by RM Alexander
Regellius lifted a paw a mere inch, and then dropped it hard against the floor.
“That’s right, boy. I’m here. Fight, Regellius. Come back to us.”
The tiger opened his eyes, looked to her, a strangled sound coming from deep in his throat. A large tongue, pink and dry eased out. Cami pushed a finger closer and the Siberian touched the finger with the tongue.
“I know, boy. We’re special, aren’t we? That’s why you can’t leave me, okay?”
Regellius pulled his tongue back and closed his eyes. Footsteps thudded behind Cami, and she slowly turned her head, fingers still brushing against Regellius’ fur. It rippled like a pebble tossed in a pond.
Jessica’s face lengthened and hollowed. “I’m sorry Cami. When Alex was here earlier, Regellius’ head lifted from the concrete, he even eased up to lie upright, but a little bit ago, maybe fifteen minutes, it seemed to slip away and he returned to this,” she waved at him.
“Is it still the pesticide?”
She shrugged. “It must be. We’ve pumped him with intravenous fluids, but he must have been fed an awful lot of it. Seeing how hard he’s having to fight, I’m amazed it didn’t kill him. The road to recovery might take a lot longer than even I expected.”
“Have you drawn more blood?”
“Yes, of course. There’s still fair traces of poisons in his system. I’m sorry, Cami. I’m trying.” She nodded at the tiger. “He is too.”
She nodded, turned to lean her head against the bars. The only tiger in the whole of the sanctuary with whom she could dare get this close to – be this careless with. Because with any other tiger, head against the bars, fingers poking through the barrier, was a daring death wish. She sighed. Regellius was the only tiger she could dare do this with, and the chances of losing him were still high.
Alex crouched beside her. “Anything I can do for you? Want something to sit on? Something to drink? Just some company?”
She shook her head, eyes never leaving Regellius. She felt the space between her and Alex shift, and turned around. “Wait. Please stay.”
His lips twitched into a light smile before growing serious again, and he sat against the pavement, arm wrapping around her waist. “They’re going to find whoever did this.”
She shook her head, heart heavy. “I don’t know. There’s not much to go on, and Tommy …”
“And Tommy is very good at his job. He’ll find him.”
Cami pulled her hand away from the cat, and leaned against Alex’s hardened body, head resting on his shoulder. “I hope so. And I’m going to press every charge available to press against them. But that won’t save the cats.”
“No. It won’t. You have to have faith. He’s strong and he’s fighting. Reggy is going to be okay.”
Jessica called from the a few cells down, voice dreary. “Cami. It’s Bianca. She’s gone.”
Cami rose to her feet and stumbled to Bianca’s cell, the two year old Indo-Chinese cat, so much smaller than Regellius, still, tongue hanging out the corner of her mouth, eyes wide and glassy.
Cami’s eyes teared. “She was so young and healthy.”
Alex’s hands rubbed her shoulders, dropped and wrapped around her waist.
Jessica nodded. “Yes, but smaller. Indos are smaller than Siberians and she had a good amount of poison in her, I think more than Regellius. She couldn’t work it through.”
Liz walked into the room, paused to stare at the corpse and spoke, voice cracking, “Cami, your parents are here. Do you want me to send them away?”
She shook her head. “No, I better go talk to them.”
He grabbed her hand. “Do you want me to come with?”
“No. I’m not in the mood do deal with all their questions and insinuations about us. I’ll just talk to them, and I’ll be back as soon as I can. Text me 911 if something happens with Regellius or Xena, or any of the others, okay?”
“Of course. I won’t leave.”
She nodded. “Thank you.”
Liz followed Cami out of the room, the silent agreement between her and Alex passing without words, but Cami understood. With another cat down, and Regellius barely hanging in there, her friends wouldn’t leave her alone.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Mr. and Mrs. Lockhart stood on the front porch, the impatience on her mother’s face visible even from a distance, and crawled under Cami’s skin. She should be with her cats, not entertaining, even if that entertaining was her parents. She set her jaw. They have to leave.
