by T M Kelly
Anora: Stop. Don’t talk like that. Just find Ray and make this nightmare end.
Me: We’re working on it. I love you.
Anora: I love you.
Malik ran back in the room right as I was typing I love you. “Okay—” He stopped in his tracks. “Anora all right?”
I stood and stepped closer to him. “She’s frustrated. First, tell me what has you excited?”
“Lily and Charlie want to help find a kitten and puppy for us.”
“How are they going to help?”
“We’ll do a video call with you at the shelter.”
I walked over and grabbed a T-shirt and yoga pants. “Live video call. Um, okay, but still not the same.” I sat back down on the bed and crossed my legs in front of me. “Let’s just wait until this is all over. I don’t want anything to happen to them.”
“You really want one, though.” He knelt down in front of me and reached for my hands.
I touched my palm to the side of his face. “Hey, it’s okay.”
He stood and walked to the door. “I need to let the girls know the shelter trip is canceled.”
“You planned a day and time already?”
“Yeah, we were going to go this afternoon.”
Now I felt bad and I really did want one. “Maybe—”
“We should still go?”
“Maybe.” I hopped off the bed and wrapped my arms around his neck. “Let’s discuss it further over sausage gravy with biscuits.”
“Is Anora okay?” Malik said and set two bowls on the table.
“Tell me something,” I said and pointed my spoon in his direction.
He held up his arms. “It wasn’t me.”
“Your good friend Kac, is he normally a jerk or only to cute redheads?”
“What did he do this time?”
“Ha, I knew it couldn’t be the cute redhead.”
Malik stepped closer to me. “What did he do?”
I continued stirring the gravy as I waited for it to thicken. “She is in a hidden room in his basement.”
“So she’s safe. That’s okay, right?”
“She is there all day and night.”
He turned his head to the side. “Wait, he’s not letting her roam the rest of the house?”
“Nope.”
“That’s not like him.”
“Are you sure about that?”
He walked over to the table and grabbed his phone. I noticed him tap a few buttons and then he placed the phone to his ear. “You available?” I thought he would stay in the room and let me hear his side of the conversation. Instead, he stepped outside on the patio.
I finished with the sausage gravy and placed a lid over it. Then I went and sat down to wait for him. He was on the phone for about twenty-five minutes, which surprised me. When he walked back inside, he looked pissed. I noticed how he was staying silent, and I wondered if he was working to choose his words wisely.
“Did Anora do something wrong?” The way he was acting made me wonder if she crossed the line somehow.
“No.” He finally sat down next to me. “Kac is an asshole sometimes.”
“Oh.” I didn’t really know what to say. “You look upset.”
“He doesn’t want her there.”
“Why? What did she do?”
Malik tapped his fingers on the table. “He’s falling for her, Jenny.”
I dropped my hand to the table and accidentally flung a fork onto the floor. “What did you say?”
“She was allowed out of the room for all meals and in the evening to watch TV with him.”
“Then?”
“Then he kissed her one night.”
“Oh shit.”
“Yeah, oh shit is right.” He shook his head. “Kac’s job doesn’t allow him to do relationships.”
“Has he thought about changing jobs?”
“I don’t think that ever crossed his mind.”
I grabbed our bowls and made my way over to the stove. “He’s your age, right?”
“Yeah.”
“It only makes sense those thoughts are surfacing.” I placed a biscuit in the center of the bowl and spooned out a good portion of sausage gravy. “Plus, Anora is the kindest soul. She’s so easy to love.”
“Yeah, apparently she was super helpful and always offered to take care of the house.”
“Awww, well, she is bored. He needs to give her more than a book and the movie channel.”
“Hopefully my words made him come to his senses.”
“Or he took all the books out of her room.”
“God, I hope not.”
I set his bowl in front of him and leaned over to kiss him. “She’s feisty. I know she’ll be okay.”
“Kac needs to man up and realize locking her away will not make his feelings disappear.” He dug his fork into the gravy and stuffed a huge piece in his mouth. In between chewing, he said, “Um.” He pointed at the bowl. “Wow.” Finally, he finished chewing and swallowed. “You can never leave me.”
I burst out laughing. “No worries there; you’re stuck with me.”
26
“Sit in front of the white wall in the bathroom,” Malik said as he followed me down the hallway.
“Are you sure this a good idea?” I pushed open the door and sat down in front of the wall by the tub. “We can wait to do this.”
“No, let’s do it now.” He bent down and kissed me lightly. “By the way, Kac contacted me about thirty minutes ago.”
“What? Why?”
“He apologized for being a dick.”
I tried not to laugh but it was hard. “Well, that’s so nice of him to notice.”
“Right?” Malik stood and made his way to the door. “I don’t know if he let Anora out, though.”
“I’ll find out.” I was on the floor with my phone sitting in my lap. “If I’m not feeling it. Don’t just start adopting. We’ll wait, okay?”
He reached his hand out. “I pinky swear we won’t adopt the whole shelter. Although I may have the urge.”
