Page 79 of Locked

All of it was garbage, anyway. This wasn't his fault any more than it was Zelle's.

I reached out for him, my fingers brushing his arm. "Sorrel, stop."

"Stop what?"

"Blaming yourself. It's not your fault."

"It's partly my fault," he replied softly.

"That's not even remotely true. It could have happened to any of us. This is happening because that witch is keeping Zelle locked up and refusing to let her go. Not only that, she's keeping her from enjoying her life. She's keeping her under her thumb and unhappy. No one deserves to live that way. If it's anyone's fault, it'sMother's."

He nodded a few times, shooting me a joyless smile before we got to the car, lowering Rif gently into the backseat.

I put the car in reverse and backed out of the space in front of Rifyr's townhouse. I could hear the wheels turning in Sorrel's head as we made our way down the mostly empty streets.

The city was always quiet this early in the morning. It was before the night owls made their way home, and before the early birds got up and started twittering around.

And there were no people either.

It wasn't far from here to Zelle's high rise, in fact, you could see it from the back porch at Rifyr's place.

"Did you leave food out for Baz?" Sorrel asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, I did."

Basil hadn't spoken much since he'd come over to Rif's. He'd spoken plenty in the car on the way there last night, though. Said a lot about clawing Mother's face off.

I laughed softly. Basil was a good cat. He'd been morose and depressed since he'd been taken from Zelle's apartment. But that wasn't surprising. He'd lived most of his life with her. And she with him.

The thought of Zelle all alone in her apartment after what that woman had done to her… well… it burned me up inside.

"Text Zelle and let her know we're on our way…" I stated. "Tell her I'll be there in a few."

Sorrel pulled out his phone, and I assumed he followed my directions.

We were quiet until we pulled up in front of the high rise. I killed the engine and I opened the door.

Sorrel and I stepped out of the car to gaze up at the skyscraper. The top disappeared into the clouds and Zelle was up there. Waiting for me to come up to her.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out the hair, rubbing it between my fingers. I bounced on my toes and tried to psych myself up. Zelle needed me. Rif did too. I took one step and stopped dead in my tracks.

I blinked in disbelief at Sorrel's retreating figure. The hair clutched in his fist where he'd yanked it from mine.

"SORREL!" I called after him. "SORREL!!!"

But he was already as good as gone, his hand on the door to the lobby of Zelle's building.

If I went after him now, we ran the risk of having too many people in the building.

I pulled out my phone, shooting off a quick text to him. "You stupid ass."

I texted Zelle next, telling her it was Sorrel coming up. And that he was a stupid ass and to send him back down.

She sent a message back."Oh Sorrel."

I sat back on the hood of the car and sighed. I knew when I looked up again, I'd see Zelle running towards me. Sorrel was painfully stubborn when he set his mind on something. I hoped it wouldn't get him killed this time.