by Dale Mayer
If only he understood what this was.
He hated the pain she was in, wanted to help her, but wasn't sure how. Still he'd keep trying. He wanted what his brother Roman had. His brother was unbelievably happy. Grounded. Whatever the hell that meant. He was half of a whole, with Shay, his girlfriend, being the other half.
Ronin had heard about such relationships but hadn't really believed in the possibility. Figured they all turned sour, eventually. Ronin's marriage had as had several long-term relationships. He'd blamed his job. So had they. In truth, the job was an excuse and an escape from whatever bad relationships they had at the time.
What the hell Tabitha was to him, he didn't know.
And the relationship was so new and green it felt fresh. But was he walking down this garden path alone?
Because that would suck.
A young cop walked toward him. Geoff Tollman. After a quick glance around, he pulled a picture out of a large envelope and dropped them both on Ronin's desk.
Frowning, Ronin raised his gaze to Geoff's. "Why did you come to me?"
The young man swallowed and lowered his voice. "I didn't know who else to take it to."
That the two of them had a history played a big part in Geoff bringing the pictures to him. Ronin was pretty sure of that. The kid was his neighbor's son, and he'd helped him get into the force and through the tough years following. He'd been a troubled teen a long time ago, but he'd straightened out and become a hell of detective. They worked in the same department now. Part of the same team and that felt good.
Ronin stared down at the odd photo in front of him. "Where did you get this?"
"It was in the mail."
"Your personal mail?"
"No. Here in the office, along with the other stuff. I saw it on the pile, opened it and brought it here."
Ronin pulled out the rest of the pictures. His old buddy and co-worker, Detective Jacob Harkman, stared back at him. In the background, highlighted by gloomy lights, was an open back end of a truck. Full of cages. Nothing suspicious in itself, but...he glanced up at Geoff. "The pictures don't show anything illegal."
"I know." Geoff shrugged his shoulder. "But why send them?"
"Good question." Ronin stuffed the pictures back into the envelope and spun it in his hand. No postage. No return address. Just Geoff's first name. Spelled correctly. There wasn't anyone else in this office with that same spelling. He dropped the envelope on the side of his desk. "I'll look into it. If you get anything else, bring it to me."
"Sounds good." As Geoff sauntered toward his own desk, he called back, "It's probably nothing."
Ronin hoped Geoff was right. He'd known Jacob a long time. Being a detective took them to all kinds of places, at all kinds of hours. He studied the photos again. What the hell was Jacob up to and why had the photo been sent?
Before he had time to consider the options, his phone rang. Damn.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, he clicked his cell phone and growled, "What?"
Static whispered through his phone, but something about it was straight-out creepy.
He straightened. "Hello? Who's there?"
Help! Taaaa...!
"Hello. Who is this?"
No answer.
He snatched up a pen and jotted the number down. Then stopped. It was his number. His phone was calling his phone.
Goosebumps broke out over his skin.
Shit. He enjoyed a good horror movie the same as any other guy, but this was stepping over the creepy line. But then so had a lot of things in his life this last year – ever since he'd stepped in to help Shay after her fiancé tried to kill her.
The phone was dead in his hand. He swallowed hard and dropped it down on the desk to stare at it, his eyes narrowing at the thought. It wasn't even Halloween. So who the hell was this prankster and how did he do this?
The phone rang again.
He stared at it, loath to answer.
It rang again. He picked it up and checked the number. This call was from Stefan. But that last one...
"Hello?"
"Is this easier for you?"
He frowned. God, this man was cryptic. "What?"
"Never mind. I don't have time. I need you to send an ambulance to Tabitha's house on the Exotic Landscape property. You might need Shay's help. Tabitha is in a bad way."
"Wha—?"
Stefan rolled right over him. "Get Dr. Marsden in. He's a specialist for this kind of thing. Although this time there may not be anything he can do."
"Wait, what are you talking about?"
"Tabitha has been attacked."
And Stefan was gone.
***
"There is a lot of money riding on this deal," the boss growled. "Fuck up and you're done."
Fez, and Roberts, his partner, nodded in unison.
This was a huge payday for them. Fez knew he had an awesome gig here. So far the work had been easy and lucrative. So good, he'd postponed his plans to move back East and start a new life. In the last five months he'd made a lot of serious money. And had spent even more.
Roberts had brought him in. He had the skills, the know how. Fez was the muscle.
And the boss? He was scary but damn powerful and a hell of businessman. He didn't take shit from anyone.
Make for a lot of fast, good deals for all of them.
