Page 66 of Terror at the Gates

I heard what she said, but I was too distracted. “Coco…is that a cat?”

She grinned and held her up in both hands like an offering.

“Isn’t she adorable?”

“Coco,” I groaned. “If Paul finds out, he’s going to evict us.”

“I thought about that,” she said, kneeling on the couch and sitting back on her heels. “But I figured since Zahariev punched him in the face, he probably won’t fuck with us.”

I tried to stay strong in the face of the feline’s innocent,copper-colored eyes.

“You know, some nights we can barely feed ourselves,” I said. “How are we supposed to feed her?”

“With all the money we are going to save over the next three months now that we don’t owe rent.” She held the kitten up and nuzzled its nose as she spoke in a higher pitch. “Isn’t that right? You can thank Uncle Z, yes, you can.”

My brows rose, amused by the thought of Zahariev holding this tiny kitten and letting Coco call him uncle. I wasn’t sure he even liked cats. If his household was anything like mine growing up, it was likely he was never allowed pets. My mother said dogs were too dirty and cats were too destructive. Plus, she didn’t want to risk either pissing or shitting on her silk rugs.

“What did you name her?” I asked.

Coco’s smile was sly, her eyes brightening with a flash of pride.

“Angel,” she answered.

I almost snorted. “You can’t be serious, Coco.”

“What?” she asked. “Just look at her! She’s small and sweet. She is an angel!”

“Cherubsare small and sweet,” I said. “Angels are…something else.”

If the statues around Eden were anything to be believed, they were terrifying, but I didn’t want to voice my fear aloud.

“Then we’ll call her Cherub!” Coco declared, turning her attention to the kitten. “What do you think?”

She offered a high-pitched meow in response.

“See? She likes it!”

I shook my head but couldn’t help smiling. I had to admit I enjoyed seeing Coco with a pet. I also liked the idea of coming home to something, especially when Coco was stillat work, but I felt guilty about allocating money to something so soon after Zahariev had gotten us out of a hole. I still wanted to work on paying him back, even though I knew he didn’t expect it.

“Is she supposed to be that little?” I asked.

“She’s probably the smallest of her litter,” said Coco. “But she’ll grow with time and lots and lots of love.”

She snuggled the kitten cheek to cheek.

“Do you want to hold her?” she asked.

I was a little reluctant because she was so small.

“What if I drop her?”

“You won’t drop her,” said Coco. “Besides, cats are resilient. They land on their feet.”

I wanted to argue that I didn’t think that was always true, but Coco was already leaning toward me. I took the kitten, though it was strange to hold a living thing in the palms of my hands. I lowered her to my lap and scratched behind her soft ears. Soon she was curled up and vibrating like a little motor.

“See?” said Coco. “You’re in love already.”

I arched a brow at her. “Nice try.”

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