Unknown number.
I answer on the second ring, "Hello."
"Dr. Mercer," Mikhail's calm, faint accent curling around the edges, voice says.
I lean forward, elbows on the desk. "We have a problem with my former assistant, Shirley. She knows too much. I need her reminded that silence is permanent before I fired her this morning."
A short pause. "You need me to have a conversation with her?"
The hairs on my neck rise. I walk over to the window, staring down at the city. "Just words."
He chuckles. "That's all I use."
Sure, you do.
He adds, "Consider it done. I'll report back when it's finished." The line clicks dead.
I turn and stare at the hourglass, keeping its quiet rhythm behind me.
Broken.
Eternally.
Forever.
I check my watch, then go into the waiting area and flip the sign on the front door from Closed to Open. Then I return to the desk, sit, and wait for the first patient to arrive, staring at the hourglass running while thinking of Blue.
CHAPTER NINE
Blue
Three days pass without any sleep. My apartment carries the sour ghost of tears mixed with vanilla from the candles I keep burning. It's the second candle I've burnt through, and the wick is low now, casting weak, flickering shadows along the walls.
I stand barefoot in the walk-in closet, wearing nothing but Red's stolen white dress shirt. The sleeves hang past my wrists, rolled up. The hem brushes the tops of my scabbed thighs, and the collar still carries the faint mix of my lipstick and dried tears. The buttons stay undone so I can continue my project that I can't seem to finish.
The rolling rack in the center of my closet displays every outfit I ever wore around him, including the red, torn bra and panties from when he ate me out on his couch, and the delicate white lace lingerie I made for him to take my virginity. I had to go into his condo to steal them when he was at work, and I hope he's going crazy wondering why he can't find them.
Tags dangle from a few newer pieces I bought after I snuck out of his place, clothes chosen solely to make him regret leaving me. I flick through each one, unsure what I'm looking for, but knowing I have more work to do.
After I select a handful of items, I put them on another empty rack. I drag the tripod over, clip my phone into place, and angle the ring light until the white glow turns harsh and unforgiving. I open an app that makes a loud click every ten seconds when it takes a photo. It simultaneously records everything on video.
My reflection stares back at me, my eyes swollen, mouth bruised from biting my own lip, and hair tangled in wild streaks of electric blue and red. I look wrecked, dangerous, and exactly what's needed to tug at all the emotions in Red's heart.
I drop to my knees on the rug. His shirt opens, and I spread my thighs, revealing my bare body. I tug the collar wider until the edge of my nipples peeks out. I tap my phone's screen and quickly arrange myself before the ten-second timer goes off.
I slide my fingers between my legs, parting my slick folds, and take my thumb and pull down my bottom lip while staring straight into the lens. A light flashes from my phone, and heat crawls up my neck.
I tilt my head back, exposing the column of my throat where his teeth left fading marks that are now purple, and another shot fires off. I take my thumb off my lip and lightly touch the bruise right before another photo clicks.
My breath shortens. I arch, push two fingers inside myself, and let my mouth fall open on a moan while the camera captures it.
"Do you see me, Dr. Mercer?" I whisper to the empty room while the shutter keeps snapping. "Do you remember exactly how wet I get when you look at me? Does your cock remember how my body opens for you the second your gaze darkens? Can your tongue taste me right now while remembering how I begged you not to stop?"
My thumb circles my clit in tight, frantic strokes, and I let my head fall backward, closing my eyes, my body already quivering. The flash continues to burst every ten seconds, and each clicking noise shoots my adrenaline higher.
I picture Red's jaw locked, pupils blown, nostrils flaring right before he pins me to the nearest surface and drives into me like he can't breathe without being inside me.
My hips jerk. A low sound tears out of my throat. The phone keeps recording, and the flash continues to light up every ten seconds.
