Page 134 of Horror and Chill

“Just because I want to spend a few nights doesn’t mean I’m not going to work at the school or cam,” I warn them. “Youwilllet me do my shit still. Do you hear me?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Garron murmurs.

I set my bag down, swallow hard, and add quietly, “I went to see Jay.”

The room stills. Even Corwin stops fidgeting.

“I stood there in front of that grave and told him I had feelings for you three,” I continue. “That I wasn’t sorry. But I’m not over what you did. Killing him was pointless. He wasn’t a lover and never would’ve been—he was income. That’s all. And you turned him into something he wasn’t.”

Evander’s jaw tightens, his voice barely a whisper. “We know.”

Garron runs a hand over his head, pacing once before stopping in front of me. “We saw red, Agatha. You were going to fuck him—” He cuts himself off, shaking his head. “We went too far.”

Corwin shifts his weight, mouth pulling into something caught between a grin and a snarl. “I’m not sorry I stopped himfrom touching what’s mine,” he says flatly. “But I didn’t mean to hurt you. That part…” His jaw ticks once, the muscle working hard. “That part I’d take back if I could.”

The silence that follows makes my throat ache. It’s not an apology, not really, but it’s the closest thing I’ll ever get from him—and somehow, it’s enough for now.

Evander steps closer, the look in his eyes fractured between regret and need. “We’ll spend the rest of our lives making it right,” he says. “Groveling, if that’s what it takes.”

“You already started,” I whisper. “Let’s see if you can keep it up.”

Evander’s mouth twitches into something half-pained, half-relieved. “Challenge accepted.”

Corwin exhales sharply and mutters, “Well, that’s settled. Can we go back to the part where she said she’s staying?”

I smile, a little. “Yeah, but don’t get comfortable. You’re still on probation.”

“Probation,” Garron repeats, smirking faintly. “Sounds fair.”

“So can we star in some scenes now?” Corwin wraps his arms around me from behind, biting my earlobe hard.

I wince but smile. “Only if you’re in a mask, you miscreant.”

“Done,” he says, grinning.

“Let me show you to the guest room.” Evander holds his hand out to me.

I quirk my lip. “I thought I’d just spend one night with each of you in yours.”

“I’m first then,” he says, and before I can blink he’s snatched me up and thrown me over his shoulder. He’s running down the hall so fast I can’t even see the layout of the house. Garron and Corwin chase after us, banging on the door when it slams shut and he locks it.

“Snooze you lose, fuckers,” Evander growls against my skin.

He sets me down and prowls closer. “Now, how about I show you how much I missed you in the hours we’ve been apart.”

And show me he does, over and over, until the night blurs into something dark and hot and mine.

EPILOGUE

ONE YEAR LATER

Agatha

The housewe bought sits on the edge of town, half-swallowed by trees. The porch creaks when the wind hits right, and sometimes, if I’m outside after dark, I swear I can hear coyotes laughing.It’s perfect.

We’ve made it a home…a real together all the time as a family type of home. The kind of home where the floorboards are stained, the knives are always sharp, and the people inside know exactly how dark each other’s hearts are.

I teach during the day. Still Ms. Templeton to a room full of bright-eyed kids who think monsters live under beds, not in small-town churches or inside their teacher’s smile.