I Unintentionally Became Her Kitten

Chapter 81: Return of the Queen

Alisha helped me with makeup, taking the time to give my eyeliner wings and using a q-tip to narrow the tip into a razor sharp point. She didn’t go too heavy on me and kept things contained but her own makeup was bold and dramatic. She used eyeshadow under her eye liner so there was a rich blue highlighting the icy chill of her gaze. Having such an intense blue right next to her iris washed out her natural eye color and removed the soft blueness, leaving only the unforgiving grey.

I swallowed a little as she finished with bold lipstick. She typically got more dressed up like this when people needed to be put in line and a deeper part of my brain was starting to recognize the signs of someone’s impending doom.

She pulled my chin up to examine my skin and my eyes. 

I blinked. “Am I enough?” I asked.

“You’re always enough,” she told me. “I just need other people to know you’re off limits. Or did you forget Nico tried to use you to get under my skin?”

I didn’t really understand. He had insulted me, and called Alisha stupid for getting a partner, but he hadn’t really antagonized her through me. Not really.

She took some tweezers out and started to focus on my eyebrows, plucking the stray hairs away with painful pinching feelings. I held still as she did so, and held back the urge to rub at the skin when she was finished.

“I think you’re very pretty, you know,” she told me.

I floundered for words as she moved on.

She started to strip out of her clothes, undergarments included. Instead of putting on a new bra though, she got some tape and a few small padding things and taped her breasts up,

I watched with curiosity as she did so, adjusting the soft flesh to push up against her chest before giving them an experimental shake and jiggle.

“Does that look even?” she asked me.

I nodded, feeling heated, seeing her quite attractive body moving around. The tape was not the prettiest thing, looking like… well… tape, but it did its job very well and as she slid into her dress, I forced myself to look away and instead focused on getting my own situated. Alisha also helped me adjust my own bra, tightening it just a little bit and forcing my breasts higher. I found my cleavage very noticeable beyond the neckline of my dress.

This was the fanciest I’d ever been dressed up and she looked me over a bit hungrily.

“Shame this couldn’t be a less chaotic night,” she stated and pulled me closer by my waist and pressed her lips just behind my ear. My hair stood on end all the way from my neck down to my thighs, raising little bumps. “I could wreck this dress to get at you when you look like that,” she murmured. “And it was not cheap.”

I felt hot. She pulled away with a final teasing kiss against my neck and opened her chosen purse to pull her gun out of it and with a practiced, almost robotic motion, opened the compartment on top to examine inside, and then did the same for the magazine. Her gun looked very similar to mine, but not quite the same. I knew so little about firearms I didn’t even know what she was looking for as she examined it and then slid the magazine back in and clicked it into place.

She put it in that purse that almost looked too small to hold something so heavy. Then her gaze turned to me. “Is your weapon loaded?” she asked.

“Uh, I think so,” I said and pulled it free from its hiding spot.

She took it from me and repeated the process, satisfied with her findings. The weapon was handed back to me and I put it in that new purse she had gotten me and adjusted the strap to fit comfortably over my shoulder.

“I really don’t want it to come to it, but if someone so much as looks at you with a weapon in hand, shoot them. That model is very beginner friendly and even if you don’t hit them lethally, gun shots hurt. Most people don’t shake them off very easily.”

I nodded, feeling a little more fearful at the notion. 

She ran her hand through my hair, straightening it just a little before leaning her forehead against mine. She was so sweet, so loving, when no one was there to judge us. I closed my eyes and soaked in the moment. It could be the last chance I got.

“I’d ask if you’re ready for this but I don’t think you’d ever be,” she said. 

I shook my head. “But I’ll go,” I told her. “I’ll never be ready for most of this. I mean… were you?”

She gave me a soft smile as she pulled away. “It’s expected in this industry to do these things sometimes,” she told me. “Let’s go. The sooner we can get this over with the sooner I can have you in my bed again.”

I nodded and adjusted the purse, putting the burner phone in there, though I didn’t imagine it would be much use.

