Not wanting to acknowledge that or the girl with a screwed-up sense of direction, I made my way in the direction he had gestured to, another yawn leaving me as I padded barefoot into the large kitchen, grabbing a mug without really looking around, and then proceeded to the coffee—
My soul left my body alongside the scream that escaped my throat. It was so loud as I jumped and kicked something warm and soft that had brushed my feet.
It only took a glance for me to catch the black furry animal by my side, very still with a low warning growl, its fur standing erect all over.
My instincts told me to remain in place, but my legs were already working ahead of me; I bolted right out of the kitchen with the creature hot on my tail.
I think I was still screaming, still in flight mode, as I spotted Elio on his feet, approaching with a frown on his face.
“What happened—” He didn’t complete that statement because I was on him in the next instant, my hands falling around his shoulders, my legs around his waist, inching up as he stumbled back with the impact of me jumping on him.
His arms came around me protectively.
“There’s a fucking cat, a fucking panther. I don’t fucking know, but it’s—”
“Stopped.”
My heart beat five times per second as I turned my head slowly backward to see the cat standing still in front of us, swollen with anger. It was too still, bright eyes watching, waiting for a movement, an excuse to attack, to chase, and I was breaking out in a sweat even though I was clinging to him in panic.
“Relax.” He gently rubbed my back. “Your heart is beating so fast. Are you really that scared?”
I looked away, dropping my head onto his shoulder. “No—I mean—yes, b-but just don’t fucking let go of me.”
“I will have to let go eventually—”
I tightened my hold around him, knowing if it were possible, I would climb up onto his head just to—His grip loosened, and he moved to put me down; the deep purring sound grew a little louder.
I gripped his shirt, tightening my legs around his waist, refusing to let go. “Please, please, please don’t let me go, I beg you.”
“You’ll be fine.”
“No, no, no,fuckno, I swear to God, Elio, if you let me go, I will stab you until I hit a vital fucking organ; I am not bluffing.”
He chuckled, bringing his lips to my ear. “This is a surprise,” he said, his tone low.
“How do we get rid of it—”
“You can’t; she lives here, for now.”
I frowned, scared to even move. “What the fuck? You have a fucking cat? Why do you have a fucking cat?”
“She is not mine; that is Mimi. She’s Angelo’s.”
My grip was still tight around him. “I don’t give a fuck who her owner is; I just need her to stop looking at me like that.”
“Hold on.” Amusement laced his voice. “You can shoot people in the face, enchant a whole room filled with strangers, make me your subject, stop a bomb on a moving school bus, and the thing that scares you is a… cat?”
I gritted my teeth. “Gloat all you want; just don’t drop me.”
He patted my back reassuringly. “I am not gloating; I am just surprised. You keep surprising me at every turn.”
“Glad I serve as your constant element of surprise, but that cat is not backing down from wanting to attack me.”
Elio shifted slightly. “We just need to distract her, that’s all.”
I swallowed. “How do you suppose we—”
He made atst-tst-tstsound, and something furry came running out of the kitchen storeroom, ginger and huge.
