“You’re lying.” His grip tightened on the handle of the knife. For a second, I was afraid he’d just stab me and be done with it.
Dial it back, Abby.
“You know I’m not lying. How else would I know about your cottage, with the hidden basement staircase and the stuffed werecat standing guard in your living room? It’s over, Darren.”
“It won’t be over until we’ve hunted every one of you into extinction.”
I didn’t bother telling him that really wasn’t necessary. With so few tabbies, we were headed in that direction anyway.
“You don’t stand a chance.” I watched nervously as he started to pace the length of my bed. “There are only a few of you left, and we know all about the last couple of your hunting buddies.”
“Couple?” Darren laughed, and chill bumps popped up the length of my arms. “Do you actually think Gene Hargrove and I found out about you and your freak shifter species on our own? IwishI could take credit for that, but there are others. All over the world. You guys are asport. Big game hunters pay serious money to learn how and where to hunt shifters, and the only rule is that they gotta die in cat form. Most of those rich bastards will paythousandsto have their trophies stuffed and shipped home.”
“No.” Hehadto be lying. “We would have known.”
“You probablyshouldhave known,” he agreed. “But as long as we only picked off the strays, the rest of you seemed to be tryingnotto notice.”
Strays. He knew about them, just like he knew about Alphas and tabbies. My blood felt like ice. I tried to move my hand again, but nothing happened.
Damn it!
“You probably never would have noticed if we’d stuck to the free zones. It’s like serial killers offing prostitutes—no one really cares. But Steve justhadto go after a tabby. I told him that was like thumping a hornet’s nest, but he wouldn’t listen. He thought you’d be an easy kill.”
I’d never been happier in my life to prove someone wrong. “If you know better, why areyouthumping the hornet’s nest?”
His grin made me shudder. “I like a challenge.”
“The councilwillfind you.” I tried to move my right foot, and when my big toe twitched, I had to fight to hide my triumph. The paralytic was wearing off!
Darren huffed. “This ain’t my first safari, sweetheart. No cat ever born pounces faster than a bullet flies.” He patted the pistol strapped to his side for emphasis.
“Maybe not, but we’re faster than any human trigger finger. Hargrove had a gun too.”
“Hargrove wasn’t a hunter. He shot at paper targets and stuffed dead animals.”
I swallowed nausea at the thought. “They’ll catch you, and you can’tpossiblyunderstand the pain you’ll feel before you die.” I tried to shrug, but my shoulders wouldn’t move. “Maybe they’ll skin you and preserveyourflesh. I bet my dad would love a human skin rug, right in front of his couch, so he can step on you every time he crosses the room.”
“Enough.” He held the knife up in front of my face. “Where’s Robyn?”
“You can’t kill me unless I have fur. You told me that yourself.”
“A shot of adrenaline will pull the cat right out of you.”
Fuck!He knew how to force a shift. The room started to slide out of focus and I fought to slow my respiration. I couldn’t afford to hyperventilate.
“Until then, I can hurt you all I like...” The tip of his knife traced the length of my throat and I took a long, slow breath to keep from panicking.
The only thing keeping me alive was the fact that he thought I knew where Robyn was. If I debunked that theory—or refused to talk—he’d be done with me. I’d have to string him along. Keep him talking.
“You’ll never find Robyn.” My left foot twitched, and when he turned to pace away from me, I tried to curl my right hand into a fist. My fingers jumped a bit on the blanket. That wasn’t really triumph, but it was a good start.
“I found her once. I’ll find her again.” Darren shrugged. “She’s a girl and a brand-new cat, right? Not exactly the most dangerous game.”
I laughed out loud; he still hadn’t figured it out! “Thereisno more dangerous game than a new stray!” Except for an Alpha. “Strays can’t control their instincts or their tempers. Robyn killed Joe Mathews and the ones before him. She tracked down Hargrove and went after him in his own home.”
“Bullshit.” Darren frowned. “That was you and your pack.”
“It’s aPride, not a pack,” I snapped. “And that wasn’t us. Our people want Robyn just as badly as you do, because of the attention she’s attracted.”
