“Oh yeah.”
Isabella went screaming toward the shop, arms in the air. “Vroom Vroom!”
“You good to get sweaty?” Katarina laughed. Chasing after her child, she scooped up her menace before she could reach anyone working.
“For you, hot cakes? Always!” Sera snorted, jogging along after. “Show me this vroom vroom.”
Walking to the backyard allowed Katarina to sneak a glance at Jessie. Under a car, holding up an intricate pipe system, letting Oats get up in the underbelly of the vehicle for all the fiddly work. It stirred her insides seeing Jessie to effortlessly hold up the absurdly heavy thing while also chopping it up with the skinny mechanic. He even swatted at Oats with his tail, eliciting a sputter and ‘hey! Keep that thing to yourself man! HR! I wannatalk to HR!’. To which Jessie just tossed his head back and cackled.
Nik was out back in the yard, welding away. Katarina would ogle him later when open flames weren’t involved. Though she did like the sight of him in a welder’s mask with sparks flying around him like a mad scientist.
Instead, they picked up all the tools she’d stashed away for her to work on the Reaper, fake rolled up their sleeves (all of them wearing tank-tops) and got to work on her dream car. While Sera helped Isabella wash down the outside of the dusty beast, scrubbing it with giant, yellow sponges, Katarina was under the hood. She was excited to start hooking up hoses, belts, and wires in preparation for the engine Nik was nearly done with. This part she loved the most. She’d memorized the internal map for the car a thousand times.I daydreamed that one day I’d get my mitts on one of these.And here she was, pulling a timer belt taut and peeking up to check on her kid who was helping Sera dust out the empty inside.
I’m gonna need to order seats. And new glass for the back window; it’s gone. And tires.All of which, despite herself, made her smile.
“She’s gonna be so cool when she’s fixed up,” Sera murmured, standing beside Katarina as all three of them took a water break.
“Can’t drive her on the streets of King’s Fall, though.”
“Why not?” Sera snorted.
“They banned the production of them, due to the whole drag racing thing.”
“Yeah but you’re not producing her. Plus, you’re putting different parts in her. That’s just called owning it.” Sera winked at Katarina. “Trust me, I’m a lawyer.”
“It’sbecauseyou’re a lawyer that your reaction scares me,” Katarina laughed, nudging her friend with her elbow.
Katarina couldn’t stop smiling the whole time, even when Isabella came launching out of the car with a dead, roasted rat she’d found. Even that couldn’t wipe the goofy look on her face.Though, we definitely ran inside to sanitize our hands after that.
Isabella stayed inside the shop to soak in the AC and sit with Penny.She’s going to be out like a light in less than five minutes.After she got express permission from Penny it was okay, she headed back out with Sera to the backyard.
“Now that the kiddo is out of earshot,” Sera giggled, poking at Katarina. “You want to explain to me what all is going on?”
“With what?” Katarina groaned, knowing that was a loaded question.
“You, the boys, the Lord Commander knowing all about your business, who the fuck The Executive is?” Sera raised a brow. Katarina grimaced.
“Oh boy, where do I even begin…You want the spicy details first or last?”
“Pfffft! First! What do you take me for? A nun.” Sera slapped at Katarina’s calf before sauntering back up to the front of the car. “Hit me with the good stuff then we can talk important stuff after.”
And that’s why I love you.Katarina shook her head, trailing after her best friend in the whole world. As they lifted the car up enough to wiggle underneath, Katarina explained all of it. The boys, being the middle of a sandwich, the knot, Jessie’s heat, Nik’s potty mouth. Then, while she was screwing in bolts to hold everything in place, she got to the real problem.
The Executive, whoever they were, got Gill out of jail early.Which means this guy has got to go away ASAP.
Chapter Thirty-one:
~Jessie~
Jessieneededtofigureout who this “Executive” was and fast. He was tired of playing catch up in someone else’s game. Plus, after Pierre confessed to being there to take out Elliot or picking a fight with Cassie, it was personal. Someone knew intimate details about his family and not only was that incredibly violating…but it was just rude. It was one thing if Jessie knew this guy. If he’d personally pissed him off, ran game on him, whatever—he could understand someone going this hard for a personal vendetta.
But I don’t fucking know this guy! He doesn’t know me except for what he can pull from the council’s files.To gothis hardover a stranger?
The Executive was too dangerous to be left to his own devices. If he wanted to go after someone’s kneecaps, then he was going to come for Jessie’s alone. Which is exactly why he sauntered through the back yard of the shop, finding Nik face first in Katarina’s car while she handed him tools from down below, Sera sat on some part of the engine and holding a light for Nik.
He chirped, “On a scale of one to ‘fuck you Jessie’, how busy is everyone right now?”
A loud chorus filled the air with, “Fuck you, Jessie!”
