"I thought we were going to have some fun. I'm having fun. Are you having fun?"
"No! I'm sorry, okay. I'm sorry."
Weenie.
"Who's your boss?" I asked. "Who sent you here?"
"No, I can't! He'll kill me."
I flicked out my claws again. "I'll kill you if you don't."
Well, I wouldn't really, but he didn't need to know that.
When he shook his head, I raised my hand in the air.
"No! No!" The guy held up a hand as if to ward me off. "Okay, I'll tell you."
I waited.
I narrowed my eyes when he just stared at me. "Well?"
"What are you?"
Like I was going to tell him what I was. I could be a bit naive on occasion, but I wasn't an idiot. "A geek. Now get to it. Tell me who your boss is. Who sent you here?"
The man stood to shaky legs then took a step back. I had no idea what he had planned until he turned and ran for the window. I watched in horror as he jumped and went right through the glass before disappearing from sight.
I swallowed tightly before walking over to look down at the street below, bracing myself for what I was going to see. I gasped and scanned the street when I didn't see a body splattered all over the pavement like I'd expected.
Where was he?
A human couldn't sustain a fall like that. Even if they lived through it, there would have been some sign of them as they limped away. There was nothing except shards of glass glinting in the light shining down from the street lamp.
Okay, I was officially freaked out.
A crash from downstairs reminded me I wasn't the only one in trouble. I turned and raced for the bedroom door, but slowed when I got there. I knew Abe wanted me to hide, but he was in trouble. I knew he was in trouble. I could feel it. I couldn't just hide and let something bad happen to him.
I was afraid, but I wasn't a coward.
Hell, I was terrified.
I was still going to go down and see if I could help Abe.
I eased the door open enough to fit through then slid out of my bedroom. Having lived in this house for a few years now, I knew where to step to keep my presence from those downstairs. They obviously did not. I could hear almost every step they took.
I counted two men. It wasn't a leap to figure out who they were. It seemed the men who had broken into my house before had come back for a repeat performance. I just hoped they didn't decide to destroy the upstairs like they had the downstairs.
As I made my way further down the hallway to the landing at the top of the stairs, I realized I couldn't hear Abe at all. Considering he was a soldier, that didn't surprise me too much, but it did worry me.
I shifted into my ocelot form and silently padded down the stairs, staying close to the wall. Once on the first floor, I darted under the dining room table. I could easily hide here. From this vantage point, I could see right into the living room and to the entry to the kitchen.
I recognized the man who walked into view in the living room then headed for the kitchen. He was one of the men who had been coming into the computer science building when I was headed out, and one of the men who had ransacked my house.
Although you couldn't tell that by the way the place looked now. I assumed it had been Abe who cleaned everything up, and I'd have to thank the man for that later.
I could tell there were more than a few items missing. My heart hurt a little as I acknowledged they were probably broken beyond repair. I had worked hard for what I had, and granted, they were just things, but they were my things. It pissed me off that someone had taken them from me.
I waited for a moment to make sure no one was coming then raced into the living room, heading for the chair closest to the dining room entrance. I hunched down under the chair and scanned the living room for any sign of Abe.
