“I’m just going to go out for a few hours,” Lucas said about a day later. “I’ve got some business to attend to downtown. It won’t take long.”

 

Kittie, who had been lying down on the couch trying to take a nap, bolted upright, her face contorted with worry. “What? No. You can’t go. It’s not safe out there.”

 

Trina nodded. “She has a point. You know Dana and her father are out there looking for you. Why not just stay here until they run out of steam?”

 

“Because I’ve got to keep my business running if I want to take over the city,” Lucas said, walking over to Trina and cupping her face in his hands. “Don’t worry. I’ll be careful and I’ll keep someone with me at all times. I’ll be back before you know it.”

 

Trina wanted to argue with him, but she knew him well enough by now to know that he wasn’t going to be swayed. “Go on,” she said with a teasing smile. “Get out of here.”

 

Kittie sighed loudly behind them, but both Lucas and Trina ignored it, melting into a brief kiss before Lucas turned and headed out of the condo. One of the guards Lucas had called over the day before came in, shutting and locking the door behind him. “Hello, ladies,” he said with a tight uncomfortable smile. “I’ll be looking after you this evening.”

 

“Yeah, you better,” Kittie said before getting to her feet and heading toward the kitchen. “I’m going to get a drink. Who wants a drink? Trina? Hunky guard guy whose name I don’t know? Anybody?”

 

“I can’t drink, remember?” Trina said.

 

“Oh, right, the whole bun in the oven thing,” Kittie replied, slapping her forehead. “Duh. No alcohol for you, then. Okay, well, sexy guard guy, that means you’re drinking with me now.”

 

“I actually should stay sober. I need to watch over you guys and make sure that nothing—”

 

“Pfft! Bullshit!” Kittie interjected as she found the nicest bottle of wine in Lucas’s condo. “Listen, I’m here alone and I’m scared, and I’m out of a job now, so you’re not going to make me drink alone. It’s just not happening.”

 

Trina smirked at the hapless look on the guard’s face. Kittie did always know how to manipulate men to get what she wanted. But on the other hand, Trina thought she could detect real despair hiding within Kittie’s voice. With that thought, Trina followed Kittie into the kitchen, dropping her voice so the guard wouldn’t hear as she whispered, “Are you okay? You sound upset. Do you regret coming here or something?”

 

“No, no, of course not!” Kittie said, shaking her head fervently. “You’re in danger, Trina. I wouldn’t rather be anywhere else, believe me. But it’s just…”

 

“What? What is it? What’s wrong?” Trina asked.

 

“You’ve got this brand-spanking-new life, you know? And I’m so happy for you, believe me,” Kittie said as she poured out two glasses of wine for herself and the nameless guard. “It’s just that I don’t know if I have a place here. In the long-term, I mean. I obviously can’t go back to work at Dana’s, but I’d rather not go back to working on the street, either. I’m just… stuck.”

 

“No, you’re not, Kittie,” Trina said. She reached out and grabbed her friend by both shoulders, forcing her to look her in the eyes. “Kittie, I’m not going to leave you behind. I promise. You saved my life. You risked everything to help us. There’s no way I’m going to let you go back on the streets where someone could hurt you.”

 

Kittie smiled sadly. “It’s where I belong, though, isn’t it? I’m not like you, Trina. I don’t have a knight in bright shining armor ready to come sweep me off my feet and save me from this life we’ve been living. It just doesn’t work that way for me.”

 

Trina struggled to come up with a counterargument. She knew that Kittie felt like she was doomed to live the same shitty life she’d always led, but Trina refused to accept that. “You belong with me,” Trina finally said as sternly as she could. “Here. In my new life. I’m not going to take no for an answer, Kittie.”

 

Kittie bit on her bottom lip, considering Trina’s offer. “It’s just—what would I do? Like with my life? How would I even spend my days? All I know how to do is fuck, and I can’t exactly do that here. Not that I even want to anymore.”

 

Trina racked her mind to come up with an answer, but before she could land on anything a sharp knock rang out from the front door, making Kittie jump about three inches into the air in alarm.

 

“Hey, relax,” Trina said, rubbing her friend’s arm soothingly. “It’s just Lucas or one of his guards. Maybe they forgot the key or something.”

 

“You’re probably right,” the guard said as he walked over to the front door. “Hello—”

 

Thud.

 

It took Trina a few moments to realize what had happened, her brain struggling to fuse the different pieces together to figure it all out. But finally, it clicked. A thick muscular arm reached into the room and knocked the guard on the head with a lead pipe. The guard was now on the floor, cradling his head, while a man in all black stepped into the condo, leaning over to smash the pipe over the guard’s head several more times in a row.

 

“Oh, my God,” Trina murmured. She felt frozen to the spot as the intruder looked up at her, smiling maliciously. She could read in his eyes all the things that he wanted to do to her, all the things that were about to happen. Lucas was gone. The guard was knocked out cold. She was fucked.

 

I’m dead, Trina thought. I’m fucking dead.