She gave me a final pat and then led me out to the garage. She chose the Mercai, unlocking the doors and waiting as I hurried to get into the passenger seat. The sporty car started with a quiet purr as I got settled, setting my purse down between my feet, then thought better of it and pulled it onto my lap. I needed to get used to taking better care of my things, if they were going to be expensive items. 

Alisha drove out of the rurals, into the deep city, then out again on the other side. The river wound next to us for a long while and we entered a very snooty neighborhood. The apartments were older but very obviously expensive. Something about the streets being very clean and the cars that were visible were shiny. 

Shortly after, Alisha slowed as we approached a property that had been fenced off. 

I furrowed my brow as we passed the sign. ‘Comptry Bay’ held no clues as to what type of venue it was, though it became clear it was an event venue of some form. The road was paved up until the front carport, where it turned to carefully laid brick. There was a guard by the front entrance, who watched us with interest as we pulled up. Alisha parked in the middle of the lane and turned the car off. The guard approached the vehicle, and froze upon seeing her face. 

“Ms Takeno,” he said, very obviously frazzled by her appearance. 

I got out of the Mercai as well, eyeing the man. He was dressed in a suit, and was still holding himself half in a position to greet us, though he seemed quite lost at the moment.

Alisha gave him a smirk and held her clutch purse in one hand. “Sorry I’m late,” she greeted. 

He hurried to open the door for her, bowing his head as she passed. “Good luck,” he told her. I felt his gaze on me as I followed after her.

She entered the event venue with grace and power. The floor was a white polished stone and her heels, tall black stilettos, clicked on it with her every step. My flats also made a sound, it was hard not to on a floor like this, but it wasn’t as noticeable.

I did my best to straighten my back and keep my head up. Alisha’s confidence was a bit contagious.

The entrance lobby was empty but there was the sound of party chatter coming from another room. Most of the walls of the venue were pale colors, usually grey or a faded blue, and the floor remained white throughout.

This meant that Alisha, who had chosen a sparkling black dress, stood out against it even more than usual. The dress was striking to begin with. It had been fitted to her, and hugged her curves tightly, showing off the curve of her waist in a way that tempted me to put my hands on her. It was also strapless, her shoulders and most of her back openly exposed, including a bit of the bandage from her stitches. There was little hidden on or about her person. It was hard to not stare at her when she was dressed so well and holding herself in such a well-groomed way.

I had been ‘dolled up’ as she phrased it but I still felt like nothing next to her. Just a girl in some dark purple cocktail dress, nowhere near as fitted as Alisha’s. I didn’t want people knowing my body quite that well.

She didn’t hesitate when we reached the threshold between the lobby and the dining room. There were tables and chairs set up and the smell of food hit me quickly. There was an aisle down the center of the room, marked by a dark colored carpet Alisha stepped onto. It took several seconds but there was a hush that settled around the room as people noticed her.

At the other side of the room was a slight platform, just a single step up, where a long table was set up, compared to the round ones. Nico sat there, talking with someone I didn’t recognize. Behind him was Tye, looking unbothered and almost zoned out, though I saw him make eye contact with Alisha. My heart pounded as I followed close to her. There was more silence falling until I could hear Nico’s voice, and the man next to him finally looked up. This annoyed Nico and he snapped his gaze up just to find everybody staring either at him or at Alisha.

“Nico,” Alisha said, loud enough to be heard across the remainder of the room.

Nico stood, and started to turn, reaching into his suit, but Tye was instantly behind him and forced him to sit and pushed his face against the table surface. I had never seen Tye move so fast. He yanked something free from Nico, a firearm, and held it at the ready against the man’s back.

“Why Alisha,” Nico managed, trying to maintain some amount of dignity despite his cheek pressing into the table very painfully looking. “How nice it is to see you,” he said. “I thought you were gone for good.”

Alisha continued until she came to the edge of the platform. “Really?” she asked skeptically.

