Darkness (New Species #12)(35)

“Nope. Just dirty laundry.”
“You unpack then. I’ll watch. I am so glad you’re home.”
“Where’s Butch?”
“The groomers. They are dropping him off in an hour. The pooch missed you but he’s going to be pissed when he gets home. He’s getting the summer cut and you know how sulky he is when we put him through that trauma. He takes it so personally.”
Kat was glad to be home. It put back a sense of normalcy that she desperately needed in her life at the moment. She followed Missy upstairs and they turned right, moving down the hallway toward the bedrooms. A small sound stopped her. Missy turned.
“Oh. I forgot. I’m babysitting for George from across the street.”
Kat backed up to locate the source and looked into Missy’s bedroom. A small gray kitten with a yarn ball lay on the bed. It peered back at her. The cat’s eyes reminded her of Darkness, despite their blue color.
“Butch loves Gus. That’s the kitten’s name. He’s ten weeks old. Isn’t he cute as hell? He’s a nightmare on the curtains but they were ugly anyway. I put the litter box in my bathroom so no worries. I’ve kept your bedroom door closed, not that he leaves my room. He’s kind of a chicken for being a cat. George’s mom got sick and he couldn’t leave Gus alone.”
“It’s okay.”
“You’re as white as a sheet. Don’t tell me cats scare you. I know you’re not allergic.”
“I just didn’t expect it.” She forced a smile. “He’s cute.”
“I’m glad you think so. I plan to keep him. George kind of got stuck with him and wanted to find him a home. Butch adores Gus and I think he’d be heartbroken if he leaves.” Missy batted her eyelashes. “May I keep him?”
“I don’t mind. It’s your house too.”
“I knew we were best buds for a reason. You’re home, Gus!” Missy opened Kat’s door and dropped the suitcase by the closet. “Does that mean you’ll clean the litter box too?”
“Don’t push it. Your kitten, your shit.”
“I can deal with that. Just don’t bitch at me if he attacks your curtains too. We really should burn them. I think he hates flower prints, which I can’t fault him for.”
Kat glanced at her window. The curtains had come with the house. “No problem. It wouldn’t be a big loss, would it?”
“Do you ever think we should feel ashamed? I mean, how long have we lived here? We still have boxes we haven’t unpacked in the garage. You’re gone more than you’re here and my nose is usually shoved in front of my computer screen. I should just put a bed in the downstairs office since I practically live in there. We’re workaholics who are too damn lazy to fix up our house. I figure, at this rate, we might do something nice to it within twenty years or so. I was only motivated to paint the guest room because my mom threatened to visit. You know she’d bitch if we stick her in a lime-green room.”
Kat kicked off her shoes and sat on the bed. “We suck.”
Missy sat down next to her. “You aren’t okay. You didn’t even flinch when I mentioned my mother. She drives you nuts.”
Kat shook her head. “Nope. I’m not.”
“Is it a chocolate kind of day or should I break out that bottle of vodka we were given at Christmas? How bad is it?”“I don’t even think both would help.”
“Damn.” Missy chewed on her bottom lip. “Did you shoot that asshole of a boss of yours? Should I bake cookies for the SWAT team that might come after you? It might distract them while you escape out the back.”
“He’s alive and well. I think. I’m avoiding him.”
“Did you tell him you aren’t a set of tits? I even want to punch him. I can’t believe he thought we were getting it on. No offense but when I do get laid, he has to have a dick and actually be a guy. Your boss is a shitty agent if he didn’t discover I write under a pen name after digging into our lives. My stories are about having hot sex with men. That would have been a clue, even for that moron.”
“How goes the writing?”
“Good. I turned in my latest book and started a new one. It’s about a hunky cat shifter. Blame Gus. I am. He’s so damn cute.”
Kat fell back and closed her eyes. “Stop.”
“You like hearing about my stories. He’s six feet tall, muscular and has these beautiful eyes like Gus. He’s going to save this woman who gets her car stuck in mud and he has to take her home because a raging storm cuts them off when the roads flood. She’s impressed with those muscles and jumps into bed with him. Fiction is way better than reality. Remember the last guy I slept with? Two minutes max of pushup sex and he couldn’t find my clit to save his life. My girl is getting laid in style.”
