AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You hear or see something, you call me,” I demanded instead.
“Yes, sir,” Barry agreed, already reaching for my phone to plug it in. “Do I call you too?” he asked Junior.
“Fuck no,” Junior said, making a snort escape me.
“Have you seen anyone unusual around here?” I asked.
“Nah, man. But I gotta admit I don’t really pay that much attention.”
“Barry is a streamer,” Sylvie supplied.
“A… what now?” I asked.
“Streamer. He streams himself playing video games.”
“The fuck for?”
“People actually watch other people play video games,” Sylvie said, shrugging.
“No different than someone watching someone else play sports,” Junior said.
“See, my man over here gets it,” Barry said, looking dangerously like he was going to try to put an arm around Junior.
“No,” he said, sensing it too.
“Anyway, he sits at his desk most of the day with his headphones on, so he doesn’t see or hear much of anything,” Sylvie explained.
“Happened to hear the grunting when I was taking my cans out to recycle. Gotta be green and all that,” he said. “Thought it was weird, so I let myself in real quick. And that’s when you found me.”
My gaze moved toward Junior’s, and despite not knowing him well, he managed to read my mind.
I want a file on Barry too.
He gave me a slight nod.
“Alright. You, out,” I said to Barry.
“Yes, boss man,” he said, clicking his heels together like he was coming to attention, then making his way out. “Bummer about all the… mess,” he said to Sylvie as he passed. “Hey,” he called when he was in the main area.
“What?” Sylvie called.
“What happened to that lizard you’re always getting those bugs delivered for?”
A pathetic little whimper escaped Sylvie at that, making me worry she was going to have another of those big crying spells again, so I rushed out.
“Go,” I demanded, partially shoving him to the door and into the hall.
“Shit. He took that too?” he asked, shaking his head as he moved across the hall and into his apartment.
I glanced back over my shoulder, finding Junior there.
Once again reading my mind, he moved past me into the hall. “I’m on it,” he said.
“How you gonna have him let you in?”
“Ask about his gaming setup,” Junior said, knocking on the door as I moved back into Sylvie’s apartment.
I found her in her bathroom, scrubbing soap and water up to her elbows.
“I feel gross,” she said, gaze downcast as she ran her arms under the tap.
“Hey, this sick shit is on him, not you,” I said, moving behind her to watch her reflection.
“It could, quite literally, be on me,” she said, and her whole body quivered at the thought.
“Come on. If you came home and there was something wet or crusty on your bed, you’d have noticed.”
“That’s true,” she agreed. “I’m weird about my bedding. I can’t sleep if there is so much as a crumb in there with me. Or if I spilled a drink on the duvet.”
“Exactly. You’d have noticed. And there’s no saying he did this before, either.”
“But the fire escape,” she said, wincing.
“Do you draw your curtains? Pull down the blind?”
“Yes. I mean, usually. But who’s to say I didn’t sometimes? And I never wear pants,” she declared.
“We’re gonna revisit that later,” I said, watching as her lips twitched slightly at those words. “Right now, how about we focus on some other shit.”
“Like what?”
“Like Barry.”
“You guys don’t think he’s the creep, do you?” she asked, turning to face me. Then, realizing how close we were, how much the air seemed to spark between us, she backed up against the sink cabinet, holding the edge with her hands. “I mean, I’ve literally caught the guy moving spiders out of his apartment trapped in solo cups. Like seventeen times. He’s harmless.”
“Sounds like he has an infestation problem,” I said, getting a small chuckle out of her. “And I don’t really think it’s him, but it’s worth looking into since we found him in here,” I reasoned.
“Alright. That’s fair, I guess,” she said, taking a deep breath and sighing it out.
“Hey,” I said, closing that space between us, reaching out to snag her chin, and pulling it up so she looked at me. “I’m gonna figure this shit out.”
“I believe you,” she said. “This just sucks.”
“Does it?” I asked as my thumb, having a mind of its own, shifted up and stroked under her lower lip. “I’m not minding it,” I said.
Her lips parted at the touch and her breath caught a bit in her chest.
When her gaze lifted to mine, her eyes were heavy-lidded.
I didn’t need more encouragement than that.
My hand shifted, moving across her jaw, then behind her neck as my head lowered, and my lips claimed hers.
And, fuck, this woman just melted into me.
Her hands lifted, grabbing my arms, nails digging in a bit as she sighed against my lips.
