He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and then looked around. It took only a second for him to recognize Lulah’s house. “Yep,” he said. “This is it.”
“Wanna check it out?” Tex asked, looking down the street and then into both side cams. “I’ll keep this baby hovering, just in case.”
“I think everyone should stay frosty. But yeah, lemme go first.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll also have Lucy here covering your ass.” He picked up the Westchester lever-action rail rifle laying on the seat beside him. As he eased it through the driver-side window, the barrel caught the glint of the streetlight nearby. The multi-alloy superconductive barrel sent prisms of colored light flashing through the darkened car.
“That is one rad ‘lectro-mag’!” Tiger paused to admire the gun yet once again. “I’d love to have one of them myself.”
“They only made a thousand of these for the Rangers right before I got out,” Tex replied, holding it up for him to admire. “They were never sold to the public.”
“She’s a beaut!”
“Ain’t she though?” Tex agreed. “Titanium receiver … hand-carved, genetically-enhanced walnut stock and super-composite barrel … fin-deploying aluminum projectile … this ol’ gal is pretty, dependable … and deadly.”
“My kind of girl.” Tiger smiled.
Tex glanced down to the still-sleeping Amber. “Seems you got pretty much the same right there.” He chuckled good-naturedly. “Ain’t just anybody can get the drop on a Ranger.” That fact was still sticking in his craw … but in a good-natured way. “Even an old worn-out one.”
Tiger looked down at her with complete admiration. She looked so small and peaceful asleep, almost childlike. Yet, just a few hours ago she’d hung from the running board of the Pegasus with one hand while blasting away at professional bounty hunters with a pistol in the other. And if he was to believe Frost, she’d snuck away from him long enough to put a bunch of his mercs out of commission. She was no longer the damsel in distress he’d rescued from the rapacious Tuttles. She was much, much more.
But what exactly?
She’d pulled her legs up into the fetal position on the car seat. Her tail had wrapped around her midriff, in what he guessed was an unconscious reflex of her body to warm itself. She looked so vulnerable now. Times like these, he felt that overwhelming need to protect her. Whether she needed it or not, it didn’t matter. He just wanted to keep her safe.
He wondered if these urges were chemically induced, perhaps by the same pheromones she emitted when she desired intimacy. Were his feelings for her nothing more than the result of a genetically engineered Love Potion No. 9? Would anybody else in his shoes be doing the same thing for her simply because they’d been manipulated to?
It was highly plausible. Maybe every male she encountered quickly succumbed to her excreted charms. Jocko and Tex apparently had. Jocko could very well die because of her and now another stranger was putting himself in harm’s way after a soft smile and bat of long eyelashes.
As he looked toward the house, one thing was certain: the feelings he had for the woman inside were real. Of that, he had no doubt. They’d been tried by the fire and come out forged as strong as steel. That he loved her, there was no doubt in his mind. He’d loved Tallulah Mae Carter since the night he’d first laid eyes on her in the bar back at the ol’ Inn. He could admit it now. He’d loved her long before she’d ever loved him. Yet, he’d never loved her enough to let go of the only life he’d ever known.
Regrets. They were such a drag.
And now, he was dragging that life back up to her doorstep. And this time, he was bringing company. Not just any company, but a lab-spawn, synthetic mish-mash of human and animal characteristics, traits … and only God knew what else. A furry little bombshell, who somehow, by looks, talent, or the aid of some erotic glandular stimuli, had succeeded in seducing him in a matter of mere hours. Now he was bringing this vixen to the very house of the love of his life. Even though he knew Amber’s life depended on it, there still was something inherently wrong about it.
Still, he had nowhere else to turn.
The back door of the SkyLiner opened to the rear, like the suicide doors on the automobiles of the early twentieth century. Just another stylish touch that would ensure this hoverer would be a classic one day. Amber still slumbered peacefully against him. Gingerly, he shifted her head from his shoulder to the back of the car seat. As he climbed out, she whimpered sharply, like a dog having a dream. He wondered if she was capable of having a dream. And if so, what would a creature like her dream about?
***
The flowers are full abloom in the back garden. She loves the back garden. It’s always been her favorite area on the estate. Japanese cherry blossoms, the fiery red of crape myrtles, and pink dogwood petals. The reds and whites of the roses as they bloom out, vying for attention with the plump, camellia blossoms. All set against a soft backdrop of luscious green lawn. The world is awash in color. Natural color. Pure. Untainted. The scent of honeysuckle. Mmmmm. She loves the smell of honeysuckle.
The sun is high in the Louisiana sky now, warming her nude form, making her drowsy. The Master is beside her on their matching chaise lounges. He has that same look of adoration as he reaches over and puts a hand on her stomach. She smiles to let him know how much she loves him and appreciates her life.
It is all she knows. She knows nothing else.
