19. Cas
19
Cas
W e’re in a room. He wanted me to stay with him. They’re checking him, but the monitor looks good. Will let you know. 3
“It’s good to see you,” Rio said, offering a fist bump.
“You, too,” I said distractedly.
I felt Rio’s hand on my shoulder, and I glanced up to see concern on his handsome face. “You okay?” he asked.
I nodded, looking at my phone again. A heart. Rishi had sent me a heart. We hadn’t said anything like that to one another, either verbally or over text. Had he meant to do that? Was he freaking out as much as I was? Did I want a heart — and the emotion that went with it — from Rishi?
Yeah, actually. Yeah, I did.
I felt Rio lean in, and I realized he was looking at my screen, too, but he didn’t say anything further about it. “Did you call your captain? You need to do something with your new pets.”
I had forgotten about them in the panic of the last few minutes, but Rio had an excellent point. They were both contained, sitting on the floor where Rishi had put them. I nodded and fished for my phone, and twenty minutes later — after far too long on hold — Captain Donovan promised that animal control would be by to pick up the scorpions. I wasn’t sure what they would do with them — I wasn’t sure what they had done with the spider from Saint’s apartment, either — but I didn’t care as long as they were no longer here.
Rio looked at the one in the clear bin. “You know, since I met Saint, I’ve gained several new phobias. Good thing the good outweighs the bad.”
That surprised a short laugh from me. “I’m glad.”
“I’ve been feeling a little stupid getting paid to ‘watch’ my boyfriend,” Rio said, “but obviously Fernandez isn’t backing off. I hope whatever investigation the cops have going on wraps up quickly. I’m sick of this guy.”
By the time animal control arrived an hour later, I had filled him in on what had been happening with Fernandez and showed him the email about Elena — which I had forgotten to tell Saint about, though I had meant to — and just before the knock came, Rio had begun to tell me about the project that Saint was starting with Clay Greene. It was a sort of art therapy that didn’t just use drawing but also used other paintings and drawings that the kids resonated with, encouraging them to express how those pieces make them feel.
I recognized the animal control officer, Sam Feinberg. He had retrieved the spider, too, and a few other animals that I had called in over the years.
“Cas,” he said, offering a handshake. “Can’t get away from the exotics, can you?”
“Unfortunately, no,” I said. “I don’t know what you do with them, but whatever it is, please do it far away from me.”
Sam laughed. “Can do.” He looked at the scorpion in the clear bin. “These are rare in the states. They’ll go to a holding facility and then either be exported to their home country or taken to something like a research facility. Farming scorpion venom is tricky business, and fresh producers are always needed, from what I understand.” He turned the container this way and that. “These are young ones; they’re small. Long lives ahead of them. I hope nobody got stung.”
I grimaced. “My friend did. He’s at the ER right now.”
Sam shook his head sympathetically. “That’s supposed to hurt like hell. I hope he’s okay.”
I didn’t doubt it. I had read about them a little when I was looking it up for Rishi and while I didn’t want any of us to be stung, I couldn’t help being glad that it hadn’t been me.
Sam took both scorpions and left after a couple more minutes of conversation. After they left, I texted Rishi with that update and learned that Luis was currently receiving his first dose of antivenom. I told Rio, and he winced.
“I guess I’m here for the night then,” Rio said.
“I guess so,” I said. “There’s the air mattress or the couch.”
Rio laughed. “Lucky me.”
***
Rishi stayed with Luis overnight at the hospital. I received periodic text updates, with news like Luis is receiving his second dose and Luis is throwing up from it. I understand it is a common side effect.
I slept reasonably well, and Rio was professionally attentive to the things that I needed a hand with both before bed and in the morning. We had become friends of a sort, though we hadn’t spent much time together in person, and I made breakfast the next morning while Rio did a perimeter check. Saint made a group text for the three of us and entertained us (me) with anecdotes about their time on the run from Douglas Greene and Julio Fernandez, with Rio chiming in with details he thought were important. Saint has stayed at the shelter the night before where there was security, and planned on staying there until Rio was done helping us. Rishi and Luis had offered several times to send Rishi back to relieve Rio so that Saint could go home, but they both insisted things were fine as they were for now.
Rishi called around noon. “Luis has finished the antivenom and is much better. Provided that he does not suffer any sort of serious reaction, I can bring him home this evening. He displayed normal, unpleasant, but not dangerous side effects so far, so the doctors are quite hopeful. Is everything all right there?”
