Rare Find (19 page)

It shimmered as all healthy energy did, but... She studied it. What was different about it?

Then she got it. There was another energy intermingled with Tango’s. A warm chocolate mixed and twisted in a caring way. It was Tripod's energy. Surprised and charmed, she watched as Tango's energy went out in search of Tripod sleeping soundly on the other side of his caged enclosure.

It dipped over Tripod, stroked along his back, and appeared to nuzzle up against the side of his head.

She'd never seen this before. If she'd ever wondered about the relationship between the two of them, this blew her earlier understanding away. They were
that
close.

As she watched the gently caring energy smooth over Tango's canine brother, she realized that she knew so very little about animal energy work. She'd never been in a situation where she'd have even looked for something like this. And usually not looking, in energy work, meant not seeing. The mind would be completely overwhelmed if ninety percent of the energy activity wasn't filtered out.

Tripod never moved except for a huge, gusting breath coming from his chest. He seemed to sink deeper into sleep. Happy and content.

"Tango, how lovely to see you checking up on him."

Then the energy picked up and skirted the huge dog's body and headed out into the hallway. Curious, not letting him know she was riding there because then he might change his actions, she followed just behind him. As they'd been so close for so long, her energy would also appear as his energy. That was the nature of loving energy.

The energy slipped out into the hallway and down the long corridor to her bedroom.

She smiled with delight when she realized Tango was coming to check up on her.

Tango's energy swirl lifted to cover the top of the bed. It settled down on top.

She waited. And waited.

Damn it. She'd hoped he would realize that she wasn't really there.

After a few moments, the energy became restless and slunk over the surface of the bed and around to the other side. It paused, lifted, then hesitated in the air for a moment before circling around up above, almost creating a tornado. She could see the energy spread until the ceiling was completely covered. She had no idea what Tango was doing, unless he was still looking for her.

Then it hit her. Tango had found her as she was right now – hiding behind him.

Clever boy,
she whispered.
There's no fooling you, is there.
Tango's energy seemed to nuzzle up against hers. She kept her field of energy tight and thin. Unwelcoming. She didn't want him to receive the same comfort he'd expect if he actually found her. She wanted him to run to her body looking for the same thing.

Just like that, the energy zipped off.

Pulling her with it.

Tango had no hesitation in his direction. Guided by instinct, he was searching the ethers for her, following the instinctive need to find her. His energy raced forward.

Then he came to a stop. At her bedside.

Tango's energy nuzzled her body in a warm loving way. Blending with her energy, sinking into it just as he'd so many times before.

Smiling, she closed her spiritual eyes, cried out a happy welcome, and sank into Tango as he sank into her space.

She was home.

***

Ronin looked up from his laptop. He'd only been here for a half hour. He'd been running around all morning. Had ended up in some of the seediest areas in town looking for smuggled animals, checking out names and locations Jacob had sent him, feeling like a fool because he didn't even know if the tiger was here in the U.S.

But he had to do something. And of course there was always his job. He had cases stacked up. Not the least were the break-ins at Exotic Landscape. But he hadn't been able to resist checking on her again.

He walked over to the bed. She looked...better? He bent over. Yes, her cheeks were rosy and she was breathing easier.

How and when and why hadn't someone contacted him? He spun around, wanting to race out and yell at the overworked staff...but at the same time he didn't want to leave her side.

As he turned back, she opened her eyes and stared straight at him. Her lips twitched in a tiny smile. "Hey."

"Hey." He grinned, his heart pounding inside his chest. "There you are. It is damn good to see you."

"Same," she whispered. Her eyes drifted closed. "I still feel a little rough."

"Nothing like going for a trip on the wild side."

She winced. "Now that was bad."

"Then again, when you crashed, as you did, after our lovemaking session… That was bad too. At least for me." He tried to make it humorous, but as her gaze widened in shock he realized he'd failed.

"It had nothing to do with you," she gasped. "You did not do this."

"I know that much." He picked her hand up and brought it to his lips. "But maybe if we hadn't been so passionate, you'd have gotten more rest. Been less susceptible. Stronger."

He hadn't allowed himself to focus on the possibility, but it had eaten away at him. Just below the surface.

"No." She shifted her head from one side of the pillow to the other. "Besides, I'm fine. And while I've been in the ethers I might have figured this out. But I'm not sure."

"I hope so." He gripped her hand. "This has been incredibly difficult."

"Ya think?"

He laughed, mostly out of relief. "What did you figure out? See anyone?"

"Yes," she said in surprise. "I heard them. They speak English. I saw a couple of faces, but no, I didn't recognize anyone. And honestly, I didn't get a clear view." She explained what little she'd heard about the buyer and about the tiger's pregnancy and her overall health, ending with the fact that they were afraid the deal would go south. Tabitha wrinkled up her face. "I guess that doesn't help much, does it?"

"Everything helps, but descriptions would be better..." He raised a brow in question then he leaned over and kissed her. Hard.

"Definitely, but I might know a faster way." She smiled. "Stef—" And then she cried out, her back arching high up on the bed.

He reached out. "Tabitha, honey...what's wrong?"

"It's happening aga—"

Her body went rigid, her face froze.

"Jesus. Don't fight it. Do what you did last time and come back."

