Rare Find (6 page)

I didn't leave my body. I'm just resting here for a bit.

And as you know from before, that little bit is likely to become a long bit.

No,
she corrected.
It did last time. That doesn't mean it will this time.

How was he to convince her to come home?
Ronin had to become friends with Tripod to get into the house.

Really? They've never met up to now. I've held off bringing him to the house after he made a casual comment about not liking cats.

Stefan grinned, thinking Ronin had yet to meet Tango. And what fun that would be.
Is he allergic?

No idea,
she confessed,
I didn't ask him. I was too surprised at the time.

Yet you didn't break it off?
He wasn't going to let her off that easy. If Ronin was going to be her reason to come home, then he needed her mind on him now. Enough hiding.

She shrugged.
There aren't too many interesting men that can handle my abilities.

Then you'll have to come back, won't you? Especially before the media gets wind of this. You know how they have portrayed the reserve as being in trouble recently with all the break-ins and vandalism. If the media finds out about this state your physical body is in... The center doesn't need more bad publicity or to have the donations could dry up.

Hey, that's not fair
, she said.
I'm here because I was attacked
.

And Tango and Tripod? They are guarding your place and keeping your body grounded. Your absence is hard on them
.

I've already been by to visit with them.
She waved her hands dismissively.
They are fine.

So much for that tactic…

Then he had it. He smiled inside
. Except that Ronin is searching your house to find anything he can about your attacker.

He's inside the house? Right now
? She went ghostly pale
. Damn. That's so not a good idea
.
He could be in danger. Tango knows when someone likes him or not.

And,
Stefan said gently,
Ronin is a cop who cares deeply about you. You were attacked and if, in the course of his investigation, he's attacked...

I'm gone.

The fog swirled around Stefan, blocking her from view. By the time he cleared his vision and swept back the cotton clouds, there was no sign of her.

***

She came to so suddenly, her body jerked from the harsh landing and she bolted upright, ready to run out of the room – and found herself in a private hospital room with a stern, darkly handsome doctor staring down at her. It took her a moment to recognize him. Dr. Marsden.

"Whoa.
You're not going anywhere." Dr. Marsden reached out to stop her.

"I have to leave." She glared at him.

"Easy, Tabitha." Stefan stretched out his legs and stood up slowly. "Dr. Marsden has been looking after you."

What was Stefan doing in the corner?

"Sorry. I hate hospitals," she muttered as a poor excuse for her behavior. "And why is it you think I can't leave?"

He was wrong of course, but she didn't need to antagonize anyone further. It drained too much energy. But she really wanted to go home.

"Because you were attacked. I'd like to run some tests."

She shot him a shuttered look and shook her head. "If you know as much about this stuff as Stefan believes you do, then you understand it was a psychic attack. And that means nothing will show up on your tests."

"And you're going to do what, wait around until he tries again?" Stefan asked quietly.

Silence.

Damn. Her animals, as well as her body and her soul were vulnerable. The attack had been horrific and too damn close to being a win for the other guy to make her happy. Would he try again?

She slumped back against the headboard. "He wants my soul, not my body. At least that's what I felt during an attack. Stronger each time. And do you have any suggestions? Some magical way to keep my soul in my body and away from this thief?"

"Did you get a sense of why he wanted it?"

The two men stood at the end of her bed, their gazes intent as if they could find the answers they wanted if they could just look hard enough. Tabitha pushed back a few strands of long hair as she tried to marshal her thoughts. "I could sense he was terrified. Angry. And was looking for someone or something."

"And found you instead." Stefan walked around the side of the bed, then picked up her hand and held it tight. "
Or
was he looking specifically for you?"

"For me." She knew that deep inside. "He wanted me."

***

"Hello, Stefan. You used the phone this time?" Ronin grinned at the sound Stefan made on the other end. He peered through the thick wire mesh, trying to see what animal was on the other side the fenced pen. Tabitha's place was an integral part of the reserve. Anything could be on the other side of the fence.

"It saves energy. Tabitha is awake. She's afraid you'll have an argument with her cat, Tango. Apparently she left him in his cage, but she says he's wily and can get out if he has a mind to."

"Great." Horrible actually. He could already feel his heart slam against his chest. "I'm actually outside walking around the property, trying to understand the setup here." It was confusing. That there were large enclosures in the back of the house was obvious. As were the howls coming from the deep expanse.

Cats.

Why cats? He could do dogs blindfolded. This whole cat thing...not so much. At least they were all caged.

"Is she okay? Can she come home?"

"She's going to, whether anyone says so or not. The thing is she is weak, susceptible to another attack. You need to help her."

Ronin's stomach clenched. "Why me? I don't do this psychic stuff. That's your specialty. Why can't you help her? Besides, if she's that bad, she should stay in hospital for another couple of days."

"She needs both of us. And according to mainstream medicine, she's not injured. She's run down and needs to rest. That means recovering from this episode at home."

"You know she won't do it," Ronin snapped. She needed to stay safe by whatever means necessary. He understood she felt responsible for Exotic Landscape, but she had staff...good staff...and it was time for her to step back and let them carry the load.

