The Devil You Know - K.B. Winters Page 0,36
Bonnie and now Madison. Better be careful or you might lose that barracuda card you love so much.”
An unexpectedly loud laugh erupted from Kat. “I wouldn’t say that I love it but being bitchy saves a lot of time.” Her gaze was unfocused as she looked up at the starry night sky and sighed. “It’s not easy being a bitch all the time, ya know.”
A huff of a laugh escaped and I shook my head. “I hate to break it you Kitty Kat, but you’re not a very good bitch. Formidable, without a doubt, but not that bitchy.”
One sculpted brow arched, but the messy hair and rumpled clothes gave her a relaxed, casual air that was more appealing than Kat dressed to the nines. “Suddenly you’re the bitch expert?”
“Maybe I’m just a Kat expert.” And maybe the lack of food and sleep forced the quality whiskey to go straight to my brain. “You do a good impression of a bitch, but your real superpower is your willingness to see things through.”
She sighed and a satisfied smile crossed her lips just before she finished off her glass and stood to refill it, bringing the decanter of whiskey back with her.
“Thanks, Terry. My goal isn’t to be a bitch, but men in general are reluctant to deal with the ‘hassle of a bitchy woman’ and that suits me just fine.”
“So you’re saying that picking up strays is the real you?”
“No. Yes. Maybe. I don’t know, but I see people who need help and I feel compelled to help if I can.”
She shrugged like it was no big deal that a girl raised in the lap of luxury thought helping people was normal. Natural.
“I like that about you, Kat. Madison would be dead if not for you.”
“Ugh,” she groaned and let her head fall back. “Don’t remind me. I keep replaying that in my head over and over. If we’d been closer to Glitz when she was able to call…”
Her words drifted into silence and she fell deep in thought before she turned to me with a sad smile. “I’m sorry about Emmett.”
“Yeah, me too. Madison too.”
The girl was smaller than I imagined. A tiny little thing with a filthy face, a small voice, and a giant knife wound in her gut, but she’d still reached out to Kat.
“But this is the life we chose, and it goes with the territory.”
Kat nodded and crossed her legs before she turned to me. “Did we really choose it, though? I mean, I’m not complaining, but I don’t feel like either one of us had much of a choice.”
I knew what she meant, had thought about it a lot over the years, but that was a thought that led to madness, so I switched topics.
“You must’ve made a hell of an impression on her for her to call you when things looked so bad.”
“A rich bitch is better than nothing at the end of the day.” Her words were flippant but I heard the relief in her voice. “Besides, if you’d gone back to Glitz like I told you, both of us would have died trying to escape. Probably.”
“There wasn’t a chance in hell I would leave you, Kat.”
She flashed a soft, feminine smile. “You don’t owe me anything Terry, I hope you know that.”
“Meaning my help isn’t appreciated?”
Kat shook her head and sighed. “You are determined to misinterpret everything I say, aren’t you?” She held up a hand to stop my response. “I appreciate it and I am grateful for it, but I don’t want to be anyone’s obligation. Especially yours.”
I was too chickenshit to ask her what she meant, but something that felt a lot like hope bloomed in the pit of my stomach. “You’re not an obligation, Kitty Kat.”
“Yeah? What am I, then?” There was some emotion in her eyes I couldn’t recognize, almost expectant, like she was waiting for something.
“You’re special, Kat. Always have been.”
She snorted and shook her head. “Special. Just lock me up in a tower and keep me safe.” Her dark hair brushed her shoulders as she shook her head. “Never mind.” Kat grumbled incoherently under her breath and poured about three fingers of whiskey into her glass and then mine. “So, what are we gonna do about Rob?”
“Find him and fuck him up.” There was no question what would happen to that fucker. “He knew what he signed up for and he would’ve been paid as if he’d won the fucking match.”
That was another reason I was eager