Secrets

by Lynn Crandall

  Casey nailed his car horn when another vehicle swerved in front of him, too close, and he had to slam on the brakes.

  His impatience churned just under his skin. Finally, he took a left turn that led him out of the city and toward his home.

  It took him no time at all to step inside, strip, then finally shimmer.

  He shoved open his back door, a door specially made to open with a foot pedal, and strode out into the early evening. Grabbing big swigs of air, the spinning in his head calmed. His nose lifted to gather the musky, sweet scents of the forest around him. His ears perked as birds chittered while squirrels chattered and small animals scurried beneath brush and logs.

  He shook out his muscles, beginning with his head and ending with his tail. He settled into a slow trot, feeling each foot connect with the ground beneath him. He sped up, sprinting through the trees and letting himself almost disappear in the sanctuary that was this forest. Swerving around one tree, then another, Casey reveled in the release of tension and the refilling of his soul.

  He ran until his breath came fast and full and his heart pounded out a strong, rapid beat. He could run like this forever.

  But it would be running away, and really, he didn’t want any such thing. He knew that with all that he was.

  He headed back his house, slowing his pace for a cool down. At the border between wild forest and field and his backyard, he plopped down into the brown and drying grasses. Breathe, in and out, in and out. Emptied of tension and frantic thoughts, Casey felt ready to go face-to-face with William Carter.

  Chapter Twelve

  Michelle lifted the phone off the receiver for what felt like the hundredth time that day. New clients, return clients, regular clients, all clamoring for help … right now, of course.

  Between dealing with phone calls and finishing up monthly reports, Michelle hadn’t had time to think much, not even about Casey’s strange phone call.

  This second time around with him had brought him to her at the moment she really needed him. The transparency and intimacy gave her strength and, most of all, hope. She wished that his strange request wouldn’t trigger old stuff in her. She could promise to believe in him but if the situation brought up her defenses, she didn’t know if she would let them have the car keys—trust him enough to relinquish control.

  Michelle tossed a stray lock of hair out of her face. Damn it! The rape changed me, but I’m not going to let it define me anymore.

  Her queasy insides told her it wasn’t as simple as making a declaration. There would be challenges, but she had enough determination to fill a fountain.

  Simultaneous thoughts of Madeline and Lara popped into her head. The sisters were gone for the day, and it was past five o’clock, time to switch gears.

  She punched in Lara’s cell phone number and waited. “Hi, Lara. Busy?”

  “Actually, just finishing up.”

  “Could you come over for pizza at my house, my infamous house?”

  Lara laughed. The sound tinkled in Michelle’s ears, urging her to grab on to it and believe the best. “Infamous house?”

  “Yeah, the one stalked by lynxes and William Carter, not that there are any similarities in the two.”

  “I’ll do you one better. I’ll bring the pizza and Madeline.”

  Michelle gasped. “I would love to see her.”

  “It’s a deal then. I’m just leaving the office in a few.”

  “I’m on my way out the door. Thank you, Lara.”

  • • •

  The garage door at Michelle’s house glided open at an annoyingly slow pace. “C’mon, slow poke.” She parked, closed the door, and pulled her things from the passenger seat. Unlocking the back door, she sensed movement behind her. Her heart in her throat, she slowly reached inside her purse and wrapped her hand around her pepper spray. From the corner of her eye she saw the passage door to the backyard was slanted open. That’s supposed to be locked.

  She pivoted, pointing her pepper spray at whatever she found. A masked figure, dressed all in dark clothing, reached out toward her face, muttering, “Get out of this house.”

  She screamed and pressed the pepper spray button, aiming the burning spray at his face. He ripped at his mask and turned toward the back door.

  Outside in the backyard a fearsome yowl erupted. The man stumbled out into the dusk, just in time to be slammed by a fury of golden fur and claws—Conrad.

