing it must have shrunk in the last year, or I must have grown, because it’s a lot shorter than I remember. The purple satin just covers my backside. Oh my God. I tug at it, trying to get it down further, but it isn’t going to move. “It was longer than this last time, I swear.”
“Well,” Marlie says, raising her brows, “Oliver is going to be a happy man tonight.”
“I should change? Right?” I say frantically, tugging the dress.
“Absolutely not!” Marlie cries. “You’re going to wear that dress with pride and knock the socks off that man.”
I tug again, but to no avail. The dress is not moving.
I have nothing else to change into, so I have no choice but to wear it. Sighing, I pull on the long black tights, thanking God they’ll stop my panties from flashing, at the very least. I put on a pair of slim boots, pull on my black, tattered wings, and then let my hair down to flow around my shoulders and down my back. Then I get to work applying dark makeup. When I’m done, I spin around.
Kaity is wearing her sheet, which makes me grin. And Marlie is all decked out in a super cool witch costume. Both their eyes fall on me and widen. “Holy crap. I knew you were pretty, woman, but I didn’t know you could do hot, too. Oliver is going to lose his mind when he lays eyes on you,” Marlie says.
I look down and then back up again. “Is it too much?”
“Hell to the no,” Kaity says, coming over and grabbing my arm. “Let’s go before you change your mind.”
They pull me out into the main area, where the lights are now low and all the lighting Oliver and I set up is on for everyone to see. The smoke machine lets off soft smoke, light enough that you can still see and not choke to death. The music is Halloween themed, and Marlie hired a few people to carry around trays of food and drink to the people just starting to pile in.
“Here we go,” Marlie says. “Enjoy your night, everyone. Find me if there are any problems.”
We all branch off in our own directions. I move toward the kitchen to help bring out some more food. I’ve just put down a platter of hot dogs when I spin around and slam into a hard chest. I look up at the hottest version of Frankenstein I’ve ever seen. Tattered clothes, scars painted on his face and neck, Oliver looks breathtaking, and scary, and way too hot for his own good. His eyes drag down my body, and his mouth tightens. “You look . . . fuck . . . hot.”
My cheeks warm and I fidget. “Thank you,” I say, tipping my head back to look up at him. “You look pretty good, too. Should I call you Frank tonight?”
He smiles that half smile and says, “Call me whatever you want, sweetheart.”
God.
My poor poor heart.
Chapter 6
“Do you want to dance with me?”
I stare up at Oliver, holding a cup of punch, feeling a little tipsy from the alcohol in it. Thank goodness this is an Over 21 Only party. A way to get everyone out and socialize in a safe environment. Most of our events are family friendly, but we decided this one was going to be for the adults. Thank God, because my nerves are on high alert right now. Just having Oliver so close has me feeling every single change my body has to offer. We’ve been talking for two hours, and it’s been the best conversation I’ve had in my life. He’s told me about his family, and his life growing up, and I told him about mine.
We’re bonding.
It’s nice.
“Dance?” I squeak, looking up into his eyes. They’re almost lazy, hooded, relaxed from alcohol. Sexy as hell.
“Yeah, like the other people out there are doing right now.”
I glance out to the dance floor we created in the middle of the room. They’ve put a semi-slow song on, and a few people are there, swaying in each other’s arms, looking at one another. Kenai and Marlie are in there, her arms wrapped around his neck, his big ones resting on her hips. They look adorable. Perfect even.
“Ah, sure,” I say, because I know deep down if I say no, I’ll regret it immediately. And even though every shy instinct is screaming that I should say no, because I’m terrified I’ll do something awful like step on his foot, I fight it back.
He takes my empty punch cup and throws it in the bin, then takes my hand and pulls me out onto the dance floor. The second we’re there, he hooks a hand around my waist and pulls me closer, pressing our bodies together. I swallow, nerves fluttering around in my belly. It feels great, incredible even, yet my knees are trembling so bad I’m worried to even take a step.
Oliver slowly starts moving to the music, as if he can sense my nerves. After a few shaky breaths, I relax and start moving with him, letting our bodies sway and pull to the music. I glance over at Marlie, and she’s smiling at me, a warm, happy smile. Kenai winks at me, and I give them a small smile back. Being this close to Oliver, it makes me feel incredible. He smells so good. He feels even better.
I could spend hours just like this.
“We all did a pretty great job on this place, didn’t we?” he murmurs, his breath tickling my ear.
“Yeah,” I whisper. “We really did.”
“It’s good to see some of these people having fun and smiling again. It can’t be easy enduring what they do and never having any moments to just stop, breathe, and have fun.”
“I agree,” I say.
We keep swaying to the music, listening to the laughter all around, listening to the chatter and the happy conversations. A few more people get the courage to dance, and soon the dance floor is packed with couples, maybe even strangers, embracing each other. I notice a few familiar faces and inwardly smile at how good it must feel for them. Oliver is right about that.
