by Staci Hart
It was only seven thirty.
She sighed and buried herself in pillows, but sleep never graced her again as she rolled over the things she had to do that day and the things that had happened the night before.
Like Dillon.
How they’d gone from hating each other to almost kissing was so unexpected, she was surprised the sky hadn’t opened up and rained blood. And all he’d had to do was not be an aggressive, hawkish jackass.
Of course, in the end, there was nothing to be done about Dillon. They could be friends, which was a relief, since hanging out with Owen seemed to be inevitable, and the brothers were a pair, a set that wouldn’t be separated any more than she and Kiki would.
Kat smelled coffee faintly at first, but within a minute, she fully realized the futility of waiting for sleep. So she climbed out of bed and wandered down the stairs to the kitchen, yawning as she plopped onto a barstool.
Kiki handed her a cup of coffee, which she took gratefully.
“Mmm. Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” She hopped onto the counter. “You awake yet?”
Kat groaned.
“Eggs?”
Kat smiled.
“Bacon?”
“Oh God. Yes.”
Kiki chuckled as she slid off the counter to gather supplies and lay them out on the counter. She unpeeled the bacon, lining it up in the cast iron skillet, while Kat silently sipped her coffee. Before long, it was popping and sizzling and filling the room with the familiar smell of breakfast.
“What are you doing today?” Kiki asked as she pushed the bacon around with a wooden spatula.
“Going to lunch with Dad. Are you coming?” Kat twisted her hair up in a knot and yawned again.
“I can’t. I’m meeting Owen for lunch, though I have no idea how he’ll be hungry. They’re cutting open cadavers today.”
Kat made a face. “Gross. It’s a little early for that.”
“Sorry.” She lifted the pan so Kat could see the fleshy, uncooked bacon. “Mmm!”
Kat wrinkled her nose. “Ugh, you’re going to ruin it for me.”
She set the pan back on the burner, smiling. “Congrats on smoking Dillon last night, by the way.”
“Thank you.”
“And he didn’t act like a baby or a jerk. Bonus, huh?”
“That was a pleasant surprise,” she admitted.
Kiki looked over her shoulder. “That wasn’t the only pleasant surprise. You almost let him kiss you. I’ve never wanted to stop myself from sneezing so bad in my whole life.”
Kat’s brain wasn’t working well enough to come up with anything witty to fire back with. “We made a truce, that’s all.”
“Didn’t look like that was all,” Kiki mumbled.
“I’m not getting involved with Dillon, okay? He’s not a complete asshole, which is great since you and Owen have already named your grandchildren.”
“Ha, ha. You like him. Don’t bullshit.”
“I’m not interested. I’ve got enough shit to worry about.” Kat picked up her coffee and took a drink.
“Eric isn’t coming,” Kiki said firmly, as if saying it would make it true.
“It’s a little early for that, too.” She eyeballed Kiki’s ponytail.
The sisters were quiet while Kiki unloaded the bacon onto a plate lined with a paper towel, and after a minute, Kiki mercifully changed the subject. Kat needed at least one cup of coffee before a conversation about Eric.
“So where are you and Dad going for lunch?”
“Katsu.”
“Ha. You’re kidding.”
“Nope. I might even order chicken Katsu.”
Kiki laughed. “That’s so meta.” She cracked an egg, and it hit the bacon grease with a hiss. “Have you talked to Mom?”
“Not in a couple of days.” Kat brought a knee up. “She’s been busy with some of the new choreographers in her studio.”
“How’s she doing otherwise?”
“Lonely, by the sound of it. Dad’s supposed to go back in a few weeks to see her, but …” She reached for her mug, cupping it. “We just left her there alone without so much as a real goodbye.”
“She understands, Kat.”
“I know, but that doesn’t make it suck any less.”
Kiki didn’t say anything for a second, just stirred the eggs around. “What if we decide to stay in New York?”
It was Kat’s turn for silence. “You don’t want to go back?”
