CHAPTER 1<\/p>\n
A weretiger compound outside a remote Lithuanian village, eighty miles from the Polish border, June 16th:<\/em><\/p>\n It had to be tonight. Now, while the house was quiet. While the pride leader and his henchmen were out of town, and the human guards they\u2019d left behind were sleeping.<\/p>\n Right now. Before someone came in and discovered what she\u2019d done.<\/p>\n Tabbi closed her eyes and swallowed hard, guilt and fear clogging her throat. Her gaze skittered to the floor then away. Heavens above, she could scarcely believe she\u2019d really done it–but the guard had left her no other choice.<\/p>\n She eased off the bed, trying to ignore the complaints of her broken skin and bruised muscles. Weretigers healed rapidly, especially if they shifted into their tiger forms. But there was no time for that now. If she could just stay alive long enough, she\u2019d be okay.<\/p>\n Wincing, she pulled on jeans and a T-shirt and secured her flyaway, waist-length hair in a ponytail. After she\u2019d gathered the few personal items she owned, she removed a loose floorboard and retrieved the neck bags she\u2019d hidden underneath. It had taken her six months of planning and scheming to make the bags and gather the needed supplies–and some critical information–but she and the children couldn\u2019t travel without these minimal necessities.<\/p>\n The guard\u2019s body lay cooling beside the bed. Tabbi had originally planned to overpower him when he locked her away at night, but his ever-rampant lust and cruelty had forced her to kill him. She cringed at the claw marks on his face, and the gaping wound in his neck, but his fate had been decided the moment the pain from his fists became too much to bear, making her lose control. At least this time, she\u2019d escaped being raped.<\/p>\n She knelt and emptied his pockets but pulled out only crumpled money, coins, and rolls of hard candy.<\/p>\n Damn it all, where were the keys? He had them when he came in because he\u2019d locked the door behind him. Struggling to control her mounting panic, she rolled him over and almost passed out from relief when she heard the metal-on-metal jingle. She unhooked the key chain from his belt loop, grabbed the bags, and crept to the door.<\/p>\n In her rush to get out of the room, she fumbled the keys and dropped them. The harsh clatter as they hit the floor echoed through the silent house, nearly stopping her heart.<\/p>\n Shit!<\/em><\/p>\n She held her breath and listened. Nothing. Either she\u2019d gotten lucky and hadn\u2019t woken the guards–or they were lying in wait for her.<\/p>\n Get a move on<\/em>, ordered a little voice in her mind. It\u2019s too late to back out now.<\/em><\/p>\n After a few minutes of trial and error, she found the right key, unlocked the door, and peered out into the deserted hallway. She prayed the dead man in her room had been the only one on duty tonight. If so, by the time the other guards discovered their absence, she and the children would be far away from here. If not…she shoved the thought away, locked the door behind her, and slipped into the shadows of the dimly lit corridor.<\/p>\n Tiptoeing down the hall to the third door on the right, she unlocked it and snuck inside. \u201cWake up, Cat,\u201d she whispered at the first bed. \u201cIt\u2019s time to leave.\u201d<\/p>\n The four-year-old Lycan blinked and yawned. \u201cI\u2019s awake, Tabbi. Is we \u2018scaping now?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, but you have to be quiet. We can\u2019t make a sound, or the bad men will catch us.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know. I be good. I no want more hittings.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, sweetheart.\u201d Tabbi forced back the bitter tears stinging her eyes and gave Cat a hug. No child should have to live like this. \u201cYou\u2019re the best good girl I know. Get your clothes on now, while I wake the others.\u201d<\/p>\n She set the bags on the floor, went to the next bed, and shook the sleeping wereleopard\u2019s shoulder. Echo woke quickly, without complaint or noise. They all knew the score. If the guards caught them, they\u2019d lock them up so tight, there wouldn\u2019t be the slightest chance of escape.<\/p>\n Once the girls were awake and dressing, Tabbi dashed across the hall to get Zane. The fourteen-year-old half-human\/half-weretiger opened his eyes with a jolt of fear Tabbi understood all too well. She put a finger to her lips. He nodded, threw back the covers, and climbed out of bed, fully dressed. He even had his sneakers on.<\/p>\n She blinked. \u201cHow did you know it would be tonight?\u201d she whispered at a decibel too low for his human roommate to hear.