CatNap

by Shelley Munro

  “How did you escape the zoo?”

  Kiran’s eyes narrowed. “You sent me there?” He inhaled, testing the man’s scent and couldn’t smell feline. The man was a human, which gave them an advantage.

  “No, my men did. I’m here to clean up the mess.”

  “What do you want?” Kiran stood, tired of pissing around. “Rohan, go and check on Emily.”

  “Stay where you are,” the man snapped. The gun wavered. Kiran caught a trace of fear in his voice.

  Rohan sprang from his seat and was halfway across the room when the man pulled the trigger. The shot echoed in the lounge. Rohan staggered, fell. Kiran’s yell of horror rang out, fury striking seconds later. He jumped the man, his greater bulk sending them both flying. They hit the floor hard, Kiran’s head thudding against the wooden coffee table. Despite the wave of dizziness, he held tight, grappling for the gun, bending the man’s wrist cruelly. A bone cracked and the gun slipped from the man’s hand. A shot fired from behind. Blood bloomed on the man’s chest and he stilled.

  Kiran leapt to his feet and whirled around, his head pounding. The scent of sandalwood reached him, his nose wrinkling in distaste. A familiar figure. Tall. Strong. Long, dark hair slicked back and fastened at his nape. A smart charcoal gray suit. A picture of elegance and beauty. A man with a distinctly cruel side. Memories tore through his head.

  Blood. So much blood.

  “You’re alive,” the man said.

  His master stood in the doorway, gun extended, an expression of satisfaction on his face. He flicked the safety and placed the gun inside his suit jacket pocket. For an instant Kiran faltered, mired in the horror of his past, then a soft masculine groan yanked him back to the present. He didn’t owe this man a thing because he’d repaid his debts tenfold during the last fifteen years. Rohan was his future, and it took seeing this man to make Kiran realize he’d received a second chance.

  He scrambled to his mate’s side, ignoring the throb in his head. A mere lump. He’d probably have a headache for a few hours, but it was bearable. “Hell, Rohan. You okay?”

  “Arm hurts like fuck,” Rohan muttered. “I’m okay. Go and check on Emily.”

  “Can you manage a shift?” Kiran asked in a terse voice, already heading from the room in search of Emily. “That will help.” Memories continued to pour back. Small and large. Time for that later. Kiran brushed past the master, intent on helping Emily.

  David’s hand flashed out to halt Kiran’s progress. “Is that all the greeting I receive?”

  “I have to see to my friend.” Kiran yanked from his touch, his skin crawling. It brought back memories. Of deprivation. Of numerous lashes. Of blood. Death.

  Emily. He had to focus on Emily.

  “Emily!” Kiran saw her prone body as soon as he entered the passage. She lay motionless on the floor, facedown. He crouched at her side. “Emily? Emily? Are you awake?” Swallowing his fear, he checked her pulse. He found one. Not a strong one, but at least she was alive. The scent of blood. He rolled her gently and found a lump on her head. It bled sluggishly. Then he saw the pool of blood spreading between her legs.

  “Shit.”

  “Kiran, it’s time to go home. I’ve come to take you home to India.”

  Kiran ignored the master. “Rohan! Rohan?”

  A tiger appeared from the lounge. The master gasped and backed up, almost tripping over Kiran and Emily.

  “Watch it!” Kiran snapped. “Stand over there and don’t move.”

  “Don’t speak to me like that.” The steely tones held reprimand. Once Kiran would have cringed, knowing of the punishment in store for him. Too bad he didn’t care anymore.

  Kiran ignored the master. “Rohan, ring Gavin and tell him it’s an emergency. Emily’s bleeding and it doesn’t look good. I think she’s losing the baby.”

  Emily moaned, claiming his attention. “Emily, love. It’s okay. No don’t move. Gavin is on his way.” At least he hoped Gavin could come immediately and wasn’t on another call. Emily’s eyelids fluttered and her eyes opened.

  “The baby?” Her eyes beseeched him to tell her everything would be all right. Kiran swallowed, knowing things didn’t look good. “Kiran!” Emily tensed, lines of pain contorting her face.

  He took her hand, barely wincing when her fingernails dug into his palm. “Hang tight, Emily. Gavin will be here soon.” She squeezed his hand, her body arching upward before she relaxed. A tear leaked from the corner of her eye.

