I Unintentionally Became Her Kitten

Chapter 63: The Future

We drove again and Alisha took the bottle of water from the good samaritan and inspected it thoroughly before pulling a tissue from her purse and dampening it. And then she pulled the visor down to use the mirror there to wipe away the darkest of the makeup smudges. 

I focused on the road as she did so. The drive wasn't unpleasant. The Mercai did feel very nice and it responded to every input hungerly. I was quickly getting used to the touchy accelerator and how tight the turning radius was. Driving was instinctual and second nature so once I was familiarized with the car, there was no hesitation or uncertainty.

As comfy as the backseat was, the front and particularly the driver's seat was luxurious. I didn't ask but I could tell there were seat warmers and, absurdly, the cupholders in front of the shift-stick had their own heating/cooling function; which just felt ridiculous. Who needs that?

My brain was beginning to acknowledge that Alisha, who was currently using another tissue to reapply a liquid foundation over the dark stains on her cheeks, had far more money than I realized. I wouldn't ask exactly how much, since that was just in poor taste. But temperature controlled cupholders? That was probably a frivolous feature of this car she hadn't sought out but simply came in the package.

I reminded myself to do a search to find the price point of this car. Knowing Alisha and Tye’s vehicle habits, this car had been opened up to be tinkered with at some point so I could safely assume she had put even more money into it.

We returned to the Takeno property line a solid hour or so later and Alisha did a final examination of her face as I pulled into the garage. 

I turned the Mercai off and the silence of her house sank in. She was still acting a bit numb as I opened my door and then walked around to open hers.

She acknowledged it slowly and then stepped out, gathering her purse and the dirty tissues and the half-used water bottle. Tye greeted us right at the door to the house and gave Alisha space to walk inside. She had worn boots today, and the heels were lower and didn’t clack as loudly against the floors as her other shoes. She disposed of the tissues in the trash and then sat at the dining table, letting her purse thunk to the floor beneath her.

“Everything should be all set,” Tye informed her. “Nico received the message, cleanup took the Lynx to the chop shop, my car’s getting cleaned and I'm willing to take the Mercai over as well if you would like.”

Alisha nodded. “That would be good. We don't need lingering evidence.”

Tye waited for further comment but got nothing.

“Are you okay?” he asked finally.

Alisha nodded and then turned to give him a reassuring smile. “I'm fine, thank you.”

“I'll make some tea and find some food,” I said and went about to do that in the kitchen as Tye sat at the dining table and quietly waited for Alisha to talk to him.

I used the last of the peppermint tea bags and made three mugs this time. A long assessment of the ingredients available left me with some simple greens and the last of the olives from the fridge. I fished out an old avocado from the vegetable drawer and examined the inner flesh carefully before deciding it was still good, despite the dark color.

I did my best to cube it properly and scattered it on top, though it stuck together in clumps. I put a bowl together for Tye as well since he was currently in a very uncertain mood. I set a bowl and mug in front of Alisha first and then went back to bring Tye his before finally grabbing my own.

He did not seem sure of the tea but he did at least munch on some greens with unenthusiasm. 

“Tye,” Alisha said after a while, and pushed some of the greens around in her bowl.

He looked up and swallowed down whatever was in his mouth.

“I know you are not interested in being an underboss but would you mind terribly, at least temporarily, filling in the advisor role?”

Tye didn't answer right away.

Alisha continued, “Matteo has enough experience, I trust him to fill your captain duties. But Nico needs to go. But I can't be without an underboss and an advisor at the same time.”

Tye nodded his understanding and stared at the salad. He finally took a long breath and said, “how about you deal with Nico’s fallout. I can handle the rounds and whatever nonsense Sergei tries to pull, but it will be more impactful if you handle the old family yourself.”

I didn't understand why but Alisha gave him a stunned look. “You said you didn't want to do that,” she finally told him. “I don't expect you to do anything you don't want to.”

“It's more important that the entire family doesn't collapse,” he said. “So I can play the role of underboss for a while.”

He then gave me a sideways look. “But for security…”

Alisha nodded and looked at me. “Are you comfortable accompanying me during the day, Kitten? Or I can have Matteo or someone else stay here with you.”

I shook my head. “I'll go wherever you need me.” This was going to be a significant adjustment for everyone involved, Alisha’s underlings included. But it was no joke that Nico was a problem that needed to be taken care of.

Alisha contemplated a long time.

“Are you sure?” She asked me. “There's going to be a lot of blood shed in the next few days.”

I nodded. “I'll be okay.” Right now I needed to be strong, and if it bothered me that Nico was about to die, I'd remind myself of the cocaine thief that had his tongue cut out and replaced with a rat. And Angela, who had done everything she could to separate Alisha and I, at the potential cost of the entire business. Both of them would still be alive if he hadn't decided to play a game with Alisha for power and profit.

Alisha patted my head and finally took a bite of leaves. “I'll meet with Mr. Santos tomorrow to secure the North block,” she informed Tye. “And then I'll let Sergei know and after that…”

“Nico,” Tye agreed. “And I'll give Matteo the rundown while you're doing so, and we can move into separating the workload by the next day.”

“Mm,” Alisha agreed. “And we should hold a banquet. This isn't going to be a quiet reorganization.”

Tye nodded. “Should I look into securing a location and staff?” he asked.

Alisha blinked, once again thrown off by this offer, then nodded. “Yes but don't worry about it tonight at least,” she said. “It can wait.”

Tye agreed and continued to eat his salad.

I munched, finally feeling a little more settled. While Tye didn't want to be the underboss, it was far more preferable for it to be him than anybody else. But that was a lot of weight and responsibility he was willingly shouldering.

Alisha would deal with the old family. Nico’s closer underlings probably had a few rats and that was going to be a other problem Alisha had to address. I wondered if she would let them go after Nico was gone. Part of me wanted to say without a King Rat the others would either fall back into line or flee. But I didn't know this business that well. Alisha might have to execute a lot of people, as scary as that thought was.

Tye finished his salad and drank the tea, though it was obvious he was doing so to be polite and headed out to take the Mercai.

And then it was just Alisha and I. She didn't break down again, though she still hadn't finished eating her salad.

“Would you like a bath?” I asked her.

She nodded, silently. I got up and gave her a quick kiss before taking my empty salad bowl to the kitchen and then going and getting the bath started.

We bathed together, as usual and she almost dozed off briefly in the hot water. I got out first and offered her a towel and after she had gotten dry I led her up to the bedroom and went as far as helping her into pajamas. She laid down and I tucked her in, feeling both a childishness and a natural maternal instinct I didn't mind.

I then went about replacing the water in her pitcher, a habit she had before bed every night, then filled the oil vaporizer and put a drop in from the bottle of rose and orange oil and let it start to fill the room with that sweet smell. I finally brushed my teeth and got changed into pajamas before crawling onto the bed with her.

She was still awake, though sleepy and lazily pulled me into her arms, burying her face against the back of my neck.

“I hope you get some good sleep,” I mumbled at her.

“Thank you, Kippen,” she murmured.