Everyone in town knows your dad’s best friend. He’s the firefighter who never misses a call, the man everyone trusts, and the last person who should be looking at you the way he does.
She moved across town to escape her past. He just happened to live next door. Y/N wanted a fresh start—new apartment, new routine, and absolutely no men. Especially no men with uniforms, tattoos, broad shoulders, and an irritating habit of noticing everything. Officer Ethan Cole was supposed to be nothing more than her attractive neighbor. Then her ex came back. What starts with unwanted texts and flowers quickly becomes something far more frightening, forcing Y/N to rely on the one man she never expected to trust. Ethan knows he can’t fix her past. But he can make sure she never has to face it alone. And somewhere between late-night conversations, stolen glances, and Ethan walking her home from the parking lot, the line between neighbor and something more starts to disappear.
1899. The Van der Linde gang stumbles across the aftermath of an O’Driscoll camp, expecting nothing more than bodies and ashes. Instead, Charles finds a lone survivor—a young woman battered, bloodied, and clutching a stolen knife, who nearly shoots them before collapsing.
“You know, Liebling… you sound very pretty when you’re trying to order me around.” Y/N is a mission handler. König is the operator on the other end of her radio. She should probably stop flirting with the giant Austrian man she’s supposed to be keeping alive. He should probably stop flirting back. Neither of them is particularly good at following orders.
After being rescued from an O’Driscoll camp by Sadie Adler, Y/N is brought to the Van der Linde gang—injured, wary, and with more questions than answers. The gang is hesitant to trust a stranger, especially one found in enemy hands, but Sadie insists on giving them a chance.
Ghostface has been terrorizing the town for months, and Y/N is determined to uncover the truth behind the mask. As a journalist investigating the murders, she gets dangerously close to discovering his identity. But Ghostface notices her first—and instead of silencing her, he becomes fascinated by the woman hunting him. Late-night calls. Unseen eyes. Cryptic messages. A killer who always seems one step ahead. The deeper Y/N digs, the more obsessed she becomes with the monster she’s supposed to fear. And eventually, Ghostface decides she’s ready to see what’s behind the mask.