Cheetahs Never Win

by RJ Blain

  “Only if you’re going to make sure I’m not going to bleed out from any new leaks.”

  “That is the plan.”

  “Then we better hurry so we’re done before Sassy gets back.”

  “Don’t you worry about that. Tonight, we feast like kings, and Sassy will be gone for hours doing Mom’s bidding so she doesn’t earn a whooping.”

  Poor Sassy.

  Chapter Nine

  While Joe subjected me to another transfusion, I read about the victims, one profile from the police and the other from my brother, who had done a hefty amount of footwork to give me something to do while on bedrest. In most cases, the intel overlapped, but I found my brother’s profiling gave me a more complete view of the murdered women and children.

  I needed to remind Maxwell that a good investigator learned the full story of a crime and not just the parts that fit a certain dialogue or made the prosecutors happy. The defense would seek every clue in every cranny to make the prosecution work for the conviction.

  “You all right, Aaron?” Sassy’s father demanded.

  I checked the clock hanging on his den’s wall to discover an hour had slipped away. “I ignored you, didn’t I?”

  “I’d be offended if I didn’t recognize when a man’s taking his work seriously.”

  “I can’t tell if Maxwell just doesn’t have access to better intel or if my brother needs to leave the military and join investigations.” I picked up Maxwell’s files with my left hand so Joe wouldn’t have reason to yell at me again. “The more I look over these files, the more I think my brother has the right idea. I’d bet my entire career Tom Heatherow has something to do with this mess. Is someone covering up his activities on his behalf? Framing him using his past? Is it him trying to make the evidence disappear? I can’t tell. But, our best lead is Sharon Gray, and if Tom Heatherow finds out she has kids, she might be the next victim.”

  “We can’t let him find out about her kids,” Sassy’s father growled.

  “I’m thinking I’m going to impose on Mark. He’s old enough he could have fathered them. Adding three kids to his rap sheet to cover for them is up his alley. He may not want kids of his own, but he won’t care if his reputation is smeared by a few rumors. He’s slept around so much it amazes me he doesn’t have at least one or two he doesn’t know about. What I need to figure out is how to talk him into it, how to talk her into it, and how to do it without the kids finding out. They’re adopted now, and they don’t need that sort of drama in their lives. Ideally, Tom Heatherow is the only one who finds out my brother ‘had a few kids’ with Sharon Gray. If we can get them all in on it. Mark’s enough of a slut no one is going to think twice about it if he claims they’re his.”

  “That’s a terrible idea,” Sassy’s father grumbled.

  “If it keeps her and those kids from becoming victims, it’s a great idea,” I countered.

  Silence.

  “Are you sure your parents aren’t wolf lycanthropes? You’re fixating like a wolf. You’re also just as protective of pups and mates as a wolf,” Sassy’s father complained. “We’re not wolves. We’re felines. We’re master strategists.”

  I arched a brow. “At what? Knocking shit off shelves?”

  “Dad, you’re not allowed to give him a whooping until he’s fully healed and has shifted for the first time,” Joe announced.

  “You will pay for that, boy,” Sassy’s father promised.

  Maybe Joe’s decree would help me survive the whooping I’d rightfully earned. “Wolves are the strategists. Felines are opportunists with a short attention spans.”

  Joe smacked the back of my head. “You’re really going to earn yourself a whooping you’ll regret. Dad, your virus is spiking, and he’s taking it over like a champ. If he wasn’t already swooning over Sassy and those damned shoes of hers, you’d need to lock your other sons up by tomorrow to keep him from getting randy. Frankly, you’re going to have to lock Sassy up tonight—or we can all camp outside tonight while they destroy the house. I don’t care which, but I refuse to be in the house while Aaron stalks my sister.”

  “Progress is that good?”

  “I’m willing to bet he’ll set off a low-sensitivity scanner at this point. Even before the transfusions, considering the internal bleeding and his ability to withstand such low blood pressure for so long, he would’ve been a high probability of early onset. We’re just speeding things up a little. We might want to warn Sassy.”

