Page 41 of The Kat Bunglar

Jay gave her one last, pointed look—disgust flashing in his eyes—before following Sven into the kitchen.

July 14

Los Angeles

Kat Kar

Kat cataloged the last piece of jewelry and placed it on the kitchen counter, next to the other five neat rows, all glinting and winking back at her with a sharpness that felt like a threat.

They had run out of space in their tiny one-bedroom with a “spacious nook” apartment. The spoils of their conquest were strewn about the kitchen counter, dining table, and even draped over their lamp. Kat hadn’t been able to stop moving since coming back from Chicago. She hadn’t been able to sleep. Every time she stared up at the ceiling, a heavy weight pressed down on her chest, making it hard to breathe. Which meant she stayed upright at all hours of the day and night. She paced in small circles within the confines of their apartment. Replaying what they had done to that poor man. Wishing they had done things differently... or maybe not at all.

She had tried to journal in the wee hours of the morning, but then realized everything she wrote was evidence that might incriminate her. So, she kept the confusion, resentment, and fear bottled up. Her nails dug into her palms every time she felt like screaming.

“Kat, Kat, wake up,” Christian snapped her fingers in front of Kat’s face.

Kat blinked. “What happened?”

“I ran into Mrs. Templeton and Cory again,” Christian said, adjusting her hair scarf in annoyance. “They were out front, talking to some new tenants. They’ve already decided we won’t be able to pay the rent. They want their money, and fast, or they’ll throw us out on our asses in two weeks with no remorse. And I do not want to move back in with Aunt Clarise. And I know you don’t want to go back to Indiana.” Christian glared at her pointedly.

“We have their rent money, it’s all here.” Kat gestured at the scattered jewelry on the counter.

“Uh-huh. And are we planning to sell it any time soon? Because I don’t think Mrs. Templeton is going to accept the emerald necklace or the Celine Fedora Hat as payment.” Christian chewed the Bengali paan Kat’s mother had given her, smacking her lips like a goat gnawing on cud.

Kat snapped, “Well, sorry I’ve been a little distracted, Christian. Glad to see you’re able to handle almost killing a man so easily—”

Christian shrugged. “God’s will be God’s will.”

“How can you be so flippant?” Kat exploded at Christian.

“How can you sit there, hour after hour, dwelling on the past, when you literally came up with this whole plan so you could have a better future? We pulled it off, Kat. We should be celebrating!” Christian winced as she accidentally sat on a Swarovski hair pin.

“Because I was wrong!” Kat wailed. “I’m just an influencer who is faking her entire life for people to scroll through, while they take their morning dump.” Kat found it hard to breathe again. She started wheezing uncontrollably.

Before Christian could find Kat’s inhaler, someone knocked on the door.

Kat looked at Christian, feeling an eerie premonition of déjà vu. “Don’t open the door, Christian!”

A loud booming voice exploded from the other side. “Chouchou, where is my chouchou at?”

Christian’s eyes widened with glee. She ran to the door and tore it open. “Joseph? Is that you?”

Joseph grabbed Christian around the waist and twirled her around. “In the flesh, sweetheart. Oh, I missed you so much.” He proceeded to kiss her frantically on the lips and neck.

Christian kissed him back and went into the little baby voice she reserved specially for him. “Not as much as I missed you, baby.”

Kat winced in disgust. “Ahem. Ahem. Third party over here. Observing this weird, awkward mating ritual.”

Joseph looked over at her in surprise. “You still live with this...mess?”

“Shshsh,” Christian shushed him and then gave him a final glare to silence him.

Joseph glanced from Kat to the scattered items around the apartment, each with little handwritten price tags, his eyebrows arching in silent question.

“We walked by an estate sale, and they needed to unload the stuff immediately,” Kat quickly blurted out.

Joseph let out a low whistle as he saw the emerald ring set. “That’s some nice inventory you got there.”

Kat felt a prickle of unease climb up her spine. He shouldn’t be here. He shouldn’t be seeing any of this. But she couldn’t convey any of that to Christian, because she was staring up at Joseph like the sun, the moon, and the stars fell and rose within his eyes.

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