Chapter 50

Fifty

I'm asleep when the call comes.

Diamond jerks awake next to me, his hands and legs thrown over mine. We share a look, and he kisses my forehead softly. "Get ready. We'll meet outside in five."

I nod and scramble from bed as the cirque urges me to move faster, the pounding of the call making me gasp as I hurry over to my chest and grab an outfit at random. I have many now. They just keep appearing thanks to the guys. They call it my hunting gear. After all, I should look the part, just like they do.

I hold the outfit up, and my eyebrows rise. It's not something I would have worn before, but that's the point. Gathering my courage, I slip on the leather pants and skintight black bustier before shoving my hair up into a messy bun.

I don't have much time, but I smear on some clown makeup, creating Vs above and below my eyes and then my lips. Turning to the mirror, I check myself out, nodding in approval, then I grab my mask and slide it into place on my face before I head out to meet them and answer the call.

It's growing stronger.

The call pounds so hard in my chest, I have to wrap my arms around myself to hold it, like I might splinter apart at any moment.

I have a really bad feeling, but the call must always be answered.

Diamond pulls over on a rocky, deserted country road and glances back at us. "Time to hunt."

Nodding, I slide from the car, watching as they put their masks in place, and we share one more look before turning to the narrow dirt road and heading the way the call demands.

We don't have to walk for long. Around the next bend, covered by trees, is an abandoned building. It's shaded and clearly forgotten. Glass from the windows crunches under our feet as we walk to the open door and peer at the darkness inside.

"I don't like this," I admit.

"The cirque is never wrong," Diamond murmurs, but even he seems more reserved as he steps inside. The call hammers in our chests now, so we must be close. We follow our leader in, letting our eyes adjust to the light as we move deeper into the huge, empty room.

No, it isn't empty, I realize as we come to a stop.

In the middle of the abandoned concrete building is a body. It's turned away from us with a puddle of blood lying under the figure, which makes us halt. It's clear from how still they are that they are dead.

My eyebrows tug together in a frown as I search the area. If they didn't make the call, then who did?

Clapping fills the air, startling me, my eyes widening as Roger steps from the shadows. He wears a sinister grin on his face, one that makes me shift with unease. Each clap of his hands is deafening, echoing around the large, cavernous room as shock and fear course through my body.

Chuckling, he stops and holds up a card between two fingers, letting it catch the light.

A joker.

He called us here.

"Hello, wife," he purrs. "I've been waiting for you."