  The lump in Kiran’s throat grew to epic proportions. He felt so helpless.

  “I insist we leave now,” David said. “You don’t owe these people anything. Come home with me. Now.” The steel in the last word was unmistakable.

  “Fuck off,” Kiran snarled. “I don’t owe you a thing.”

  “I saved you from the streets. I fed you, clothed you. I love you,” David said, moving away from the wall, but not before he glanced at the far end of the passage.

  Love? Kiran laughed at the irony. The man wouldn’t know real love if it bit him on the butt. “You might have taken me off the streets, but my life didn’t improve.”

  “You know this man, Kiran?” Rohan joined Kiran. “Gavin is on his way. About ten minutes he said. I asked him to bring Charlie.” His expression told Kiran that Rohan had mentioned the gun and the fact one of the gunmen was still here. Good.

  Kiran shot a glance at David, his former master before turning his attention back to Emily. “I hope they drive fast.” He and Rohan shared a quick glance, and the love in that one look soothed some of Kiran’s apprehension. You okay?

  Yeah. “The bullet popped out when I shifted,” he murmured so the other man wouldn’t hear. “It still hurts but the flesh has started to knit together. I was so rattled I didn’t think of shifting.”

  “You can thank Gavin,” Kiran said. “In the weeks I’ve worked with him I’ve learned a lot.”

  “If you don’t come with me now, I will shoot both of your friends,” David said in a hard voice.

  Both he and Rohan looked up. Emily moaned, the sound full of pain, but David claimed their attention with the gun pointed at them.

  Kiran and Rohan both heard the car at the same time. David didn’t hear it, his attention remaining on them, the gun held level and with confidence.

  Time to get this show on the road. He only hoped the ugly truth didn’t send Rohan fleeing.

  Kiran stood slowly, not wanting to panic David. “All right. I’ll come with you now. There’s no need to involve these people. You’re right. I owe you my allegiance.”

  “You owe me love,” David snapped. “I made sure you were educated, always had protection.”

  Shit. It had been different before. His options had been limited. Every time he’d shown a bit of independence someone had beat it out of him. Drugged him to keep him calm. Was it any wonder he’d followed every order blindly? Allowed his master to fuck him and fucked others on demand? Kiran forced his agitated feline to the back of his mind, imprisoning him in a cage. The feline snarled, disliking the need for a cage.

  Kiran dredged up the shell of his former self, silently protesting the uncomfortable fit. Didn’t matter. He’d do anything to save Emily and Rohan. Rohan, back up. Let him think I’m going to go with him.

  Damn, you can’t go with him. He’s unstable.

  When he looked up, his gaze skittered over the master’s face. His head bowed. “I’m sorry, master. You are right. I owe you much. I will leave with you whenever you are ready.”

  You are not going with him!

  Kiran could feel Rohan’s confusion battering him and knew if he looked at his mate, he’d lose it. He concentrated on David, drawing his attention away from the others and hopefully Charlie and Gavin’s arrival. Yeah, David. The man was not his master.

  “I don’t believe you,” David said. “Why didn’t you come home before?”

  “Because I didn’t remember. I didn’t know anything about my past. All I knew was my name.”

  David
gestured with the gun, pointing it toward Rohan. “Is this true?”

  “Yes.” Rohan frowned at Kiran. “When did you remember? Why didn’t you tell us?”

  “Nando’s face seemed familiar, and it all came back to me just now.”

  David nodded thoughtfully. “So you didn’t contact me, you didn’t search for me because you didn’t remember?”

  “Yes,” Kiran said, trying to ignore Emily’s pain. The less he said the better. He didn’t want David to suspect his lies. Even if he’d had his memory, he wouldn’t have returned. The only way he’d return to his former life was under coercion. He heard cautious footsteps outside and kept talking, wanting to distract, to keep David’s attention firmly on him. “Put the gun down. Let my friends go. Emily needs medical attention. I’ll come with you. Please, just let my friends go.”

  “I don’t believe you’re telling the truth.” David kept the gun pointed at Rohan.

  Kiran noticed with approval the way Rohan kept his body between Emily and David.

  “Put the gun down,” Charlie appeared at the end of the passage, weapon drawn.

