Second Nature (44 page)

"You wouldn't make it very far," Griffin answered. Her words were hard, but her voice was gentle and full of regret. "It's not only me you have to worry about anymore. Every saru in Michigan is looking for you."

Jorie pressed her back against the headboard for support and wrapped her arms around her knees. Fear raced through her at the thought of dozens, maybe even hundreds or thousands of bloodthirsty shape-shifters being on the hunt for her. She gripped the edge of the covers, allowing a moment of panic and helplessness. "Saru?" she asked when the fog lifted from her brain.

"It's probably better if I don't tell you the details, but they are people who won't drop the knife," Griffin said.

"Assassins," Jorie whispered.

"No." Griffin denied it harshly. She tilted her head. "Soldiers who are not supposed to ask questions when a superior gives them an order."

"I imagine it won't make much of a difference when they slash my throat," Jorie said bitterly.

Griffin's gaze veered away from Jorie and fixed on her large hands resting on her knees.

"You are one of them," Jorie realized.

Griffin met her gaze for a second, then looked back down without answering.

She's not proud of it.
Jorie straightened and shook her head at herself.
Stop. Be careful. Don't just believe everything she says or cleverly implies. She could be the best actor the Saru have. Don't make the same mistake twice.

"You are a soldier, a saru, who questioned their orders. That makes you some kind of deserter, doesn't it?" At least that was what Griffin wanted her to think.

Griffin's brow furrowed as if she was loath to think about it like that.

"What will they do to you if they find us here?" Jorie asked.

Again, Griffin's silence spoke volumes.

"Oh, come on. You really expect me to believe that you're risking your life, the well-being of your family, for me? Why would you do that?"

Now Griffin's head lifted. She looked directly into Jorie's eyes. "Because I don't think you deserve to die. A human life is as sacred as a Wrasa's... or at least it should be. And because I realized I don't want to go through life without asking questions."

Jorie turned away, breaking their intense eye contact. Her head was pounding with all the questions, doubts, and emotions that were rushing through her. She felt as if she were trying to run underwater, moving much too slowly to reach her goal. Her world had been turned upside down, and she couldn't process all the things that had happened in the last few days. "Can you leave me alone now?" she asked, not looking at Griffin.

"Jorie..."

"No!" Anger broke through the bubbling mass of emotions again. "You forced me to come out to my mother while you were listening to every word. You didn't give me any privacy for that very private conversation, so can I at least get a little time to myself now?" Her voice was raw from the shouting and threatening tears.

A light touch to her shoulder made Jorie flinch. Then Griffin was gone.

*  *  *

The closed door was no barrier to Griffin's sensitive hearing. The sounds of Jorie's crying, muffled because she was trying to hold back the tears, roared through Griffin's ears and made her stop in her tracks.

Guilt and shame slashed through her.

"Jorie," she whispered. She wanted to rush back and comfort Jorie. Her hand reached for the door handle, then stopped.

Jorie wanted some time alone. She didn't want Griffin to witness her tears.
It's what you taught her, remember? Never show weakness to a predator. And that's all you are to her now — a predator out to get her.
It was a sad realization, but she couldn't blame Jorie.
If you want to have her trust again, you have to earn it and that also means respecting her privacy.

She removed her hand from the door handle and clenched it into a helpless fist.

"Everything okay?" Leigh asked from the other end of the hall.

Griffin quickly stepped away from the door and toward Leigh. She didn't want Leigh to come closer and hear Jorie's breakdown. "Yes," she said. "She's sleeping. We should let her rest for a while."

"But dinner is ready," Leigh protested.

"Dinner can wait. Jorie needs to rest." She blocked the way toward the guest room until Leigh relented and turned back around, grumbling all the way to the living room.

Everything in the guest room was silent now.

Jorie had quickly gotten herself back under control.

With a sigh of regret, Griffin followed her sister.

*  *  *

A knock on the door made Jorie flinch. For the last hour, no one had interrupted her. "Jorie?" Griffin called through the door. "Do you want something to eat?"

