Page 97 of Paper Doll

The puzzle pieces slowly click together, one by one.That’swhat the Kings have over her.That’swhy she was so desperate to keep them happy, why she’s avoiding me now that I’m so firmly in their grip. It’s all starting to make sense, and maybe…maybe I misjudged her.

“You don’t need that homewrecker anyways,” Bryce sighs, slinging an arm around my shoulders. “You’ve got me.” He wags his brows and I force a smile, though it doesn’t quite meet my eyes.

Homewrecker.

That’s what my mom was, technically.

But can you really ‘wreck’ a happy home?

“You going to the big Halloween party tonight?” Bryce asks, his voice breaking through the rabbit hole my mind’s descending down.

“Yeah, I’ll be there,” I murmur absently. “Kings’ orders.”

“Good, because I will, too. This is the one party of theirs that’s worth going to.” His smile widens, gaze dropping down my body. “What are you dressing up as?"

“I actually don’t even know yet,” I admit, pinning my lower lip between my teeth. “They said they have a costume for me.”

"Of course they do,” he chuckles. "Let me guess, slutty little schoolgirl?"

I snort a laugh. "Probably a sexy corpse."

“If anyone can pull that off, it’s you,” he winks.

I can't help but smile, even if it does feel a little bitter. Bryce has a way of making everything seem lighter, like the weight the Kings’ control isn’t quite so crushing.

“Well, I’d better get to my Accounting class,” Bryce sighs, tucking me into a side hug. “See ya tonight, Aves,” he murmurs, releasing me and blowing a kiss. “Can’t wait to see how your boyfriends dress you up.”

CHAPTER 40

AVA

It’s freezing,and I’d rather be anywhere else right now but approaching the boathouse. The gray pallor of dusk tinges the sky, an icy breeze casting ripples over the lake as I hustle toward the building to escape the chill. Though I’m eager to get inside and warm up, every nerve in my body is screaming for me to turn around and run the hell away from this place.

Too bad I have no choice but to enter.

Ford told me to meet Raf here at eight– something about helping him finish set-up for the Halloween party– and part of me hopes that it’s just an excuse and he’s finally ready to talk; to put all the ugliness of this week behind us and figure out how to move forward amicably.

Wishful thinking, right?

I’m not under any delusions that this isn’t also some sort of trap, and so I’m treading carefully, keeping my eyes up and my senses sharp.

The interior of the boathouse is completely unrecognizable when I pull open the door and step inside. Rather than one large, open space, partitions have been put up to block off the front into a little lobby area, a black wall running the width of the room and tapering down to a single, narrow entrance.

Not ominous at all.

The words ‘Enter If You Dare’ are scrawled over the doorway in bright yellow spray paint, an invitation and an omen. I clasp my hands together to contain their nervous tremble as I edge toward the opening, stepping into a dark corridor and peering around anxiously.

“Raf?” I call, footsteps echoing as I hesitantly move deeper inside. It feels like this place is completely deserted, and the close walls and lack of light are more than a little disorienting. The floor creaks beneath my weight and I stop, heart thudding like it wants to escape my chest.

“Ava,” Raf growls, his voice low and silky.

I flinch, a startled sound catching in my throat as he steps out of the shadows just ahead of me, eyes glinting in the half-light behind a macabre skull mask.

“Raf, you scared me,” I breathe, unable to shake the feeling of foreboding curling deep in my gut. “Ford said you needed help with something?”

“Come with me,” he orders, turning around and walking deeper into the dark labyrinth without another word.

His command hangs grimly in the air, and I swear I can almost feel the icy grip of it on my neck as I force my feet to move. The tall partitions are set up in a confusing grid to form a maze of narrow passageways that open up to various rooms. I peer inside them as we pass, each scene more elaborate than the last.