Page 13 of Hacker Revelation

Kat

I took another bite of the Hawaiian pizza. The conversation around the table felt so normal. It didn’t feel like Ant and I had been away from Antonio for years.

The sound of car doors being slammed had me reaching for the gun I no longer carried. Tomorrow, I would start carrying again. I had little doubt Greg would come for me a second time. Greg wanted his wife, and I stood between him and the woman he wanted.

When Antonio didn’t move to see who was at the front, I stood up from the espresso wood chair.

“Sit, Kitty Kat.”

“I'm going to see who's here.” He had to have heard the car door slam and the men's voices in our yard.

Antonio reached over and ruffled Ant’s hair before he answered. “It’s a cleanup crew.”

The poor alligators weren’t going to get a feast. They enjoyed the treats I had brought them. It wasn’t fair to cut off their food supply.

Ant looked up at his dad. “Daddy, what’s a cleanup crew?”

My dear husband leveled a glare in my direction. He didn’t want to tell our son that the body in the backyard that had lain in the purple tulips was a dead body and not a man that fell asleep. A wheelbarrow would be a nice addition to the garden supplies. If I could get the dead body in a wheelbarrow, I wouldn’t leave drag marks across the backyard and destroy the pretty flowers the housekeeper Judy had planted.

It had taken time to get used to a housekeeper. Judy was in her late fifties and had worked for Antonio for ten years. She cleaned the house and prepared meals for us to pull out of the fridge and cook during the week. Ant adored her, mostly because she baked him fresh cookies.

Life in Antonio’s house had taken me a while to get used to. Ant and I had moved from apartment to apartment. My old job had required me to be on the move, so we never stayed in the same place very long.

“They are here to clean up the back flower gardens.”

Ant pondered my answer for a second before he responded. “You mean the dead guy?”

Across the table, Antonio spit out his sip of beer. “That man was asleep. There was no dead body in the backyard.” His deep, rich voice carried through the dining room.

If I hadn’t killed the guy with my own hands, I might’ve believed the words that came out of Antonio’s mouth. Over the years, I hadn’t always had a sitter to take care of Ant. He’d seen more than anyone his age should. He also knew we weren’t supposed to talk about the dead bodies.

“Daddy, you're silly. I saw Mommy pulling the body. She was going to feed our pet alligator.”

I loved my son to death, but he was getting me in trouble. Antonio let out a sigh and gave me a look that had me squirming in my seat. The conversation wasn’t over. I could tell by his look that Antonio planned to talk about it later, in private.

It was hard to hold back the laugh. I slid out of my chair, hoping to get out of the room before either of them said another word. I made it two steps across the white marble floor before Antonio told me to sit. The thought that I should ignore him crossed my mind.

“Son…” Antonio began. He looked up at the ceiling and pinched the bridge of his nose. “What you sa—”

“It’s okay, Dad. I know not to talk about it to anyone other than Mom. Mom says she’s going to quit killing bad men.” His little lip trembled. “But then who will feed the alligators? Will they starve?”

“No, buddy. They will eat other animals.” I said.

“Okay.” He seemed satisfied with my answer. “Can I go play with my army men now?”

I nodded, and he leaped out of his booster seat and sprinted down the hall. I didn’t have time to tell him to slow down before he was gone. I grabbed the plates off the table to clean up the dinner mess.

“Leave it, Kitty Kat. Come here.”

I expected to see disappointment in my husband’s eyes. Instead, his pupils dilated, and he shifted in his seat. When I was within arm’s reach, he pulled me down onto his lap. His erection pressed against me. I shifted in his lap and rubbed against his length.

“Stop,” he growled. “What am I going to do with you?”

“Love me the way I am.” I leaned in and brushed my lips across his. They tasted of beer.

“I can’t help but be turned on by you taking that man out. But we can’t have our son seeing things like that.” The hint of disappointment in his voice was enough for me to stop being selfish. I needed to make the right decisions according to the law, not according to what I wanted. He was right—our son should not have seen the dead body in the backyard or have known I’d fed bodies to the alligators.

“I promise I will ask for help. No more killing.” Well, unless it was Juan. Antonio didn’t need to know I still planned on taking my uncle out.

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