“Be thankful Dellan can communicate with us. If it was only a tiger, we’d probably be up to our pits in tiger poop,” Horvan remarked, picking up speed, aware of the car behind them keeping up.
Crank snorted. “If it was only a tiger, you wouldn’t catch me within two feet of this RV.” He hollered toward the back. “Cross your legs or something, Dellan.”
When another growl emanated, Horvan chuckled. “Care to translate that, Crank?” Not for the first time, he wondered what Dellan was like as a human. From their brief internal conversations, Horvan couldn’t get a real handle on his personality, which was only to be expected in the circumstances.
When was the last time Dellan had been human?
By the time Roadkill indicated they should come to a stop at the edge of a forest, Dellan was pacing up and down inside the RV. Given there wasn’t all that much space to pace in the first place, Crank and Rael were keeping out of his path. Horvan switched off the engine, and Rael opened the door.
Apparently, that was all the signal Dellan needed. He took a leap from the door as soon as Rael opened it and landed on the ground with a dull thud.
I’ll go with him, make sure we’re not spotted, Rael told Horvan.
Keep your distance, okay? Give him some private time?
There was a pause. Yeah. Of course. Just thinking how I’d feel if you were watching me take a dump.
Horvan chuckled. Yeah, but we’ve already established you’re a dainty thing, right? He glanced at the clock on the dash. At the rate they were going, they’d be at the cabin by midday the following day.
Horvan was fine with that. As long as Roadkill was already working on future stops for Dellan. He had to smile.
A tiger’s gotta go when a tiger’s gotta go. Cute.
It wasn’t long before Dellan was back on board the RV, and Crank was in the car’s driver’s seat, insisting he wanted to be on his own for a while. Horvan wasn’t going to argue, but he was definitely intrigued. When Roadkill took the wheel of the RV, Horvan commented on it.
Roadkill laughed. “I know why he wants to be alone, but I ain’t tellin’. He’d kill me.” He flashed the indicators to tell Crank they were ready to leave. Roadkill looked over his shoulder. “Everything okay back there now?”
Rael laughed. “Someone is purring.”
“Wait a minute.” Roadkill frowned. “Okay, I’m not claiming to be an expert in these things, but I’ve never heard of a tiger purring. I didn’t think any big cats could purr.”
“They can’t,” Rael said simply. “House cats can purr because they have this rigid bone, the hyoid, that allows them to purr continuously. In big cats, the hyoid is flexible, meaning they can roar but not purr.”
“Then how can—”
“Dellan isn’t a tiger. He’s a shifter. And in big-cat shifters, that bone is different. It allows them to purr, making them sound like overgrown kitties.”
Roadkill smiled. “A happy kitty. This is what we want.”
What Horvan wanted was Dellan whole again.
HORVAN HANDED around the sandwiches he’d made, then took a seat. Dellan was off the bed and lapping water from his bowl. Rael watched him from the bed.
Normal eating times didn’t exist on this mission. They were about eighteen hours into the trip, and it was two in the morning. Horvan had gotten the munchies and had assumed the same was true of the others. Roadkill was in the car, and Crank was driving the RV.
Hashtag glanced up from his phone. “Where are we?”
“Just crossed from South Dakota into Wyoming.”
Hashtag nodded before returning his attention to his phone. “Do you know how many posts there have been claiming responsibility for releasing him? Fifteen. There are groups we didn’t even contact who are claiming responsibility. They have no idea how much this helps us.” He grinned. “Well, it’s official. No one has a fucking clue where Dellan is.”
“And we’d better hope it stays that way,” Horvan added.
“You said it. Especially now the FBI will be involved.”
What the fuck?
Horvan glanced in Rael’s direction. “Did we not mention that part? Sure, Chicago PD will be all over this, but when someone steals an endangered exotic animal, it becomes a federal investigation.”
Rael gaped. “We’re going to have the FBI on our tail?”
Hashtag shrugged. “Maybe. We’ve run interference as much as we can, but if they do decide to investigate, there’s little else we can do.” He gave Rael a confident smile. “Don’t be worried. I’ll be setting up cameras around the perimeter of the property. We’ll know if someone starts taking too much interest.”
“What did you mean—you’ve run interference?” Rael demanded.
“We have a source in the FBI,” Hashtag told him. He gave Horvan a sideways glance. “What I didn’t know until three days ago was that he’s also a shifter.” He chuckled. “Horvan felt it was safe to reveal that particular piece of information.”
“Hey, it was a need-to-know thing,” Horvan remonstrated. “Not that he can help us all that much. He can’t control all aspects of an investigation.” He looked past Rael to where Dellan was settling down once more on his blankets. “I bet he can’t wait to get out of the RV. It must feel like exchanging one cage for another.”
Rael shook his head. “At least he knows he’s out of there.” His gaze met Horvan’s, and the anxiety in his eyes was all too obvious. “No sign yet that he can shift.”
Horvan beckoned Rael, holding his arms wide. Rael gave a glance in Dellan’s direction, then came over to where Horvan sat. Horvan pulled Rael into his lap, his arms enfolding him. “I know it’s difficult, sweetheart. Once we’re in the cabin, we’ll work real hard at reminding him there’s a human being in there somewhere.”
Rael put his head on Horvan’s shoulder. I know. I hate this… waiting.
“Can I ask you guys something?” Hashtag leaned forward. “You do know that Dellan is gay, right?”
Horvan blinked, and Rael sat up. “Well… now you mention it—” Horvan began.
“We don’t know that for sure,” Rael interjected.
Hashtag frowned. “Yeah, but… I mean, I don’t know who decides these things—hell, I know nothing about shifters, and from the sound of it, you two only know slightly more than that—but… would they mate you with a straight guy? Is that a possibility?”
Rael seemed perplexed. “I never thought about that. I assumed he’d be gay or bi, seeing as he has two guys for mates.”
“But you’re gay, right?” When Rael nodded, Hashtag smirked at Horvan. “And we all know you’re gay.”
Horvan stared at him. “Actually, I’m bi.”
Hashtag’s mouth fell open. “You… but… have you ever slept with a woman?”
Horvan gave a shrug. “Sure, a couple times. I don’t have hang-ups about who shares my bed. Sex is sex, right?” Then he became aware of Rael’s hard stare and mentally gave himself a kick up the backside. “Or it was. Before I found out I had mates.” Talk about backpedaling.