  Michelle’s hands drew to her mouth. Conrad shouldn’t expose himself to this man. She stood there, watching, and realized Conrad was doing very little actual damage to the man’s body. He sat on his haunches, chuffing, after scaring the man into racing through the yard and out toward the street. As the man disappeared, Conrad nodded at Michelle. She wasn’t sure what to do, go to him or leave him to his business. When she heard a car pull into her driveway, her heartbeat picked up its pace. Conrad nodded her to go inside, where she peered through the closed blinds in the living room windows and saw Lara coming toward the door, juggling pizza and a cat carrier.

  “Come in. Here, let me take the pizza.” A crisp breeze flew in the door, bringing chills to her skin. Michelle’s anxiety still raced through her veins, pumping her heartbeat higher. “You just missed the excitement.”

  Jojo, Munchie, Tiger, and Izabelle all ran toward Michelle. “Hungry? Let’s feed you guys, too.”

  Lara stopped midstep and pierced Michelle with a long look. “What excitement?”

  “Here, let me take Madeline to the back room where she can chill. How is she doing? I want to know all about it.” Michelle’s words tumbled out at high speed, but she couldn’t help it. Fear mixed with relief and happiness to create unstoppable chatter. She hurried to the back bedroom and placed Madeline, already covered by a cloth over the carrier, on the floor. She lifted up a corner of the cloth and took a tiny peek. As expected, Madeline let loose a low growl. Her face said back off, but her cuteness pulled at Michelle’s heart. How terrible that she’d undergone an ordeal at Carter’s research facility.

  She quietly walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. Back in the kitchen she pulled plates and glasses from the cupboards and set them on the table, ready to enjoy pizza with Lara. At least pretend to enjoy. Circumstances unsettled her nerves. Adrenaline trembled her fingers.

  “Hey, Lara. I didn’t know you’d be here.” It was a fully-clothed and human-looking Conrad, walking in from the garage passage door.

  Lara sat emphatically at the table. “What. Is. Going. On? Aren’t you supposed to be outside, discreetly watching the property, Conrad? And Michelle, why so jittery?” She grabbed a slice of pizza and took a bite, waiting.

  Michelle exchanged a glance with Conrad. He nodded to her. She turned to Lara, her heart rate finally slowing. “I came home a few minutes ago and was surprised by an intruder. Conrad scared him off.”

  “Did you get a good look at him, either of you?” Lara studied them both, pinning them with her eyes.

  “He wore a mask. He told me to get out of the house. I shot him with pepper spray and he ran outside.” Michelle took a slice of pizza and set it on her plate. Veggie. Her favorite. She couldn’t gather enough saliva in her mouth to think about taking a bite.

  “What about you, Conrad?”

  “I attempted to remove his mask, but he was so frightened by my appearance and vocalizations that he was a scrambling ball of arms and fists. Do you mind?” he asked, reaching toward the pizza.

  “No, help yourself.” Lara handed him a slice. “So we have no description.” She frowned. “But we probably know he was dispatched by William Carter and we know he was trying to scare you, Michelle. Sure he wants you out of the house, but this was most likely a fun prank for him. Make you afraid to be in your own home.”

  Izabelle purred appreciatively as Conrad bent down to rub her head. He threw another slice down his throat, then shoved back his chair to leave. “Back on duty. Thank you for the pizza.” He placed a hand on Michelle’s shoulder. “Carter can tr
y to scare you but as long as we were-cats are around, which is every moment of every day, you’ll be safe.”

  Michelle thanked him and watched him saunter outside, where she expected he would shimmer. The danger surrounding her and her home was getting to her. “It’s not right that you and Conrad and the other members of your colony should be inconvenienced and put in danger because of me.” She dropped her head to her arms resting on the table.

  Lara shoved at her head. “Don’t be silly. You don’t understand how our colony works yet. We willingly take care of our own. Now you’re one of us, simply because you know about us and you haven’t freaked out.”

  Michelle lifted her head, her eyes growing heavy. “That sounds heroic of you.” She tilted her head, thinking. “Casey has been heroic for me. He’s helped me reclaim my life. That’s a big deal.”

