The Sierra Files Box Set: Books 1-3: Plus a bonus Christmas novella!

by Christy Barritt

  My heart softened. He was talking to me now, I realized. Trying to tell me that he did accept me, cats and all.

  “Your grandmother is cuddly?” Kyla asked. She shook her head. “Never mind. I don’t want to know.”

  “Weird, right? But, if I didn’t love her, I would never be here. Isn’t that what love is about? Putting aside our own desires in order to make your loved one happy?”

  “I suppose,” Kyla muttered.

  I smiled, my heart lifting for the first time all week. Maybe Chad and I weren’t on different pages after all. We both had to learn to compromise. Our relationship was worth it.

  Chad straightened. “From what I’ve read, you’ve done some amazing things with these cats and made it possible for people who’ve never been able to have a cat as a pet—I mean, animal companion—before to have one.”

  I had to smile again. All of these weeks of conditioning and he was finally learning.

  “Yes, there’s been a lot of research that’s gone into this. We’ve made a lot of customers very happy. After all, a house isn’t a home without a cat.”

  Chad chuckled, though it sounded tight. “No, it’s not, is it?”

  “Any other questions I can answer for you?”

  “Is this science foolproof? What if my grandma is still allergic?”

  “She won’t be. Our results are very effective.”

  “Is that right? So it’s satisfaction guaranteed?”

  “You know it.”

  He nodded slowly. “Alright then. What’s next?”

  Kyla pulled something from her bag. “All I need is for you to sign this contract. It just has the basic terms of our agreement. Then I need that certified check, and we’ll be good to go. You can take home this little cuddle bug all for yourself.”

  He rubbed his hands together. “Sounds great.”

  My foot started to twitch nervously. This is where it could all fall apart. Maybe I should have called the police.

  Instead, I pulled out my phone, pretended to be texting, all while secretly taking pictures of the exchange going on across the way.

  Maybe I finally had enough information that I could put this in the hands of the authorities. Just as I pulled my phone down, I heard something click behind me.

  Before I could turn, I felt the barrel of a gun press into me.

  “Hello, Sierra. Fancy seeing you here.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  I started to turn but the gun pressed harder into me.

  “Don’t draw attention to yourself,” someone hissed in my ear.

  I’d know that voice anywhere. I’d replayed it a million times in my head as I’d thought about my future.

  “Rupert,” I muttered, turning slightly until his face came into view. “I should have known.”

  He raised his eyebrows and glared at me. I’d never realized how beady his gaze looked before today.

  “I thought you might be on to me,” he snarled. “That’s why I agreed to this little soirée. I had to make sure it was you. Now, I’ve got to get rid of collateral damage.”

  I stared straight ahead, wondering if anyone around us could tell something was wrong. Apparently not because no one even looked my way. Now I had to buy time. “I guess you don’t make enough money with all your other businesses?”

  “I made a few bad investments myself, and I was going to lose everything. That’s when I had the idea to make people think hypoallergenic cats were real. They’d pay anything to have a furry friend. Pets are such a big business.”

  “You knew all along these cats weren’t the real deal.”

  “Part of this is the power of suggestion, Sierra. They believe the cats won’t make them sneeze, so they don’t. It’s really a beautiful thing. And it helped me pay my bills. To keep businesses like Paws and Fur Balls open.”

  “There were other ways,” I growled.

  “Easy for you to say. Anise wanted to shut me down completely. I couldn’t let that happen.”

  I glanced over at Chad. He still talked to Kyla. Clueless. “You pulled Kyla into this?”

  “She thinks she’s doing an exposé right now. I called in a personal favor. Said I was interested in naming her Executive Director. She had no idea. Even picked up the cat yesterday.” He smirked.

  “How can you live with yourself?” He was a cold-hearted manipulator. He used people like puppies used newspaper while becoming housebroken. Why would someone as wealthy as Rupert run this kind of scam?

  “Easy. Money makes everything better.” He nudged me. “Start walking.”

