Page 39 of Locked
I shook my head, the words sticking in my dry throat when I tried to talk. I hadn't spoken to any of them since Mother's visit the day before. "She's… she's trying to kill Basil."
"What?" he asked, abruptly glancing down into the camera.
"She brought me this 'new cat food' for him. It reeks of night lilies. Like I wouldn't know?" I scoffed, shaking my head. "I just… I…" I shook my head. "I can't do this anymore, Rifyr. I can't just sit here and let her do this to me."
"You shouldn't," he said boldly. "You say the word and I'm there."
I smiled weakly. "Sorrel has offered before," I replied.
"And?"
"And I don't know where I am. I don't know where my building is. I can't…" The tears were coming again and I didn't know what to do if I started crying. What if Rifyr got flustered or awkward? I knew it would have to feel weird, trying to comfort someone who wasn't physically there with you.
"Listen, sweet pea… we aren't going to let anything bad happen to you or to Basil. And we can figure out where your building is. Just need a few context clues. We'll take care of it, okay? If we need to, one of us can come get Basil, take him away from there. At the very least, we can bring him some non-poisonous cat food."
I didn't want Basil leaving me. But I didn't want Mother resorting to drastic measures either. Maybe it was for the best.
I nodded, my bottom lip still quivering.
"What do you need, Zelle?" he asked, looking at a loss.
I felt just as much at a loss. I felt like I could pull my hair out. I could scream. I could cry.
And none of it would do any good. None of it would make me feel better. The only thing that would make me feel any modicum of good was for one of them to be here with me. To wrap their arms around me and hold me close.
I didn't want to have to handle all of this. It was too much. Too, too much.
I took a deep breath and let it out again. "I needyou."
He tilted his head, a soft smile gracing that gorgeous face of his.
"You've got me, Zelle."
I shook my head, tears pricking at my eyelids. "I don't, though. You're… you're wherever you are… and I'm wherever I am…"
"That's true…" he said slowly, pushing his hair out of his eyes. "But I could give you everything I'm able to right now… would that help?"
There was a touch of mischief in his voice, a little more than a touch in his smile. I was still upset, sure. But I was also intrigued.
"How much can you give me?" I asked, a little grin of my own forming.
He grinned wider, flexing his bicep. "Like what you see? Maybe you want some more?"
"Hmm… Maybe a little more skin is in order…" I teased.
"How much skin?" he asked.
"All of it," I replied, settling back in my chair.
"You got it, babe." He set his phone on something in his apartment, stepping back into the middle of the room. "This good? Can you see?"
"I was kidding, Rif…" I said between giggles.
"Really? Because I'll show you all of it, Zelle."
I hesitated for a moment. I knew what the nude male form looked like, of course. I had the internet and I knew how to turn off safe-search. But this wasn't just some naked guy online. This was Rif. This was one ofmyguys. This was kind of a big deal. "What would you need from me?" I asked.
"Not a damn thing, Kitten."