<\/p>\n \u201cDidn\u2019t,\u201d he said, equally quiet. \u201cBeen going to bed in my clothes every night. Just in case.\u201d<\/p>\n Tabbi shook her head. Zane never failed to surprise her. He picked up his pillow, revealing a small cache of clothes, one thin spiral notebook, a squashed candy bar, and a battered paperback book–all he had to show for the eleven years he\u2019d spent in this hellhole. Tabbi\u2019s heart ached for him. Someday, she swore silently, she\u2019d make sure he had car magazines, a baseball and glove, and all the other things teenage boys dreamed about. Maybe then, his nightmares would fade.<\/p>\n Her own collection of personal gear was little better than Zane\u2019s, even though she\u2019d been here almost twice as long. But then, she hadn\u2019t cared about possessions since she\u2019d arrived at the compound at the age of twelve and Zakhar had sold her to a pervert for an hour–the first time. From that moment, all she\u2019d dreamed about was revenge.<\/p>\n Stripping the case off his pillow, Zane scooped up his treasures and stuffed them inside it. Then together, they snuck into the hall. Tabbi felt like a traitor for leaving the others–whether they were Weres or humans–but she couldn\u2019t take them all with her. So she was taking the most vulnerable three, the ones who needed escape as badly as she did. Someday soon she\u2019d come back for the others and shut this place down for good.<\/p>\n After she\u2019d relocked the door, she and Zane crossed to the girls\u2019 room. Once inside, she gave a neck bag to each of them and slipped the fourth over her own head. She heard a soft giggle and glanced down. Echo was helping Cat fasten her sneakers and had managed to coax a laugh out of the young werewolf, despite the fear and adrenalin clogging the air.<\/p>\n At twenty-eight, Echo would be coming into her first heat in less than two years. Yet in spite of the abuse heaped on her since childhood, she\u2019d remained remarkably sweet and shy. Tabbi refused to let the girl go through what she had when she\u2019d turned thirty.<\/p>\n No. She couldn\u2019t afford to let those memories in. Not now. She had to be strong. The others were counting on her to get them out of this living hell. Locking her pain, fear, and anger back in its cage in a far, dark corner of her mind, she concentrated on what came next.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, we go downstairs to Zakhar\u2019s office. I think the guards are asleep, but just in case they aren\u2019t, try not to make any noise.\u201d<\/p>\n Zane put a hand on her arm. \u201cThere\u2019s always at least one on duty, sometimes two.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think tonight there was only the one, and he\u2019s no longer a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n He studied her battered face a moment then nodded, a grim smile flickering at the corners of his mouth. \u201cGood.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if I\u2019d call it good, but it was necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n She picked up Cat and led the way out the door. Relocking it, she headed downstairs to the main floor. At the door of Zakhar\u2019s office, she tried the guard\u2019s keys. None of them fit.<\/p>\n Oh, no!<\/em> They had to get in. Everything depended on it. Fighting renewed panic, she tried each key again, slowly, though every second felt like an hour. They were completely exposed out here with no way to prevent their recapture. Her heart racing, she wiped the sweat out of her eyes and struggled to force a key into the keyhole with fingers that refused to stop shaking.<\/p>\n \u201cLet me.\u201d Zane pulled a straightened paperclip from his pocket and went to work on the lock. Forty-five seconds later, the door clicked open.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere did you learn to do that?\u201d she whispered as she shut and locked it behind them.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been practicing on our door upstairs. In case you didn\u2019t come through, I was going to see what I could do.\u201d When she stared at him, he shrugged. \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n She put Cat down and pulled Zane into a hug. \u201cYou\u2019re a genius. I\u2019m so very proud of you.\u201d<\/p>\n He blushed and ducked his head, but not before she\u2019d caught a glimpse of his ear-to-ear grin.<\/p>\n Looking around at her three charges, she wondered how the hell she\u2019d get them from Lithuania to France and over the channel into England. She had to admit she had only a vague plan. There were just too many unknowns. Still, whatever happened to them out on the road could hardly be worse than what was happening to them in here.