“Stay strong.” He waved and left the room. I leaned my head back and thought about what we were doing. I’d never had an animal before, and we were about to get a kitten and a puppy. I had a feeling someone would tell me I was insane.
My eyes were closed as I waited for Malik to video call me. I’m not sure how much later my phone rang, but it startled me. I jumped at the sound and knocked my head back against the wall. When I hit accept, I was still rubbing the back of my head.
“Hey, baby. You okay?”
“Yeah, I may or may not have dosed off.”
“Well, wake up, cutie.” Charlie leaned into the camera. “There are so many cute kittens to choose from.”
“You both really don’t think this is a ridiculous way to do this?” I was still doubting this whole situation.
“Nope, and we may adopt a few for us,” Charlie said and reached her fingers into a cage to scratch an orange tabby kitten.
“It will be an adoption frenzy over here,” Lily teased and bent to look at an all-black kitten.
“That will make the shelter super happy.” I watched as Malik swung the camera back and forth between Lily and Charlie. “Malik, love, you’re going to make me sea sick with all the back and forth movements.”
“Oh, sorry.” He faced the camera in his direction.
“Go make a connection with a kitten.”
“Me?” He placed his hand on his chest.
“Yeah you, silly.” The camera was in a perfect direction to where I could see a kennel directly behind him. There were three kittens in the cage. One was leaning up against the bars and reaching its paw out toward Malik. “Turn around. The tabby with the longer hair. We must meet him or her.”
Malik spun the camera toward the kitty in question. “Oh, you are a cutie.” He reached his fingers in to pet the sweetie. The cat rubbed its head against each one of his fingers. Then out of the blue it let out the cutest meow.
“Is
it a male or female?”
“Male.”
“Well, you need to hold him and soon.”
Charlie walked over and grabbed the camera. “Pull him out.”
“Can I do that?” Malik looked around.
“Yes. Now do it.” I noticed Charlie’s hand shove at Malik’s shoulder.
“Listen to Charlie, Malik.” I giggled and waited for him to hold the kitten.
I thought about what we were doing and realized it was crazy. We were getting an animal at a time when we were unsure what would happen to us. There was still that off chance Ray could find a way to get past the security here and jump us. If anything happened to the innocent creature I would be devastated. Then the thought of living in the “what if” stage for the rest of my life stopped my thoughts. This little baby would provide so many smiles and a serious number of laughs. The house needed to be brightened up.
“Oh, he likes to be held.” Malik wrapped his hands around the tiny body. I watched as the kitten snuggled deeper into Malik’s arms. The moment he closed his eyes, I knew he was the one.
“It’s him.”
Malik glanced around. “It’s the first kitten we met.”
“And the last. He’s the one.”
“Well okay then.” He reached for the camera and held it in front of him. “You sure he’s the one?”
“More than positive.”
“Okay, the Lioness has spoken.” Malik held the kitten out in front of his body.
“Ohhhh, look at him,” Lily cooed beside Malik’s arms. She reached her hand up and rubbed her finger over the top of his head. “He seems so happy.”
“Well of course, he’s getting adopted today.” I placed my finger on the screen and moved it back and forth over the cutie’s nose. I couldn’t wait for them to get him.
“I’m going to turn off the video chat, baby. We’ll be home in about an hour, if not sooner.”
The moment he hit end, I hopped up and ran into the kitchen. We had the housekeeper bring us some kitten food, toys, litter box, and of course, a variety of treats. I reached down and held the little mouse toy in my hand. For some reason I felt the urge to pray. I was not religious, but I did believe. As I tossed the toy in between my hands, I prayed the kitten would be safe, and if Ray ever found me, the kitten would never be harmed.
I deserved to have something that brought me joy. This house continued to find a way to stir up too many emotions. The day I could finally leave there would be a massive celebration.
“Prepare to be pounced on,” Malik said as he stepped into the living room. He was holding up a box that was moving back and forth. “I think he hates being confined.”
“Oh, my goodness, let him out.” I jumped up and grabbed for the box. Before turning away, I quickly kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you,” I whispered and walked to the center of the room to sit down on the floor. Right as I started to open the box, two little paws reached up and touched my fingers. “Hey, you.” I dropped the lid of the box down and the kitten stood on two legs and looked around. “What do you think of your temporary place?” The kitten let out the tiniest meow and sat back down. “Oh, no, are you scared?” I reached in and pulled him up. “You don’t have to be scared.” He climbed onto my chest and rubbed his head against my chin. It was at that moment I knew what we did was right. His kindest gesture was exactly what my heart needed.
“I think he’ll fit right in.” Malik sat down beside me.
“You only adopted a kitten?”
“We were overwhelmed by the cuteness in the room. I didn’t have it in me to go into the puppy wing.”
I reached my hand out and touched his thigh. “We’ll look when we’re officially out of here.”
“We’ll go together.”
The kitten placed both his paws on my face. “Am I ignoring you?” He meowed again and placed his head in the crook of my neck. “What should we name you?”
“Lily and Charlie were trying to think of names on the way home.”
“What did they come up with?”