  “Everything you ever fought for . . . it was a lie.” I’d thought he was a role model when, in truth, he was as greedy as anyone else. Maybe even more so, for that matter.

  “I’ve never hurt any animals.”

  “You hurt animals at the top of the food chain. You killed a human.”

  He continued to prod me forward, one arm wrapped around my back. Anyone else might think we were out on a lovers’ stroll. Little would they know I had a gun to my side.

  “If Sage and her husband had minded their own business, we wouldn’t be here right now. They just had to keep pushing, threatening everything I’d built. All of my hard work. It was going to be gone, just like that. Along with my reputation.”

  I sucked in a deep breath. “You killed Ernest, too, didn’t you? That’s what this is all really about. It’s more than scamming people. Ernest was going to sue you and completely destroy everything you’d worked hard to build. You were the one who killed him.”

  Why, oh why, hadn’t I realized that earlier? This was about so much more than hypoallergenic cats.

  “Sage had to get sneaky on me. She just had to get a job at one of my companies in an effort to collect dirt on me and bust me. But I was on to her. That’s why I made sure she got the Hessel’s Hairstreak assignment. I wanted to catch her alone and confront her.”

  “You mean kill her?”

  “I always knew you were a smart one.” He pushed the gun harder. “Now, keep walking before anyone notices what we’re doing over here. We have some things to talk about.”

  “Like what?”

  He frowned. “Mr. Mouser, of course.”

  So this was about more than threatening my cats to get to me. Mr. Mouser had been the target all along.

  “Why do you want Mr. Mouser back so badly? There are plenty of other cats you’ve sold that will prove you’re a fraud.” I kept my head high as we walked farther and farther away from Chad. I didn’t want to show my fear, even if it was torpedoing inside me.

  Details began clicking in my mind. Freckles and Mr. Mouser looked an awful lot alike. I wondered if Rupert had taken Freckles thinking she was Mr. Mouser? This could turn out very, very badly.

  “Maybe you’re not as smart as I thought you were.” He walked closer. “Keep walking.”

  We slipped away from Chad. Had he even noticed? I think I might have mentioned that he shouldn’t look my way and draw any attention to me. Had he actually listened to my advice for once?

  “You get me the cat and no one gets hurt,” Rupert muttered as we walked away from the seawall. We moved past a parking garage toward the business area. No one gave us a second glance. Either they didn’t want to see or I was a great actress. But, with every step I took, my fear became greater.

  Suddenly, Rupert stopped and turned. Anxiety twisted inside me as I waited to see what would happen next. He kept his gun jabbed into me.

  He glowered into the distance. “You can stop following us.”

  I glanced at the empty sidewalk behind us and thought Rupert might be crazy. He seemed to be talking to a tree, a mailbox, and a bus stop.

  “One wrong move, and I’ll shoot your girlfriend,” he continued. “Come out. I know you’re there.”

  Someone stepped out from behind a tree with hands raised in the air. It was Chad. He had noticed I was gone.

  His gaze caught mine, sending silent messages of concern before his eyes swerved back to Rupert.
“Why don’t you just let her go? Take me instead?”

  Rupert chuckled. “That would be nice and cozy, wouldn’t it? Get up here. Walk with us. Remember, I’m not afraid to use this gun. One wrong move and she dies.”

  Chad joined me. I didn’t know whether to shake him or hug him. So I did neither, of course. Instead, we walked side by side. I could feel the tension radiating off of him. I only hoped he’d called the police before Rupert spotted him.

  “You’re not going to get away with this,” I muttered, like any good victim might say.

  “Famous last words,” he smirked. We turned at an alley, passed a dumpster, and stopped by a rusty metal service door. He gave Chad a key. “Unlock it.”

  Chad did as he was told.

  Then Rupert nudged me toward the black abyss inside. A musty smell drifted out, making it obvious the place had been abandoned. “In here.”

  Against my better judgment, I stepped inside. Chad was right behind me. Before the door fully closed and the light was shut out, I caught a glimpse of something in the distance. A cage. Like someone might keep a bear in while transporting it from the wild to be center ring at a traveling carnival.

