Authors: Laura Morrigan
“A hungry jaguar is a dangerous jaguar. I need—”
“Okay. I’ll run you by the JSO.” He didn’t seem happy.
I felt a twinge of temper. What did he think I was planning? To slip LaBryce a file
so he could saw through his bars? They could and, I’m sure, would listen to everything
I said to LaBryce. I started to point that out when Kai’s phone rang.
He answered, “Duncan.” There was a long pause. “Let me guess, jaguar hair?”
He flicked a glance at me. “I collected some tonight for comparison. I’d be willing
to bet they’re a match.”
He said a few other things that were so cryptic and technical I had no idea what he
was talking about. But I knew this was not good news for LaBryce.
Kai flipped his phone closed and said, “You might need to make long-term arrangements
for the cat.”
• • •
Kai led me out of the elevators and down a nondescript hallway. The overhead lights
were bright and buzzing. The floors either industrial carpet or industrial tile. It
was nothing like the cop shows on television where the lights are dim and there are
sleek glass partitions everywhere.
This was a bit more humdrum than I had envisioned.
Kai opened a door and motioned for me to go inside. I saw LaBryce seated at a table,
his eyes hooded, massive ebony arms crossed over his chest. Whoever he was expecting
to walk through the door, it wasn’t me. His expression didn’t change that much, but
I saw a flash of confusion in his eyes, then he looked me up and down and his whole
body tensed.
I knew I looked a mess. The dress had dried some, but it was a disaster, smeared with
dirt and clumps of jaguar hair. I’d tried to finger-comb my damp hair, but it was
still tangled from the brief but violent encounter with the driving rain. I was sure
the makeup my sister had so carefully applied was gone or had moved to where it shouldn’t
be.
The harsh lights didn’t help.
LaBryce began to shake. He looked past me at Kai, and his face twisted into a horrible
mask of rage.
“Bastard!” More suddenly that I thought possible, he launched himself out of the chair
and slammed Kai against the wall. The next few seconds passed so fast I was hardly
able to process them.
Kai, who must have been as stunned as I was, was slow on the uptake. LaBryce, a man
who had based his ten-year career in the NFL on speed and power, held Kai easily against
the wall. Then pivoted, trying to slam Kai to the ground.
At some point I screamed. Or at least yelled, “No!” Kai managed to keep his feet and
they both staggered into the table. It scooted over the floor, and I heard LaBryce
yell, “What did you do to her?”
I jumped forward and grabbed one of LaBryce’s immense shoulders. Like I was going
to pull him off. It was like trying to wrestle an elephant. “LaBryce, stop!”
Though leaning back over the table, Kai managed to get enough leverage to swing an
elbow. It landed with a thud against LaBryce’s cheek.
There was shouting and commotion behind me. I was shoved away and against the wall
while a swarm of cops filled the small room. I saw the oversized shape of a Taser
gun in someone’s hand, and in an instant, LaBryce was on the ground, stunned, and
Kai was standing in front of me. His face was cold and stony, but his eyes burned
with anger.
He grabbed my arm and half walked, half dragged me back to the elevators. I wanted
to ask him where we were going, but I was still a little shocked over what had just
happened.
LaBryce had taken one look at my disheveled appearance and leapt on Kai. It made no
sense. If Kai was going to ask me to explain, he was out of luck.
“I don’t know why he jumped on you.”
Silence. The elevator opened and he pulled me down to an office marked
DUNCAN
. Once we were inside, he slammed the door.
“Talk.” It was an order and not a nice one.
I felt my back go rigid. “I just said I don’t know.”
He shook his head. “Walker took one look at you and assumed I had done something to
you.”
“So?”
“So, he didn’t react like a
friend
.”
I didn’t like the implication. I might not tell the whole truth when it came to my
ability, but I wasn’t a damn liar. “I don’t know why he did what he did. Why don’t
you ask him?”
“I’m asking you.”
“I answered your question.”
There was a knock at the door. Kai took another moment to glower at me and pulled
the door open.
Jake stepped into the office. “I heard LaBryce jumped you. You two okay?”
“Fine,” Kai snapped.
Jake gave Kai a quizzical look before turning to me. “You?”
“Sergeant Duncan seems to think I orchestrated it somehow.”
“Did you?”
“No.”
