Haunting-Adeline

li le girl and play along un l I can convince Mark to leave. Then and only
then, you can pack up your shit and go home. Do you understand?”
There it is.
The fire sparks and ignites.
“Fine. At least tell me what the fuck is happening, Zade. Or Zack. Which
is your real name? You know what, I don’t care. I don’t know what game
you’re playing, but a er this, you need to leave me out of it.”
I lean forward and give her a warning look. She snaps her mouth shut,
but the flames never dull.
“I. Tried,” I bite out. “I will try to leave with Mark as soon as I can, but
un l then, do as I fucking say. We're super in love and you're my do ng
li le girlfriend. That's all you need to know right now.”
Her eyes widen gradually un l she’s staring at me like I’ve lost my mind.
What she doesn’t realize is I did lose my fucking mind the second I laid eyes
on her, and I haven’t go en it back yet.
“What is this, Zade?” she asks quietly. “Is Mark dangerous? Why are you
lying to him?”
I sigh. “Yes,” I concede. “He is dangerous, and he set his sights on you.”
Before she can ques on me further, Mark returns, a jolly smile on his
flushed face.
“No drink?” he ques ons, sauntering up to the table with his arms
outstretched.
“My fault. I got a li le carried away with my hello kiss,” I lie, grinning a
cheesy smile. The thought of me making out with my girl in public clearly
gets him hot and bothered by the flash of heat in his eyes, but he covers it
well enough with a hearty laugh.
Addie clears her throat, elbowing me hard in the side and offering an
embarrassed smile.
“What is it you were working on, Adeline dear?” Mark asks, se ling back
into the chair and gulping down a large swallow of his bourbon.
“Uh, a few things. I was researching a cold case from the ‘40s,” she
answers.
Mark cocks a brow. “Really? Why’s that?”
The red in her cheeks brightens. “Uh, well it’s my great-grandmother’s
actually. Genevieve Parsons.”