BlindHeat (28 page)

Allie didn’t pull away, afraid any reaction might stop him
talking.

“You were my little green-eyed princess and you would
occasionally grant me the favor of your presence on my knee.”

He moved to his desk and sank into a chair. The dim lighting
didn’t conceal his grimace as he did so. She couldn’t ignore a sensation of a
house of cards falling, Eddie seemed to fold in on himself as he told her what
she needed to know.

“I found you in a crack house cellar out on Cedar Street.
You and your sister. I caught her first, but she bit and scratched the shit out
of me. When I dropped her she got away. You were too sick to run, wrapped in a
dirty red blanket. It’s the only time I ever remember you being sick. You had
the nerve to growl at me. Tiny little scrap of skin and bones, and you growled.
Cute. You sounded like a clock ticking,” Eddie smiled, a rare event.

A sister? The idea that she might have a sibling had never
occurred to her. She stayed silent, not even her desperation to know more could
be allowed to interfere with the flow of Eddie’s thoughts.

“I brought you home with me.”

“Why?” Allie had to ask. “Why would you bring a little girl
here instead of handing her over to protective services?”

“Because I didn’t find little girls. You still don’t get
this? I found a pair of kittens.” He shrugged. “I happen to like cats.”

Allie’s heart was still beating triple time. “What happened
to my sister?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t worry about it until after I got you
home, took you up to the apartment and made you a bowl of broth, watched you
turn from kitten to toddler right in front of my eyes. Do you know what that
was like? Seeing you change changed everything I thought I knew about the
world.”

Allie didn’t know what it was like, but she got a flash of
an image from Eddie, a thin, dirty child, hair a snarled mess. She blinked.
Marcus had sent her thoughts enough times that she’d recognized the little
twinge of pain that preceded a telepathic message from him.

“What happened to her, Eddie?”

“I sent Head back to look for the other kitten. I went back
myself thousands of times. Never found a trace of kitten or a little girl.”

“Where did I come from?”

Eddie shrugged. “Maybe some research project someone dumped
off. I’ve heard plenty on the street about them coming around gathering strays
because the shelters won’t give them animals. Can’t think why they’d just toss
you out though. Maybe that was an experiment too.”

Treading carefully so as not to insult him again, she tried
to reframe her biggest question. “Why would you want me, Eddie? Keeping someone
like me, a toddler, had to be an enormous pain in the ass.”

He looked at her, the intensity unmistakable. “You were.
Kids are. Why does anyone keep them around?”

She bit her lip, turned away, picked up the eight ball. She
didn’t know why she would inspire paternal instincts in Eddie. Like Eddie said,
there were worse things than being his daughter, and when it came down to it,
who better than a guy who lived outside the system to raise a girl who wasn’t
human? Given the circumstances, Eddie had done okay.

She set the eight ball spinning and said softly, “Thank
you.”

He didn’t respond. She hadn’t expected him to. This was
getting heavier than either of them was comfortable with.

“Does any of this stir any memories, Allie?” Jake asked, an
obvious attempt to steer things back to calmer ground.

Allie shook her head. “It may explain the whole mirror
thing.”

“Mirrors?”

Eddie, probably as relieved as she was to leave sticky
emotion behind, answered, “She is terrified of mirrors. The sight of one used
to make her hysterical. The only one we had upstairs was in my bathroom.”

“I used to believe there was a me stuck inside the glass,
trapped there. Sometimes I’d have this little flash of reaching for the glass,
but my hand went through and touched a living copy of me. Or as near as I can
tell she was a copy of me, same hair, clothes, same size.” She shuddered.
Something about the experience still gave her chills.

“Pantherians travel through portals that look like mirrors.
Is it possible someone brought you into the human world through one of our
portals?”

“I don’t remember living anywhere but here.”

Eddie rose again. “I kept the blanket I found with her. It
was funky so I swapped it out for a new red blanket I gave her. I kept the
original sealed in plastic. I figured it might be useful if someone ever turned
up to claim her. No one did.”

He went into the closet where his safe was hidden and came
back with a bag. Inside she found the blanket and her missing laptop. The
question of the break-in solved.

Allie’s hands reached with a will of their own. The blanket
was the only thing she cared about. Through the clear plastic, she traced the
designs on a small handmade quilt, and it was comprised of various red patches,
two white kittens were appliquéd to the surface.

A warmth, a sense of safe welled up in her chest. She hugged
the blanket to her, could feel the heat of the red color seep through the pores
in the plastic, into her body. A memory surfaced, a woman’s voice singing, but
the words ran together and she couldn’t recall them.

“Thank you,” she said, reaching to squeeze Eddie’s hand.

He pulled away, went back to his desk and filled the tumbler
with whiskey again. Some sloshed over the side onto the desk. He stared at it
silently. She had a million questions. She knew Eddie had no answers.

