“Oh, yeah, but, you know…hard to eat when your stomachs in knots.”
It’s even harder to eat when onehasn’t eatenin a long time. Her stomach ached to be full but knew, like a starved beast in the wilderness, if she came across a buffet, she’d only hurt herself.
“I get it, but the good news, the parts we could collect will set you up pretty with about 30 gold.”
30 gold…I spent 12 gold to buy the damn thing.“Really?”
“Yeah, your engine was intact, despite the jackass ripping up the outside and inside. That puppy is worth money now cause they don’t make the build as good as they used to. Plus, a lot of your belts are brand new. Even, shit, your filter was fresh out of the box. I’m impressed,” Jessie ran a finger down a clipboard, grinning from floppy ear to ear.
Katarina shrugged, crossing her arms under her chest. “What can I say, I take care of my things.”
Jessie hummed with appreciation. “I can tell. Poor thing was old, but I bet she drove like a dream.”
“Purred like a kitten.” She flirtily tossed her hair off her shoulder.
“Woman after my own heart.”
Katarina flushed harder, glancing away from the warm, honeyed gaze of the shop owner. She was used to being ogled by people. She called it a succubus special.Plus having big tits since I was 14.When she was well fed, she sparkled. Katarina never hated that about herself. She was a dragon’s damn prize, something worth hoarding…and she’d let her glow diminish because of what? Some fucking guy? Some two buck, half-wit, abusive piece of shit?
Ow, good job, that fucking hurt.And now she’d hurt her own feelings.Way to go.
Katarina gave Jessie a one shoulder, flirty shrug.Why not, huh?It’d been too long since someone looked at her like she was a whole meal. It felt good. Especially after being accused of cheating for years when she’d been nothing but a starved, faithful succubus. And Jessie’s gaze didn’t lie; he was gobbling her up as she walked out into the back lawn of the garage. “So, uh, what now?”
Jessie blinked back to reality, and she ate up the silent praise. He cleared his throat and nodded to the large fence beyond them. “Nik and Kaci are pushing her into the prep yard now. We’ll get her stripped then move the husk out into the graveyard after. I’ll have the check put in the system tomorrow morning, and it’ll be printed in three business days. And, uh, you know, ifyou need rides in the meantime, just let me know. Nik already told me we’re hosting you and the tiny tot for the time being.”
“Yeah, uh—” she stopped herself. As much as she wanted to tell him not to worry about it…shewas worried about it. Without them, she wouldn’t have somewhere safe to sleep. There was no room at Sera’s, returning to Gill’s house wasnotan option, and there was no car to live out of… So, instead, she sucked up the blow to her ego and smiled at him. “Thank you, it means a lot.”
“Gah!” Jessie waved the comment off. “Nothing but a thing, we got plenty of room, live within walking distance of the shop, and you know, looks like you could use somewhere else to sleep.”
“Pfft, that obvious?” She snorted, trying to cover up the pain that echoed deep into her chest.
“Well, I mean, for someone to wreck a car that bad with a bat…” Jessie trailed off with a low whistle. He snuck a peak at her, and she exhaled heavily.
“He thought I was cheating on him,” she grumbled.
“Now, it’s none of my business—”
“I wasn’t,” she spat, glaring at him sharply for only a moment. The minotaur threw up his hands like a white flag and she eased. Pressing her hands into the small of her back, Katarina stared out at the large fence where the two employees locked up. Everything ached. “I’m just a succubus.”
“Ah,” Jessie nodded. “A girl’s gotta eat but some guys get weird about it. They see it as an ego thing.”
“I wasn’t even feeding off anyone else.” There was no reason for her to spill her beans, so to speak, Jessie didn’t ask for the whole life story. She could have lied. But what was the use in lying? What was the use in playing down the horror that was being married to Gillian Hurley? It was a nightmare.
“Oof, sorry, little momma, that’s rough.” Jessie offered her a sympathetic shrug. “But, hey, you got you and the tater tot. And you got a bed with us, and Nik was talking about whipping upsome pancakes for breakfast with bacon and eggs, that ought to put the sparkle back in your bat wings, ‘ey?”
What will really help is feeding…“Pancakes sound perfect,” she smiled at him, “thanks again.”
Jessie nodded back toward the shop. “Meet us in the waiting room; I gotta finish closing the doors and locking up.”
Katarina nodded, surprisingly feeling lighter than when she stepped out. It didn’t take long to get back to the waiting room and settle in. Penny bowed her head, then dipped out of the shop without another sound. It left Katarina with just her thoughts and an empty stomach.I’m going to need to call in a favor to Luca.She didn’t like to abuse her physician’s good nature but, like Jessie said, a girl’s gotta eat. Her phone was heavy in her hand as she stared at a handful of notifications that grew bigger with every passing second. The pressure of having to answer anyone other than Sera made her stomach churn.What happened? Oh my god I saw the news! Why didn’t you tell me?All their empty condolences and fake sympathies pissed her off more.
Focus on what’s important.She texted Sera to call when she was out of the house and tucked the device away.Drown out the rest of the noise.
Katarina stroked her daughter’s hair absentmindedly while she studied the waiting room more. It wasn’t a glamorous space, but it was nice. Clean, glossy tiles, a tall desk, two flat screen tv’s, a rack of magazines and kid’s books, plus a handful of distraction toys. Back through the hall was the office and the break room, where Jessie gave her breakfast from earlier.
Finally, the door to the shop opened, and the last three workers poked their heads in. Kaci nodded to Katarina then disappeared out the door without so much as another word. Katarina scooped up her kid as both Jessie and Nikolai locked doors within the room.
“Shall we?” Jessie whispered with a goofy grin on his lips.
