Chapter 14: False Trails Multiply

The loft was quiet in the gray pre-dawn of New Year’s Eve, candles burned to stubs, their flames guttering low and casting long, wavering shadows that danced across the brick walls like memories refusing to fade—the rough texture of the brick catching the light in tiny sparks, cool to the touch if brushed, carrying the faint, earthy scent of old mortar. The high windows showed the city still half-asleep under melting snow, streets slick and shining with the first pale light of December 31, 2025, the Hudson a dark ribbon reflecting scattered streetlamps and the occasional flash of an early delivery truck, the glass cool and slightly fogged from their earlier breaths. The air inside carried the lingering scents of sandalwood curling thick from the spent candles, jasmine blooming from Sophia’s skin in waves that grew stronger with every slow breath, the salty tang of dried sweat clinging to sheets and bodies, and the deeper, musky note of sex that hung heavy and intimate, coating tongues and nostrils alike.

The bed was a tangle of limbs and rumpled cotton—high-thread-count sheets soft and slightly damp from body heat, clinging gently to flushed skin, the fabric cool where it touched exposed thighs but warming quickly under shared warmth. Rikki lay on her back, one arm curled possessively around Sophia, fingers tracing lazy patterns along her spine—slow circles that raised faint gooseflesh even now, hours after the storm, the touch gentle but deliberate, grounding them both in the quiet aftermath, feeling the subtle rise and fall of Sophia’s breathing, the faint tremor of muscle still lingering from release. Sophia’s head rested on Rikki’s shoulder, auburn hair spilling across her chest like liquid Fire, strands tickling Rikki’s collarbone with every slow exhale, carrying the faint scent of shampoo and sweat. One leg draped over Rikki’s thigh, slick skin brushing rough denim in occasional, unconscious shifts that made Rikki’s pulse kick, heat lingering low and urgent, the denim cool and slightly damp from earlier friction. Shadow stretched at the foot of the bed, purring low and steady, a warm, vibrating weight anchoring their calves, his fur soft and silky when it brushed bare skin.

Rikki’s phone buzzed on the nightstand—sharp, insistent, the vibration rattling against wood, shattering the quiet like glass cracking under pressure.

She reached for it without moving Sophia, thumb swiping the Screen, muscles tensing instinctively, the cool metal of the phone contrasting the warmth of Sophia’s body pressed against her side. Raley.

She answered, voice rough from disuse and earlier cries, low enough not to disturb the peace too much, breath fogging slightly in the chill that had crept back into the room. “This better be good.”