She swallowed it down in one gulp when she felt the phone vibrate in her purse. She took the opportunity to check her phone when he cashed out his chips and had to bite her lip to keep from crying when she saw that Jason had bid her well and told her he loved her. The guilt nearly consumed her. She typed in a quick I love you before Andrew got back. She forced a smile.
After walking around for several minutes, they took seats at one of the blackjack tables. He placed several hundred dollar bills onto the table for both of them, as the dealer placed cards before them. They played several hands, and she was seriously impressed with how good Andrew was.
Their contact didn’t show up within the hour-long timeframe, but at exactly twelve o’clock, the dealer slipped Andrew a piece of paper. After playing their hand, they cashed in their chips. They strolled, hand in hand, to the elevator, and she couldn’t help but look around in awe when they stepped into the room.
The huge expanse of the Absolut suite’s bottom floor made their Augustus Tower Senator Suite look like a roadside budget motel. The second floor was definitely an added luxury she was sure even the Agency couldn’t afford. A very beautiful and scantily clad Hispanic woman escorted them over the dance floor toward a seating area, then came back with two glasses filled with colorful liquid.
“This is unbelievable,” she whispered by his ear when the lady left. “I think you need to ask for a tour before we go.”
“Absolutely,” he chuckled as he looked around. “No pun intended. This guy definitely knows how to roll,” he placed his hand on her thigh.
“Yeah, I wonder how much it cost.” She forced herself to keep her leg in place. “What is this?” She held the drink close enough for him to take a sip.
“I’m assuming it’s one of the Absolut flavors,” he took a sip. “Yeah, that’s pretty good. You should try it.”
“Hey,” A tall, olive-skinned, dark-haired man called as he burst through the door. She was sure he was Tony, the mafia connection Andrew had arranged to meet. “I’m sorry for the delay,” he cleared the doorway and Kat’s heart slammed against her chest. A few steps behind, and oblivious to her presence, was Jason. There was a half-naked woman clinging to him as they walked into the room.
Kat had read about blind rage before, and had listened to Vanessa describe it when she would argue with Pete, but it wasn’t until that moment in time that Kat believed it. The petite woman that was now sitting on her husband’s lap caused Kat’s body to react in the most bizarre way. She wanted to kill her, then him.
With that realization, another thought suddenly occurred to Kat…he had lied to her so he could come to Vegas. Kat hoped, for his sake, that the Italian-looking guy was the mafia connection he always mentioned. Because if it was to visit the floozy who was currently hanging all over him, then he was in for it, her temper running so high that she wasn’t sure she could contain it long enough to kill him privately.
“It’s good to finally meet you in person, Vinny.” The Italian-looking guy walked across the room and shook Andrew’s hand. “I’m Tony, and this here is my little sister, Teresa, and her beau, Jason.” Jason was still oblivious to them at this point because he and Teresa were currently too busy kissing to pay them any mind. “And who’s this lovely lady?” Tony took Kat’s hand and brought it to his lips.
“Bridgett.” Kat said loud enough for her voice to carry across the room.
No longer ignorant to her presence, Jason’s knee-jerk reaction to Kat’s voice would have been comical any other time. Unfortunately, Kat didn’t see anything humorous when Jason stood suddenly, which caused Teresa to fall to the floor with a thud. When his eyes met Kat’s, it took every ounce of her willpower to keep her energy under control. Kat glared at Andrew when he chuckled.
“Jesus, babycakes,” Teresa wiped her white top that was now covered in the drink she had spilled on her way to the floor. She slapped Jason’s leg and he finally had enough sense to help her up. “If you wanted me naked you just had to ask.” She pulled her top over her head and tossed it behind her, her obviously fake boobs barely contained in a sexy strapless bra.
“Put your clothes on, Teresa!” Tony yelled in obvious frustration. “You gotta excuse my little sister,” he said walking toward the bar. “She hasn’t seen her beau in a bit and clearly doesn’t know how to act in public.”