“You don’t want to know,” he said and shook his head. “We’ll find out his name together.”
“Now you have me curious.” I giggled and moved my nose back and forth over the little kitten’s nose. “Hey, what about Spartacus?”
“That’s a great fighter name and also the beginning of your fighting career.”
“I have a career in fighting already?”
He leaned over and kissed my temple. “Oh, you just wait. It will be crazy soon.”
“Spartacus. What do you think, little guy? And Sparty for short.” The kitten meowed loudly. “I think he approves.” I brought him back down and held him close to my chest. “You were definitely needed.” I moved closer to Malik and leaned my body up against his. The little purring sounds were soothing to the ear. I closed my eyes and took in the moment. It felt good to feel happy for a change. I didn’t know how long it would last, but I planned to soak it all in for now.
27
“Watch it.” I grabbed Malik’s arm and pulled him back right before he stepped on Sparty. “He’s lucky we’re paying attention.” I lightly laughed and wrapped my arms around him. “It’s been quiet the last few days. Should I be worried or happy about the silence?”
“Lincoln notified me earlier that Journey went deep under cover.”
I stepped back. “Wait, why?”
“I guess she found an in with someone who is a part of the Nesta Den.”
“Will she accept a fight?”
“I don’t know that much. Maybe, it could happen.”
“What if she loses? That means she has to die.”
“Journey won’t lose.”
“You sound so sure.” I reached down and picked up Sparty. “The place sounds shady as fuck.”
“It is, but Journey never loses anything.”
His words caught me off guard. “What do you mean?”
“She held the flyweight title for ten consecutive fights. The only reason she lost the belt was because the CIA forced her to take a job overseas for two years.”
“Wow,” I said and grabbed my coffee mug. “Lincoln’s okay with all this?”
“He doesn’t have a choice in the matter.”
I turned to face him. “None?”
“Nope.” He rubbed his beard back and forth against Sparty’s face. “He entered the agency knowing Journey didn’t know how to hold back.”
“Sounds like Journey and Kac have something in common.”
“They met in the field.”
“Why am I not surprised?” I took a drink of my coffee and walked into the living room. “I need to check on Anora.” As I stepped into the bedroom, there was a light knock. Someone was at the back door. I grabbed my phone and made my way back into the kitchen. Lincoln was standing by the kitchen table. “Hey, Link. You okay?”
“Yeah, fine.” Sparty ran up to Lincoln and placed his front paws on his leg. “Well, hello there.” Lincoln reached down and picked him up. “Finally, I get to meet you.” Sparty climbed up his chest and onto his shoulder. “Is he settled in?”
I looked at Lincoln’s back. The kitten’s legs were under his little body. “He looks very comfy.” I pulled out a chair. “Make yourself at home.”
“I needed to share something with you both.”
“Is it about Journey and Nesta Den?” I set the phone on the table and pulled out a chair.
“Yeah, she left a message on one of our secret lines. She confirmed there’s someone killed in a fight almost every night.”
“Is she fighting?” I grew concerned for her safety.
“Not yet.” He rolled his eyes. “But she also hasn’t shown interest in getting in the ring.”
“Thankfully.” I placed my hand over my chest. “Any sign of Ray there?”
“Yes, he stays close to the two in charge, Ella and Erickson.”
“So he doesn’t fight?” I laughed at my words. “Honestly, I can’t see him fighting. I bet he
would be too scared.”
“Journey plans to keep getting close with two of her contacts. The one guy shared, to be accepted in a fight you have to have a handler that runs your money and organizes the fights.”
“This is serious.” I leaned back in my chair. “Underground fighting used to be simple from what I understood. Now they’re run like Spartacus or AFC.”
“Yeah, we seem to have gotten mixed up in something we all didn’t plan for, and now we have to see our way to the end.” Lincoln stood up. “Journey’s going to report on a regular basis what she finds. She plans to share all that Ray is doing in his day.”
I reached for Lincoln’s hand. “Thank you.”
“This is our job.” He squeezed my hand. “I’m sorry your husband became someone unrecognizable.”
I watched as he left.
Several weeks ago, I was running for my life from a man who had tried to kill me and more than once. Now I was discovering a whole new side to the man I married. A side I had no idea existed. There were several times in my day where I wondered how I missed the signs. There had to have been clues he had turned to the dark side, but he somehow managed to hide everything from me.
Listening to Lincoln talking about this underground fighting ring scared me. If Ray did find me, he would be out for blood and show no mercy. At least that was my impression of Nesta Den.
A little part of me wondered if the man I married would probably enjoy killing me. That thought alone made me want to stay in the guest house and never leave.
Right as those thoughts played in my mind, Sparty ran my way and jumped onto my lap. “You always appear at just the right time.” I pulled his tiny body close to mine and nuzzled my face into his fur.
I was scared for the future. I thought about my life every day and how easily it could be extinguished. Somehow, I had to use the positives still around me to keep moving forward.
I was a fighter now and I needed to start acting like one.
“Where’s that cute little kitten of yours?” Lily said from the doorway of the living room.