<\/p>\n Thank heavens, they all spoke fluent English and would likely be taken as tourists, at least in Western Europe. Except for Cat, of course, who had trouble pronouncing some of the words. Hopefully, the little girl\u2019s butchered language would be misinterpreted as a toddler\u2019s natural progression.<\/p>\n Zane touched Tabbi\u2019s shoulder. \u201cNow what?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNow, we rob the safe.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a key in the desk.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHow do you know that?\u201d<\/p>\n She shook her head. \u201cYou don\u2019t want to know.\u201d<\/p>\n No way would she admit how Zakhar had used her.<\/p>\n The drawers of his solid mahogany desk were locked tight. The guard\u2019s keys were no use to her here, nor had she expected them to be. Crawling under the desk, she retrieved a key from its hook on the underside. A key she\u2019d seen there on the night–no! She refused to darken her mind by thinking about what a sick bastard Zakhar was.<\/p>\n She got to her feet, unlocked the middle drawer, and felt around inside for the special key she\u2019d seen the pride leader toss in it that night before he\u2019d started on her. Her fingers brushed it, curled around the ornate handle, and pulled it free. The shaft was thin, nearly four inches long, and had small slots along its length that held microchips embedded with special codes. It looked much like the key to Zakhar\u2019s Maserati, though it was longer and thinner.<\/p>\n Swinging a painting away from the wall to reveal the safe, she inserted the key into a barely visible slot near the bottom edge. Zakhar thought he was so clever, sticking a fake dial on the safe. After one spin, any safecracker worthy of the title would know the dial was bogus and start checking around for a digital key. It might\u2019ve worked on her, though, if Zakhar hadn\u2019t gotten careless–which shouldn\u2019t really have surprised her, given he thought all women were brain-dead.<\/p>\n Ignoring any miscellaneous documents, she took all the cash and gemstones from the safe–money she and the others had generated by suffering at the hands of countless men–and stuffed it into her bag. Just as she tossed the key back in the drawer, someone rattled the doorknob. They all froze. Hardly daring to breathe, Tabbi signaled for quiet, but it wasn\u2019t necessary. No one made a sound.<\/p>\n \u201cOleg?\u201d barked a harsh voice. The doorknob rattled a second time. \u201cIs that you in there? You damn fool, if you\u2019re messing with the females again, there\u2019ll be hell to pay.\u201d<\/p>\n A scratching sound was followed by a muttered curse. Tabbi\u2019s heart pounded in her ears so loudly she was surprised the man didn\u2019t hear it.<\/p>\n \u201cHell, there isn\u2019t a key on this damn ring that\u2019ll fit this.\u201d He pounded on the door. \u201cIf I have to, I\u2019ll get the master pass key after I finish my rounds, so you\u2019d better be out of there and doing your job when I get back.\u201d<\/p>\n His footsteps tramped away down the hall and upstairs. If he went into her room–<\/p>\n Shit, they were running out of time.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to go,\u201d she whispered. \u201cLook around for a hidden button somewhere on the wall by the bookcase. I know Zakhar has an escape route of some kind. I once saw him enter through a hidden panel in that wall. There has to be a latch on this side, too.\u201d<\/p>\n While they searched, Tabbi booted up Zakhar\u2019s computer and tapped in a series of keystrokes that would trigger a virus she\u2019d planted weeks ago–one she created with what she\u2019d learned when Zakhar hired a geek to teach her to hack into banks and steal money for him electronically.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d Zane whispered.<\/p>\n She glanced over her shoulder and checked that Cat and Echo were absorbed in hunting for the button. Zane needed to know this, though, in case anything happened to her.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m activating a virus that will destroy the system and hopefully buy us some time–among other things. If something goes wrong and I don\u2019t make it, there\u2019s information you\u2019ll need in my bag. Promise me you\u2019ll take care of the others.\u201d<\/p>\n He hugged her and nodded.<\/p>\n She patted his shoulder. \u201cDon\u2019t watch me. Look for the button that will get us out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n It was Echo who found it, hidden behind a book in the bookcase. She touched Tabbi\u2019s arm to get her attention, pushed the button, and grinned as the door slid open.