Cat's Out - Book 3

Chapter 2 - my watcher

There's some old saying that says it is better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all.

It's crap.

I don't have time to dwell on my withering love life, though. I have no doubt that Moloch will keep his word. And soon. Jack is home again, so I check on her first.

"Keep your window locked." I push it down and lock it.

"I'll swelter in here." Jack is sitting cross legged on her bed, now back in her regular clothes. I hope I never see her in a hospital gown again.

"You'll live." I open her bedroom door and peer out into the hall. Not much I can do about her parents. I'm not about to bring them into my loop of terror, too. "Make sure the front door, garage door, and kitchen door are locked at all times."

"You sound like a cop."

"Whatever." I cross my arms over my chest.  "I can't be around to protect you all the time."

"Didn't ask you to."

"Well maybe you should."

"I want to help you."

I glare at her. "How? You've seen these guys. You know what they can do."

"Yeah. So it's my call. You need eyes behind you. Even a cat can't see and hear everything."

"And you only know about that because I was saving your ass. Again."

She leaps off the bed. "Thank your for saving my poor ass. Can we move on now?" She stalks to her window, unlocks it, and pushes it up. "I'm not helpless you know. Maybe I can't be a panther, but I can watch and listen. I can be nearby in case you need me."

"Jack. The answer is no. I'm not risking you again. I shouldn't have let you come with me the first time."

"If I recall, you didn't let me. I sort of blackmailed you."

"And it won't work again." I drop into her desk chair and stifle the tears.

She sits on the edge of her bed. "What's wrong? Is it Grant?"

"It's better this way. We could never have a normal relationship."

"Oh. Yeah, girl. That's what all guys want. A normal relationship." She holds up finger quotes around normal. "I think you need to give him more credit."

"He should go back to Kari. Less chance of sudden death."

"No. But he may kill himself if he has to listen to her brainless chatter for more than five minutes."

"No. He needs to be a regular guy in a normal world where people don't turn into animals and demons don't roam the streets."

"But he's already in that world. Hiding it from him doesn't help. I'm glad I know. Sure changes my perspective on things."

I nod toward a blank spot on her wall. "Yeah, I see you took down your Twilight poster."

"It seemed childish all of a sudden. And I don't watch Entertainment Tonight anymore."

I smile. "Well, I'm glad I saved you from that hell on Earth."

"Me, too." Jack takes a deep breath and lets it out. "You need backup, Darla. A team."

"I think we call it a pack." I give her a sideways grin. "Want me to bite you?"

"Let's not get weird."

I laugh. "No. You'd be a shifter if I did that. Jacques told me all about it."

"Jacques? You holdin' back on me, girlfriend?"

"Not really. He's hot and everything. But he's two-hundred years old."

"I won't judge. Hot, you say?" Jack perks up.

"And dead now. Sorry."

"Damn. All the good ones are dead."

"So it would seem." The image of Jacque's dying while I went through my first transformation drifts into my head. He'd made it so long, only to sacrifice himself for a town full of people who hated him and what he was.

"Grant's not dead." Jack snaps me out of my reminiscing.

"Huh? Let's not go down that road again. He's made up his mind."

"Did he say 'I'm breaking up with you'?"

"No. He didn't have to."

"Sounds like he's waiting for you to be honest with him."

"And tell him the girl he likes might need a litter box in our honeymoon suite?"

Jack perks up again. "Oooh, so you've thought about it."

I grab a stuffed pig and fling it at her. "Drop it or I'll shred piggy and all her little friends."

"So what's the plan tonight?"

"How do you know I have a plan?"

"Because if you were stickin' around here, you wouldn't be worried about locking my window."

"You're smarter than you look. Okay, I'm gonna check out that house where I found you. It's not far, so I should be able to get there and back fast."

"Not going into the city?" It was more like a command than a question.

"No. They'll expect me tonight. Probably waiting with a giant cat trap or something."

"Smart girl." She stands and rummages through her closet, popping out with a pair of binoculars.

"Spy much?"

"I had a brief stint of birdwatching. Now, I can keep an eye on your house while you're out."

"Jack, just lay low and--"

"Shush. I'm helping. It's not  much, but it's something."

Why do I get the feeling that she won't stay put? "You won't go outside?"

She holds up a claw. "Cat's honor."

"Funny." I hop out of the chair. "Okay, honorary pack member, you spy on the neighbors. Text me if--" Crap. The cat can't carry a phone. Not without getting saliva all over it, anyway. We'll have to figure that one out tomorrow. The sun is setting, so now I've got to get moving. I open her door. "Oh, how are your demons?"

"Not here at the moment. They come and go. I think they're losing interest."

"Well that's good." I step out.

"Darla?"

"Yeah?"

"You be careful, too."

I smile. "I always land on my feet."