  Lara ducked her head sheepishly. “I don’t know if it’s heroic to watch over my best friend.” She placed her hand on Michelle’s and Michelle took comfort from it. “Especially a friend who is caught in William Carter’s crosshairs. It’s nothing we can’t handle.”

  “Have you taken on similar projects in the past?” The wind outside blew through the trees, releasing more leaves in the darkness to dance in front of the kitchen window. It made her long for simplicity in her life.

  “We have helped rescue injured animals, helped children enjoy nature, things like that.” She rolled her eyes. “We keep to ourselves. It’s safer for everyone that way. But there are times when it’s right to step up and help others in need. That’s what the colony has done since Casey took leadership.”

  The wind blustered outside, sending shivers up and down Michelle’s spine. “Would you like to spend the night?” Her voice sounded faint to her ears. “I guess I’m still unsettled from the intruder. But if you can’t, I—”

  “It sounds like a good plan,” Lara interrupted. “Life minus my former roommate is lonely. Plus, that way we both can keep an eye on Madeline.”

  “She’s all right?” Michelle cleared the table and led Lara into the living room. Lara flounced into the upholstered chair and Michelle took the couch. The cats followed, settling in around them both.

  “Well, she’s still very feral. But there’s been no attempt to tame her. When Casey brought her to me he was pretty shaken up. She’d been drugged, but it wasn’t anything harmful, just a sedative. Probably to keep her manageable.”

  “No serious ailments?”

  “No. Other cats caged in the facility did display severe deformities, evidence they’d been given something. I need a sample of that before I can say more about what its purpose is.” Lara shivered. “It scares me to think about it. I don’t want to speculate what Carter has planned for the cats. I just want to stop him.”

  Michelle sat across from Lara in silence for a few minutes. The conversation was sobering. Mindboggling. But what about Casey? “You mentioned things changed when Casey became the colony leader. Can you explain more about that? How long has he been the leader? Is it something you all vote on?”

  Lara propped up her feet on the ottoman. “He’s been the leader for about a year. He took over after his dad’s tenure. Before that, the colony leaders have followed the ancient rules.”

  “Ancient?”

  Lara laughed. “Yes, ancient. Records of were-cats date back centuries. We’ve always been secretive, protected our own, and followed the old rules. There’s lots of them, but in the case of leadership, the rules required that colony leaders be a pure.”

  “A pure what?” Michelle’s muscles started to loosen and she sank comfortably into the cushions, interested to learn everything about this species.

  “Original were-cats carried the genetic trait, hence, pures. Moggies are were-cats who come from one were-cat parent and one normal. Or a cat who’s become a were-cat by being bitten. Originals, pures, took great pride in being direct genetic offspring. They felt moggies were less sophisticated, untrustworthy because of their mixture of genes. But as Casey is fond of saying, everything evolves. Even were-cats.”

  “Interesting. He’s probably right.”

  “While in the past leadership was passed down generations of pures, Casey decided it was time for change. Everyone agreed, or at least most of us did. But it’s very important that Casey rule nearly perfectly, because the pures are always waiting for him to mess up so they can replace him. Not all of us. I’m pure and I’m behind him all the way. I think there are four pures in our present group.”

  “It sounds like a tough job.” Michelle heard a tiny meow from Madeline and ran to the bedroom to check on her. “Are you okay, sweetie?”

  Lara walked up behind her. “She’s been having nightmares.”

  “How do you know?

  “She told Asia. Asia can communicate telepathically with animals, remember?”

  “Oh, yeah. That’s amazing. You’re all making me jealous with all your power and keen hearing and eyesight and special abilities.”

  They walked back to the living room and slumped into their same seats. “You’re perfect the way you are. Don’t hate on the were-cats,” Lara teased.

  “Never. Thank you for sharing all this.”

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t before. But you understand, right?”

  “I do. I think things happen when it’s the right timing. If you’d told me years ago, I might have failed miserably to be a good friend.”

