Sheâs nodding as her cousin speaks but sheâs only half listening, simultaneously running through a checklist in her head that she wishes sheâd had the foresight to write down. Every intrepid step forwards is a new one for her, venturing into the uncharted land of project management beyond setting up a few underground fights in a stale-sweat-scented gym ( which she misses, deary, if sheâs honest â but times have changed and a simple boxing match is no longer enough to satiate hunger ). If only her high school teachers could see her now. âYou can tell them itâs going to be a fucking bloodbath,â she promises. They need to deliver on this. She needs to deliver on this. Her dark gaze trained on the television screen, looking without really seeing as her thoughts pace restlessly through her skull, she tears her attention from luminous pixels to study Jessicaâs perfectly and expertly applied makeup before meeting the other womanâs glinting brown eyes. âEnthusiastic thank yous as in a few tips? Or favours?â Truth be told it was somewhat surprising, despite the world they belonged to, quite how many people were keen to embrace catharsis and bloodthirst. Self-made deities watching the demise of a damned mortal for their own pleasure.Â
A small smile flits sparingly across her lips as a reassuring palm grazes her arm, lifting a hand to brush her fingertips against the back of Jessicaâs knuckles in silent thanks. âYeah, Iâmâ you knowââ she shrugs but the attempt to portray nonchalance falls flat. âFucking nervous about how people will react to it. And whether it works well. And if we make a decent profit.â Kitty forces a laugh to be exhaled, attempting to dispel some of the tension that has gathered in her chest. Honesty spills like a drunk manâs drink. âThis is the first time Iâve ever tried to create something of my own for Famine. Iâve always been good at carrying out the orders Iâm given by Raf and Uncle Rafael but Iâve never really done anything where people say yeah, wow, that was Kittyâs idea.â It isnât self-pity, simply fact.Â
There was opportunity lurking here too to finally step out from the haunting shadow of Thomas. Her mentor has been breathing down her neck ever since she slipped into their Virtue role. Even from beyond the grave, with every fuck up she achieved, their disappointment was palpable. What had she done to deserve being promoted? Hopefully, after tonight, something. She gives a small, stubborn, resolute nod. âI want it to go well. And not even just for me.â Kitty glances at their giddily engaged Seraphim who a few weeks ago had been comatose and bed-bound. âI think he could do with a win for Famine. One that isnât related to gang wars.â Her engagement present to the happy couple, soon to be lain at Rafaelâs feet like a catâs fresh kill: bloody and gruesome but brimming with love. âAre you going to be watching?â
If there was one thing Famine knew how to do, it was how to put on a show. Though they dealt in hedonism, gluttony, and greedâin creating hunger, then satisfying it beyond measureâFamine had less blood on their hands than the other gangs throughout their century of existence. Sure, their enterprises were illegal in excess, in moderation, they were... pleasurableâsomething that had given Jessica a strange sort of satisfaction as she rose from Angel to Power in her familyâs criminal empire. But tonight, they would start having a body count. For real.
At first, Jessica had been buoyed by the challenge of the game, but when she stopped to think about itâno, allowed herself to, after using every waking moment to distract herselfâCat and Mouse was far more dangerous, and far bloodier, than anything else that Famine had ever created. Itâs a test of skill, she had told one would-be investor weeks before. A game of survival using the city as your weapon, sheâd told another. She had known better than to start with death, instead sparking peopleâs curiosity, whetting their appetite, and saying everything except the simple truth: Weâll force people to fight, and film them until one is dead. Not until she was sure that they were in. Not until she could read the hunger on their faces. But she knew what she was sellingâand who was she to want the moral high ground when she was helping pull the strings? Even if she told herself that she would keep the game from going too far, or that her presence would keep them safer than if anyone else did it.
Thinking too hard about it tonightâof all nightsâwould be a recipe for disaster, so Jessica didnât, keeping a smile on her face as she noted Kittyâs words. Itâs going to be a fucking bloodbath. âFavors,â she replied lightly, âand, if we give a good show, a few more open doors.â Little was inaccessible to Famine, but delivering on their promise would bolster their reputation further among those who hungered for darker entertainment. Then her expression softened at Kittyâs next words; admitting nervousness was rare, especially when it had to do with something she knew like the back of her hand. âHey, a wise person once told me that if you arenât scared, you didnât dream big enough.â (Sure, it had been her first boss in marketing, and Lillian would be shocked to hear Jess quoting it before a goddamn death game, but hey. Life.) âCat and Mouse is already huge, and if this is your first idea, how much more will you be able to do once youâve got this under your belt?â She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. âBesides, youâve got the best minds in Famine working on this: you, Ky, Wren, me. Thereâs nothing that could happen that we havenât already thought of.â She laughed out loud at her next thought. âAnd havenât we learned enough about rolling with the punches from stopping Rafâs Vegas weddings, like, seven times already?â
Gloria Femenias Reyes had a thousand anecdotes to share about how close-knit her family was, but an anecdote she often shared was the first time Jessica saw Kitty: the way a baby Jess had wrapped her pudgy fingers around her older cousinâs as she gazed up at her, then cried uncontrollably when TĂo Rafael had lifted her up, inadvertently separating them. They were as unalike as night and day, their paths and goals as different as could be, with the exception of loving their family as fiercely as they could. Helping them attain their goals by any means necessary. Keeping them safe, even if it meant making them feared, too. Jessica followed Kittyâs gaze to Rafael, seeing the happiness in their Seraphimâs eyes, then looked back at her. âThis will be a win,â she promised. âA risk, but whatâs life without it? And of course Iâm watching, Kitkat,â she added, squeezing Kittyâs arm, lending every ounce of warmth and encouragement that she could. She had to make sure it went perfectly, after all. And for Kitty, for Nana, for the poor soul who would be going up against their newly made Powerâshe couldnât look away. Wouldnât. âIâll see this through with you. Now come on,â she said with a grin, pulling her along for just one more drink, âletâs give them the best show theyâve ever seen.â