Still it never did to get too comfortable. When the boss locked that gaze on him, Fez kept nodding. Obedience was paramount. He tugged at the neck of his old sweatshirt, which was stupid because the damn thing gaped halfway down his chest. Old habits died hard, especially when he was stressed.
"Are you even listening to me?"
Fez rushed to say, "Sure, boss. We'll go down to the docks now. The package has already been cleared so it should be loaded and on the road in no time."
The black, icy glare narrowed at him. Roberts stood up and headed for the door. Fez swallowed hard, stood up and muttered, "We'll take care of it now."
"You do that. And make sure that cargo is safe. It was too damn long in transit as it is. Haven't I paid enough to make this go smoothly?"
"Absolutely. No problem." Fez walked to the door. "I'll call you when the truck is loaded."
"You'll call me when you get there. Make sure you get it on the road fast. I want the truck unloaded in the warehouse tonight. Got it?"
The warning in his voice made Fez's stomach clamp down tight. He pulled out a roll of antacids from his pocket as soon as the door shut behind him. He popped two into his mouth.
Roberts snorted when he saw what he was doing. "Those damn things will kill you one of these days."
"They help. Can hardly keep any food down these days," Fez muttered, walking down the stairs beside his partner. He should go see a doc, but what the hell was he going to tell him that Fez didn't already know? And if it was bad news like cancer or something, he would just as soon not know.
He'd take keeling over on the streets to a slow painful end any day.
"Time to quit if the job is doing that to you."
"It's a good job," Fez said. "Hell, you're the one that brought me in."
"Yeah, well, you never know. I just might be the one that leaves if you don't."
Fez turned in shock. There was just something a little too serious in Roberts's tone of voice. "You wouldn't do that. Look at the money we've made."
Roberts nodded but stuffed his fists in his pockets. "And when is enough enough? I've got a bad feeling about this job." He shook his head. "A real bad feeling.
"Don't do this man. We're a team."
"Maybe not for much longer."
After that he fell silent, leaving Fez to worry in silence.
Chapter 3
Saturday, afternoon
Tabitha wandered through the gentle clouds, comforted by the familiarity of her surroundings. She didn't know why she was in the ethers again. But it was such a nice place to be. There were no worries here. No stresses. No money shortfalls to make up or difficult people to
answer to. She could still mentally reach out and check on her animals – offer a hug, a stroke, or just a loving pat.
She was happy.
Like she'd been before.
That made her pause, made her consciousness kick in.
She wasn't supposed to be back here.
She'd liked it here a little too well last time. It had been hard to leave.
So why was she here now?
For…safety.
Memories flooded over her. She'd been attacked. In fact, her energy had been damn near ripped out of her body.
She shuddered and sank deeper into the protection of the shadows.
***
Ronin pulled his truck to a ripping stop outside of Tabitha's mausoleum of a house. Surrounded by large trees with little natural light filtering through, the place had a gothic haunted-mansion vibe going on.
There was also a weird deafening silence.
He'd been this far before, but had never been invited in. Her grandfather had been the original reason; apparently she hadn't wanted to introduce the two of them, given her grandfather's health and his disposition. She'd always met Ronin outside the house or at the office.
She ran a reserve where big cats were a major part of the population…and if there was one thing he had a love-hate relationship with...it was cats. He was so not good with cats – not allergic, although that would have given him an excuse for his over-the-top reactions like a nauseous stomach, a closed up throat and headaches with shortness of breath.
And no, he hadn't gone to see a specialist. He never would.
But Tabitha didn't need to know that. At least not yet.
Now Tabitha's grandfather was gone. Would that make it easier for Tabitha to let a male into her inner world? She'd once been engaged for six months so he knew she'd opened that door once before. What would it take for her to open it again, for him?
Just how controlling had her grandfather been? Did he have something to do with her broken relationship? Had he understood she had psychic abilities? Not that she'd mentioned them to him, but he'd overheard Shay and his brother talking one night about how Tabitha was better with the animals than Shay was. He could have gotten the impression that she had abilities beyond the ordinary.
Maybe she'd gotten those abilities from her grandfather.
Ronin exited the truck and approached the front door. A large, imposing front facade with no welcoming porch or deck, just a single stair up to a double door. His first impression? Dark. Formidable. Dilapidated.
If her grandfather had any money, he hadn't wasted it on the house, unlike his own grandfather, Pappy, who had the golden touch when it came to big business and kept his personal place immaculate.
Ronin knocked on the huge door before reaching for the doorknob. It turned under his hand but the door did not budge. Inside a howl went up that shook him to the core. Tripod? She'd told him about the monster-sized dog, but Jesus...
