Page 14 of Misery Manor

I keep my face pressed into his chest, hands gripping the rough fabric of his cloak as I cry pathetically.

“I have no plans on hurting you, Aliyah,” he says quietly.

“M-my f-friends,” I manage to say through choked sobs. “They⁠—”

“They want you dead, little one,” he finishes for me, placing a hand on the small of my back. The action has me practically melting against him, which is so silly, but I’ve been so touch deprived and starving for affection for so long that any kind of gentle contact has me nearly melting.

“How do you know?” I ask, searching his eyes imploringly.

A gloved hand brushes a thick curl off my face with a gentility that Jamal has never shown me. He’s the only person I’ve ever been with, so his abuse is all that I know.

“It’s amazing the things you can find out about a person in a place like this,” he says, gesturing around us. “It’s not uncommon for people to admit dark truths about themselves when they’re truly afraid. Fake haunted houses are no different, I suppose.”

His voice has a strange calmness to it, causing goosebumps to break out on my arms. I swallow and try to take a step back, but he grips the back of my dress and keeps me pressed against him.

My heart starts to beat a bit faster now. When I look into his eyes, they’re manic.

“You’re not going anywhere, Aliyah,” he says darkly. “Tonight you’re mine.”

I don’t protest as the man drags me along behind him down the dark hall. In the distance, I can hear Jamal and Megan looking for me.

“Where are we going?” I whisper breathlessly. He slows down a little bit so I don’t have to run to keep up with him.

“Somewhere safe,” is all he says.

We continue through the Manor silently until we reach the closed-off section of the house.

I stop abruptly and start to yank on his hand. “No, this is where they found me before. What if they come back?” I whisper, looking around frantically.

He chuckles darkly. “You’re cute.”

I start to say something else, but his compliment catches me off guard.

“What the hell is happening?” I let my hand fall from his and grip my hair in distress, but he takes hold of it again and pulls me back to him.

“I’m protecting you,” he says, softer than I’m used to. “I won’t let anyone hurt you anymore.”

My throat works as I swallow. “But you don’t even know me. Why would you do that?”

He cocks his head in a predatory manner, studying my face for a moment before responding, “Would you rather I killed you instead?”

I immediately shake my head.

He pushes me in the direction of the sunroom. “Then let’s hide in here.”

CHAPTER 10

ALIYAH

What the hell is happening?

I keep repeating the question over and over in my head because, seriously, what the actual fuck is happening?

I was so sure this man would want to kill me, but instead he wants to help me?

I’m not sure why I’m so confused because that’s what I wanted, right? It was either he helps me or I just sit around and let Jamal and Megan kill me.

A sharp pain lances through my chest as I remember what I heard earlier. All this time that I wasted on Jamal, the two years we’ve been together haven’t meant anything to him. He’s only seen me as a paycheck, a means to an end. I’m expendable to him.