  Emily moaned, and Rohan turned, bending to murmur reassurance to her.

  “We’ve got the house surrounded. Put the gun down,” Laura, the other Middlemarch cop demanded.

  With his attention on David, Kiran noticed the shift in the man’s focus and leapt at him. He drove low, knocking David into the wall with a loud thump. A weapon fired, the stench of powder filling the air. A curse sounded, but Kiran didn’t let go of David. He gripped his forearms, pinning him in place, aware of running feet, shouts and through it, Gavin’s clear and calm directions.

  “We’ve got him, Kiran,” Charlie said.

  Kiran eased up on the pressure and waited until Laura snapped a pair of handcuffs on David. “Did anyone get hit?”

  “You’re making a mistake,” David protested. “I haven’t done anything. Ask, Kiran. He’ll tell you.”

  “You’ll find a body in the lounge,” Kiran said. “He shot the man. They’re brothers.”

  “Kiran!” Panic sounded in David’s voice as he realized Kiran didn’t intend to help him. “I love you. You can’t do this to me.”

  Something broke in Kiran and he turned to David with a snarl, not bothering to hide the tiger pushing for freedom in front of him. “You’re a cruel, vicious man who gets off on power. You might have provided me with food and shelter, taken me off the streets, but you did it because it suited you.” He pushed his face close, his voice guttural because of his protruding canines. “You enslaved me and the others using us like disposable toys. That’s not love. That’s abuse of power, preying on the weak. I hope you damn well rot in jail.”

  Kiran pushed away in disgust and strode away to check on Emily. He had new friends, a job to do and a mate who loved him. Time to live for the future.

  Chapter Ten

  “Where’s Gavin?”

  “He’s in Emily and Saber’s bedroom,” Rohan said.

  Kiran headed down the other end of the passage, his heart kicking with panic when he heard Emily’s heartwrenching cries. He tapped briefly on the door and stepped inside. “What can I do?”

  “Hold Emily’s hand while I check on the bleeding,” Gavin said in a terse voice.

  Kiran took one look at his face and knew the news wasn’t good. Gavin rifled through his bag and grabbed several items while Kiran concentrated on Emily.

  “My baby,” she sobbed. “My baby isn’t moving. He pushed me. Kicked me.” Tears ran down her face, the sight wrenching at his heart.

  Another look at Gavin told him the truth. The baby was dead. Hell, this was his fault.

  “I’m so sorry, Emily.” He didn’t make the mistake of telling her there would be other babies. That wouldn’t help right now while she was grieving. “This is my fault. They wanted to get to me.”

  Emily’s hand tightened in his, her eyes full of torment. “You didn’t do this. That man did. Not your fault.”

  “Okay, Emily. I have the bleeding under control now,” Gavin said. “I’m going to give you something to help you sleep.”

  “Saber?” Emily asked, gripping Kiran’s hand so hard her nails dug into his palm. “What about the baby?”

  “Saber is on his way home,” Gavin said. “By the time you wake up, he’ll be home. I’ll do tests soon and we’ll talk.”

  “I’ll stay with you until you fall asleep,” Kiran said. It was the least he could do.

  Gavin nodded. “I’ll be back in a minute.” He opened the door and a tiger stood there.

  Kiran, that bloody man put a bullet in my ass and it didn’t come out when I shifted. Irritation sounded in Rohan.

  “Gavin, you have another patient. Rohan was shot.”

  “Where?” Gavin said, scanning Rohan.

  Kiran’s lips twitched. “His butt. You might want to take a look at his arm as well. He was shot earlier. Shifting seemed to help the first time.”

  “Why didn’t you say something?” Gavin strode through the doorway. “Let’s leave Emily alone with Kiran. I’ll take a quick look in the next room.”

  The door closed behind them. Emily’s breathing was quiet, her eyes closed. Kiran continued to hold her hand, wondering how he could have done things differently, how he could have kept both Emily and Rohan safe. The baby. Time passed and Emily slept.

  In the short time he’d known Emily, he’d come to care for her. She was the heart of the Mitchell family. Everyone loved her, and Kiran didn’t know how they’d get past this.

  He heard the distant sound of a car, determined footsteps and the door flew open. The raw pain on Saber’s face tore at Kiran’s gut.

