Page 3 of Kneeling for Them

“Yeah, well, after all the shit that happened on Friday, I have some fires to put out.”

I wince.I’m the cause of those fires.

As if reading my mind, Kingston comes over to the edge of the bed and kneels down so he’s level with me.“This is Joel’s fault.Not yours.But I do have to deal with the aftermath.”

Kingston

Ella doesn’t look convinced that I don’t blame her.I lean forward and kiss her cheek, careful not to scratch her soft skin with my whiskers.

“Truly,” I say.“It’s not your fault.I won’t take long.Can we meet for dinner tonight?”

She shakes her head.“I have to work at the pub until two.”

“How about a break in between your shifts?”I ask.

“I only have enough time to travel from Dorado Terrace to Bartleby’s with a stop to change clothes between,” she says.“How about tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow’s good,” I say.

“Back up,” Bash says.“Ella, you’re starting work at noon and then going straight until two a.m.?”

“Yes,” she says, her eyes narrowing.

I kiss her scrunched forehead before sending Bash a pointed look.We need to tread carefully.We want her to be our girl, but we can’t barge in and rearrange her life immediately.

Much as I want to.I’d start with her living arrangements, followed swiftly by her employment prospects.Controlling?You fucking bet it is.But I’d like to think it’s more that I would give her options, rather than make her feel pigeon-holed into these places that she wouldn’t have chosen, had she possessed more resources.

“Do you mind if I take a shower?”she asks.

“Go for it.”I kiss her forehead again.“Treat this place like your home.”

I dress while she heads into the bathroom.Sebastian flips onto his back and closes his eyes, but I know he isn’t sleeping.By the time I come out of my closet, dressed for the office, he’s sitting up and wearing his jeans.

Ella’s singing in the shower.She does have a beautiful voice.Sebastian seems to think so, too, because he cocks his head, listening.

“Hey,” I say.

“Yeah?”

“Is everything okay?”

He frowns.“What do you mean?”

“Something’s different.”

He shakes his head.“Everything’s fine, I swear.”

I worry about my friend.When things go dark for him, they go dark fast.

“It’s nothing to do with Ella,” I say, not needing that reassurance, but wanting it.

“She’s fantastic,” he says.

I nod.Whatever Bash’s problem is, he’ll tell me eventually, or I’ll wrangle it out of him.

And unlike last time, when he had to disappear for rehab for months, I won’t wait too long before figuring it out.

Ella