  “You’re getting in there, and I’m taking your boyfriend to get that cat. If anything goes wrong, I’ll kill you both. Understand?”

  “Yeah,” I muttered.

  An emergency light added a sickly yet dim glow to the area. It buzzed and flickered overhead. I could barely make out Rupert’s face.

  He snatched the purse off my shoulder and threw it into the dark recesses of the warehouse. Out of reach. Any chances I’d had of grabbing my phone were now gone.

  He looked at Chad and pointed the gun at him now. “You’re going to go with me to get that cat. You moved him from your apartment,” Rupert continued. “So you can take me to him now.”

  “Then I moved him again,” I added.

  Chad glanced at me. “You did?”

  I nodded. “I found a nice home for Mr. Mouser.”

  Rupert aimed the gun at Chad’s head. Then he looked at me. “Now, tell me where that cat is or he’ll be my next victim.”

  Chad’s eyes widened. He stared at me, waiting to see what I’d do.

  Did he actually think I’d choose a cat’s life over his? Somewhere along the way, I’d been a terrible, terrible communicator.

  My pulse quickened. “Put the gun down. I’ll tell you, but only if you promise not to hurt Chad.”

  “Good girl.” He lowered the gun. “Start talking.”

  “The cat is at a friend’s house.” I’m so sorry, Mr. Mouser. “But this friend may not be home. I don’t know where he is. I can’t get in.”

  “Your boyfriend better figure out a way. Otherwise you’ll both have an early date with death.” He shoved me. “Now, get in the cage.”

  I suddenly knew how this would play out. Chad would get the cat, Rupert would kill Chad, and then he’d leave me here to die like a forgotten circus animal.

  I had to think fast and keep him talking. “You’re really putting me in an animal cage?”

  He smiled. “Ironic, isn’t it?”

  “I can be the one to show you the way to my friend’s house.” I wasn’t sure what that would accomplish, but at least I could buy more time.

  Rupert chuckled. “Oh no. You’re too smart. You need to stay here.”

  “What are you saying? That I’m dumb?” Chad mumbled.

  Rupert ignored him.

  “I was going to let you use it for your next demonstration outside of one of those pet stores. But maybe it will serve a better purpose right now.”

  I stepped inside. The place smelled like rust and urine. I didn’t want to think about what had happened in here. “The only reason you could possibly want that cat is if he had something on him. I’m guessing that Sage has some kind of microchip on Mr. Mouser. Maybe on his collar? That would be the safest place she could think of to keep information like that, given how Mr. Mouser is pretty much vicious.”

  Rupert closed the cage with a sharp clang and snapped a padlock in place. “Smart thinking. Now give me that address.”

  “492 Wilmington,” I admitted. The words tasted bitter as they left my lips.

  As I leaned against the bars, something jabbed me in my hip. What was in my pocket?

  That’s when I realized I had that awful shock collar there.

  It was the only weapon of any sort I had as an option right now. But how would I get to it? How would I use it?

  Thankfully, it was dark in here. It would make it easier to conceal what I was doing. I stepped out of the reach of that sickly emergency light. Then I reached into my pocket and flipped the switch on the collar, so I’d know it was on.

  “I’m going to take your little boyfriend to get the cat. You better hope it’s there, otherwise—” He made a little motion to indicate he’d shoot Chad.

  I looked at Chad across the way. I hoped my gaze conveyed to him that I had a plan and that he should be on guard. I thought he might be able to see me, but the shadows made me uncertain. The darkness made everything look so gritty and menacing.

  “Let’s go.” Rupert motioned to Chad.

  “Wait!” I shouted. I pressed my face between the bars.

  Rupert paused. “What is it?”

  “I need to tell you something.”

  He sighed. “About what?”

  “About Andre King.”

  “Yes, I twisted his words on my product endorsement. He’s never forgiven me and threatened to sue. Thankfully, he can’t find me. I’m a chameleon like that.”

