Oz and Ronnie entered behind him and sat at the two brown and beige striped chairs near a small round table.
“Wow, that wallpaper is something,” Ronnie said, touching the wall.
“So, Ronnie. What do you do when you’re not chasing down kidnappers?” Kitty said.
“Kit,” Oz said with a bit of a growl.
“What?” Kitty looked between the Oz and Ronnie. “It’s a valid question.”
“It’s okay.” Ronnie reached out and tapped the table between her and Oz. “I worked at a wildlife sanctuary.”
“They have those in Texas?” Kit sat up.
“I don’t know; they might.” Ronnie looked away.
Kitty met Oz’s eyes. She was hiding something.
What, you can read her? Oz didn’t know how he felt about that.
Well, you know. I can feel her emotions… her hesitation. Wait, you can’t read her mind? Priceless. The smile on the young man’s face was as wide as Texas.
It took a few times to understand that he was causing Ronnie’s intense migraines when he tried to read her mind or talk telepathically to her. Oz reached out and slid her hand into his.
“Ronnie, whatever it is, you can tell us. We’re here to help you. Trust. Remember?”
Ronnie winced, then said, “I know. It’s hard. You guys gotta understand. It’s just been us for a while now.”
Oz squeezed her hand. “But you have me now and my family. That’s why Kit’s here. We will help you. Protect you.” Love you. Those last words popped into his head unbidden.
The big tiger on the bed made a noise as he moved around. When Oz finally broke eye contact with her, he saw the prospect grinning. For the first time in forever, he wasn’t able to control his feelings. Ronnie had no way of knowing, but his emotions were all over the place, and were pouring out of him like a waterfall.
“Yeah, Ronnie. We want to help,” Kit said.
Ronnie looked between both of the men. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you guys but thank you.” She gave them both a brilliant smile and squeezed Oz’s hand again before releasing it. “Trust. You got it. Me and my sister are from Florida. Before all of this happened, I was a Wildlife Rehabilitation Specialist.”
“That sounds interesting but boring.” Kitty scooted back on the bed and leaned against the headboard.
“What? No. I got to work with big cats every day. It was awesome.”
Ronnie’s enthusiasm was infectious. Oz found himself smiling right along with her as she talked about her job.
“Big cats?” Kitty lifted both brows toward Oz. “Really? Now, that does sound exciting. Doesn’t it, Oz?”
Oz was not amused at the prospect, but his joy didn’t diminish where Ronnie was concerned.
Ronnie turned to him with excited eyes. “You like big cats as well?”
“I feel at home around them, yes,” he said to Ronnie, but inside he was just about ready to kill a tiger.
“Which were your favorite?” Kit asked.
“Wow, I worked with them all.” Ronnie leaned back in her chair and looked thoughtful as she tapped her lips with her index finger. “I would have to say tigers were my favorite. They’re so majestic and graceful.”
“What!” Kitty practically roared. “Mine, too.” His eyes gleamed with mirth. Dude, I like her. I might even be in love.
Just keep pushing, little kitten.
Oz’s phone beeped, indicating he’d received a text. He opened his phone and scanned over all the info Router had just sent to him. He’d missed whatever else Ronnie had said, he only heard the enthusiasm wane in her voice.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever get to see a big cat again, let alone work with them.”
“Why not?” Oz asked as he sat his phone on the table.
Ronnie looked at him and nodded like she was saying yes to something in her mind. She stood up and wrung her hands over and over. “You guys deserve to know everything.” Ronnie began to pace from the front door to the bathroom door. “This isn’t the first time my sister has been taken. Her ex-boyfriend, he took her. It took me a week to find her.”
“Did he ever say why he took her?” Oz asked.
“You gotta understand, this boy was unstable. My sister said he kept going on about biting her and changing her. Who says shit like that? Bite her? Change her? Into what? That’s what I always wondered.” Ronnie sat down and put her head in her hands.
“But he never bit her?” Kitty chimed in very low.
“No. He kept telling my sister it wasn’t the right time.”
You hear this shit, right? Kitty looked at Oz.
Oz gave a slight nod. “Ronnie, how long ago was this?”
“I don’t know. About three months, maybe four. Why?”
Oz didn’t answer but asked another question. “Do you remember his name?”
“Sure. Santiago, Santiago Leonidas.”
Oz and Kitty looked at each other. Ronnie looked at them both. “You know him.” Not a question.
When neither said anything. Ronnie stood in front of Oz and pulled his face up to look hers. “You know him, don’t you?”
Oz laid his hands over her cold ones. “Not personally.”
“Tell me. What’s the deal with him? Who is this guy?”
Ronnie stared him straight in the eyes and his cat felt like she was challenging him for dominance. Oz kissed the center of each palm and pulled her into his lap.
Kitty’s phone rang. He looked at the screen, then said, “I gotta take this.” He said telepathically, It’s Router. Come next door when you’re done. Then shut the door behind him.
“Tell me,” he picked up his phone, “do you recognize this?”
Ronnie took the phone out of his hand and scrutinized the symbols and slashes with an old English styled ‘L’ in the middle of it. “Sure, I’ve seen it before. My sister used to doodle something like it on her notebooks