  Judging from the way Sassy’s father sighed, Joe’s announcement had sliced off a few years of his life. “I’ll just tell her she needs to haul ass and become a properly mated woman already. I’ll even do it over dinner, so call in witnesses.”

  “Witnesses to what? Your immediate murder when she snaps and tries to kill you at the dinner table?” Joe blurted.

  I couldn’t figure out if the man was trying to help or hinder. “Am I even going to survive today?”

  “Aaron, don’t start again. You’re not going to die,” Joe complained.

  “Well, he might. Cheetah females during a claim are vicious. I like it. We can go camping with the wolves and leave the bedridden in bed to be ridden.”

  “I never want to hear you talk about my sister like that ever again, Dad. That’s wrong. No. No. Go to hell, Dad.”

  Sassy’s father rolled his eyes. “You’ve been sitting there hinting at him your sister needs to mate immediately if not sooner, and now you’re getting offended when I say it how it is? That’s what’s going to happen if we leave them alone in the house if your estimates are correct. You can patch him up in the morning if she gets a little too eager with her teeth. Best of all, if that happens, transfusions are her problem. I’m tired of patching his leaks, Joe. Fix this travesty. How are those leaks doing? If they aren’t all patched, I’m going to give him a whooping, dump him in your sister’s room, call her home, and lock them in until one of them snaps, then she can give him his next transfusion.”

  For a hardened military man who dealt with death daily, Joe wilted the more his father spoke. “I’m so sorry, Aaron.”

  “I’m curious about if I’m still bleeding to death,” I admitted. “I’m willfully ignoring the rest.”

  “You’re not bleeding to death. Your holes are all plugged, and from what I can tell, the virus is doing its job. If Sassy does get her ass in gear tonight, I’ll skip the morning transfusion unless necessary and run a scan in the evening to see how you’re doing. That said, if you’re contagious tomorrow night, I’ll need to call in a CDC rep to get you registered for early onset. There’s legal paperwork; it’s a lot of liability clearance for you. I’ve already started the groundwork, so it won’t be an issue should you be close to your first shift.”

  “Scan him before dinner. If he qualifies, call in the rep before Sassy gets her hands on him. It’s entirely possible she won’t let anyone near him for a few days, or she’ll do so grudgingly. The investigation of that serial killer might help on that front, but I wouldn’t count on it,” Sassy’s father warned.

  I sighed. “Are you sure this’ll help with my license? Otherwise, it’s pooched for a year.”

  “It’ll help with your license and with the law enforcement recruiters. You’ll be the worst case scenario for lycanthropes in the field, and if you shake out, others should shake out, too. It’ll be fine. Anyway, you’re going to hold your license without issue. You’re not at fault for infection, and you’re probably early onset. We’ll know for certain tonight. Anyway, Sassy’s already cleared and partnered with you, so you’ll have a stabilizing factor. She knows what to do if you have problems.”

  “What’s the catch? There has to be a catch.”

  “Your insurance premiums are going to suck.”

  Well, shit.

  There was something to Joe’s belief I might stalk his sister. Five hours after being sent off on her errands, she came back with my new truck, and I stared at her more than my new vehicle. She wrangled the first overfilled canvas bag into
the house by herself before her brothers descended on the bed and retrieved the rest.

  Without any fear in her eyes, she looked at her mother and hissed, “You are Satan.”

  Sassy’s mother smiled. “But I’m Satan who will feed you and your brothers a feast tonight. We have guests, and you were the only available person.”

  Sassy pointed in the direction of my truck. “Six of my hellspawn brothers are here. They could’ve done it! Why are they all here? Please don’t tell me the entire lot of those assholes are coming tonight.”

  “Everyone’s coming tonight if they want to step foot in this house for the next year. Mr. Clinton’s parents and brother will also be coming. We’ll be having dinner in the back, so you need to help your brothers get the tables set up. Your father refuses to set up the other dining room table.”

  Scowling, Sassy stepped into the kitchen, and I enjoyed watching her go. “Just how much did you order, Mrs. Chetty?”

