Page 7 of Kneeling for Them

He hangs up before I can respond.Probably for the best.

When two officers arrive, an hour and a half later, they look through my apartment, deem it safe enough for me to go inside, and ask me if anything is missing.

I see it right away—a blank section of wall in the living room.

The place where my keyboard belonged.

Sebastian

My phone buzzes repeatedly while I try to figure out a chord progression for the lyrics in front of me.I ignore it until I realize it might not be Trina.It could be someone I actually want to hear from—like Ella.

I drop my guitar and hurry to look at the screen, which readsPrincess.

I hurry to answer.“Hey, princess.”

“Sebastian.”Her voice sounds odd.

“What’s going on?Are you at work?”

“No, I had to call in.”

“Seriously, what’s wrong?Are you sick?You sound upset, what happened?”

“Oh, just, someone broke into my apartment and stole some stuff.It’s not a huge deal, but I’m not sure what to do right now, Mrs.Dali isn’t home, and so I was wondering if you wanted to grab a coffee or something.”

I frown at my phone.Grab a coffee?My girl was just robbed.“Baby girl, you’re coming to my place.Let me take care of you, and we’ll find you a new apartment.”

Or she can move in with me.I wonder if she’d go for that.It’s early, though.

And besides, I can’t let her get too close to me.I hurt women.I don’t want to hurt Ella.

But for a few nights?She can definitely stay here, and then Kingston and I will get her set up somewhere safer.Preferably, his place.

“No, I’m not calling for a place to stay.I just wanted to hear your voice.”

“Oh, princess,” I say.“I’m yours.Where are you now?I’m bringing you to my place and you’re staying here.”

She makes a growl of protest.“No, no way.It’ll only take a couple of days for my apartment manager to get the door fixed.I have a place I can crash until then.”

I growl right back.“Pack up your things, little girl.Kellan and I will be there to pick you up in twenty.Be ready.”

“Fine.I’ll see you soon,” she says.

Kingston

My eyes are bleary from reading and re-reading the clients-only newsletter that one of our teams drafted.It explains the reasoning for our brief shut-down on Friday, as well as offering some complimentary consultation to ensure nobody lost money during that shut-down.

Shut-down?More like shit-show.Thanks to my son.

Someone clears their throat, and I look up from the screen to see Sebastian standing in my office doorway.

“Time to go,” he says.

“Why?”I gesture at my desk.“I have a to-do list longer than my dick, and Joel’s leaving has set me back a person, and—”

“None of that shit matters,” Bash says.“Ella needs us.”

I stand up.“What happened?”