Page 21 of A Smile Full of Lies (Secrets of Stonewood #1)

Chapter

Fifteen

ROS

My skin crawled as I stood near the entrance of the haunted house, the cool October air biting at my skin beneath the thin cotton of my favorite final girl hoodie. My fingers curled around the haunted house ticket, the damp paper sticking slightly to my palm.

I’d looked up the VIP ticket price the second I escaped to Knox’s guest room Wednesday morning, and I still felt guilty about accepting the ticket, considering they were going for a thousand fucking dollars a pop.

But he’d insisted, and I didn’t want to insult him by not going or trying to take out a loan to pay him back after he told me not to, not when he was doing something so nice and thoughtful for my birthday.

Still, the obscene price of it gave me guilt hives.

My gaze lifted toward the massive stone facade of the mansion. Lights flickered behind the tall arched windows. The heavy oak doors were flanked by wrought iron lanterns that cast long, twisting shadows over the stone.

I shouldn’t be here.

My gaze dropped to the ticket. The sharp foiled lettering cut across the thick black paper like a warning.

The Hollowing: An Immersive Haunted Experience at Stonewood Manor.

My gut twisted and somersaulted despite knowing Knox had approved this. He’d signed off on letting people trample through the house where his family was murdered.

My throat tightened.

Why the fuck would he do something like this? Why would he let a glorified, fancy-ass carnival profit off his pain? Why allow anyone or anything into the house where his family was murdered, much less a Haunted House experience?

I shook my head. It bordered on macabre and didn’t make a fucking bit of sense to me.

Anger burned under my skin, white-hot and seething, at the thought of anyone profiting off Knox’s pain. I’d turned Nina’s deal down cold for a fucking reason.

Why would Knox allow this?

“Do you think he’ll be here tonight?”

I stiffened. The line was moving too slowly, the hum of distant chatter mixing with the crisp October air. My gaze flicked toward the group of girls clustered just behind me.

“God, I hope so.” The blonde one giggled. “I bought tickets for both weekends that they’ve done this. I don’t care what it costs; I’m not leaving until he chases me.”

My brow furrowed.

Hold the fuck up. Somebody’s going to potentially be chasing people here? What?

The other girl’s warm brown eyes gleamed, her black curls bobbing as she bounced up and down on the balls of her feet.

“Did you see his last video?”

The blonde squealed.

“Of course I did. I’ve watched it like fifty times.”

My pulse quickened.

“Who?” I asked, louder than I’d meant to.

The blonde girl’s gaze sharpened as she turned toward me. Her eyes glittered with dark excitement.

“Nox Obscura,” she said breathlessly. “You’ve never heard of him?”

I bit my lip and shrugged.

“I’ve seen a few of his videos, but I didn’t realize he was going to be here when my friend bought the ticket for me as a birthday gift.”

The other girl gasped, her mouth falling open. She didn’t bother to hide her shock, or the hint of superiority in her tone when she spoke.

“Holy shit. Do you even use social media? The second Nox Obscura posted about attending this haunted house event, I bought tickets.”

“I—” My mouth tightened. “I guess I don’t use it the same way y’all do, apparently…”

The blonde girl grinned, her blue eyes sparkling with barely contained excitement.

“You’re in for a real treat.”

The blonde pulled up a video on her phone, holding it out so the three of us could see the screen.

Darkness. Then Nox Obscura’s familiar masked figure moved through the shadows — broad shoulders, long strides, precise control. I hadn’t seen this video yet. His black-gloved hand brushed the edge of a doorway as he stepped into the room.

He stalked toward the camera lens, his movements slow and deliberate, the purple neon face on his mask giving off a mocking, eerie glow as he reached out and gave a slow, predatory stroke of his fingers along the lens’s edge, which trembled slightly, like it was being held by someone whose hands were shaking.

Shit, if that big, masked motherfucker stalked toward me like that in a dark room, reached out that lethally muscled arm, and stroked my cheek like he just stroked the camera lens, I’d be a trembling mess, too.

His hand shot out — dark leather gripping the camera’s edge like he’d grip his prey’s chin, given the chance.

“You’re running,” a deep, distorted voice purred.

The camera jolted. A sharp turn, like maybe whoever was behind the camera was searching for an escape route. The sound of breathing sawed through the speakers, fast and ragged. The camera’s movement sharpened, as though the person behind it was backing away, trying to hide.

The sharp sound of boots against concrete filled the audio. A gloved hand reached forward — slammed against the camera. The lens tilted. The masked face filled the screen — purple neon lights forming a sharp grin and X’s over his eyes.

