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My head lands heavily against the wall, everything too heavy to hold together. This is all too much.

We need her.

And she needs us.

SIXTY-ONE

PETER

Kitten’s muffled sobs make my pulse thrum loudly. Finally, she’s back where she belongs. Excitement builds at the thought of our impending new lives together. Away from this place, away from them. However, I need to move quickly. We can’t wait around too long. They’re going to figure out she’s missing. A frustrating predicament, as they know it was me the first time. Although they haven’t found out where I’ve been staying.

Turning into my driveway, the garage opens, and I pull straight into it then wait for it to close before getting out.

The sight that greets me when I open the back passenger door almost has me grinning. I heard her scrabbling initially when she woke up, but she’s been silent for a while since. The nervous anticipation she must feel is pulsing through me.

There’s nothing like a vulnerable, caught kitten, all ready and waiting for me.

“It’s not quite home yet, pet. But you can rest for a bit until we leave,” I tell her, unable to resist the temptation and remain silent any longer. I reach into the car and tug the heavy suitcase out, enjoying the jostle as the wheels hit the concrete floor with a bang.

It may look like a standard suitcase, but I’ve had it re-enforced so it’s able to manage the heavier weights of my pets when needed.

Usually I gag them, but as this was just a journey back to the house, I’d foregone one, hoping her screams would keep me satiated during the drive.

I’ve missed her so much.

Eager to be reunited, I wheel the case through the garage entry door and into the house. The little gasp when wheels bump over the threshold has a shiver licking down my spine. Reaching into my pocket, I pull out the pink leather leash before laying the case flat and unlocking it. I slowly drag the zip open to reveal the contents.

Kitten blinks rapidly, adjusting to the light. I take advantage of her disorientation and snap the clip onto the collar I’d placed around her unconscious neck. Knocking her out had been a necessary move, though after the chaos she caused and the mess she’s put us in, I enjoyed hurting her as she’d hurt me.

I make quick work of untying the binding around her ankles and wrists, then stand, staring down at the frightened, pretty pet that’s finally back where she belongs.

She watches me; her face all pinched and confused as her eyes flit from my face to my hair repeatedly.

Ah, my disguise.

“It’s quite effective.” I grin, pulling off the baseball cap with the shoulder-length blonde hair attached just on the inside. In addition, I’d added a wider prosthetic nose, blue contact lenses to cover my natural brown, and some prosthetics to alter the shape of my jaw and chin.

I discard them and tug on her leash, expecting her to listen, but eagerly hoping she doesn’t. There’s a lot of pent-up anger and resentment, and it’s not healthy to keep it all locked up.

I know she wouldn’t want me to struggle like this, and she’d want to help me feel better. Kitten’s good like that. She’s always thinking about others, wanting to put their needs above her own.

My foot darts out, and the tip of my shoe digs into her shin at my kick. It’s not hard enough to break anything, just to bruise, to warn.

Her mouth pops open, then she flinches and tucks the leg tighter into her.

Giving her one last chance, I pull the leash again and enjoy her panicked movements as she scrambles to her knees. She winces as she leans on the tender area of her leg. Good.

Head hanging, kitten curls her fingers into the carpet, accepting the sweet surrender and welcome back.

SIXTY-TWO

BRYNN

I can’t breathe.

This can’t be happening again.

It hurts to draw in a breath. There’s so much fear for Rosy, and I can’t…