Rare Find (36 page)

That was no good. They had to separate Tabitha from Trinity before the tiger died. Yet Tabitha would give everything to keep that tiger alive. She invested herself a hundred percent in her animals. If she failed in this case, it could kill her too.

As he looked down at her prone body, he realized she might already be past the point of saving. Except...he could see her cord, faint and thin...and that was a first. He zipped down the path. Flying as fast as he could travel, he whipped through the ethers, desperate to keep an eye on the tricky cord as it wove in and out of the clouds. He'd never been able to see it before. He could only assume that whatever method she’d been using to return to her body had helped to strengthen it.

Animal energy surrounded it, protecting it. Tango’s. Tripod’s. And another one’s... He'd sensed the same extra energy inside Tabitha's house – Tobias! Stefan smiled in wonder as he searched through the rest. There was a lot of Ronin's energy, but as if it wasn't sure – as if he wanted to help out but did not know how. Stefan couldn't waste any time offering suggestions.

This was it. He knew it in his heart. This was the last chance to find the tiger and save Tabitha.

Just then he saw the cord lead into a warehouse.

And could see the address.

***

Tabitha slammed back into Trinity's sinewy body. And screamed. Her body twisted in agony. So much heat. So much panic. Her leg refused to work and blood dripped steadily onto the floor of the cage. And her mind was so afraid that she couldn't function. It sent her emotions immediately back into victim status.

She opened her eyes, adjusting to Trinity's sight.

Instantly, she slammed her eyes closed and opened her hearing.

"Well, she's dead. See what price you can get for her now." Footsteps strode away, angry, clipped.

"Damn it. The boss is going to get you for this," Fez blustered to the stranger's retreating form.

She re-opened her eyes as she lay down a mess of healing energy, trying to keep Tabitha alive. Trying to stop her from bleeding to death. They had to hang on. Ronin would save them.

Somehow.

She poured healing energy into the wound, into Tabitha's aging heart. She needed her to keep the faith. To keep trying. Once an animal gave up, it was almost impossible to bring them back.

The smell of blood, of fear, of death, surrounded her.

Stefan, I could really use some help.

No answer.

Crap.
Ronin, where are you?

***

Ronin stared at the gate Roman had managed to open. He took one step forward when Stefan spoke.

3346 Calder St.

And just as fast, Stefan was gone. Ronin quickly relayed the message to Roman then took a deep breath. "You go to that end and help her there. Save the tiger."

"I'm on it. I'll take a few men from here." Roman turned away then stopped and looked back at Ronin. "What about you?"

Ronin smiled grimly. "It's time to face my past." And he turned to walk into Boran's pen.

The tiger raced toward him, his roar deafening...and freaking scary. The huge cat was going to defend Tabitha, and as far as he was concerned, Ronin was an intruder.

When Ronin approached cautiously, he heard Stefan say,
Talk to him. He's an animal. He's a feline. You have an affinity for them or else your pet wouldn't have been there in the back of your psyche all this time.

"Haunting me, I believe you said. How is that having an affinity?"

Oh, it is. You loved him and that love is what attracts him. He needs it as much as everyone else.

"Except he's dead."

Energy never dies. Remember that rule of physics.

"And that applies now – how and why?"

Because he can help you deal with Boran.

"What?" And then he had no time to ask any more questions. Boran was on him.

Never show fear.

Ronin snorted. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes against the rush of tiger teeth.

And waited.

Nothing.

He peeked under his lashes to see Boran sniffing around his legs.

With a second deep breath, he murmured, "Hey, Boran. Let's help Tabitha, okay?" He took several steps toward Tabitha.

Boran roared again, but he seemed confused. He milled around Ronin's legs and got in the way but didn't attack. In truth, he seemed not to know what to do with Ronin.

Ronin took another step forward and Boran swatted at him. Not in anger or hunger. It was playful. Maybe. Ronin didn't want to count on that. And if the next swat was any worse, Boran would draw blood. "Boran, we have to help Tabitha. She's in a bad way."

He took another step. Boran roared. Ronin felt his throat close up.
Shit. Shit.
No time for a panic attack. Feeling like an absolute idiot but willing to try anything, he murmured, "Mr. Boots, if you're here, please tell Boran I mean Tabitha no harm."

There was a weird whooshing energy, as if a bird darted past so close to his face that he could feel the movement of the air.

Boran whined.

"It's not a good time for any of us, is it?" Ronin offered.

He had no idea if Mr. Boots was here or if he'd spoken to Boran – if he even could be, for that matter. However, Boran walked back over to Tabitha. He glanced up at Ronin as if to say,
What's taking you so long?

Stiffening his spine and expecting to feel claws raking his side open at any moment, Ronin dropped to his knees beside Tabitha. He knew one shouldn't touch a psychic when they were deep in a session. But he had many times and so had the animals... Surely that didn't apply in Tabitha's case? She wasn't even in her body, was she?

He lifted the corner of her shirt and sucked in his breath. Bullet holes. One on the hip and one on the top of her thigh on the opposite side. Blood was slowly dripping from the wound and sliding down to pool in her flat belly.

There was no smell of gunpowder, but the blood was real.

