When a meal was announced, they all walked into the room next door together. It turned out to be a grand ballroom that had been set up with round tables and a giant buffet. As Katrina had come to expect, the cast members descended on the food with gusto. Ren seated her with Shelly and Sully at one of the large tables and went off with their husbands towards the buffet.
Katrina decided to wait until the crowd around the buffet died down a bit to get her plate and take advantage of the time to get to know Sully and Shelly a bit better. They talked of the film and Sully’s experiences filming big-budget features, and before Katrina realized how much time had passed, the men returned. She was floored to find that Ren had put together a plate of food for her, much as Mark and Nick had done for their wives. Ren had even seemed to note the kinds of foods Katrina preferred and had made the portion only a little larger than she would have taken for herself.
“You’ll catch flies if you leave your mouth hanging open like that,” Ren whispered to her as he sat at her side, lowering his own heaping plate to the table at the same time.
Sputtering a little, Katrina managed to thank him and close her gaping mouth. She had no idea what was going on here, but it certainly felt like Ren was playing the part of her… What? Boyfriend?
She shook her head slightly at her own thoughts and decided to turn her attention to her plate for a moment while she regrouped. Conversation flowed around her as Nick and Mark talked with Ren, and the other ladies put in a few words here and there.
“What are your plans for later?” Mark asked Ren as Katrina remained quiet.
“I thought I’d show Kat around the island a bit. Maybe take her up to the rim and show her my place,” he replied easily, surprising her yet again.
“Well, there’s a room for you here if you want it. We have plenty of space,” Shelly said, speaking directly to Katrina. For some reason, Mark and Nick were frowning but didn’t say anything. Katrina didn’t understand a lot about these people, but she took Shelly’s words at face value and thanked her for her thoughtfulness.
After dinner, Katrina found herself in an open-roofed Jeep heading up the mountain on a twisty track that was more overgrown jungle than road, but Ren seemed at home behind the wheel, guiding the vehicle competently upward. The Jeep was green, blending in well with the foliage around them.
She thought she caught occasional flashes of something moving at speed alongside their path, but it couldn’t be what she thought. It couldn’t be cat eyes that met hers for a brief instant as they rolled along the jungle path. And it couldn’t be golden fur that showed through the tiny breaks in the leaves as it passed beneath the thick foliage. No way… Right?
Katrina began to fear that they were being stalked.
“Uh…Ren? Are there like…um…jungle cats on this island?” she asked, talking loudly to be heard over the engine noise and gentle breeze that ruffled her hair.
“Don’t worry. Nothing here will ever hurt you,” he replied.
“That doesn’t really answer my question,” she told him, speaking a little more softly and keeping her eyes peeled for another flash of golden-brown fur streaking alongside them in the undergrowth.
They were climbing steadily, and he slowed as they came to an area of the path that seemed to be carved into the side of the mountain. It was open on one side, the dense jungle falling below the side of this small stretch of road. Ren pointed toward the jewel blue of the ocean far below.
“Take a look at that view,” he said, doing just that as he rested his hands on the top of the steering wheel. “That never gets old.”
Katrina had to admit he had a point. “It is beautiful,” she admitted in a quiet voice that was tinged with wonder.
“I’m glad you like it because my house is right around the bend, and this view is why I chose the spot to build on.”
He started the Jeep rolling again, and she looked all around, wanting to see what his home would look like. It certainly didn’t seem like there was a house anywhere nearby. All she could see, so far, was the same jungle they’d just come through. Dense, green, and alive with creatures she could only just barely discern.
They rounded a curve, and there it was. A large expanse of glass with a door to one side. This had to be the entrance to Ren’s rather unconventional home. It blended in well with the surrounding foliage, but the glass reflected the sun as they neared, and nothing could camouflage that. Of course, from far away, it would be hard to see.
“Wow,” she said, almost involuntarily.
Ren chuckled. “Glad you like it. The inside is even better. All that glass makes you feel like you’re still outside with all the creature comforts of a modern home. We’re straddling the rim of the volcano here, so this side gets the ocean view. The other side looks down on the crater. Either way, I find the views stunning.”
Ren pulled the Jeep in next to the house in a covered area that was so overhung with palms and foliage, it looked like part of the scenery. He switched off the engine and hopped out, coming around to help Katrina climb down, though she didn’t really need much help. She’d dressed casually for the plane ride in one of her favorite outfits. It was soft jersey knit. Wide-legged pants and top were coordinated and cut in such a way that with just a bit of jewelry and the right shoes it could be moderately dressy.
She’d felt good in the outfit meeting those VIPs at the mansion, even if her clothes were off the rack and theirs had to have been tailor made. Such things didn’t seem to matter to any of them, which was a huge relief. Mark, Shelly, Nick and Sully were all genuinely nice, and Katrina was still a bit starstruck.
As they walked out of the parking area toward the front of the house, Katrina stopped short. Sitting not far from the front door was a row of three giant jungle cats. Spotted, furry, sharp-toothed felines of a frightening variety that she had only ever seen in photos and on nature documentaries. Never up close and running around loose!
Ren stopped a step in front of her and turned his back on the cats to face her. She kept her eyes on the cats, shocked he would present his vulnerable back to such creatures. Was he crazy? She didn’t want to watch Ren struck down by a pounce from behind.
“It’s okay. They’re friendly,” he told her. He held up his hands, palms outward, as if to calm her.
“Seriously?” She heard the way her voice went up in pitch as fear made her voice shake, but she couldn’t do anything about it. Her entire body was primed with adrenaline as a fight-or-flight reaction overtook her. “Is this some kind of eccentric billionaire thing? Keeping wild jungle cats as pets and letting them roam around loose on a private island?”
Ren laughed. He actually laughed! She couldn’t believe it. He shook his head and chuckled.
“Sorry. I’m not laughing at you, but Mark would get a kick out of your reaction, I’m sure,” Ren told her. “Look, just come inside. I promise they won’t harm you, and they aren’t coming in with us.”
Confusingly, he seemed to be directing that last bit toward the cats, as if they could understand him. Something was really strange about this entire situation. The cats were sitting right near the door to the house. Katrina really didn’t want to get any closer to them than she was now, but the Jeep was no protection since it had no roof. The house was the only indoor area where she might be able to get away from the threat posed by those sharp claws and wicked-looking teeth.