Connor shrugged. “I guess we’ll find out. Because one way or the other, I think we’re going to be running into him sooner rather than later.”
Kat wandered into the rubble that used to be Anabella’s bedroom, making it seem like she wanted to search for clues. In reality, she didn’t want them to see her face. Because they’d almost certainly see that she didn’t think they had a snowball’s chance in hell of standing up against Marko.
Chapter 17
“I couldn’t help but notice how shaken you were when you realized the man Sandoval was describing was Marko,” Connor said as they climbed the steps up to his apartment after spending hours at the latest crime scene with absolutely nothing to show for it. “You want to talk about it?”
When Kat didn’t answer right away, Connor found his thoughts turning back to the chaos they’d left behind at the apartment building. While the official story the department was putting out suggested Anabella had gone missing when the walls of the apartment had collapsed due to some undefined structural defect, Connor knew that wasn’t going to hold up for long. He only hoped they’d have Anabella and the other teens back safe and sound before then.
“I guess it caught me a little off guard,” Kat finally said as she moved ahead of him on the stairs. “It’s one thing knowing his coven is in town and another to realize that Marko is here and taking a personal interest in kidnapping these poor kids. He’s not usually one to get his hands dirty doing grunt work. He usually likes to show up for the endgame when all the blood is being spilled. The fact that he was at the apartment building and went up to grab Anabella himself tells me that whatever he has planned is huge and extremely important to him.”
Wonderful.
“If it weren’t for all these kidnappings, I’d think Marko was in town to finish what he started with me,” she added. “But it doesn’t seem that way now. With all these kids involved, it definitely feels like this is something else.”
When they got to his door, Connor reached for the knob, but Kat put her hand on his arm, stopping him. He looked at her curiously. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she said softly. “I just wanted to ask you about something before we go inside.”
“What is it?” he asked.
Clearly, it had to be something she didn’t want to say in front of his sister, which worried him a bit. What if Kat decided that moving out of the apartment might be best for the duration of Jenna’s visit? He could see her suggesting that as a way of helping him and his sister get closer. But Kat only had a few more days left in human form, and he didn’t want to waste the time they had.
Kat took a deep breath, like she was planning to tell him something he didn’t want to hear. “What you told your sister, about me being your girlfriend. Did you mean that, or was it merely a convenient way of explaining why I’m staying at your place?”
And there it was.
“Yeah, I meant it,” he said softly, stepping a little closer to her. “Though I know springing it on you in front of her like that was a crap thing to do. It’s just…when I started making the introductions, that was the word that popped into my head. From there, I went with my instincts.”
She seemed to consider that for a moment. “So what does that mean for us going forward, knowing that I’m going to be turning back into a cat soon?”
It hurt like hell to hear Kat say those words with such complete certainty, but there was no denying it was the reality she was facing. The realitytheywere facing.
“I don’t know,” he said honestly. “But I promise that no matter what happens, I won’t walk away. I won’t abandon you.”
Connor realized that wasn’t exactly a grand proclamation of undying love, and he couldn’t help but notice that Kat hadn’t offered any promises of her own in return. But at least the tension visibly eased from her back and shoulders. At this point, it seemed that was the best he could hope for.
Giving her a gentle kiss on the lips, he turned and opened the door. Jenna was in the kitchen, a bottle of disinfectant and a cleaning rag in her hands. As she danced around the kitchen to some song she was humming to, he realized his sister seemed more relaxed than he’d ever seen her. It was a good look on her, but unfortunately not one he’d seen in a long time.
As he closed the door behind him and Kat, he caught sight of a weekender over by the wall near the couch, along with one of those purses that was really more like a small backpack. His sister had obviously brought her stuff up from her rental car, and Connor had to admit to being kind of shocked by how little she’d brought with her. Then again, that was sort of his sister’s MO. She liked to maintain a small logistical footprint. That way, she could bail on any situation at a moment’s notice.
Jenna jumped a little when she finally saw them, and just like that, the tension was back in her shoulders, the slight smile that had been playing across her lips as she hummed disappearing, and her expression closing off until it was almost blank. The sudden change was jarring, and it was hard to put into words how much it hurt when Connor realized she was happier when he wasn’t around. Then again, maybe it was because she had to be someone else around him. Someone she no longer was.
“You two are so quiet, I didn’t hear you come in,” she said, tossing the cleaning supplies back in the cabinet under the sink, then coming into the living room, a fake smile finding its way onto her face. “Hope you don’t mind that I cleaned up a little. I thought I’d keep myself occupied until you came home. I didn’t know if you’d have a chance to eat, so I got takeout for dinner. It’s in the oven staying warm.”
Jenna was putting on a good face, and it hurt even more to see her trying so hard to hide the fact that being in the same room with him obviously made her uncomfortable. It had been like this right after Hannah had gone missing and she’d realized that no one believed anything she had to say. In those early years, she’d been closed off around everyone. He thought she’d gotten past all of that, but now he realized she’d gotten better at hiding it.
“You didn’t have to buy dinner for us, but thank you,” Kat said, stepping forward to give Jenna a quick hug, which his sister seemed to accept far more readily than Connor would have thought. In his experience, his sister didn’t like strangers touching her. Actually, he’d been the only person she’d ever hugged without a fuss.
The table in the kitchen wasn’t big enough for the three of them, so they brought plates and all the takeout containers to the coffee table in the living room. Connor felt guilty about his sister paying for all that food. He’d have to remember to pay her back.
“I’ve learned from Connor’s visits out to LA to always order extra,” Jenna said, glancing at Kat as she helped herself to some beef and broccoli. “My brother never ate like this when he lived in Los Angeles, but now he eats like a horse. I don’t know how he can still stay so fit. I’m jealous.”
As he grabbed some sweet and sour chicken, fried rice, and two egg rolls, he realized that the restaurant forgot to give them any sauce. Luckily, he had a wicker basket filled with packets of soy and duck sauce, hot mustard, and chili paste, not to mention condiments from about twenty other local restaurants. Jenna must have been amused because she cracked up at the sight of it.
“Having a basket full of condiments and sauces in your cabinets might be a sign that you order takeout way too often,” she said, reaching in for a pack of soy sauce.
“Says the woman who ordered takeout,” Connor pointed out, grabbing a few packs of his own.
