Chapter 151

Chapter 151
Kitty
It is already warm as I ride to visit with my mom. That kind of warmth that makes my back heat up under my leathers, and sweat begin to run between my breasts. I am not used to these hot days in California. A few cars pass on the opposite side of the road, another biker on a gleaming Harley pulls in front of me and gives me a two-finger wave. It makes me smile. You just wouldn’t get that from where I come from.
Taking in the ocean from this high up on the road, I think that life can’t be much better. Except for my mom being sick that is. I know that Jett and his guys will find the assholes who burnt their unit down. It seems that they are just young adults with nothing better to do. My life with Jett couldn’t be any better. We fuck a lot, and I mean A LOT! We cook healthy dinners together with the odd take out and watch Netflix movies and series together.
The rest of ride is pretty clear. I take a turning on the right and smile as my folk’s imposing property comes into view. The road is tree lined. I lift my visor now that I am practically at the gate. Punching in the code when I get to it, the gates open. I rev the bike unnecessarily but do so anyway, because hell, I love the sound of the engine.
The gravel crunches under my fat tires until I pull to a stop outside the property noticing a sleek, black Sedan also parked up front. It doesn’t belong to my mother nor my step farther, making we wonder if one of them has a guest or two.
Once I have cut the engine and am off the bike, I remove my helmet allowing my long, blonde hair to flow freely. I unzip my jacket and feel like I can breathe again. At the door I try the handle, it isn’t locked so I walk inside and place my lid on the floor and unzip my biker boots and toe them off. “Hey, Mom, I’m here,” I shout out wondering if she will be resting in the lounge area or hanging out in the kitchen in her favorite rocking chair by the doors with the sun streaming on her beautiful face.
No reply. I go check in the lounge first but don’t see her in there. One of her books is open with the pages facing down, across the arm of her easy chair. She isn’t in the kitchen and then I hear her voice coming from my step father’s office. I hear a man’s voice too. Ice fills my veins. There is no mistaking that accent. My father.
Do I go in and say hello? Or should I leave again? I mean, am I even ready to come face to face with that man again? Saying I will forgive him from a distance is one thing, saying it to him face to face, well trust me, after what he did. That is a whole different ball game. My legs begin to tremble and I feel as if they will give way. My heart rate picks up.
“Kitty,” my mom calls out. “Kitty, we are in here.” Dammit, she did hear me after all. I have no choice but to go into the office and confront my father. All of a sudden, I feel like the child I used to be and not the grown, kick-ass woman I have become. No matter how many tatts I have had over the years, it doesn’t change that I am not feeling the way I should right now.
Taking slow steps in my socked feet, I reach the office door. He stands with his back towards me, broad, tall and dark hair. “There you are. We have a surprise visitor,” she says and I notice how her accent is all of a sudden, a much deeper Russian to usual.
“Yeah, so I see. What the fuck is he doing here already?” My father turns and scowls at me. He has some fucking nerve, right?
“Ekaterina, it is good to finally see you again. Running off like that, what were you thinking?” Yeah, he makes me feel like I am five again and being scalded.
I shrug my shoulders. Darned if I am going to let him intimidate me. “Come in, Kitty. Don’t start at the front of the door, and you,” she says to my father, “can sit down and stop trying to intimidate your own daughter.”
He gives my mom a look of shock. You go, Mom. Don’t take any of his shit. She spent most of her life living in his shadow as it was and then having to leave and not being allowed to take me, that must have cut her heart down the middle. I get why she left, honestly, I do. Growing up, sure I resented it and acted out, and getting body guards fired left right and center. However, over the years I worked on those feelings and realized she had no choice. She needed a new life and being a target was not an option for her. They don’t cut any slack in my father’s line of work.
“What was the meaning of you running out of Russia like that, Ekaterina?” he asks as he does as my mother says and takes a seat. He crosses one leg over the other. His dark navy suit is impeccable with his starched white, button-down shirt and dove gray tie.
“Kitty,” I almost spit at him.
He raises a dark eyebrow. “Kitty, ha. Your name is and always will be Ekaterina. Kitty, that sounds like some pussy cat. Did I raise a pussy, Ekaterina?”
Fuck him. I want to slap him across the face. I tilt my chin and roll my shoulders back. “No, you dragged me up.” I turn to walk away but my mother cuts in front of me. Wow, she is fast. I notice the darkness under her eyes. She should be resting. Not dealing with impromptu visits from my father.
“Kitty, please. You need to have this conversation with him. Your father has come to apologize. He wants to make amends,” she tells me whilst holding a frail hand to my left forearm.
“Well, it’s going to take some time. Messaging is different to seeing him here in the flesh.” I glance across at my father seeing something like pain flash across his face and in his dark eyes. Yeah, well how did I know how I would feel seeing him like this?
“Please,” Mom implores. “How about the two of you go out for lunch or maybe dinner this evening? For me.” Dammit, I hate it when my mom plays that card. My heart literally melts for her. With her being so sick, nobody knows what will happen. The dice are all up in the air as far as her health is concerned. Even though they said she has a strong fighting chance, nobody really knows do they?
Breathing in and out to calm myself down, I look mom in her pale eyes. “Not tonight. I can’t I have plans.” Then as gently as I can, I uncurl her fingers from my forearm and kiss her on the cheek. “See you soon, Mom.”
I turn and walk away. “Ekaterina, you can’t run from me forever. I will be staying some time. We need to resolve this,” he calls after me in his heavy Russian accent. I don’t reply. I say nothing as anger begins to fuel my being.
A few minutes later, I am outside astride my bike and the engine is in action. As soon as I am outside the gates, I open the bike up and ride like the devil is chasing me.
I don’t see it happen. I don’t even hear a thing. The world goes black around me as I feel pain searing through my leg and up into the cavity of my chest.