  “I doubt it. You’ve always been open minded and able to appreciate that life is full of surprises.”

  Silence fell again and Michelle tapped her fingers on the couch, contemplating. “Are there any other rules I should know about?”

  “If there are, you’ll find out. I’m really happy about you and Casey. He’s a gem. You didn’t know him in his younger years, though. A little more on the wild side, then.”

  “There’s a lot of that in him still. How old is he?”

  Lara pursed her lips and slanted her head to her left, then her right. “He’s thirty-five years old. I’m thirty-two.”

  “I did some searches on lynxes and learned they don’t typically live in colonies. They’re loners. And this area is not your natural habitat. What’s up with that?”

  “Aren’t you the smartypants?” Lara tossed a couch pillow and hit Michelle’s head playfully. “All true. But as I said, everything evolves. Our colony has adapted to this area. There’s no reason we have to live in the mountains. We’re part human, just like you. We can live in a city or out in the forest. It’s up to us, not instinct or survival.”

  Michelle heard a noise in the backyard and flinched. “Did you hear that?”

  “Of course. I have the keen hearing of a lynx, remember?” Lara walked with her to the kitchen window.

  Peering through the darkness, Michelle smiled. She heard chuffing and saw a beige-white lynx sitting in the yard. “It’s Tizzy.” She waved and the lynx nodded, then trotted off toward the bushes.

  “The next shift arrives. Hopefully we’ll do better than we did earlier.” She rolled her eyes. “Conrad is good. I don’t know how he could have missed that man in your garage.”

  “Sneaky, I guess. Which is different than stealthy, like Casey.”

  Lara’s laughter bubbled up out of her throat like a song. “Thanks for being here tonight,” Michelle said. “Please make yourself at home. I’ve got to make contact with some people about Cats Alive.”

  It was still early evening, early enough to make calls and respond to emails. Several emails were simply reports from foster parents about the process of socializing the cats and kittens with them. One parent complained about the former owners of two cats, who had handed them over to Cats Alive because the cats were leaving too much hair on the furniture.

  Exasperated, Michelle paced the kitchen floor on that one. She rehearsed giving the former owners a piece of her mind. How could they abandon the two cats when they’d been a part of the family for four years? Ever heard of brushing?! The foster parent said the cats were doing
owner searching. It made Michelle’s heart dip, imagining the furtive pacing and meowing as the cats waited for owners who would not come back for them.

  She knew in time the cats would accept their new circumstances, but it still made her blood boil at the heartless treatment. Why don’t people understand that cats are not a piece of old luggage or a worn out lamp to toss away?

  A big sigh and she was back in her seat, responding to the emails. One grabbed her attention instantly. An owner of a roamer asked for help finding her cat. By the look of the cat in the photo attached, it was light gray with dark stripes. “Aww, you’re so cute.”

  Michelle read on and learned that the cat was chipped and always returned home after spending some time outside. She made a call to the owner to get a description and summary of the cat’s habits and personality.

  “Her name is Graysan? You think she’s about two years old and she’s spayed. She’s friendly? That will help. I’ve got your address, so I’ll set some humane traps around your neighborhood and hope to catch her quickly.”

  Before Michelle hung up, she gave her mini-lecture about allowing cats to roam. She tried to pound it home that cats who roam are more likely to die young, suffer with ticks and fleas, get hit by a car, or become diseased. “Once they become acclimated to a solely indoor life, they do much better. It’s what responsible owners do.”

  She heard Lara finish her shower and check on Madeline before walking into the kitchen.

  “How is she?” Michelle asked, without turning away from her laptop. She was just finishing posting the missing Graysan on the Cats Alive website and sending the link to other cat rescues.

  “She ate and used her litter box, so that’s good.” She walked into the living room and looked through the on-screen TV guide, flipping rather quickly. “It’s still early. Feel like a movie?”

  “Sure. My head is spinning. A little vegging would be good. Nothing intense. I don’t feel like crying or getting scared.”