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This can’t be right If he didn’t know better, he’d say the hacker lied But he’s seen the legwork Seen the proof This is, to the best of the hacker’s extensive knowledge, her address But ould a wo? He rolls down the , puts the car in park, and looks out again, without the obstruction of tintedglass Notes what appears to be a drug deal going on one car over Glances at the building again Dingy and dark, it squats on the piece of land like a fat hae Some s are covered in newspaper, one in cardboard, and there isn’t a car on the street that hason this street and walking in She has to h to live sorand on her Maybe it’s drugs, she snorts her income away Or has some version of a virtual pi, doesn’t like it one bit His visions of tying her down, spending his ti her every way but normal… those fantasies had been orchestrated on clean sheets, a place with running water Not this Du up theAdjusts the settings of his seat until he is fully reclined, grateful for the tinted s, his eyes on the front of the building, flicking once to the locks, to ensure their safety position If the boy’s neighborhood was rough, this one was Co, ready to make a quick departure should a street punk decide to try for his car He’ll wait Wait till the sun finishes setting Wait a fewready for bed Then Then he’ll strike He rubs his jaw and allows himself to smile

It is almost here

CHAPTER 85

THEY SAY IDLE hands are the devil’s workshop For me, it is not my hands, it is my mind Without distraction, it dives into dark places it shouldn’t go Places that make little boys screa those places But now, as I sit in the dark and wait for this e and let ainst a box of Jenny Craig cardboard entrees, I runHope that he is on his way, and that I can act out this stockpile of fantasies The law says that if ht to defend myself Self-defense A beautiful word that opens a world of possibilities Yeah, let’s call this self-defense Not that a defense will be needed I don’t plan on getting cops involved

I sit and wait Work through the worst-case scenarios in ht walk in covered in tactical gear Might open an automatic weapon in the middle of my loft and destroy my well-crafted plan in the course of seconds I frown,despite the cold room Whoa I ca hard Give me another hour and I’ll have a hundred more possibilities My confidence plummets, my brilliant plan suddenly full of holes I bite atbefore he arrives Try, for the third or fourth tiain,to her story, he didn’t answer er be an issue I don’t like that he is not answering Maybe she tookhands off in an atteht

Now that er has subsided, I really need to talk to hiht-- an event that will never occur I did kinda juun a bit Embraced MysteryBarbie’s words and created the perfect scenario in uilt I let out a sigh and continue the waiting gaainst teeks’ worth of herb-roasted turkey breasts

Maybe I should walk away Now that I’ve gone through the motions, made the plan, outfitted my apartment to the hilt I could still walk away Call the police and have them come here, sit in the dark with h the door It is the right thing to do

I should be stronger, I should be able to fight off the blood rush that holds e and takes over my body Maybe I should try to handle this the norht, shut my eyes and let my mind play out a sick, twisted fantasy As sick as I want it, as blood-filled as I want to take it I can be and do anything I want to do in the confines of my mind, with ood I a