Page 44 of Psycho Sinners

I was still trying to come to terms with what had happened when Tyrone had waltzed in and handed me my phone, telling me to make my call before he strode straight back out without another word.

Had he felt anything? Did he get some twisted delight from it?

“I’m fine, mostly,” I muttered as I patted the tabby cat, grateful he’d stayed in my room. “How’s Ray?”

“He’s in recovery, he’ll even be back at work in a few days. Got a decent payout for his injury, and he’s a bit too scared to try to leave now,” Noms said, and I could picture her chewing her nails the way she did when she got uneasy.

“That’s good, I guess.”

“Are you sure you’re okay? Have they hurt you?” Her tone was beyond stressed, and I wondered if she’d struggled to sleep worrying about me. I would’ve been tossing and turning if the cards had been reversed.

“I’ll be fine, a little bruised. I’m pretty much their sex slave,” I said, lowering my tone in case anyone could hear me. Then again, my phone was probably bugged after Tyrone had had it.

“That’s fucked up,” Noms spat.

“How is it all that different from the back room stuff for you?” I mused, smiling down at my furry friend when he looked up at me with lidded eyes, still purring away happily.

“I choose my clients, and they’re not allowed to cause us any harm. Not to mention we have a bodyguard outside who will step in if we call for them. It’s completely different,” she retorted.

She had a point there.

“Well, at least there’s a cat here,” I stated, and Noms made a soft sound of surprise.

“They have a cat? Didn’t picture them as cat people.”

“Same here, you don’t expect hardened criminals to have pets, maybe scary dogs, scar-cover pitties, but not a friendly little cat.” I scratched under his chin and his purrs increased at the touch.

“Well, I went into the diner, got that sorted for you, so you’ll still have a job once you’re free,” Noms said.

“What’d you tell them?”

“You’re attending your grandmother’s funeral and dealing with her estate along with your estranged parents, so you’ll be out of state for a month. It was very sudden and took you by surprise, hence you not calling in.”

That’d been thoughtful of her to do, but I snorted. “She died when I was twelve.”

“They don’t know that.”

I shook my head, grateful for her quick thinking on my behalf at least.

“Did you try to call anyone other than me?” Noms asked after a moment.

“No. All my numbers have been wiped, all I have is yours and I’m assuming their numbers,” I muttered darkly. I’d scanned my contacts, finding only four numbers in my phone now, and I’d lost the ability to text. Whatever Tyrone had done to my phone was both impressive and frustrating as hell. Would he put it back to normal when my month was up?

“Wow, they added their numbers?” Noms’ disbelief had me sighing in joint frustration.

“Seems that way.”

“Are you coping okay, Scar?” Noms sounded uneasy, her tone dropping with real concern. I knew we may play every horrid thing off in our lives, but sometimes we needed a real check-in.

“As good as one can in this situation.”

“I wish I could get you out of it.”

“It was my dumb decisions that got me here, guess karma has finally caught up,” I said with a sharp laugh, causing my furry friend to glance up at me.

“It’ll be over before you know it.”

“I hope so.”

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