Page 132 of Dissolving Prejudice

“Yeah, of course. Just a second.” Chief went silent, and I could hear the voices of children in the background and some muffled sounds until Soren spoke.

“Hello?”

“Is Shay-Lee with you?”

“No, why?”

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

“Is everything alright?” he asked.

And while nothing was alright since I had no fucking idea where Shay-Lee was, I didn’t want to involve Soren or anyone else yet. It was my job to take care of him, not theirs, and since I already struggled with the fact so many people filled my place while I was gone, I couldn’t ask for any of their help.

“Yeah, it is…” I scratched my neck, which somehow felt itchy. “Actually, I just remembered he told me he’s going out with some coworkers,” I lied. “Anyway, thanks.” Not waiting for a comeback, I hung up.

I looked down at my phone, my eyes focusing on my wallpaper, which was a photo I’d taken of Shay-Lee not so long ago. Hugging Toro, he kissed his nose while wearing his hair in adorable space buns. My heart ached as worry filled my gut. Everything was fine when we met for lunch today. It was more than fine, actually. It was perfect. So what the fuck happened between then and now that made him vanish? My heart stopped when a single name came to my mind.

Dion.

Without thinking twice, I dashed to the kitchen and opened the cabinet. Ever since the incident that happened weeks ago, I’d kept my gun here. It took me a second to track it, and as I pulled it out, the image of Shay-Lee being taken by Dion’s men flashed through my mind.

“I’m going to kill that motherfucker,” I hissed as I checked the gun to see it was loaded. Why would Dion suddenly kidnap Shay-Lee? I had no fucking idea, but it was the only thing that made sense. The French fucker always hated my guts, and maybe all this “I’m setting you free” bullshit was just one big scam to catch me with my guard down.

A crashing noise came from behind me, and I turned around, gun pulled out and aimed at—Toro?

Shit. So fucking paranoid I nearly mistook my damn cat for something, or someone, else. I looked down at the floor to see he’d pushed one of my plant pots from the windowsill, and the thing had smashed. Hence the noise. Considering what had just happened, maybe I should wait a bit longer before knocking on Dion’s door with a loaded gun. With a sigh, I placed the gun on the counter, then went to clean up Toro’s mess.

I was in the middle of picking up the pot’s shards when my phone rang, and to my shock, it was Shay-Lee. My heart stopped, and I quickly dropped everything to get the call.

“Llorón?” I said, out of breath, as I worried it was someone else using his phone. As the silence grew, my anxiety rose, and I felt like dying. Holding the phone tighter, I pressed it to my ear. “Shay-Lee, are you there?”

“Yes.”

The sound of his voice was like a breath of fresh air, and I sighed with relief. “¡Gracias a Dios!” I muttered with my eyes closed before getting a grip. “You scared the shit out of me, not picking up.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, and his voice sounded… off.

“Are you on your way home?”

“No.”

My heart dropped.

“Where are you?” I asked, and all I got in response was more silence. Gritting my teeth, I held the phone harder. “Llorón, tell me where you are. I’ll come to you.”

I doubted I’d ever ridden my bike this recklessly in my life before, but I did whatever I needed in order to get here as fast as possible. Leaving my helmet on the bike, I dashed through the metal gates, not caring about a thing until I saw him with my own eyes.

I replayed my memory from the last time he took me here as I ran uphill and between the rows of graves until I spotted him from afar, standing with his back to me.

Out of breath, I called out his name, yet he didn’t turn around and remained standing still. Something was clearly off, but at least he looked fine. Right?

“For God’s sake, Shay-Lee, what are you doing here?” I asked once I reached him. But instead of answering me, he kept silent, his eyes locked on his mother’s tombstone. This was getting scarier by the second, and so I stole a glance at his face, only to see his eyes were bloodshot red and his cheeks stained with traces of dried tears.

“Why are you crying?” I placed my hand on his shoulder and tried turning him to face me, but he slapped my hand away.

“Don’t touch me!” he screamed and stepped back.

The place where he hit me stung with rejection, and shocked, I stared at him while holding my wrist. “What’s going on?”