“There’s nothing there for me besides Mom.”
Kat rolled one shoulder in a shrug. “We don’t both have to go back, I guess.”
Kiki spun around. “You’d go back without me?”
“Mom’s all alone, Kiki. I don’t know. It’s like we’ve all abandoned her.”
“Maybe Dad will bring her out here,” she said hopefully.
“It’s too complicated,” Kat said, not wanting to talk about Yuki. “Anyway, Mom won’t leave her studio.”
Kiki picked up the pan and divvied out eggs for her sister along with a handful of bacon and handed the plate across the bar. “I’ll call her and check on her, and we can talk about the rest later. I don’t know if I want to stay without you.”
Kat straightened up. “Shit, Kiki. I forgot to tell you … I told her about Owen.”
“Dammit, Kat.” Kiki’s jaw was set, her brows furrowed.
“What?” Kat said around a mouthful of bacon. “I only told her good things. That’s all there is to tell. Untwist your knickers.”
“She’s going to grill me.”
“Probably. But I told her not to worry. She listens to me.”
“Everybody listens to you.” Kiki pointed at Kat’s plate with narrowed eyes. “Eat your breakfast, tattle-tale.”
Kat did as she had been told, and when Kiki turned to the sink to wash the pan, silence fell over them.
Kat’s mind turned everything over. She hadn’t thought much about what they’d do down the line or where they’d go. She’d just assumed once things cooled down, they’d go back home. Not that she wouldn’t love to stay. She’d lived in Vegas her entire life, rarely leaving other than a few trips to LA. The heat, the desert, the strip — it had been her home. But New York was like a drug. It was filthy and beautiful and gritty and perfect. So expansive, she knew she could live there her whole life and still find new corners and spaces of the city to fall in love with.
Not to mention her father. Being near him was the best part of New York. They had seen him in Vegas a lot; he was out at least once a month. But it was different having him so accessible that they could meet up for lunch on a whim.
But the real realization was that if Kiki was thinking about staying, her feelings for Owen had something to do with it. Normally, Kat would shake her head and lament over her sister’s ability to fall so easily in love. But with Owen, it was even scarier. With Owen, it could be real.
It was stupid to even consider. They’d only known each other for a few days. But she couldn’t deny there was something more to it. Maybe it was just that Owen was the kind of guy Kat had always wanted her with, someone to temper her, ground her, cherish her. Of course, it was also possible they’d just run their course, and the affair would end like it had begun, quickly and painlessly. And then the sisters could just leave New York without a second thought.
Maybe things could go back to the way they had been.
That thought was dismissed with a sadness she couldn’t describe. There would be no going back to the way things had been. Too much had changed.
Kat’s thoughts wandered to Dillon. The brothers were night and day: Owen’s even-keeled nature the exact opposite of Dillon’s revolving door of emotions, Owen’s tall and dark and smiling to Dillon’s tall and light and brooding.
She found herself still surprised at how she’d let him charm her so easily the night before, and he had definitely charmed her. Part of her wanted something more, which alarmed her more than anything, and she wondered absently if he
would come to the bar with Owen tonight to see her. In fact, she imagined it, imagined him walking through the door in that leather jacket with his hair tousled and that nose and jaw and those lips and eyes.
Butterflies took off in her stomach, and it heaved in absolute dread.
She shouldn’t be thinking about Dillon, couldn’t even entertain the idea of him. Not with so much at stake. Kat didn’t have the luxury of Kiki’s naïveté about men or love, particularly when it came to Eric.
Maybe Eric would stay put in Vegas and maybe he wouldn’t. But there was only one way out if he did come for them, and Kat would have to be ready.
Dillon would be a distraction she couldn’t afford.
It was hard enough having Kiki with Owen and not being with her all the time. But if she found herself with Dillon in any context? That would require a level of coordination to manage she wasn’t sure she possessed.
