She popped the trunk and got out of the car.
“Who are these guys?” Kyle asked.
“Salvation. They are going to take us someplace safe.”
“Are you sure you can trust them?”
Carmella sighed. “I’m not sure of anything anymore. I thought I could trust Jason Connors, and we can see how wrong that was.”
Carmella walked to the back of the car and helped Catina out of the trunk. “Tell your men to stay back,” she called to the man who was walking towards her. “No one should get closer than twenty feet.” She turned to Kyle. “That includes you, Kyle.”
Kyle was speechless. He had helped her steal Catina Nelson out of the compound. She was right about no turning back.
“Who is he?” the man asked.
“He’s with me.”
“That’s not good enough.”
“He helped us escape. He has nowhere to go but with me.”
The man studied him for a moment and sighed. “Disarm him and he can come.”
Kyle reluctantly removed his shoulder arms and laid it in the trunk of the car, closing the lid with a slam.
“Get on the boat. My sources tell me your absence has been discovered.”
Chapter 34
Once they boarded, The Santa Cruz quietly left shore without lights—just a dark shadow on a moonless night.
Carmella helped Catina to her bed and fed her some of the Warrior’s blood. “You are safe now.”
Catina looked around at her small depressing surroundings. “It hardly seems an improvement,” she whispered.
“You’re on a boat. According to the captain, we’ll reach our destination before morning.”
“Where’s that?”
“An island, far away from everything. Somewhere we can raise our children in safety.”
“How do you know?”
“The Warrior promised me.”
Catina studied her. “You loved him, but did you trust him?”
She nodded. “He gave his life for me. He gave his blood for us. I trust him.”
***
She left Catina sleeping and returned to Kyle, sulking in his cabin.
“Do you know where we are going?” Kyle demanded.
“No, but it will be somewhere safe, somewhere where we aren’t locked up like criminals, isolated from human contact.”
Kyle sighed and patted the bed beside him. “Sit down, you look exhausted.”
Carmella sat beside him and did not resist when he placed his arm around her. “I’m sorry I let you come. I should have sent you away, but I couldn’t.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why couldn’t you send me away?”
“Because I need you.”
Kyle tightened his grip on her and sighed. “Well, I’m here for you.”
***
Carmella spent the early morning working with Catina, teaching her how to control her pheromones. By the time they disembarked the freighter and switched to a Porsche speed boat, men could actually stand in moderate proximity to her.
Still Carmella kept her as far away from the captain and his crew as possible for the short ride to the island. When they disembarked, the crew remained on the boat while the captain led them down the jetty and showed them to the grand house that was now to be their home.
“Mr. Ross has asked me to tell you to make yourself at home. There are plenty of supplies, and every month I will bring anything you wish from the main island.”
“Will you give Mr. Ross my gratitude and thanks?”
“I will certainly do that.” The captain frowned as his eyes shifted to Catina. “Will she be all right?”
“She’ll be fine now.” Carmella smiled. “We’ll all be fine now.”
***
The house was open and spacious. When Catina saw the beautiful bedroom that was to be hers, she burst into tears of happiness and relief. Carmella held her until her sobbing subsided.
“It’s really over, isn’t it? The nightmare is gone, and a beautiful day is upon us.”
“Yes,” Carmella replied. “We will raise our children in safety here.”
Catina’s smile disappeared. “Do you really believe we will live to see them?”
“I’m sure of it. My own cub lives as one with my son. I explained to him he must not harm the other and he does not. I will tell your little cub to pull her claws tightly in, and she most certainly will. She is as sweet and gentle as any mother could hope for.”
“When will you do this?”
“Over the next few weeks, once you have calmed and soothed her. For the time being, just be happy, and all will be well.”
Chapter 35
Catina screamed in pain as the labor process moved into its fifth hour.
“Give her more blood,” Carmella ordered.
“She’s had enough. We can’t afford to waste it.”
“Kyle!”
“Carmella, you’ll need blood too. Now let her suffer pain. It’s a natural part of childbirth.”
Finally, a furry head of the cub appeared and with several pushes it was out, alive and well.
“We did it! Catina. She’s beautiful. She is alive and beautiful!” After Carmella cleaned the blonde cub, she handed her to Catina with a bottle of warmed blood to feed her cub.
Exhausted, Carmella let Kyle lead her to their room and undress her for bed.
“You see, everything will be fine. Michael and Mechal will be fine.”
Kyle kissed her forehead as he held her tight. “And you. You’ll be fine.”
Chapter 36
Catina lay on the beach, enjoying the warmth of the sun on her naked body. Katspaw scampered about chasing everything that moved. Carmella had been right. Catina’s cub was nothing like Morta. Her cub was full of joy and playfulness.
Soon Carmella would give birth. She hoped her male cub would be as wonderful as Katspaw, so they would always have each other. She wanted to help her daughter preserve the joy of life so apparent in her every move.
