“Oh, my God!” She grabbed her head and fell sideways on the bed.
“Dammit, girl.” He jumped off the bed and ran into the bathroom. He ran cold water over a hand towel. “I told you it wouldn’t work.” He handed it to her when he came back into the room.
Ronnie took it and placed it on her forehead. She blew out a long breath. “It wasn’t you. I’ve gotten migraines my entire life. Check my coat. I should have some aspirin in there.”
Oz looked through one pocket and then the other. He lifted the coat, and it seemed heavier on one side. He reached into the interior pocket, and his fingers grazed the cool metal of two guns. He pulled one up just to confirm. The pearl handle gleamed in the soft room light. He slid it back and took the bottle of pills and a bottled water from the small table to Ronnie.
“You sure that I didn’t cause this?” Oz frowned at her.
Ronnie took the two pills from his hand and then swallowed two big gulps of water. “I’m sure.” She grabbed her head, “Ow, ow.”
“Did your migraines start when Golden was little? Maybe she was trying to tell you something?”
“Why would you say something like that? That’s not…” She’d opened her mouth to deny it all, but he could see she really thought about it for a moment.
“Yeah, Golden would get mad, stamp her foot, then Bam! Headache. Wait, are you saying my sister is one of you?”
Oz nodded.
Ronnie shook her head. “That’s not possible.” She took three deep swallows of the bottled water and finished it.
“It is.”
“So, you’re telling me, my sister and I are leopards?”
“Um, I’m not quite sure what your sister is.” He could tell she was a shifter, but that was it.
“When will I change? What am I?” There was a hint of excitement in her voice.
“You are very much a human.”
She frowned. “That makes no sense. We have the same parents.”
“I don’t think you do.” He hated to tell her this on top of everything else. But there was no other way to say it.
This was really bothering her; he could see it on her face. “Don’t worry about that right now. Let’s just concentrate on getting Golden back.”
“I saw on your note you had some leads. Do you know where she is?”
“Yeah, we found her.”
“Oh, my God!” She yelped, then winced. “So when are we leaving?”
“Once it’s dark. But Kit and I will go back to get Golden and the others.”
All the joy Ronnie had a moment ago seemed to drain away as her arms slid from around his neck. “What about me?”
“I don’t want you to get hurt. Plus, you’re having migraines. Stay here.” Stay safe.
“If it’s not till later, I’ll be fine.” Ronnie sat up on the bed. “You are not leaving me out of this. I can’t believe you. She’s my sister.”
“I know, but the men who have her are dangerous.”
“What? Are they like you? Were-leopards?”
“I am a leopard shifter and no. They are fucking lions and they are murderers.”
“I got something for them.”
“I saw. Do you even know how to use those?” He knew that was a dick move, but he needed her to be safe.
“Yes. Have you thought about how you are going to get Golden plus the others away from where they are being held? No offense, but you can’t lead them out in cat form or worse naked. These are scared kidnapped girls.”
“My club should be on the way with the bus. It’s an armored SUV. It will be big enough for all of them.”
“Will they get here in time?”
“Let me check.” He didn’t pick up a phone but stared at the wall. Hey, Kitty.
Yeah, I’m coming.
“Are you doing the mental talk thing?” Ronnie asked from behind him.
Oz smiled. “Yep.”
Kit opened the door without knocking. “Hey, kids, what’s shaking?” He closed the door, but instead of walking in any further, he looked between them. Then stared longer at Oz. Did you tell her?
Oz answered aloud. “Yes, she knows everything. Now, what did Router say?”
“They are sending the bus, but it might not get here in time.” Kit sat in the available chair at the door. “They had to use it on another job.”
“See, you need me.” Ronnie preened.
“Wait. What happened?” Kit looked confused.
“She wants to come with us,” Oz grumbled out.
“Awesome,” Kit said with a smile.
Suddenly, a growl filled the room.
“Not awesome?” Kit looked at Oz. “She might come in handy. It’s not like we can get the girls out while we’re fighting.”
Oz knew that, but he didn’t want to put her in danger. She was only human. “I won’t be able to protect you,” he stated, looking at her.
“I’m not asking you to.” Ronnie went to her jacket and pulled out two 9mm guns and held them upward. “I can take care of myself.”
Kit jumped up to look at the weapons she held. “May I?”
Ronnie handed one of the guns to him.
Kit touched the barrel, admired the handle, then pressed the release button to check the magazine. “This is awesome.”
“We don’t have a vehicle.”
“I can handle that,” Ronnie answered with a smile. “I’ve had to borrow a few vehicles the last couple of months.”
Her smile was a little too saccharine sweet. He was fairly certain she was going to hot-wire a vehicle from the parking lot.
Kit, give us a minute.
You know she’s right. We’ll protect her though. Those lions aren’t shit. We can handle them. Kitty handed her the gun back. “I’ll be back about thirty minutes before sunset.” He winked at Ronnie. “I like your guns.”
“After this is over, I have a ton of questions for you,” Ronnie said with a huge smile.
Oz thought the smile Kitty gave Ronnie looked more wolfish, and he growled after the prospect shut the door. “I don’t know if I like that smile you have