Mr. and Mrs. Lockhart shifted when they saw their daughter, and two matching smiles greeted Cami. A forced smile graced her own lips, she strolled up the walk to the house. “I’m surprised to see you. Everything okay?”
“We were wondering the same thing. Georgette told us you stopped by, and when we couldn’t get a hold of you, we thought we’d better stop by.”
Cami nodded, understanding now. She’d ignored the cell phone, hadn’t called them, of course they’d come by. “It was nothing. I’m not even sure what I stopped by for, right now.”
Her mother stepped forward. “You look upset. Is everything all right?”
“Everything’s fine, Mom. Just busy.”
Mrs. Lockhart shook her head decisively, searching Cami’s face. “No. There’s something wrong.” Her head lifted and glanced towards the sanctuary. “Quiet here today. Usually the cats are making all kinds of noise – sounds like a zoo around here most of the time.”
Liz stepped onto the first step, standing behind Cami, and Cami grinned. At least someone was there to offer support. Not just the Spanish Inquisition kind. “They’re all inside, Mrs. Lockhart. Hello, Mr. Lockhart.”
“Why, Elizabeth. It’s so nice to see you again.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Lockhart. It’s been awhile.”
“Yes, it has. How is your family?”
“Doing great. Dad is crazy with work, Mom has been packing up the house. They’re moving to a smaller place now with us kids out on our own.”
“That’s right, your youngest brother must be out of high school now.”
Liz nodded. “Yep, graduated last year and away at Yale.”
Mr. Lockhart grunted in approval. “Yale. Impressive. We were hoping Cami would attend, but she was never interested.”
Of course Liz knows that, Dad, we’ve been friends since before we could walk. “What is he studying, dear?”
“Physics, Mrs. Lockhart. He’s the brains in the family.”
Mr. Lockhart laughed. “Nothing wrong with that. That’s wonderful. Congratulate your parents when you see them.”
Cami’s skin itched. I don’t have time for this.
Liz laughed and nodded. “Sure will.” She reached over to Cami’s hand and gently gave a reassuring squeeze. “I’m going to head back down. Talk to you soon?” Her voice dropped so the senior Lockharts couldn’t hear.
She nodded, softly smiled.
With Liz gone, and Cami left alone with her parents, she stiffened her neck and marched forward. “Want to come in?”
Her mother nodded. “Of course, dear. We don’t get to visit with you enough as it is, we don’t want to share what little time we have with you out here on the porch.”
She fought back the wave of annoyance and garnered a smile. “Do you want anything to drink?”
“Some lemonade for me.”
“Just some water, honey.” Her father settled on the couch, elbows resting against knees.
Cami was sure he saw her mood, and most likely suspected something was wrong with the eyes of a lawyer who knew when client and opposing council were lying. The realization made her self-conscious and she felt like the proverbial egg shells were scattered all over the living and kitchen room floors.
Pouring the lemonade seemed to take forever, her hands fumbling with the glass and nearly spilling the yellow sugary liquid. And hating how much, and easily, they got to her. More than ten years out of their house, and she still felt like a little girl fighting for approval
.
She growled under her breath.
In the living room, she handed the drinks out and took a good long sip of water.
“How’s the sanctuary coming, honey? Any problems?”
She gritted her teeth. What to say that wouldn’t be a lie? “I have some sick cats. But the vet is the best I could find, so the prognosis is hopeful.”
“It didn’t take long for something to happen, did it?” Mrs. Lockhart laughed and placed the glass on the coffee table.
Cami narrowed her eyes, neck thickening with tightened muscles. “It’s the nature of the beast, I think.” Except it wasn’t. Not pesticide poisonings. Not intentionally killing the cats by burning their insides until organs bled and died. Anger boiled in the pits of her stomach and she swallowed hard.
Mr. Lockhart’s voice was less amused and gentler than her mother’s. “Anything we can help with?”