  “Enough to feed my boys, their coalition, you, your family, and that glutton of a daughter I somehow produced. We might have leftovers. Don’t you worry yourself any. We’ve got the pits already lit and ready to go, and everything will be ready by dinner. You just sit and rest.”

  The sitting and rest thing I could do like a champ. While the transfusions helped, I wanted to go back upstairs, take Sassy with me, and go back to sleep. Even before the crash, I’d enjoyed her company as a cheetah while I slept. Some men made their own security, but I saw no shame in my awareness of her eighty lethal pounds of claws and teeth. I wondered if that would change post infection.

  A lot would change, and I wondered what sort of man I’d become on the other side. In fact, I’d already changed.

  I’d gone from shirking from the idea of handling the burden of a cop to embracing it for Sassy’s sake. It disturbed me how easily I’d been swayed, but I wouldn’t break her dream because of any misgivings on my part. She wanted to be a cop. I wanted justice for the wronged, which had led me into becoming a private investigator in the first place. The method of acquiring justice would change, and I’d have to resist the things I disliked most about the police and how they handled investigations.

  Accessing information would be easier, but I’d be limited in other ways.

  Somehow, I’d make it work.

  Sassy stomped back into the living room. “Why are there ten tables out back, Mom?”

  “Because we’re going to need ten tables, Sassy. Why else would I have had your brother set up ten? The buffet table still needs to be set up. Would you rather keep Aaron company or help?”

  “We don’t have a buffet table, Mom.”

  “We will in about two hours. Your brothers and your father will be making it as soon as all the meat is in the kitchen.”

  I raised my hand. “I’ll help.”

  “You already helped. You loaned Sassy your truck this morning. You have been excused from manual labor for this evening,” she replied, smiling at me. “You have to be tired. Why don’t I make you a glass of sweet tea? I’ll have one of the boys take you a chair out back and you can watch.”

  “That’s the best I’m getting, isn’t it?”

  “I love when the babies know their place,” Sassy’s mother purred. “Why don’t you and my little kitten worry about those files you were poring over this morning? I asked that sweet brother of yours to make sure you have everything you need to do your work, and he says he added a present to it. Sassy, darling, do be a dear and fetch those briefcases Mark brought.”

  “Where are they?”

  “Your father’s office.”

  Sassy ran off, and I once again admired the view. “You could send her on little errands all day. I wouldn’t mind at all.”

  “You’re going to be such an easy catch for her once she gets it into her head she needs to catch you. Do try to give her a challenge, Aaron. It won’t hurt her to have to bend some to earn you.”

  “I think she’s had enough trouble lately.” I remembered her reactions to me while in the hospital, and if I never saw her worry like that again, I’d be a happy man. “Do you know where Mr. Chetty stashed her new shoes?”

  “Of course, dear. Would you like me to get them?”

  “Please, ma’am.”

  Sassy’s mother went to the stairs leading to the den and yowled, “Fetch Aaron’s bag, dear!”

  It amused me my mother and Sassy’s mother were birds of a feather. One day, I’d have to ask my mother if she’d learned household management from a special school for Texan women. Then again, a wise man kept his mouth shut and didn’t stir the ire of a southern woman.

  I couldn’t tell if I needed to blame the virus for my lack of self-preservation.

  Sassy beat her father back to the living room, and she held a briefcase in each hand with one tucked under her arm. “Your brother’s crazy, Aaron. What the hell does he think we’re going to need to do investigative work? These things weigh a ton.”

  “I believe he said there were new computers in them plus papers of various sorts. He was concerned Aaron would get bored and wander off.”

  “Mark vastly overestimates my ability to wander off,” I muttered. “I should get up and help you, Sassy, but I’m not really feeling it right now.”

  “Don’t,” she hissed. “You were gray this morning, and now you’re more of a gray-green. Joe? Joe! Get your ass in here, Joe!” she howled.

  Sassy’s father came into the room carrying the bag I’d left with him from before the crash. “You’re a cheetah, kitten. You don’t howl like some wolf at the moon.”

  “But, Daddy, look at him. He looks awful. He’s green.”

