19.07.2023
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carelessly tossed it aside a er assembling my vanity chair, and now it sitsthere like a beacon of hope. Possibly the only thing that could keep mealive tonight.Move, Addie. Goddammit, MOVE!My limbs unlock, and I rush to the screwdriver, gripping the tool in myslick hands. My eyes are glued to the door handle, wai ng for the knob toturn. Quietly, I slink over to the door and mold myself to the wall.I’ll wait for him to come in and then a ack. Hopefully I can get thescrewdriver lodged in his neck before he knows what’s happening.So with bated breath, I wait. The knob doesn’t turn, but I can feel deepin my bones that someone is out there. Are they wai ng for me? They’reout of their mind if they think I’ll open that door. I suppose they must be,though, if they’re breaking into my house and lingering outside my room.The longest minute of my life passes. It feels like it’s been hours before Ihear another creak. And then I hear the footsteps retreat. Further andfurther they fade, un l eventually I no longer hear them at all.My ears prick, and just like I suspected, I hear my front door shut. A soclick that feels like thunder in a silent house. Instantly, I rip open the doorand run across the hall into the bedroom with windows that face thedriveway.Hunkering down, I peek through the curtains and wait for the person toemerge from the front porch.It feels like an eternity passes, but I imagine it’s only been secondsbefore I see movement. An audible cry leaves my lips when a large mansaunters off the steps and walks out onto my driveway. He’s wearing allblack, with a deep hood se led over his head.He’s tall—very tall, but not bulky. Even beneath his clothing, I can tell hisbody is fucking lethal. Lean, but packed with muscle. His hoodie clings tohis body, showing off his broad shoulders, thick arms, and trimmed waist.God, he could crush me if he wanted to. His hand looks big enough tocover the en rety of my face. Or wrap around my neck.Would he do it to cause pain or pleasure? Does my shadow want to hurtme or love me?He s lls, his back facing me. He can feel me watching him, just like I felthim outside my door.
I find myself curling deeper into the shadows, out of sight. My heart iss ll racing, though now for an en rely different reason.Something about him has me wan ng to press my face into the window.I want to see him. I want to see the man that’s been creeping inside myhouse, leaving me flowers, and mu la ng any unsuspec ng soul that daredto touch me.Was his hand on the knob, ready to come in? What stopped him?As if hearing my thoughts, he cocks his head slightly. Intently, I watchhim slowly turn his head to the side. And ever so slightly, he raises his chin,the moonlight revealing his wide mouth and a sharp jaw.I huddle deeper into the wall, feeling his eyes on me. There’s no way hecan see me. Yet somehow, I feel his gaze piercing me anyway. Like li le,sharp knives grazing my skin before digging inside me.And then he smiles, his mouth stretching into a wicked smirk. My breathhitches, and my lungs fill with fire.Oh, this is funny to you, asshole?Before I can process what to do—what I’m feeling—he turns and walksaway, disappearing into the tree line. Slow and purposeful, as if he doesn’thave a care in the world.
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Haunting Adeline Copyright © 2021
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PlaylistHish- EvilSo Below- SwayBoy
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the subject, but I did take great c
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Ripping my eyes away from the windo
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If it’s not one thing, it’s the
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I’m deep in my musings when my ey
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I press my thumb into the up arrow
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before. The hairs on the back of my
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Her sage green eyes are illuminated
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“Let’s take this to the bedroom
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the rest of his clothes are s ll th
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loca ons that won’t allow the fuc
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Par cularly about computer science
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everybody if I were short.A tall, w
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I wince from the feel of the hair-l
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If Genevieve Parsons is as wild as
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Le ng out a shaky breath, I pluck t
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my front door. And I mean, like har
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“Make it extra strong. I’m goin
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rented a dumpster, and we loaded th
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“I will,” I lie. She leaves wit
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When I was younger, Nana refused to
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“You need me to call anyone?”I
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painted on her thin lips, and icy b
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Being a real estate agent pays well
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The bed is no more, having bought m
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But I couldn’t be both a hacker a
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Right as I ready up again, one guy
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that pisses him off more.I sigh. Wi
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While Jay kept tabs, I allowed myse
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I help Sicily navigate through the
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The walls and floor are smooth blac
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But not before I shoot Daya a narro
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My phone buzzes as soon as my ass h
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“Do you want to leave?” he murm
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But the most notable part is direct
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“Fuck, baby, that’s it. Let me
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close to pissing my pants from the
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Red and blue lights brighten the wo
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look into you, but when they don’
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Chapter 9The Shadow’ve commi ed h
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Come get me, Archie.He hesitates on
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I pull into the driveway leading in
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looks as if he went five rounds in
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Cracking my neck, I take another de
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Chapter 10The Manipulatorave you he
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He waves a hand in acknowledgment b
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“I don’t know what to do, Daya,
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“Honestly, Daya, I’m a li le re
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I aim for it, sliding the door open
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due to insufficient evidence.A lot
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This was undoubtedly a crime of pas
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Another flash of movement causes me
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fear. But also from something else.
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My strangled scream pierces the air
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I roll my eyes. “Because I manipu
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“Addie, he could s ll be here. We
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Chapter 12The Shadowhere’s anothe
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ones aren’t iden fiable. I imagin
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But no one is there, despite the pe
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The video restarts. I snarl, the cr
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Rushing over, I grab the swinging s
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Switching to the other note, it tak
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I li my hand and flip him the bird.
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It’s not un l a er I take a hot s
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in the world to happen—my body is
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Chapter 14The Manipulatoraya put so
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They treat it like a concert to avo
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release a shaky breath.I have a cho
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Chapter 15The Manipulator’m compl
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I gasp, my eyes widening and snappi
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“Mm,” he growls in delight. “
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the hallway I came from.I bolt thro
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the balls for it, but I couldn’t
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Above him, the stars are twinkling
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“Do you know what these mean?”