“You can’t outrun me,” he growled.

The video cut out.

My stomach tightened. A sharp pulse of heat shot low and deep beneath my ribs and my thighs clenched involuntarily.

I was breathing too fast.

“Holy shit,” I whispered.

The blonde grinned.

“Oh, honey. That’s nothing.”

My fingers curled around the edge of my hoodie. My skin suddenly felt too hot beneath the thin cotton.

“That’s…” My voice cracked. I swallowed hard. “That’s intense.”

The blonde girl smirked.

“That’s just a warm-up for him, sweetie.”

My mouth felt dry.

“He does this… live?”

The blonde’s eyes sparkled.

“That’s the thing. He’s never done an in-person event before.”

My pulse kicked hard beneath my ribs.

“Wait… never?”

“Nope. This is the first time ever. ” The blonde’s grin widened. “That’s why the tickets sold out within the first half hour of the event being posted. Some of these girls flew in from out of state just for the chance that he might chase them.”

I glanced toward the line of girls ahead of us. Short skirts. Knee-high boots. Makeup dark and dramatic.

They weren’t here for the haunted house. They were here for him.

A sharp pulse of heat unfurled beneath my ribs. My mouth dried out.

“What makes him so special?” I asked.

The blonde’s gaze darkened.

“If you have to ask, you’ll never really get it.”

The sheer condescension in her tone made me want to slap the living shit out of her.

“I can’t believe you didn’t know he was going to be here,” the girl with the black curly hair said. “He’s huge. People are flying in from all over just for a chance to see him.”

I ground my teeth, trying to rein in the annoyance she stirred in me.

“And this guy is really… coming to this Haunted House? In Stonewood, Alabama, of all places?”

“That’s the rumor,” the blonde said. “But honestly, even if he doesn’t?

The haunted house is supposed to be incredible.

The rich guy who owns this property really went all out and did the creepy, spooky, freaky, and true crime communities a solid by allowing the organizers to set up at Stonewood Manor this year. ”

My head snapped toward her, my eyes narrowing.

“Yeah?”

The girl nodded enthusiastically.

“Yeah, this guy named Philip Knox owns the property, and his whole family was murdered here four years ago. It’s awesome of him to let the haunted house organizers do this here this year.

The girls who aren’t here for Nox Obscura are here for the true crime angle.

” She leaned in conspiratorially. “Apparently, Nox Obscura isn’t even charging the haunted house organizers for his appearance.

He’s doing it for free, in exchange for Philip Knox allowing him to film video content here while he’s in town for the event. ”

My chest tightened painfully. I already knew Knox had signed off on this, but knowing it and hearing it from this random stranger were two entirely different things.

“That’s… interesting,” I said coolly.

The blonde’s gaze sharpened.

“Oh?”

I smiled thinly.

“Yeah. I mean, Knox is my neighbor.”

The blonde’s eyes widened.

“What?”

My smile sharpened, and I shrugged like I wasn’t about to drop a truth bomb on their night and bring their air of superiority down a peg or two.

“We’ve had movie nights together every Wednesday night since we were eighteen.”

Their expressions shifted from mild condescension to wide-eyed envy.

The blonde’s mouth dropped open.

“Wait… you actually know Philip Knox?”

“I know him intimately, as a matter of fact.”

An inexplicable flicker of possessiveness pulsed in my chest, low and dark.

The dark-haired girl’s lips parted.

“Oh my god. I’ve seen pictures of that guy. He’s hot as fuck.”

The blonde’s mouth twisted.

“Not to mention the multi-million dollar fortune and successful cybersecurity company he inherited when his family was murdered. You’re one lucky bitch living next door to a guy like that.”

My smile sharpened.

“Yeah. I guess I am. And for the record? Only reporters and true crime groupies use his first name. His real friends call him Knox.”

The blonde crossed her arms, her expression souring, and she and her friend both turned their backs on me, making it pretty clear I was no longer welcome in their stupid little conversation.

The one with the dark, curly hair lowered her voice and leaned closer to the blonde.

“The guy looks like a cologne model.”

The blonde sighed, her expression going dreamy.

“I bet he smells like one, too.”

I grinned, butting back into their conversation just to be a menace.

“Actually, he smells like cedarwood, citrus, and leather.”

The blonde’s eyes narrowed like maybe she wanted to claw my eyes out.

Score one for the home team.

I smirked, trying hard not to look too smug and failing miserably as I turned my attention back to the mansion ahead of me.

A cold pulse of anger cut down my spine.

Knox had let this happen. He’d approved it. He wanted this.