Page 5 of Antihero (Tregam’s Fractured Souls #3)

"Well, she's targeting mostly men, older, usually single, usually in their homes, with no sign of forced entry.

Like they let her in. She might seduce them, or otherwise charm them.

" Paige looks sceptical, and I find myself barrelling on.

“And the one woman she's attacked was on the street, so less reliant on trust, more sneaking.

Then there's the manner; strangulation. Usually, a man will only strangle their victims if they've already committed some act of violence towards them; beating, or rape, and they'll do it with their bare hands. But to use a cord, it’s almost the non-violent route.

More of what a woman would choose. An angry one, but one who's not naturally violent.

So, she probably feels that these people have wronged her somehow. "

Silence. A beat later, Paige says a little weakly, "Right."

I wish I could bite my tongue off. What the hell am I doing? Mentioning rape , of all things, on a first date? She's still staring at me. I clear my throat. Now, of all times, I decided to run my mouth. Really? "Anyway…"

Paige laughs uncomfortably and folds the newspaper, probably regretting ever picking it up. "What did you say you did for a living, again?"

God, here's where my unlikely story comes to bite me in the ass. "Just an accountant."

"With a penchant for crime stories?"

"Yep."

"Um…" She puts the newspaper back on the table. "Well, I should be…"

"Yes. Goodnight.” I give an awkward wave, like a teenager who's never talked to a real woman before, and I quickly turn away. I spend every step that it takes to make it back up the cliff before curfew, cringing at myself.

That night, the brief, light doze I somehow manage to fall into gets broken by a man’s voice.

Muffled and indistinct through the cement walls of this place, I can't, in my half-asleep state, distinguish any words. Someone has a midnight visitor, I suppose; breaking the rules. I doze off again.

The next time I awaken, towards morning, all I can hear are the soft sobs of a crying woman.

***

My room isn't on Paige's circuit today, but she stops in.

I stand up quickly from where I was reading on the bed as she knocks and steps in. Her hands are empty, and her cleaning cart is out in the hall. Paige lowers her eyes, and starts, "I just wanted to see how you were doing… you left a bit abruptly last night."

"Yes. I'm sorry if I freaked you out…"

"You surprised me a little, I'll admit. But I'd still like to spend more time with you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it’s okay." She lifts her eyes to meet mine, smiling to show she means it. I smile back, but I'm not sure what to make of her. I thought she'd avoid me from here. She’d be wise to. "There’s a movie Thursday I'd like to see. Some B-grade horror. You interested?"

"Sure." I try not to grin like an idiot.

When Paige turns to go back out into the hall, Declan is walking past, causing her to pull back quickly. She watches through the little door window for him to be gone, before she steps out.

I move closer, frowning. "Does he bother you?

" I try not to make the question sound like a threat.

I don't like the guy. He’s always towering over some uncomfortable-looking woman, or watching them when he shouldn't be, always lingering in places he's got no business being. Then there’s that noise from last night.

I recall it now, and I can only think of my neighbour, Beth.

Doesn't seem the sort to invite men over.

Paige shakes her head. "No, but then, I don't really give him the chance."

"You think he would?"

"I don't know." She glances out of my door window again. "You just get that feeling about some people, you know?" Then she smiles, turning the handle. "See you Thursday."

I feel at peace for the rest of the day, then the next.

Not quite happy, but the numbness takes on a slightly richer quality.

I carry that with me, some small victory.

That’s until I walk back to my room and spot Declan talking to my neighbour again.

Or rather, spot him talking at her. He's leaning in too close, possessive in the way he towers over her. There’s a deep, angry pit inside me.

Her sobbing had been so… visceral. Like it was wrenching straight from her heart.

Beth's arms are crossed across her body, and she's staring at the floor, cowed.

I loudly unlock my door and he looks up, face souring as he sees me, then moves on.

Beth stays in her doorway. She looks like she's been crying.

I walk over, stopping well out of reach.

"Hey, I thought I heard a weird noise the other night… "

Her eyes widen, seeming to get glassier, bluer, and she shakes her head, snivelling a little. I look in the direction Declan has just disappeared. "Why do you stay if he's harassing you?" I ask, lowering my voice.

Tears run down her face, no longer held back. "I came here to get away from my ex-husband. This is the only place… but now…" she snivels, composing herself.

"Tell me what he's done," I offer softly.

Beth shakes her head vehemently this time and looks up. "I can't. If he knows I'm talking, he'll… I just can't. I've paid so much to be here. I don't have anywhere else to go." Her voice breaks on the last word, losing sound.

"It’s okay," I assure her, then ask—even though I shouldn't, even though I know I should stay out of it, that this isn't for me, "Do you know anyone else he's bothered?"