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seeing. What I’m feeling.Slowly,
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rips through me.I’m screaming. I
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I can never let Daya see those mark
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“No,” I say finally, refraining
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“They’re going to be a problem,
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She doesn’t know I’m hiding in
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me she gets scared, my li le mouse
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Chapter 18The ManipulatorNKNOWN: Yo
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The phone lights up with an incomin
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As if I wasn’t already burning up
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“Fuck. Off!” I shout, enuncia n
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But the tape doesn’t mask the sou
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Gently, he scrapes his teeth over t
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My eyes close against the sensa on,
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Being consumed by him feels like dr
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Chapter 19The Shadowdon’t regret
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Sighing again, I pluck the pack of
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Addie’s great-grandmother could
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She snorts. “You really think I
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are ever taken seriously anyways, w
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Immediately, he dives for cover, pu
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exactly alike when laid on their de
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I enter into what looks like a foye
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While Mark was burning his cigar on
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Addie won’t ever have to worry ab
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wary, and then resigned. Tears line
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Chapter 21The Manipulator’m stewi
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about the gun incident. I don’t t
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Maybe I just want to be able to say
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My world spins as I stumble up the
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And then I climb up on the bed, in
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I’ll never tell him how glorious
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When the last bit of cum drops from
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Chapter 22The Shadowy li le mouse d
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As Mark drones on about some bill h
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“S’all good,” I say calmly, s
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Addie shakes her head, closing her
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“Oh, I know that case!” Mark ex
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Sighing, I push out of my chair and
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wild with hunger. I’m ravenous an
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I frown. “What makes you think he
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Zade picks me up in a classic Musta
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“The hell are you doing, Zade?”
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I glare up at him, tears s ll linin
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Oh, what a fine gentleman you’re
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Ugh. The arrogance.His face turns s
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Chapter 24The Manipulators there an
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downright boring.The inside is even
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another senator. I guess the story
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Chapter 25The Shadowf I spend anoth
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The girl gets off on fear. The mome
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“If you were my li le girl, I wou
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I groan, the feel of her ass diggin
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Releasing her face, my hand dri s t
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Chapter 26The Manipulator’m seeth
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if I had to guess on what type of m
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"Now, of course, when my father tol
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told John he didn’t give a shit w
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I open my mouth, ready to pry, but
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“Because you’re not listening.
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"You trauma zed me."He leans down a
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“Or what?” he challenges. I sig
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Chapter 27The Manipulator’m just
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worse and probably end up leaving.
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me. He makes it a point to stay on
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My phone vibrates in my hand, and I
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“How did you even come into conta
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preparing for it.“He hasn’t sai
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“How can you even choose?” Daya
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more minutes to come up to the fron
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Chapter 28The Shadowucking imbecile
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“Loca on?” Jay asks, keyboard c
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Walking into this house feels like
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not en rely wrong. Except I’m onl
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Mark tries to brush off my story wi
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Con nuing on my wayward path, I con
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A er a few minutes, I’m out of br
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Another growl pings through my mout
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took it all the way, and every mors
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“You’d be okay with other peopl
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When I brush my finger ps over them
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“You like being a bad li le girl,
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“Zade, please,” I whimper, my v
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him sliding in and out between my f
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“You motherfucking ass—”He in
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She takes a deep, calming breath.
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Chapter 31The Shadowhat took you so
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“You uh, told them to stay down t
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The air whistles, my only indica on
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“You can only access it through a
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He admits he’s never seen their f
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Sibby is s ll too blind with bloodl
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He was a rich man who came from old
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Now I just have to figure out how t
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Savior’s looks like the type of c
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Dan and I mingle for the next sever
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Interes ng that they believe they c
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four government poli cians.This isn
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His hand ghtens further while my br
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from every spot that our skin clash
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so flesh digging into my teeth prod
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My lip wobbles, and all of the figh
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beneath his lashing tongue.My back
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delivers a sharp slap straight on m
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I’m readying to ask… I don’t
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it’s only grown with the weight o
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connected lips. Without thought, I
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My eyes roll as his tongue laps up
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With this new angle, he hits that p
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Chapter 35The Shadowhe’s nervous.
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This me I do smile, and the dila on
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her world, and she’s grasping for
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my jaw and trying to regain the com
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here.But I know we’re both incred
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I laugh, catching Daya by her arm b
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Chapter 36The Manipulatorlook down
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“But knowing that Z is your stalk
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along with a weathered note.Daya an
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The man has his hand res ng high up
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I bounce the beam of light around i
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Chapter 37The Shadowhere’s nothin
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My head spins as I try to figure ou
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My tone suggests that Jay keep his
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He stares at the pain ng with pride
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Chapter 38The Manipulatorll the inf
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Daya whips around, grabbing the bo
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I nod, a frown marring my features.
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impossible. Especially when he arch
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Chapter 39The Shadowou eat meat raw
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from my angle, but I don’t need t
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The cool air is a balm to my heated
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I laugh quietly, even as he jerks b
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Her eyes flu er, and I watch as she
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“Addie,” I snarl through clench
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And then I’m driving into her ght
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I li my hand, gently swiping a lock
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I walk directly into the main area,
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The whiskey in my stomach sours.Swa
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approach the altar.I stare at the l
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That was the trigger. The en re roo
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“Zade, dude, are you okay?” Pan
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Surprisingly, Mom doesn't have a sn
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My phone buzzes again, aler ng me t
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scream, pain lancing down my neck a
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For My ReadersWhatever this book ma
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AcknowledgmentsI feel like I have s
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About The AuthorH. D. Carlton grew
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