by Bianca D’Arc
For the most part. Cade had to stifle a snicker at his own thoughts. It might work against burglars, but definitely not against cats.
In fact, there was an orange tabby eyeing him from the other side of the screen. The house cat had staked out the niche between the screen and the sill as his own personal resting place. Cade wasn’t too worried the short meow of respectful greeting would give away his presence. Most cats liked him, sensing the dominant male in the pride right off, even when he was in human form.
His mark entered the room from what must have been the bathroom, her black gi top hanging open. The rank belt was neatly folded and sitting on the couch next to her knapsack. She shrugged out of the cotton jacket and folded it, placing it on top of the bag. She had a black sports bra on underneath, and it showcased a lithe, powerful body with all the right curves. Cade’s mouth watered, but he squelched the response. He had work to do. More importantly, he needed to discover if this woman really was the innocent she seemed.
She reached into her bag and snagged the dead cell phone, plugging it into a charger on a small end table next to the couch. Sighing, she flopped onto the couch and picked up the hard-wired phone that sat on the same small table.
From the conversation, it was clear she was reporting her car stolen to the police. Cade could easily hear both ends of the conversation with his acute senses, and felt certain the call was legitimate and aboveboard. He also learned all kinds of personal information about Elaine Spencer as she recited it for the police. Cade was tempted to take notes, but knew he would remember every last detail about this puzzling woman. For some odd reason, she fascinated him.
She hung up the phone and stared at nothing for a few minutes before finally rising off the couch. She came to the window and Cade dropped back, farther out of sight. The well-fed tabby greeted her with a purr as she stroked his fur.
“Well, Chuck, they stole my car.” She sighed heavily as the cat turned to offer his tummy to rub. She stroked the small feline with delicate, loving hands. Cade wasn’t unaffected, and the response made him angry. She was human, dammit. She shouldn’t have this kind of effect on him, yet when her eyes filled with tears, he wanted to kiss them away and hold her tight.
But she didn’t know she was being observed. She wiped away a tear and kept talking to the tabby cat, her gaze fixed on something in the distance only she could see.
“That on top of the fiasco with Shihan. I’ll be lucky if he doesn’t make me do knuckle push-ups on telephone books at our next class. He was not a happy camper when I walked in.” The cat meowed as she stepped away.
Cade followed her progress to the small kitchenette, where she poured herself a glass of ice water.
“There was something weird about the people in the dojo, though I can’t quite figure what it was.” She continued chatting with the cat as she moved about the apartment. “And that guy outside. Hubba hubba, Chuckie. I mean that guy was downright scary, but totally hot, too.”
She giggled at her own words and drank the rest of the water, placing the glass in the sink. “I bet he’s got a girlfriend. Or two. Hell, he’s probably married. All the hot ones are.” She collapsed onto the couch, and the cat jumped down from the windowsill and made his way over to his mistress. The tabby was obviously very loyal to the woman and that bode well for her. “But I don’t need anyone else if I have you, Chuck.”
She hugged the big tabby cat and rubbed her face in his orangey fur. Cade spent a brief, senseless moment imagining her doing the same to him. Damn, he really had to get his mind out of his pants. Or rather, out of her pants.
The woman let the cat curl up on her lap and reached for the remote control. She flipped through channels for a while until she settled on a local news channel. Cade settled in to watch her, wondering when she’d get around to taking the rest of her clothes off. He wasn’t usually a peeping tomcat, but he’d give just about anything for a peek at the rest of her sultry skin. And hey, it was his job, after all.
The news channel broke into their own coverage of a human-interest story with an alert, and Cade snapped to his senses. He could hear every sound from inside the room, so hearing the newscaster wasn’t difficult at all. But what he was saying, sent ice into Cade’s veins.
“—police and the fire department are on scene now. The fire appears to have started in the basement of the building at 121 Water Street, in a space used by a martial arts school. The headquarters of Brown Investments occupies the upper floors of the office building, and we’ll have a spokesman from Brown with us momentarily. Right now, all we can tell you is that the building is fully engulfed in flames, and there are unconfirmed reports of casualties. Arson is suspected due to the rapid spread of this fire, and investigators are already on scene.”
Cade didn’t wait to hear any more. Bounding down the fire escape, he used all his speed to get back to the dojo, cursing himself for a fool. He should never have left his post. He flipped open his cell as he ran, speed dialing Mitch.
Not only did he not get an answer, the line didn’t even connect. Something was wrong with Mitch’s phone. This was not good. Anything that could take Mitch out had to be serious. The tiger wouldn’t have gone down quietly.
Cat's Cradle: String of Fate, Book 1
Chapter Two
“Oh no!” Elaine leaned forward to watch the building she’d just left not an hour before going up in flames on the news. She had to get over there, but her car was gone. Dammit!
Throwing on a black sweat jacket over her sports bra, she looked up a cab company’s phone number in the phone book and gave them a call. They promised to send someone right over. Grabbing her purse, she headed for the door, stopping only to unplug the lightly charged cell phone. It didn’t have much juice, but it would have to do. She’d ask the cabbie to wait for her, but if he wouldn’t, she’d probably have enough power to at least make one call to get another cab. She scribbled down the number of the cab company on a scrap of paper and stuck it in her pocket.