“She’s just happy to see me.” Jason pulled off his sport jacket. “Isn’t that right, babycakes?” Teresa squealed in response, and then pulled him toward her for a kiss. He spun her around so he could help her into his jacket, and then quickly moved across the room. He extended his hand toward Andrew.
“Vinny, it’s good to meet you,” Jason shook his hand. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly before extending his hand toward Kat.
“Bridgett, was it?” He asked seeming grateful that she complied and took his hand. His smile waivered, then he grimaced when she crushed his hand with hers.
“Oh, hey, I know you!” Kat said in her best Brooklyn accent. She couldn’t help being happy that the bolt of energy she willed into his hand caused him to clench his jaw so he wouldn’t scream out in agony. “You’re that senator’s son that had the huge wedding! You remember that, Vinny?” She elbowed Andrew. “That one on New Year’s Eve that I was hinting about,” Kat narrowed her eyes at Jason as she released his hand from her grip.
“Oh, yeah,” Andrew studied Jason’s face. “That’s why you look so familiar. Bridgett is always trying to get me to tie the knot.” He chuckled when Jason shook his hand then flexed his fingers several times. “My lady has quite the grip, doesn’t she?” He started to laugh but caught sight of Kat’s glare and coughed instead. “Anyway, nice wedding, I think we’ll try to have a New Year’s Eve bash too—especially since it seems life is happily ever after even after you clamp on the old ball and chain.” Andrew looked at Teresa then winked at Jason. Kat slapped Andrew’s arm, disgusted by the insinuation.
“Yeah, and it hasn’t done anything to keep this one in check, which Jason doesn’t seem to mind.” Tony said shoving his tramp little sister. “But I do. I need you to get going, Teresa. God, I wish Darren would have kept his damn trap shut about Jason showing up today…” Tony mumbled as he grabbed his sister’s arm and guided her toward the door. “Get going, Teresa, we’ve got business to attend to. And take this one with you,” he pointed to Kat. “You can complain how much you hated his wedding, while she tells you how much she wants hers to be just like it.”
“Come on, Tony,” Teresa pouted. “I haven’t seen him since before the wedding. I’ll be good,” she begged. She made her way to Jason and leaned against him in a way that pushed Kat’s level of fury to new heights.
“Go put some damn clothes on, or at least pull the damn jacket closed,” Tony served himself another drink. “Isn’t it bad enough I paid for those damn things? Go and cover ‘em up, I don’t need to see that shit.”
Andrew stood and helped her up. They walked across the room and joined Tony at the seating area. Andrew pulled Kat onto his lap. He retrieved his wallet from his inner jacket pocket, extracted several hundred-dollar bills, and then proceeded to stuff them into her cleavage.
Amazed that she didn’t break his nose for such an obviously crude and demeaning gesture, she instead smiled and kissed his cheek. She stood to leave and giggled when he slapped her rear.
She leaned toward him while she considered breaking his hand, then thought better of it, and instead pressed her lips against his as she slid her hand into his pocket and grabbed his wallet. Once secured in her hand, she stood back, and pulled the money from her bra. She slipped the bills back into the wallet, and then dropped it into her purse.
“I’ll be at the Louie Vuitton store when you get done here,” Kat blew Andrew a kiss. “Or at Harry Winston’s,” she glared at Jason’s wedding band. She couldn’t believe he had the audacity to keep it on while so obviously disrespecting her with Teresa. She was definitely going to kill him the second they were alone.
When she got back to the room, she left Andrew a quick note saying there had been Vanessa drama, so she had to go home, but would call later. She gathered her stuff and teleported to their house in Washington D.C.
Kat pulled her locator from the small compartment of her watchband then set it under her pillow. She changed out of the heinous dress into jeans, a sweatshirt and sneakers, then teleported to their new house in Tennessee.
Jason had purchased land just outside of the Meeman Shelby Forest State Park before ever discussing their escape plan with her. When he finally convinced her to visit the area she had fallen in love with it and the idea of being able to get away. She longed to be part of a normal couple and had believed they could accomplish that.
