Wicked Souls (The Marionettes Book 2) by Katie Wismer

Author:Katie Wismer [Wismer, Katie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ahimsa Press
Published: 2021-12-06T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

I spend the next several days religiously checking my phone. Daniel gave Winnie my number, and every time my phone chimes—a picture from Kirby of her trip, Monroe complaining about one of her professors, or Reid telling me he’s flying back in tonight—my neck practically snaps from how quickly I look at it. But it’s never her.

I can understand her hesitation. But she has to be at least a fraction as curious about me as I am about her, right?

But I guess if this is something she’s been dealing with her entire life, maybe it’s old news. Maybe she’s mad at Daniel for telling me. Maybe—

My phone chimes.

I leap across the room and snatch it from my bed. A text from an unknown number waits on the screen.

The roof. 4am.

And that’s it.

At least, until a few seconds later, when a second message appears.

Come alone.

The words burrow a chill under my skin that stays there for the rest of the night, until finally, the time comes, and I teleport myself into the alley Daniel had taken me to. I could’ve tried going directly to the roof, but if I somehow missed, even by a little…

Not worth the chance.

I blink, loose gravel cutting into my knees. Drunk voices carry over, and the bar across the street vibrates with music. My nose scrunches at the stench of rotting food coming from the dumpster beside me, and I quickly push myself back to my feet.

The noise from the street grows louder as I approach, but no one pays me any mind as I grab the ladder and start climbing. The metal screeches beneath me, and despite the bustle of the city carrying on once I reach the top, there’s something inherently more peaceful about it from up here.

Winnie isn’t here yet, so I pace around. Everything looks pretty much the same as the last time I was here. My phone says it’s 4:00 a.m. on the dot. I blow the air out of my cheeks and do another lap around the roof, my hands starting to get jittery.

Maybe I should’ve double-checked with Daniel that was her number. Maybe she changed her mind and isn’t going to show.

The metal ladder screeches behind me. Winnie meets my eyes over the edge of the roof and hesitates a moment before climbing the rest of the way up. Unlike the other night with her skinny jeans and trendy top, tonight she’s in matching black sweats, the hood drawn up over her head. They fit snugly to her curves, and her brown hair spills out the neckline in thick curls.

“Thanks for meeting me,” I say.

She doesn’t respond. At first, I think she’s ignoring me, but then I realize she’s chanting something under her breath, her eyes trained on the moon over our heads. I take a hesitant step back, my heart beating a little faster in my chest, but then she stops abruptly and looks at me with a sheepish smile.

“Sorry. We’re alone. Just making sure no one could listen in.

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