Page 24 of Theo

Please, just answer the phone, Viper.

I’ll be in the parking lot if you want to talk face-to-face.

Bouncing the phone off my knee, I look at the apartment again. Dane has passed in front of the sliding glass doors a few times, but I’ve yet to see Charity. I know she’s in there, or at least her phone is, based on the tracking app I’ve been checking almost as obsessively as I’ve been re-reading the text messages.

She can ignore me for as long as she needs to; I’m not going anywhere. I’ve been playing the long game with her since we were teenagers, and I’m not about to stop now. I’m going to show my little Viper what absolute devotion feels like, even if it kills me.

The apartment door opens, revealing Dane dressed in his all-black gear. I hadn’t realized he was working tonight, but it makes sense. It’s been all hands on deck since the attack.

Dane walks toward his car, not stopping to look around as I thought he might. He has to know I’m here, but he doesn’t seem to want to acknowledge me.

Dane

I don’t know the whole story, but I know you’ve been protecting her, and that’s enough for me. The door is unlocked.

My eyes snap to the apartment again, noting the living room light has been shut off. She’s alone, and I doubt she knows the door is open. I could sneak up there and lock it, just in case anyone were to come up the opposite stairwell to avoid being seen.

Or I could go inside and lock it behind me. I would stay in the living room; she probably wouldn’t even know I was there. Unless I told her I was there. I could?—

The phone vibrates a second time, and I glance down to see I have an incoming photo from Charity.

I nearly fumble the phone in my haste to open the message, only to be confronted with a photo that doesn’t initially make sense. It’s definitely Charity, but it’s just her bare neck and chest. The image spans from her chin down to just above where I’m certain her nipple would be. That’s it.

Theo

Does this mean you’re ready to talk to me?

A second photo comes through, and it’s a similar idea to the first, but a different part of her body. The soft inside of one thigh, from her knee to the crease of her hip, is now staring at me from the confines of the text thread. My mind can fill in the blanks on this one, and I groan at the mental image of what must be happening just outside the photo’s frame.

Another photo comes through before I can respond to the last, and it takes no time for me to decipher what’s happening. It’s the lower half of Charity’s stomach, but that isn’t all. The arm not holding her phone is lying across the soft expanse of her abdomen, visible all the way to her wrist. Her hand is notably absent from the photo, disappearing just above her pubic bone.

She’s touching herself and sending me pictures of it.

Kind of.

Theo

Is this your way of torturing me?

I don’t expect her to text back, so the three dots popping up have me shifting in my seat.

Viper

No, this is my way of giving you all the information except the parts that actually matter. How does it feel?

You’re mad.

No shit, Dickbag.

I’ll explain everything if you just let me talk to you.

I’m a little busy getting myself off right now, but maybe later.

“Fuck!” I toss the phone onto the dash, rubbing a hand across my face. This isn’t the kind of conversation you have via text, but she’s not communicating with me any other way.

I guess I’ll just have to make her listen.

Halfway up the stairs, I decide this is a terrible idea and should turn around. Then my phone buzzes with a new photo. Charity’s head is tipped back, just her chin and mouth in view as she bites her lower lip hard enough little white spots are showing in the soft pink flesh.

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