Page 28 of A Smile Full of Lies (Secrets of Stonewood #1)

Chapter

Twenty

ROS

I bit back the urge to scream. The second Knox left for work, I was going to hunt Nox Obscura down and get some answers about what happened between us last night.

The Hollowing would only have one more day in town before they packed things up and disappeared forever.

If I was going to have any chance of cornering Nox Obscura, today would be my only chance to make it happen.

As if he could sense my desire to bolt, Knox hovered close, moving as if we had all the time in the world and nowhere else to be.

Finally, after savoring his coffee in comfortable silence, he brushed a kiss against my temple on his way out the door, as if he hadn't singlehandedly turned my life inside-out over the past seventy-two hours.

"Bye, Ros. Have a good day."

I blinked up at him, feeling a bit wide-eyed and owlish.

"You, too, Knox. See you later."

I sagged with relief. Fuck... I was starting to think he was never going to leave, and then what would I do? If he didn't go to work, he wouldn't let me out of his sight, and I'd never get my answers from Nox Obscura.

The moment I heard his truck pull away, I grabbed my keys.

I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. Hell, I didn’t even know what I hoped to find, but I couldn’t sit in his guest room, wrapped in one of his sweatshirts, aching from the way I came against the door of his childhood bedroom for some stranger in a mask and not try to get answers.

So I drove across town, back to Stonewood Manor.

The haunted house attraction wasn’t open for its final day of the weekend yet, but a couple of staff members milled around the gate, including a guy with a clipboard who looked like he might be in charge.

The organizer leaned against the roped-off ticketing table in the bright autumn sunlight, sunglasses pushed up over his too-perfect hair.

His whole vibe screamed college dropout who joined a pyramid scheme, but maybe that was unfair. Or maybe it wasn’t.

Either way, his smug little smile as I marched up to him was pissing me off.

“Who the fuck is Nox Obscura, and how do I get in touch with him?”

The haunted house organizer rolled his eyes at me, not willing to give me a single goddamn scrap of useful information.

“All we’ve got is the TikTok handle, lady. Nox Obscura handles his own arrangements. He’s… a very private guy, apparently.”

I glared at him.

“Private? Fuck private.” My voice was sharp. “This guy showed up last night, cut me off from everyone else, chased me through the private wing of the house, and pinned me to the fucking wall. You’re telling me you don’t have a name, a phone number, or any kind of contact information for him?”

The organizer shrugged, looking mildly amused.

“He handles his business through the app he posts all his videos on. That’s all I know.”

My jaw clenched. I took a step closer. His expression shifted, his smile twitching slightly at the edges.

“Find his fucking phone number and give it to me,” I said. “I don’t care how private he is. You’re telling me this guy could just do anything he wants to someone in there, and you wouldn’t have a single clue who to hold accountable?”

“He’s professional,” the organizer said carefully. “He’s been vetted.”

“Vetted by who ?” I snapped.

The organizer’s smile sharpened.

“By the same person who approved the haunted house experience.”

My chest tightened painfully.

Knox.

Knox had approved this. He wanted this.

But why ?

The organizer watched me for a moment longer, then smiled like he was enjoying himself.

“If you want to reach Nox Obscura, maybe try DMing him in the app.”

I turned and stalked away, heat crawling beneath my skin.

Fine, just fucking fine. If this asshole wouldn’t give me answers, I’d get them straight from the source.

I stalked back to my piece of shit car and pulled up the app where he posted his videos. My thumbs hovered over the keyboard for a long moment before I typed in @NoxObscura.

The handle popped up instantly. A thumbnail of his signature mask, dark and menacing, the purple neon glow of his false grin cutting through the black.

My pulse hammered painfully beneath my skin.

Fuck it.

I hit the DM button and started typing.

Midnight Rose

Who the fuck do you think you are, touching me the way you did last night?

I didn’t expect a response, but he replied immediately.

Nox Obscura

I think I’m the guy who made you come on my thigh like a good fucking girl, just on the other side of the door from a portrait of someone who’s apparently pretty important to you, based on how you reacted when you saw it.

A sharp, heated pulse shot through my core. My thighs squeezed together involuntarily.

Midnight Rose

Fuck you.

Nox Obscura

Already did… sort of. Dry humping counts. But you’re the one who let me hunt you, sweetheart. You’re the one who came for me. You did so fucking well, too.

My hands trembled around the phone. Heat prickled beneath my skin. My stomach flipped. My fingers hovered over the screen, ready to fire off something cutting, but my phone rang before I could hit send.

I stared down at the screen. Unknown Number flashed up at me. I hit decline.

