The Lion Must Die: A Sexy Paranormal Thriller

by Angela Foxxe

“It’s a quarter of an inch below the length restriction. You can walk out of here with this knife right now.”

  “Oh,” she said, picking it up again and smiling. “I’ll take two.”

  He nodded, turning to the register and ringing up her sale. A small television tuned to an outdoor sports channel played quietly beside him.

  “I can ring up the rest of your purchases, too,” he said.

  “I’m not sure if I’m done yet.”

  “If you’re not, at least you will have most of them paid for and bagged.”

  She shrugged, putting her items on the counter. He rang up her purchases quickly and bagged them as he went. He gave the bags to her, tossing the boxes that the knives came in so she could put them in her backpack. She handed him the cash and he counted the money.

  He was doling out her change when a newsbreak came through on the small television, interrupting the show and flashing a picture across the screen. Sabrina’s heart sank when she saw her ID picture from HLF and a picture of the two of them in the hotel bar the night before. The employee looked at the television, then back at her. Sabrina tensed, ready for battle, or at least to run.

  “Are you with HLF?” he said quietly.

  “Not anymore.”

  “Smart move. The closed-circuit TVs are usually about five minutes behind this TV on the emergency alerts.” He nodded to a door on his left, which was all but hidden by the camping gear display. “That alarm has been broken for months. Go that way and take a left to get back to the parking lot.”

  She looked at him, perplexed.

  “A lion saved my life when I was a little boy,” he said quietly. “I’m team LEO ‘til the day I die.”

  He winked at her and she smiled back weakly before heading to the door. Pushing on the handle, she half expected an alarm to sound, but the man had been telling the truth. She rushed out the door and into the gray light of a new morning, surprised to see the car only a few yards from where she was, the telltale steam rising in the cool air signaling that the engine was running. Paul saw her in that instant, and she motioned to him. He put the car in gear, driving to where she was and stopping just long enough for her to get into the car.

  “I thought you weren’t coming,” he said. “You had one minute left.”

  “I like to push the envelope,” she said, setting the bags around her feet as he drove off. “I didn’t end up getting any food, but I have what I need otherwise.”

  Paul reached back, the rustle of paper sacks a welcome sound in Sabrina’s ears. He set a hot bag on her lap and smiled.

  “I saw you looking at knives and I thought you might be awhile. I didn’t know if you liked chicken or burgers, so I got both. I’ll eat whichever you don’t want.”

  She opened the bag, pulling out the French fries and eating them first.

  “Or you can eat the fries,” he laughed.

  “Cold fries suck. If I’m going to be roughing it for the next week or so, I think I deserve hot fries.”

  Paul shook his head, chuckling as he guided the car onto the freeway and continued north. When she handed him the grilled chicken sandwich he had purchased with her in mind and kept the cheeseburger for herself, he laughed again.

  “What?” she asked, digging into her meal and letting out a little involuntary moan of pleasure.

  “You’re nothing like I thought you would be,” he said.

  “Good,” she countered. “There’s nothing worse than being boring.”

  This time, Paul threw his head back, his laughter filling the tiny car and making her heart skip a beat from the pure joy she heard.

  “I never imagined for a second that you would be anything close to boring.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Sabrina felt a hand on her leg in the darkness, shaking gently and calling her name. She opened her eyes and blinked, surprised to see the sky bright and sunny, the morning half over already.

  “Did I fall asleep?” she asked, knowing the answer.

  “You did. You looked exhausted, so I let you sleep. The next day and a half is going to be grueling, so I thought you should get rest now, while you can.”

  She nodded, yawning and stretching.

  “Are we stopping?”

  “Not really.”

  Something about his tone had her sitting straight up in the car and looking around. It was then that she saw it; a huge roadblock at the top of the next hill.

  “Crap,” she said under her breath.

  “That about sums it up.”

  “What are we going to do?”

  “We’re going to ditch the car a little earlier than I had planned.”

  He pulled onto the emergency lane, then drove down a barely noticeable dirt road towards the wilderness that bordered either side of the freeway. He punched the gas, spinning the tires so that they kicked up dust as he went.

  “What are you doing?” she demanded.

  “Calling attention to ourselves.”

  “No kidding. Why?”

  “Because this isn’t the way we’re going.”

  He slid to a stop just inside the line of trees, out of sight of the road. Sabrina could already hear the sirens as the cops from the roadblock scrambled to get into their vehicles almost a mile from where Paul had left the pavement.

  He opened the door and grabbed her hand, pulling her across the driver’s seat and out his door. He left the door open, going around the front of the car and taking her south into the dense woods.

  Sabrina didn’t have to ask why he did that. With a single door open, they would assume that whoever had fled the car was alone. Since the driver’s door was on the north side and in the direction of the roadblock, they would assume that the driver had fled north. The road here was covered with dense leaves, and they had left no footprints to give away which direction they were going. Paul had bought them some time, and by practically dismantling the roadblock, he had made sure that the police couldn’t rule out the unknown driver hitching a ride with a passing motorist.

