Page 153 of One Killer Night

I start to leave, then look back over my shoulder, “Grab some of those chocolate-covered raisins for me, too, please.”

“Done, Rexy.”

My smile never leaves as I leave the theater. I glance back at him, loving watching him just being a normal guy with his friends. I run my hands through my hair and get lost in my happy thoughts as I walk to the ladies’ room.

The theater is empty and quiet, a small neighborhood one in the Southern California town we now split our time living in as we shuttle between Los Angeles and Boston. Since Noah’s new design job came with the luxury of working from home, we’re now bicoastal. He can still peek his head into the Los Angeles office without having to move from our beloved Beacon Hill.

My palm hits the bathroom door as I push it open. The quiet hits me again, with only the sound of my footsteps echoing over the tile.

I push against the first stall door, but it’s locked, which makes me frown and bend to look underneath—no feet.

“Huh,” I say to myself, thinking it’s probably out of order.

I look over at the mirrors and check out my hair as I walk a few more doors down and push one open.

It gives, so I walk inside and lock the door. I pull a seat cover out, place it over the porcelain, and shimmy my jeans and panties down. I’m humming to myself as I sit and relieve my bladder, but as I reach for the paper, a loud bang interrupts my thoughts.

The paper sits idle in my hand. “Hello?”

Nothing. No answer, no sound. I bend forward between my legs to look, but I don’t see anything or anyone.

I wipe quickly before I stand, and my hand hangs in the air in front of the lock as panic sets in.

I’m fine. I’m fine. There are no monsters, just the here and now.

But I take a deep, shaky breath, open the stall, and step out quickly.

The room’s empty. I shift as I look around with a frown. My eyes go from mirror to mirror, peering through them to each stall, before I land on the farthest one away.

Seconds feel like minutes, and my body feels chilled as if my veins are on ice.

The door is slightly ajar, but none of them were when I came in.

Slowly I bend down again and look under the stalls, seeing nothing, so I put one foot in front of the other as I walk toward the cracked bathroom stall door.

The sound of my pulse throbs in my ears as I get closer. My fingers twitch because my hand is shaking as I reach out. Just my fingertips lead the way as I push it open slowly, trembling on the inside.

Go. Look. Do it.

I step quickly into view, just as the bathroom door swings open, hitting the wall with a bang. “Goldie.”

I scream, hand over my heart, as I jump what feels like ten feet in the air.

“Oh my god. What is wrong with you?” I rush out.

My sister’s standing in the entrance of the bathroom, looking at me like I’m insane. But that’s fair, because I’m breathless and scared shitless as I glare at her.

“Sorry ... I have to pee. What are you doing?”

I tuck my hair behind my ears. “I was ... nothing.”

She shrugs as she walks toward the stall that’s out of order. “Wait for me ... Mom’s trying to make a love connection with me and Chase again. I swear she’d force an arranged marriage just because he was stabbed in the leg.”

I chuckle as I point to where she’s walking. “That’s out of—”

Before I can finish, the door squeaks open, making me frown, but as she turns her head, Evie lets out a bloodcurdling scream.

My heart stops and drops into my stomach as I run to her, and we both stare inside, clutching each other as fear takes control.

A human heart has been staked to the wall, blood dripping down to the floor.

My eyes lift to the wall. Two words smeared above.

She’s mine.