Except there had been no shots fired. There'd been no gunfire, but the gunshot wounds were unmistakable. The smell of fresh blood was something he would never forget. The small entrance wound was clean and too damn real to ignore. He ripped off his shirt and used it to staunch the flow of blood. That it was sluggish and dark scared him. He was afraid the worst of the bleeding would be internal. He slipped a hand underneath but found no exit hole. Shit. That was so not good. He reached for his phone to call for a paramedic.

And heard Stefan's voice.
They can't help her.

"Then who can?" he called out, grateful he was alone in the field. "There has to be someone or something that can."

Dr. Maddy. But I can't reach her.

"Where is she? We have to find her."

No. The problem is the tiger is dying. Tabitha appears to be showing the same injuries as the tiger. You need to find the tiger and try to save it.

"Roman is on his way, but what can I do from here? I can hardly leave her. Not bleeding and in the middle of two damn tigers."

Both tigers are essentially her pets.

"Yes, but she said something about laying down a level of suppression energy to keep the aggression levels of the animals down. If she's out like this, what happens to that? Will these animals turn on her?"

Interesting,
murmured Stefan.
That's very clever of her. The energy stays for a long time and these animals know her.

"Animals in captivity attack their owners and trainers all the time."

This is a very different situation.

Ronin stared down at Tabitha. Sue, one of the workers from the reserve, called out to him. "Is she okay? Have you called for an ambulance?"

Ronin shouted back, "Yes." Although it was a lie. He'd yet to call anyone. He looked down at Boran, now lying beside Tabitha.

"Do you think you can move Boran to another pen?"

Sue snorted. "If he's not hurting anything, then maybe he's better in there with you. He's very protective of Tabitha. If we try to move him he's likely to be difficult."

Ronin blew out his breath hard.
Shit.
He could feel the sweat dripping down his back, but at the same time there was this voice inside saying these reactions were what he'd expect to see. Because these were the reactions he'd always had to cats. That didn't make them real.

"So, assess," he said aloud to himself. "You're in here with two tigers. Two tigers that appear to be uninterested in your presence. You made it across the field to Tabitha. You managed to speak with Boran and now you are squatting between the two of them. Not only that, your stomach isn't attempting to empty itself. All in all, this is major progress."

Maybe Stefan was right.

I usually am.

"And always irritating," Ronin said absently as he stroked Tabitha's arms. "Are you sure there's nothing I can do from here?"

There's always something you can do. You can fill her with love, cover her with adoration and make her want to come home to you. She's using her animals to ground herself. And in a weird way, she uses lots of them. As if she doesn't believe that one will be enough. Or if one betrays her – dies, so to speak – then she'll have backup.

"Yes, that would be Tabitha," Ronin added thoughtfully. "Her grandfather. Her mother. Her father."

Exactly. Dennis was right. Her grandfather had no time or energy for humans. If you walked on four legs he'd bend over backwards to help, but in his world the two-legged animals were the ones you couldn't trust. He'd made sure she learned that.

"And he treated Tabitha that way?" Ronin asked incredulously.

Her less than the others, but his distrust encompassed everyone else. She lived with that prejudice. Was raised with it. Breathed it on a daily basis. And don't forget she was her father's daughter. Her grandfather could never reconcile himself with the parts of her father that she inherited.

"She said they were close."

He's the closest role model she had to formulate her values. There was her father, but he left. She had a fiancé and he bolted. All of this reinforcing her grandfather's views. Leaving her with only one lesson – that animals were the ones you could trust. But animals die too – and at a much younger age than humans. So she made sure she had many so that there were always some of them around to love her.

"Wow. She's really messed up because of her childhood."

And yet she's still strong, relatively sane and a good person. And most of that she learned through her relationships with animals. She learned to work with energy to help them. She could use it to help people, but she doesn't really believe they deserve it.

"Ouch. That's a little harsh, isn't it?"

Not for energy work. Look at yourself and how your relationship with animals was impacted by the death of your pet.

"That just means I was a neurotic kid who never quite grew up."

No. You're missing the other life event that happened at the time. I'd hoped you'd make the connection but...

"Now what are you talking about?"

You spent days weeping over your cat. And you blamed your father. He was the driver of the vehicle that killed Mr. Boots, wasn't he?

Ronin winced. He'd deliberately buried that fact. "Thanks for that reminder."

And do you remember what came afterward?

"No. I obviously don't want to either."

Yet it's time. You can't sit on these time bombs forever.

Ronin stared down at Tabitha. "So tell me then. We're out of time."

You told your father how much you hated him. That he was a killer and you were going to spend the rest of your life making him pay. Making killer's pay...

Horrible images flooded Ronin's mind. Him screaming at his father, who stood staring down at the still body of Mr. Boots. His mother trying to shush him. He sat back on his heels and realized this was his reason he became a cop. He wanted to make sure that others paid for what they'd done wrong.

"How can such a small incident be the driving force, a passion for a specific career?"

Because at the time, it wasn't a small incident. Your father, accident or not, had taken someone you loved.

"All my life, I was driven to be a cop..." he murmured.

And then in a nasty karmic twist, both your parents were killed and you lost them too.