“Hey,” he breathed, stroking her cheek. “You did what you thought was right in the moment. It would have worked if I hadn’t gotten my hooves in a twist over you being in the building with him. I just thought maybe he’d set it off with you in there.”
“He wanted to wait till Nik got there. I’m not sure why.” She shook her head, dropping her gaze once more to the coffee mug.
“Because he wanted Nik and I to be his scapegoats. He wanted us to take the fall for the attack. That’s all.” Jessie dropped his hand onto her shoulder. Brushing the pad of his thumb against her collar, he waited for her to finally take a breath.
“I just keep…thinking…” she trailed off with a sharp inward suck of air. “I just keep thinking that I’m so powerful, that I made him crawl on his belly for me. I beat up Pierre and his boy. I feel so powerful now. Where was this?”
“When you were with Gill?” Jessie finished.
“I know I can be a force to be reckoned with, so why is he the only person to make me…weak?”
“Baby girl,” Jessie sighed, squeezing her shoulder. “You keep forgetting that you had that little girl in your arms.”
“What about before Isabella?” she added.
“Well, I imagine before that, you still loved him?” Jessie arched a brow.
“I just feel so stupid,” she confessed in a single breath.
“It’s not stupid to have a weak spot,” Jessie murmured, dragging her out of her seat into his. Forsaking her coffee mug, he threw his arms around her and hugged her tight. “You weren’t stupid for falling for the wrong man. And you weren’t stupid for trying to stick it out. Alright? I don’t want to hear my girl talk about herself that way anymore, you got it?”
Katarina let out a weak, wet laugh as she nodded against his shoulder. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she sank into his lap firmly. “I love you so much, you know that?”
“Yeah, I’d hope so,” he snorted. “I bought like 5 types of pizza bread today. That’sgotto have earned me some loving.”
Katarina cackled into his shirt as he squeezed her.I love you too, baby girl.And he was going to spend the rest of their lives making her believe it. Making her see herself the way he did. She wasn’t fixed, because that’s something she had to do on her own. Katarina Witchbane would have to continue to pick herself offthe concrete and put up her fists against the world. But he had every confidence his girl was more than up for the challenge. He’d gotten himself a scrappy succubus and a grumpy bugbear, nothing more a Minotaur kingpin could ask for…well…maybe minus a small favor.
One he would ask of the Devil of King’s Fall.
~Roughly 4 months later~
“WhydoIgottago with you?” Rex huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Because I fucking asked you to and because you ratted me out to Pops!” Jessie spat.
“You woulda died if I didn’t!” Rex tossed his arms out. “And that wasmonthsago, get over it! Yeeeeesh! You’re such a virgo.”
Elliot rolled his eyes, “Ironically, I’m a Taurus, you dickhead. And yeah, you still snitched. Snitches get stitches.”
“Fine, next time I’ll let the fucker blow up the city! See if I care!” Rex huffed so hard his nose ring flopped in front of his nose. Jessie kept his eyes on the roads but spared a glance at the minotaur in his passenger seat.Damnit, Rex, when did you grow up?
He chuckled as he punched his brother in the shoulder. “And I’m dropping you off at the University for a tour afterwards.”
“What!” Rex shrieked, twisting in his seat.
“Yeah, confirmed it with Ark-U. You start in the fall, so you’re taking the tour today. Make sure you get all the information packets you need, because I might have paid your tuition and stuff, but I’m not your keeper. I don’t know shit about university. You gotta do this and do it for real.”
“Oh! I am! Oh, holy fuck, Jessie! You actually paid for fall semester?”
For the last two months, Rex was worried about having enough coin to make it in. While university wasn’t ridiculously expensive in King’s Fall, especially for a commerce major like Magical Engineering, it wasn’t cheap. So, Jessie let his little brother sweat it out, picking up extra shifts and even taking commission repairs to scrounge up enough change for a semester.Just so when you get to school you’ve got pocket change.What Rex didn’t know was one of the people at the registrar office came in about ten months ago for some intense repairs. While, at the time, Jessie didn’t know he’d actually be able to cash in that favor he was owed, he was proud of it. Got Rex’s first two years at a steal. Plus, it didn’t hurt that as soon as Jessie told him the plan, that Elliot dropped some serious coin. Their older brother even offered to speak to a buddy he knew about making sure Rex got a scholarship if it was needed.
It's the least we can do for you, kid.
“Yeah, you’re all paid up. So, you better make a budget for your coin and live in the dorms.”
Rex grinned from ear to ear, humming in his seat he was so eager. Only to stop and glance at Jessie with a horrified face. “What about the shop?”
“Let me worry about the shop. I can actually hire more techs, bump Nik up to manager, and Kat’s taken over the admin duties. Don’t you worry about us. You go to school, Rex. All I want to hear is you bitch and moan about how much homework you have and how bad the coffee is, alright?”
