Page 92 of Secrets in the Deep

“What address?”

“This one.” Preston leaned forward to look out the windshield. “How fucking cool is this place?”

Emily leaned forward too. Only “cool” wasn’t exactly the word she’d use to describe it.

Creepy. Old. Probably haunted.

Yeah, they all fit better.

It was a big old mansion-looking house, but it obviously hadn’t been updated or lived in for years. The windows were boarded over, the paint peeling…

“When was the last time someone lived here?” Faye breathed.

“Decades ago, I’m guessing.” Preston stopped at the end of a long line of vehicles.

“We shouldn’t be here.” Emily climbed from the car and wrapped her arms around her middle.

“Got to do what the boss says,” Preston replied, as he pulled on his sunglasses and walked past her.

Faye remained at her side, fiddling with the pendant on her bracelet almost nervously. “Do you think we’re going to have to finish the film before they catch the person?”

Emily shook her head. “No. It’s not safe. The studio would never allow it.”

“I hope you’re right.”

They both headed over to where a crowd had gathered around the director.

“Look at this beauty,” Roscoe gushed, studying the house like it was a masterpiece and not a deserted, decrepit, old mansion. “I found her on an old map and she’s just…she’sperfect.”

“Perfect for what?” Emily asked.

“Our final scene.” He looked at her like she was stupid. “The scene where everything comes together. The killer’s revealed. His motives are exposed.”

“But we’re not filming right now.”

Roscoe scoffed. “This is a small pause. We’ll get back to it within the month. Come on, let’s go in and I’ll show everyone where we’ll be filming. Use the flashlights on your phones. There’s no light and the windows are boarded up.”

People started heading toward the house.

Really? Everyone was just following him? They weren’t questioning whether stepping into a creepy-ass deserted house when someone was out to hurt cast members was a good idea?

Emily forced her feet to move, keeping in step with the group. “Where’s Ryan or any of the other guys?”

Roscoe stepped onto the porch, wooden boards groaning beneath his feet. “We’re not in the forest and we’re not filming, so we don’t need them.”

Uh, except there was still someone out there hurting people, and they were in the middle of nowhere with no protection. Sure, they weren’t security guards, but they could be protection.

Roscoe opened the door and stepped inside. Everyone followed, while Emily hesitated. She was the only one who did.

Faye turned from just inside, phone in hand with the flashlight on. “Are you coming?”

“This doesn’t feel right.”

Faye lifted a shoulder. “There’s a ton of people around. I’m sure we’ll be fine. Besides, I’d rather be in here with people than out there alone.”

Emily cast a glance behind her. At the forest surrounding the house. The eerie quiet, only interrupted by the whoosh of the wind in the trees.

Dammit.