Cat's Out - Book 2

Chapter 1 - into the night

I hit the floor and spin to the nearest man. My paw sends him flying before he can react. The second man has a gun out.

Silver bullets, I remember. I crouch and leap sideways as his bullet blasts a hole in the floor. My next leap knocks him into a steel beam.

I see the locations of the other two men in my head, their sound and scent forming a map. One is moving away, the other standing his ground. I turn on him first.

Gun. Leap high this time. Bang! The bullet passes beneath me. I catch him with both paws and drive him into the concrete.

Three down.

I turn to the fourth man, who has now dropped to one knee and found me in his gunsights.

Moloch.

He follows me with his gun. I watch, pacing toward him at an angle. My ears pick up every sound. My nose every scent. The world is no longer just visual. It's as if I'm seeing it as it truly exists.

"This is my final offer," Moloch says.

The tendons of his forearm pop as his trigger finger tightens. His heart hammers. Breathing fast. He'll miss unless I'm on top of him. More great lessons from Castle. Or maybe it was Southland.

A scream pierces the room. Jack. Awake and alert.

Fan-freakin'-tastic. How do I explain this one?

"You change back and surrender!" Moloch swings the gun around toward Jack. "Or I put a bullet in your friend!"

Now there's an option I hadn't considered. He's closer to Jack. Even with his shaken nerves, he can't miss.

Jack's eyes bounce between the gun and me. She must feel like she's in a no-win sitch. Can't blame her.

I don't see a good solution here. I stand on my hind legs. By the looks on their faces, I'm pretty darn tall. I relax my breathing, slow my heartrate. Deep breaths. It takes me a few seconds, but I feel my skin quiver. The pain returns. The fur slowly recedes. I try to move, but my body doesn't respond during the transition. Good to know.

A loud crash erupts from the front end of the building. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a figure standing in the door, his own weapon raised.

The cop. "Freeze! Police!"

And not very original. Moloch is obviously familiar with the range of small arms as well. He ignores the command and sprints toward the back of the building. A door unlatches. His footsteps fade.

In my half-transformed state, I'm helpless to stop him.

Jack watches me. I want to stay and make sure she's okay.

But I have to escape. The cop is staring at me with the same shocked expression.

I concentrate and reverse the change. In two seconds, I'm all cat again. I drop to all fours and give Jack one last look before I follow Moloch out the back door and into the night.