  A stream of Sassy’s brothers came inside, overburdened with plastic bags. I nodded to Dean and Charlie, who flashed me knowing grins. The rest of Sassy’s brothers blended together, younger carbon copies of their father. “If you expect me to remember your names, you’re out of luck today,” I announced. “I can only tell Charlie and Dean apart because Dean’s got his mother’s eyes and Charlie used a weed whacker on his head. And Joe has a military cut. The rest of you seem to have emerged from the cloning vat properly.”

  “That would be the drugs talking,” Joe announced.

  Sassy’s father gave me my bag and rescued Joe from his. “You’re fine, Aaron. Blab all you want, and we won’t think nothing of it.”

  Mercy from any male member of the Chetty family worried me. “Thank you, sir.”

  “Joe, he’s green. Why is he green?”

  Joe glanced at me, and I figured he wanted my permission to rile his sister up. I had no idea how she’d take the news, but I nodded anyway. While I waited to confess why I looked like death warmed over, I peeked into the bag to make sure everything was as I’d left it. Someone had added a second pair of shoes with red soles, and I glanced at Sassy’s father.

  He answered me with a shrug.

  Whatever. Two pairs of shoes was better than one pair of shoes, and two pairs of shoes might overload her so much she’d enter orbit and crash faster, which would give everyone some peace and quiet. Personally, I hoped someone startled her into shifting so when she did crash and burn, she’d do so as a cheetah. Eighty pounds of cheetah was somehow easier to handle than the woman. I could carry eighty pounds of cheetah around, although I’d likely coerce one of her brothers into doing the hauling for me.

  “All right. Sit yourself down next to Aaron and take your new shoes,” Joe ordered.

  Sassy growled but obeyed, and I set the bag on her lap. “It’s not that bad.”

  “It is that bad. It’s like this, Sassy. I got the information from your lawyer because I’m filing a medical malpractice suit against the hospital. They released him with potentially lethal internal bleeding. There’s no way any reasonable testing would have missed the internal bleeding. They knew he was bleeding, and they released him anyway. He had a minor brain bleed and severe abdominal bleeding. Yesterday, you were evicted upstairs so I could work on him. The bleeding is resolved, but because of e
xposure to our father, the virus had ample opportunity to take root. He’s green because the virus is working overtime replicating and taking care of his injuries. Right now, I have him heavily drugged so he’s not really feeling it. One of the medications I had you pick up was to control the nausea and vomiting associated with early onset lycanthropy.”

  Sassy sucked in a breath and froze, her eyes widening. “Early onset lycanthropy?”

  “Infection was essentially inevitable. When he arrived yesterday, his blood pressure was dangerously low. I had a choice of taking him back to the hospital or hooking up a field line to Dad. I opted to hook him up to Dad and let the virus sort the mess out. The bleeding’s under control, but he’s going to be sick for a while. We’re going to do a proper virus check tonight.”

  The instant she realized what a confirmed infection entailed, her face fell, and judging from her expression, she believed her dreams of becoming a cop shattered to dust.

  “Confirmed early onset won’t hurt your chances of becoming a cop, Sassy. If anything, it improves them,” I said. “They want to see lycanthropes in the force, and having one bordering on first shift or post-first shift is ideal for their needs, and there are already rules in place for early onset infections. Your brother’s been handling the paperwork. Since you’ve been shifting for a while, you’ll be responsible for me. You’ll have paperwork to sign, I’m sure.”

  “He’s right. You’ll be responsible for him in the field, and after he goes through training on how to prevent the infection from spreading, it won’t be a problem.” Joe sat on the arm of the couch beside his sister and poked her in the arm. “You need to keep an eye on him and help him with the grunt investigation efforts. Until I clear him off bed rest, which should be in about a week, you’ll have to do the brunt of the physical work. At this stage, we don’t want to exhaust his virus. Since Dad’s the donor, we think he’ll demonstrate more like a breeding male than a coalition male, but we’ll have to keep an eye on him. Fortunately, because his virus is incubating so quickly, he won’t be at high risk of becoming a coalition male. Coalition males develop when there’s a lack of breeding females around.”