The door was locked. He gave it a strong shake and saw the security system, installed by his brother, winking at him from above. He pulled out his cell phone.
"Roman, I need to get into Tabitha's house. Shut off the security system."
"Why? What's wrong?" His brother's voice sounded distracted. He was probably painting, considering it was late on a Saturday afternoon.
"She's been attacked. Stefan sent me here to help her but the house is locked up tight."
"Damn." Now his voice sharpened. "How bad was the attack?"
"I don't know. I'm trying to get in to find that out," he snapped. "The dog is howling. I can barely hear you." He paused. "Is it done?"
As he asked, he looked up at the blinking red light to find it gone. "Thanks."
"Let me know if you need a hand." There were sounds of a muted conversation. "Skip that. We're on our way."
Ronin pushed the door open and stepped inside. "I'm in."
"No wait, Shay sa—"
But he never heard the rest as something as big as a bear, crossed with a pony, raced toward him – howling.
"Jesus H. Christ!" The dog had a huge set of bared teeth. Instinctively, Ronin unsnapped the cover over his gun.
The dog came to a screeching halt, skittering forward on the wooden floor and growling so loud there should have been a half dozen dogs facing him.
In the distance, he heard his brother's voice screaming through the phone. "The dog's name is Tripod."
Because he had only three legs. Yeah, he got it. Only the damn thing looked ready to take off one of Ronin's legs.
"Easy, Tripod. Take it easy boy. I'm here to help."
The dog raised his head and howled again. Then it turned its head and pinned him in place with an all-too-human gaze.
Shit. He tried to remember he was a dog person. And that most dogs loved him.
The look in this one's gaze made him doubt that was ever going to happen.
His brother's voice reached him again. He lifted his cell phone. "Stop screaming. I'm here."
"Look, Tripod is a big baby but he knows something has happened to Tabitha."
"Understood." He ran his fingers through his hair. "But I still have to get past him to get to her."
Then his brother's next words reached through the phone and grabbed him by the throat. "Easy. If Tripod doesn't calm down, it will get bad."
Ronin stared down at his phone in disbelief. "What did you say?"
"Tripod is the guard dog. But Tango is going to be more difficult. If you can calm Tripod, then Tango will follow his lead." Roman took a deep breath. "Maybe it will follow his lead."
"What the hell?" Ronin muttered, keeping a wary eye on the dog as he stepped inside. She had a second one she hadn't mentioned? Why? "I don't have time for this."
"Yes. I know. But a mistake at this stage could be fatal."
At the word 'fatal,' Ronin's hand instinctively went to the gun at the small of his back.
The dog erupted into a growl that had Ronin bolting backwards. "Damn it."
"What did you do?" Roman yelled. "Ronin?"
"I reached for the gun. Apparently he didn't like that." Talk about an understatement.
"Shay's here. She says you have to put the gun away. He'll attack if you try to use it."
God! Ronin briefly closed his eyes to consider the problem, then said helplessly. "You don't understand. I have to help Tabitha."
"Ronin? This is Shay here," her worried voice came on the phone. "I do understand. But you also have to understand something else. This house, these animals are her support system. They are the guardians of Tabitha's soul, possibly in ways she doesn't even understand."
"That's just crazy." Frustration and anger hurtled through him. "Why did Stefan call me to help her? How the hell am I going to do that if I can't get in there?"
"He called you because you are part of Tabitha's support system," Shay explained, "and she needs all of us right now."
"Support system?" What the hell did that mean? Whatever. "Get me inside."
"You have to convince Tripod to let you inside."
Right. "This isn't a damn dog; this thing is the size of a young grizzly bear." In the distance he could make out vehicles but not the sound of sirens yet. "And the ambulance should be almost here. I need to do something." As he studied the dog, he added. "Maybe that's why Stefan told me to come. I can call animal welfare—"
No. Stefan's' objection ripped though Ronin's mind. You can't. Tripod and Tango keep Tabitha grounded...connected. If you knock either into unconsciousness or, worse, kill them, we risk her losing that connection. Lose that and we could lose her.
"Shit. This is crazy." He stared around helplessly. "So what do I do?"
Make friends with Tripod. You need to show him your energy in a calm way, Stefan continued. The dog doesn't care so much about the gun at your back but about the shift in your energy when you reached for your gun.
Ronin groaned and let his hand fall away. He stepped quietly forward to stand in front of the dog, then crouched slightly un
til he was eye level with the massive head.
"If this thing bites my head off..."
We'll bury you with all the pomp and ceremony you deserve... said Stefan drily.
"Ass," Ronin muttered half-heartedly. He'd already turned his focus on the dog.