***

The movie is as B-grade as they come. But it pleases me.

I haven't watched a movie, much less been in a cinema, in a long time. The theatre is tiny, with just two rows of seats and a projector that’s discoloured at the edges.

It really is just a glorified basement, but it does the trick.

The monster is unconvincing. Just something that wants to eat anything it sees, mainly the main characters. A being of pure evil.

Things are never that black and white in reality. Real monsters don't make themselves so easy to spot.

Paige gasps at a jump-scare, her hand snatching out to grip my arm.

I glance at her wide eyes, locked on the screen.

When the moment passes, she peaks over at me, realises she's holding my arm, and smiles shyly, pulling her hand back.

I can still feel where she gripped me with her strong, slender hand.

Afterwards, we get ice creams from a vending machine and sit on the single wooden picnic table of what passes for a park in Kidswal—really just a wedge of green space between the intersection of the only two large roads.

If you want nature in White Rock, you only need to leave the town, after all.

But now, under the streetlights so close to midnight, the town is empty, peaceful.

I'd requested a midnight curfew for tonight, and it’d been granted. I could’ve just used the key I’d swiped to sneak back in, but they usually check the rooms at curfew, so I might not have gotten away with it.

Paige perches her butt on the table, boots planted on the bench.

She's wearing a short corduroy miniskirt with opaque winter stockings.

A beanie, with a cute green pom-pom, frames her face.

Her hair tumbles down to mingle with the frills of her scarf.

I sit just within reach, on the bench next to her legs so that I'm looking up at her.

Paige nibbles on her ice cream, and huddles in on herself. Frozen food probably wasn’t the wisest choice on such a cold night. The water in the bottom of the fountain was already starting to ice over when we’d passed it. I let a bit of the chocolate coating melt slowly in my mouth.

"So, what did you think? Of the movie?" She asks, smiling, her cheeks coloured from the cold. She scoots closer so her knee is almost brushing my shoulder. I make sure I don't tilt my head and accidentally see up her skirt, though her knees are drawn tightly together.

"I liked it," I say.

"Really?" she smiles wider. She has slightly off-kilter front teeth. Nothing major. But right now, she might be the cutest girl I've ever sat on a park bench with. Totally unsuitable for me, really.

I give in. “Well, I thought it was terrible. But I still enjoyed it.”

Paige laughs. “Well, I'm glad. Otherwise, you might be opposed to doing it again.”

I’m grinning as Paige takes another bite of her ice cream, cringing a little at the freeze. Then she looks at me and asks, "Who are you, really?"

"Who am I?" I ask, caught off guard. Her mind does seem to take some sharp turns.

"Yeah. You're so… mysterious. Quiet."

"There’s not much to me."

She smiles again. "Really?"

I meet her gaze, letting a smile linger, but I don't answer. I feel the moment, that almost-electric tug telling you this is the right moment.

Paige leans down, meeting me where I’m seated, and kisses me.

She tastes like strawberry ice cream, her lips cold, though not for long.

My hand rests on her ankle, bracing, as I tilt my chin up, and almost jolt in surprise when I feel her tongue slide into my mouth.

I wasn't expecting it, and the shock shoots straight down between my legs, tightening my jeans.

When she pulls back, softly biting her now-wet lower lip, I feel like I'm the one blushing. Paige is smiling, watching my face. "Come on, I need to work tomorrow. Walk me home?"

I nod, about to stand. But just as I go to move, Paige lifts her butt to step off the seat and onto the ground.

I don't mean to, but as she extends one leg, her skirt rides up just that little bit, and I glance an inch of very creamy inner thigh.

What I thought were full leggings under her skirt, are in fact thigh-high stockings, and for a moment I can't move, my brain short-circuiting.

Then she's standing on the grass, waiting. She went from cute to sexy, much too quickly for me to compute. When I manage to push off the table and stand, I find an excuse—hands bundled low in my olive-green scarf—to obscure my crotch.

Walk it off , I instruct myself.

"This is where you live?" I ask some fifteen minutes later, looking at the low cottage clinging to the village outskirts. Of course, every part of Kidswal feels like it’s on the outskirts, but we walked through near-pitch darkness to get here, under a cluster of thick trees overhanging the path.

Darkness obscures the house, the low hardy brush extending beyond, sinking into rough terrain.

Light through the trees on the right suggests another house not so far away.

Night birds call, and distantly, in the quiet, the sound of crashing waves just reaches my ears.

"Yep, this is it. Small, but I have it to myself."

There’s an invite there, I know. If I kissed her again, I could seduce her, go in.

I don't. I squeeze the hand she's slipped into mine and pull away.