<\/p>\n \u201cGood job.\u201d<\/p>\n With a tight smile, Tabbi shut down the computer. Within ninety seconds after the next person booted it up, the pride would get a very unpleasant surprise. Satisfied, she headed for the secret door. Beyond the threshold, a flight of stairs descended into black nothingness.<\/p>\n \u201cI think this comes out at the silo, although I\u2019m not sure. But wherever it goes, it\u2019s our only way out.\u201d<\/p>\n The pitch-black tunnel made even Were eyes useless, and she hadn\u2019t thought to steal a flashlight. Too late now.<\/p>\n She took one of Cat\u2019s hands, told Echo to take Cat\u2019s other one, and Zane to grab a hold of Echo\u2019s. With her free hand on the wall as a guide, she led them through the tunnel. The corridor seemed to go on forever. Cat grew tired and began to whimper. Tabbi hauled the child into her arms and guided Echo\u2019s hand to the waistband of her jeans.<\/p>\n \u201cHold onto it,\u201d she said and kept walking.<\/p>\n Finally, they came to another staircase. At the top, they hit a blank wall. Tabbi gave Cat to Echo and ran both hands over the wall until she touched a button. When she pushed it, a door slid open. They piled out into a room filled with thirty-kilo bags of grain. Zane cursed as he tripped over one and landed in a heap on the floor.<\/p>\n \u201cEnglish,\u201d Tabbi ordered. \u201cIt\u2019s vital you speak only in English from here on out, especially when you swear.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhere is we?\u201d Cat asked.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re in the silo, kitten.\u201d Zane scooted over to the window and peered out. \u201cSomething\u2019s happening over at the house. People are running around outside. I can see the light from their flashlights.\u201d<\/p>\n Tabbi joined him at the window. \u201cI\u2019d say they\u2019ve discovered the guard\u2019s dead and the four of us are missing. If they\u2019re searching the yard, either they don\u2019t know about the tunnel, or don\u2019t realize we used it.\u201d She glanced at Echo, who leaned against the wall, holding Cat. \u201cYou did put the book back after you pushed the button, didn\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course. What do we do now?\u201d<\/p>\n Zane snorted. \u201cWe get out of here, that\u2019s what. I know Zakhar keeps some cars and stuff in the garage here. I was looking out my window once and saw him drive in. I just didn\u2019t know where he went from here.\u201d<\/p>\n Tabbi nodded. \u201cI saw him, too. More than once.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI bet the scumbag kept the cars out here in case of a raid, so he could get away and leave everyone else to get caught.\u201d He started for the door then hesitated. \u201cThey\u2019ll hear us drive off. You think we can outrun them?\u201d<\/p>\n She ruffled the boy\u2019s hair. \u201cThey\u2019re not going to hear us. We\u2019ll push the car to the road before we start it. It\u2019s only a half a mile from here, but it\u2019s nearly three quarters of a mile from the house.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWon\u2019t we need the keys?\u201d Echo asked.<\/p>\n \u201cIf Zakhar kept cars here so he could make a fast getaway, the keys are probably in them. Or at least somewhere nearby.\u201d Tabbi took Cat and headed for the garage. \u201cAnd if they aren\u2019t,\u201d she added, winking at Zane, \u201cI bet I know someone who can hotwire one.\u201d<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n The estate of Drake Gatos, Radlett, England, June 17th:<\/em><\/p>\n Drake glared at his computer monitor. Quicken is not responding. \u201cWhat the bloody hell does that mean? It\u2019s a blasted software program, for Pete\u2019s sake. I don\u2019t need it to talk to me. I just need it to work.\u201d<\/p>\n Gray sauntered into the study. \u201cWhat are you bitching about now?\u201d<\/p>\n Drake beckoned him over and waved a hand at the screen. \u201cLook at this shit.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou and that computer. I swear, you two are worse than an old married couple. Maybe I should recycle both of you and get new models.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a hell of a way for a second-in-command to speak to his pride leader.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t realize I was talking to my pride leader. I thought I was talking to my friend. What the hell\u2019s eating you lately? You\u2019ve been a pain in the ass ever since we got back from rescuing Chase in Scotland.