Chapter 70

Lily

THE SCREAM ESCAPED my lips before my hand covered my mouth and distorted the noise. My mouth shut, but my feet didn’t move. Even though I screamed at the view, I didn’t run.

In the back of the storage room at my feet lay a dead body. I didn’t check for a pulse, but I definitely didn’t see chest movements. A brown coat covered the corpse—just being honest, even if I didn’t want to admit it out loud—and the room smelled. An odor I’d never experienced. Like old dirt. Rotten old dirt.

I’d never forget the scent. It worked its way into my nostrils and took up residence.

I gagged. Banging made its way to me. Someone was coming to get me. I needed to run but stood, frozen in fear. My feet were glued to the floor. No matter how much I coaxed them, they would not move. I couldn’t look away from the dead guy or his mustache either.