The Panther's Escape

Chapter 2

Chapter 2Namir woke to Mara flapping her wings and ungracefully landing on his nightstand where she went right ahead and pecked at his phone.

“No.” He reached for it only to have her cackle and flap away. “What time is it?” He squinted at the screen. Twenty past eight. He looked out of the window to where the sky was growing lighter by the minute. January sucked. It was dark all the time.

With a groan, he flung off the cover. “You want breakfast, I take it.” He put his feet on the cold floor and stepped right on some bird poo. “No. Mara, I told you, you have to let me know, so I can let you out.” Ugh.

Walking on his heel trying not to dirty the floor more, he hobbled into the shower and washed off. Then he cleaned the bedroom floor. She’d gone more than once during the night.

“This doesn’t work, Mara.” He gave her a stern look, which she ignored. “Breakfast?” He was hungrier than he usually was. He’d lost his appetite several years ago. Now he ate to survive. He ate when it was time to eat, so wanting breakfast was new. “More oatmeal? Do you need to go outside?” Maybe it was best, a morning wee, or whatever chickens did.

He moved toward the patio door. The house had a wrap-around porch. It went along the entire back and about halfway around on the side where the humans lived. It was lovely, but he never used it. He should use it. Get some patio furniture.

More and more, it was as if his brain was starting to accept he’d live here. Things could still go to s**t, and most likely would, but if they didn’t, it was stupid not to enjoy the house he’d been given.

He leaned against the cross-braced railing. The white paint was flaking. He ran his fingertips over it. He should scrape and repaint it. Not in January, though.

Mara walked out through the patio door and looked around. “There you are, girl. Go do your thing so we can have breakfast.” He gestured at the garden.

She pooped on the porch.

“No. Down here.” He grabbed her, moving so fast she had no time to flap away, and put her in the small area of the garden that still had a lawn…or a meadow since no one ever mowed their lawns. The grass had died back now, though. He winced as his bare feet melted the ice crystals on the straws, and the thin pajama pants he wore didn’t shield him against the cold. He should place some slippers or something by the patio door.

Rue and Chaton had taken over most of the garden. He didn’t mind, but maybe they’d have to fence it in now, so Mara didn’t eat their plants.

There was a sound not coming from Mara, and he looked up only to jerk. There, more or less inside the hedge acting as a border to his garden stood a boy, the human boy. Damn, had he been so distracted he hadn’t heard him come closer?

Namir stared at him.

“It’s cold.”

The boy’s words had goosebumps forming on his bare torso, and he shivered. “Yeah.”

“Why aren’t you dressed?” The boy had a thick winter jacket, gloves, and a beanie.

“I…eh…forgot.”

The boy tilted his head to the side and smiled. “Didn’t you notice when you walked without shoes?”

Of course, he had. “I was only taking Mara out for her morning walk.”

The boy looked around the garden. “Who?”

Namir gestured at Mara. “My dinosaur.”

The grin was glorious. “That’s not a dinosaur.”

“Sure it is. A feathered one, but do you know what I read?” He continued before the boy had a chance to speak. “Scientists think all dinosaurs had feathers.”

The boy shook his head. “You’re walking a chicken?”

“Of course. Mara the Chickenosaurus Rex.”

“Lucas!” A dark-haired woman hurried toward the boy, presumably Lucas, and ground to a halt when she saw Namir. “Oh, hi.” She dipped her head.

“Morning.”

Her gaze slid over him, and her face went blank. He should’ve put a shirt on.

“Eh…I’m Esme.” She gestured at her house, which was weird, but he nodded. He could understand the brain not working this early in the morning.

“Namir.”

She nodded. “Right, I’m sorry if he bothered you, we know you—”

“I didn’t.” Lucas gave her a look full of betrayal, poor boy. “He was walking his chicken. I only reminded him he’d forgotten to get dressed.”

Not quite right, but Namir didn’t correct him.

“Walking his…” She glanced down at the ground where Mara was in the middle of scratching at something.

“Is she sick?”

Sick? He stared at Mara. What made her believe she was sick? “No. Why?” She couldn’t be sick.

Esme shrugged. “Since she’s away from the flock. Chickens are pack animals or herd animals or whatever. They belong to a group.” She shook her head. “I figured you’d isolated her because she was sick or something.”

“No, not sick.” He looked at her again. She was fine, right?

Esme nodded and smiled politely, but he had the feeling she believed he was crazy. “We should get going. Jasper is waiting for us by the gate.”

He didn’t reply, too busy watching Mara. She looked fine.

“I don’t want to go to the post office.” Lucas hung his head.

“Well, we’re going. If we don’t go, we won’t have anything to eat, so there is nothing to do about it.”

“Is it…” What had Gertrude said? She bought things the community members could buy from her for a cheaper price than if they were to order from the grocery store in town. He didn’t shop, Gertrude took care of it for him, so he didn’t know what things cost these days, but he had to feed Mara somehow. “…eh, for the community?”

She nodded. “Yeah, some pasta and red lentils this time. We still have rice and black beans in the shop if you want to buy something.”

“Oatmeal?”

She scrunched her nose. “There might be a jar or two, but not much. We’ll order some in Rue’s name.”

“Rue is buying things?”

This time her smile looked more real than at any point in the conversation so far. “Nah. It’s Jasper ordering the things, but we’re logged in as Rue. The problem is he has to go to the post office, and he doesn’t like going outside the walls.”

“He’s going outside the walls?” Ice filled his veins, and he took a step away from her before he could stop himself. His heart jumped to his throat, and he had a hard time getting air into his lungs. s**t. He rubbed his chest, as he fought with himself not to run inside and lock the door.

