A text message from a restricted number.
I hesitated. Only my family had this number. I should probably delete it without reading it. But you know what they say about curiosity and the cat…
I clicked on the message.
Little pig, little pig, let me in. You can pull on the hair of my chinny-chin-chin. The wolf is at your door, pretty Annika. He wants to play with the little piggy. He wants to poke you. Stab you. Gut you. Are you ready to squeal for me?
I gasped, horror crawling up my throat.
My hand trembled, the phone dropping into my lap.
An icy finger trickled down my spine.
Was ithim—my attacker? How had he gotten my number? Was this just a prank? Or something more sinister?
The wolf is at your door, pretty Annika. He wants to play with the little piggy.
I shuddered.
He wants to poke you. Stab you. Gut you. Are you ready to squeal for me?
Bile threatened. I swallowed hard, forcing it back down.
A whimper escaped my lips.Oh God, it’s him! He somehow got my number.
My breathing escalated, turning into quick pants as I started to hyperventilate.
“Annika?” Efrem’s voice penetrated through my fog of terror, his concern evident. “What is it? Are you all right?”
I inhaled sharply, focusing on my little brother. I was safe here. No one could get to me on the estate. This place was heavily guarded.
What if the sender was my attacker and he’d come back to finish me off? What if he found a way past the fence? What if he got inside the house?
I shuddered again, closing my eyes.
A skilled predator would lie in wait and watch for his prey’s weakness. If he waited long enough, he would be rewarded with an opportunity to take the kill.
The wolf is at your door, pretty Annika. He wants to play with the little piggy.
Had this guy followed me home from the concert?
He wants to poke you. Stab you. Gut you. Are you ready to squeal for me?
If I showed Efrem the text, he would show Papa, and Papa would go all-out to protect me. While I wanted to be safe, I didn’t want to alarm them if it was just a prank. I also didn’t want to be locked up here indefinitely, smothered by overprotective guards and not allowed to leave the premises, which was exactly what they would do if they saw that text.
The last five months had been restrictive enough.
But I couldn’t ignore the text or its sinister nature. I had to show my brother. It would be foolish not to.
My hand shaking, I picked up my phone and handed it to Efrem.
He read the text in silence, his brown eyes—Mom’s eyes—darting back to mine. “What the ever-living shit?”
“Yeah. I’m a little creeped-out.”
“Alittle? Hell, sis, that’s one creepy-ass text!” Ef shook his head, his eyes flashing with disgust. “This could be from your attacker. He could be lurking right outside the gate this very moment.”
Another chill crept down my spine. “What if it’s just a prank?”