When she finally got to the scene, the fire was almost out. There were lots of fire trucks blocking the road, but the cabbie got her as close as possible. He stopped at the head of the block and let her out on the corner, refusing to wait. She shrugged and started toward the flashing lights further up the block. Elaine had no idea what she could do to help, but she needed to tell someone that there there’d been at least five people in the basement when she’d left.
The building was reduced to charred rubble. It was amazing how much damage could be done in such a short time. Elaine’s pace slowed as the enormity of the horror started to set in. She’d just come upon the row of trees and bushes separating the property lines when a hand shot out and dragged her into the darkness. She didn’t even have time to scream.
Cade cursed when her scent wafted to him on the evening breeze. It wasn’t an echo from before. It was fresh. As if merely thinking about the beautiful, perplexing, annoying woman had conjured her.
He poked his head out of the shrubbery and sure enough, there she was, walking down the street toward him. Her gaze was glued to the pile of smoldering ash that had once been an office building and home of the Silent Tiger dojo.
Cade couldn’t let her talk to the cops or firemen. She’d undoubtedly tell them what she’d seen in the dojo before Harris sent her packing. Cade didn’t know exactly what she had seen, but he couldn’t take any chances.
The fire had been a hit. No natural fire moved that fast or burned that hot. And he smelled the scent of burnt flesh. Someone—or several someones—had died in the fire. Cade wished to hell he’d been there to stop it.
But he’d found Mitch. The tiger was down. Hurt bad and bleeding from more places than Cade could count, but alive, for the moment. Cade had to get him out of here and get him patched up or even the stubborn tiger might yet bleed to death. Saving Mitch—the only witness who might be able to help him figure out what had happened here—had to be the first priority.
A plan formed in his mind. It w
asn’t a great plan, but it would kill two birds with one swipe.
He waited impatiently while the woman drew closer. A few more steps and he would pounce. Shock etched her features as she drew even with his hiding place.
He didn’t give her a chance to scream. He pulled her back into the shadows, one hand covering her mouth, the other quelling her movements. She was so shocked, she didn’t even fight back, though he knew she was highly trained. He had precious seconds before her training would kick in. He had to stop her from giving away their position.
“Don’t struggle. I won’t hurt you. I need your help. My friend is seriously hurt.”
She stilled when her foot brushed up against Mitch’s prone body. Cade pushed her head down so she could see him.
“I found him like this. He needs help, but I can’t bring him to the cops. The people who torched the building are too close. They’ll finish the job on Mitch if we go out in the open. Will you help us? I know you’re a nurse.”
He felt her calmness, her questioning, and he judged it safe enough to loosen his hold on her. A show of good faith on his part might go a long way toward securing her cooperation. He needed it, as he hadn’t needed anyone’s help in a long time. It wasn’t a comfortable feeling, but he would deal. Mitch had to be the priority now.
Cade gingerly let go of her mouth. “Please don’t give us away. I won’t hurt you.”
“How did you know I was a nurse?” She whirled on him, putting about a foot of space between them as she moved into a ready stance. It was a subtle move, but he noted it with something like satisfaction. She was calm enough to ask questions, but on guard enough to be wary. It was a good combination.
“I saw the I.D. tag on your pack before, when you left the dojo. Remember me?”
“Yeah, I remember you.” Her tone was leery. “Did Shihan make it out?” She didn’t take her gaze from him, but nudged her head back toward the ruined building.
“I don’t know. I, uh…” he paused to try to look sheepish. Manipulating someone as quick as this woman would be difficult, but he was a master. “I followed you home to make sure you made it safely.”
“You what?”
“Look, I didn’t feel right about letting you go off into the night like that. So I followed you. Made sure you made it home okay then came back here to find the place in flames. I don’t know if anyone made it out. All I know is, whoever did this will probably come back once the officials clear out. We can’t be found here.”
“Dammit!” She looked torn, her gaze moving between him and the injured man on the ground.
“Look, Harris asked Mitch and I to guard the perimeter tonight. I’ll be the first to admit, we did a shitty job. I let you distract me, and my friend paid the price. Maybe even Harris. I don’t know yet who made it out and who didn’t, but we won’t find out from the cops.”
“How do I know you’re telling the truth?”
Cade thought for a second. “Harris had a series of passwords shared among his top students. You claimed to be in the advanced class, so you should know them, right?”
She nodded. “He told me last month when I joined the class. At the time I thought it was just a foolish game.”
Cade’s expression hardened. “Harris had reasons for everything he did. If I say chrysalis to you, what does that convey?”
“Emergency,” she answered automatically, her eyes widening. “So if I ask you what day it is?” One of her eyebrows rose in challenge.
He didn’t hesitate. “The farthest yet from the beginning.”
“Damn.” She shook her head. “He told me anyone who knew his code was one of his select group.”
“At your service.” Cade made a mocking little bow. “But we don’t have time for this. I need to know if you’ll help us. Mitch needs medical care, and I need to figure out what happened here and what I can do about it.”
