Black Fire [Panther Key 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Scarlet Day

  Brad grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulders before picking up a tranquilizer rifle and joining them on the bank.

  “So this is where you saw her?” Brad looked back at Bobby, who was pulling fishing gear out from under the seats.

  “She was trying to get water. I tried to get closer, but she was skittish. She looked bad though. Don’t think she would’ve gone far.”

  Brad nodded and scanned the bank. “Okay, let’s get going. This heat’s gonna be bad today.”

  Abby followed Brad up the bank while Bryce fell in behind her. It was hard to imagine it being hotter today than it had been yesterday, but they were much deeper in the Everglades today, and Abby could already feel the increased humidity weighing down on her. South Florida was in the middle of a heat wave, and the hurricane that had come through just a few weeks before, right before she’d moved to Miami, hadn’t done much to relieve the dry conditions. From what Brad had told her yesterday, this area should be completely under water.

  Brad led the way through the grass and brush toward a stand of trees in the distance. It wasn’t a straight walk. They had to change directions several times to avoid marshy areas where brackish water stood in shallow pools. They constantly scanned the area and followed any small paths that looked recently traveled by animals. Brad stopped numerous times, bending low to the ground to identify tracks.

  After two hours of hiking, Abby was beginning to think they weren’t going to find the injured animal. Her heart ached to think about it out here alone and hurt, unable to take care of itself and suffering. Just as she was starting to give up hope, Brad came to a stop in front of her and knelt down, looking at the ground.

  “She’s close.” He stood back up and moved more quickly toward the looming stand of trees before coming to a halt again.

  Abby looked around him and gasped. About twenty feet ahead was a golden-furred panther. She was stretched out underneath a palmetto bush, and she was still alive. Her sides heaved as she struggled for breath. The cat lifted her head a couple of inches off the ground, and her ears twitched in their direction, but she made no other move. From the looks of her wounds, it was no wonder. Abby’s stomach rolled at the ugly gashes raking across the cat’s rear flank. The flesh had ripped open and hung in shreds. Dried blood caked her fur. Flies swarmed around the wounds.

  Brad and Bryce knelt on the ground and worked to ready the tranquilizer, but Abby barely noticed. Tears leapt to her eyes as she watched the majestic creature suffer, feeling like it was her own pain. Without even realizing what she was doing, Abby darted around Brad and ran to the animal. By the time Brad and Bryce jumped up to stop her, she was already falling to her knees at the panther’s head.

  “Poor baby.” Abby cooed to the creature and gently scooped the big cat’s head into her hands. “Good girl. Such a good girl.” She sat on the ground and laid the cat’s head in her lap then stroked the fur across the cat’s cheek and neck in long, soothing motions. “We’re not gonna hurt you, baby. We’re here to help.”

  The cat turned its big brown eyes up to Abby then closed her eyes and settled her cheek against Abby’s leg, purring.

  “What the…Abby, what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

  Abby turned her face up to Brad, even though she could barely see him through the tears in her eyes. She heard the anger and alarm in his voice, but she knew his anger wouldn’t have changed what she’d done.

  “She hurts so bad, Brad.” Abby’s voice hitched in her throat, and she felt the tears slide down her cheeks. She knew Brad would probably think she was crazy, but she had to say what flashed into her mind. “She has kittens…over there.” She motioned to the palmetto bushes a few hundred yards away.

  Bryce went off in the direction Abby indicated, and Brad slowly knelt down in front of her. “Okay, Abby. We’ll talk about how you know all this later. What else can you tell me?”

  Relief surged through Abby that Brad believed her. “It was an alligator. She was trying to catch a bird for her babies and got caught by the gator.”

  Brad reached out and ran his fingers across Abby’s cheek, wiping the tears that continued to flow, then cupped her face in his hand. “We’ll take care of her, Abby. I promise.”

  Abby nodded and looked down at the cat. “Did you hear that, girl? It’s gonna be okay.” The big cat purred as Abby continued to stroke her fur.