  In short, Paul had caused a complete mess of their plans.

  “Come this way,” he said.

  Sabrina followed, wondering why he bothered directing her when he had his hand wrapped around her wrist and she had no choice, anyway.

  The sirens were getting louder, and Sabrina could tell that they were already on the road that led from the highway. But Sabrina and Paul were already well into the woods, the trees so dense where they were that she couldn’t see ten yards behind them.

  When Paul turned right suddenly, she almost lost her footing. They were by the highway again, and for a moment, Sabrina wondered what in the world he was doing. Then, she looked through the trees and saw what he was looking at.

  The woods angled closer to the highway where Paul had led them, and the only thing between them and the road was a few yards and a large ditch. But it wasn’t the ditch that caught her eye, it was the small posts with black and yellow stripes that signified a hidden bridge. The road didn’t change, but beneath the road was a large drainage tunnel almost big enough to stand in. And on the other side of that, mostly woods.

  “You notice everything,” Sabrina said, her voice filled with admiration.

  “You have no idea.”

  He looked in the direction of the dirt road, which was around a bend and almost invisible from where they stood. Sabrina could barely see the taillights of the last squad car in line, and that car was a good half mile away from where they stood.

  “Stay low and move fast,” he said. “Stop before you leave the drain.”

  She did as she was told, though she didn’t see any sign of anyone by the back panel of the squad car. She wasn’t worried about being seen by a passing motorist. Not only was the road at just the right height to make it nearly impossible for anyone to see them in the ditch, but all eyes were on the squad cars, and if people weren’t careful, someone was going to-

  There was a loud, solid crunch and squealing tires. Sabrina shook her head, taking the
opportunity to run to the storm drain while every car on the highway was likely watching the accident that had just happened. She heard more squealing tires, but she was already in the storm drain, grateful that enough time had passed since the last rain to let the floor of the large, concrete cylinder dry.

  Paul was right behind her, and she could hear him muttering under his breath.

  “Rubberneckers.”

  “Hey, don’t complain about them,” she said. “Thanks to them, the police have their hands so full that they’re going to have to split up.”

  They reached the end of the tunnel, and they stood there, looking into the woods.

  “It’s only ten or fifteen yards,” he said.

  “That’s a lot of empty space with no cover.”

  “I know.”

  He looked north, noting that the traffic was crawling toward them as people looked at the accident, then the line of squad cars and the officers milling about at the edge of the forest.

  “It’s now or never,” Paul said. “Just go. If they see us, then they see us.”

  Sabrina took off, backpack surprisingly still against her, though it was starting to get heavy. Paul was right beside her, and together, they ran across the open field, in full sight of cars that were too busy watching the east side of the road to notice what was right there.

  They reached the edge of the tree line, and Sabrina was about to let out a sigh of relief when they heard someone laying on their car horn. Over and over, the beeping pattern was unmistakable.

  “That’s SOS,” Paul said. “We have been made, let’s go.”

  They ran, picking up speed as they fled down the trail. Paul let go of Sabrina’s hand and she stumbled, no longer propelled by his speed. She looked at him when she caught her footing, gasping when she saw his face.

  His hair had grown in length and thickness, his hazel eyes larger, his nose and mouth morphing before her eyes. His hands were changing too, curling into fists before revealing paws with sharp claws.

  Fabric tore as his body shifted, and all at once, he threw himself down on all fours and kept running alongside her. His backpack was still over his shoulders, but it had slid up so that it was almost on his massive neck.

  Paul was huge, much larger than a real lion. Running alongside him as he completed his transformation, Sabrina was struck by just how big WereLions really were. She had never seen one up close in lion form, always preferring to dispatch with them in human form when they weren’t expecting it.

  Paul skidded to a stop, lowering himself to the ground in one smooth motion and looking at her.

  “Get on?” Sabrina asked in shock.

  He growled at her, his meaning clear. She was wasting valuable time. She climbed onto his back, shoving his backpack further forward to find her seat, then using it to hold on when he took off like a shot.

  Paul raced through the woods, feet silent as he weaved in and out so effortlessly that Sabrina never once felt like he would unseat her. There were sirens behind them and to their right, but the squad cars couldn’t drive through trees, and they weren’t meant for off-roading. Paul turned to the west, still heading due north, but putting as much distance between them and the highway as possible.

  The wind rushed through Sabrina’s long hair, whipping it around her face as they went. She felt like she was trapped in a fantasy; the lion beneath her, the feeling of flying down the trail, and the speed which Paul was covering the ground felt so surreal.

  She closed her eyes, really feeling Paul’s movement beneath her. She thought back to the night before, how Paul had rocked her over and over again, each time better than the last. Every movement felt so familiar, and she found herself wondering if she had met him before, in another life.

  That’s absurd, she thought, though she still felt that lingering familiarity that she couldn’t quite explain. Eyes still closed, she buried her fingers in his mane, letting go of his backpack that still sat between his shoulder blades.

  The forest ended abruptly, giving way to a long, open field bursting with sunlight. Sabrina looked to her right, surprised to see that even though the land was flat and open here, she could no longer see the highway that she knew was in the distance.

