"I've gotta grab his food and water bowl out from beneath the sink. And his food—there's a bag there. I have a carrier for him in the hall closet, and?—"
"Denali," I say with a huff, taking her purse from her grip with a soft smile to set her at ease, "I've got it. He's fine. Don't worry about the little things. Just get your ass in gear and get out of here."
She grabs her purse and doesn't argue further, simply takes a hesitant step toward the door. "Okay," she whispers, her words shaky. "Okay, I'll go."
She's silent all the way to my house. I know she hears the call I tell Anton to make. She doesn't say anything about it, though. And when he asks her for her key, so he can let the police into her place later, she hands it wordlessly over.
I'm almost afraid that she's going into shock.
"Hey," I tell her once the door closes and we're alone, "why don't you go slip out of that and into something comfortable?"
Her blank stare is a little comical, all things considered. "I didn't pack anything to wear, Kai. You were too worried about getting me out of there."
It's no bother. "You know where my dresser is. Go find something to wear. Leave the dress on the settee in my closet, and I'll take care of it."
Though there's a little fight in her eyes, she still nods and makes her way to my room, the one place I've wanted to see her back in again since the night she rescued me from bring drugged. But I didn't want it like this. I wanted her to come willingly. I wanted her eager.
Now, she's just scared, and that, I can't do anything about. But damn, do I want to.
"Well, Taco," I say to my chest, where the cat is contentedly purring like he's on a vibrate setting, "why don't we go find you some dinner?"
Her cat isn't sure what to make of the new house he's found himself in, but he follows me around in the kitchen while I rustle him up something to eat. The little orange and calico shit is busy meowing up a storm any time I pull something from the fridge or cabinet that he thinks he'll like, so I set aside a pile for him based on what I assume are his inputs, wondering the whole time if cats can really talk, and we just can't understand them yet, or if he's capable of having favorites, or knowing them by sight alone.
I know cats are smart, but are theythatsmart?
I hook him up with a little glass dish or two of water and some premium duck liver paté I was hoping to spread out on wheat crackers and enjoy with high-end cheese later this week, and then I sit on the couch and wait, wondering how long I should give Denali before I start to worry.
The answer eludes me.
chapter twenty-five
Denali
I don't wantto feel this weak, but Theo's attack has left me no choice. I didn't want to involve the police, but that choice was taken from me, too, and probably for the best, honestly. If left up to me, I would have foregone involving them or anyone, cleaned up the apartment, and maybe asked my landlord to change the locks. Theo is too dangerous to deal with on my own, but by involving Kai, by letting him bring me here, when I have no doubt Theo was watching, waiting to see how I'd react, I've damned him too.
The shower in Kai's bathroom, as always, is huge but welcoming, and the spray feels great on my skin after sweating all night at that damn gala. But I can't relax. Everything is too fresh, too enmeshed in the forefront of my mind. I can't get the stupid flowers out of my head, the way he so confidently took my favorite shade of red lipstick off the dresser and wrote me a note that he knew I'd understand.
The same words he said at the gala tonight.
It's not a threat, it's a warning. A warning that he's not done. And I don't know what to do about that. Until now, he's just contented himself with a weekly or monthly phonecall, andmaking my working life miserable. Now, he's scaled up to full-on breaking and entering. Vandalism. Stalking.
For the first time in a long time since I left his side, I'm scared of what Theo might do to me if he catches me.
The water goes cold eventually, so I turn off the faucets and step out, searching for a towel on the wall. The one I used a week or two ago is still here–likely cleaned by now, at least once, but still—and I reach for it instinctively, knowing the softness of it will soothe the edge of the anxious mess I've become.
Kai's clothes are like a hug, wrapping me in warmth and softness that I didn't realize I needed until now. Though I wish it were something more—like him. His arms, his embrace, even the casual one he held me in at the gala, it's the human connection I yearn for, but hold myself away from. I can't bring this kind of damage into someone else's life. And yet, in a moment of weakness, I long for what I've denied myself for so long.
Once I've put on the loaner clothes, I toss the towel on my head and start to dry off the wet, ragged strands that dampen the collar of his shirt around my shoulders. When I walk out of the room, I'm still working on it, but I come up short when I spot him in the kitchen, staring at Taco, who's standing on his counter, devouring something out of a very fancy glass bowl.
And Kai is petting him as he eats. Smiling at my cat, who has shamelessly invaded his pet-free home like he owns the place and conned its' true owner into giving him whatever he wants.
It's almost hilarious enough to make me laugh. But right now, nothing can break through the gloom that holds me in a chokehold.
"Listen, buddy—Taco? That's your name, right, pal? Sheesh, Denali, who names a cat after their favorite food?" His hand runs along Taco's spine, and the smile I so rarely see come out on his lips spreads like butter on hot toast, curling his lips upand making him look less stern and more effortlessly handsome. "Anyhow, you can eat up here tonight only—one night special, you hear me, bud?—and then you have to get used to eating on the floor again."
"You ruined him by letting him up there once. Now you'll never get him down again."
As if on cue, Kai leans back, hands on his hips, and stares right over the cat—at me. His stern glare softens, and in the span of a breath, he's rounding the counter and heading straight for me.
