Kata dropped the phone and reached for the bedroom door. She didn’t know much about Tyler, but he’d been reasonable so far, friendly. Surely, if she explained the situation, he would help her. That seemed logical . . .
Except that Tyler had already refused to take her anyplace she usually visited, like her apartment. His point that the bad guys could have all her usual haunts staked out was well taken. And Tyler’s first allegiance wasn’t to her but to Hunter.
Gripping the knob, Kata froze. What if Tyler didn’t agree to help her? He wouldn’t simply let her go. And all his banter aside, he was very capable of keeping her both safe and sequestered. She had no doubt that if he refused to take her to Mamá, she’d never be able to escape his watchful eye.
Mamá had no one else to help her. Mari was reluctant to help Mamá, since she didn’t want to “help herself” by leaving Gordon. Besides, on Mondays, her sister would be doing some pro bono work in Baton Rouge with several of her colleagues. Her sister’s husband was home with the boys, up to his eyeballs in homework and soccer practice. If she sent Tyler alone, her mother would refuse to answer the door for fear of Gordon’s reprisals. Mamá needed her.
Kata bit her lip. Yes, she knew running off was dangerous; she wasn’t too stupid to understand that. But Mamá had a history of respiratory problems, and Kata had successfully nursed her back to health every time.
“You okay in there?” Tyler called through the door.
She started. How had he made it all the way up the hall without her hearing the footsteps? Tyler might seem like a nice guy, and he definitely flirted, but under all that charm, Kata suspected that he’d be lethal.
“Fine,” she called before he got suspicious. “I’m . . . looking for something more comfortable to wear. Mind if I take a quick shower?”
He hesitated. “No problem, but, um . . . don’t be long. I paused the movie so we could watch the end together.”
Think, think. How was she going to get out of here?
“You mean you do care about Bella and Edward?” she teased to throw off suspicion—and because he deserved it.
“Fine. It’s not total trash. That’s the most you’re getting out of me. Ten minutes, Kata.”
“Perfect. No problem.”
How the hell was she going to escape him in ten minutes?
An idea hit her. She dashed into the bathroom and turned on the shower to mask the sounds to come. Then, hoping this didn’t put her on the grid and in danger, she sent out a quick text to the one person she trusted implicitly and hoped would never refuse her.
Chapter Twelve
SINCE sneaking out of Tyler’s apartment, Kata had experienced the worst twenty-four hours of her life. She paced her mother’s hospital room as dusk turned to dark, raking a hand through her heavy hair. She needed a shower and a meal—and some way to stop herself from strangling Gordon.
“Control yourself, Katalina,” her stepfather snapped. “You look like an elephant stomping from one side of the room to the other. You have your mother’s grace, which is absolutely none, and I—”
“Shut up!” she whirled on him, fists clenched, menace boiling inside her. “How could you f**king leave her alone with no way to help herself when you knew she was sick? She could have died!”
From her chair in the corner, Marisol gave an imperceptible shake of her head. Kata knew what her sister was saying. This would only make Gordon more angry and defensive, something he’d take out on Mamá. Mari was definitely of the don’t-get-mad-get-even school of thought. But Kata couldn’t keep pressing her anger down. She wanted this ass**le to pay.
Gordon rolled his pale eyes in his pale face. “You’re being dramatic. Of course the doctor will say she’s at death’s door. He makes more money that way. But this cold isn’t as serious as you imagine.”
“Cold? It’s full-blown pneumonia. If we’d waited much longer, Mamá’s situation could have been life-threatening. Doctors don’t make this shit up.”
“Katalina, no man wants a woman who yells and curses at him, questions his sanity, or corrects him. Coupled with your weight, it’s no wonder you’re still single.”
She was mad enough to chew nails—and spit them in his face. Then tell him that she was no longer single. But now wasn’t the time to start more family drama. She needed to focus on Mamá.
“Well.” Mari rose between them on long legs to her lean, elegant height. “It’s nearly eight. The cafeteria will stop serving dinner soon. Did you eat, Gordon?”
He shook his head and glanced at her mother. “I’m going home. I’ll eat there.”
“After visiting for ten minutes?” Kata’s jaw dropped.
“CSI is on. Carlotta knows I never miss it.”
Even when his wife lay sick in the hospital? She supposed if he could work late tonight to prep for a meeting that wasn’t until next week, he could leave early to watch some stupid-ass TV show. That was so like Gordon. Self-centered to the core.
Kata swallowed back her fury. “Fine. There’s the door.”