\u201d Gray cocked his head and studied him. \u201cYou\u2019re not upset she chose Roman instead of you, are you?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo.\u201d He shoved away from his desk and paced. \u201cChase wasn\u2019t for me, Gray. As much as I would\u2019ve liked a chance with her, fate picked her for Roman.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThen what is it?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m…not worried, exactly. More unsettled.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAbout?\u201d<\/p>\n Drake sighed. \u201cAbout the man we let escape in Scotland.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBloody hell, boss. You still got your panties in a twist over that? What is it with you? It\u2019s like you\u2019ve gone hyper territorial all of a sudden.\u201d Gray threw up his hands. \u201cWhat\u2019s the big effing deal? Of the four guys from that pride who came after Chase, Roman took out Zakhar, and we got two of his men. So what if one lone weretiger got away? The guy\u2019s hotfooting it back to Lithuania with his tail between his legs.\u201d He snorted. \u201cLiterally. He\u2019s not coming back to hassle us.\u201d<\/p>\n Drake shot him a glare, his canines lengthening momentarily. \u201cAnd you know this, how?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLogical thinking.\u201d Gray held up one hand and ticked off points on his fingers. \u201cChase has been claimed by Roman. Hell, she even married him in a human-type ceremony. On top of that, she wrote an ironclad will leaving her money to Roman, or to her old partner if something happens to both of them. There\u2019s no way anyone from her father\u2019s old pride can get to the thirteen mil in her trust fund. Therefore, with both Chase and her money out of reach, we don\u2019t have anything her old pride wants.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s to stop one of them from trying to kill Roman so he can mate Chase when she\u2019s widowed?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re joking, right? Didn\u2019t you see the way he took out Zakhar? I knew Roman was half Vampire, but–damn.\u201d Gray shuddered. \u201cHe drained every drop of blood from that cat\u2019s body. Shit, I nearly pissed myself, and I like Roman.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCan you blame him?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHell, no! The son of a bitch had his woman. I\u2019d have killed the bastard, too, though I might\u2019ve used a less dramatic method. But I can only imagine how shitting terrified the guy who escaped is. When he gets back and tells the rest of the pride, they\u2019ll think twice before coming to England, looking for trouble. Believe me.\u201d<\/p>\n Drake rubbed his hands over his face and sighed. His weretiger pride now included not only Chase, an American human\/weretiger half-breed, but also her new mate, Roman, a half-Lycan Vampire. And damn it, I haven\u2019t had a moment\u2019s peace since she stepped off the frigging plane in England. Life as a weretiger pride leader was hard enough without all these added complications.<\/p>\n Still, Gray did have a valid point. With Chase officially mated, there was no reason for Zakhar\u2019s pride to come looking for trouble. And as quickly as his men had abandoned him during the fight, it was unlikely they\u2019d try to avenge him.<\/p>\n \u201cI certainly hope you\u2019re right.\u201d He glanced over to see Gray grinning at the computer screen. \u201cWhat now?\u201d<\/p>\n Gray patted the monitor. \u201cAs much as I\u2019ve enjoyed this little chat, I think your break time\u2019s over. Quicken\u2019s responding again, so I\u2019ll leave you to your paperwork.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThanks a lot, shithead.\u201d Drake managed to stifle his grin, though his lips still twitched. \u201cYou\u2019d better be right about Zakhar\u2019s pride.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cTrust me. Since we put the fear of god in them, they\u2019ll behave themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou hope,\u201d Drake muttered as he went back to his bookkeeping. Now if he could only put the fear of god in this stupid computer.<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n Poland, approaching the Polish\/German Border, June 21st:<\/em><\/p>\n The last rays of the sun were fading as Tabbi slowed Zakhar\u2019s black, S-Class Mercedes and pulled off the paved road onto a small dirt lane. She had no idea where the new road led, but it looked promising. As she drove, she searched both sides of the narrow dirt strip, looking for–there. That little copse of trees and underbrush should do just fine.