A warning cry from Katspaw caused her to open her eyes. She noticed the man leaning against a nearby palm tree. Sitting up, she pulled the towel around her, eyeing him closely, trying to determine if he meant her daughter harm.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you. You must be Catina Nelson.”
“Who are you?” His knowledge of her name left her more frightened than ever. Had the FBI tracked them down?
He came towards her and kneeled beside her, holding out his hand. “I’m David Ross.”
Her heart calmed a bit. “The man who owns this island?”
He smiled. “That would be me.” His eyes turned to the cub. “And this must be Katspaw.”
“Yes,” Catina replied.
“She is very beautiful. May I touch her?”
Catina was sorry she had lost her pheromones, because she desperately wanted to distract him from her daughter. She pushed herself up, letting her towel fall to the ground. “You may touch me.” She pulled the man to his feet and led him toward the house.
He stopped. “Why do I get the feeling you are just trying to get me away from your little girl?”
“Please don’t hurt her,” Catina whispered. “I will do whatever you want.”
David frowned. “I wouldn’t hurt her. However, I also don’t think you should leave her unattended on the beach. She’s still very young. So why don’t you go back and take care of your daughter and I’ll meet her later, when you decide you can trust me.”
Catina stood for a moment, frozen by his words. Then as their meaning sank in, she ran to her daughter and cradled her tightly in her arms.
David Ross smiled and let himself into his house.
He could hear the piano in the music room. He followed his way to the haunting tune. A very pregnant, small, black woman sat before the instrument.
She stopped playing and turned to face him. “Mr. Ross, I assume.”
He smiled. “A pleasure to finally
meet you, Miss Ginkabo.”
She rose and waddled to him. She took his hand. “Call me Carmella.”
“Then call me David.” He studied her stomach. “How soon?”
“Any moment now.”
“Would you mind if I attend when you give birth?”
Carmella studied him for a moment. “It’s a reasonable request, and I don’t mind. But I suspect Kyle and Cat will have different opinions.”
“Cat…yes, I just met her on the beach. She is a bit more cautious than you.”
Carmella shrugged. “It’s not that I’m not cautious. Cat fears the unknown. But you aren’t unknown to me.”
David raised his eyebrows. “How could you possibly research me from here? The only connection to the outside world is my captain, and I’m quite certain he would never talk.”
Carmella smiled. “I did my research before I came here. Several years ago, in fact.”
“Why?”
“It was when I was in college. I was trying to figure out where all the oil was going. As you know, there is a huge discrepancy between the quantity of oil pumped compared to the amount held in known oil reserves, less the amount being consumed.”
David shook his head and smiled. “I’ve heard about that mathematical conundrum, but I hardly see what it has to do with me.”
“As you wish,” she smiled and started to walk away.
“Wait.” David frowned. “Did you write this up in a paper for college?”
“No. And I’ve told no one. Not after I researched you. It was my belief that you are hoarding large quantities of oil, but not to the detriment of any country or person, so I’ve just kept up to date on you throughout the years. Thus, when the Warrior told me to call you if I needed help, and that I could trust you, I knew he was right. I knew you perhaps better than he did.”
“The Warrior, yes. I never met him. Always wanted to, but not enough to trudge halfway through a jungle to find him. Besides, I wasn’t certain I wouldn’t be dinner if I did.”
Carmella frowned. “He was a good man. If he promised safe haven, you would have had no need to fear.” Carmella turned and left the room. She passed a man who leaned against the door without speaking.
“You must be Kyle.”
“Yes.”
“My captain couldn’t tell me your last name, but it was easy enough to find. There’s a warrant for your arrest out in thirty-two countries. I think the CIA is a bit angry with you.”
Kyle shrugged. “That’s just their reward system for loyalty and hard work.”
“Bitter?”
“Just glad I’m out of it.”
“Are you out of it, or just deeply undercover?”
“Out of it. When it came between the job or Carmella and my son, the choice was easy.”
“That’s right. You are the presumed father of the human child.”
“Scratch the presumed, I am the father.”
“How do you know?”
“I’m the only human lover she ever had. Cuts the odds down.”
“But I understand that the women are rather promiscuous during pregnancy.”
“You just met her. Did you think her promiscuous?”
“No,” David stated in surprise. “Why is she different?”
“She’s different in a lot of ways. And she’s mine, so you can look elsewhere.”
David had to smile. Here the man was wanted in thirty-two countries, sitting in David’s house, eating David’s food, and instead of gratitude, he just threatened David away from his girl. Such grit impressed him.
A cry from the other room brought both Kyle and David running. Carmella looked down at the fluids on the floor and then at them. “Well, Mr. Ross, if you want to see my childbirth, it seems you have come at the right time.”
Chapter 37
Carmella was following her birthing through the eyes and mind of Mechal, her cub. Since her human son, Michael was lower in the womb he would naturally be the first out, but Mechal was impatient.
