Page 3 of Hysteria Rises (Dark Falls Hollow #1)

THREE

CROSS

“Hayze has to be back by now. What do you think the Collective will do?” Arrow’s voice has raised to a boom to be heard over multiple showers running all at once in the communal bathroom.

Pondering his question, I glance down as watery mud swirls toward the drain.

I offer a clipped, “No fucking idea” before running soapy hands over my body, then tipping my head back to allow the hot spray to hit me full in the face.

Tonight was miserable, but it certainly wasn’t uninteresting.

Definitely not. I stare blankly at the tile in front of me, my jaw grinding as one thought after another flickers through my mind.

There’d been fear in that girl’s eyes. But also a certain defiant energy.

She wasn’t going to stand there and let us come at her. I fuckin’ respect that.

“Did you all really just find her?” Rafe shouts from two stalls over.

Hayze’s second-youngest brother is an oddity I can’t figure out. Annoyed to be yanked from my thoughts, I growl, “I swear, Rafe, some of the shit that falls out of your mouth …”

“Sorry. I’m really curious. She just … appeared?” He’s usually the quiet sort, but this turn of events has obviously set everyone under this roof off-kilter.

Leave it to a woman to show up and make us act like idiots.

And I don’t like it one fucking bit. She appeared out of nowhere less than an hour ago and already it’s as if we’ve taken everything we know and have chucked it into the air …

and now we wait for whatever the eventual fallout may be.

I don’t like it when the grasp I have on things loosens.

Rafe’s mostly a good sort. I shouldn’t pick on him like I do …

but sometimes, it’s too much fun. And other times, like tonight, I simply don’t have the mental energy to expend.

Shit. He’s probably stewing because both Arrow and I have let his question hang.

I exhale raggedly. “You sure aren’t shying away from poking your nose in where it doesn’t belong tonight. ”

“Whatever, man,” he mutters, “I’m curious, that’s all.”

The bathroom door bangs open a second later, effectively ending the conversation. “Hey, Cross, you in here?” It’s Gannon.

Cursing under my breath, I yank the curtain to the side. “Yeah, why?”

He shrugs, grinning. “Nolan grabbed me and told me to come find you.”

I press my lips together and whip the shower curtain closed again. “How long ago?”

He snorts. “Like ten minutes. He’ll be good and agitated by now. Better fucking get a move on.”

Arrow groans in the stall beside me. “Waiting to come get Cross was a dick move.”

“Don’t really care, freak.”

Gannon’s pet name for Arrow stirs something protective within me. Arrow can physically handle himself, but that doesn’t mean I won’t smack Gannon upside the head if he keeps it up. He needs to cut the shit. He’s gotten to be more and more of a pain in the ass lately.

I give Arrow credit for choosing to let the insult lie.

Tonight would be a bad night to start something.

The honest truth, though, is that if he continues to push Arrow too hard, things will get ugly.

Gannon’s a fucking idiot to poke that bear.

He might be a year older than Arrow, but in the last twelve months, my friend has grown several inches and put on at least twenty pounds of muscle.

He’s simply less inclined to welcome the attention an altercation would bring.

Steering myself back to the issue at hand, I throw out a clipped, “Did my father say where he’d be?”

There’s no hiding Gannon’s fevered enthusiasm as the answer tumbles out.

“In the room he uses for … you know.” He heaves out a breath, his voice carrying an edge of excitement.

“Kiefer and Henry had Hayze take the girl right to Nolan, but I don’t know why they’re bothering.

She looked all but dead.” Howling laughter spills from him, and I can just imagine his lips curving into a devious smile as he goes silent on the other side of the curtain. Fucker.

On an exhale, I mutter, “For fuck’s sake.

” He means my father’s exam room. Doing a three-sixty under the cascading water, I run my hands through my hair, making quick work of rinsing out the shampoo.

I can’t imagine what I’m needed for, but ignoring a demand from one of the Collective is the quickest path to swift punishment.

Reaching around to grab at the towel I left outside of the shower, I dry off and pull on pants at lightning speed, then toss a quick “See you all later” over my shoulder as I haul ass from the bathroom.

With a glance at the lightning streaking through the sky as I pass a long, narrow window in the corridor, I hurry down the stone staircase. The thundering of my feet is only a match for the crashing of the storm that continues to rage outside.

At the bottom, I skid around the corner but haven’t gone more than a few feet when a heavy hand clamps mercilessly onto my shoulder, making my heart jump.