  Bryce came back into view holding two small, brown bundles of fur. “You’re not gonna believe this.”

  Brad looked over his shoulder at him. “Oh, I don’t know. I might believe a lot of things right now.”

  Abby chuckled through new tears as the feeling of joy that the kittens had been found overwhelmed her. It wasn’t just her joy but the cat’s as well. Brad moved to the cat’s injured flank and slipped a hypodermic needle under the skin. The cat didn’t even flinch but continued to purr in Abby’s lap. Moments later, the cat’s body went limp as the tranquilizer took effect.

  She wiped her eyes on her shirt and then looked up at Brad, able to see him clearly now. She expected to see anger in his eyes, but instead, a variety of emotions she couldn’t even name played across his face.

  “You scared the hell out of me, Abby.”

  She turned her eyes back down, and tears threatened to spill out of them again. “Sorry.”

  “Hey.” Brad put one finger under her chin and tilted her face back up. “I’m not mad. I should be, but I’m not. That was incredible.” His mouth turned up in a lopsided grin, and Abby’s heart did a somersault.

  Bryce knelt down next to them and put one hand on the wounded cat’s chest, while securing the kittens in the crook of his other arm. “Her heartbeat is weak, but it’s steady.” He glanced up at Brad and Abby saw a look pass between them, but she didn’t know what it meant.

  “Let’s get this little lady and her kittens back to the boat.” Brad gently picked the big cat up and draped her across his broad shoulders then extended a hand and helped Abby to stand up.

  Bryce had settled the kittens into an extra duffel bag, and they were poking their little heads out while he tickled their chins.

  They retraced their steps back to the boat. Even though it was now the hottest part of the day, Abby felt somehow lighter. She was still trying to piece together what had happened back there and knew she was going to have to explain it to Brad. She just had to figure out how to explain it to herself first.

  Chapter Seven

  Concern ate at Brad. Once the adrenaline had worn off, Abby had started shaking. It had happened around the time they got back to the airboat, and it hadn’t stopped yet. Brad put the truck in park next to Abby’s Jeep and turned off the engine then turned to look over Abby’s head and motioned to Bryce.

  Bryce nodded and got out of the truck then walked around to the back to check on their passengers. Brad took one of Abby’s hands in his. Her fingers were ice cold.

  “Abby, Bryce is going to take the cats to our clinic, and I’m going to drive you home, okay?” Abby nodded but kept shaking.

  Brad didn’t know if Abby normally drank alcohol, but he decided a couple of drinks might do her some good in this case. Hell, it might even do him some good. He helped her out of the truck, and Bryce took his place in the driver’s seat.

  “Abby, honey, let me have your car keys.”

  Abby looked at him with confusion apparent in her eyes then nodded and fished the keys out of her pocket. He led her around to the passenger side of her Jeep and settled her into the seat.

  Before getting into the driver’s side, he opened the passenger door of the truck and reached around the seat, grabbing a bag that he kept spare clothes in. He looked over to Bryce, uncertain how his brother would react to what he was going to say. “I may stay with her tonight. I’ll see how she does.”

  Bryce looked at him for a minute and then nodded. “Take care of her. And, Brad…” Bryce hesitated for a long moment and then let out a long breath. “She really is the one.”

&nb
sp; “I know, brother. Call me once you assess our patient. I think it might help Abby’s state of mind.” Bryce nodded, and Brad closed the door.

  He watched Bryce back the truck out of the parking space and drive out of the parking lot. Brad knew his brother didn’t want to leave Abby, but they had a duty to make sure the cat was taken care of. It was a responsibility they took very seriously.

  Brad climbed into the driver’s seat of the Jeep and started the engine. Abby stared straight ahead through the windshield, still shaking. He backed out of the parking space and then reached over and wrapped one of his hands around Abby’s, entwining their fingers together.

  “We’re going to figure this out, Abby.” She nodded but kept staring ahead and shaking.

