“Huh!I wouldn’t put it past Pavel to be poisoning his father.Man’s a callous bastard.”
“Wait, something is moving in the trees over there.He must’ve lucked out and hit the blind spot.”
“What are we going to tell him when we confront him?He’s Konstantine’s son-in-law.”
“We won’t recognize him at first, or at least that’s what we’ll pretend.Play dumb and make out we’re doing our job.”
The two men brushed past Edwina so closely she was positive they’d notice her glowing eyes.Concerned, she focused on the ground until both men were safely past.
Was it Mikhail they’d spotted or one of their team rustling through the bushes?
She lifted from her crouch and peered from her hiding spot.Hard to ascertain anything but shadows once away from the well-lit house.
A bird flew from the house to the trees.It landed in the branches with a loud rustle, and a curse escaped from one guard.
Edwina held back her snicker even as she understood Roscoe’s message.Mikhail was loitering in the trees, and this might be their best chance to hustle him from the estate.Edwina slinked forward, listening intently for additional security.Two guards were easy to handle, but more would present a problem.
Their footsteps were loud enough for Edwina to keep track of their whereabouts without difficulty, but locating Mikhail proved more difficult.Only when she glanced upward and spotted Roscoe did she get a clue, thanks to him pointing with one clawed talon.
She slunk cautiously along a narrow path through the trees and slowed when she spied Mikhail.He stared straight at her, his blue eyes focused on her.
“What are you doing here?”he asked in a rough voice.“You shouldn’t be here.It’s dangerous.”
Edwina’s top lip curled.It wasn’t safe for him either.
Aware he might have a weapon, she padded toward him, closing the distance slowly to telegraph her intention.Mikhail stared before turning his back and retreating deeper into the forest.
Impossible man.Did he not understand this was a rescue?
A tiger approached Mikhail from his right and another from his left while Edwina trailed her husband.The others were a distraction for the guards while they focused on Mikhail.Overhead, Roscoe released a caw of alarm.
Mikhail’s head jolted, his big body freezing against a large pine.He scanned, reminding Edwina of a predator.Worry seeped through her.What would they do if Mikhail refused to leave with them?When they’d discussed this, Ivan had laughed and told her not to be stupid.Now she wasn’t so confident.He should’ve recognized her scent, at least.
He hadn’t.
What the hell had they done to him?
Mikhailsmelledtheforeigntang seconds after the bird shrieked.The black leopard was following him, and this time it wasn’t his mind conjuring false images.He instinctively inhaled, but the creature’s smell wasn’t familiar.A chuff from his right had his head jerking in that direction.Tiger.Another low chuff came from his left.A second tiger.He blinked hard, barely stopping himself from fleeing.
No point.They’d leap before he’d taken two steps.
Both beasts prowled closer, closing in on either side.Tigers like the one he kept imagining.Another throb speared his brain.Why was this happening to him?If he mentioned the anomaly to the doctors, they’d lock him up or ply him with a battery of tests.
The animals continued to stare with their unrelenting gazes.Magnificent beasts.One crept close enough to nudge him.Not his imagination.Not a psychotic break from reality.Sweat formed on his back, clammy yet chilling at the same time.His muscles tensed as he wondered if they’d attack.He had no weapon this time.
The beasts stood so close he could smell them, reach out and run his fingers down their stripes.A grunt sounded behind him, and he stumbled.The black leopard.Was it the same one from the previous night?It looked the same, but what did he know?
The tigers sidled closer still.Mikhail’s nose wrinkled as he drew a breath of air over his tongue and through his nose.While he hesitated, working to tamp down his alarm, the pair padded straight to him without hesitation.One gave him a hard nudge, sending him two steps along the track.Subtly, they herded him toward the property’s perimeter.
He walked stiffly, his knees knocking.On the bright side, they weren’t trying to eat him.Yet.
Surely Konstantine would’ve mentioned pet tigers.The security team would’ve warned him about walking alone without a weapon.His vision wavered in and out, dizziness taking him by surprise.The leopard barked out a warning, and a tiger edged closer.Mikhail grabbed hold, stopping himself from face-planting.
A flashlight flickered in the distance.The tigers slipped off the path, dragging him with them to hide from the approaching guard.Well, that answered one question.The tigers shouldn’t be here.
Disorientation grabbed him by the throat, throwing his thoughts into a weird place where tigers exchanged shapes, flickering from beast to human and back.His heartbeat increased to a jerky speed, and the pain inside his head increased tenfold.One tiger released a growl.
Mikhail backed up rapidly, every instinct telling him to run.Return to the house and think about this.Hell, every corner he turned in this place held danger.
