“I don’t like your attitude, Katalina.” He gathered up his suit coat and jangled his car keys in his pocket.
Yeah? She didn’t like him, period. But what good would telling him again do? He already knew exactly how she felt.
“Get the hell out of here.”
He harrumphed, then marched for the door like he was the freaking king of England. Loser. The only thing exalted about Gordon was his opinion of himself.
“Good night, Mari.” He speared Kata with a narrow-eyed glare, then left.
If he thought for one minute that she cared about his snub, he couldn’t be more mistaken.
“God, I hate him,” Kata said to her sister once he was down the hall and out of sight.
“No more than I.”
“But you never say anything to him!”
Mari’s raised brows and somber gaze showed thin patience. “No point in making things worse for Mamá.”
Kata knew that her temper often got the best of her where Gordon was concerned. “Sorry.”
Her older sister shrugged. “You do it to defend Mamá. She knows you love her. I do, too, but I won’t get involved again until she decides to leave him.”
Yeah, Mari had made that crystal clear. “Why won’t she divorce him? I know she’s unhappy and thinks she has no other options, but damn, she’s still young and bright and kind.”
“And thoroughly stripped of her self-esteem. He’s left her dependent on him financially and emotionally. Until she figures out her options, we’re just making a bad situation worse.”
Kata gnawed on her lip. “You’re always so logical, and I know you’re right, but . . . it just breaks my heart. I wish I could do something.”
Mari hummed noncommittally, then reached into her briefcase to extract some papers. “I’m worried about you, as well.”
“Me?”
Spearing her with that older sister look, Mari nodded. “When you disappeared after the shooting, I called Ben. To say I was shocked that you’d married Hunter was an understatement. I didn’t tell Mamá, but . . .” She sighed in exasperation. “What were you thinking? You know almost nothing about him, and what Ben has told me—that Hunter is dominant and controlling—doesn’t give me a good feeling.”
“He’s dominant sexually.” Kata winced at the blush crawling up her face but forged on. “He’s not an ass**le like Gordon,” she defended.
“Are you sure?” Mari, ever the level-headed attorney, got right to the heart of all of Kata’s concerns.
How could she convince her sister that it might walk and quack like a duck—but this time, it really wasn’t a duck? She wasn’t completely convinced herself. Hunter wasn’t mean-spirited like Gordon—but he possessed a ruthless streak. She had no idea what sort of husband that would make him.
Mari went on with her cross-examination. “Why couldn’t I find you after that shooting? I had no idea where you’d gone until you stopped to call.”
“Well, it’s partially my fault. There wasn’t a lot of time, but I also didn’t want you to fuss over me.”
“Hmm.” She didn’t sound convinced. “Would Hunter have let you tell us where he’d taken you?”
Kata winced. “Probably not.”
“Yet you’re assigning yourself the blame?” her sister asked incredulously. “Who does that sound like?”
Mamá, but . . . “After the shooting, Hunter didn’t want anyone knowing where I was, for safety’s sake. Since I was fine and you knew it, I didn’t think it would be a big deal.”
Mari raised a dark brow, looking decidedly skeptical.
“Look, I admit Hunter can be overbearing, but he’s not all bad. He makes me feel really special. Sometimes ... he says just the right thing.” She sighed. “And I melt all over.”
One thing Kata knew for sure, if she’d suffered her mother’s illness, Hunter would never leave her hospital room to watch CSI. He’d probably never leave her side, period.