  He already knew where Abby lived since her address was on the personnel records she had filled out and faxed to him before she had moved to Florida. He needed her to talk to him, but he thought it might be easier for her if she got some food into her first, not to mention those drinks.

  Brad had an uncanny ability to sense when trouble was near, but he hadn’t felt any threat from the cat toward Abby. It had been a shock to see Abby approach the wounded animal, but after he got over his initial fear he had sensed she wasn’t in danger. Whatever had happened out there had obviously come as a bigger surprise to Abby than it had to even him and Bryce. He could still feel the shock, confusion, and disbelief rolling off her even now. His mind froze at the realization. He could feel strong emotions from her.

  Brad was starting to have some suspicions about Abby, but he was too unsure of his thoughts, not to mention the improbability of where they led, to voice them to anyone, including himself.

  * * * *

  After picking up pizza and a bottle of wine, Brad pulled into the parking lot at Abby’s apartment building just as daylight began to fade. She lived on a fairly busy street. The building was one of the many old, concrete block apartment buildings that dotted this part of Miami. Brad figured it had probably been a motel at one point in its distant past, judging from the design.

  As he got out of the car, the hair on the back of his neck stood up, and an eerie feeling came over him. Looking around, he scanned the twilight shadows for anything that might cause his warning bells to go off. Cars sped by, seagulls flew overhead, and a lone housecat skulked in the bushes next to the apartment building. Brad sniffed the air. Nothing smelled unusual, other than the rotting garbage in the dumpster behind the business next door. Shrugging off the uneasy feeling, he helped Abby out of the Jeep and then up to her second-level apartment, noting she was definitely still shaky on her feet.

  Once inside the apartment, he put the pizza in the oven to stay warm and looked through the cabinets until he found a couple of wineglasses. He poured a healthy amount into one and handed it to Abby.

  “Drink this.”

  He was relieved she didn’t argue with him but instead took the glass and downed the contents in a few quick swallows.

  “Good. Now, go stand under a hot shower for a few minutes. It’ll help you feel better.”

  She nodded and headed off to the bathroom, still looking like she was in a daze. Brad sighed and looked around. He’d never been in an apartment this small. He could easily walk across it in two strides. The bed was in the far corner next to the bathroom. There was a dark-green comforter haphazardly thrown across it. A sofa was set against one wall with a small flat-screen television hung on the wall across from it. A round dining table was the only other furniture in the room.

  Brad heard water running in the bathroom and hoped that the wine and warm water would help relax Abby. He could use something to help himself relax, for that matter. He’d prefer something a little stronger than wine though. Curious, he went to the kitchen and poked through a few cabinets, grinning when he spotted a new bottle of tequila tucked behind a box of cereal. He found a juice glass and poured a healthy measure of tequila then downed it in one gulp. The alcohol would relax him, but shifter metabolism burned through it so fast it was impossible to get drunk. Not that his younger brothers didn’t try to test that theory every weekend.

  Brad had spent most of a sleepless night thinking about being alone with Abby. Now that he was here, he wasn’t sure how he felt about it. As much as he wanted to make slow, passionate love to her, he would not take advantage of her in her shaken state of mind. He might be an animal, but he was still a gentleman.

  He laughed at himself and paced across the floor. He was making a big assumption that she would even want him. He was her employer, for god’s sake. She probably didn’t see him as anything but the person who’d hired her. But even as the thought crossed his mind, Brad knew it was a lie. He had smelled her desire yesterday and again this morning.

  The sound of the bathroom door opening grabbed his attention. Abby walked out wearing a purple tank top and pajama bottoms. Her wet hair draped across her shoulders and down her back in a dark curtain. Brad almost groaned and had to remind himself about being a gentleman.

  “That did make me feel better. Um, you can use the shower if you’d like.” Brad watched as Abby’s cheeks flushed an enticing pink. A quick shower might do him some good, but it certainly wouldn’t be a hot shower.

