Chapter 8 8. Cooper - My sweet kitten 3
Matheus barely lifts his eyes from the book open in front of him. “What about?” he asks.
I glance around the library, making sure no one is paying us any attention, then lean forward and whisper, “Jason brought a new kitten.”
Matheus doesn’t look interested. He keeps reading—I can see his eyes moving across the page.
“Aren’t you going to ask me about her?” I ask impatiently.
A loud sigh leaves him before he leans back in his chair. “What about her?”
He already knows that when I say kitten, I mean a woman—but from now on, I’ll refer to her, my sweet kitten, only as that. I can’t wait to find out her name. It has to be something beautiful… something that captures her spirit entirely.
I glance around the library once more, even though I already know there’s no one here except Matheus, Old Greg—who’s reading comics by some Russian Lord—and me.
“She’s fucking perfect,” I tell Matheus, but he doesn’t seem impressed. “Big tits, great ass, kinky, and most importantly, she’s gorgeous.”
Matheus arches an eyebrow. “Sounds like most of the women Jason brings.”
That offends me because my kitten is special.
“She’s nothing like the other women. She’s perfect. And I have to have her.”
Matheus’s attention returns to his book. “If you need permission to fuck her, you have it.”
I chuckle. “I wasn’t aware you were her father.”
He rolls his eyes. “Tell me what you need or leave.”
I lean forward even more. “I want to claim her as my woman in front of the entire prison. But I need your help.”
From the look on his face, this is not what Matheus expected to hear.
“Women are only trouble. Go on. Ask me how I know,” he demands.
I sigh, because I already know what he’s about to say. I’ve heard it a thousand times already. Still, I ask, “How do you know?”
“My grandma was a whore—she cheated on my grandpa with the milkman,” he starts. “My mom was a whore—she cheated on my dad with the mailman and the neighbor across the street. My sister is a whore—she fucked the entire football team while her boyfriend was in the hospital. My ex is a whore—she fucked my drug dealer and gave me chlamydia. She’s also the reason I’m here. You want my advice, kid? Stay away from women. They’re nothing but trouble.”
In this place, secrets are important. But I trust Matheus. He’s had my back more times than I can count. So I reveal something I should probably keep to myself.
“My angel claimed her.”
He looks at me with pity.
“I’m sorry that happened to you, kid.” He’s six years older than me and acts like he’s eighty. He always calls me kid. Whatever, I’m used to it.
I don’t understand why he’s acting as if something horrible happened to me. “Your experience with women isn’t mine. And I want this kitten. So are you going to help me claim her or not?”
“I’m not fucking her,” he says quickly.
“You don’t have to,” I reassure him. “But you do have to say she’s our woman. And maybe pretend to like her.”
His eyes narrow. “If you want to have some fun before we get the hell out of here, do it. But don’t get distracted. Not when we’re so close to bringing this place down.”
“She’s not a distraction,” I tell him, wanting him to know that she’s more than that.
He nods approvingly, “Good, because you know that Jair wants everything to go smoothly with our plan. I don’t think I have to remind you how he gets when things don’t go as he planned.”
Jair is a bit of a control freak. He might also have a tendency to flip the fuck out when things don’t go his way. Which is why he always lands in solitary confinement.
“Nothing will go wrong,” I try to reassure him, but he looks skeptical.
I don’t blame him for being paranoid–even the tiniest mistake can derail our plans, and we’ve worked too hard to fail right now. But I am sure my sweet kitten will end up helping us. There’s something different about her. For starters, she’s not here because she wants to–not that the rest of the women had any choice in the matter–but because Jason kidnapped her. Probably from her house. She’s also not the type of person to sit around and do nothing. No. She’s a fighter. She will do whatever is necessary to get out of here. This is why I’m so sure she will be of help to us.
“So, will you help me claim her?” I insist.
“Why do you insist on making your life more complicated than it already is?”
If he’s asking that, it means he hasn’t listened to a word I said.
Not wanting to repeat myself—especially with the risk of Old Greg overhearing—I stay quiet and watch Matheus, waiting for his answer. If he refuses to help me with my kitten, things will get complicated. I won’t be able to protect her from anyone who might want to fuck her while I’m busy with my duties as a guard.
I have no choice but to convince Matheus—and Jair—that she’s worth the hassle.
My mind scrambles for a lie that will sound convincing enough. The trick isn’t Matheus. It’s Jair. And to get to Jair, I need Matheus on my side first.
So I give him something I know he won’t ignore.
“Her brother is the right hand of Victor Kastell.”
The Kastells are one of the oldest families in Veross City. Victor Kastell, the current patriarch of his family, is deeply involved in organized crime—and the drug trade that runs through half the city.
Matheus doesn’t look impressed. “She told you that?”
“She did,” I lie.
He snorts so loud that Old Greg glances at us. When he realizes no fight is going to happen, his attention returns to his comic.
“And you believe her?” Matheus asks.
“Jason told me, not her,” I lie again. I hope it won’t bite me in the ass in the end. “He wanted to make sure nothing bad happens to her while she’s here.”
Matheus suddenly seems interested. “And you say you want her to be our woman?”
I shrug. “I mean, she is pretty hot.”
“And your angel claimed her,” he points out.
Maybe I should have kept that for myself and told the lie instead. I only hope that when Matheus asks her about her brother–does she even have one?–she will play along. It is my only chance to make her my woman.
“Where is she?” he demands to know.
“In my room.”
“Let’s go see her. If what she tells me is worth my time, I will consider helping you claim her.”