Nico was frowning, though the expression was distorted by the pressure on his face. “I see you still have your plaything as well,” he commented, managing to spot me.

Alisha frowned. There was a quick moment of eye contact between her and Tye. He released Nico as Alisha stepped up to the platform. I wasn’t sure if I should follow or not, but decided to.

Nico picked his head up, straightening his suit out as Alisha stared him down.

“Should we talk about this?” Nico asked.

“You attempted to murder me and think I’ll listen?” she asked.

I dared a glance around the rest of the room. There were a lot of people. I spotted Sergei out there, and Andy and the suburbs woman, and the other six captains I’d come into contact with. But there were so many more. Since Sergei and Andy both had people I recognized sitting with them, I could gather this wasn’t just Alisha’s captains, but their second-in-commands as well.

“You were going to murder me, were you not? Do you blame me for preemptively defending myself?” Nico was quite calm for a man staring death in the face.

“You disobeyed me twice,” Alisha told him. “Over something significant. And don't think I don't know you tried to bait me into killing Sergei. Or about the product skimming. I spared you as long as I did since I needed to find the rest of your underlings.”

“You're saying I'm a rat?” Nico asked.

“Yes. A rat that's been a nuisance for quite a while.”

Nico stood, very slowly. Alisha didn't move her glare from him the entire time as he slowly walked around to stand in front of her.

“Are you sure?” he asked her. I noticed he was making a point to keep his hands in view, never lowering them completely.

I dared another glance around the room, finding the audience still listening and observing intently.

Alisha took a deep breath.

“It doesn't matter now,” Alisha told him. “I'm pardoning everyone who worked under you behind my back.” She made a point to glare out at the other faces watching us. “But should any activity continue, there will be no second chances.” And then her gaze turned back to Nico. “For you, though, you've proven to be incapable of following orders, and to be disloyal. I have no need of you and keeping you on would be a substantial liability to the business.”

I saw Alisha move to draw something from her purse. I hid my surprise as it looked like a long block of wood, not her gun.

And then she unsheathed the blade, revealing it was a Japanese style knife I didn't know the name for but recognized from Yakuza characters in anime.

Nico stepped away, “hang on, Alisha,” he said innocently. “We can discuss things. My people won't be happy if you kill me,” he said.

She looked over the gathered mobsters. There were quite a few different expressions, mostly shock, some horror and disgust, and then there was a great deal of curiousness. I saw no one getting up to support Nico in this moment. There were a couple looking away, almost guiltily. Those must be the people Nico was hoping would protest this.

Nico dodged to the side, Alisha's gaze following him as she braced for a fight. The knife glinted. I could see a few thin lines of gold set into the blade as the light caught against it.

I couldn’t tear my eyes away. Nico pulled a second gun from a suit pocket, far smaller than the handgun Tye had confiscated from him.

I swiveled my gaze to Tye to find he had been grabbed from one of the men at the table and currently had a gun shoved up under his jaw, unable to do anything to help in this situation. Matteo was approaching but he was across the entire event room and the rest of the security like people were hanging close to their respective captains. Part of me hated them for this. Their boss was in trouble and all they were going to do was watch. But… then again this was the mob, and a fight over control of the family. If they showed loyalty to one person and the other ended up in power, they would be whacked.

At least it looked like Nico wasn't about to shoot without talking about it. He was holding the gun at the ready, aiming at Alisha, making my pulse race.

I swallowed. The weight in my purse was a reminder I was armed. This was the kind of situation I dreaded. It was made worse by the fact every single set of eyes was on us. My fingers curled into fists, scrunching up the hem of my dress as Alisha and Nico glared each other down.

“You have no standards Alisha. No business sense,” Nico told her. “It never should've been you in control. I should've been given that position.”

Alisha scowled harder. “You think you know any better than I do?” 

“Your father–”

“My father's dead,” she cut him off. “And if you had any loyalty to him you wouldn't have started screwing his wife.”

