Page 45 of The Kat Bunglar

She nodded, dizzy from his kisses.

The phone rang again. “We should stop,” she whispered, “this could be important.”

He rocked against her, and she bit her lip to keep from begging for more. “Are you sure?” he asked.

“Yes, yes, yes,” she gasped, “I’m sure.” Laila fumbled for the phone while pushing him away.

“Hello, this is Laila Malik,” she answered briskly, ignoring her damp underwear and the sudden chill on her breasts.

“Hi Mrs. Malik, um... You don’t know me. But I have information about what happened to you a few weeks ago.” Laila’s heated blood turned to ice. “You got robbed, right?”

July 17

Los Angeles

Kat Kar

Kat’s blood boiled, and her lips curled in distaste as she watched Joseph and Christian paw at each other like animals in heat. No sense of decorum or consideration for anyone else in the room—like her!

It had been two days since Joseph had unofficially moved in. His boxers air-dried over the shower rod, while his 12-pound tub of muscle protein powder balanced precariously on their tiny kitchenette counter, making Kat’s eye twitch on and off all day.

Whatever anxiety Kat had about their arsenal of stolen goods was overshadowed by the unwanted guest she couldn’t control. He had basically driven her from their Polly Pocket apartment to the Cyber City Esports Center—in Gardena of all places!

She cautiously looked over her shoulder. All the gamer bros were locked and loaded, their eyes hypnotized by the screens before them. One dude even had drool seeping from his mouth, too engrossed to bother wiping it away. She shuddered, adjusting her beret and pushing up her blue-light-blocking glasses (available in twenty fun shades and adjustable sizes).

Logging in under her fake persona—Llama Del Rey—she jotted down the best sites to offload their merchandise, but each search reminded her of the shit ton of stolen goods waiting back at the apartment. Could she really pull this off? Her stomach twisted as she scrolled through the dark web, its eerie, outdated interfaces and cryptic instructions making her feel like she was wandering into dangerous territory.

Pawnshops, she decided, would be safer—for now. But the longer she lingered, the clearer it became: there was no turning back.

Satisfied with her research, she grimaced at the thought of returning to Christian and Joseph’s love nest. The faster she could get her hands on some cash, the sooner she could move out.

Kat paused, conflicted. She didn’t want to move out—she wanted Christian to stay put, available for her needs only. How could they ever go back to that?

As Kat slung her bag over her shoulder, a flash of burgundy and neon green stopped her in her tracks. Her pulse quickened. Only one person she knew could pull off that nuclear-hazmat concoction of a hair color—and even that was debatable. “Janvi?” she blurted, the name tumbling out before she could stop herself.

Janvi turned abruptly, beef jerky dangling from her lips. Kat’s eyes widened further. Everyone knew Janvi was vegan. She’d even signed an exclusive Ambassador deal with Daiya Foods last year.

“Kat?” Janvi asked with equal shock.

“What are you doing here?” they both asked each other in unison. Kat glanced over Janvi’s shoulder at the various tabs open and the 5-star reviews given out.

Kat gasped, “Are you writing your own reviews?”

Janvi slammed the laptop shut. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh my God, you’ve been faking followers and engagement. It all makes sense now.” Kat felt a wave of disappointment. How many other content creators were doing this? Was nothing sacred?

Janvi shot back, ‘You’ve got some nerve, looking like a Boho-Chic French Ex-Pat wannabe. Berets are so 2018. Who are you even influencing? Cottage-core grannies with coke-bottle glasses?’”

Kat winced at the jab, then glanced down at the notebook in her hand, where $80K was scribbled on the page. That’s when it hit her—she had just pulled off the heist of the century... or at least the week.

She allowed herself a small smile. “Well, at least my followers are legit, and I’m not sucking on beef jerky in a dark, crowded gamer den. When was the last time anyone verified your engagement numbers?”

Janvi’s eyes narrowed in annoyance before she pasted on her fake smile—the one she reserved for her Colgate Teeth Whitening Strip ads. Unraveling a high-pitched giggle, Janvi tossed her hair and briefly touched Kat on the arm. “Girl, this is so silly. You and I are both Bengali-American content creators. We’re the baddest in the game. We should be helping one another out. Girls supporting girls, am I right?”

Kat continued to stare at her, lips pressed in a firm line.

Janvi kept rambling. “I actually got a LiveTinted invite for this Saturday. You should totally be my plus one. How shocking would that be? You’ve been out of the game for so long, it’d be like you’re coming back from the dead, am I right?”

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