A tap on my shoulder has me spinning around to see Marlie and Kenai standing beside us. “We’re going to do a few games now.”
“Sounds good,” I say, reluctantly stepping away from Oliver and moving back toward the tables.
Marlie turns the music off and grabs a microphone, getting everyone’s attention.
“Good evening, everyone,” she begins. “Welcome, and thank you for coming to our very first Halloween party. Sanctuary, as you know, is a place where people can come to feel safe, to escape the troubles in their lives, to have a loyal shoulder to lean on, so it’s our pleasure to be able to bring a night of fun to you. In case you haven’t already found it, there is a table to your left with food and drink. Help yourself. We’ll be doing a competition for the best costume later on in the evening, but right now, we have a few games up our sleeves. Prizes are here to be won, so don’t hold
back.”
Everyone claps and smiles.
“The first game we’ve got is Halloween bingo. If you’d like to join in, go over to the table to the left and grab a card, then take a seat. The prize for this one is pretty great, so you don’t want to miss it.”
A big group of people go over to the tables and sit down, and then Marlie and Kaity begin the game. I excuse myself and go into the office to freshen up. I don’t really do so well with big crowds for an extended period, simply because I find it hard interacting with so many people at once. Even when I was younger, I never really loved parties all the time. So a few minutes’ peace and quiet always helps. I sit down on the sofa after grabbing my purse, and just check my makeup and phone. There are a few missed texts from Erin, asking me if Oliver and I have gotten it on yet.
I giggle.
“Mind if I join?”
I look up to see Oliver standing at the door, eyes fixed on me. I smile. “Sure.”
He comes in and sits down beside me. “Big crowds get to you too, huh?”
I nod. “Yeah, I don’t do well with a lot of noise constantly. I think it’s got something to do with how quiet I am.”
“Yeah, I know how you feel. I’m not much of a people person all the time, either.”
“It’s wonderful out there,” I say as I tuck my phone back into my purse. “It’s turned out to be a great night.”
“Yeah, it has.”
Before we can say anything else, the lights go out, plunging us into darkness, similarly to last night. Frowning, I reach for my phone and turn the flashlight on. I wave it toward Oliver. “Power outage again?”
He frowns. “Yeah, seems odd. I better go out and give them a hand. People don’t like being suddenly thrown into darkness, especially on Halloween.”
I nod and stand, pulling the office door closed behind me as we go out into the main area. It’s dark, aside from phone lights flashing around. I wave my phone around, scanning past faces, listening for Marlie or Kenai’s voices. I finally find Kenai standing in the middle of the room, telling people to stay calm, that they’ll go and check the box and get the power back on right away.
“Another power outage?” Oliver asks.
“Yeah,” Kenai mutters. “Seems odd. I’ll go check the box. Help Marlie keep everyone here.”
“Okay.”
I stand next to Marlie and Kaity.
“What a night for a power outage,” Kaity mumbles. “That bingo was just getting intense.”
“Yeah,” Marlie huffs. “Perfect timing.”
I laugh softly. “I’m sure Kenai will get it on and you’ll be able to get right back to it.”
“Hope so,” Marlie agrees.
Kenai returns a moment later, flashing the light at all of us. “We’re . . . locked in.”
I blink, and for a moment I think I’ve heard him wrong.
“What do you mean we’re locked in?” Marlie asks.
“The system I put in, the one that locks down in case of a severe emergency, such as someone trying to get in or out, has been activated.”
“But,” Marlie says, scratching her head, “that can only be activated by a key in the office.”
“Might have tripped somehow,” Kenai says, his eyes scanning the room. All the phone lights are creating just enough light for everyone to be able to see enough not to completely freak out.
“Well, let’s go into the office and check it,” Marlie says. “Kaity, you stay here and keep everyone calm. Oliver and Jade, you come with us.”
The four of us walk toward the office, where Oliver and I just were. When we reach it, Marlie digs around for her keys. I dig for mine too, but realize I left them in the office when we rushed out. Still, I didn’t lock the door. I reach for the handle, but it’s locked. Kenai tries, too. Nothing.
“Marlie, you got your keys?”
Marlie keeps shuffling around her pockets. “I swear . . . I swear I had one. I put it in here earlier before I got changed so I wouldn’t forget to grab it, but . . . it’s gone.”
“Oliver and I were just in the office,” I say. “It was open when I came in, and I’m certain we didn’t lock it when we came out.”
“It shouldn’t have been open,” Marlie says, frowning. “My key is gone. Do you think I dropped it and someone picked it up?”
“It’s possible,” Kenai says. “Mine is in my truck, which I can’t get to while the place is on lockdown.”
“What’s the other option here?” Marlie asks, her voice a little frantic. “There are a lot of people out there that will get frightened if we don’t get these lights on soon.”
“Do you . . .” I dare to say. “Do you think someone is doing this on purpose?”
