Haunting-Adeline

“Nope,” he replies, popping the P drama cally. I want to pop him in the
face for it. “You going in tonight?” he asks.
“Yes,” I say, rolling my head and cracking my neck. The tension has
already started seeping into my shoulders. I have a sinking feeling I’m going
to see some shit that will threaten to send me into a tailspin.
But I have to maintain control. If I don’t, I will die before I save those
kids, and that’s just not an op on.
“S ll keeping an eye on Addie?”
Jay sighs. “Yes…” he trails off, and I can feel the ques on hanging from
the p of his tongue. I want to reach through the receiver, snatch it, and
crush it before he can speak, but he’s too quick. “So, uh, this is like the love
of your life or some shit?” he asks awkwardly.
The sigh I try to keep internal bleeds out and through the phone. “The
one and only,” I clip, my tone signaling that I don’t want to speak about
Addie right now, but the fucker doesn’t ever listen when it comes to my
personal life.
“She feel the same?”
I can’t help the slight smirk from forming on my face. “She’s ge ng
there,” I reply cryp cally.
Jay finally takes the hint and drops it. “Well, you will be happy to know
that no one has gone in and out of her house except her friend for the past
three days.”
Mark's threat s ll rings around in my head. Like a stray bullet ricoche ng
in a constant loop inside my brain.
The Society knows about Addie, making her a target. They may love
children, but they absolutely do not pass up beau ful young women to sell
and ship off to other countries. There’s no shortage of demand when it
comes to the skin trade. Evil people have their tastes, and some prefer
their vic ms to be fully grown women just as much as some prefer them
adolescent.
The tension in my shoulders grows as my thoughts run away from me. A
single moment—that’s all it takes for her to go missing. Vanish out of thin
air within a short trek from her car to the grocery store entrance.
She doesn’t know the danger she’s in, but that will change soon. I refuse
to hide the truth from her. And I’m sure she’s not going to like hearing that
our self-defense lessons are going to be ramping up.