Page 11 of Two For One

“You should take your own advice, Xo. Find yourself a hot man⁠—”

I walked too far to hear what else the woman said, but I smirked, thinking the same thing. I had no problem being that man for her, at least for the time being.

The rest of my stake-out was boring, watching her through the only window that was facing the street. Occasionally, I caught glimpses of her when she passed by. When night finally fell and the lights in her apartment went out, I pulled my kit out, getting out of the car when my cell rang.

I knew who it was without looking at the screen, answering the phone with a grunt.

“How much longer are you going to be?” O snapped.

I hated when he asked me questions when he knew I couldn’t answer.

“Are you going to be done in the next hour?”

I rolled my eyes, grateful he couldn’t see me. I clicked my tongue once to say no.

“Two hours then?”

I grunted before I clicked my tongue twice, sighing loudly so he knew I wasn’t happy about this.

“Be at this address in two hours,” he said, hanging up before I could say anything else.

I slid my phone back into my pocket, pissed that he was interrupting me during something very important with shit that could wait. I could kill a man whenever but watching Xiomara had a schedule I didn’t want to miss it. Looking around I double-checked my surroundings, going down the alley I saw her park in. There was a door across from the four parking spots that only had one car with her Beetle. The door was easy to open with a forceful yank. A flight of stairs took me to three doors. Two on one side and another across the door from Xiomara’s apartment.

There was no noise coming from any apartment as I waited another minute to make sure no one was coming out. I took my kit out, making quick work of opening her door, squeaking the moment I opened it an inch. It was soft enough, I was sure she wouldn’t have heard it, but I stayed as I took out a can of oil I always brought with me.

Meow!

A black cat with big eyes peaked out. It studied me with assessing eyes as I oiled the hinges. It didn’t meow again as I opened the door a little more, blocking it with my boot, hoping it didn’t escape. The cat stepped back giving me room to enter the apartment. It felt almost inviting.

The door closed without a sound, locking it softly before I took in her space, seeing an open concept with two doors closed on the far side of her room. The cat pushed up against my leg, sliding in between them like I was familiar. I had never been an animal person, but the black cat was persistent, almost climbing on my leg. Her claws hurt, forcing me to pick her up, and she instantly pushed against my face.

I decided this was better than her owner finding out I had come in, so the cat stayed in my arms as I walked around her living room and kitchen scratching under her skin. A door abruptly opened making me hide behind the kitchen counter.

“Merlin, leave,” she snapped. “No, don't you dare give me that face. You need to go so mommy can have alone time. Go play with Maleficent.”

The door shut and a loud meow sounded. The black cat, whom I assumed was Maleficent, jumped from my arms. I waited a few seconds before peeking over the counter to see the door still closed. The cats were playing around in front of the room as I listened for Xiomara. I should leave, she could come out again, but my curiosity beat out the rational side of my brain.

Her living room looked like something out of a witchy magazine. There was an enormous shelf with different glass jars and labels, with baskets of crystals and more cubbies of paper. There were tarot cards on what looked to be a work desk along with vials that held different items, mostly sealed with different colored waxes.

I grabbed one of them, inspecting the contents inside, seeing rice, flower petals, and something that looked like honey. Is this what she sold? Jars of random shit in it? Setting the jar back down, I realized I couldn’t judge her for what she did when I was employed by a man who ran an underground syndicate.

A soft sound caught my attention as I froze, looking for a place to hide and then I heard her. It was a soft moan coming from the door she had just closed. My heart rate spiked, wondering if I had missed someone in the house with her. I didn’t see anyone go down the alley, but I also wasn’t conscious of who had come in and hadn’t left.

She moaned a little louder. My feet moved before I could make the decision to do something stupid. A loud hiss stopped me from coming closer to the door and I looked down to see the other cat hissing at me with their back raised and their fur standing up.

“Oh fuck,” she groaned.

“Is that what you want? You dirty little slut? Tell daddy you want his cock, and I promise you won’t regret it.”

Was that the TV or did she really have a man in there? I took a step forward as the stupid cat growled even louder. This cat and I were in a standoff. Did I risk it? I didn’t want this stupid cat to let her know I was here and what if I accidentally killed it?

I flipped the cat off, hearing another moan, which made me angrier. Yes, I knew it was stupid to get mad, but one, would you like to think about someone you like with another person and two, I should be the one to giving her pleasure.

“Daddy, your dirty slut needs to come.”

Wait, was her lover calling her daddy? Xiomara moaned again, then I heard the faint buzzing. I step forward forgetting about the cat when he growled again, but this time the cat that loved me came in for interference. She slapped him, starting a fight. I took the moment to push my ear against the door, definitely hearing the buzzing.

“Daddy, I’m coming!” The deep voice attempting to sound feminine.