Page 83 of White Raven
THE THING
It was the single-most satisfying cigarette she’d had—if you’re not counting the ones after really good sex, which shehadn’thad since she’d left Boston. Ryan Sykes had found herself thinking way more about the petite, blush-haired little time bomb at the tattoo shop than she wanted to admit. She didn’t often have a lingering taste for prospective lays after playing with them once or twice, but that one—that one left a mark. Leigh had been so much like her, and she almost felt like if that girl had known what she really was, she probably would have only found her more delectable. The bitch was a tad crazy, and pleasantly odd in all the best ways. Maybe that was why she couldn’t let her go. Ryan took a long drag from her cigarette, dangling a lone foot over the edge of the rooftop of one of the tallest buildings in Seattle, as she sat on the ledge with a knee to her chest and her phone lighting up her opposite hand.
Maybe she could just admit that she was lonely and growing tired of servitude. Was that it, though? Her master had made it clear that she could go if she so pleased. But go where? Back to Portland? To an empty house, void of life and happy memories? To Boston, seeking out people that never wanted her there in the first place? Leigh had been about the only person that seemed genuinely happy to make her acquaintance anyway. Her thumb lingered over the unsaved number she knew would allow her to hear that girl’s voice…but it’d be a mistake. It was better for her to do her master’s bidding and remain alone. He was good to her. He vowed to be after taking so much from her initially.
Fuck it.
The phone started ringing well before she put it to her ear, and she stared off at the Space Needle as it twinkled with light against the drizzle overhead.
“City morgue, you kill ‘em, we chill ‘em,”Leigh answered, obliviously. Ryan’s smile cracked across her mouth, and she pulled another hit from her smoke.“Hello?”
“What’s the going rate for storing large tits?” she asked, grinning.
“Oh, my God…Ryan?”Leigh sounded like she dropped something, and the music in the background suggested she was at work.“I should tell you to go fuck yourself, what the hell do you want?”
“You know…I’ve always wanted to know if funeral homes put underwear on their stiffs. Do you know a single woman that would want to be buried in a fucking bra? That seems ridiculously tragic.”
“A travesty…”If it weren’t for the blaring music, she would have thought Leigh had given her the same courtesy she’d bestowed. She couldn’t blame the girl for feeling a little salty.“If you were over it, you could have just said so. Dead people aren’t the only ones with big panties.”
Fair. Ryan tugged her lip with her teeth. “I did you dirty. I can admit that. It wasn’t you, though. I—” A call was coming in, and she looked down at her screen. “I’m sorry, I have to go.”
“Ryan! What the fuck, dude. Are you in some kind of trouble or something? Your hot detective friend told me they’ve been looking for you. Seems like you make more enemies than just the ones you hook up with.”
“They questioned you?”
“No, I went looking for you at your job. I was ready to either rip you a new asshole or kick your teeth in for ghostingme like that. They said you didn’t work there anymore, and they wanted information on where you ran off to.”
Ryan chuckled under her breath, flicking the cigarette and watching it disappear into the traffic several stories below. “I bet they do. What did you tell them?”
“Well, you didn’t leave me with much other than an implied ‘fuck you’.”
She was hurt. Maybe Ryan hadn’t been the only one catching feelings that had no business being caught. “Let them sniff around. That was the whole reason I came to Boston, anyway. You’ll be the only reason I come back. I called to apologize, Leigh. I didn’t leave because of you. I should have told you goodbye.”
“Why didn’t you?”she asked, after a brief silence.
“Because goodbyes suck. Especially this one. Don’t forget me, alright?”
“Ryan…”
“Later, Leigh.”
“Ry—”
Call ended.
She sighed heavily, redialing the number that had cut in during her conversation, and tried to gather her wits when he answered.
“Apologies. Have I interrupted something?”
“Not at all.”
“You’ve been distracted as of late. I do hope this isn’t going to be a hindrance.”
“No, Master. You know I’m devoted to you.”
“I hope that’s true. Empires can’t stand on faulty foundations, Ryan. The cost of repair can be taxing. You’re far too valuable to me.”
“You have nothing to worry about.”