<\/p>\n She came almost to a stop, turned the wheel, and eased the car into the underbrush, edging it forward until the brake lights reflected on the leaves of the vine-like foliage closing in behind her. Exhausted, she cut the engine, dropped the keys on the floor, and rested her head on the seat back, giving into a yawn that caught her unawares.<\/p>\n It had been a long four days.<\/p>\n They\u2019d crossed into Poland at Trakiszki. At first, Tabbi was hesitant to drive the car across the border, afraid that without passports or identification they\u2019d be arrested. Then Zane had come up with a brilliant idea. He and Echo stripped, shifted, and raced by the border guards as a tiger and leopard. The guards deserted their posts and ran after them, trying to round up what they apparently thought were escaping zoo animals.<\/p>\n Once the crossing was clear of guards, Tabbi drove the car through.<\/p>\n After leading the locals on a merry chase, Zane and Echo pranced up to where she waited on the shoulder of the road, twenty miles from the border. They\u2019d been more than a little pleased with themselves–and rightly so.<\/p>\n That had been the easy part. The hard part had been avoiding the main highways and finding her way across Poland on the small back roads, such as there were. The maneuvering had added an extra two days to their trip.<\/p>\n She rubbed her churning stomach, trying to shake off the stress of the journey. Terrified they\u2019d be stopped, arrested, and taken back to Lithuania and Zakhar, she hadn\u2019t relaxed since the night she\u2019d killed the guard. By now, the other guards must have notified the authorities. In the age of modern computers, the alert would\u2019ve gone out to every nation in Europe. So she was bound to be stopped at the German border.<\/p>\n Although Lithuania was now part of the EU, it was still sucking hind tit, so to speak, and with Lithuanian plates on the car, she wouldn\u2019t just be waved through.<\/p>\n They\u2019d been lucky so far, but it couldn\u2019t last. If only she could get to a computer, she could hack into Interpol and cancel any alerts or warrants. But she had no idea where to find an accessible terminal without heading for a major city and exposing the four of them to more danger. She\u2019d just have to find another way.<\/p>\n She doubted Zane\u2019s ploy would work to get them across into Germany. The Germans were far too organized and well trained. She raked her fingers through her hair in frustration and conceded to defeat. As much as she hated the idea, it was time to abandon the car.<\/p>\n Zane was asleep in the passenger seat beside her. Echo and Cat were conked out in the back. She wished she could join them in slumber, but night was fast approaching and they needed to hurry.<\/p>\n She shook Zane\u2019s shoulder then did the same to the girls. \u201cWake up, guys. It\u2019s time to go.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhere are we?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n \u201cAbout thirty kilometers from the German border.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t take the car across, can we?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo, I\u2019m afraid not.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOh, man,\u201d he grumbled. \u201cI\u2019m really going to miss these wheels.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMe, too.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019s hungy, Tabbi,\u201d Cat said with a yawn. \u201cI want Frosted Flakes.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSorry, sweetheart, you\u2019ll have to make do with sandwiches and fruit,\u201d she said, handing out the food she\u2019d purchased in the last village they\u2019d passed through.<\/p>\n \u201cCan I have Frosted Flakes next day?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know, baby. I don\u2019t know where we\u2019ll be tomorrow. But you can have them once we get where we\u2019re going. I promise.\u201d<\/p>\n She popped the trunk and climbed out of the car. Once she\u2019d removed the neck bags and closed the trunk lid, she walked to the little dirt road to make sure the car couldn\u2019t be seen. Satisfied, she went back for the others.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need to get across the border, but because I\u2019m pretty sure the car\u2019s been reported stolen, we can\u2019t drive. Before we leave, let\u2019s use the rags I bought and wipe down the car–inside and out. No fingerprints, no DNA.\u201d<\/p>\n Zane stared at her. \u201cSo we\u2019re just going to walk across the border?