Page 41 of Leo, My Partner

“All night.”

After I clean him up, I do just that.

CHAPTER 14

TYSHAWN

As promised, Leo holds me through the night. It’s like we didn’t move as soon as we got comfortable and slipped into sleep. I wake up with Leo’s arm gripped tightly around me, holding me against his big, warm body.

I burrow deeper into him, loving how his arm flexes and pulls me closer. It’s like we don’t even have air separating us. “Good morning, babe.”

“Morning, kotenok. How did you sleep?”

“Really, really well. You?”

He breathes in deeply, as if scenting me, then says, “Same. You make a good teddy bear.” Leo nips at my neck and I giggle.

I roll over, lying on Leo’s chest. He wraps his arms snugly around me, and I sigh, never having felt more content in my life.

After kissing me on the top of my head, Leo asks, “How did you meet Juliette? You never told me.”

Usually, when someone asks about my best friend, my heart clenches and my eyes prick with unshed tears. But now that she’s avenged, my heart feels light. I want to cry but because I’m happy I got to kill the man that hurt her. I have a feeling every memory going forward will be thought of with fondness, not with a shadow of pain clouding it.

“We met in middle school,” I began, thinking back to Juliette walking into my art class, a new kid that just transferred from Florida. “She looked scared shitless, like she didn’t know where to sit or who to talk to.” I chuckle briefly thinking about her wide eyes and pale face. “I waved her over, telling her she can sit with me. We were inseparable after that.”

“You were a social butterfly,” Leo mutters.

“Sorta. But more than that, I felt like Juliette was meant to be in my life. She could have sat at my other empty table, but I wanted her to be near me. Come to find out, my father worked with her father. Our fathers became friends, so I saw Juliette all the time. We were closer than siblings, since neither of us have them. For six years, we were always together. I’m sure we’d still be inseparable if Michael hadn’t done what he did. I wish she’d talked to me before she took those pills. I would have tried to help her.”

“I don’t think it had anything to do with you,” Leo says gently. “A lot of people live in their heads and don’t want to burden anyone with their problems or their pain. I can’t say for sure, but she was probably in so much pain that no one or nothing mattered but that. So don’t beat yourself up about it.”

Smiling with tears sliding down my face, I lean up and ask Leo, “Are you sure you don’t have any feelings or emotions? You’re great at comforting me.”

He trails his thumb down my face to wipe my tears. “I read a lot, especially Blu’s mental health books. I read a few from attempted suicide survivors. Their mind isn’t on their family or friends, it’s on their pain and trauma.” He pauses, then says, “I’m trying to be good at comforting you. Did killing Michael help?”

I nod against his chest. “So much. I didn’t think I’d be the type of person that would want to kill or be okay with it, but I am. I think I got justice for Juliette.”

“You did, kotenok.” Leo tips my head up and kisses me softly. “Come on. Check out time is rolling around. Let’s shower and get out of here.”

We get out of bed and climb in the shower, Leo’s arms wrapped around me as the water beats down on us. The water pressure sucks, but I’m not complaining because Leo is here with me.

It’s mind boggling that it’s been less than a month since I met Leo. My feelings for him are so strong, I’ve had to fight not to blurt out my true emotions.

Truth be told, I’m fucking crazy about him. My feelings for him almost can’t be contained by my body. If I’m not careful, I’ll end up blurting out how I feel and scare him away. He’s okay with my rambling and babbling—that doesn’t mean he wants to be saddled with me for the long haul with my weird quirks. Leo said he claimed me. That has nothing to do with the love I have for him threatening to burst from my chest. He didn’t sign up for that bit.

Before we leave the city, I ask Leo to stop by a local big box store and buy a burner phone. Once he’s back in the car, I call in the tip about Michael’s victims and where their bodies can be found. I also tell them his name and his history of being a rapist, so they’ll be more inclined to take the tip. The call lasts less than a minute, then I toss the phone out of the window on the highway. Hopefully those girls will be found and their families can get some closure. Michael was a piece of shit, and I’m glad I put him down.

I grab the hand Leo doesn’t have on the steering wheel and thread our fingers together. He glances at me and smiles, giving my hand a quick squeeze.

“Can I help you again?”

Leo gives me a side long look. “Again? You have someone else in mind?”

“No. You said you have a website, right?” I ask. Leo nods. “Someone from there. I’m sure I took time from you with this kill you did for free.”

He lifts one shoulder. “I have enough money that I wouldn’t have to work for at least twenty years if I didn’t want. So you didn’t take time from me at all. You know everyone I kill isn’t guilty, right? Some are just regular people that end up on my list. It could be someone that wants a promotion, but someone is in their way or someone who wants their parent’s life insurance, and they’re taking too long to die,” Leo says matter of factly. I swallow hard but nod jerkily. “Can you handle that?”

I don’t answer right away so I’m not speaking out of turn. I want to kill more people like Michael. I know they’re out there, walking the streets because there wasn’t enough evidence to convict or the person they hurt didn’t want to come forward.

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