  She looked behind her, the forest nothing but a tiny vision in the distance. The land spread around them, and they were alone as far as she could see.

  Paul’s strides ate up the ground, and they traveled over the wild landscape as if on wings. When he picked up the pace, Sabrina noticed in the distance that there was a fence, and in front of that fence stood armed guards, watching them. Rifles aimed and ready, Paul ran toward them with no fear and without slowing down at all. Sabrina pulled at his mane, trying to get his attention, but he just kept going, running faster than she thought possible, heading straight for the men with guns raised at them.

  When the first shot rang out, Sabrina waited for the bullet to slam into her body, but the pain never came. She looked down, expecting to see blood on Paul’s fur, but there was nothing. They had missed.

  There was a noise behind her, and when she turned, she saw where the bullet had ended up. Somehow, the squad cars were behind them, even though they hadn’t been there moments before. One by one, the rifle cracks filled the air, and one by one, the squad cars flipped over and skid to a stop as the bullets met their mark.

  They’re protecting us, Sabrina thought, shocked.

  Sabrina felt something on her leg.

  “Sabrina, wake up,” Paul said, his voice sounding distant, as if it came out of the very sky itself.

  Beneath her, Paul continued his mad dash to safety, and they were almost there.

  “Wake up,” his voice said again, even though the lion beneath her didn’t change stride or even act like he could hear what she was hearing.

  Sabrina shook her head, trying to clear away the cobwebs, blinking. With each blink, the scene shifted form the fence lined with allies to the highway stretching before them and back again. The hand on her leg grew heavier, and the open range began to fade. The gentle, rhythmic rocking of the lion beneath her gave way to the cold, uncomfortable seat of the small car. With a start and sudden understanding, Sabrina gasped and sat straight up in her seat, eyes flying open and looking around.

  “Relax,” Paul said. “I’m right here, you’re safe. You looked exhausted, so I let you sleep. The next day and a half is going to be grueling, so I thought you should get rest now, while you can.”

  She looked at him, staring at him as he spoke before she said the next thing that she remembered from her dream.

  “Are we stopping?”

  “Not really.”

  Sabrina turned her head, eyes landing on the roadblock off in the distance, the cars already stopping a half mile ahead of them as the mile-long train of cars crawled forward.

  “A roadblock,” Sabrina said, almost whispering in awe.

  She turned to Paul, who was staring at her as he slowed the vehicle slightly. She turned away, scanning the shoulder of the road until she found the barely noticeable dirt road that led directly to a dense stand of trees.

  “Is something wrong?” he asked, sounding concerned. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  “Nothing’s wrong at all,” she said, smiling at him. “I know exactly we need to do.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Paul stopped, tilting his head up and sniffing the wind, his mane rising with the wind that whipped through the trees, bending the grass as it rushed through the open field.

  When he lowered himself to the ground and motioned with his head for her to get down, she was confused.

  “We’re not to the safe zone yet,” she said, feeling very puzzled. She looked behind them, nervous, expecting the officers to come upon them at any moment, even though Paul had been running north and slightly west for almost an hour.

  He shook his head and motioned again, and Sabrina finally slid off. He transitioned so much faster back to human, shrugging his backpack off his shoulders and diggin
g around for clothes while Sabrina looked away to give him some privacy.

  “You don’t have to look away,” Paul said with a warm, masculine chuckle. “It’s not like you haven’t touched every inch of my body.”

  “It’s different,” she insisted, closing her eyes when she heard him move closer to her. “That was work.”

  His hands were on her shoulders, rubbing over them, down her arms and back again. She tensed, not because it didn’t feel good, but because his touch felt magical, and brought images of their night together flooding back toward the surface. She knew without looking that he hadn’t dressed himself yet, and the thought of him in the woods, naked and completely unconcerned by his nudity sent shivers down her spine.

  She felt him tug at the strap at her waist that held the backpack secure, tightening it across her belly and then adjusting the shoulder straps so that the bag was tightly against her and not so loose.

  “It was killing my back, smacking into me, so wear it tight. I don’t want you adjusting it at the last second. We might not have time.”

  He turned her around, laughing softly when she kept her eyes closed.

  “Don’t open your eyes,” he said, threading his fingers through hers and pulling her hand up to his chest. “I just want you to feel my heartbeat, and feel my skin beneath your fingertips, and then tell me again that I was only a job to you.”

  Biting her lip, Sabrina let him place her hand on him, the heat of his smooth, bare chest searing her skin and pushing more memories to the forefront. Fingers curled, and she brought her other hand to his chest, letting him guide both hands over his chest, down rock hard abs, until she was hovering at his hips, inches from his manhood.

  Sabrina gulped, fingers twitching, body aching to touch him. He removed his hand, leaving her hands where they were.

  “I see your face,” he said, sounding proud of himself. “I know that you feel what I feel, and I know that your insistence that you only made love to me because it was a job is wrong. Maybe the first time. But the second and third and-”

  “I get it,” she said, gritting her teeth.