He didn't fully understand the enormity of these attacks, but he was starting too. And that scared him. Tabitha needed protection. But how could he protect her from something he couldn't see?

He started toward the front of the house.

"No, she won't. She cares about her animals too much. And work has always been her way of escaping the rest of the world. So she's going to go home and bury herself in work – most likely paperwork at her own house."

At her house.
Ronin glared at the huge monstrosity. "But she was attacked here. So how does that work?"

"Not well. I'm setting up an energetic barrier. A second security system. I'm hoping it will be enough to keep her safe. Or at least good enough to be an early warning system."

"What good will that do?"

"If she has enough warning, she'll be able to guard herself from another attack. She does have some serious skills, but last time she had no idea what was happening until it was almost too late."

"How much warning does she need?" His mind spun with the possibilities. Between Roman's security system and Stefan's psychic security system...maybe she'd be okay.

"It's only the barest of what is needed." Stefan cleared his throat, and for the first time Roman heard the fatigue running through his voice. Stefan was running on empty himself. Damn.

Abruptly, he said, "What can I do to help?"

In a hard voice, Stefan said, "Find him. Do whatever you can do to track down this asshole."

That's what he did for a living, track down perps… But how did he track down a nameless, faceless, disembodied entity?

"Search Tabitha's history. Search for any and all people connected to her who might have psychic abilities."

"Can't you see an energy signature, or whatever it's called, around her?" Isn't that what Stefan did? "Can't
you
identify him?"

"Sometimes I can. Not this time. There was nothing
normal
about this attack. She hadn't cleared away the day's energies. She was surrounded by grief and animal energies. Both completely overwhelmed her ability to notice this entity. And I can't rule out that her attacker was using animal energy to get close to her." Stefan's voice strengthened. "In fact, that's a good possibility. In which case, this person
is
working with animals."

"Fine, then that's where I'll—" There was a sharp click and his phone went dead. Stefan had hung up on him.

"Damn." Ronin stared at the house. He had work to do.

***

"Be careful with that thing. If we lose her, we've lost the biggest payday ever," Fez snarled at the forklift driver. The front lift jerked down several more feet. "Shit," Fez muttered. "We're going to kill her yet."

"Better not. I won't be happy if that happens."

The cold voice behind him sent icy shards of fear down Fez's spine. He hadn't expected his boss to show up at this moment. Then, given all the things that had gone wrong, maybe his arrival wasn't so surprising after all.

"Did Roberts come back with you?" Fez asked looking around. Roberts needed to check the delivery over. Make sure everything had survived the journey.

"No."

Fez froze at the icy dead tone.

But the boss's next words were the ones that really made his heart stop. "You know what happens to people who make me unhappy. My neck is on the line with this deal. You screw up, then I screw up. In which case you won't be looking to salvage your job because you won't care. You'll be floating down the damn river as fish food instead."

Fez nodded but kept his face turned away. Fingers of cold reached down deep inside his stomach. His boss never threatened. He promised.

Thankfully, the forklift operator unloaded the cage without any more mishaps and backed away to get the next load. They were late and time was running out. The cages had to be transferred to the new truck, which would be followed by a couple of hours of driving. Fez was taking the truck with this cargo. He sent a silent prayer to the heavens above.

Please let this job go smoothly.

Not that he expected anyone to listen to his request. They hadn't so far.

Saturday, early evening

T
abitha paid the taxi before stumbling up the front steps of her house. The sun beamed beautiful farewell rays across the summer sky. Delighted to be home, she sent out a tired but happy wave of energy in greeting to both Tango and Tripod. The returning waves of deep blue and purple exuberance delighted and reassured her that all was well...or mostly well.

The front door was unlocked.

Startled, she stood in the open doorway and studied her house. She took a deep breath and mentally whistled for Tripod. Where the hell was he?

Nails skittered on the tile floors. He tore around the corner of the kitchen and raced toward her. She smiled and murmured in her head,
Gentle. I'm tired and if you knock me over I might not make it back up
.

He slowed to a skid on the tile, a deep whine coming up from inside his chest.

I'm fine, sweetie. Just seriously tired. I need to go to bed and sleep for a couple of days
. "Fat chance," she muttered out loud.

"Fat chance of what?" The deep voice was an electric shock to her tired body. She stiffened as her tired gaze caught site of Ronin then she relaxed again. Strong. Capable. With his take-charge attitude. In her home.

Damn, he looked good there.

Like he belonged. Why had she been worried about having him here…?

Oh yeah, a little thing called felines...like Tango.

Her eyes filled with tears. Damn. She had to be tired to start this. She swiped at her eyes with her sleeve. He opened his arms.

And she ran forward.

His long arms wrapped around her and tucked her up close. Hidden in his embrace, she felt so protected, safe.

And dare she say it – loved?

Something she hadn't felt in a long time. She soaked up his comfort and caring until Tripod nudged her in the ribs.

She gave a small laugh and stepped back. "Hey, big guy. Let's get you some food."