Catamount Ridge (7 page)

Ms. Langston four-wheeled it down the path Ice and Jessie traveled the previous night. It wasn’t wide enough for the Durango to pass through, and the sound of paint being scraped and metal being dented, added a layer of credibility to their tension-filled journey.

They reached the escape tunnel and Jessie tossed her cohort an adjustable head lamp. The situation was unpredictable. Grace would need her hands free to wrangle the cubs or to protect herself as the situation dictated.

Jessie attached her father’s razor sharp hunting knife to the outside of her pant leg and checked the tranquilizing rifle one last time before she followed the older woman into the mine.

The moment they reached the cavern, the cubs began their hungry cry.

“That’s it, Jessie. Time for you to leave,” Ms. Langston commanded.

Jessie disregarded the order and searched the cavern for any sign of Ice. “Be careful,” she warned. “Watch those two exit points. Ice might try to ambush you. Call if you need help.”

“Don’t worry about me. Get out there before he shows up,” the old teacher growled. “Stick to the plan.”

Jessie pressed two syringes into Ms. Langston’s hand. “This isn’t part of the plan, but if Ice gets past me, the cubs will have to be destroyed.” She grabbed the feisty cub by the scruff of its neck and pointed. “This is where you’ll need to inject them. It won’t hurt, and it will be a peaceful death.” Unable to leave her least favorite teacher, Jessie lingered a moment longer than necessary. “Dad will never forgive me if anything happens to you. You also have two exit points. Fall back if necessary. Stay safe, Grace. None of this is worth getting hurt over.”

Grace nodded and pulled a 9mm Beretta from the pocket of her tattered barn jacket.

“You don’t need to worry about me. I’ll ice them all if necessary.” The old woman smiled at her joke. “After all, we can’t let the cat-people take over our worldly realm.”

•   •   •

JESSIE SCOPED OUT the best place for her ambush. Years of hunting with her father had given her the skill to do what was needed today. She hoped she would make her father proud. Upwind from the path where Ice was likely to make his appearance, Jessie hunkered down behind a bush. The manzanita and other prickly greenery made the landscape difficult to maneuver. The trail of destruction left by the Durango made it the most likely place for Ice to make his appearance, therefore, Jessie prepared for him to arrive from just about any other direction.

Silently, she watched while the cubs inside the mine became increasingly distressed. Their cries were agitating, but her milk did not let down and she was able to stay focused on the job at hand.

She sensed more than heard him. Ice was too close for comfort. Jessie controlled her breathing. Too many times this man/beast had been able to get the best of her. Those days were gone. She was now the hunter. Ice didn’t know what he was up against. It had fallen to her to maintain the health of the ecosystem. She was now the apex predator and Ice was her prey.

It was crucial for her to trust her instincts. Her next move had to happen in one fluid motion. Jessie closed her eyes. Sight was of no use to her. If she turned her head, she would give herself away, and Ice would win.

Fear and apprehension heightened her senses.

Jessie waited.

The moment she smelled his musk, she turned and fired.

The tranquilizing dart hit Ice in the middle of his chest. Shock was the only emotion that registered on his face. He stared at the dart’s red feathered tail in disbelief. Then his body turned liquid and Ice melted into the blue-gray mountain lion who had stalked and terrorized her.

The cat chirped pathetically as the tranquilizer fulfilled its part of the operation.

With her gun drawn, Grace reached Jessie just in time to help drag the cage out of the back of the Durango. “Well, that’s a first,” she said, pocketing her weapon.

“What?” Jessie chuckled. “Saving our worldly realm from the cat people?”

“Nope, back in there,” she said, referring to the mine. “You called me Grace. It only took thirty years. I know it was said out of fear, but it was nice to hear.”

“Grace.”

“Yes, Jessie.”

“Shut up.”

6

“JESSIE!” ICE BELLOWED. “Let me out of here.”

Hauling his mountain lion ass down into Grace’s basement hadn’t been an easy task. Ice’s human figure sat hunched in the corner of the cage and his hands rattled the bars. The cubs slept nearby in a large dog carrier.

“Jessie!” he yelled again. “Come down here and talk to me. It’s not what you think. I can explain everything.”

The huntress kicked the door open and made her way down the stairs. “No explanation is necessary. Derek and your grandmother have already filled me in.”

Ice took one look at her sunglasses and laughed out loud. “Those won’t protect you.”

She doubted they would, but it was worth a try. Jessie tossed the glasses aside and dropped a black blindfold onto the top of the cage. “This conversation isn’t going anywhere until you put that on.”

After the scarf was securely in place, Ice tipped his head and smirked. “I can still see you.”

The last thing Jessie wanted was to turn her back on him, but she didn’t have a choice. She grabbed a chair and scraped it across the concrete. If Ice was anything like his grandmother, the sound would rankle him.

When Ice shuddered, Jessie grinned.