  “She’s asleep,” Kiran said.

  “But she’s okay?”

  “Yeah.” Kiran hesitated to mention the baby. He wasn’t sure of the details yet, but he knew the baby hadn’t moved since Emily had fallen.

  Saber sat on the edge of the bed opposite Kiran. He brushed her hair away from her face in a tender gesture that made Kiran feel in the way.

  “Saber?”

  “I’m here, sweetheart.”

  Kiran released her hand and stood.

  “The others are in the kitchen,” Saber said.

  Kiran nodded.

  “Saber, the baby. It’s not moving,” Emily said, a tearful catch in her voice. “I think he’s died. Gavin said he’ll have to do more tests. I fell.” Pain choked her up. “There was so much blood.”

  Kiran slipped from the room, the agony of Emily’s words echoing through his mind. As he closed the door, he heard the murmur of Saber’s reply and his guilt intensified. If it hadn’t been for him, David and Nando wouldn’t have come to Middlemarch.

  He entered the kitchen, and Charlie arrived seconds later.

  “How’s Emily?” Gavin asked.

  “She woke just as I left. I left her with Saber. Is the baby dead?”

  Gavin dragged a hand through his hair, looking tired. “I think…yeah, it is. I couldn’t hear a heartbeat. I’ll do more tests and operate if necessary tomorrow.”

  “Shit,” Kiran said, feeling sick with dread. His fault.

  “Feel up to answering some questions?” Charlie asked. “We can go into one of the other rooms.”

  “Here is fine. I don’t mind.” Kiran dropped into a chair near Rohan, the need for Rohan’s touch roaring through him. “You okay?”

  Rohan snorted. “See how you feel having a bullet dug out of your butt. It’s sore.”

  “I’m sorry,” Kiran said.

  “What have you got to be sorry for? You didn’t shoot me.” Rohan stood and moved gingerly. “Damn, it’s hard to sit. Don’t smirk,” Rohan said to Gavin and Charlie. “I’ll unsheathe my claws in your rear ends and see how easy it is for you to sit on a wooden chair.”

  Kiran lifted his shoulders in an irritable shrug. “Yeah, but it was because of me you were shot and Emily was hurt.”

  “Rubbish,” Rohan said, moving to stand behind Kiran. Rohan grasped his
shoulder and squeezed in silent support. Rohan’s touch helped bolster his dragging spirits. Damn, he’d never felt so drained in all his life. He should be happy considering his memory had returned, but the knowledge of his past made things worse.

  Gavin handed him a drink. “Here, get that in you. Rohan said your memory has come back.”

  “Yeah.”

  “And those guys?” Charlie asked.

  Kiran’s hand clenched around the glass. “It’s not pretty. Are you sure you want to hear?”

  “I’m going to have to do a report of some sort,” Charlie said. “We have one dead and another in our jail. Laura wasn’t very happy about babysitting the man. She said he’s rude and obnoxious. She was tempted to kick his butt but couldn’t because that would be police brutality.” Charlie shook his head, his eyes crinkling at the corners in a trace of amusement.

  “I’m in the country without visas or paperwork,” Kiran said. “If I’m in a report, that will raise questions.”

  “Don’t worry about the paperwork,” Saber said entering the kitchen. “We can sort that out for you quick enough. We have contacts.”

  Kiran swallowed, the black of depression gnawing at his conscience. His fault. All his fault. “Why would you do that for me when my presence brought David and Nando to Middlemarch? It’s because of me they hurt Emily.”

  “And it’s because of me they tracked you here. I kept meaning to take the chip into Charlie and Laura, but I’ve had a lot on my mind and forgot,” Saber said in a hard voice. “If anyone is at fault it’s me.”

  “Bullshit,” Gavin said. “You’re both forgetting those men were driven and intent on getting to Kiran. From what Rohan said, neither of them intended to leave without Kiran. You have to accept there are some things in life we can’t change. All we can do is hang tight and ride the storm. It could have been a lot worse. Emily will get through this. She’s healthy and there’s no reason she can’t have children in the future. Rohan is already healing and Kiran has his memory back.” Gavin pulled out a chair and shunted it toward Saber. “Sit. You must have driven like a maniac to get back so soon.”