Now, I find them quite fitting, considering their diets. A little bit of spice with their human meat.
“Moll—”
“You're supposed to call me Marie,” I say. “That's what everyone else knows me by.”
I flick a glance at him, noting his raised brow.
“Everyone else?”
I shrug. “The grocery store clerk that sells me wine, mainly.”
“No friends? Boyfriend?”
I sigh and grab the other set of arms and legs, tossing them to Oregano. The other four can split the two torsos.
“I don't allow attachments when I make money the way I do. Lying to loved ones and living a double life doesn't appeal to me.”
“So, you have no one,” he states.
After tossing the torsos in the last two pens, I give him a dead stare, letting him see through the windows of my soul, only to find nothing inside.
“No one,” I echo, then turn and head to the cleaning station tucked into the far corner of the barn, near the metal table.
“Legion already paid for tonight. Thanks for dropping them off,” I toss over my shoulder, signaling the end of his visit. The pigs are finishing up, and I prefer to clean alone.
Or maybe I just prefer to be alone.
It's a quiet existence, but it's been so long since I've known anything else.
“I'll see you around, Molly,” Cage murmurs, the statement sounding more like a vow than a goodbye.
My throat tightens, and it doesn't ease until I hear his car door slam shut, the engine start, and the tires crunching over the gravel as he retreats.
My phone rings, showing an unknown number, and like every time before, I answer it and hold it to my ear wordlessly.
“Is it done?”
“Yep.”
“Good.”
The line goes dead, and once again, I'm left with nothing more than blunt teeth chewing through bone.
“Thanks, Helga,” I sigh.
Molly
Present
2022
The sudden knock on the door causes me to jump out of my skin, nearly sending the wine in my glass splashing in my face and on the fantasy novel from Adeline Reilly that I’d been reading.
Heart thundering, I stare at my front door with widened eyes, my brain running over possible scenarios on who the fuck could be at my door.
Of course, it jumps to the worst conclusions first.
What if it’s a cop telling me that they’ve somehow pinned my father’s murder on me and I’m under arrest. Or that they have evidence of me kidnapping Layla. Shit, maybe it’s a friend of Francesca’s, and they’ve come to collect what they feel they’re owed .
The second knock has me snapping out of my spiraling thoughts. I hurriedly set my wine down on the coffee table, before scrambling to my room to grab my Glock. I’ve never had to use it, but I don’t mind breaking it in.
Whoever it is, I’ll feed them to my pigs and no one will ever kn—
A third knock.
Quietly, I fish out my phone from my back pocket and click on the feed for my security cameras, finding Cage on the other side of my door.
I release a weighted breath and swing open the door, glaring at him with annoyance.
He raises a brow.
“Can’t say I’ve ever gotten that look before when showing up at a lady’s door. I must be losing my charm.” Then, he clocks the gun in my hand, and the other brow joins the first. “That’s also new. You gonna use that on me, little ghost? I don’t mind joining you in the afterlife.”
“You scared me half to death,” I snap. “What are you doing here?”
It’s been a week since his first drop-off, and I wasn’t prepared to see him again until the next delivery, which hasn’t been scheduled yet.
He raises his hand, and for the first time, I notice he’s holding a bouquet of tiger lilies, already in a beautiful crystal vase.
“I come bearing gifts.” He lifts his other hand and holds up a DVD. “And a movie.”
I sputter, unprepared for both items. He takes advantage and slides past me, forgoing an invitation .
“What the fuck,” I mutter beneath my breath, dumbfounded as he kicks off his shoes at the entrance, then saunters into my living room and sets the tiger lilies on the center of the coffee table.
Though, he does pause to take a peek around.
My house is warm and cozy and newly updated. It has a rustic barn feel, with brown wooden beams across the ceiling, distressed wooden floors and furniture, and deep green cabinetry that complements my sage green couch and cream rugs. It isn’t a large home, but it’s perfect for me.