"I'm not hungry," Jorie shouted back. Her rumbling stomach objected, but she wasn't eager to sit down and have dinner with her captors.

A second knock came. The door swung open, and Griffin peeked into the room. The gaze that slid over Jorie was gentle and concerned. "Jorie, I know you probably lost your appetite, but you need to keep up your strength."

Annoying, but true.
Jorie slid off the bed. "I'll eat if you do me a favor in return."

Griffin's brows shot up. "A favor?"

It was the last thing Jorie wanted to do, but she nodded anyway. She wasn't asking for herself. "Yes. When you stayed with me, you really seemed to care about my cats, especially Will... or was that all part of your act too?" She couldn't stop the bitter question.

"Most of what I said and did wasn't an act at all," Griffin answered.

It was probably true. Staying as close to the truth as possible was the secret of every successful liar. "Then will you send someone to the house to feed my cats and make sure they're all right?" She swallowed her pride. "Please."

"I already did," Griffin answered as she led Jorie over to the living room. "Don't worry about the cats. No Wrasa would ever hurt an animal just to spite its owner."

Jorie snorted. "Too bad these principles don't extend to humans. Your fellow saru wouldn't hurt my cats, but they will kill me without batting an eye."

"If you give me the keys to your house, I'll ask my mother to look after the cats," Rhonda said, clearly uncomfortable with the bitter words between Jorie and Griffin.

"Keys? I hardly think you'll need them. She got into my home just fine without them." Jorie stabbed an accusing finger at Griffin.

Instead of reacting to the provocation, Rhonda just smiled. "My mother doesn't have Griffin's skills," she said. "It will go over better with the neighbors if she tells them you gave her the key while you're on vacation."

Her neighbors might become suspicious of a stranger suddenly showing up in the small town anyway. She wasn't sure whether she should hope for one of her neighbors confronting the stranger. Maybe it would just make the situation worse. Rhonda didn't seem worried about it, though. Did she really think her mother would fit in and no one would pay attention to her coming in to feed the cats? "Who is your mother?" she asked with sudden suspicion. Were some of the Wrasa living undetected in Osgrove?

Griffin's hand on Rhonda's shoulder stopped her from answering. "No. I dragged you into this because I need some help, but don't get your mother involved. I'll take care of the cats." With one last glance back at Jorie, Griffin directed Rhonda out of the room.

Rhonda is not a saru.
Jorie knew that without a doubt.
She's a civilian and pretty friendly for a shape-shifter. She's a weak point I can use to get more information. I just have to get her alone, and then I'll see what she's willing to tell her favorite author.

CHAPTER 19

J
ORIE HAD NEVER been a people person. Parties and social gatherings made her uncomfortable, but this dinner was the most awkward she could remember. They had given her the place at the head of the table — maybe because it was a place of honor in Wrasa culture or maybe because this way, the three Wrasa could watch her more closely.

Feeling the gaze of three predators resting on her did nothing for her appetite, but at least her position also gave her ample opportunity to watch them. She barely held herself back from rubbing her eyes in disbelief and staring at the large amounts of food each of the Wrasa put away. Even Rhonda, who looked downright delicate next to Griffin and Leigh, took another helping of meat loaf and heaped mashed potatoes on her plate for the second time.

If they eat like this at every meal, scientists could make a fortune if they ever find out what enables them to eat that much and still stay so slender and fit. I know women who would kill to be able to eat like this.
Jorie paused.
Is that why they live in hiding, not revealing their existence? They don't want to be the object of scientific studies or attract the envy of humans?

It was the way Jorie had portrayed her shape-shifters in 'Song of Life.' Only in the course of the book would the shape-shifters come out to the human public.
Is that why they want me dead? They think I'll reveal their existence? Don't they know that my book is just fiction and that no human will take it seriously anyway?
Rhonda was an avid reader, so she had to know the difference between fiction and reality even if the Wrasa didn't have fictional stories of their own.