  * * * *

  With most of the pizza gone and half a bottle of wine in Abby, Brad thought she might be relaxed enough to talk about what had happened earlier. After he had showered and changed, they had made small talk while they ate, knowing they were working their way to this point.

  Abby got up from the table, picked up her glass and the bottle of wine, then went over to the sofa and sat down in the middle, tucking her legs up under her. Brad followed her and settled at one end, deciding to let her take the lead in the conversation.

  Abby spent a couple of minutes staring down into her glass before speaking. “I don’t really know how to explain what happened today. As soon as I looked in the cat’s eyes, it was like…I don’t know, like she was inside my head.” She sighed heavily and looked up at him. “That probably sounds as crazy to you as it does to me.”

  Brad chose his words carefully. “Not as crazy as you might think.”

  Abby snorted. “Yeah, right. I’m sure you know lots of people who claim animals are talking to them.” She shook her head. “You’re probably going to fire me for being mentally unstable anyway, so I might as well tell you all of it.”

  Before she could say another word, Brad put one finger over her lips. “Let’s get something straight first. I am not going to fire you.”

  Abby’s expression showed she was clearly skeptical. “I’d fire me. I’ve obviously got a screw loose somewhere.”

  Brad couldn’t help but chuckle at her grumbling. “I think your screws are just fine. I’m sure there’s an explanation. Why don’t you tell me the rest?”

  She looked doubtful but shrugged. “Well, it wasn’t just that I could hear her thoughts, but more like I could actually see inside her head. I could see what she saw, what happened to her. I could feel her pain.” Her voice choked at the end, and Brad saw the tears spring to her eyes. “It’s like I can still feel it.”

  Brad couldn’t help himself. He had vowed to keep his distance tonight, but she needed comfort, and he didn’t have the self-control to deny her anything. He slid over and wrapped her in his arms as a sob tore from her. “It’s okay, Abby.” He stroked her hair and down her back, over and over, until she calmed down again. He refilled her wineglass and waited for her to take a few swallows.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to go to pieces there.” Abby wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “I don’t usually cry much, but this whole thing is just so…” She shook her head, plainly at a loss for words.

  “I’m guessing this has never happened before?”

  Abby laughed ruefully. “Definitely not. I’ve always felt like I had a connection with animals, but I’ve never had one crawl inside my head before.”

  “Interesting that it was a panther.” Brad was becoming more and more suspic
ious about something that had been nagging at the back of his mind.

  “I’ll tell you what’s interesting.” Surprise registered across Abby’s face. “Last night I had a nightmare about being kidnapped, but I knew someone was trying to find me. I think it was you and…Bryce? But I hadn’t even met him yet, so that can’t be right. But the really weird thing is that, when you showed up and the door opened, it was a big cat standing in the doorway. And instead of being terrified, you know, like a sane person would be, I went running to the cat.” Her eyes went wide as she looked at him, and her cheeks flushed bright-pink. “And I can’t believe I just told you that.” She palmed her forehead and shook her head. “I really have lost it.”

  Brad sat in stunned silence. She had dreamed of him as a cat! His heart leapt in his chest. Brad didn’t believe in coincidences. Not in matters like this anyway. He and Bryce might not be able to sense the part of Abby’s mind that could tell them if she was a shifter, but now he knew that it was definitely there, hidden. And the suspicion he’d been fostering was all but confirmed as far as he was concerned. She had communicated with the injured panther. He could sense some of her emotions. And she had dreamed of him in his cat form.

  Abby was a shifter. She just didn’t know it yet.

  Chapter Eight

  Abby looked up from where she had her face buried in her palm and wondered why Brad hadn’t responded to her humiliating revelation. How could she have actually told him she had dreamed of him? And as a cat, no less! Yep, it was official. She was certifiable.

  Her humiliation turned to confusion, however, when she saw the look on Brad’s face. He looked positively shell-shocked. She got up and retrieved the tequila bottle and glass off the dining table then returned to the sofa and poured a shot.