Page 52 of Hell's Kitten

“I just did,” I grunt, not even turning around to address her. “You’re scaring my fucking cats.”

The poor tabby is running back and forth, making it impossible for me to grab him. I don’t want to hurt him with my big sausage fingers, so I’m doing my absolute best to be gentle. He’s going to be traumatized by this. If it harms his chances of getting homed, I’ll never let this woman forget it.

“Mr. Decker,” she snaps. “I am here with the county office of environmental health. Your business has been deemed unfit for human use and must be shut down with immediate effect.”

“What?”I yell at her.

It’s the last straw for the poor tabby. He backs up too far…and then he’s gone.

“NO!”I jump down from the ladder and rush to the side of the fridge. Luckily, I have access there and can see the little guy has broken his fall by grabbing hold of the radiator grate. That can get hot, though, so I shove my arm in and lift him up so he’s finally safe in my arms.

He’s shaking and trying to flee again, but I bundle him in my shirt pocket and cradle him next to my heart.

Mrs. Durham looks shocked, but when our gazes meet, her expression changes to frosty again. “That’s exactly what I’ve been telling everyone. You claim that this area is sanitary, yet I come in here and find a feline already contaminating everything. Did you hear what I said about your imminent closure, Mr. Decker?”

“I don’t give a shit,” I snarl. Looking around, I’m relieved to see that Leah has managed to get our two frightened escapees into carriers, although not without several bloody scratches on her arms. “Did any get outside?” I ask, sick with worry.

She shakes her head. “I don’t think so, but I reckon we should do a head count immediately.”

“Agreed.”

We both storm out of the kitchen, leaving a spluttering Mrs. Durham behind. She can do whatever the hell she likes. All I care about is that every soul is present and accounted for.

The café is in chaos. My employees are running around after terrified cats. Several men in dowdy suits are taping up the front door as well as the glass counter front. Others are removing the food we’ve already laid out for the day, tipping it into trash bags.

“Hey!” I shout, jabbing a finger at them. “That’s my product.”

“Not anymore,” Mr. Humphrey says in a bored tone. “It’s a health and safety hazard and will be disposed of accordingly.”

“Bullshit,” I fume. “This is harassment. I’m calling the police, and I’ll be suing every single one of you fuckers.”

“Sorry, Nim,” Sheriff Chancey says, appearing from the cats’ rec room. That’s where they sleep and also where all their carriers are stored. “I’m here to oversee the process on orders direct from the mayor. We can talk about it later. For now, I think we got all your kitties in there safely. One tried to slip out the door, but I caught her just in time.”

“Fuck!” I exclaim. Chancey winces, but she gives me a sympathetic look.

“I’ll go,” Leah says, hauling the two cases in her hands with her. I trust her to make sure everyone’s okay, so I wheel around to find Mrs. Durham huffing and puffing behind me.

“There’s really no need for this, Mr. Decker,” she says like I’m being completely unreasonable. “So much vulgar language.”

“Language?” I repeat incredulously. “Fuckinglanguage?You come in here, terrorize already traumatized cats, harass me and my perfectly legal establishment, drive me out of business, and you have the audacity to get pissy about my mother-fucking potty mouth?”

“Please remain calm, Mr. Decker,” she snips. “Everything happening here is all above board.”

“Like fuck it is,” I shoot back. “Your crooked husband will do anything to win this election for a town he does nothing for and where most of the people hate him.”

I almost wish Jessie was here to witness how many words are coming out of my mouth. I don’t think I’ve said this much all week.

But thinking of him brings a new layer of horror to the situation. My worst nightmare is coming true. I promised I’dprovide for him like I did my employees and all my rescue kitties. And now one woman’s vendetta and a fucked-up system of government is pulling it all down like a house of cards.

Mrs. Durham preens. “After today, Paddle Creek will be a thoroughly more respectable community, and the residents will be clamoring to thank my husband for all his hard work. You and your friends should have trusted in Jesus and led a more moral life. Then you all wouldn’t be in this mess.”

My blood runs cold.

I’m done talking to this bitch. I turn away from her just as Leah comes out of the back room and gives me two thumbs-up. Okay. The cats are safe. That’s something.

But I have a feeling that the trouble is only just getting started.

First, I make sure that the tabby is still okay in my pocket. He’s trembling, but he’s stopped trying to make a break for it, so hopefully, that means he knows he’s safe. Then I whip out my phone and call Donna over at O’Toole’s. She answers after a couple of rings.

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