Kat reached over and used the back of her hand to swat Missy’s leg. “Really. Stop.”
“Real people have sex.” She sighed. “Do you ever think about hiring one of those male escorts? I thought about it. Would you bust me? I could say it was for research purposes. Would that fly? You know, to see if they’d really have sex for money. I’m not a cop so I’m under no obligation to turn him in if he does. Then again, with my luck, he’d do bad pushup sex. I guess I could pay him to read one of my sex scenes and tell him to act it out. I heard some of them are actors.”
Kat sat up and opened her eyes. “I had sex.”
Missy’s mouth fell open.
“I broke the rules and went to bed with someone I shouldn’t have.”
“Another agent?”
She shook her head.
Missy gaped at her. “Your suspect?”
“No. Not exactly.”
“That sounds ominous. Was he hot?”
“Scorching.”
“Is he on a most-wanted list? Should I bake those cookies still? Just remember the window in the laundry room is the only one that opens when you make a run for it.”
“No SWAT team is going to come. Sorry to disappoint you. I know you think they are kind of sexy. Can you be serious? I don’t want to laugh.” 
“They are, in my defense. Why are you not okay?”
Kat didn’t look away. “I fell for him but he’s not the type of guy to settle down.”
“You’re not the kind of woman to settle down.”
She hated the way it hurt. “He might have been able to change me.”
“Oh honey. I’m sorry. Maybe he’ll wise up and come knocking on our door.”
She hesitated, almost wishing that were true. Darkness would never call to ask her back. He’d made it clear they were over. The urge to cry returned. “He won’t. I breached protocol while I was undercover. I fucked up, Missy. I could lose my job and right now I don’t even think I care.”
Her friend reached out and took her hand. “Could you face criminal charges?”
“I don’t think so. Not unless my boss wants to make up stuff just to get a little payback. I wouldn’t put it past him. I’m supposed to still be on assignment but I didn’t call in to tell him I left. I just needed a few days to get my head on straight.”
“You were starting to hate your job. You know that, right? Ever since you got the dickhead for a boss you’ve been miserable.” Missy took a deep breath. “You know you can trust me with your life. Talk to me. You need to get this off your chest or it’s going to eat you up. It won’t go any further.”
Kat debated. She needed to tell someone. “I was sent to Homeland.”
Missy squealed. “You went there! Oh my god!”
“Shush.”
“Sorry. Go on.”
“I can’t go into detail but the guy was a New Species.”
Missy yanked her hand free and clasped it over her heart. “You nailed a New Species?”
“Stop that.”
“Just tell me.”
She nodded.
Missy grabbed her. “I hate you right now. No, I love you. I do. Was he good in bed? Don’t crush me.”
“A 15 on the 1-to-10 scale.”
“I knew it.” Missy grinned. “You lucky bitch.”
“Did I mention I won’t ever see him again?”
Her joy faded fast. “Shit. He won’t be coming to our door, will he? They don’t leave that place.” She rubbed Kat’s arm. “I’m so sorry. What a bastard. I will never go all fan-girl over them again.”
“Don’t be so dramatic. It wasn’t as if he didn’t tell me it was only sex. I just didn’t expect to feel so much and I really screwed up with my job because it pitted me against him. I chose him in the end.”
“I heard the NSO is kind of like a different country. I don’t think you sleeping with one is illegal and it wasn’t technically on US soil. I think you’re in the clear on that breach-of-conduct thing. I mean, you couldn’t be fired if you went on a trip to Mexico and hooked up with a resident there. You’re allowed to have sex.”
“I was on the job and I shared information with him that I shouldn’t have.”
“That’s bad.”
“I know. Robert Mason is going to have my ass if he finds out.”
“What are the chances of that?”
“I don’t know.”
“I’m getting the chocolate and the vodka.” Missy rose. “Right now.”
“Thanks.”