Savor the Danger
Page 79

“Good. Let’s go.” Alani took his hand and tugged. “I’m not cut out for surveillance. It makes me too jumpy.”
“You don’t look jumpy. You look bossy.” Toting the box, he let her lead him along until she slowed by the closet where he’d stowed the goons.
A little sick, she tightened her hand in his. “You think they’re still in there?”
“If they weren’t, we’d know it.” He kept her close, and his voice low. “Either they’d have gone out back, where Dare would have seen them, or back the way we just came, and Trace would have seen them. It’s under control, babe, so just keep walking.”
“Believe me, I wasn’t going to peek.” Shuddering at the thought, she charged forward again.
When they reached the exit doors, Jackson pulled her up short. “Hold up a sec.” He surveyed the yard while putting in a call to Dare. “All clear?”
Dare said, “I’d have let you know if it wasn’t.”
Right. Alani had him second-guessing things now. “We’re on our way out. Just so you know, I’m going to nab a cat.”
“That stray you noticed when going in?”
“If it’s still hanging in the bushes, yeah.”
“It is. I swear, I think it was watching for you.”
“Smart.”
“Most cats are. Be careful with him, though. He doesn’t seem feral, but he’s still skittish.”
“Will do. Later.”
Alani raised a brow. “What was that all about?”
“Dare says the cat is still there.”
“That’s it?” She dropped back against the wall. “He didn’t question why you’d be catching a stray?”
By way of explanation, Jackson said, “He’s an animal lover, too.” As he pushed open the doors, he scanned the area. “Dare said we’re good to go.”
“But still you’re on guard.”
“Pure habit.” Two sets of eyes were always better than one. Once outside, he paused to look for the cat. He didn’t have a lot of time, not with the threat to two women, but if he could grab the cat quickly, then he would. As if it had indeed been waiting for him, it stepped out of the bushes, turned a high-stepping circle in pleasure, then sat down to stare at him in expectation.
“You’re a pretty boy, aren’t you?”
Alani agreed. “He really is. And once he’s cleaned up and brushed, he’ll be even prettier.”
This time when Jackson crouched down with some lunch meat off the vending-machine sandwich, the cat edged closer. It had already started a throaty purr that sounded like a broken engine trying to start.
Voice soft, her mood more so, Alani said, “Poor thing is hungry.” She knelt down next to Jackson.
“Yeah.” He was just able to touch the cat’s head with the tip of one finger. He stroked gently. “We’ll let him eat a bit before grabbing him.”
After a minute or so, the cat let Alani pet its head, too, and rubbed up against her. “Maybe we don’t need to trap him. Try setting the box out with more of the food inside.”
Jackson considered that and decided she might be right. “He’ll need a bed, too, for the long ride back.” Standing, Jackson stripped off his shirt and layered it in the bottom of the box, then set the food inside next to it.
Staring up at him, her lips parted in surprise, Alani swallowed. “Do you plan to drive home like that?”
“Why not?” He crouched next to the box and encouraged the cat. “We just want to help, Buddy. Come on. You’ll be all cozy, I promise.”
The cat investigated, sniffed the shirt, gave a deep crackling meow and sat down inside to eat the rest of the food.
“Huh.” Amazed that it could be that easy, Jackson slowly closed the box flaps. For a second or two, the cat panicked, snarling and trying to get free. Jackson held the box closed and murmured to the animal while Alani looked upset.
“He’s scared.”
“He’ll settle down.” Jackson took half a minute more to talk to the cat, shushing, soothing. Finally it became still. “That’s it. Easy now.” He lifted the box carefully.
Alani whispered, “You know, Jackson, there are facets to your personality that I never noticed before today.”
“Like?” He kept the box tight over the cat and tried not to jostle it too much.
“It’s incredible how you take everything in stride. Disabling two men, talking to venal fiends, assisting the elderly and rescuing a stray. You act as if it means little to nothing, as if it slows you down no more than picking up a penny.”
“We’re not on a timetable, so how could any of it slow us down?” The cat started to fuss again, but he just murmured to it while heading to the car.
Alani rushed around to open the back door. “What will we do with him?”
He’d already thought about it, so he hoped Alani approved. “We need to head to Dare’s anyway. He has a vet he trusts, so that’s first on the list.”
Her chin tucked in. “We’re going to Dare’s next?”
“Making a stop there, yeah.” He didn’t yet tell her that he planned to leave her there while he took care of other business. She’d be safe with Dare, and that’s what mattered most to him.
Using a seat belt to ensure the box wouldn’t open, he stowed the cat in the backseat. “Plans change. This one just did in a big way. All you can do is go with it.”