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“Hey, Zane, what’s up?”
A handsome man’s face filled the screen. He looked like he had just gotten out of a New York City subway. A flow of people surrounded him as gigantic pillars of glass and metal stretched up toward the sky behind him. Gabriel held the phone at an angle so that it was just his face in frame.
“This a good time?” Zane asked.
“Yeah, just waking up from a nap.”
I smirked as I reached over and stroked Gabriel’s hard dick through the sheets. His face didn’t give anything away. I started to shift in the bed, my mouth starting to water.
“It’ll be quick, but I don’t think you’re going back to sleep anytime soon. I got you access to the Midnight Chemist’s hideout.”
All thoughts of sucking dick dissolved, my mouth drying up quicker than a puddle sitting directly underneath the hot sun.
Gabriel sat up, his focus pinned onto the phone screen. “When?”
“Now. You’ve got two hours. Go and look for anything that can help crack this.”
Gabriel threw off the bedsheets and was already getting out of bed. “Thanks, Zane. These cops were stonewalling the shit out of me.”
“We’re not called Stonewall Investigations for nothing,” Zane replied with a chuckle. A series of loud honks from somewhere off-screen sounded throughout the hotel room. I half expected to hear someone shout, “Ey, I’m walkin’ here!”
“Call me with anything you find,” Zane said. “And you’re sure you don’t need any backup, right?”
Gabriel paused. Chewed on his lower lip before shaking his head. “Yeah, I’ve got this. I’ll let you know how the search goes.”
Gabriel hung up the call and went back to pulling on his shorts, zipping them up, and turning to me. “This could be big.”
I bit back a joke about how it was already big. Gabe was right. The Midnight Chemist didn’t have a chance to go and clean out his hideout before it was discovered, which meant there could be something left behind. This could beverybig.
It could also be a chance for me to face my trauma head-on. I’d been having nightmares of that place. The rough rope chewing into my skin, the tranquil bubbling of the water filters inside the glowing aquariums, the biting stench of sweat and mold and chemicals. It made me sick to even think about. And I found that the more time passed, the worse my memories became. The aquariums weren’t holding tropical fish; they were holding grotesque worms, fighting and eating each other in a mess of blood and organs. The chemicals weren’t on a tray next to the table but instead being held over my body with intravenous bags, the acid and toxins slowly dripping directly into my veins.
Horrors multiplied and made the nightmares worse.
But if I faced it all head-on, with Gabriel at my side, then maybe the fear would loosen its grip?
I threw off the sheets and went over to my suitcase, pulling out a pair of black briefs and changing into those, leaving my boxers on the hotel floor.
“What are you doing?” Gabe asked, already tying his sneakers.
“I’m going with you.” I hopped into a pair of black track pants, nearly falling over onto a skeptical-looking Gabriel.
His head cocked, arms crossed, Gabe says, “I think I’d rather you stay here.”
“And miss out on this possible research for my next thriller novel? I don’t think so.”
He arched a bushy brow. I rolled my head and popped a couple of bones, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “I need to go, Gabe. All jokes aside, I feel like I have to see it again. With you there. While I feel safe. It’s the only way I won’t blow it up in my head. Besides, maybe I find something you don’t.”
He came over to me, crouching so that he balanced on the balls of his feet, his hands going to my knees. “Are you sure, Trist? I can FaceTime you when I get there. You don’t have to go and relive it.”
Those blue eyes swirled, like the crystal-clear waters of the Caribbean, inviting you to dive in headfirst. His touch was gentle, his hands warm against my skin. If it were my choice, we would stay locked up in this hotel room forever. High up above all our problems and worries. We’d spend the rest of our days naked and sweaty and dripping in passion, memorizing each dip and curve and line in each other’s bodies. I’d write an endless amount of books, each one more inspired than the last, fed by the eternal presence of my muse.
“I need to go,” I answered, determination in my voice keeping away any quivers that could give away how I really felt.
“Alright. If at any moment you feel like you need to leave, tell me, okay?”
“Okay.”
His smile lit up his face, his lips coming to meet mine. His hands slipped higher up my legs. I savored the connection. We couldn’t stay in this hotel room forever, but I could at least hold on to this moment for the rest of time, always remembering how warm and safe I felt kissing Gabe.
