“There’s no way.” Her stomach growled. “See, I’m hungry so, obviously, I’m hallucinating.” Maybe it was all the stress making her lose her mind. A leopard and a Bengal tiger running loose in the backwoods of Texas?
Not possible.
A part of her wanted to run after them. And do what? Get mauled? Nope, she would stay put. Then another voice said in the back of her mind, “What if they need help?”
The first thing she did was call Berniece to see if there had been any reports of wild animals in the area.
“Ferals. Yes, we see those every once in a while. Oh,” she chuckled to herself. “A couple of years ago there was a report of lions on the loose. Imagine that, lions in Texas. The police quickly realized it was a hoax. Kids making prank calls and all, but that’s it.”
Ronnie wasn’t crazy, well, at least not completely, but she knew what she saw. She snatched up the chair and table and placed them by the window. With her feet kicked up, food in her hand, and a clear line of sight to where she last saw the cats, she waited.
She had to wait for Oz. Wait for her clothes to get dry. Wait for the cats to come back.
Big cats in the backwoods of Texas. Who would have guessed?
Chapter One Hundred Five
It didn’t take long to pick up the lion’s scent. The tiger chuffed a few times, clearing his nasal passages, Oz suspected. He had to do the same. Lions straight up stank. The odors from where they marked practically every tree, branch and leaf pretty much led them straight to their lair. Router was right, not that he would tell her so, but the section she marked on the map was close to where they stood now.
A collection of faded rail cars were lined up on one end of the property and a stone walled two story craftsman style home faced a large gladiator style arena.
Thoughts. Oz’s mind was flooded with images of blood, murder, hunger, rape and escape. He concentrated more on the female thoughts.
Are they here? The tiger looked between him and the compound.
Oz shook his head, but kept listening. One thought stood out in particular. She prayed for her sister to find her, a lot of crying, praying, and then one name. Ronnie.
Sister.
I heard it, Oz said to his cat. Golden? Can you hear me?
A minute or two went by before the girl answered. Yes? The word came out in a low almost imperceptible noise.
My name is Oz. You remember me from last night?
How are you doing this? Are you one of them? Golden said warily.
No - No. I’m with your sister. We’ve been looking for you, Oz said in a whisper.
Is Ronnie okay?
Yes, now, tell me. Do you know where you are?
It’s not just me. There are so many girls here. I don’t know where we are, it’s a metal box, I know that much. No lights or anything and they put a bag over our heads. Are you really going to save us?
Yes. There was no hesitation. They would get her back.
Look. Golden’s voice sounded closer to a whisper. Something is happening to us. I’m scared. We all are.
Just hang on.
The tiger loped back to stand next to him. You find her?
Oz lifted his head toward the three faded rail cars. I think they are over there.
Golden cut into his thoughts. Please, hurry. They did something to me. I feel something moving around inside of me. It wants out.
Shit! He thought to himself. Her time was near. Can you hold on a little longer? It’s the middle of the day. We’ll come for you once it’s dark.
I think I can, but some of the others are panting and crying. They might die soon.
Oz knew they weren’t dying, but he couldn’t explain what was happening to them now. That might freak them out more than they already were. But if so many were this close to the change, the lions would have to move the product soon. They had to go in hard and fast.
Just hold on. We’re coming for you.
The snow leopard backed away. We’re gonna need the bus, he said to Kitty.
It’s that many?
Sounds like it.
They ran back to the motel at full speed. Now that he knew it was more than one girl they had to rescue; this changed his plans a little bit. Oz and Kitty changed back before walking back to their rooms.
The unexpected sight came from the tree-line. Ronnie had hoped to see the big cats again. Her feet fell off the old floor AC unit, then she snatched the curtain wider to get a closer look.
Oz pulled his shirt down over his head and Kit didn’t even have a shirt on as he pulled up his jeans, leaving the top button undone.
Couldn’t they have been more discreet?
This entire time she thought Oz felt something towards her. A real connection.
Lies! All lies.
This was her fault. She had made up this attraction in her head, but it was just the stress of this whole situation. Ronnie swung open the door as the men stepped in front of the motel rooms.
“Boys.” Ronnie was very proud of the fact that her voice didn’t crack.
As she slammed the door behind her, she heard Kit say, “You got some explaining to do.”
In her haste and maybe a little bit of flare for the dramatic, Ronnie forgot to lock the door. Oz hit the door with such force she thought it was going to