“Let your brother go first, Mechal,” Carmella advised.
“Why?”
“Because if I grow too tired to push you out, you can climb your way out. Michael would not be able to save himself. So, let him go while I am still strong.”
Mechal was not happy with the wait but found the explanation logical.
He watched his brother with impatience. “He is ready, why doesn’t he go. Perhaps I can push him by his head.”
“His head?” Carmella asked. “His head should go out first.”
“Well, his feet are in the way.”
“The baby is breached,” Carmella announced to her attendants. “Catina, you’ll have to turn him.”
Catina nodded. “Give her some blood.” She pushed her hand up into the uterus.
“Mechal, we are trying to turn Michael, so he comes out head first, can you help?”
Mechal gave his brother a hard wallop with his hind feet. “No, there’s a cord about his neck.”
Carmella cried in despair. “Cut me open Catina, the cord is around Michael’s neck.”
“I can’t do that. I don’t know how.”
“Then I’m going to tell Mechal to rip me open. When he does, reach in a grab Michael.”
“No,” Kyle demanded. “You’ll tell him nothing of the kind. There has to be another way. I will not lose you, Carmella. I love you. Do you hear me? I love you.”
“I know you do, but it’s nice to hear you say the words.” She focused her mind to the problem. Finally, an impossible, but in this case possible solution came to her. “Catina be prepared to deliver them both in rapid succession after we turn Michael.”
“But the cord…”
“Just wait for my command,” she gasped.
“Mechal, I need your help, when I say go, I need you to rip your sack and bite off the cord around your brother’s neck. Then turn him around and help push him out of the womb. Then get yourself out after him.”
“You are frightened?”
“Yes. However, you must be brave for me. Now rip the sack!”
Carmella screamed in pain as her cub ripped out of his sack. The pain broke her concentration and she lost contact with him.
“I see the head,” Catina cried. “Push, Carmella, push!”
With all her might, she pushed until she had no strength left.
“One more push, Carmella,” Kyle insisted.
She pushed with strength she didn’t know she had.
“He’s alive,” Catina announced as she helped pull the baby out and cleared his mouth of fluids. Handing him to Kyle, she looked for the head of Mechal. “I see Mechal’s head. Carmella, give me a push, for your Warriors’ son.”
Carmella gritted her teeth and pushed beyond endurance. She would bear this cub who had saved his brother. She screamed as she felt Mechal’s back claws dig into her womb, pushing himself out as she had told him. Dear God, the pain! Finally, he was out and Catina announced him alive and well.
She gave the cub a bottle of blood, and Michael a bottle of nursing formula. Kyle was already providing Carmella with the last of the Warrior’s blood. He only hoped it was enough to save her.
The cub had David mesmerized. Mechal was solid black, his paws wrapped greedily around the bottle he suckled, using his back paws to tip the bottle up as the liquid emptied. His green cat eyes watched David with amazing intelligence. When David approached the cub, he showed no fear.
“May I touch him?
“No,” Catina replied. “You’ve seen what you’ve wanted, now go away.”
David smiled. She wasn’t nearly so meek, now that her cub was safely tucked away.
“Cat, it’s all right. He won’t hurt my cub,” Carmella assured her.
With reluctance, Cat stepped back and let him approach the suckling cub.
Mechel’s fur was soft as silk. “Amazing,” David whispered. “Utterly amazing.” He looked at Carmella. “Will you be all right?”
She smiled weakly. “I must. I
have two sons to raise.”
David Ross nodded. “You do, and they will need your intelligence and guidance as they grow. This is the beginning of a new world, Carmella, and you are needed to make it a success.”
She met his eyes as her hand gripped Kyle’s. “You can count on me, sir.”
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Other Books by Liza O’Connors
PARANORMAL/SCI FI MASHUP SERIES
Cat Refuge
A New Way – Aug 1, 2019
SINGLE CONTEMPORARY BOOKS
With Paranormal Touches
Ghost Lover
Humorous, Contemporary Romance with Ghost & Ghost cat
Luck Be an Angel
Contemporary Romance with a Paranormal Twist
Ancient Love
Romantic/Suspense Ghost story
RANA: Teenage Queen
Young/New Adult, Sweet Romance Fantasy
A Ghost Walker’s Love Story
Leaving one’s body is easy for some.
Hell Within Walking Distance
Paranormal/Contemporary – Feb 1, 2019
SCIENCE FICTION
The Multiverse Series
Sci-Fi Soap Opera with humor, romance, and science
The Gods of Probabilities
Surviving Outbound
Surviving Terranue
Surviving Sojourn
Artificial Intelligence Series
Sci-Fi/Romance
Public Secrets
Birth of Adam
The SkyRyders Series
Sci-Fi Romance
Scavenger’s Mission
Scavenger Falters
Scavenger Vanishes
The Enemy Within – Coming Dec 2, 2019
The Titan Series
Cat Refuge Page 21