The timing was wrong, and even considering him was stupid and dangerous, especially since he’d only been a decent human for ten minutes. Ten whole minutes, and she was ready to throw her panties at him.
She reprimanded herself and tucked into her eggs with determination, pushing Dillon from her mind with enough force to almost get rid of him entirely.
Later that afternoon, Kat opened the door of the empty restaurant, sending the little bell over the door tinging through the quiet space. The enforcers at the door nodded to her when she passed them. The restaurant was a yakuza joint, closed for their meal. It was the only way her father could be out so publicly.
Her father stood from his seat at a table in the center of the room, smoothing a hand down the front of his slate-gray suit, smiling wide. “Ah, Katsumi.”
He opened his arms when she approached, and she filled them.
“Hi, Papa.”
He kissed the top of her head and let her go. “Come and sit, masume.” He pulled out her chair. “I ordered your favorite.”
Kat couldn’t even be mad that he had ordered for her, especially since he’d been thoughtful enough to order something he knew she’d love. He didn’t mean to be a control freak. Neither did she.
“Thanks, Papa,” she said as she sat.
Katsu walked around the table to take his seat again, leaning back, resting one hand on the table and the other in his lap, his body the picture of power and authority, even in something as mundane as sitting at a table. “How are you?”
“I’m well.” Kat’s eyes were on her napkin as she unfolded it and set it in her lap.
When she met his eyes, she found them assessing her, though one corner of his lips lifted just a hair.
“I know you too well for lies, my daughter.”
But she lied anyway, not missing a beat, her best poker face affixed firmly in place. “I’m just worried about Mom. Have you talked to her?”
He acquiesced with a nod that said he knew better, but he let it go all the same. “Every day.”
“She sounds lonely. I hate leaving her there.”
“Being without us has been hard for her, but she will be fine. She has endured much. One of the many things I love about her is her strength.”
“Me too.”
“And she would not keep you and Keiko from what you want, what makes you happy.”
She kept her face straight, not wanting to give him any cause for concern, not wanting to give him a hint as to why they were in New York. Because he was watching her and baiting her like he was on a mission.
“Maybe we can fly her out soon,” Kat said nonchalantly.
“I could bring her back with me. Or you and Keiko could come with me to see her.”
It was a challenge, and she knew it, but she wasn’t biting. He hadn’t pushed her so hard since they first came to New York. “Kiki and I have work, and Kiki is busy with her boyfriend.”
He didn’t take the bait, his focus on his warpath to crack her. “But not racing. You are not busy with that at all.” He was still smiling almost imperceptibly, his eyes deep and brown and sparking with intelligence.
“I needed a break.”
He watched her for a beat. “Tell me about this Owen.”
She hadn’t told him Owen’s name, and she found herself smiling genuinely, knowing he’d known. He couldn’t even help himself from rooting around for information, especially when it came to her, Kiki, and Kim. God help any man or beast who entered any of their lives.
“Well, he’s in med school, but I guess you probably already knew that.”
He smiled an affirmative.
She shook her head. “You’re terrible, you know that?”
Katsu shrugged. “That all depends on where you sit.”
“He’s sweet, Papa. He likes Kiki, and I trust him. He’s considerate and smart. I like him.”
“Tell me about his brother.”
Her cheeks flushed, only in part because of the mention of Dillon, the rest in frustration. Her father was the only person who could break her like that.
“He’s a fighter, but I’m guessing you knew that too. I’m sure you’ve heard of him.”
“I have. He has won me quite a lot of money over the years. But I wish to know what kind of man he is.”
“I don’t know, Papa. I don’t know him very well.”
Kat kept her hands still in her lap, playing cat and mouse with her father, wondering what his angle was, wondering how he knew her so well as to be able to read her mind. He had to know something about Dillon, something he wanted to know if she knew, and she wondered what the hell it could be as she gazed at him with a challenge of his own.
