Haunting-Adeline

Chapter 15
The Manipulator
’m completely immobilized beneath his stare. I can only imagine the look
on my face when I see him standing there, wai ng for me.
I
The sconces behind my bed are lit, offering dim ligh ng. Enough for
me to get a clear view of him. He’s clad in all black. Leather boots, jeans
that wrap ghtly around broad thighs, and a matching hoodie that looks a
size too small with the way he fills it out.
S ll, I can’t see much of his face—that damn hood.
My tongue darts out, we ng my dry lips.
“Take off your hood,” I say, a slight tremor in my voice. He doesn’t. Nor
does he speak.
Anger begins to build beneath the fear.
“You wanted me to come find you, ki y cat. I did. So take off your
fucking hood and show me your face,” I demand, my voice rising alongside
my anger.
A sinful smirk tugs at his lips when he hears his new nickname. He thinks
this is a game of cat and mouse. If he wants to debase me with a nickname,
it’s only fair I return the favor.
Slowly, he reaches up and slides the hood off his head, the knife glin ng
as if to mock me. I have my own knife, too.
Any triumph I felt over my li le jab dissipates like bu er in a hot skillet.
And all the fear I’ve been feeling triples. His face is… unlike anything I’ve
seen. But that’s the thing—I have seen him before. The mismatched eyes
give him away.
In the bookstore, I only saw por ons of his face. At the me, he seemed
mildly a rac ve. But now that I see those pieces as a whole, he’s
devasta ng.
His right eye darker than the midnight sky, and the other the exact
opposite. His le eye is so bleached of color, it’s nearly white. The scar