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"Maya?"
Who else? I would have said, if I could, but I knew he wasn't questioning whether it was me, but whether it was really "me" or was I subsumed by the cat, which might lunge and sink its fangs into his neck at any moment.
I chuffed.
"Okay," he said, still gaping. "So that's . . . you look like a mountain lion. I mean, obviously, but I wasn't sure if we'd look like real mountain lions or some kind of monster. Definitely a cat."
I stretched, head down, front paws out, hindquarters in the air. My tail flicked against one of the SUVs with a thump.
"You're bigger than I expected," he said.
I shot out the claws on my extended front paws.
He chuckled. "Nice."
I retracted my claws and settled on the pavement, head on my front paws.
"Yeah, I guess that's about all we can do." He lowered himself. "Sit and wait for you to shift back."
I chuffed. And so we waited. It could take awhile, but we were tucked back deep enough that cars passed without their drivers catching sight of us.
Then, "You! What're you doing there?"
Loafers slapped the pavement, the daintier click of high heels hurrying to catch up. Ash got to his feet and leaned out.
"Yes, you," the man's voice said. "Between the cars. What the hell are you doing?"
"Parking," Ash said.
"Right. Your car? Or one you jacked?"
"Bill," a woman's voice murmured, cutting him off. "Don't."
The man grumbled. "You just better hope it wasn't my truck you were breaking into, boy."
"This yours here?"
Ash thumped the SUV on the right. It was a light thump, just enough to let me know that I need
ed to get under the other vehicle. But the guy shouted, as if Ash had bashed it with a sledgehammer.
"Bill!"
There was no time to crawl under either SUV. The man was right there. Ash blocked, but he wasn't nearly large enough to hide the tawny big cat crouched on the dark pavement.
"Jesus!" the man said. "It's a cougar."
"It's okay," Ash said quickly. "She's just scared. I was getting a better look--making sure she wasn't hurt. She's fine, and if we all just leave her alone, she'll find her way out."
"Find her way out?" the woman exclaimed. "That's--that's a cougar. In the city. Bill! Get back from there." She pulled out her phone. "I'm calling 911."
"No, wait," her husband cut in before Ash could. "Get a picture first. Hold on. I'll get closer. I want to be in it."
"Bill! It's a cougar!"
"Stop shrieking. It's an overgrown cat."
Ash froze, torn between stopping him and stopping the woman from calling the police. The man brushed past him. I swallowed a growl and forced myself to stay perfectly still. If he wanted an overgrown cat, that's what I'd be. Let him get his photo. Convince his wife I wasn't a threat. I hoped Ash could persuade them to leave afterward.