She walked through the one story house and studied each room. She couldn’t believe they had been there the day before hanging the last of the curtains like they were a normal, happy couple. Las Vegas reminded her how not normal they were. She surely wasn’t happy, not after what she just witnessed, and what she had just taken part of.
She slammed the front door behind her and walked toward the Mississippi River. She was so angry and had no one to blame but herself. They had the money in the bank, and the house had been completed weeks ago, but she kept dragging her feet because a part of her didn’t want to leave. She loved her parents, and Vanessa, so didn’t want to leave them. They were her family and she loved being a part of what that meant, it was a part of who she was.
It wasn’t that Kat didn’t want to run away, but once they faked their deaths and moved to Tennessee, she would no longer be Katarina Bloomfield-McCarthy. She would no longer be the beloved daughter of Brian, the funny and loving father she never asked for but loved more than anything. And she and her mother had become so close once she came out of the closet, or so they joked, that her heart ached knowing she would never see her again. And Vanessa, poor Vanessa, would probably be a mess forever once she was gone.
She sat by the water and wrapped her arms around her legs and propped her chin on her knee. As much as she tried, she couldn’t get rid of the horrible mental image of Jason with that woman, the thought causing the energy to surge and whip the wind around her violently. She hated him for it, and she hated herself for letting it happen, for avoiding setting a date for months because she didn’t want to leave.
Almost an hour later, Kat walked back to the house and stared at it for a long moment. They had planned every detail together so that it was exactly how they liked it, because they understood they would be there for at least a decade. That was why they had made it a completely self-sustaining structure. Otherwise, the Agency would be able to track them. So they had ensured that it was beautiful home, and a part of her couldn’t wait to spend her life there.
But another part of her, a very small but annoying part, couldn’t see it for anything more than a really pretty prison. She sighed and took the opportunity to indulge in pity-party. Her life was so unfair. If she was a normal Hybrid, she wouldn’t have to worry about any of this. She wouldn’t care about her family or Jason. But she wasn’t a normal Hybrid. Nor was she a normal human. She was this mix of something that just sucked.
She sighed as a million other thoughts filtered through her mind. Kat stepped inside of the house with the memory of Jason and that girl replaying in her mind. It made her madder than hell. And conscious of the fact that she had to choose. She either had to learn how to share him with the Agency or she had to say goodbye to her family—forever.
She walked through the house again and stopped short when she entered the living room. Jason was standing outside and held up his hand when she noticed him. She shut her eyes and squeezed her hands into fist as an energy surge sparked through her. It was so strong she was sure she would destroy the house. And that was the last thing she needed to do with them just finishing it.
“Don’t touch me,” she yelled when she heard him run into the room.
“Don’t worry, babe, it’s going to okay…let me just help with some of the—”
When he got within a few feet of her, she looked up at him, and the pent-up energy flowed from her even though she didn’t want it to. She fought against it, but the energy continued to flow from her; the agony of which caused her to double over and scream.
When she sat up, Jason was lying on the floor struggling for air. She wanted to help him, but she knew she couldn’t. The energy was building up again, almost like it had a mind of its own, so she ran from the house and headed toward the river.
“What did you want me to do?” He chased after her. He caught up to her and halted her progress. “Tell them I couldn’t go because my wife wouldn’t approve?”
“Don’t you dare!” She pulled her arm free of his grip. “Don’t you dare put this on me! When you walked into that room you were like a pig in shit with that woman all over you!”
“It’s called acting—”
“Oh, bullshit,” she yelled.
“Isn’t that what you said when we were in Russia?”
“Screw you! You wanna bring that up every chance you get! That happened one time, Jason!” She held her index finger directly in front of his face. “And I didn’t have a choice because our entire team was there watching me, if I hadn’t have gone through with it, that would have been both of our asses!” She gripped his shirt and pulled him toward her. “How many times have you been with this tramp? And don’t you dare stand there and pretend that you haven’t been with her before because she made it very clear that you two have some kind of history!”