“So you found people like you now?” he asked at last.

“Yes.”

He nodded as if that settled something and downed the next
shot in one gulp. He looked at Jake. “You an experiment too?”

Jake didn’t answer.

Eddie dropped into his chair and opened his desk drawer,
pulled out his handgun and placed it on the desk. “Get her out of here, hoss.”

“His name is Jake,” Allie said, refusing to be intimidated.

Jake grabbed Allie’s hand and tugged her toward the door.

“I don’t want her back in here.” Eddie glared at Allie. “I
don’t care what she tells you. You make sure of it.”

Allie balked. “Why?”

“Come on, Allie,” Jake muttered. “I will,” he said louder to
Eddie.

“He said he wouldn’t hurt me. You heard him. He’s bluffing.”

“What about me?” Jake hissed in her ear.

She let Jake lead her out of Eddie’s den, out of the club
into the bright sunshine of a spring afternoon. She hugged the bag to her
chest, throwing glances back as they went. Something wasn’t right. Eddie was
hiding something. What?

She was climbing in the van when realization dawned. She
dropped the bag and turned, headed back for the club at a flat-out run. Jakes
legs were longer. He was faster. A distant crack sounded just as Jake’s arm
went around her waist. Made it all clear. Allie lunged, but Jake blocked her,
hauling her to the floor and yelling, “Atka, get us the fuck out of here, now.”

Atka didn’t ask questions, throwing the van in gear while
Allie screamed, “No, no, no,” over and over, clutching her head. The tearing
pain of Eddie’s brain shattering under the force of a bullet replayed like an
echo in her brain. She couldn’t turn it off.

Chapter Fifteen

Marcus was poring over a folder of material Ben left when
Jake interrupted.

“Sorry, Magus, I thought you might want to know Allie’s
friends are here. They’re putting her things upstairs. I imagine that will take
them about five minutes. They have someone with them you’ve been anxious to
see.”

Marcus put the folder aside. He was drawing a blank.

“Hella,” Jake supplied.

“Hella. In all the chaos I forgot Hella. Where? How?”

“Apparently Allie did take her. Lila’s aunt agreed to keep
her because Allie has a no-pets lease. After the pig incident, Lila figured out
that the cat must be one of your rescues and thought it would be best if you
looked after your own contraband cats.”

“We’ve looked everywhere.”

“Yeah, I even had Seth searching.”

Marcus pushed back from his desk and got up. At mention of
Seth he thought of how much more Seth knew about all of them than he would have
liked.

“Do you trust him, Jake?”

“He has been nothing but helpful.”

“Not the answer I was hoping for.”

“I have my issues with Seth. You know that. That’s between
Seth and me. That has nothing to do with the rest of you.” He tugged at his
beard. Then jammed his hands in his pockets.

“I’d be more comfortable if you kept close to him for a
while.”

“We can’t change what he knows, Magus. Have Ben and company
keep an eye on him for a while, until we’re more certain of his loyalties.”

Marcus leaned against the counter, folded his arms across his
chest, studied Jake. Jake looked away.

“Why Ben and company instead of you, Jake?”

“I think it’s best if I stay away from here for a while.”

“She doesn’t blame you.”

“I believe she does, Magus. She won’t even look at me.”

“She’s not looking at anyone. She’s grieving.”

Jake had his keys out now. Was turning them over in his
hand. He wouldn’t look at Marcus. Marcus knew the reasons for leaving were
related to more than Eddie’s suicide.

“I’m going. You two need space and I need to find out what
happened to her sister. It’s not permanent, just for a couple of months.”

“I know why you’re really going, Jake.” Marcus would have to
be more than blind not to see the way Jake looked at Allie, the way he lit up
in her presence. “We can work this out.”

“I don’t want to work anything out. I want to find Allie’s
sister for her.”

Maybe Jake was right. Pantherians formed triads and while
Allie was a long way from being ready for all that entailed, Jake would be
thinking he couldn’t stand by and watch Marcus choose the other male from a
pool of eligible tigers. What Jake didn’t know was that Marcus and possibly
Allie could shift across species. Marcus decided not to go into that until he
was sure of Allie’s abilities. Jake leaving would give the three of them more
time to let the future find the right path for all of them. Why did it leave
his gut churning if it was the best thing to do?

“You know the little girl probably didn’t survive, Jake.”

“Did you ask Allie what she thought about that?”

Marcus crossed to Adam’s desk and picked up a report Ben had
left him. He flipped through the pages without seeing the writing.

“Magus?”

“I need you here, Jake.”