He nodded. “Come with me, Grace.”
I stalked out of Kai’s office.
Once more, I was in the elevator. After a second or two, Jake said, “Kai’s been under
a lot of stress. I’m sure he meant to question you more . . . professionally.”
At the moment, I really didn’t care. He had dragged me into his office and acted like
I was responsible for LaBryce leaping over the table at him.
“And he seems”—Jake paused as if he was searching for the right word—“distracted by
you.”
I huffed out a breath. But I had to admit I was curious. I had to ask. “What do you
mean?”
“Kai is a very steady guy. He’s laid-back, professional, and focused. Usually he’s
focused. You seem to have . . . blurred his vision some.”
I wasn’t sure what to make of that. Had Kai asked Jake about me? The sudden adolescent
thought caught me off guard. Why did I care? I looked into Jake’s face. His gaze shifted
around, looking anywhere but directly at me. He was a jowly guy to start with, so
his frown was a
frown
. Everything about his features said he was uncomfortable with talking to me about
this.
He lifted his shoulders and said, “Look, I’m just askin’ ya to cut him some slack.
I think he was, you know, kinda upset that you and LaBryce are a thing.”
“Jealous? Are you telling me Kai is jealous?” I was aware that my voice had risen
enough to be quite loud in the cramped elevator.
“‘Disappointed’ might be a better word.”
“I met Kai
yesterday
. Don’t you have to be in a relationship with someone for them to be jealous over
you?”
Clearly Jake realized he’d opened a can of worms and regretted it. “I’m just sayin’ . . .
cut the guy some slack.”
I could hear music suddenly. My phone. I don’t know how I managed to keep up with
my purse through the scuffle, but somehow, it was still slung over my shoulder. I
pulled the phone out.
“Hello?”
“Grace. I wanted to call and check on you. You didn’t answer your text.” My sister
sounded worried and I was sorry about that, but half the time I didn’t hear the little
chime that told me I had a text message.
“Sorry, Em, I’m fine, aside from almost being arrested a few seconds ago.”
“Arrested?”
I knew I shouldn’t have said it the second it was out of my mouth. “Never mind—”
“Grace.” Wes’s voice replaced my sister’s. He sounded very serious. You would never
know the two of them had been out all evening drinking martinis and celebrating. “Tell
me what happened.”
The doors slid open and I asked Jake to point me to the nearest ladies’ room. Once
I was inside, I said, “Look, it was just a misunderstanding. This altercation happened
and the cops, one stupid cop, thought I was involved, but I think it’s cleared up
now.”
“You think or you know?”
“Um . . .” I actually wasn’t sure. Jake had just told me Kai was upset because he
thought I was involved with LaBryce. Like I was his girlfriend or something. Which
I wasn’t. But if they thought that, they would stick me in one of those rooms and
start asking me all kinds of questions.
“Grace?”
“I’m not sure what’s going on. Let me call you back.” I hung up and caught a glimpse
of myself in the mirror. Wow. Not good. But not terrible either. I didn’t look beaten
or roughed up. My hair was a tangled mess and the mascara had run down my cheeks.
I looked like I’d been crying. But it wasn’t bad enough to drive LaBryce to attack
a cop, even if he were my boyfriend.
Which he wasn’t.
I pushed the door open, deciding to straighten this out once and for all. Jake was
stationed outside the door waiting for me.
“Listen. I’m not LaBryce’s girlfriend. I wanted to see him so I could talk to him
about Charm. The jaguar. I’ll have to feed her in the morning.”
Jake was nodding, but I could feel his skepticism. Damn cops and their trust issues.
Cops get lied to all the time. I’m sure he—and Kai—were used to thinking “liar liar
pants on fire” half the time they talked to people. But I knew Jake. I thought he’d
believe me with a little reasoning.
“LaBryce and I are friends, nothing more. I haven’t seen him in months. Check my phone,
his phone, e-mails . . . whatever. We are not involved. And I have no clue why he
attacked Kai. I really don’t.”
I saw Jake’s eyes focus behind me and I turned. Kai had walked up, still looking irritated,
though he’d toned it down a bit. He didn’t apologize to me, but he suggested we all
go talk to LaBryce, who was conscious and asking to speak to me.
I was baffled. Really and truly. But I went along and walked back into the same room
we had been in before. This time LaBryce was hunched over the table. He was crying.
