"Fuck you," I tried to snarl, but it just came out as a few muffled noises, which only served to enrage me. That was good. Anger was good. So much more useful than fear.
"Madison Kate," Zane called out again, clearly not giving up so easily, "I know you're still here. I can practically smell your fear. Where are you hiding, little mouse?"
My anger drained out in an instant, and I practically cowered into the guy holding me. I'd changed my mind. Anyone had to be better than Zane D'Ath. It was no coincidence his surname was literally pronounced death.
"Gag her or something," the bossy guy in front of me said, his voice still pitched softly enough that no one but me, my captor, and the skeletons could hear him. "Just do whatever it takes to keep her quiet and out of fucking sight."
A sudden displacement of air and a cool breeze told me he'd moved away from us. Seconds later, a little door opened, illuminating the tiny space we were in, and a broad-shouldered guy in a hoodie squeezed out, back into the main fun house.
He didn't fully close the door behind him, and the light was enough for me to gain my bearings. Grabby hands had pulled me into an area that must have been used by staff and actors, and the little door must be a false panel in the mirror maze.
For a moment, everything was still. The guy holding me seemed to sense I wasn't going for his balls again, and his grip loosened just a fraction, allowing me to put my foot back on the floor for balance.
"You're not going to scream, right?" he asked me, whispering the words directly into my ear. "If you scream, we can't help you. You're on your own."
My spine stiffened, bristling at the implication I needed their help. But... I did. And he’d just said they were trying to help me...
A shadow passed in front of the cracked door, and I sucked in a gasp, swallowing the sound even before my companion tightened his hand over my mouth.
"Just fucking chill, Madison Kate," he said, sounding annoyed as all fuck.
Who the hell was he? Did he know me? Or was he just repeating my name from Zane's taunting?
Inside the mirror maze, shadows seemed to swarm the room, even though I knew they were just reflections of that first one. Or were there two now? Fucking fun house. Why had I decided to hide in a fucking fun house?
"What the fuck are you doing in here?" Zane snarled, addressing shadow one. Or two. Or... fuck, I had no idea. As freaked out as I was, I kept my focus on the maze room. It was either that or acknowledge the tiny space I was being held in. And if I did that...
"Whoa, calm the fuck down," my captor hissed in my ear. I hadn't even noticed that my breathing had spiked to just this side of hyperventilation. But that was what small, dark spaces did to me.
Fuck.
I tried to focus on that small crack of light, the small promise that I wasn't stuck, despite the tall, strong guy holding me. But it wasn't enough. Without the distraction of running for my fucking life, the walls closed in on me and terror clawed at my throat. My airways started to constrict, and my breath came in ragged gasps through my nostrils.
"Shit," my captor cursed. "Hey, hey, stop that; you're going to give us away. Seriously, babe, calm the fuck down." Something in his slightly frantic tone took the sharpest edge off my panic. There was something more going on here.
Turning my head to the side, I tucked my chin against my shoulder and peeled his hand away just enough that I could utter two words.
"I'm claustrophobic," I whispered, my hushed voice drenched in fear and pleading.
With those two words, his hand dropped away from my face so fast it was like I'd imagined the whole thing. Except his muscular fore-arm was still firm across my middle with his fingers of that hand tight around both my wrists pinned together. There was no mistaking the fact that I was still his captive.
"Fuck, I'm sorry," he told me, sounding genuinely apologetic. "Just stay quiet a few more moments. Just until Zane is gone." His voice was still so quiet, his lips brushing my ear as he spoke. "Trust me, you don't want him catching up with you. Not tonight."
I gave a jerky nod. "I know. Why do you think I was fucking running?"
For all the steely sass in my voice, I was physically shaking. Tremors quaked my whole body, and although I'd been able to calm my breathing since my face was free... I was still in a small-as-fuck closet.
Deep voices rumbled from within the mirror maze, too muffled and quiet to make out their words, but it was Zane and the other guy. Bossy dickhead. They almost sounded... friendly? Familiar at very least.
"Who are you?" I whispered to the guy behind me, trying to distract myself while we waited. "Do we know each other?"
The guy huffed a small laugh, his breath warming my cheek. He shifted his grip on me, and although I was still firmly restrained, I could almost pretend it was an embrace. In fact, I leaned back into him a fraction, seeking some strength where my own was failing.
"Everyone knows you, Madison Kate," he told me, sounding amused and only half answering my question. "I like the new hair, by the way. Very eye-catching. Edgy."
I rolled my eyes in the darkness, but wasn't surprised by his answer. Everyone knows you, Madison Kate. Story of my fucking life, thanks to my father. A major investor and land developer in Shadow Grove, and totally pretentious asshole, Samuel Danvers the Fourth had forced me to stand beside him at countless events, parties, and ground breakings—the perfect, dutiful daughter filling in for her tragically deceased mother. What a crock of shit.
"It's temporary," I muttered, referring to my hot pink hair. I'd planned on wearing a wig for my sexy witch costume, but it'd been itchy, so I’d used a drugstore wash-out hair color instead.
The guy holding me made a small sound of amusement. "Of course it is."
That condescending comment irritated me, but I said nothing. Getting into an argument with this random dude in the back of a fun house while an actual, honest-to-fuck murderer was hunting me... just didn't sound like a good idea.
"Are you okay now?" he whispered after a few moments of silence. The sounds from Zane and the other guy had faded away, and I allowed myself a small amount of hope that I'd make it out alive.
I shook my head, clenching my teeth. Just by asking if I was okay, he'd reminded me where we were. With Zane D'Ath somewhere out there on the other side of the door, too... It was as close to my nightmares as it came.
The guy holding me shifted his grip again, this time only holding me against him with one arm.
"It won't be much longer," he assured me, his voice soft. With his other hand, the one no longer pinning my wrists together, he trailed his fingers down my bare upper arm. "Just focus on something else." My skin pebbled under his feather-light touch, such a stark contrast to the way he’d held my wrists. He reached my elbow, then started again from my shoulder.
I shivered, but this time it wasn't from fear. "This is your idea of a distraction?" I whispered back, trying and failing not to react. My voice was breathy, and I didn't think it was entirely from my near panic attack. So yeah, it was working.
He didn't reply immediately as his fingers started at my shoulder again, this time toying with a strand of my long pink hair. His lips touched the side of my neck, ever so lightly, and I damn near jumped out of my stripper boots.