“Allie thinks her sister is still alive. Littermates share a
bond, Magus. Allie would know if she were dead.” It was at the back of his mind
that he should remind Jake to call him Marcus. He didn’t. Suddenly he wanted to
hear that familiar voice, using his familiar title in this land where he was
nobody. He wanted the solid backup of Jake’s presence in his life every day.

“How do you follow a trail left twenty-six or so years ago,
Jake? There’s no point encouraging Allie in the belief we can find her sister.”

“I know. I haven’t told anyone but you where I’m going.”

Oliver scampered in. Jake stooped to rub his ears. “Maybe
Ben will look after Oliver until I’m back.”

“They have their hands full with the orphan piglets.”

Jake looked up at Marcus. Nothing was going to sway him.
Marcus could see how desperate Jake was to escape.

“I’ll keep him for you,” Marcus heard himself saying.

Jake straightened. “And keep him away from the computer. In
fact both of you stay away from computers, especially mine.”

“Us? A rabbit and a millennial being? What could we possibly
need with computers?”

“Just saying, Marcus.” Jake made a small, barely perceptible
bow.

* * * * *

The music of female laughter led Marcus to Allie and her
friends. They looked as if they had come straight from work—Franny in her
uniform, Elaine in a beige business suit, Lila in a dress that oozed sex. A
sinking sun painted the moon garden in hues of lavender and gold.

“Marcus,” Elaine called in greeting. “I hope you don’t mind
Allie showing us around. I’ve wanted to see this place since I saw Allie’s
first pictures.”

“You should see it in the moonlight,” Lila said. “It’s even
more impressive when the bears are out and the wolves are howling.”

Elaine laughed and bumped Lila’s arm with her elbow. “They
don’t have wolves in Virginia, dear.”

Marcus nudged his way between Lila and Franny to plant
himself at Allie’s side and redirect the conversation. “Thank you, Lila, for
bringing Allie’s things by. And thanks to all of you for keeping Hella safe.”

Hella squirmed in Allie’s arms. She hadn’t seen him since
her rescue, but she reached a paw for him, one claw caught on a thread in his
shirt. He freed the claw and rubbed Hella’s ears.

“There’s also nothing like having Marcus give you a tour in
his druid robe,” Lila continued. She eyed his current ensemble—faded work shirt
with sleeves rolled up to conceal they were too short, threadbare jeans and
bare feet. A smirk made the direction of her thoughts obvious as her gaze moved
from him to Allie’s outfit of shirt and sweatpants. He supposed it must appear
they’d scrambled for whatever clothes they could find when unexpected guests
arrived.

Elaine lifted an eyebrow and considered Marcus. “You dress
like a Druid to give tours? Is she kidding?”

“Yes,” Allie said.

“Humph,” Franny said, giving Marcus an
I-knew-you-were-the-devil look.

He tried shrugging the comment off with a laugh. It didn’t
work. Elaine was looking at him as if she expected an invitation to a garden
tour with him in costume.

“The robe was a little joke I played on Allie. I’m not even
sure what I did with it.” He hated how easily these little twists on the truth
came to him. What was he supposed to say? Mirror portals only transported
living things. He kept robes on a hook beside his for the comfort of naked
visitors. On that particular evening he’d just come through the portal when
awareness of Allie’s presence drew him to the garden. He could imagine Franny’s
reaction if she knew what he really was. Fortunately, none of Allie’s human
friends had seen one of the Pantherians shift. It was hard to believe in the
chaos of that ill-fated night, they’d managed to avoid the problem of what to do
with human friends who knew too much.

To Elaine, Marcus said, “I’m sure the new tenants will give
you a tour, but please call ahead.” In hopes of discouraging them from
returning, he added, “There’ll be four men living here. They said our secluded
compound was perfect for the sex games they’ll be hosting.”

Both Elaine and Lila moved closer, interest obvious. But it
was Franny who asked, in a carefully neutral tone, “What kind of sex games?”

So much for deterring them. Marcus shrugged. “That’s all I
know. But don’t be concerned. This compound covers a thousand acres and it’s
secure. What they do here won’t impact anyone but the guests who choose to join
them.” He wasn’t trying to dip into their minds, but avid interest sometimes
allowed people’s thoughts to leak into his awareness.

Now that would be an interesting guest list.
Elaine’s
interest went beyond who might be on the guest list if the gleam in her eyes
was any indication.

If it weren’t for the bears and wolves, it might be
interesting to get lost in these woods and wander up to the door.
He could
only hope the wildlife continued to discourage Lila. He couldn’t see her
agreeing to a game where Ben and company tracked her though the woods, each
with the goal of catching her and fucking her before she made it to home base.

Franny was the one to zoom in on the most relevant detail in
Marcus’ announcement. “Tenants? Where are you planning to go? Moving closer to
town isn’t smart under the circumstances. One of those guys from the genetics
lab keeps asking where Allie got off to. I don’t think his interest is casual.”

