“It’s a deal,” he promised.
Chapter18
Liam stifled a yawn,flexing his fingers on the steering wheel as he pulled away from the clinic. It had been a long day, made longer by an emergency case just before the close of day. It was almost eight at night. Most restaurants would be closing, but he was too tired for a restaurant meal, anyway. Plus, he was still full from yesterday’s Thanksgiving dinner. He’d have to swing by a fast food place and pick up something light. He’d also, he thought, have to step up his search for a house to buy. The bed and breakfast was wonderful, but constantly having to figure out what to do for dinner was getting old, fast.
He’d just pulled onto the main road, when his phone chimed, the ringtone letting him know his caller was Maroulla.
“Good evening, Maroulla,” he greeted, using the car’s Bluetooth to answer.
“Good evening, Liam.” Without wasting time on pleasantries, she went right to the heart of the matter. “We’ve got a situation with one of the Rogues in the Sanctuary, and we need your assistance. Tell me, do you have this weekend free?”
A problem with a Rogue? Oh, hell, that couldn’t be good. Flicking his turn signal, he pulled over onto the side of the road, putting his jeep in Park. “I’m supposed to work tomorrow morning, but I could trade with someone if necessary. What’s up?”
Her deep sigh traveled along the phone connection. “We have another shifter animal in distress. Another clouded leopard, in fact.”
It only took him a minute to read into the heavy significance in her voice. “Naomi’s sister, Beth?”
“Yes. From the reports I’ve been receiving from the Sanctuary, it sounds very much like what was going on with Naomi at the zoo. She hasn’t been eating, to the point that she seems to be wasting away. She won’t Change, she stays in her leopard form at all times. None of them will Change to human, in fact, although Beatrice is the only one with the collar that prevents it. But in Beth’s case, the keepers feel she may be staying in her leopard form as a protection. In her human form, she would stand no chance against the others. The mother is a mink, and a nasty little piece of work she is, too, according to the keepers. The sisters are cougar and coyote, and Beatrice, of course, is a black leopard. ”
He frowned, turning this over in his mind. “What do you mean, stand no chance?”
“While Beth is a confirmed Rogue like the rest of the family, her behavior isn’t like that of her mother, aunt, and sisters. In fact, they seem to alternate between shunning her and attacking her. We’ve kept them all together in an attempt to be humane; they are, after all, family. At this point, though, the keepers are requesting to put her in a separate enclosure for her own safety.”
“Has anyone talked to her?”
Again, Maroulla sighed. “They’ve tried many times. Some of the keepers have attempted to communicate with Beth in their Changed form, but she refuses to respond. She doesn’t respond to much of anything, in fact. I was wondering if you might be willing to visit her and see what you think? At this point, you’re the one with the most direct experience with Rogues.”
“But Naomi turned out to not be a Rogue,” he pointed out. “Her depression was entirely due to the fear that she’d become one.”
“Even so,” Maroulla said. “You’ve spent considerable time with Naomi, and she’s been talking to you about her family. You’re our best bet for finding out what’s up with the sister.”
Liam dragged his fingers through his hair. “All right. Where am I going?”
“It’s in Ohio, about a six-hour drive for you. I’ll send you the address and you can GPS it. You’ll want to stay overnight, so we’ll arrange for a hotel room for you Saturday night.” She seemed to hesitate, then asked tentatively, “Do you think Naomi would go with you? Beth might respond to her, when she won’t to others.”
Liam winced, his instinctive reaction a rejection of the idea. His pyr bristled, a low growl making his displeasure known at the idea of anything upsetting Naomi.
“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea, Maroulla. She still grieves for her sister, missing her. I don’t know if you know that they’re twins?”
“No, I didn’t know that.” Maroulla’s voice was thoughtful. “Do they have the ‘twin’ connection one hears about?”
“Absolutely they do,” Liam confirmed. “She says she can sense how her sister is feeling, how she’s doing, from any distance, even though they’re out of telepathic range. She did tell me last night that Beth was sad and depressed.”
“I can see how a visit might be difficult for her, under the circumstances.”
“Agreed.” Liam drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. “In fact, last night, not knowing this all was happening, I did ask her if she wanted me to ask you if she could visit Beth, and she turned me down flat. Mostly because her sister is in the same enclosure with the others. There was abuse there, Maroulla, with those girls growing up in that household. Physical as well as emotional.”
“She actually said that?”
“Not in so many words, but it was clear that’s what was going on.” He sighed, rubbing his forehead. “Still, I know she’d at least want to know what was going on with Beth. I’ll talk to her about the situation, and see if she changes her mind, but I won’t pressure her to go. Not if it will be too much for her.”
“I understand. Do what you think is best, Liam.”
They disconnected, and Liam made the rest of the drive to the bed and breakfast lost in thought. It was only when he arrived that he remembered he’d planned to drive through a fast food place and pick up a meal. The prospect of having to tell Naomi about her twin sister, however, made the thought of food rather unappealing right now.
Stopping off in the lounge, Liam poured a mug of hot apple cider from a large carafe, and loaded up a plate with Naomi’s favorite snickerdoodle and chocolate chip cookies. He climbed the stairs, balancing the cider, plate of cookies, and his laptop bag, and tapped at her door.
She opened it, blinking in apparent surprise to see him.
