Page 59 of Tension

“I told you I haven’t,” she said on an exhale as she opened wider for me, her hands rubbing up and down my back just how I liked.

“Keep it that way.” I slid all the way in, filling her up.

I was done with this conversation for now, but whoever was out there, watching… was about to have a problem.

VEL

God, I’d heard the story a thousand times. Hell, I watched the video with her, and she was halfway through it again. We hit the top of the stairs to her apartment.

“I watch that video at least once a month,” Chris was saying something I already knew. “That boy jumping in the water, and when that man threw his hat in the air⁠—”

She stopped dead in her tracks.

So did I.

The door to her apartment was in sight. I slid my gun from my waistband, eyes sweeping the hallway in case the person who did this was still here. They could have been waiting for her.

“Call the police,” I said.

Chris didn’t move.

She stood there frozen, mouth open, phone slipping in her hand as tears spilled down her cheeks. Everything she was feeling was written across her face. Fear. Shock. Hurt. And rage.

I needed her to focus on that; the rage would get her to act.

“Chris,” I hissed, sharp enough to cut through it.

“Baby,” I called again, keeping my voice calm. “Call the police. Right now.”

She blinked and finally looked at me. Fingers trembling as she dialed.

By the time the cops left, they’d given us nothing. No leads. No answers. Just facts we already knew delivered carelessly: the cat was already dead, probably hit by a car, before someone nailed it to her door. A note taped beside it that said: Here, kitty kitty.

The nigga was sick.

Chris sat on the couch replaying the footage from her phone. It was definitely a man staring straight into the camera before knocking it down. She swore she recognized his eyes. But couldn’t place him; that scared me more than anything.

“Go pack,” I told her. “Get everything you’ll need for my place.”

She looked up. “Vel, you don’t have to keep doing this. You don’t have to⁠—”

I cut her off.

“You really think I’m a bitch ass nigga, huh?”

What is this girl on?

She didn’t answer. Just stared at me.

I stepped closer, lifting my hand to her red cheeks, looking into her puffy eyes. “Even if none of this were happening, I’d still want you with me. I want you in my space. I want more than whatever you think this is.” I took the phone from her hands and pulled her to me. “I’m not protecting you because I have to. I’m doing it because you’re mine.”

I kissed her then. Not rushed. Not gentle either. The kind of kiss that says stay, that grounds you to another person.

When I pulled back, I rested my forehead against hers. “Now go pack.”

“Okay.” She was breathless, but no argument this time. The sound of her footsteps fading down the hall settled something in me.

I liked it when she let me lead.