“Okay, hotshot,” she began. “Tell me about Lizzy. What happened to her? She rambles on about being caged by monster cats. I assume she’s talking about you and Derek. If there are more of you, you better tell me now or there will be a price to pay.”

“I’m caged and at your mercy. What more can you do?”

“I could kill you, but I don’t believe that’s a strong enough threat.” Jessie kicked the dog carrier and the cubs whined. When she had Ice’s full attention, she slammed the two syringes down on top of the cage. “They’re your cubs. They’ll be the first to go. How do you feel about watching your progeny die?”

Ice drew the blindfold back down over his eyes. “I’ve watched many of our cubs die. Derek forced my hand with these two when he murdered their mother. I had no choice but to recruit you or my children wouldn’t have had a chance.”

There was always a choice. Ice had simply made the wrong one.

“Your grandmother said you were the last of your kind and that perpetuating the species was your primary goal. If you weren’t interested in having the cubs shift, you could have dropped them off at the Silverton zoo. They would have been well cared for.”

“In captivity!” Ice bellowed. “Park your booty in that chair with your backside towards me. I don’t want what I’m about to tell you to become suspect.”

With one last scrape across the floor, Jessie spun the chair around and sat down.

“First off,” he began. “My grandmother is off her rocker. She lost the ability to shift a long time ago and has been trying to figure out a way to get it back ever since. To the best of our knowledge, we are the last of our kind. I believe inbreeding has brought about our own demise. I’m resigned. When we die, it will be the end of our species.”

“That’s a little tough to swallow,” Jessie countered. “If you’re reconciled, why did you lure me into the mine? I got so high from whatever you tossed on the fire, I nursed your cubs.”

“The little one was on the verge of death,” Ice said, pleading for her understanding. “He’s my cub. I had to try to save him. If he had been allowed to stay with his mother, his chances of survival would have been much better. Derek took that option away. Panther milk is good, but my offspring are not ordinary. They need human milk to thrive.”

Mother’s milk was available at any breast milk donation center and formula could be purchased at the grocery store. Ice was wading in it deep. Jessie kept her mouth shut and waited to hear the rest of his dribble.

Ice settled against the bars and continued his explanation. “But feeding on it doesn’t guarantee success. Lizzy was one of my grandmother’s warped experiments. That old witch kept her chained up for almost a year. Derek impregnated her, but Lizzy miscarried in her last trimester. Marigold wasn’t interested in the baby. She was after the milk Lizzy produced. It was sickening to watch that old woman suck on that poor girl’s breasts. The torture that psychotic bitch inflicted didn’t stop there. Other cubs were brought in to enjoy the feast. Lizzy was nothing more than a pump to my dear cousin and grandmother. It’s no wonder she lost her mind. When I couldn’t stand it any longer, I set Lizzy free.” A low chuckle rumbled deep within his chest. “Granny blew a gasket after she heard the news. The stroke was a blessing in disguise. I caged her in that rehab facility the moment I had her doctor’s referral. She’s been there for quite a while. If I have my way, she’ll never get out.”

•   •   •

CADE TAPPED THE monitor of the live security feed streaming in from the cellar below.

“What do you think, Gracie? Is he telling the truth? I want to castrate the man, but the information regarding Lizzy has basically confirmed his story.”

Gracie’s tired eyes closed. “The Guardianship has been monitoring his family for quite some time. He’s not telling Jessie the whole story. Snatches of information won’t cut it. It’s second nature for him to keep his secrets, but if he expects to live, he will have to do better than this.”

Lizzy’s parents, Zack and Mable, founded the Guardianship shortly after their daughter came down off the ridge. Too many people had witnessed the Foster kids shifting for her wild story to be dismissed as the rantings of a troubled young woman.

The secret society was only known to a chosen few. Gracie had been one of their first recruits. The campfire tale she told her second graders, warned the community about the strange mountain lions up on the ridge. Her special knowledge made her the perfect candidate to help with further recruitments.

Cade was privy to the group’s existence. He was a hunter, but he didn’t care for their extremist attitude. The day his daughter showed up at the hospital confused and battered, he realized he couldn’t stay neutral any longer and came down off the fence.

Gracie pushed the button on the microphone. “Ask him why he attacked Derek?” The retired teacher giggled like one of the second graders she used to teach. “I always wanted to do that. It makes me feel like a secret agent.”

It was just one of the things Cade loved about her. Gracie was tough as nails, but every once in a while, her inner child showed through.

Jessie’s head twitched when the teacher’s voice came through the earbud. Cade hushed his girlfriend, and they settled back to watch the exchange.

His daughter’s voice came through loud and clear. “Derek is in the hospital. He says you attacked him.”

“That wasn’t me.”

“Who else could it be? The marks on his body were made by a mountain lion. If Marigold can no longer shift, that leaves you.”

Gracie’s elbow nudged Cade’s rib. “Your girl is good. I hardly have to prompt her at all.”

