Page 8 of Destined to Fight

“I ken yer aware it was my power that knocked ye flat on yer face and had ye rolling bottom over top.”

Oh yeah, that. The mental image of her less-than-graceful tumble had blood rushing to her cheeks, and she could feel them heating up as she blushed. Maybe that hit to the head was harder than she thought if the night’s events were getting fuzzy already.

“Okay, so you did hurt me. We can settle the score later, okay? I just want to sleep.”

His hands fell from her face, and he turned to lead her to the bedroom. She followed him across the extravagant suite until they got to the kitchen, where she stopped at the fridge in the hopes of finding a cold bottle of water. Luckily, it was fully stocked with large bottles of Fiji water. She grabbed one, not caring if the hotel would charge Kade $50 for it, and drank the whole thing in a matter of seconds. As she placed the bottle on the counter, she realized that Kade and Fabian were both staring at her in awe.

“What? I was thirsty,” she said as she shrugged.

Kade’s sideways smile was back. He didn’t say anything, though, as he turned and kept walking toward a door in the far corner of the suite. When he opened it, a black blur came darting out with a rather pissed-off meow, making Kelly jump back in surprise.

“You have a cat?!”

He looked at her as if she’d asked a stupid question, which she realized was true. Obviously he had a cat. Why else would there be one in the hotel room?

“Aye, that’s Clyde, don’y mind him. He shouldn’y bother ye.”

Kelly stared as the cat darted away. He was the weirdest-looking cat she’d ever seen, but he was cute in a way. He hardly had any hair and he moved in a strange acrobatic way as he ran and bounced around the room.

Pulling her attention away from the cat, Kelly turned back toward the room and followed Kade in.

“Make yerself at home. Neither Fabian nor I will disturb ye, but we won’t leave the hotel room either, so ye will be protected. May I get ye anything before ye turn in?”

“No, thank you.”

“Sleep well then.” With that, he left the room, pulling the door almost closed.

Kelly walked straight to the bed and collapsed onto it, falling asleep before her head even hit the pillow.

One would think waking in strange places wouldn’t seem scary after night upon night in your car, but Kelly woke feeling out of place. She didn’t belong in this extravagant room.

The events of the previous night came back to her as she wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth. Groaning, she tried to roll to her back, only to find that something was curled in the crook of her knees. She propped herself up on her elbow to find the strange cat snuggled up to her.

“Hey there, little guy.” Reaching out slowly, she ran her hand along his back. He had the softest fur she’d ever felt on any animal, and it was wavy. She giggled at the oddity of him, which woke him. He looked up at her with large green eyes, his giant ears overshadowing his somewhat tiny head. “You are the strangest, yet cutest little thing I have ever seen.”

He meowed at her, a long, drawn-out sound, as if he was sharing his sorrows.

Kelly couldn’t help but talk to him, as she’d always had a soft spot for animals. “Yes, I would tend to agree.”

She rolled onto her stomach, careful not to disturb the little one, and stretched her entire body. The action made her head hurt, reminding her yet again of the tumble she’d taken. You’re never going to live that one down, her inner voice chimed in. You’re clumsy, but that was a whole new level. You’re really outdoing yourself, Kel.

Suddenly realizing her bladder was about to burst, Kelly looked around for a bathroom. She didn’t have to look far, because there wasn’t even a door to it. What kind of strange hotel was this? The side wall of the bedroom was solid windows, and sinks were against the front and rear walls. A giant circular tub was right in the middle of the bathroom area with a perfect view of the city.

For a moment, Kelly wondered where the hell the toilet was, but then saw a door toward the front corner of the room. She jumped up and raced to it as fast as she could and gave thanks to the powers that be when a toilet revealed itself behind the door.

As she washed her hands in a sink that surely cost as much as her Excursion, the cat came up to the counter and stared at the running water. “Well, aren’t you a curious little thing,” she said, smiling at him.

“Aye, Clyde tends to be in the middle of everything.”

Kelly let out a yip and jumped. “Jesus Christ, man, have you ever heard of knocking?”

“Sorry, I, uh, I just heard the water running and figured ye were up.”

Turning back to the sink, she splashed cold water on her face. She blindly reached for the towel, only to end up touching a surprisingly cold hand that was holding a towel for her. After patting her face dry, she turned to Kade. “You’ve really got to stop racing to my side like that. It’s insanely creepy; you’re way too fast and quiet.”

“Right, I’ll add that to the list. Apologies,” Kade said, sounding amused.

“What, now you find me funny?”

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