Chapter 2

The fog rolled in thick and white, a synthetic cloud that clung to the damp autumn air and swirled around our ankles like living ghosts. We had navigated the main labyrinth of the Haunted House attraction, dodging shrieking actors in tattered suits and stumbling over uneven cobblestones, but now we were deeper in. The crowd had thinned out, pushed aside by the sheer density of the mist, and we had found ourselves in a secluded alcove near the back exit of the maze, a spot where the artificial chill seemed to penetrate right through to the bone. I was breathless, not just from the walk, but from the way he had been watching me all evening. It wasn’t the casual glance of a friend or the polite appreciation of a date; it was a heavy, deliberate weight that settled on my skin, hotter than the warmth of the few other bodies around us. I leaned back against the cool, peeling plaster of the faux-brick wall, trying to catch my breath, while he stood a few feet away, arms crossed, watching the fog dance around the hem of my dress. "Enjoying yourself, baby girl?" His voice was low, a rumble that