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Nox’s woodsy scent wraps around me, wafting up from his large sweater that hides my figure, and the hood that conceals my long hair. It calms me, recentring my mind. I’m here to gather information, not make a scene. If I happen to stab someone, well then…I’m sure they had it coming.

Moving in the opposite direction of the two men, I find a small table pushed off in the corner. It’s only big enough for two, and partially concealed by shadows, sitting directly under a camera.

Perfect.

I pull the hood further around my face, tilting my head down, and keeping my eyes on the floor as I approach the seat with the best vantage point.

“Be right with you,” a female voice calls out. I assume she’s talking to the men, but I raise my hand in quick acknowledgement nonetheless. Sitting quietly, I observe the bar. Any one of these degenerates look like they could’ve known Dennis. At a table by the door, a man passes a small baggie of white stuff under the table to a woman who looks like she’s in the grips of a drug-induced spiral already. At the bar, a man slides a wad of bills across the sticky bar-top to a woman who looks barely legal. She takes it with a sexy smirk upon her face, then follows him toward the bathroom. Her smile immediately dropping when he turns his back. What is this fucking place? It deserves to be burned to the ground. No wonder Dennis frequented this cesspool.

The red-haired waitress comes out from behind the bar, stopping at the table with the two men. She places their bottles of beer down while the pot-bellied one runshis hand up the back of her thigh. “Hands off, Dylan,” she says nicely, even though her eyes look like she wants to rip his face off.

His grip tightens, “Or what?”

She leans down, placing her tattooed elbow on top of his hand on the table. Resting her jaw in her palm, I watch her lean all her weight onto it as she flutters her thick lashes at the repulsive being in front of her. His face hardens, fighting back a wince, as she says, “I’ll get someone else to serve you, and I know how much youloveRegina.” A saccharine smile pulls across her face as she stands, clearly pleased with herself. The man, Dylan, scowls, rolling his eyes. I don’t think he likes Regina at all.

The gross one, who reminds me way too much of Officer Johnson, slaps her ass hard enough to knock her off balance. The loud clattering of the tray against the table draws everyone’s attention as her face flushes with rage and embarrassment. “Oh, come on, Jessie. Lighten up. You know we like to mess around.”

“Unfortunately,” she grumbles. They both belt out a laugh as she makes her way over to my table.

A flicker of recognition flits across her face as she stands table-side.Fuck.

“Hey, I know you.”Double fuck.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, we met at the Henderson Haunt. Remember?”

“Uhhh… I don’t think so.”

“You were welcoming people at the gate with that massive mountain of a boyfriend, right?”

Ugh, I’m screwed. Better to lean into it so I can dodamage control than lie and raise suspicions. “Yes…” I hesitate. “Who were you?”

“Oh fuck! DUH! I was in costume.” Given it was a Halloween party I’d be surprised to find out she wasn’t dressed up.

Be nice, Mallory.

“What were you? Help me jog my memory, I feel like a total ass for not remembering you,” I offer.

“A ghost,” she replies, and I almost choke on my own spit.

“That was you! With the Dundee wannabe?”

“Yes!” She plunks her ass down in the chair across from me. Alright, I guess we’re doing this then. “That was the wildest fucking party I’ve ever been to.

“Was it your first time?” I ask.

“Yeah. None of us had ever been before, but the guys know how obsessed I am with spooky shit, so they got the tickets and surprised me.”

She’s obsessed with creepy things, too? A spark of intrigue flits to life in my chest, maybe I can make a new friend, since the one I did have wants nothing to do with me now. Jessie’s small stature and badass personality remind me so much of Victoria that a pang of hurt shoots through me.

“Did you have fun?”

“Hell yeah,” she says. “And I know you did.” She wiggles her eyebrows comically, and I groan aloud. Pulling the hood around my face as embarrassment heats my cheeks.

“I’m never going to live that down.”

“Hey, I won’t yuck someone’s yum. Everyone in thecrowd was really into it. Whatever gets you off,” she shrugs. Jessie’s completely unfazed talking to the woman she witnessed getting eaten out like a week and a half ago, and that’s pretty fucking cool of her.