He wrapped a loving arm across her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “That’s not surprising. She had you for a teacher.”

Gracie’s eyes turned warm and loving. “Flattery will get you everywhere, Mr. Marcus.”

“Good god, woman!” Cade replied in mock horror. “I know you want me bad, but this is not the time. You’re worse than those horny cats.”

His daughter’s voice came through the speaker in the form of a harsh whisper. “I can hear you. Would you please shut the fuck up?”

Grace reached over and tapped off the microphone. “Oops, my bad.”

•   •   •

JESSIE GLARED UP at the camera. Those two were out of control.

Getting back to the matter at hand, she said. “I’m waiting, Ice. How do you explain what happened to Derek?”

“I can’t.”

The cellar door opened and Grace and Cade descended the stairs.

The gray haired teacher twirled a tool in her hand. “I’m sorry. That is not a satisfactory answer, Mr. Foster. I’m afraid you’ll have to do far better than that.”

The caged animal removed his blindfold. “Well, if it isn’t my dear old teacher. I thought I caught your scent up by the mine. I’m surprised it took you so long to make an appearance.” Ice nodded in Cade’s direction. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Marcus.”

Jessie’s dad took the instrument out of Gracie’s hand. “I doubt you’ll be so pleased when you hear what we have in store for you.” Waving the tool in front of the steel bars, Cade asked, “Do you know what this is?”

The smile playing on Ice’s lips dropped. “It’s a bander.”

“And do you know what it’s used for?”

The shifter huddled with fear against the back of the cage and crossed his legs. “You can’t be serious.”

The school teacher picked up a tranquilizing gun and leveled it directly at his chest.

“Hold on!” Ice called out. “You can’t just chop off my balls.”

Gracie lowered her weapon. “We’re not. The last time we shot you full of tranquilizers, you shifted into a mountain lion. Those are the balls we’re removing.”

Jessie couldn’t believe the old school teacher had it in her. Pushing a second grader around was one thing, but taking on a shape-shifting mountain lion was quite another. She almost regretted being such a pill when she was younger. Besides being hilarious, the way the couple worked together was amazing. Gracie and her father were a team through and through.

Castrating Ice seemed a little overly dramatic, but the ploy was working. The man was awfully fond of his junk and his fearful eyes looked ready to make a deal.

Their prisoner held out a halting hand. “Wait!” Ice shrieked. “How about I agree to have a vasectomy? I won’t be able to procreate, but I’ll still be able to have sex.”

Gracie raised her gun and took aim. “My dear boy. That only solves half of the equation. We still need to know who the other cat is.”

Ice turned to Jessie and pleaded, “Jessie, baby. We’ve had some good times. Stop this insanity.”

The shape-shifting mountain lion had lost his freaking mind. Taking on the same flippant tone as her elders, Jessie smirked. “I didn’t think being drugged and repeatedly having non-consensual sex foisted upon me would be all that enjoyable, but I was wrong. It was amazing. I especially loved it when the cubs chewed the hell out of my boobs. Maybe while you’re under, I’ll douse your chest with milk, and let them have a go on you. It’s a fantastic feeling, you won’t be able to get enough.”

Jessie did her best to sound sarcastic, but in reality, Ice made her feel incredible down in the mine, and although she regretted it later, nursing the cubs had been much more pleasurable than painful.

Upon hearing the extent of his daughter’s ordeal, her dad’s eyes narrowed in anger, and he stepped closer to the cage.

Ice cringed and cried, “I never had sex with her. I stopped. I admit, I lured her into the mine and threw my grandmother’s mixture on the fire. The cubs nursed, but I didn’t get my rocks off. I took her home and tucked her in bed completely intact.”

Cade looked at Jessie for confirmation.

Ice told the truth about the mine, but she wasn’t sure he was in the clear about what happened in Derek’s cabin. “How about that first day up on the ridge? Who attacked me? I’m no longer sure it was you.”

Guilt and defeat was written all over the shifter’s face.

“There’s another one of us. She knew what Derek had in mind and flew into a jealous rage. She’s been trying to give birth to a true shifter for years, but it’s not possible. I was the one who saved your life that day, not Derek.”

The admission of a third cat made sense. The animal she remembered fighting with Ice at the cabin was larger than the mountain lion glaring at her up on the ridge. At the time, she thought the cat was male, but looking back, it was entirely possible it had been a female. It was also possible that Ice’s beast flew over her head and saved her.

For Jessie, his version seemed plausible. Cade and Gracie weren’t so sure.

“Well, Pumpkin,” Cade said. “It’s your call. Do we castrate him or give him a vasectomy?”

They were leaving his punishment up to her. Jessie needed more time to decide. “How many more tranquilizing darts do you have left, Gracie?”

The old teacher shrugged. “I have a whole box full. Why?”

Jessie kicked her thumb towards the cage. “Trank him.”

The sound of Gracie’s gun echoed off the basement walls and Ice fell into a deep, deep sleep.