Page 27 of Passenger Princess

“Where the fuck were you?” I say, stepping closer to her and grabbing her elbow, moving her with a little force, though I want to absolutely shake the woman.

I guide her toward the restaurant, seeing Jake, the dipshit, on the sidewalk, hands on his hips, looking around as if he's going to find Ava that way.

"I got her," I say, and he nods.

"Sorry, man, I?—"

"Not a word," I say.

"Please don't tell Greg, man," he starts.

"Get your shit together. Go find your assignment and make sure she's safe. And for the love of fuck, stop flirting with chicks while you’re on the clock," I say, and he nods, panic in his eyes, but he doesn't move. "Now. We're leaving."

"Of course, see ya, man. Sorry," he says, then runs back into the restaurant where I can see Willa chatting with someone through the window.

Sighing, I once again guide Ava to the parking lot.

“Hey, what the hell? I wanted to say goodbye to everyone!” she pouts, holding her big bag close to her body.

“Everyone thinks you’re fucking missing because you couldn't follow one fucking instruction.”

“Oops,” she says through a cringe of a smile. “My bad.” It’s clearshe doesn’t think this is a big deal, that she often gets out of trouble with a cute smile and a faux apology.

Unfortunately for her, I don’t find this or her disappearing act cute.

“This is why we listen when I say to stay in place. You got your shit?” I ask. She looks at the giant bag over her shoulder with hesitation, then nods before I navigate her in silence until we reach the SUV. Unlocking the door, I open it to let her inside.

That’s when I see it.

A tiny pair of…ears pop up in her bag.

I stare at the ears, then at Ava, then back to the ears, a dull orangey color, then back at Ava before closing my eyes, rubbing a hand down my face, and taking a deep breath.

“What the fuck is that?” I ask, my body exhausted to the bone as I stare at the bag over her shoulder where the head of a tiny cat with bent ears is poking out, big eyes wide, looking around like this isn’t weird at all.

A cat.

In her bag.

“The reason I went missing?” she asks in question with a nervous smile. “My new mascot?” Instantly, I shake my head. “Oh, absolutely the fuck not.”

Ava's eyes go as wide as the cat's as she pouts. “Come on, she’s so cute! And she was all alone. I couldn’t just leave her!”

“You absolutely could have. You should have. Now we need to find a shelter—” I say, pulling out my phone again. The woman is going to be the end of me, that much is for sure.

“No!” she says, tugging the bag closer and, in turn, the kitten. “No. I’m keeping her.”

My head moves to look at her again. “The fuck you are.”

“Just look at her!” She lifts the grimy, dirty kitten out of her bag, holding it like it's a baby rather than a grimy cat she found on the street. “She’s just a baby! She needs a mom!”

“Her mom was probably in the fucking alleyway where you kidnapped her from.”

Suddenly, she goes from eager to annoyed in the blink of an eye.

“I did not kidnap her, thank you very much. She came right up to me, walked into my hand, and jumped into my bag. Clearly, she wanted to be with me.”

“How did you find her?”

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