“Why? You haven’t been interested in the sanctuary.”
“That’s unfair, Camille.”
She swallowed more water. “If it is, I apologize. Anyway, no, we have it managed.”
A phone rang behind the office door, and Cami settled her glass against a nearby book shelf, home to a handful of books, a statue of a sitting white tiger cub with wide eyes, and a picture of her standing with Liz and Alex with shovels in hand from ground-breaking day. “I better answer that. Excuse me for a moment?”
Retreating behind the office door and closing it with a whisper, Cami jogged to the wireless phone resting on the desk, the caller ID lit with in a hazy yellow glow. Alex’s name, etched in black, broken lined box letters, brought a smile to her face. She answered. “Thank you.”
“Thought you might need a break. Want me to come up there?”
“No, but thank you.”
“You sure? We could tell them we’re a hot item. That’d give them something to talk about for a bit.”
She chuckled at the thought, then stopped. “Alex? Can we go for dinner later this week? Once Regellius turns …” her voice trailed off. She started to say “Once Regellius turns one way or the other”, but the words wouldn’t come out. She couldn’t. “Once we know something.”
Silence draped the connection for a moment, then he said, “You mean a date?”
She sucked a lip over her teeth. “Yes, I mean a date.”
“Cami, I’d be honored.”
She nodded, said goodbye and gained composure to return to her parents when the phone rang again. She didn’t wait for the caller ID this time, picking up the line midway through the first ring. “Hey there, everything okay?”
“I’m sorry, is this Lockhart Sanctuary?”
“Yes, yes it is. And who is this?”
“Michigan DNR. We have two tiger cubs that need a home and were referred to you by another sanctuary too full to take them. Do you have room?”
“I most certainly do. How soon do you need me to come for them?”
“Well, as soon as you can. We took custody of them from a private home, and while they seem strong, the cubs have been neglected. How soon can you come?”
“I’ll leave in the next couple hours. It’s early afternoon, so I wouldn’t be there until late tonight. Are they safe until morning?”
“Yes, and that would be fine. Thank you, Ms. Lockhart.”
“Thank you.”
Cami placed the phone on the receiver, mind racing. Two new tigers. Cubs. A tear seeped down a cheek and then a nod of determination.
In the living room, her parents were huddled together with whispers. Cami didn’t bother to ask. “I’m sorry that took me so long, but I just received a call, and I have to head to Michigan.”
“Michigan? Now?”
Cami nodded. “Yes, I have two cubs to pick up. I’m sorry to leave like this, but-"
“Now? It’s two in the afternoon. You can’t be serious about driving all the way to Michigan now.”
“Yes, Mom, I am. I’m sure I won’t be going alone. Either way, this is my job.”
Mrs. Lockhart scoffed. “Job? This is not a job.”
“Abigail, don’t –"
“No, Thomas, I’m tired of this. Her playing like a female Tarzan around here, living with wild animals who’d just as easily eat her, and now we’re getting kicked out so she can go pick up two more of those beasts. They’re wild animals! Not house cats, but wild animals. And she’s living feet from them. Am I the only one that thinks this is crazy?”
Cami drew in a steadying deep breath. It wasn’t enough. “Why don’t you say how you feel, Mom. Don’t hold back.”
“Don’t you dare talk to me like that.”
“Look, I don’t have time for this. I have to get ready for transport, and it’s going to be a long day. I’m sorry, but we’ll have to do this when I get back. Maybe later this week.”
Her mother and father stood, the steely movements grinding. Cami wanted to feel bad and couldn’t. The lack of support irked everything within her. The phone call came at the right time. If they’d stayed, the argument would have exploded into something larger and more hurtful.
Without a single goodbye, her parents stepped out the house and headed to their SUV, while Alex strode up the lawn to the house. He turned to watch them leave, then looked to Cami. “Not a good visit, I’m guessing.”
“It almost never is. What do you have going on this evening?”
“A dinner date, I hope.”