  I leaned closer. “What about Thyme? Is she in on this?”

  “I would never trust that woman with a secret. I tried to let all of that family drama work to my advantage. But never would I pull them into one of my schemes, only if I had a death wish.”

  “There’s one more thing. Chad can’t hear, though.”

  “What is it now?” He sounded irritated.

  I lowered my voice. “Promise me you keep Chad alive and I’ll tell you how you can ruin Anise, even in death.”

  My heart pounded in my ears. I hoped my plan worked. For everyone’s sake.

  He crept close to the cage. I leaned closer. He seemed to take the bait, though he looked irritated.

  I flung one arm from one opening in the bars. I slapped the collar around his neck, grabbed it with my other hand, and quickly fastened it. As he yelled out, he was zapped.

  Cruel, huh?

  Rupert would say so.

  That’s how the collars worked. The more you barked, the more you got zapped.

  Rupert turned toward me, his eyes wide and frightened. He had no idea what was going on. He grabbed the collar, yelling. Each time he shrieked, a shock ran through him, delaying any efforts to pull the collar off. A vicious, but effective cycle.

  Chad grabbed his gun and raised it toward Rupert.

  Just then, the doors burst open. “FBI!”

  I spotted my friend, Special Agent Chip Parker, leading the charge. How had the feds known to come? They invaded the space like hornets retaliating after their nest had been disturbed.

  As some local police handcuffed Rupert, Chad handed the gun over to a uniformed officer.

  Chad rushed to the cage and grabbed my hand. “Are you okay?”

  I nodded. “Better now.”

  “I called Parker when I heard what you were up to. I thought the FBI should be close by, just in case something went wrong—or in case something went right. I had to play it safe, even if that meant you were mad at me. I couldn’t live with myself if you ended up dead.”

  “You were trying to protect me just like I was trying to protect my cats.”

  He nodded. “You’d do anything for them.”

  “Just like you’d do anything for me. Out of love.”

  He squeezed my hand, and the look in his eyes said it all. All along he’d loved me. I’d been so blinded by my concern over my cats.

  “I’m sorry, Chad,” I whisper
ed.

  “Me, too.”

  Parker tossed Chad the keys to the cage, just as some local police read Rupert his rights. Chad managed to release the padlock and the door squeaked open.

  I rushed into Chad’s outstretched arms just as Parker walked up. The Brad Pitt look-a-like was a great law enforcement officer, but a terrible boyfriend. I’d heard all about him from Gabby. Still, I was grateful he was here.

  “You okay, Sierra?” he asked.

  I nodded, remaining in Chad’s arms. “Fine. Thanks to Chad. And you.”

  If Chad hadn’t shown up, Rupert would have probably put me in the cage until I told him where the cat was. Then he would have left me there. Who would have found me in a deserted warehouse? I shuddered. I didn’t want to think about what could have been.

  “This guy is wanted for fraud in five states,” Parker said. “We’ve been trying to track him down and find out his real identity.”

  That didn’t surprise me. “You might want to question him in the murder of Ernest Wentworth,” I added.

  Parker raised an eyebrow. “Good to know.”

  “At least he won’t be scamming anyone anytime soon. And maybe Sage will get some of that justice she was seeking.”

  “It’s about time.” Parker nodded our way. “Good work, you two.”

  “What can I say? No one’s ever told me that the cat had my tongue.”

  Chad and Parker chuckled.

  Whoever thought that could work to my advantage?

  Chapter Twenty

  Chad and I were questioned for a couple of hours on everything we knew about Rupert. When we were finally cleared to go, Chad and I walked hand and hand to his van. Yes, the police had let us drive down to the station.

  Right now, he pulled to a stop in front of the bay. Wordlessly, we walked over the dunes and stood on the shore. The sand was soft beneath our feet, and my hope rose and then descended just like the waves in the distance.

  Finally, I started. “You remember that butterfly that started all of this?”

  “The Hessel’s Hairstreak?”

  I smiled. “That’s the one. Did I ever tell you why I like butterflies so much?”