Nox Obscura

That was rude of you to decline my call. I’m going to call back, and you’re going to answer me this time.

My mouth fell open and I couldn’t believe what I was reading. When the phone rang again, I moved on autopilot, both oddly fascinated and terrified of what might happen if I declined his call again. With a shaking hand, I raised the phone to my ear.

“Hello?”

My voice came out in a strangled whisper, and I hated the sound of it.

Nox Obscura’s deep, distorted voice greeted me, getting right to the point.

“Seems to me you know the guy in that portrait at Stonewood Manor pretty intimately, based on the way you reacted to it last night. Is he a boyfriend? Maybe an old flame? Did it strike a nerve when I made you come and then you opened that door and saw his face staring down at you?”

Rage surged through my chest so fast and so violently it nearly knocked the breath from my lungs.

“Don’t talk about him,” I hissed, wishing I could claw Nox Obscura’s eyes out.

“Oh? Touched a nerve, did I?”

The fucker was taunting me, and judging by his tone, he was getting off on it, too.

My teeth clenched. My pulse roared in my ears.

“Go to hell. ”

The masked bastard clicked his tongue at me.

“What’s his story, sweetheart? Some rich guy with a tragic family sob story? Poor little rich boy left all alone in the big haunted house?”

White-hot fury exploded through my veins. My hands curled into fists at my sides.

“You keep Knox’s name out of your fucking mouth.”

My breath came fast and sharp. My hands were trembling.

“Or what?”

His sing-song tone made me see red.

“Or so help me God, I’ll make sure you get removed from that goddamn haunted house experience and run out of this town on a rail. You fucking understand me, asshole?”

“Ooh, feisty.”

“You don’t know what it was like for him when his family died. I’ve been his neighbor since we were eighteen years old. I saw the devastation and fallout firsthand. What happened to his family was a fucking tragedy, and you don’t have any right to speak on it.”

My chest heaved and my pulse roared in my ears.

“Tell me, sweetheart…” He paused, chuckling gleefully, and the distorted sound gave me goosebumps. “Do you protect all your neighbors this viciously? Or is it just him?”

My heart slammed against my ribcage, my throat tightening.

“I already told you, don’t fucking talk about him.”

“I wonder how Mr. Knox would feel if he knew how protective you are of him. What would he think if he knew how viciously you’re defending him to me right now? Maybe I should tell him…”

My breath caught.

“Don’t.”

“Don’t… what?”

“Don’t you fucking dare say a word to him.”

“You want me to keep quiet, baby?” he purred, obviously enjoying himself.

My hands were shaking.

“Yes.”

“Beg.”

My stomach dropped. Heat curled low in my gut.

“What did you say?”

“You heard me, sweetheart. If you want me to keep quiet, beg me. Nicely.”

My pulse raced so fast the world spun and I thought I might faint.

“Please.”

“Not good enough.”

My eyes burned.

“Please, don’t tell him. I can’t?—”

“Mmm… closer. Try again.”

I closed my eyes for a second and did some deep breathing. My whole body trembled when I spoke again.

“Please. Please don’t tell him. I’ll do anything you want.”

A long pause stretched between us and for a second I wondered if the connection had dropped.

“Good girl. That wasn’t so hard now, was it? I’ll keep quiet.”

Relief surged through me, sharp and bitter and dangerous.

“Thank you.”

“On one condition.”

My stomach dropped.

I licked my lips.

“What’s the condition?”

“We’re going to play a little game, sweetheart.”

My hand tightened around the phone.

“What kind of game?”

“I ask the questions. You answer me honestly.”

I pursed my lips.

“And if I don’t?”

“Then I tell Mr. Knox exactly how protective you are of him. I’m sure he’d find it… interesting, don’t you think?”

My heart stopped beating for what felt like an eternity.

My shoulders slumped and I blew out a sigh.

“…Fine.”

“Good girl.”

I shivered and heat suffused my cheeks.

“Stop saying that.”

“Shall we begin?”

My fingers trembled around my phone. Heat burned low in my gut. My breath came too fast, chest heaving as I stared straight ahead.

“What exactly do you want to know?”

His response came instantly.

“Oh, sweetheart…” he purred. “Be careful. You might regret asking me that.”

God, that distorted voice did things to me… things it shouldn’t do. A hot pulse of anticipation pulsed deep in my core. A sharp thrill skittered down my spine and my mouth went dry.

“Try me.”

It came out as a hoarse whisper, but it was the best I could do under the circumstances.

He chuckled again and my heart did a flip.

“Alright, sweetheart. Let’s start simple.”