Page 44 of Topped

“I suppose. Also, what do you mean videos?”

I grinned. “I’ve got a collection of exercise tapes from the eighties and nineties which belonged to my mum, my nan, and my auntie. They’re fucking brutal! We can do one together one day.”

Rupert snorted. “You do realise describing something as ‘fucking brutal’ does not make it sound in any way appealing?”

“Okay but I raise you, me in tiny shorts and a slutty crop top.”

“Can I just sit and watch you instead?” Rupert asked. He’d properly relaxed now, a little bit of lightness returning to his expression. I didn’t know if redirecting him was the right thing to do, but if it helped I didn’t know if there were any wrong answers.

“Maybe. If you ask nicely,” I said teasingly, pressing a kiss to his forehead. “Okay, let’s go and find Miss Elizabeth. Where shall we start? What rooms could she have gotten into?”

“Her room, obviously. The kitchen and living room,” Rupert said. “I think the bathroom door was pulled to, but she doesn’t like how cold the tiles are, so I think it’s more unlikely she’ll be in there. And, er, I think this door was shut so maybe…” He glanced over at the piles of clothes scattered all over the floor.

“Don’t worry, we can put them back in a bit. We can fold them together,” I said. Because even if folding clothes was boring as fuck, at least if we did it together it would get done and Rupert wouldn’t let them sit on the floor like a shameful reminder of his guilt or the fact he’d reacted without thinking through where Lizzie might be.

I didn’t actually know if he’d feel like that, but I would, so I was using that as my basis since I wasn’t a mind-reader.

“Yeah, I guess. Just one more thing.” He sighed again, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth. There was clearly something bothering him and I wasn’t sure whether to prod or not.

Maybe it would be better if we just made a start.

“Let’s start in the living room and go from there,” I said, offering him an encouraging smile. He returned it, but only barely.

I gently released him and slid my hand into his, leading him out of the bedroom and across to the living room. Since it was tidy, I didn’t think it would be too hard to find our reptilian rogue but I knew saying that out loud would give the universe an excellent chance to fuck with me.

We split up and slowly began to search, carefully moving furniture, electronics, books, and knick-knacks, peering into every nook, cranny, and Lizzie-sized hole.

But no luck.

The next step—after we’d returned the living room to a vague state of normalcy—was the kitchen, which was a pain in the arse to search but at least Lizzie couldn’t open cupboard doors.

As far as I knew, anyway.

But we still had no luck.

We’d been searching for nearly an hour now and I could sense Rupert’s panic returning with every passing minute. My own was rising too, and I was starting to debate sending up a flare for assistance and summoning Alfie, Darcy, and Owen to help.

After all, five pairs of eyes had to be better than two. Right?

“This isn’t working,” Rupert said, a snappy edge to his tone as he threw up his hands in frustration, an annoyed growl rumbling through his throat. It made me twitch, a strange feeling curling through my stomach. I knew it wasn’t directed at me, but it sure felt like it was.

“Don’t snap at me,” I said sharply, my hackles raised instantly. I didn’t know where it had come from but I didn’t like it.

“I’m not!”

“Yes, you are.”

Rupert took a deep breath, and I watched as he closed his eyes for a moment, squeezing his mouth together like he was trying to force himself to be calm. “I’m… I’m sorry, I’m just frustrated as fuck and terrified. She’s my baby, Milo, and I can’t find her.”

“I know, I’m worried too, but you…” My words trailed away from me. I’d been looking around the room and wondering where the fuck she could be hiding, but as I spoke, an idea had suddenly slid into my mind, a memory of a video I’d seen late one night while I’d been scrolling mindlessly before I fell asleep. “I have an idea.”

“Where are you going? I already checked her room,” Rupert called as I dashed towards Lizzie’s room like my feet were on fire.

“Humour me.” I flicked the light on and strode over to the far end of the terrarium. It was virtually flush against the wall, but there was a small gap where various plants had been slotted through and a few cables hung. It was only three or four centimetres, not really big enough for anything to move through… but potentially the perfect place to get stuck.

“Have you got a torch?” I asked, glancing over at Rupert, who’d followed me.

He pulled his phone out of his trouser pocket and flicked the torch on. “Here.”