don’t want to put anyone in any unnecessary danger, but I can’t guarantee there won’t be casualties,” I warn him.
“I’m not leaving. I want Zodiac gone as much as you do. Besides, who will keep you fed if I leave?” He huffs, making me laugh.
“Well, you’re not wrong there. Thank you, Gary, for everything. Taking care of this place for me, for hooking me up with Danny and Baker and the rest of the guys. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
“Oh, hush, woman. We both know you would have figured it out. I don’t think you know how to fail, but I’m glad you’re here. Flo and I were never fortunate enough to have kids, and after seeing what you’re like at twenty-one, I’m kind of glad,” he teases as I throw my spoon at him.
He laughs, bending to pick it up, placing it on the edge of the desk. “Seriously, though, I feel kind of protective of you. I know you’re all hard outside, but you’re all soft inside. I don’t want you to lose that.”
“You make me sound like an M&M.” I smile, touched by his words.
“Yeah, well, your secret is safe with me.” He winks before turning to leave.
“I’ll come up in an hour to collect the dishes and bring you a slice of cheesecake.” He disappears before I can thank him again, which is just as well. He has me choked up enough that I’m not sure I could get the words out past the lump in my throat.
So much has changed in such a short space of time and yet I know this is just the start.
I’ve taken chances, reached out and made connections and begun to pave my own way.
All that’s left to do now, is wait.
We all fall down
One Year Later
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“This place is nice...” Baker laughs, dragging his finger over the edge of the desk.
“Yeah, I love what you’ve done here.” Danny chuckles, taking in the mounted deer head staring down at us.
I look up at it and turn away. I’ll never admit it out loud, but the damn thing gives me the creeps. I swear its eyes follow you when you move.
“It was the previous Gemini’s hunting cabin, which is fucking ridiculous because there is nothing around here to hunt.” Turning, I look around at the sparsely decorated room with its walls covered in dark wood paneling. There is a twin bed in the far back corner with a bedside table and a lamp beside it. Next to that is a small table only big enough to seat two people, with mismatched chairs, then the desk that Baker is now perched on, and a small kitchen area with a sink, fridge, and a stovetop. A single door to the right leads to a bathroom and a single door on the left leads down to the cellar beneath the property.
“Well, that was until I figured out exactly what he used this place for,” I tell them, turning toward Danny, who looks out the window at the sound of gravel crunching under tires of an approaching truck.
“And what is it you figured out?” Danny asks absent-mindedly as another truck trundles along the dusty track toward the cabin.
“That he wasn’t using this place to hunt down the weakest animals but the weakest humans. It’s a kill cabin.”
“The fuck?” Baker curses, looking down at his feet, making me laugh.
“You’re thinking about the bodies that are likely buried beneath you right now, aren’t you?” I tease.
He lifts his head and glares at me, making me laugh even harder.
“Laugh it up, but don’t come crying to me when you have a ghost haunting your cute ass.”
“Stop checking out my ass,” I yell with a shake of my head as I make my way over to the door that leads down to the soundproof cellar.
“I’m gonna assume if you’re worried about ghosts that you really won’t want to come down here now, will you?” I grin over my shoulder at him.
“Fuck no. I’ll switch on the camera feed while you’re down there so I’ll know if you need me, but otherwise, I’m going to sit here in a circle of salt where it’s safe.”
I chuckle all the way down the steps, making my way to the lone chair in the far corner. The room is nothing but a large concrete space, void of anything but the chair.
Danny follows me down, looking around the room for threats, but we both know it’s empty as the