Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 77344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
“There’s nothing else to do,” I grumbled.
“Call and check in on Lil. Curious if she’s ready to gut my brother yet or not.”
That was a good idea, actually. Especially since I planned on going to see her, but now I wasn’t allowed to leave the apartment.
I felt some of the tension falling away as she prattled on about how moody Gavino was, but also how good of a caretaker. She sounded in good spirits, considering.
And by the time I hung up and got that coffee I’d mentioned before the call, I heard a racket outside of the door.
Zeno was up off the couch in a second, grabbing the gun in one swift move just before the door slid open.
Then there was Miko.
He looked absolutely exhausted.
And filthy.
On his neck and cheeks, there were some nasty-looking scratches.
But he was there.
Alive.
Home.
The relief rushed through me like a wave, making my eyes actually flood with tears that I blinked back rapidly, embarrassed about their existence.
Then there was a strange, high-pitched shrieking sound coming from one of the bags in Miko’s hand.
“Sorry I took so long, sugar,” Miko said, giving me a tired smile. “But I brought you home a present for being so patient.”
With that, he brought the bag over to the counter beside me and unzipped it.
I leaned over.
And there it was.
The little black dumpster cat from upstate.
Hissing at me and trying to swat at us.
So that was where the scratches had come from.
“Brio said she’s still young enough to tame. But I’m dubious,” Miko said, reaching up to run a finger down his cheek.
“Maybe put kitchen mitts on to handle her,” Zeno suggested.
“Brio said we should keep her somewhere more enclosed for a while until she settles in. He said lots of patience, comfort, and food will get her on our side eventually.”
“Hey, what’s that?” Chuck asked as he approached.
“Kitten. Why don’t you go get her set up in the hall bathroom?” Miko asked, shoving the bags at Chuck before zipping the cat carrier and handing that to him as well.
“I’ll help you, kid,” Zeno said, though he clearly just wanted to give us some privacy.
“I’m angry with you,” I told him.
“I expected that,” he agreed, giving me a soft smile.
“You could have sent off another text.”
“I couldn’t,” he told me.
“I know,” I agreed as he pulled me against him, his forehead pressing into mine. “Did everything go okay? Getting mauled, aside.”
“Everything is good. No more being worried about our loved ones. And I about secured my place as a capo,” he said, reaching into his pocket, then waving a bag of diamonds.
“Did he put them in a sandwich baggie?” I asked, snorting.
“Yeah, he did. But it looks like they’re all still here.”
“It’s all over,” I said as he casually tossed the diamonds onto the counter.
“Yep. And now… a week in bed,” he said, his hands drifting down my back to grab my ass.
There was no stopping the little needy sound that escaped me.
“Let’s get started now,” I demanded, reaching out to grab his tie, then pulling him down the hall with me.
Miko - 1 week
“Come on, Hissabella,” Max called, getting a shriek in response.
Hissabella Havoc, affectionately nicknamed Hissy, was not making it easy to love her. Which only made Max more determined to do so.
Maybe I was reading too much into it, but I had a feeling that Max teaching the cat to love and trust was also managing to heal some old internal wounds of her own.
“I know it’s scary,” she crooned, crawling backward down the hallway, tossing a trail of tuna as she went. “But there’s a big world of fun stuff out here we got you.”
That ‘we’ made my heart fucking squeeze in my chest. She’d been tossing it around more and more, getting comfortable with the idea.
I liked it more than was probably wise, given how new things were between us. But save for visiting Lil and grabbing food, she hadn’t left my place since we first got back to the city. What’s more, she didn’t even bring up going back to her place.
I had a feeling that might change a bit today, since Megs and Nicole were coming in from Vermont.
“That’s a good girl. We have plenty more tuna out here,” she cooed at the kitten as she cautiously kept moving forward, scooping up the bits of fish as she went.
She was right about the tuna.
We had about twenty cans.
And a fancy-ass cat tree, a cat bed that suction-cupped to the window, a bin of toys, and a litter box hidden in a cabinet.
“Can I just…” she started, slowly reaching out to the cat. Who hissed, swatted, then turned and ran back to the hall bathroom.
“She’ll come around,” I assured Max as she sat back on her heels, her shoulders slumped. “She’s already letting you hang out with her in the bathroom. Brio says that’s good progress.”