“Yes, Rio and I are fine. Nothing to report. Tell Luis I’m sorry, and I’m glad it wasn’t any more serious.”
“I will tell him,” Rishi promised.
We had not approached the heart emoji issue yet, and I found myself wondering if we were just going to act as if it hadn’t happened. This was not the time to bring it up, so I merely ended the call and then sighed. “Do you play video games?” I asked Rio.
***
Rishi and Luis got back around 7 p.m. Luis was pale, and his eyes were dull, but he accepted a light fist bump with the uninjured hand.
“Go to bed,” Rishi ordered him, and he nodded and all but fell into it once he changed into a pair of pajama pants.
Rio smiled at us, then nodded at Luis. “Takes orders well. I wonder why he got out of the service so quickly.”
Rishi shrugged. “I do not know. We haven’t discussed our time in the service.”
Rio hummed. “Well, I’m heading out then, if you have everything under control.”
“Yes, and thank you for the help at such short notice.”
Rio waved a hand. “No problemo. The shelter has been quiet.”
I shook Rio’s hand, and he picked up his backpack and left.
Rishi sank to his knees in front of my chair and braced his elbows on my armrests. I smiled and leaned forward, kissing him. "Did you miss me?" I asked.
He nodded, then kissed me again. "I seem to have become attached to you,” he said softly.
I thought about bringing up the heart emoji then but quickly decided that kissing him was a much better use of my time.
Rishi seemed to agree with me, and it took very little time for Rishi's mouth to travel south from my lips. He trailed his lips down my jaw, spent a moment worrying the side of my neck with his teeth just enough to make me shiver, and then chuckled. “I forgot we weren’t alone…” he said against my skin. “Bedroom?”
I nodded. I had almost forgotten about Luis too, although if the snores coming from the air mattress were any indication, Rishi and I could have gone all out and he wouldn’t have known.
I let Rishi push me into the bedroom, where he resumed his position in front of me, slipping his hands under the hem of my T-shirt. “You’re wearing too many clothes,” he mumbled, kissing the other side of my neck.
I lifted my arms so he could strip my shirt off and pushed him back gently. “Let me get in bed. We’ll be more comfortable there.”
Rishi nodded, though I could tell he didn’t want to let go, even for that long. He wasn’t usually so ardent, and I didn’t want him to stop, so I transferred to the bed as quickly as I could while not risking a fall, then opened my legs and invited him down on top of me.
“I really missed you,” Rishi said between kisses to my throat. “You’ve become very important to me.”
I tilted my head to give him more room, and tugged at his shirt. “I’ve grown attached to you too. Now get this off and show me how much you missed me.”
Rishi lifted his head and grinned, then pulled his black henley off with one hand. “Yes, sir,” he purred at me, bringing his bare chest back against mine.
I hissed at how good skin felt, as my nipples pebbled and goosebumps broke out along my arms. Rishi noticed, of course, and took that as his cue to apply tongue and teeth to my nipples and chest diligently. I didn’t remember being so sensitive in the past, but whatever he was doing felt like an electric current straight to my dick, and I begged him to take his attention lower.
Rishi let go of the nipple he was torturing and grinned at me. He ran his tongue down my chest and stopped millimeters from where the head of my dick begged for his attention.
I groaned in frustration when he made a deliberate detour around the one place I really wanted his mouth and moved down to nuzzle my balls. I was getting ready to demand that he move his mouth back where I wanted it to be when he slid his arms under my thighs on each side of my hips, lifted me up, and spread my thighs open. He had his face buried between my cheeks before I could do more than make an unmanly squeak, and when I felt his tongue pushed past my pucker, the squeak turned into a series of pants and moans that I couldn’t control. I felt like I couldn’t control anything at all. Rishi held most of my weight up off of the bed effortlessly, and just the thought of that had me halfway to orgasm. Once he added the frankly amazing things he was doing with his tongue and teeth on my ass, I was incoherent with pleasure.
I realized soon that if I didn’t stop him, I was going to orgasm without either of us touching my dick, and I didn’t want to. “Stop!” I managed to gasp at Rishi, and he immediately lowered my ass to the bed and looked at me with concern.
“I’m sorry. Did I do something wrong?” Rishi asked me with concern.
I laughed breathlessly, and his face changed from concern to confusion. “No, you were doing everything right. I’m just not ready for it to be over,” I reassured him.
I held out my arms to him. “I want you inside me when I come, with your hand on my dick,” I told him, making it as clear as I could.