I stop in my tracks. “Yeah?” I bark out, assuming it’s one of the other guys.

Only it’s not, and my gut clenches as I return Kiefer’s wickedly assessing gaze.

He rubs a hand over his jaw, eyeing me. “Just so I have it straight. This girl appeared out of nowhere.”

I have no idea what Hayze said when he brought her in, but I have a sudden urge to clam up even though Kiefer’s understanding of the events is correct.

Maybe it’s that I’ve never been one of his biggest fans.

He’s overbearing and thinks way too much of himself.

But if I ever—ever—voiced that, he’d take great pleasure in reminding me what I owe him and the rest of the Collective.

“Honestly, none of us knew what to make of her appearance in the woods.”

He shoots me a grim smile. “Okay. Find out everything you can about her.”

My brows raise, then immediately dart together. Based on what Gannon relayed to me, I’d assumed she was dead or on her way there. Something about his demand makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. “What do you want to know?”

Kiefer lets out a long exhale. “Never mind that. Just pay good fucking attention to every detail.” He rubs a hand over his jaw. “Go.”

I heave out a sigh, nodding, and break into a jog, passing the utilitarian kitchen and dining area and heading for the hall where my father’s rooms are located. Now I’m curious. I’ve gotta know what’s transpired since we left Hayze—at his request—with the girl.

Right before I get to my father’s quarters, Hayze barrels out, startling blue eyes fixing on mine as he pulls the door shut behind him with a quiet snick.

I scan his drawn face for some clue as to what I’m walking into.

Is she alive? Mud has dried on every square inch of his bare torso.

That girl had been in a state, covered from head to toe in filth, an almost wild look in her eye when we gave chase.

“Best go in now. Your father’s waiting for you,” he grumbles, his expression not giving anything away.

I tear my gaze from his, my eyes fixing on the door to my father’s exam room, but I have no idea what I’ll find beyond. My throat grows thick, and I struggle to swallow before forcing out one last question, but I can’t even get the entire thing out. Instead, I mumble, “Is she—?”

Hayze cocks his head to the side, then shrugs, lifting both hands in a gesture that screams Who the fuck knows. “On Nolan’s exam table? Dirty as hell? Unconscious? Alive? Ready for what’s next?”

I slip my tongue out to dampen my lips and urge him with an irritated glance to finish.

“Yes to all of the above, except that last one. But … she took a pretty good fall.” A grimace works its way to his face, a tinge of regret taking up residence there. “I can’t tell whether she’s so fucked-up because of hitting her head or that we scared the hell out of her.”

“Either. Both.” I shrug.

“We’re asking for trouble if I hold you up any longer.”

“Anything else I need to know before I go in there?” Hayze always has my back and is very straightforward, honest almost to a fault.

It seems like an eternity passes before he shakes his head. “Nah, but I have to get going. Kiefer and Henry want to talk to me again.” The dry chuckle that he huffs out takes me by surprise.

My brows tug together. “About this?”

He runs a hand over his still-damp hair. “Maybe. Maybe not. I dunno.” Jerking a thumb over his shoulder, he murmurs a gruff, “Gotta shower real quick.”

Before he’s gotten more than a few steps, I call out to him. “Heard anything yet?”

He only glances back at me long enough to give a slight shake of his head.

That’s not good.

Unable to put the inevitable off any longer, I lift my hand to the door and lightly rap the back of my knuckles against the dense wood.

On the other side, there’s a shuffling noise, then it swings open.

My father gives me a sharp nod and an appraising once-over as he steps back.

I lean to one side, craning my neck to put eyes on the industrial-size stainless steel exam table on the far end of the room.

When I don’t immediately enter, my father barks out a clipped, “Don’t just stand there.”

“Yes sir.” I slip inside, then connect my gaze with his as I pass, awaiting further guidance. I’ve been assisting him with all things medical for years now, even before I was of age. But this is different. This is a woman. I knew this day was coming, I simply didn’t know how soon.

“You’re getting a crash course tonight, son. I hope you’re ready.”

I inhale sharply but follow him over to our unplanned-for guest. “Is something wrong?”

“Nah. Not really.” He rubs a hand over his jaw.

I’ve seldom noticed strain on my father’s face, but it’s there in the creases at the corners of his eyes.

“It’s time you learned how things are done with respect to our women.

” I could swear his keen stare probes right inside my skull, searching out my thoughts.