Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Who Is Trying To Kill You?

His blood ran cold. "You believe your boss is trying to kill you?"

Grace turned to face him. She pushed her thick braid off her shoulder and sighed. "Probably capture then kill, but yes. There were at least one or two men outside that I recognized. I've seen them before, as bodyguards to Garret, my boss. I need to go into the lab. Not just to get the information I need to expose Garret, but if I'm going to help Makayla, some of my equipment is there."

Raptor noted, "You have a lab here. We can take this equipment."

She nodded. "You are right. Most of the stuff I need is here, locked in my basement vault. We can come back for my equipment later. Even if they burned down my house, the vault is fireproof, so we don't need to worry about taking it with us now. But my best microscope and my Genetic Analyzer are sitting on my desk. Although the GA might be too big for you and me to remove from the lab—if we can, I'd like to take it with us. I run molecular diagnostic tests with it. Something that could be important if Makayla has genetic issues."

He nodded. "Then we will go get them."

Beaming at him, she spun around and called to the cat again. "Baby, come to mommy." Then said, "Good. Because somehow, I want to break into Garret's office while we are there and try to find the proof he is dumping that poison in the local water supply. Also, if he's sending it to several third-world nations knowing that it's dangerous, I want to find out why. I need to uncover proof that he knows the chemicals are causing miscarriages and death for so many mothers and their babies."

Raptor turned and looked at his Keeper. She was flushed, angry, and fiercely protective. At this moment, she was thinking of her patients and her community. He knew she would fight him if he tried to take her with him before she exposed her boss. He couldn't fight her on this because he agreed with her. If he took her from Earth before she revealed this horrific act to the world, her boss might get away with what he was doing.

She looked surprised when he didn't argue with her.

"We need to get out of here and go into your lab tonight. I don't believe this Garret would expect you to react so quickly. If his men don't report soon, eventually he'll think about checking on them or increasing security at your lab. If we go now, we might have a chance. He may not realize his plan failed yet." And Raptor didn't think the man would give up easily. He agreed with her. Her boss wanted Grace killed.

They needed to leave. And damn it. He knew she wouldn't go with him until they had the cat. Raptor promised her they would take it, so there was no leaving it behind.

Raptor thought about the feline and tried to imagine where it might go. They'd already checked what Grace deemed the cat's favorite hiding spots—under the bed, in the bathtub, behind the curtains on the windowsills.

He stood in the center of her living room, trying to figure this out. Raptor didn't have experience with cats. But in the dimension where the Interstellar gods ran a training camp for Guardians, there were small, furry chatpaks. He searched his knowledge of Earth for something to compare it with. They were sort of like a gerbil. Only a bit larger. They liked to climb. Loved to sit above everyone's head and jump on them as they walked by.

Raptor moved closer to the kitchen and looked up. He checked the large light fixture on the ceiling—only that seemed unlikely. Then noticed that the cupboards in the kitchen didn't go all the way to the top. There was at least a foot of space between the top of the wooden boxes and the ceiling. There were also a couple of plant-filled baskets the cat could hide behind. If Baby was up there, she could move around the perimeter of the u-shaped room. The vantage point would also allow her to watch the living room at one end and see into Grace's bedroom at the other.

He stood completely still. Eyes trained on the long ledge.

"What are you doing?" Grace came and stood beside him.

He didn't say a word. Just motioned with his head for her to look up toward the top of the kitchen shelves. Green eyes shone in the dark.

Bingo! They found the cat.

Grace stopped him. "You can't just go up and get him. If he doesn't come down on his own, he'll hurt you. Maybe if you go into the bedroom, he'll come to me."

Raptor resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Don't be silly. I can get a cat." He pushed one of her kitchen chairs over to the counter and climbed up. Then tried to grab a leg. Only the cat wanted nothing to do with him. The feline scrunched back away from the edge, into the dark shadows. All Raptor could see were the eyes. They were green and intelligent. And bigger than he thought they'd be for such a small animal.

When he looked back, the woman shook her head and shrugged. Pulling out a chair from the table, she sat down. Grace had a clear view of what Raptor was doing.

She made him nervous. Or suspicious. Yeah, that was it. Suspicious.

"What are you waiting for?" he growled the question at her.

She simply raised her eyebrows. "Just waiting for you to get the cat, so we can go."

Frowning, he turned back to the animal—just in time to see a huge, black creature rush toward his face. Raptor screeched.

Grace giggled.

He fell off the chair and slammed down on the kitchen floor. He lay there stunned with a feline larger than he thought was possible—crouched on his chest. Raptor moaned. "God and goddess. This animal weighs an enormous amount. Is this your cat?"

Grace laughed so hard—she couldn't talk. Finally, she tried to answer him. "Yes. Baby. Thirty-two pounds."

Huffing, Raptor growled at the cat, who didn't seem ready to move. "This is no Baby. That is a ridiculous name for this monster. There, that is a much better name. Monster ." He tried to shoo the animal away. Again, it refused to move. "I thought house cats were small. And why is it just sitting here, watching me?"

"Because... well, I don't know. Normally, he doesn't like men. And he is big because he is a Maine Coon. He weighed thirty-two pounds the last time we went to the vet," she sounded confused.

Raptor frowned up at the cat, who continued to stare at him. The beast seemed more like a small lion than a house cat. It was all black, with lots of long-haired fur. It had a leonine ruff around its neck and a long bushy tail that kept twitching. His shared consciousness told him this feline was bigger than most of the wild cats on earth, and greater than or equal in size—to many of them—like the lynx or snow leopard. This animal was definitely the largest of any domesticated breed.

"I know he's big, but he's not really mean. They have nicknamed this breed of cats ‘gentle giants' because they are typically sociable. But Baby has never liked men. I think one abused him before I got him. He usually won't come near any man. Even his vet has to be female." Grace bit her lip, looking a bit worried.

The cat tucked its paws underneath its belly and laid down on Raptor's chest. It stared at him, not moving. He slowly lifted his hand and tried to pet the beast. Baby allowed it. The cat trilled and chirped as if telling Raptor all its problems. Then it settled into a loud purring vibration. The cat's fur was soft and silky. Eventually, the animal closed its eyes and looked as if it was falling asleep.

Grace quietly laughed. She shook her head and asked, "Are we taking the car? I can load it with my stuff while you two take a nap."

Raptor grinned up at her. Then he frowned. "You said they tried to run you off the road. So, does that mean your boss knows your vehicle?"

She nodded. "Yes. the make, model, and color of my car was on my employment application. It had to be listed so I could park at work."

"Can you pull it out of the carport and hide it somewhere in the woods? We won't need it immediately. But you never know."

"I can hide it behind the neighbor's barn. They are out of town for a few weeks, and no one will see the car from the road. I'll just load it with extra clothes and food for me and things for Baby. That way, if we need to make a quick getaway, I'll have the basics in the car and take another set with us." And she started packing again while Raptor stayed on the floor, petting the cat. The motion was soothing. It also helped him think.

One question he silently debated—was if Grace filled the car just in case they needed to get away from her boss—or if she needed to run from Raptor?

He didn't ask.