Elaine bit her lip in indecision. On the one hand, something fishy was definitely going on, but she couldn’t just let a man bleed to death. She dropped to one knee, checking over his extensive injuries. Nothing looked too deep from what she could see in the gloom under the trees, but the slashing wounds were in odd, parallel patterns all over his body, and he was still bleeding. A lot.
“All right. How do we get him out of here?”
“I have a car around the corner. I was going to carry him through the trees when I saw you walk up. For Harris’s sake, you can’t tell the cops what you saw earlier tonight.”
“But I didn’t see anything. Just four people in the distance, sitting in a darkened dojo.”
“Damn, you saw more than I thought. You can’t tell anyone. I bet Harris said the same when he sent you out of there.”
She recalled Shihan’s words and nodded. This strange man seemed to know things, and try as she might to be reasonable, she felt a sort of weird trust in him. She knew his friend needed her help though at first look, none of his injuries seemed beyond her abilities to patch up. Of course, common sense told her to run as far and as fast from these two as possible.
The emotional side of her personality told her to help them. It was instinctual, not reasonable, but Harris had been working on her to trust her instincts more. In this situation, it just might get her killed if this guy turned out to be an ax murderer, but she had to go with her gut.
“All right. Let’s get him to the car, then we’ll head for my apartment. I have a guest room and big first aid kit. It’s not fancy, but it’ll do.”
“Thank you.” Cade touched her hand, drawing her attention. The look in his icy eyes made her shiver, but not with cold. No, he was looking at her with heat and respect, and genuine gratitude. She’d never seen quite that combination and couldn’t believe she’d ever thought his eyes lifeless and frozen. No, the ice in his gaze was, in truth, the hottest of fires, flashing and sparkling with life.
She moved away from his disturbing touch and went to her patient.
“Let me just tie a tourniquet on his leg before you lift him.” She took a strip off Mitch’s tattered shirt and bound it around a muscular thigh, but had a hard time pulling it tight enough. Cade stepped in and did the honors, seeming to know just the right amount of pressure to put on the wounded leg. He’d most likely done this before. Elaine nodded at him as she moved back and was astounded by the easy way Cade lifted his huge friend, without any outward sign of strain. He loped off into the trees separating one office complex from the next, and she followed closely behind, cursing herself for a fool with every other step.
The car was dark and nondescript. Cade draped his friend across the backseat and motioned for her to take the passenger side, but she demurred.
“I should ride in back with him.”
But Cade shook his head. “It’s not safe. He might change.”
“Change what?” She was baffled by the terse words.
Cade held up one hand for silence as he rounded the car and opened the driver’s side door. “Not now. Get in the front.” She still hesitated. “Just do it. Someone’s coming.”
She heard the faint sound of a vehicle heading their way and didn’t argue further. Cade had the car in gear and moving almost before she’d shut the door.
“Duck down. I don’t want anyone to see you with me if it can be helped.”
She saw the merit in that idea and crouched a bit below the dashboard.
“Corner of Lincoln and Bayberry.”
“What?”
“That’s where my apartment is.”
“Yeah,” Cade managed a tight grin, “I know. I followed you home before, remember?”
A cold feeling shivered up her spine. “Oh. Yeah.”
“Look, I’m sorry. At the time, I wasn’t sure of you, but if you were on the level, I wanted to be sure you made it home safe. If not, I wanted to know where you went.”
“So you expected trouble tonight?”
Cade turned a corner, making her clutch the armrest as the force pushed her into the door.
“I al
ways expect trouble.” He sighed heavily. “But yeah, I knew they were taking a risk going to the dojo.”
“They? The people I saw inside?”
His features clouded as he stopped at a red light. Sparkling chips of ice glittered down at her when he turned his head and pinned her with his gaze.
“You’d do better to forget them. There are forces at work here you don’t understand, and you don’t want to. Believe me.” The light turned, and he shifted his attention back to the road and the mirrors, keeping a careful watch on their backtrail.
Elaine’d had about enough. “Why should I? I don’t even know you.”
“It’s safer that way.” He pulled into the underground parking garage below her building and found a dark corner to park the car. “We’ll only impose on you long enough to get Mitch patched up and make a few calls. After that, if all goes well, you’ll never see us again.”
“Why? What are you running from?”
“It’s better you don’t know any more than you do already.”
Cade got out of the car, sniffing the air cautiously before opening the back door and hoisting his friend out. He jerked his chin to indicate she should precede them.
She dug out her key and opened the private elevator that would take them to her floor. At this time of night, few people were awake, so they didn’t run into any of her neighbors, thank goodness. She had no idea how she would’ve explained such odd company in the middle of the night and was glad she didn’t have to.
Elaine unlocked her apartment door and led the way to the guest room, stripping off the comforter. Cade deposited his friend on the clean white sheet with surprising gentleness. Elaine went into the kitchenette and grabbed her first aid supplies while Cade stripped off the tattered rags that had once been a dress shirt and trousers from the injured man.
She went back into the room and got her first real look at the extent of Mitch’s injuries. The sheer brutality made her gasp. It looked like he’d been savaged by a bear. Or some other wild animal with huge, sharp claws. He had long, bloody, parallel furrows etched all over his body.