“Let me know if that changes.” He pulled in a slow breath through his nose, let it out, and smiled. “And you are the best judge of Owen. If you approve, then I offer my blessing. Keiko has not had a single boyfriend you have approved of, and so if you accept him, I have faith in his character.”
Kat smiled back at him, relaxing too soon.
“Speaking of boyfriends, are you going to tell me why you came to New York?”
Bastard.
Her eyes widened just marginally with her guard down, and he saw it. “Tell me what you know, Papa.”
“Not very much. You have covered your tracks very well.”
In that moment, she was compelled to tell him and wished for the relief of passing the burden to someone else. It would be so easy, just a few words. Just one really — Eric. Lying to her father was misery, but betraying her sister would be unforgivable. She would be as responsible for Eric’s death as Kiki.
Kiki would see it as Kat holding the gun.
She was suddenly exhausted. “Maybe, one day, I can tell you. But don’t worry. If I need you, I’ll call.”
“Worry? About you?” He shook his head, his eyes soft. “I never worry about you, Katsumi. I trust you. And, if you call, I will be waiting.”
The chef walked around the sushi bar and placed plates lined with rows of nigiri in front of them, and Kat laughed. He had cut Kabuki masks out of seaweed and laid them out on her sushi. The faces eyes were crossed, frowns exaggerated, eyebrows arched and tongues wagging. She picked up a particularly angry one with silver chopsticks, bringing it to her lips as Katsu made tiny screaming noises. And their laughter chased the tension and worry away — for the time at least.
Perry’s hair was in a messy knot on top of her head, bottom lip between her teeth as she sat on the floor of Dita’s bathroom, painting her toenails a shade of maroon so deep, it was almost black.
“How are you doing, Daphne?” Perry asked, not taking her eyes from her task.
Daphne’s eyes were narrow, and the tip of her tongue stuck out while she painstakingly dabbed a translucent pink onto her toenails. “Mmm, all right.”
“I am so ready for summer,” Dita said with her head cocked to the side, inspecting her opaque coral nails.
“Not me,” Perry said with her mouth open in concentration. “Demeter and Hades always fight over me through spring and summer.”
Daphne didn’t take her
eyes off her toes. “Do you not have to spend half the year in Hades anymore?”
“Not since the Renaissance when we devised the paintings that hold Elysium and Tartarus. Now that the underworld is more … portable, we can live in Olympus, which means I can see my mother whenever I want. But old habits die hard. She hates that she doesn’t get full rights to me for half the year. I saw her more then. Given the choice, it’s Hades every time.”
Daphne shook her head. “But how? Living with him must be awful.”
“It’s not at all,” Perry said simply. “I love him.”
Daphne cast a sidelong glance at Perry. “Truly?”
Perry laughed and wiped a bit of polish off her toe. “It took a long time, believe me. I’m sure it’s hard to imagine forgiving someone who kidnapped you, tricked you, forced you to marry him, and raped you to consummate. Some days, I’m surprised myself.”
Daphne stared at her with big, sad eyes.
“Oh, don’t look at me like that. You know as well as anyone, that’s how things were done. In fact, I’d bet you’d be far more shocked by what happens these days.”
Dita screwed the lid back on her polish and stretched her legs out in front of her. “Speaking of these days, we should have another lesson. What do you want to hear about today, Daphne?”
She opened her mouth to answer, but Perry cut her off, her hazel eyes sparking. “Oh, we should take a field trip! Central Park? I could go for a street dog. A real street dog.”
Daphne’s mouth turned down. “Why would you want a stray dog?”
Dita chuckled. “No, a hot dog. Like a sausage link in bread with sauces and onions on it.” She glanced at Perry. “I’m not sure she’s ready to walk around Earth.”
Perry arched over her knees to blow on her toes. Between breaths, she said, “She’ll be fine. Are you finished with your toes?”
Daphne assessed her work. “I think so.”
“Think you’re ready to hit the ground?”
Daphne smiled and nodded, turning to Dita. “Persephone and I have been watching the Entertainment Network.”