Page 153 of The Catalyst

“Sounds like quite the fantasy,” I mutter, trying like hell not to moan like a pornstar when he’s not even touching me.

“Not a fantasy. It’s a reality that hasn’t happened yet. I’mgoing toput you on your knees. Youwillopen your mouth andbegfor my cock. You’llthankme when I come down your throat and spit in your mouth for added measure.”

My heart, brain, and lungs stopped working simultaneously, and I swear, if the house phone hadn’t started ringing right then, I would’ve dropped to my knees right there and made all of that a reality.

Holy fuck. His dirty words are kerosene to my lust. They turn me into a woman I don’t recognize.

Jumping up from my seat, I race across the room to escape the undertow that’s dragging me into Oliver’s aura and hurry to pick up the phone.

“Hello?” I gasp as I press the phone to my ear.

“Hello. You have a collect call from Grove Hill City Jail from...” My jaw drops, but a smile pulls at my lips when I hearhisvoice.

“Nigel O’Reilly.”

“To accept the charges–”

“Yes, I accept them!” I nearly scream into the phone even though I know that won’t make the automated message run faster.

I expected to have more time before telling him what was going to happen, but I’m so happy I can hear his voice and know he’s still alive. I’m not his family, so I wouldn’t be notified if something terrible happened to him, and honestly, I wouldn’t put it past Aimee to hide it from me if he got hurt or worse.

“Hello?” His voice comes through, and tears prick my eyes.

“Nigel! What are you doing calling so late? I wouldn’t think you’d have phone privileges at this time,” I say before looking at Oliver, who is standing behind me. Instantly, I switch it to speaker phone so Oliver can have the chance to talk to Nigel, too.

“Yeah, I know. I was just pulled from my room in the general pop unit. They said I’m being moved to solitary. Apparently, they’ve received orders from high up. Do you have any clue what’s going on?”

My head snaps around as a grin pulls across my lips. Even though I haven’t signed the contract, it seems Nolan is taking precautions to make sure Nigel makes it to being released. Oliver wraps his arms around me in a hug.

“A lot has happened, but you’re being released in a few days,” Ollie explains before releasing his hold on me.

“Wait, is that Ollie?”

“Yeah. He’s right here.” There’s a long pause, and my eyebrows furrow. “Nigel?”

“Babe, I can barely hear you.” What the hell is going on?

“Can you hear me now?”

“Kind of. Did Ollie say I’m being released?”

“Yeah. It will be a few days, but…” I trail off when the sound of a click comes through the phone before the incessant beeping lets me know the call has ended. I have no clue what happened, and that scares the fuck out of me. Is he okay? Did we lose signal, or did he hang up?

I hate the unknown.

“He’s okay,” Oliver whispers in my ear as he throws his arms around me and hugs me back into him. “They transferred him to solitary. He’ll be safe there until after your mediation.”

“What if he isn’t?” I’m so emotional that his embrace offers little comfort, but I take it.

* * *

Warren sitsbeside me in the mediation room as we wait for Nolan and his attorney to arrive. I know this is an odd circumstance, and my demands could potentially backfire on me. Nolan could pull out on our bargain, but I have to try. I need to make sure I’m getting my time’s worth out of this. Not just for me but also for everyone I care about.

“Are you sure about this? You can back out at any time if you don’t feel right about this,” Warren offers in his gravelly voice before placing a sympathetic hand on my arm.

“I don’t feel right about it,” I whisper, and he moves to stand up, but I don't let him get that far. “I have to do this. I have people counting on me, people I care about and need to keep safe. Just understand that I need this to happen even if I don’t like it.”

Warren stares at me, his brown eyes searching mine, before he nods, sitting back in his seat.

---