Page 13 of Passion and Payback

“Not today, Hunter, not today,” I reminded myself as I turned the alarm system back on. I rechecked the doors to ensure they were locked and the metal shutters in the windows before heading toward the back. Just outside my office were the stairs that led up to the space I’d turned into an apartment. I had to unlock that one as well. The heavy-duty lock thunked in the quiet hallway as I twisted the key. The only other way into the stairwell was the small cat door at the bottom, but not even a child could fit through that thing.

I locked that door behind me and headed up toward the next door, which also needed to be unlocked. After almost being taken out by a cat darting from the apartment, I managed to get in and lock the door behind me. Having lived around cats for solong, I could walk down the hallway and drop everything off on the kitchen counter without too much trouble.

“Hey there, Leo,” I said to the majestic fluff ball lying on the end of the counter. “I know it’s a losing battle, but we talked about this. The counters are for food, not fat kitty asses.”

He looked unimpressed by my reminder and continued grooming himself steadily. When I picked him up and set him on the floor, however, he managed to summon the energy to give me an offended look before sauntering off, probably to find somewhere else to lay that would be in someone’s way. With him out of the way, however, I could get the groceries put away, sliding the steaks into the microwave to let them sit at room temperature for a while without being eaten by cats.

“Alright, now let’s go see if someone’s hungry,” I said to Tina, sitting on one of the dining room chairs, peering out to watch me intently. She squinted at me, saying she agreed with my decision but wouldn’t be the one to follow me in investigating.

I had to use the front door, by the guest room, to go back down. I had never intended to use it after moving in but had still treated it like one. My bedroom was at the opposite end, closer to the kitchen. That way, if anyone managed to get through all the doors, I would still have plenty of warning and time to react to the invasion.

One of a long list of reasons I never intended to use the guest bedroom for a guest. It would have felt like serving them up as a sacrifice to save my skin. That, of course, was before I had my best friend staying there. Kai wasn’t talkative about his deployments, but I had picked up enough over the years to know that anyone coming through that door better hope they had the same training and experience in life-or-death combat situations.

The door was left ajar, and I pushed it open gently, pondering how I had a man who I suspected was a highly trained, effective, and experienced killer in my house, and it…didn’t bother me.Not just because it was an added layer of protection but because it was Kai. He wasnothinglike the people I’d grown to fear, who had taught me the true meaning of fear when I thought my childhood had done a good job of that. I had seen him growing up, he could be violent and mean when it was called for, but his true nature was gentler, protective, and a little sweet, if awkward. Maybe my experience had colored my vision in a darker way than most people, but in my heart, I knew that while he was a threat, he wasn’t a threat to me.

Which was made all the more apparent when the door opened fully, and I snorted softly at the display before me. I had wondered where all the furry bodies were, and now I had my answer. While I’d been gone, Kai had passed out on his back, limbs sprawled haphazardly. Half a dozen cats had claimed his body, save for the seventh. Clem had taken refuge near his shoulder. His big head lay across Kai’s neck.

Seven pairs of eyes peered up at me from the huddle on the bed, and I stood there, crossing my arms and leaning against the doorway to watch them. It was such a contradiction to the rather dark thoughts I’d just been having about him. Kai had always had a way with cats, even if attention from animals confused him. I knew people who were awkward with people but good with animals, but Kai? Kai was consistently awkward.

The clip on my hip brushed against the doorframe when I attempted to back up and let everyone nap in peace. That was all it took for Kai’s eyes to flash open, immediately alert and looking around. Once upon a time, I had been worried and confused when he woke with such a sudden start, wondering what could be wrong that he didn’t realize he was perfectly safe.

Now? Now, I could only smile sadly in understanding.

“Sorry,” I said in a soft voice. “Didn’t mean to wake you.”

“No, I…” he began and looked around. “What the fuck?”

I chuckled. “There’s no place safe from them. Other than the shower, that is….wait, no. Mon likes the shower.”

“Mon?” he asked, and I could see from the look of concentration on his face he was pondering how he would get up without risking at least four of five needles in his skin.

“Monroe,” I said, not needing to gesture when the tuxedo cat lying on his stomach gave an acknowledging chirrup. “The only cat in the building who genuinely loves water. Will walk into the shower with you if you let him…but I advise closing the stall, if not the bathroom door. He uh…also likes jumping up to hit…dangling things, and isn’t the best at controlling his claws when he’s excited.”

Kai wrinkled his nose. “That doesn’t sound like fun.”

“It’s not.”

“So, uh, are you going to help?”

“I’m going to go get the food prep started. If you want to shower, be my guest.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Oh, I know.”

Smirking, I left him groaning in protest at his predicament. If I knew Kai even half as well as I thought I did, he wasn’t worried about getting clawed trying to move the cats. His biggest concern would be whether he could do it without hurting the cats, which I was sure he could manage just fine. The real issue was that he would disturb the animals when they were so comfortable, which would bother him a great deal.

Considering he’d be living with the cats as much as I was, he would have to learn to deal with it, especially when the cats clearly liked having him around. When it came to cats, it was sink or swim when they were in groups and you had to learn to bully them right back.

“Hello again, Leo,” I said as I scooped the cat off the counter again and gently tossed him away from the cooking area. Ithen wiped down the counter to remove any residue from tiny feet before pulling out everything for dinner. I had potatoes cut already and water salted and boiling when Kai finally emerged from the bedroom. “That was an impressively long time to extract yourself.”

He gave a heavy yawn, covering his mouth with the back of his hand. “Sorry. Ended up dozing off again.”

“Hey, I’m sure you probably need the rest,” I told him with a shrug. “So, if you want to nap some more, I can hold off.”

“Nah,” he said with another yawn, albeit smaller than the last. “If I get too much sleep, I won’t wake up right.”

“I’m not quite sure what that means.”

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