He couldn’t abandon Mara. What if something happened to her?

“He has a few times. Noah, Jasper, and Asher always go with him when he does.”

Vampires. He left the community with a group of vampires. “Is he okay?” He might not talk to Rue often, but there was a kinship there. Rue had been through what he had been through, and if there was anything Namir could do to prevent him from having to go through it again, he would.

Her gaze softened. “Yes, he’s fine.”

“Are you sure? Because sometimes he looks fine even when he isn’t. I know Rue, and he’s…” He snapped his mouth shut.

She nodded. “I don’t think you have to worry.”

“Okay.” He nodded too, then shivered as the cold crept into his core. “Do they have chicken feed?”

She shook her head. “I’ve never seen any, sorry. You should talk to Ty, ask where he gets his.”

He didn’t want to talk to anyone.

* * * *

Jinx woke to something ringing. Ximena was still sleeping atop him on the couch. He grunted and dug into his pocket to get the phone out. Gertrude. “Yeah?”

“Am I calling at a bad time?” Her tone was clipped, which had him rubbing his eyes and urging his brain to wake up. Ximena made a sound, and he more or less rolled out from under her and moved over to the windows in hopes of Gertrude not hearing her.

“No, I was asleep. Sorry. What’s up?”

“Asleep? It’s almost lunch.”

Fuck. “Uh-huh.” Lunch? He pulled the phone away from his ear. Twelve minutes past ten. Not lunch, but…Why hadn’t Ximena woken before now? He looked at her where she sat on the couch, looking groggy. He hoped she wasn’t sick. It was another thing. Shifters didn’t get colds and fevers and stuff, but she did. So far, he’d managed to conceal it, but if she got seriously ill, he needed to take her to a…he didn’t know. Human doctor? No, he had to get them to Myrfolk where there was a healer.

“Angelo from the butchery called me.”

Called her? Why had he called her? Jinx was in charge of the meat.

“Why?” His voice came out a little growlier than he’d meant to.

“One of the trucks blew up.”

“What?” One of the trucks? One of theirs?

“One of the trucks—”

“When? How?”

“During the night. It’s the one farthest away, which makes me think whoever did it, didn’t want the building to get damaged. Surveillance cameras were conveniently disconnected.”

Jinx rubbed his eyes. “Disconnected?”

“Cords ripped, easy to repair, but it did the job.”

“You think Angelo did it?” f**k. They needed the butchery—he needed the butchery. There were others, but not in the direction of Myrfolk. It would make no sense for Gertrude to be involved if they moved the operation to the north of Oakmouth, and without the meat deliveries, he had no business being in contact with her.

For now, Czar didn’t question his loyalties. If he started calling another community leader, especially Gertrude who operated so differently from how they did things, without the guise of it being business discussions, Czar would grow suspicious. A suspicious Czar was a dangerous Czar.

Jinx couldn’t risk it. If they couldn’t use the butchery, he had to come up with a different plan to get Ximena out of there.

“It would surprise me if it was Angelo, but maybe someone working there.”

“Why?”

“Since they spared the building.”

“No, I meant, why not Angelo?” They could question him. Jinx had no problems forcing answers out of someone.

“A lot of meat is coming from Oakmouth, to lose the contract would harm his business.”

Jinx nodded. She was right. They made up a good chunk of Angelo’s business. It wouldn’t make sense for him to jeopardize it. Unless he no longer wanted to do business with supernaturals.

“I’m heading there now, and I managed to persuade Oscar to come with me. Will you meet me there?”

“Who?” f**k. He didn’t have anyone who could look after Ximena. He couldn’t ask Arlene again.

“Christopherson, the cop.”

“You’re bringing a human cop to talk to Angelo?” Then they had to play by human rules.

“Yes.” There was a finality in her voice. Had it been anyone else, Jinx would’ve argued. He was the leader of this operation, but she was a community leader, and he wanted her to be his community leader.

“See you there in two hours?”

“Eh…” He looked at Ximena who was sliding off the couch with a distant look in her eyes. It sent a shiver down his spine. Could she be autistic? There was something. No shifter child ever acted like she did, but she was his. If she hadn’t been his spitting image, he might have believed Lorna had played him, but she was his daughter. Since Lorna was human, his genes should be dominant. Half-breeds were most often looked down on, but they had full shifter abilities.

Latent. It had to be the reason. Maybe. f**k. They had to get out of here. “I might be a little later. I have to…eh…”

“Get a move on. I don’t want to spend all day there.”

“See you there.” He hung up only to rub his face. How the f**k should he solve this? He couldn’t leave a four-year-old on her own for five hours or however long it might take.

He raised the phone again and called Arlene.

“Yes?” She sounded annoyed.

“Hi, sorry to call. Something came up. Can you look after Ximena today?” He used his obey-me voice. He was second in command, they were used to following his orders.

“No, I have—”

“I have to go to Wanford. Someone blew up one of our delivery trucks.”

“So bring her.”

“I can’t.” He couldn’t show up with a kid on his hip when he went to see Gertrude.

Arlene growled into the phone, but she was a vampire, so it didn’t have the right resonance to it. “I want blood. If I take her, you better find me a donor.”

He winced. It was illegal to force someone to be fed on. Jinx had no problem with illegal things, but letting people go afterward was a dangerous kind of game, and murder was frowned upon these days. “If I find out who planted the bomb, he’s all yours.”

Silence stretched for several seconds. “Yeah?”

“Yes. If I find him, I’ll give him to you. You can decide for how long you keep him alive.”

“Okay, bring her over.”