"Help me," she gasped painfully. "Better yet – help her."

She twisted from one side to the other, tugging at the sheets and covers. Her face scrunched up in a horrible rictus and she collapsed backwards on the bed.

Then her face went slack. Her mouth fell open.

Someone came running in behind him.

"What's going on—oh Jesus.
Move. Move!"

Ronin stepped back out of the way as the team checked her over.

He knew what had happened, but how could he tell the medical staff?

He had to find that damn tiger. Maybe then Stefan could find a way to separate Tabitha from her – and fast .

Sunday late afternoon

P
ain ripped through Tabitha's mind as if she'd been stabbed. She understood what was happening, but not why. Psychic pain was amplified by one's lack of understanding. But once that awareness was there, the pain should have been almost eliminated, instead it was almost worse. Of course…

She immediately shut off her mind. It was her consciousness that was struggling. As she stopped trying to control it, the pain eased and the journey sped up until she was there.

Back inside the tiger.

Screaming in rage.

Tabitha adjusted more quickly this time and her eyes were open. The tiger had been so calm before. So what the hell happened to change that?

As if in slow motion, she watched two men struggle to subdue the tiger.

"You should have gotten here earlier, Timothy." One of the men puffed with effort. "She's been sleeping comfortably all morning."

"Until we approached," the stranger said. "The tranq should have taken effect already. At least I'm looking for a better reaction than this. She should be calmer. I just need to make sure she doesn't have an infection and that the wound is clean."

Tabitha could feel the tiger's pain. A collar had somehow been placed on her neck while Tabitha had been gone, and she'd been tethered down. A type of muzzle stopped her jaws from opening. She heaved up on her back legs.

"Jesus, Timothy, did you get a blood sample yet?" the first man panted. "I'd like to get out of here in one piece."

Then she realized she could see the men's faces – barely. Tabitha desperately tried to study the men's features. If she could only ID them... She was pretty sure she'd seen one man before. The Timothy guy might be a vet, which meant he had a license and there’d be paperwork to help them track him.

Unfortunately, the tiger was in full-blown panic now and was going to get herself knocked out again.

Timothy groaned. "Shit. You said this would be easy."

"Well, if you'd arrived when you said you were going to, it would have been."

The tiger's emotions swamped Tabitha so she sent out wave upon wave of soothing, calming energy. She needed the tiger awake and calm so Tabitha could see the damn men, but because of the shape the female tiger was in, if she sent out too much calming energy she was liable to put the tiger to sleep.

The tiger finally stilled. Tabitha could feel her chest still heaving, but the soothing energy she'd sent to the tiger had stopped her struggles and that was what was important.

"Jesus. Finally," Timothy said.

"At least she won't hurt herself this way. Hurry the hell up, will you."

"Okay, got it." Timothy shifted. Tabitha could feel a hand on her haunch, assessing her injury. The tiger's old injury. The new guy had to be a vet, and that would be a good thing.

One of the men stepped back.

"Weird coloring. Must be something wrong with her." The first man turned his back on them and walked away. Tabitha tried to find something memorable about him to tell Ronin, but what did one say about a tall, skinny, homeless-looking bum who wore clothes pulled from a garbage can? He looked as if he hadn't seen a toothbrush or hairbrush in years – the same as every other homeless guy she'd ever seen.

His buddy, whom she'd heard and seen before, was better dressed but still he didn't look dressed up in his rough jeans and denim jacket. He was bald and more round than tall and made a great comedy counterpart to the first man – only nothing they were doing was funny to her. He walked with a gimpy leg. Not bad, just off in the stride. She filed that information away.

The vet was young. Had to be a student or a young graduate. Italian looking. She struggled to see the details.

Only she couldn't control where the big cat looked. The tiger made that determination and now that she lay quiet, Tabitha could only see in one direction.

And she couldn't get a decent look at any of their faces.

The tiger's anger stayed inside, riding just below the surface, letting Tabitha know that if any one of them let down their guard and she had an opening, they'd be dinner.

And speaking of dinner... She had to persuade her host to eat and drink again. The tiger, in the family way, needed more than she was taking in. Tabitha could feel the thirst in her mind. The tiger didn't know what a watering bowl was and the idiots had made sure it was small and hard to reach. Best if they'd left her a large open tub of it. Still, it was water and she needed it. And there was food – if not for herself, for the babe growing inside her belly.

She'd protect her cub and herself by any means possible. And that cub...

Tabitha couldn't believe how intimate the sense of love – the bonding – that raced through her as part of the tiger's experience.

It was so special. So loving. Tabitha hadn't experienced anything like it. Her connection with Tango was the closest thing she had to compare this to. But Tango was her friend. He wasn't her baby, no matter that she treated him that way.

If that's what all mothers felt during their pregnancies, especially at full term, maybe she should consider having a family. That level of connection would be hard to experience any other way.

She wanted to know what it was like to care for someone so much that she'd do anything for them. Even die.

She felt privileged to be here, living the experience inside the majestic cat; privileged to be part of their bond, even for only a few hours.

And it would be only a few hours if she didn't get this tiger to drink again. She closed her eyes and filled the tiger's mind with images of water and creeks and lakes and ponds. Then showed them pouring that water into the water dish at the side of the cage. Then she repeated that visualizing process, over and over again.