“You’re thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’,” Kenai says.
“But who?” Marlie says, her voice shaky.
“Got a group full of abused victims out there,” Oliver mutters, stepping closer to me. “Could be any one of their partners, or family, or whoever was causing them problems.”
“God,” Marlie whispers. “This isn’t good. Can we call the police?”
“Yeah,” Kenai says. “When I secured this system, it was a legal requirement that law enforcement had a way in. I’ll call the station, they’ll have the key for it.”
“Okay,” Marlie says, seemingly relieved. “Okay, let’s do that.”
A scream comes from the main room, loud and piercing. We all run, full throttle, toward the main room. Kaity is still standing in the middle, and when we get to her, she’s looking around, eyes frantic. Another scream sounds out, terrified, almost like the screamer is being attacked. “Who is that?” Kenai calls.
“It came from behind me,” a voice says.
“I heard it, too,” another voice says.
“What’s happening?” someone cries.
Another scream.
“Is someone getting hurt?” a terrified woman yells.
Then people start chattering frantically, talking louder and louder, shuffling around. This could end very badly if we don’t calm things down quickly.
“Everyone please calm down. We’ve just had a power outage,” Kenai yells in his loudest voice. “It’ll be on soon but I need you all to try and keep calm for me.”
“But someone screamed!” A man shouts. “What the hell was that?”
“I’ll look into it,” Kenai assures them. He turns to Oliver and I. “Go and see if you can find out who was screaming. See if you can see anything suspicious at all. I don’t have a good feeling about this. Do not separate from each other. Stay together at all times. We clear?”
“Yes,” I say, stepping closer to Oliver. “We’ll sort it out.”
We disappear into the crowd, calming people as we move through. We go in the direction of the screaming, but there seems to be no one in great distress. Everyone has quieted their chattering and is mostly calm. So where did the screaming come from? Something crashes up on the balcony, and then one by one all the decorations we put on the stairs come sailing down and into the crowd.
“Fuck,” Oliver says, pulling me aside just as a flying witch lands on the ground beside me.
“What the hell is going on?” I ask, feeling concerned now. Whatever is happening isn’t just a power outage.
“What’s going on?” someone cries.
“It’s a ghost!” another person screams.
Kenai’s voice rings out again. “Everyone, I’d like you all to move into the theater room. It’s big enough, has sofas, and is secure. If you can move single file in there now, until we can sort out whatever is happening, that’d be great.”
People move quickly, shoving at each other, to move into the room that Kaity guides them in to. There are about forty people here, so it’ll be a tight squeeze, but it’s a massive room so they should be safe and seated comfortably enough. When the main room is cleared, Oliver and I make our way back to Kenai and Marlie. “What the hell is goin’ on?” Oliver asks.
“Not sure,” Kenai mutters
. “Some fucker is in here, I’m sure of it. Someone set off that lock so we couldn’t get out. Doesn’t rest well with me. We’re trapped in here, and someone is up there.”
My chest clenches and I step closer to Oliver. Someone is in here? God, they could be planning anything. They could have planted anything. Panic grips my chest and I struggle to breathe. I don’t like this, not at all. I have to keep calm, though. Marlie and Kenai need us all to work together right now, not flip out.
“Did you call the police?” I ask.
“Yeah, they’re responding to a massive call-out at a party. They’re going to be at least half an hour away. They asked if it was an emergency. I said no. Startin’ to think I could be wrong.”
“Who would do this?” Marlie whispers, her voice shaky.
Kenai turns to her. “You’re safe, baby. You hear me? Go into that front room, help Kaity. I’ll go and check everything out.”
“I’ll come with you,” Oliver says.
“Jade, come with me,” Marlie says, reaching over and taking my arm.
I’m hesitant to leave the two biggest, strongest men, but I go with her. Kaity has everyone talking calmly, telling ghost stories.
“Hi, everyone,” Marlie says, her voice calm. “It’s just an outage, we’ll be back online soon. Unfortunately, the front door has locked down, for safety reasons, so the police will be over soon to unlock it and you can all go home. I’ll be giving you all a full refund.”
People tell her not to worry, thank her, ask questions, and we finally sit down. My knees are shaking a little, but I slowly calm down a bit when I focus on people’s ghost stories.
Music flares to life out in the main area, blasting a song over the speakers. What the hell? The power is out, how is that possible? Marlie flashes her light to me, and whispers, “What the hell is happening?”
“Does that mean the power is back on?” someone asks.
“Why are the lights still out?” another demands.
Marlie and I stand, moving out into the main living area and to the speaker playing the music. Marlie switches it off and I glance down at the cord and realize it’s attached to an extension cord. I lift it and follow it, and it leads all the way to the locked back door. Someone is controlling it from outside. This is definitely a setup. I turn around and realize Marlie is no longer with me. I’ve gone farther than I thought.