Page 27 of The Kat Bunglar

?Chapter 6

The Wallet, The Heist & The Price

6 Days Earlier

July 4th

Los Angeles

Laila Malik

Laila couldn’t leave.

She had no cash, no credit cards, no ID. Not a cent to her name.

She’d lost her wallet last night—and her underwear too.

Thankfully, when she’d stumbled back to the hotel, bedraggled and soaked to the bone, the clerk had taken pity on her. They’d issued her a replacement keycard, no questions asked.

Now, lying in bed, she stared at the clock on the nightstand, each minute dragging painfully by. She knew Jay would be awake soon—his routine precise, like clockwork.

She lay there, unblinking. Trapped in her own mess.

How was she possibly going to explain this to him?

Her fingers hovered over the screen before she finally pressed call.

The line rang once, twice—then a groggy voice answered.

“Laila, what time is it? Where are you?”

She swallowed the lump in her throat. “Jay, can you come get me?”

A sigh. A yawn.

“I’m at the Portofino Hotel in L.A.,” she continued. “I lost my wallet. I’m so sorry. I don’t know what happened.”

Her voice cracked, and before she could stop herself, the tears came again. She had been a tearful, disheveled mess the entire night.

Jay sighed again, heavier this time. “How could you lose your wallet?”

Laila’s spine stiffened. “I don’t know, Jay. If I remembered, it wouldn’t be lost.”

A tense silence followed. She could picture his face—eyebrows furrowed, jaw tightening in that way that always meant he was disappointed in her.

“I have a really important meeting this morning,” he said finally. “I’ll be there tonight. Not sure when I’ll get in.”

Laila stumbled over her words. “D-do you want to just mail my passport? I can use Apple Pay for everything else. I already have the return ticket, I just need identification to get on the flight—”

“Just stay put,” he cut in. “You left behind your little swimsuit thing too. I swear you’d lose your head if it wasn’t attached to your body.”

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