She glanced at Rhonda and saw her steal a piece of cauliflower from Leigh's plate. Leigh either didn't notice or didn't mind. She had been quiet during the whole meal, obviously not pleased about having to sit down at the table with a human, but she tolerated Rhonda picking most of the cauliflower from her plate.
They're a predatory species. If they're anything like lions and tigers, sharing food is a big deal, especially if they are as hungry as they seem to be now.
Jorie got the impression that Leigh and Rhonda were close.
Maybe Griffin was telling the truth when she told me one of her sisters is gay. Maybe it's Leigh, and Rhonda is her lover.

She could use this information to buddy up to Rhonda.

Finally, even Griffin and Leigh had finished dinner, and they all worked together to load the dishwasher and clean the kitchen. Again, Jorie noticed that Leigh and Rhonda worked together smoothly while Griffin was out of synch and got into the way of the well-practiced routine of the other two.
Griffin doesn't spend a lot of time here.
Again, it seemed Griffin had told her the truth when she had said she wasn't close to her family.

Griffin dried her hands on a tea towel. "Would you mind keeping an eye on Jorie?" she asked, looking first at Leigh, then at Rhonda. "There's something I have to do, but I'll be back within half an hour."

Nervousness knotted Jorie's stomach. Being left alone with Rhonda and especially Leigh felt dangerous.
Come on,
she gave herself a mental pep talk.
One predator fewer to keep an eye on. It'll make it easier to get away or at least gather some useful information.
Still, she couldn't help wondering where Griffin was going. Was she betraying her to the Saru, or was she really trying to find a way to save Jorie?

While Rhonda nodded, Leigh stepped in front of Griffin, stopping her from leaving the room. "No," she said. "You can't just leave her here whenever you feel like it and order us to take care of her. I'm not one of your subordinates, and I'm no longer the little cub who followed her big sister around and hung on her every word."

Griffin's broad shoulders heaved. She looked tired and not willing to fight. "Rhonda? Will you keep an eye on —?"

"No!" Leigh interrupted. "No, she won't. It's bad enough that you brought that human here. You're endangering the whole pride."

Griffin whirled around. Her eyes smoldered. She pressed her hands stiffly against the sides of her thighs as if she was trying to hold herself back.

The air seemed to crackle with tension.

Jorie took a step back from both of them, not wanting to get in the line of fire or get squished between the two bigger women should they attack each other.

"Don't you think I know that?" Griffin's voice vibrated with barely controlled emotions. "Don't you think I would have avoided coming here if there was any other way to save Jorie?"

Save Jorie,
Jorie silently repeated.
Is that truly what she wants, or is she that good an actor?

"Girls," Rhonda said soothingly. She hadn't backed away and was still standing right next to Griffin and Leigh. "Can't you just try to get along for once?"

Griffin and Leigh acted as if she hadn't even spoken, completely focused on each other.

"That's just it. You only come here when you need something and see no other way to get it," Leigh shot back. "We didn't see hide nor hair of you when Ronnie's father died or when Dad had problems with his heart."

"Gus had heart problems?" The shocked look on Griffin's face told Jorie that she hadn't known before. She probably hadn't known about Rhonda's father either.

Instead of backing off now, Leigh just snorted and stepped even closer, getting into Griffin's personal space and putting more pressure on her.

Jorie wanted to tell her to lay off but then reminded herself that she was neither Griffin's friend nor her protector. Her instinct to defend Griffin surprised her.

"No, not Gus," Leigh said. "Brian."

The names of the two men had been mentioned when they had come over to examine Jorie.
I think Brian was the big, imposing one. So that was Griffin's father. And Leigh's. Or at least one of their fathers.
The concept of having two fathers was still strange to her, and she didn't want to dwell on whether this was a biological or a cultural concept. She forced her thoughts back to Brian. He hadn't looked like a person with a serious health problem.
So they are not immortal. They die; they can be hurt, and they suffer just like we do.
Looking at the tense faces of Griffin, Leigh, and Rhonda, Jorie felt no triumph.

Griffin's hands curled into helpless fists as if she was searching for something to hold on to. Her mouth opened to answer but then closed again.