Rishi grinned blindingly and mocked a bow to me as he lubed his dick. “Your wish is my command.” He quickly worked some lube inside me, flicking the pad of his finger across my prostate several times until my back arched on its own, and I growled at him in warning.
I closed my eyes in bliss as Rishi pushed himself inside, not pausing until he was fully seated. “Is this what you wanted?” He asked me teasingly. My chest filled with a tender warmth at this playful side of Rishi. I hadn’t seen much of it so far, and I loved it.
“Yes. That’s exactly what I wanted,” I told him, grinning. “Now fuck me.”
***
Luis was clearly weak the next morning, but he insisted on doing the perimeter check anyway. When he came back to the living room and sat down, I went up to him, brushed his dark wavy hair aside, and pressed the inside of my wrist to his forehead, giving him a hard frown to silence any protest.
“You’re not warm, but you look like shit,” I said.
He snorted. “Yeah, well, I’m not a great actor, I don’t know what to tell you. I’m still here.”
“Rest,” I said, putting some steel into my tone. “Didn’t they tell you that you needed to rest and recover?”
“I’m working,” Luis said. “Fernandez didn’t get bit by his damned pet. He’s not going to be taking off a couple of days so that I can sleep in.”
“No, but I’m here,” Rishi said. “And may I remind you that I took care of Cas for some time before you arrived.”
Luis scowled at Rishi for a minute, then laid back into the chair.
“Two days,” Rishi said, gentling his voice. “Rest. I’ve got Cas, and if we need an extra hand for some reason, we can alway call Rio.”
Luis sighed and nodded. “Sure, fine. Two days.”
I kicked his leg gently. “Go take a nap. You’re dead on your feet.”
Rishi smirked at him. “Changed the sheets,” he told Luis, who gave him the finger before he trailed into my bedroom and collapsed into the bed.
Rishi and I passed the day quietly. Luis stayed with me while Rishi went to get dinner. When he got back we ate, watched a movie, and turned in without any more excitement.
The next morning Captain Donovan called me to tell me that the undercover officer had scored on the exotic animal front. As pissed as I was to be let go from the only job I ever wanted, I appreciated him still keeping me in the loop. Julio Fernandez had provided him with an Iberian lynx kit, its eyes barely open. There were photos — Captain Donovan forwarded one to me, and I had to cover my mouth to keep from making an unmanly noise at the speckled, fluffy little murder kitty with ears tipped in stiff black fur.
Captain Donovan couldn’t tell me if this was enough to take Fernandez off the street, of course, but it was progress in the right direction.
It was late morning when I got a call from the prosthesis clinic.
“Mr. Hallie, we have a cancellation, and we were wondering if you would be free this afternoon at 2 p.m. to have your second fitting session.”
“Of course!” I waved at Rishi, who was standing at the counter chopping onions for lunch. He was focused, so I tapped him on the ass and grinned when he jumped. He put the knife down and glared at me, but I only gestured at the phone. “We can certainly make that.”
Rishi went from the pretend glare to the razor-focused, “On” look that he often wore when we were out.
“All right, yes, that sounds great. Thank you!” I hung up the phone and grinned at Rishi. “I got in early to my next prosthesis fitting due to a cancellation!”
Rishi smiled. “That’s awesome, Cas. Do we need something faster for lunch? What time?”
“Two o’clock. There should be time for tacos.”
Rishi nodded and resumed his lunch preparation while I went to let Luis know that we would be going out this afternoon.
We left the apartment at 1:20 to allow plenty of travel time. Rishi decided to park in the parking structure this time, choosing a mid-level floor, and helped me out of the van and into my chair. “I’m at least halfway to the new limb,” I told him as we headed toward the elevator. “Maybe closer.” I couldn’t keep the excitement out of my voice.
Suddenly, squealing tired echoed through the structure, and we were cut off by a white passenger van. The side door flung open as Rishi reached for his weapon — but it wasn’t there. He couldn’t wear it to appointments with me, so it was in the gun safe in the van.
Three men swarmed from the van. Rishi caught the one closest to him with a hard punch to the face and rounded on the next one with a kick to the stomach. The men didn’t take turns like in the movies, however, and the third one clocked him with a billy club, and he dropped. The other two recovered enough to grab me. They hauled me up by the underarms from behind and tossed me into the van.
My last sight of Rishi was his prone body on the concrete next to my overturned chair before the door slammed shut, and in that moment I wasn’t sure if I was more afraid of what was about to happen to me, or what kind of damage they had just done to him.