I rushed forward. “LaBryce! Are you okay?” I thought maybe the cops had beaten him
up after Kai had dragged me from the room. But when he looked up, he seemed unharmed,
aside from a lump under his eye from Kai’s elbow. Tears trailed down his cheeks and
snot bubbled out of his nose. Blubbering. My friend, the super badass football player,
was blubbering.
LaBryce did not blubber. I stared at him, mouth agape.
“Tell me it was quick, Grace.” His voice was low and quavering.
“What?”
He sniffled. Not a pretty sound, or sight for that matter. “She didn’t suffer, right?”
I had no idea what he was talking about. I started to ask him to clarify when it hit
me. Charm. He thought something had happened to
her
. And I had shown up to break the news.
“Oh, LaBryce, she’s fine. I fed her and we sat and visited and . . . she’s fine.”
Relief crumpled his face like an aluminum can. He leaned back and cried harder. He
was making noises foreign to human ears. Moose in Canada awoke and began to migrate
toward Florida.
I looked over my shoulder at Jake. He and Kai shared the same expression. Eyebrows
raised, lips parted. Stunned. I wondered how often that happened—two seasoned investigators
shocked into silence.
LaBryce struggled to speak, heaved in a sigh, and finally managed, “First Mark . . .
then Charm. It was too much.” He looked right at Kai. “I’m sorry, man. I saw Grace
and thought . . .” He trailed off and started crying again.
“You have your answer, Sergeant Duncan.” My voice was a tad more waspish than I’d
intended. Kai blinked at me, then looked back at LaBryce.
“You attacked me because you thought I had done something to Charm?”
LaBryce nodded. “Why else would you be here, Grace? I heard the commotion here a few
hours ago. Everyone was talking about a big cat on the loose. Sayin’ they was gonna
shoot her. I saw you, like that, and thought . . .”
His huge body was wracked with sobs again.
“LaBryce, why was Charm out of her enclosure?” I asked.
His face became hard. “I don’t know. Alex should have fed her and put her up tonight.
I’m gonna kill that little shit.”
I tried not to wince at the threat. The last thing LaBryce needed to do was talk about
killing someone.
“Alex was scheduled to take care of the cat?” Kai asked.
“Yeah. Alex Burke. He was supposed to come this morning, but he didn’t show. I called
him. He texted me back and said he was on his way, but he was running late. I had
an appointment I was late for, so I left.” He turned to me. “I never leave her out
like that, Grace. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
I patted his arm and nodded. Though part of me wanted to smack him upside the head.
Alex Burke was Foodman. I now had a name with the face. Whatever—he was going to get
an earful from me. I started to ask LaBryce for his number when Jake stepped closer
to the table.
“No matter who did or didn’t show up for work, you’re responsible for that animal.”
LaBryce nodded.
“I could arrest you for attempted assault with a deadly weapon. I could have been
killed. One of my guys could have been killed.” Jake’s voice was low and filled with
disgust.
I wanted to say something, defend LaBryce. But Jake was right. LaBryce was accountable.
Jake had worked in K9 and understood what it meant to be in charge of an animal that
was capable of killing. Control is important. No—it’s paramount.
LaBryce knew this, too. He just sat, silent and miserable.
“Miss Wilde has agreed to take care of the cat tomorrow morning. Your ass is staying
here.”
“Thanks, Grace.” LaBryce looked over at me. “She usually gets meat in the morning.”
“I’ll pick up a beef shank for her. Is she on meds?” I wanted to make sure she didn’t
miss any doses.
“Just vitamins. They’re on the counter.” He looked away from me, staring off at a
blank spot on the wall.
I glanced at Kai and Jake, hoping they would come to see the truth.
LaBryce wasn’t acting guilty. He was acting like a guy who had learned his friend
was dead, that he was the prime suspect, and thought his beloved pet had been killed—all
in one day. Maybe the fact that I knew he was innocent made it easier for me to look
at this tough, hulking man and see that he was scared and sad and completely shell-shocked.
I looked back at LaBryce and said softly, “It’s going to be okay.” I hoped I was right.
There was a long pause. Jake motioned to someone outside the room, and a uniformed
officer walked in. “You’re under arrest for assaulting a law enforcement officer.”