Nico glanced at his audience. I swallowed and finally uncurled my fingers to adjust the way the purse sat on my shoulder and undid the clasp. I didn't reach in yet, still hoping Tye would figure something out. It wasn't like I even knew how to aim a weapon.

Matteo was still approaching, his tall and broad figure passing between the round tables. There was a calm certainty to his gaze, a business-like approach to his task.

I relaxed a little, he could handle this…

That was my thought until one of the captains at a table grabbed his arm.

Matteo braced to smack him upside the head, no hesitation in the movement but was instead met with a switchblade held against his wrist, over the dark veins there.

My heart beat frantically. Nico looked away from him and turned his full attention back to Alisha.

“I wish I could say I saw you as a daughter,” he told her finally. “But that would just be a lie.”

His hand moved on his gun and Alisha tightened her grip on the knife.

I drew the weapon, feeling it cling to the holster in the purse for a second before allowing me to. I held it in two hands, it was heavy, and I'd only ever seen Tye and Alisha hold them this way.

Nico froze, his gaze sliding over to me. 

My purse slid down to the crook of my elbow as my body stayed rigid, my muscles straining against themselves as my instincts were panicking. I was trying very hard not to shake but even from my perspective I could see the gun trembling in my hands.

I didn't know much about firearms, but I knew you weren't supposed to point them at things you didn't want destroyed. I had never thought I'd need to make that kind of decision.

Nico slowly turned the gun he was holding over to me, determining I was the bigger threat at the moment. In that moment, Alisha sprung with knife in hand. Nico attempted to correct his mistake but the knife slid into his eye socket before he could re-aim at her.

The subsequent scream tore through my eardrums in the least pleasant way possible.

He pulled away from her, one hand going up to claw at the knife, which withdrew with a ‘schklick’ of wetness.

I let my arms droop as the next second Alisha had his arm in her grasp and forced the gun from it, kicking it away from them before Nico could react much.

He was still holding a hand over his eye, the blood was still dribbling between his fingers and I saw the moment he regretted everything.

And then Alisha grabbed his hair and pulled his head back and pushed the blade in one side of his neck and out the other.

I looked away, feeling the bile rise in my throat as an even louder, grosser, sound sank its claws into my mental stability.

Part of me was fine; this was inevitable. Another was freaking out because I could've stopped this somehow. Or at least I could’ve removed myself from the equation 

There was a loud thud of a corpse hitting the floor. It was quite a definitive sound and I looked up again. Alisha wiped the knife clean on a napkin from the front table, and resheathed it.

I finally let the gun lower and then put it back in its holster in my purse as I heard an ‘oof’ from over where Tye was. His former restrainer was doubled over and he reached into his jacket pocket to pull a syringe out. I looked away again, knowing this process. The man would pass out for some time, probably while he and Alisha decided what to do with him.

Matteo also freed himself, though he only gave the man a glare and smacked him across the face before moving on.

Alisha beckoned me closer. I hesitated. She was still bloodied. Her dress was black so it didn't really show but I knew it was there.

As I approached she extended an arm and wrapped it around my waist to pull me closer before glaring at the audience she had watching her. I tried not to look at the corpse but there was always something about morbid scenes that held my attention, even as I debated if I needed to puke.

“If there is anyone who wishes to leave this family, speak now.” Alisha projected her voice loudly, though the silence made it unnecessary. “Should you do so, you will not be welcomed back.”

There was no response. Only fear. I saw more than one person eye the knife in her hand with respect and weariness. 

“Very well,” she said once it was apparent no one was going to take up that offer. “I'm appointing Tyrone acting-underboss for the time being. Treat him with respect. His word is an extension of mine. Should there be any issues, contact me. Those of you who are Nico’s rats, I do know who you are, but as I said, you are pardoned. Any funny business will make your death swift but as unpleasant as possible. Is this clear?”

Her hands were still at her side but her shoulders braced.

After the continued silence, she relaxed a little. “Enjoy the dinner,” she announced and turned back to Nico’s corpse.

The silence faded, replaced by even more chatter, there was a tangible fear.