Kat poked her head around from behind him. “Awww. Is it okay?”
“He’s purring now, but he’s got some threads wrapped around his leg.”
“Oh, you poor little thing,” she crooned, scratching him under the jaw and between the ears. “Do you think his mom left him because he was caught?”
“Yeah, most likely.”
“Well, let’s get him upstairs,” she said, leading the way again. “We can get a better look at him up there.”
“There’s gotta be a Humane Society around here somewhere. I’ll take him there tomorrow.”
Kat stopped short. “What? No! I’m keeping him.”
Aiden had a hard time fighting a smile. She reminded him of Mary Catherine again, minus the foot stomp and pouting lip. Something told him if he argued with her, he’d see those, too. “Okay, then.” He bent down and placated her with a kiss on the forehead. “A kitten for my kitten.”
She scrunched up her nose. “That’s a little cheesy, even for you, big boy.”
“Big boy,” he said as they walked up to her apartment. “That a fat joke?”
The tinkling sound of her laughter echoed in the narrow stairwell. “That comment Xander made this morning really bothered you, didn’t it?”
“What, are you kidding? That chucklehead couldn’t bother me if he tried.”
Unlocking her door and letting them in, she said, “If you say so.”
Aiden looked around discreetly, trying to determine if anything had been disturbed since the night before. He wasn’t even sure how the creeps had gotten in, but it didn’t appear as though they’d returned. Kat bent down and shoved a towel under the door. “What’s that for?”
“The door has a huge gap under it. If I don’t stuff it with a towel, the A/C ends up cooling the stairwell.” Crossing the small room, she flipped the dial on the window unit, bringing it to life with a rattle and hum.
He hated that she’d been living in this dump for so long. He tried to find solace in the fact that in a couple of weeks, he could give her enough money to get a decent place wherever she decided to head after all this was over. But the idea of her being anywhere other than with him wasn’t very conducive for solace-finding.
Mentally swearing at himself for the momentary departure from reality, he turned his focus on the kitten. “I’ll see what I can do about getting the rest of this string off.”
He sat on the futon while she riffled through her dresser. The kitten hunkered down in his lap, apparently deciding that was the safest place to be in this strange environment.
“Poor thing is probably starving and I don’t— Oh! I think I have some tuna.”
While she went hunting for that, Aiden used his knife and cut through the remaining strands as gently as he could. The kitten made some low growls, warning his rescuer that he wasn’t completely onboard with the plan. But as soon as he was free, the little thing started to purr again.
“There,” he whispered to him. “You’ll be good as new soon, and then you get to spend the rest of your days in that pretty girl’s lap.” He scratched between his ears and the kitten closed his eyes and leaned into it. “Lucky bastard.”
“Okay,” Kat said, hurrying to him. “I put some tuna on a plate and a bowl of water in the corner. Then I bunched my Snuggie up on the floor, thinking he might like that to sleep on. I don’t know, though, what do you think?”
He smiled as he stood with the kitten. “I think that sounds good. Come on, we’ll see if he’s hungry.” They took him to the food and barely set him down before his nose was in the plate. “I guess that answers that question.”
She laughed and sat on the floor facing the kitten, her right shoulder and head leaning against the wall. He did the same on the other side and propped his arm up on a bent knee. With her focus on the little chow-hound, he took advantage of the rare opportunity to simply watch her.
She’d pulled her hair to the left side and braided it that morning. The thick rope of hair lay against her neck with the ends reaching the top swell of her left breast. Since she was looking down, her auburn lashes hid most of her light blue eyes from his gaze, but he knew they’d be alight with a stolen moment of happiness in watching something thrive under her care. There was a peacefulness in the slight smile on her face and the relaxed set of her shoulders.
Then something broke the spell. Her brows knitted together and she frowned. “I still can’t believe it’s over so easily.” She raised her eyes to his. “What did you say to them to make them back off?”
Shit. He fought the urge to look away from her. “What difference does it make what was said or done? I told you I’d take care of it and I did. You’re no longer responsible for getting them Sicoli’s money.”
Kat lifted her head from the wall and stared him down. “Irish, tell me you didn’t pay them off with your own money.”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve had twenty grand just lyin’ around.”