Page 67 of Grave Possession (Grave #2)

Chapter Fifty-six

Mallory

H e’s worried about me, and I completely understand why. I shouldn’t want to come back here, I should want to stay as far away as possible. If he knows me as well as he thinks he does though, he sees my intention a mile away. Still, he gives me whatever I need.

Thirty minutes later we pull up, the bright yellow police tape whipping around in the breeze. The mid-afternoon light sits high in the sky, but still autumn’s cold chill slips through my sweater. Nox kills the engine, eyeing me warily as we dismount.

I slowly explore the area around us, the memories assaulting me as violently as Ted did.

My heart starts to pound in my ears, as the ability to breathe escapes me.

My shoulder throbs and my knees go weak, but I manage to stay upright.

Panic pouring off me in rivers of sweat that trail down my spine.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Lennox’s voice filters in through my spiral, and I turn toward him.

I can’t imagine what I look like, toeing the line of a panic attack, but he doesn’t abandon his task.

The bright red jerry can held tightly in his hands as the glug, glug, glug, of the gas tank filling breaks the silence.

Another gas can sits tightly tucked away in the storage container behind my seat.

I’m alive. I’m here with Nox. He’s alive. I’m okay. I remind myself. “No, but if I need you, I know you’ll find me.”

“Always,” he replies, and my heart swells. I hope he doesn’t hate me for what I’m about to do.

I move towards the front door, reaching for the handle. There’s a tremor through my body, trepidation wrapping itself tight around my chest, but I stuff it down.

It’s just a house. Get a grip. Nox will forgive you…eventually.

I grab the knob, swing the door open, and step inside. Immediately assaulted by the moist, stale air and the reek of decay that’s wafted up from the cellar.

I fucking hate this place.

“Babe?!” Lennox calls from outside.

“Yeah?” I holler back.

“I’ll be right back, I’m going to take a leak.”

“Okay. Check for blood!”

“You got it!”

Well that was easy.

I sprint to the kitchen window, watching as he disappears into the trees. I have mere minutes before he’s back—I have to hurry.

Inching open the front door again, I clear the creaky steps, jumping down into the soft grass. Moving quickly to the quad’s storage compartment, I rummage through the bags, pocketing what I need. Then I grab the jerry cans, and race back inside .

Fuck this cabin, and all the horrors that have seeped into its walls.

Fire’s seen as cleansing in many religions around the world, so maybe burning this hellscape to the ground will free the souls of Johnson’s victims that are trapped here.

Something tormented me in the dead of night, whether it be my own mind or a ghost, it deserves to be free.

I fling open the bathroom door, splashing the accelerant onto the floor. Working quickly, I hit both bedrooms. Pouring extra into the one with the bullet hole in the door frame. Nothing will be left of Victoria’s time in this terrible place.

Backing down the hallway, I pour a steady stream until the first can is empty.

I race back outside, placing it in its spot as to not alert Nox that something is amiss, then take off towards the cellar.

Graves

Does she think she’s sneaky? She’s never been able to completely pull the wool over my eyes, except for that time at the mill, which was absolutely thrilling.

Pulling out my phone, I dial the emergency line.

“Hello, 9-1-1, what’s your emergency?”

Disguising my voice, I reply, “Yeah, I’m out at the old fire lookout tower, and there’s smoke rising due north-west.”

“I’m sorry, sir, -id you -ay fire?” This fucking phone connection is going to cause a forest fire, which is exactly what I’m trying to avoid by calling before Mallory drops a match.

“Yes,” I enunciate. “Fire.”

“Okay, si- wher- — you?”

“North,” I reply, then hang up.

That will have to be good enough because Mallory’s done with the inside, and moving around the back of the house.

I follow her through the trees, waiting for the moment she realizes she needs my help. Stopping dead in her tracks, and glaring down at the chain woven through the door handles, she clenches her fists.

Here it comes.

I wait, thrumming with excitement, for the moment my name rings out through the trees.

However, the seconds tick on, and she just stares at the doors.

I can’t read her expression from this distance, but as her foot rears back and she slams the heel of her boot into the old weathered handle, I feel safe in saying her face is set with determination.

Over and over she throws her weight into the same well-placed location.

The handle finally gives away, warped and broken from the furious impacts.

She pulls the chain free through the dislodged part, then drops it to the ground.

I’m shocked. Completely mesmerized by her.

Sporting a throbbing half chub because of her fierceness and defiance.

If I hadn’t agreed to keep my dick to myself until my gut healed, I’d throw her down and fuck her into the dirt as punishment for going behind my back like this.

Without any hesitation, Mallory descends into the darkness.

I emerge from the trees, crossing the expanse to stand at the doorway to her old cell.

The splashing of gasoline is loud in the soundless space beneath the earth, but aside from that, there’s nothing else.

No screaming, no crying, no incoherent mumbling.

I take it as a good sign, and move off to the side, leaning nonchalantly against a tree, awaiting her to reemerge.

Mallory

The acrid smell of gasoline permeates the air around me, making my head fuzzy and vision blurry.

Time to go. With one last look around the barren space, I hold my head high as I climb the stairs.

Anything that was left down here must have been taken to the station as evidence.

I can only imagine the amount of crucial DNA on that mattress.

Whispering a quiet “ Goodbye and good riddance, ” as I reach the threshold, emerging from the shadows, and leaving my past behind me.

The sound of a throat clearing catches my attention, and I whip my head in the direction it came from. Nox stands to my left, face completely unreadable, as he watches me like a hawk. What’s he going to do? Is he furious? Do I care? Of course I do, but hopefully he’ll get over it.

“You might want to light this shit-hole up before the authorities get here.” His deep voice clears the space between us, sending a shiver down my spine. He knew. Nox was aware I had an ulterior motive, and still brought me here to put my demons to bed. Fuck, I love this man.

A smile splits across my face, and when he sees it, his boots blaze a path to the tips of mine.

Our mouths collide in need, hunger, and adoration, as his warm hands cup my face.

He devours my very being in a matter of seconds, and when he pulls away I’m completely breathless.

Weak in the knees for a whole new reason, dripping with arousal instead of panic.

His hand snakes into my pocket, retrieving the water proof matches I snatched from the emergency kit.

Popping the top, he pulls one out and swipes it over the strike strip.

It ignites with a crackle, charging the air around us in a whole new way.

He’s putting me first. Committing a crime with me, not because of me.

Binding us together in another way I’ll never be able to unwind myself from, not that I’d want to.

He’s everything I need and want in this life, growing and evolving with me.

“You’re sure?” I ask, watching the flame smolder down the match stick.

His eyes are alight with desire, and the words he speaks are a balm to the hesitancy blazing in my mind. “Let it burn.”