HauntingAdie {1}

C10

The Manipulator

“Have you heard anything?” I interrogate, my phone growing slick from the
persistent anxiety since Arch went missing from my doorstep.
“No one has been able to locate him,” Daya answers through the phone. She’s
been looking into Arch’s disappearance herself since I told her what happened
last night, never one to rely on the police to solve anything.
But Daya doesn’t have much to go off of. She hacked into Arch’s known
enemy’s systems—their cameras, phones, laptops, and the GPS on their cars. Just
like we suspected, they had no connection to Arch’s disappearance—at least not
that we could find.
It was my shadow who took him. And without having any idea who he is,
there’s really no way to find Arch.
“I can’t believe this is happening. I practically got this man killed,” I say, tears
pricking at my eyes.
“Babe, I hate to say this, but I don’t think that’s the worst thing that could’ve
happened. I think this guy would’ve really hurt you. The things he did to his ex-
wife… they’re unspeakable. He wasn’t a good man. None of those guys were…”
she trails off, and I don’t need her words to know she’s thinking about Luke.
She said they had an incredible night together, but she ghosted him the second
she found out what kind of guy Arch is—was.
She said anyone who is friends with a man like Arch isn’t a nice man
themselves.
Can’t really disagree with that, either.
I take a deep breath. “I know, you’re right. I guess I just don’t like that he was
hurt—maybe killed—because of me. I would’ve much preferred one of his many
enemies caught up with him.”
“Yeah, that would’ve been the best-case scenario,” she allows.
“The best-case scenario would’ve been a wild night of hot sex with a hot guy
where I orgasm multiple times and then send him off on his merry way,” I
interrupt.
She pauses a beat before saying, “Yeah, you’re right. But that’s not what
would’ve happened. Not with this guy’s history. He’s violent.”

“Well, apparently, so is my stalker.”
“I know, which is why I’m hooking you up with a security system. You’re not
going to be another statistic, not more than you already are. If you die, I have to
follow, and I’m quite attached to my body. God gave me a good one this
lifetime.”
I roll my eyes at her dramatics, especially because she’s not even religious.
“Okay, just bill me for it,” I agree. I like the idea of having cameras in my
house. It makes me feel better about someone sneaking around when I can’t see
them.
“I’ll be over later to set them up.”
Getting cameras will be the first thing to happen in a month that gives me any
semblance of safety. No matter how fragile it is.

I’m just finishing up another chapter when I hear the USPS truck pull up. The
mailman has always been a pretty nice guy. He doesn’t stick around long and
spends most of his time glancing around nervously.
The last time I asked him about it, he said something evil happened here.
And since a man went missing off my doorstep last night, I'd say several evil
things have happened here.
I open the door just as he’s dropping off several cases of books. I have to sign
these and get them shipped out to my readers.
Eight large boxes later, the mailman is panting, sweat running down his light
brown face.

“Thank you, Pedro. Sorry for all the boxes,” I say, waving awkwardly.
He waves a hand in acknowledgment before getting back in his truck and
shooting off.
I sigh, staring at the boxes with a look of dread. These are going to be a bitch to
haul in. I step out, but my foot knocks into the corner of something heavy.
Looking down, I notice a small, lidded cardboard box. There's no shipping
label on it, which means Pedro didn't drop this one off.
My heart plummets, a burst of anxiety hitting me right in the gut.
I don’t know why, but my eyes dart towards the woods as if I’m actually going
to see someone standing there. I don’t. Of course, I don’t.
Sucking in a deep breath, I pick up the box. And then nearly drop it when I see
a smear of blood where the box was sitting.
“Oh, fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck. God? Please don’t allow this to happen to
me on this fine Sunday morning. Please let me not find what I think I’m going to
find,” I pray out loud, my voice cracking as a drop of blood lands on my toe.
Hands shaking, I set the box back down and just panic. There’s a drop of blood
on my toe. I knew there was blood on my hands already, but now my toes? I can’t
take this.
Before I can think about what I’m doing, I tip the lid off with my foot.
Hands.
Severed hands are in the box, just like I feared.
“Oh, fuck me. Fuck this shit.”
I twirl and run back in the house, scrambling to find my phone to call Daya.
The line rings for all of two seconds before she answers.
“I’ll be there in a few hou—”
“Daya.”
“What happened?” she asks sharply.
“A hand. And another hand. Two of them. In a box. On my porch.”
She curses, but my panic mutes the sound.
“Don’t do anything yet. Wait till I get there,” Daya orders. “Go take a couple of
shots and wait for me.”
I nod, despite that she can’t see me. But it doesn’t stop me from nodding again
and then hanging up without a word.
I do exactly as she says. Taking two shots of vodka to calm my nerves. And
then take deep breaths, slowly, in and out until my racing heart calms.
The fucker actually did it. He sent me Arch’s hands. A part of me knew he
wouldn’t lie, but somehow, I didn’t believe it anyway.
“Shit,” I mutter, dropping my head low between my shoulders, balancing my
weight on the edge of the counter.