She shook her head. “Not tonight. How’s Regellius?”
He shrugged. “Stable.”
“Would you mind taking a road trip with me?”
Alex smiled. “Sounds better than dinner. Where are we going?”
She shook her head again with a smirk. “It’s not like that. Michigan. A couple of cubs need a home.”
Alex’s smile grew wider. “I’d love to come. Overnighter, it sounds like.”
“Yeah,” she nodded. “We have to get all the way there tonight, pick them up first thing tomorrow and come back.”
He took the Stetson off and smiled. “I wouldn’t miss it. What time do we leave?”
“I need to get transport ready, put together an overnight bag. Can you be ready in two hours?”
“Of course I can. I’ll run home and grab a change of clothes. When I get back, I’ll help you get transport ready.” She nodded. “Go check on Reggy. You know you can’t leave without checking on him.”
Cami nodded again and smiled. “Thanks for understanding, Alex. I think you’re the only one who does.”
“Cami …” he paused. The circle of thoughts tumbling for attention were nearly visible. Instead, he said only, “Always.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Regellius steady, Jessica making every assurance he’d survive the night. The overnight bag packed, transport of two large dog sized cages secured in the back of the sanctuary’s black F150 with the matching trailer concealing metal cages inside. Cami’s overnight bag and Alex’s black duffel bag tucked behind the bench, he settled behind the steering wheel. She punched the address of the zoo in Battle Creek, Michigan into the GPS and leaned back into the new upholstered seats. Nine hours, some odd minutes. Not bad.
“Ready?”
She nodded. “Sure. You want to take the first shift?”
“I can do the whole nine hours if you want.”
She shrugged. “Up to you. We can split the time today and tomorrow, or you can drive today and I’ll take tomorrow. What do you think?”
Alex smiled. “I’m yours. Anything you want.”
She cocked her head, hair waterfalling over a shoulder. I’m yours. The words tickled something inside and she swallowed hard. “Play it by ear then.”
He turned the key and pulled away from Lockhart Sanctuary. Away from Tommy and an investigation not moving fast enough for Cami, away from her parents and the drama inevitably attached to them, Regellius and the only reason she felt guilty for leaving.
She glanced at him. A trace of a smile played on his lips, the Stetson resting on th
e armrest between them, short black hair lit with a natural shine, dark eyes trained the road ahead, ever present five o’clock shadow dressing the sharpness of his jawline. They’d grown up together, and there were few days she didn’t see him. Now she couldn’t help but wonder why she never saw how handsome he was. Drop dead gorgeous. The kind that should’ve meant having to beat women off with sticks, invitations should’ve been never-ending. She smiled, looked out the window at the mountains crowned with trees and rounded crags. Have I been blind?
Alex reached across the armrest and took her hand. “Thank you for inviting me.”
She thought for a moment. “No one else I would have wanted to take the trip with.”
“That’s nice to hear. Seems like we’ve been dancing around each other since we were diapers.”
She laughed. “I guess so.”
A gentle squeeze and he let go, retreating to hold the steering wheel with both hands. “What’s the deal with Paul Schotter?”
“There is no deal. I’m not sure what he was doing. Tommy doesn’t think he’s a part of what happened to the tigers.”
“But you do.”
She shrugged. “Yeah, I do. We went on a couple dates, but I never trusted him. That kiss you saw, it was the only one.”
He glanced out the driver’s side window and returned his attention the road ahead of them. “You don’t have to say that. You don’t owe me anything.”
“No,” she said. “I don’t. But I want to. Now, I want to make sure you know that.”
“Why now?” The blinker clicked and he turned east towards Knoxville.
She paused, squirming as a rush of heat passed over her. “Maybe I’m seeing you for the first time,” she whispered. An undefinable silence passed between them. “You know, you’ve always been there for me. Always. I never questioned it. I never considered why, and, maybe I took it for granted.”
“We’re friends, you’ve been just as good a friend to me – nothing about that is taking anything for granted.”