Haunting-Adeline

her world, and she’s grasping for something to ground her.
I can feel the intensity radia ng off of me. The buzzing has grown louder,
and I’m not sure whether I need to fuck Addie or go shoot someone in the
face.
“Are you okay?” she asks quietly, sensing the turmoil raging inside of me.
I look over to her, and it seems as if she shrinks beneath my gaze. It’s not
un l I no ce the tremor in her hands that I realize I’m glaring.
“Fuck,” I say, swiping a hand roughly down my face. The raised scars only
serve as a reminder. “I’m sorry, mouse. I got shi y news this morning. I
keep ge ng shi y news.”
She frowns, a crease forming between her brows.
She clears her throat, draws the robe closed, and cau ously steps back
towards me, fidge ng with the belt again.
Brave girl.
Her awkwardness almost makes me smile, but I feel a li le too empty to
do anything other than stare.
“Do you want to talk about it?” she finally asks, glancing up at me before
she reaches for her coffee.
“Do you want to hear about it?” I counter, cocking a brow. A red flush
rises to her cheeks, but she li s her eyes and holds them steady.
“Yes.”
This me, it’s me who looks away.
“That involves hearing about what I do for a living. Which is kill people.”
She releases a shaky breath, but instead of retrea ng as I had expected,
she nods her head. “Okay.”
That single word only made up for four le ers, meant more to me than
she could ever imagine.
“You’re not going to like what you hear,” I argue, and for the first me, I
think I’m searching for an excuse not to tell her. I’ve always been honest
with her, but right now, I don’t think I can handle her vicious rejec on.
“Maybe not,” she concedes. “But you said before you save women and
children. Was that not true?”
I pin her with my stare, conveying just how serious I am. “That is what I
do. All of what I told you is one hundred percent the truth. I just didn’t go
into detail about what I do once I catch them.”