Page 5 of That Girl is Trouble

He nods. “You got it, Prez.”

“Kitty?” I murmur as I approach.

She jumps at the sound of her name, pressing herself even closer to the headboard.

“I won’t hurt you, Kat. No one here will. You’re safe now. Here.” I tug off my T-shirt and toss it to her so she can cover herself.

Another sob escapes her as she snags it off the mattress. She pulls it on, then loops her arms around her knees and dips her head, hiding her tear-stained face behind a curtain of hair.

This is why I didn’t want her here. I told Graves over and over again this place wasn’t safe for her, that Jesse wasn’t safe for her. A fucking teenage girl wrapped up in this shit? I should have sent her packing weeks ago, but I gave in. And now I’m fucking regretting it. She wasn’t hanging around, this never would have happened. She’d be at home safe in her bed at her sister’s house and far the fuck away from bullshit like this.

How the fuck am I supposed to watch her all the damn time? Every night, it’s been me checking in on her, it’s been me pressing my ear to the goddamn door to make sure she’s in fucking bed while Jesse is out drinking until the sun comes up. This was Graves’s job. He’s the one playing big brother. He’s the one who insisted she stay here. But the asshole’s had his head buried between Kat’s sister’s legs for weeks, and he’s barely been around.

And wrangling the girl is no walk in the fucking park. If she had it her way, she’d be sitting at the back of Jesse’s bike on every job we run. I practically had to lock her in her room the last time I sent him out.

Easing myself onto the bed, I reach towards her, carefully, slowly, so she knows it’s coming. “Come on, Kitty Kat. Let’s get you cleaned up.” When she doesn’t move, I scoot a little closer and scoop her up.

The second she’s in my arms, she buries her head in my chest, her whole body shaking.

Seeing her like this guts me. Most days, Kat is annoying and stubborn. This fierce, mouthy, intrusive girl who’s somehow inserted herself into every part of my life. She’s always there, always talking shit, always scowling at Graves or lecturing Tex about how he eats like garbage. Hands at her hips, finger pointed in someone’s face.

But seeing her like this? Hurt and scared out of her mind? I don’t think I’ve ever hated a sight so much in my life.

She drapes her arms around my neck and tenses, squeezing tight when she gets a look at the body on the ground.

“You’ll sleep in my room,” I murmur.

Graves is suddenly in front of us, his face twisted in anger. “The fuck she will.”

I glare at him. “I’ll sleep on the fucking couch, asshole. You seriously saying that to me right now? You think I’d touch her after… after this?”

Pain flashes across his face. He’s no doubt picturing his mom, who he couldn’t save before they got to her. Before they fucked her and beat her bloody. And like déjà vu, it almost happened to Kat, the girl he’s been playing father to, or big brother, or whatever the hell he’s been doing to get into the pants of Kat’s hot lawyer sister.

“Course not,” he growls.

“Good. Then shut the fuck up and get out of here. Don’t come back until you’ve got your head on straight. Tex will clean up your mess.”

With fury still fuelling me, I carry Kat to the floor below, push through the door of my apartment, and stride straight to my bathroom. I set her on the counter and steady her, then pull her chin into my hands to examine her nose. That fucker didn’t break it, but there’s blood all over her mouth, chin, and neck.

“It’s fine,” she mutters, batting me away, her focus fixed on a spot on my chest.

“It’s not.” Anger burns through me as I snag a hand towel from the drawer next to the sink. I run it under warm water and wring out the excess, then carefully press it to her nose.

“Don’t make me leave,” she whispers, her lip trembling.

I sigh and blot at the blood beginning to dry on her chin. “It’s not right. You staying here.”

“Please, Axe? I… I didn’t mean for him to come in. He just did and—” She snaps her mouth shut and drops her eyes to the floor.

“Kat,” I grit out, maybe harsher than I’d meant to. “You think I blame you for this?”

The next sob that falls from her mouth tears a fucking hole in my chest.

Cupping her chin, I pull her face closer and force her to look at me. “None of that was your fault. It was mine. Fucking Graves too. For not watching you better, for sending Jesse out on a run and not keeping you safe.” I shake my head. “You should be back home. A proper home. This place isn’t good for you.”

“Axe. Please,” she pleads again. She steadies her hands on my cheeks in a way that’s far too intimate. I shouldn’t be this close to her. Close enough for her thighs to touch my legs. She shouldn’t be pressed so tight to my body when she’s not wearing any goddamn pants.

I clear my throat. “Kat—”

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