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, but I don\u2019t think we should do it as humans.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou want us to shift?\u201d Echo asked in wonder. \u201cWhat if we\u2019re seen in animal form?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll try to avoid that. But if it happens, it\u2019s better for the humans to see four animals crossing the border than four people. They won\u2019t try to arrest the animals.\u201d<\/p>\n Zane snorted. \u201cNo, they\u2019ll just think we\u2019re after their livestock and shoot us.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI doubt that. Most likely, they\u2019ll figure we\u2019ve escaped from some zoo, so they\u2019ll try to catch us. Once we\u2019re over the border, we can shift back and continue our journey as humans.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut we be necked,\u201d Cat pointed out.<\/p>\n Tabbi smiled. \u201cNo, sweetie. We won\u2019t be naked. We\u2019ll put our clothes in these bags and put the bags around our necks so we can carry them as animals. Here, take off your clothes and shift, and I\u2019ll show you.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018Kay.\u201d<\/p>\n When Cat had shifted to her wolf form, Tabbi put her clothes in the bag and draped it around the child\u2019s neck, adjusting it for a comfortable fit. Then she scratched her behind her ears and kissed her muzzle.<\/p>\n \u201cJust like that. See?\u201d<\/p>\n Cat nodded her furry, gray head.<\/p>\n Zane watched as Echo shifted into a sleek leopard beside him. \u201cWe\u2019d move a lot faster if we stayed in our animal forms,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019ll be a long walk to France as humans.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know. I\u2019ve considered that, along with the fact the authorities probably have our human descriptions.\u201d She rubbed at the tension in the back of her neck and sighed. \u201cI was thinking we might steal another car, but that could be dangerous in Germany. The German police are very sophisticated, and I doubt we\u2019d get very far.\u201d<\/p>\n Zane shifted into a tiger. Tabbi draped his bag over his neck then did the same for Echo. \u201cWe\u2019ll go as far as we can as animals, but we\u2019ll have to travel at night and sleep during the day. Keep close together, and whatever you do, don\u2019t lose your bags.\u201d<\/p>\n She\u2019d just taken off her clothes when Zane suddenly turned back into a human.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is it?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat happens if one of us gets caught?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf one of you gets caught, whether as a human or an animal, stay calm and wait for me to rescue you.\u201d Tabbi looked each one in the eye. \u201cI will come for you. Understand?\u201d<\/p>\n They all nodded.<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re not going back,\u201d she told them. \u201cI don\u2019t care what I have to do or who I have to kill, I promise you, none of you are going back to that hell.\u201d<\/p>\n As she stuffed her clothes in her bag and hung it around her neck, she said a silent prayer of thanks that none of them had noticed she hadn\u2019t included herself in that statement. Because she was going back, and when she did, she\u2019d avenge them all.<\/p>\n \u00a9 2011 by Pepper O\u2019Neal<\/p>\n BACK TO BLURB<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 READ REVIEWS<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" CHAPTER 1 A weretiger compound outside a remote Lithuanian village, eighty miles from the Polish border, June 16th: It had to be tonight. Now, while the house was quiet. While the pride leader and his henchmen were out of town, …<\/span> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-87","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pepperoneal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/87","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pepperoneal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pepperoneal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pepperoneal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pepperoneal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.pepperoneal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/87\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":225,"href":"https:\/\/www.pepperoneal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/87\/revisions\/225"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pepperoneal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pepperoneal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}