“It’s nothing,” he pulled away from her and ran his hands through his hair. “Kat, she’s Tony’s little sister, and he can’t even control her—”
“So you just let her hang all over you!”
“What the hell else was I supposed to do?” He shouted. “I met her two years ago, and she invited herself over for a threesome with Mindy—”
“What?”
“Listen to me,” he snapped. “I didn’t start that, and I’ve just kinda been stuck with her since I’m the one that ended up being his contact.”
“So you’ve been sneaking around with her all this time? You’ve been going out to Vegas by yourself for as long as I’ve known you! Was that work related or strictly to be with her?”
“No, dammit!” He took a deep breath then started in a calmer tone. “I tried to make sure that each time I had to meet him she was either gone or busy. I even hacked into her phone and computers to know her schedule—”
“Are you kidding? Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“It should. I have no damn choice, and I’ve never done anything with her!”
“I’m sorry, does kissing her and having her glued to your body not count? She was practically dry humping you!”
“Then pick a date! You’re the one that keeps pushing this off. We could have already been here, so I wouldn’t have had to see Teresa again. Or see you making-out with Andrew—”
“Oh. My. God!” She yelled, sounding eerily like Vanessa. She turned and started walking off.
“Don’t play so innocent here!” He shouted. He grabbed her arm and spun her to face him. “You lied to me too,” he pulled his phone from his pocket. “Babe, I’m gonna help Courtney study for her final then grab some lunch. Do you mind if I skip our date? I’ll definitely make it up to you tonight!” He turned the phone toward her, as if she needed to see the text message she had sent earlier to know that he was reading it verbatim. “Was that while you were thinking about Roger or Nicolas or Andrew?”
She slapped him, her hand stinging from the impact. She instantly regretted it and covered her mouth. Tears slid down her cheeks as she watched him turn and leave, but she stayed where she was. She knew following him wouldn’t do any good.
She wiped her face but more replaced them. She walked the rest of the way to the river, then sat by the shore for several minutes and let herself cry. She wasn’t even sure why she was crying because she wasn’t sad. She was remorsef
ul and angry, neither of which she believed warranted the tears, but she cried nonetheless.
When her tears finally subsided, she wiped her face with her sleeves. She walked toward the house slowly, and stopped short as she approached, her nose picking up on a familiar scent.
She walked around the house and gasped. There were roses creeping along the entire back wall and ground. She touched them, amazed they had grown so quickly, their fully bloomed scent warming her heart. She walked into the house and followed the sound of the guitar. She leaned against the doorframe until he finished playing.
“Hey,” she whispered.
“Hey,” he pulled the earphones around his neck. “Are you ready for round two?”
“No,” she looked down at her hands. “I’m sorry I hit you.”
“Not to minimize the victim role in all of this.” He put the guitar on its stand then walked toward her, “But I kinda deserved it.”
“I don’t want to leave,” she whispered when he took her hands into his. “It’s not because I don’t love you. And you know how much I hate this life—”
“I know,” he ran his finger over the band etched onto her right ring finger, Kat having hung Lauren’s ring on her necklace weeks before. “It’s because of your family. You won’t ever be able to see them again.” He shoved his hand into his pocket and pulled out her bridal set. He reached for her left hand then slipped the three rings onto her finger. “But I’m your family now too, and I know it’s selfish to ask you to pick a date, so I’m trying to be patient. I am, but it’s almost like I wished for today...”
“Why? Today was horrible,” she pulled away from him and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Because you needed something to show you that we can’t just stay on the fence. Or maybe you can, I don’t know…” He sighed. “But I can’t. I don’t want you lying to me and sneaking around with Andrew.”
“I didn’t tell you because I knew it would upset you.”
“Ditto. But look what happened when we got to see the truth. Kat, do you have any idea how wrong it felt today when I saw her? Do you know how hard it was to pretend like it was okay?”
Sleeper Cells Page 25