“Which is why we have to go. We’re too close to them and
some of them saw Allie the night I snatched the pig.”

Allie looked up at him, her eyes full of questions. Bands of
tension tightened around his chest. He should have told her the moving plans
before he announced them to her friends. This was the first real interest she’d
shown in much of anything since Eddie died. Contact with her friends had drawn
her out of her inward retreat. He hated that they had to move away.

Franny grimaced. “I won’t say I agree with what you did. I
sure don’t approve of you dragging Allie into this. But what they do up at that
lab ain’t right either. Damn shame that pig died. We did everything we could to
save her.”

Marcus sighed. “It’s often the case the mothers don’t
survive. They implant too many embryos in an effort to maximize production. The
same thing happened with the snow leopard I rescued. We lost her and the cubs.”

Allie reached for him then, fingers skimming the underside
of his bare forearm, over his wrist, then linking with his. Hella had given up
trying to get him to hold her and settled comfortably in the crook of Allie’s
arm. The tightness in his chest eased.

“We saved the piglets this time,” Lila said. “That made it
worth all the trouble. They still doing okay?”

“Beautifully. They’re already settled in at the farm we’ll
be moving to.”

What appeared to be a furry snowball sprang from under a
flower bush and attached itself to Marcus’ pant leg. A furry snowball with
claws. Hella wriggled from Allie’s arms and sprang to the rescue when he bent
to detach the troublemaker.

Marcus gently deposited the hissing bundle at his mother’s
feet. She called her kittens and stalked off toward the house, tail high. Four miniature
copies trotted after, their tails a line of white flags weaving through the
tall grass.

“It looks as if she’s making herself at home,” Allie said.

He squeezed her hand. “I think she’ll like the new place
better. You’ll see.”

“Tell us where you’re taking Allie,” Franny insisted.

Allie leaned into Marcus, putting her other hand on his arm.
“He’s not taking me. We’re moving together.” Marcus wished he could read
Allie’s thoughts in that moment. Was this a performance for worried friends or
did she truly want to be with him? He’d done everything in his power to make
her need him as much as he needed and wanted her. She needed him. He just
wasn’t sure she still wanted him.

“We’re still finalizing details,” Marcus explained. “I
haven’t had the chance to go through all of them with Allie. While Allie was
seen and recognized during the last rescue, one of the animals she rescued, a
snow leopard, is endangered. Illegal to experiment on. The lab can’t go to the
police.”

“You’re assuming there’s no one on the force they can pay
off,” Elaine said. “Given that a leopard was involved in your prior rescue and
all the lines officers crossed when they interrogated Allie, I’d say that’s a
risky assumption.”

“I thought of that. In case they were thinking of trying to
get the law involved, I had a picture of the captive leopard delivered to them.
They know we have evidence. We aren’t moving too far away. About three hours
from here. Close enough to stay in touch with you, but far enough away to be
able to go out in public without fear.”

“I don’t see why Allie has to turn her life upside down when
they were the ones breaking the law,” Lila argued.

“Because I have past history that could make trouble for me
if I’m charged with breaking and entering,” Allie said.

“I understand why you have to go,” Elaine said. “But I
really hate losing you at the paper, Allie. Couldn’t you create an LLC or
something to help you stay anonymous while doing contract work for me?”

Allie brightened. It was the closest he’d seen her to happy
since Eddie died.

“We’ll find a way to make that work if that’s what she
wants,” Marcus said. “I’m sure Seth can advise us.”

“That’s what I want,” Allie said. This time she did smile.

Lila had gotten more restless as the light faded. Glancing
at the shrubbery. Squinting in the fading light. If Ben were around, Marcus
would be tempted to put in a telepathic request for a wolf howl.

“Much as I hate to break up the party,” Lila said, “I have a
date I need to get ready for.”

Franny came forward and locked Allie in a hug. “We’re not
going to let you forget about us, sugar. But I agree with Marcus.”

Allie patted Franny’s back. “Don’t worry about me. I’ve been
laying low for one reason or another all my life. I’m pretty good at it.”

Each friend came forward for hugs and goodbyes. Marcus
wasn’t neglected in the farewell. Even Franny hugged him, though she whispered
in his ear as she did, “You keep her safe and out of trouble, or I’m gonna make
sure you suffer ten times the misery you bring down on her. Don’t even think I
can’t make that happen, pretty boy.”

Marcus didn’t doubt it.

* * * * *

Allie waved to her friends and stood watching the drive for
a long time after they left. Loneliness settled in with the dusk. Yes, she’d
always stood apart from the crowd, but she’d been close enough to have company
when she needed it. She’d been free and confident of her survival skills. Now
nearly everything she learned about surviving in the world wouldn’t apply in
the world she genuinely belonged to.