He answered on the first ring and she didn’t wait for him to speak. “There’s a leopard in one of the trees beside the house.”
“That’s impossible.” His voice rose with alarm.
“I can see its eyes. It’s there, Blake.”
“I’ll grab a tranq gun and be right there. Don’t move.”
The moon came out from behind the clouds, and she spotted the leopard on a large branch ten feet from her. She flicked off her phone and watched the leopard as it watched her. Her chest squeezed. This was how prey felt.
The leopard stood on the big limb as if it couldn’t decide whether to leap or rest. Its tail lashed back and forth, and she caught the stench of its urine as it sprayed the area. And was that acollararound its neck? The cat couldn’t be one of theirs. The size told her it was a male.
Leopards were solitary hunters and took down their preyquickly due to their massive size and lightning-fast strikes. Leopards suffocated their prey with a bite to the back of the neck. Her hand crept to the back of her neck and stayed there in case the big cat pounced. The slight movement made the cat crawl closer along the tree branch. It bared its teeth at her, and its tail began to swish.
She wanted to run, but her legs were jelly, and she knew trying to flee would bring certain death.
Blake had better hurry. The back door opened, and she spotted him exiting onto the deck. She drew in a relieved gulp of air. He wore night-vision goggles and carried a tranq rifle. She didn’t dare move her arm to point so she angled her gaze back at the big cat, which had moved into pouncing position. Even if Blake shot it right now with the dart, it wouldn’t take the cat down for several minutes.
Would she have time to reach the safety of the house before its teeth sank into her neck?
The rifle spat out a dart and she flinched. The leopard snarled when the point sank into its skin. It reached around and bit at its flank before disappearing into the leaves. Instead of running, she moved slowly toward Blake while staying alert to an impending attack. There was a thump as the big cat leaped from the tree and loped toward the tree line.
She’d barely reached Blake when her phone sounded with a text.Drew might not handle a big cat so well. His death will be on your hands.
Someone had sent this animal to attack on purpose? Who would want so badly to prevent Drew from helping her?
Blake studied the surrounding field through the night-vision goggles and didn’t spot the big cat. “You’re sure it wore a collar?” He caught the stench of big cat urine where it had marked its territory. A pile of scat soiled the path as well.
Paradise edged close enough for him to catch her plumeria scent. “Positive. The collar was white and the moon clearly glimmered on it. And besides, this text message shows someone was behind the leopard’s appearance.” She held out her phone.
He read the text about Drew, and his senses, already on high alert, went into overdrive. “That leopard must be trained to kill, babe. We have to find it.”
Would problems at the park ever stop? This one was clearly aimed at Paradise and not him, which was even more concerning than the past incidents. No one had released a big cat from an enclosure this time—they’d brought their own. Whoever was behind it knew about Paradise’s fear of big cats—and the reason for Drew’s planned visit. Blake fisted his hands. Whoever it was would have to go through him to get to her.
She hugged herself and followed close behind him as he moved toward the brush. “You gave the cat a large dose? I saw the dart go in.”
“It should be unconscious by now, but where is it?” The night goggles cast everything in a monochromatic green, and he slowly turned his head to examine every bit of the landscape he could see. He spotted discarded pop tabs, a crumpled hamburger wrapper, and a couple of hair ties but no big cat.
The sound of an engine and tires popping on gravel came from across the field by the road. He turned that way and ran with Paradise on his heels. They reached the road as red taillights faded into the night at the park exit. He squatted to examine the marks in the red dirt. The night goggles brought everything into sharprelief, and he pointed out flattened grass. “It looks like something was dragged through here. The cat’s owner might have loaded it into a truck or vehicle here.”
She moved under the security light and took out her phone. “We’d better call Jane.”
“Snap some pictures of the tire tracks and drag marks so you can send them to her. Make sure you tell her the cat had a collar.”
“I will.” Paradise took snapshots and tapped out a text message. Moments later a return message came. “She’ll be here with Augusta and Nora shortly.”
A wave of protective emotion drew him closer to her, and he slipped his arm around her waist. Things could have gone terribly wrong tonight.
Sometimes Blake wanted to pinch himself to make sure Paradise was really here with him. Her lioness mane of light brown hair was like none other he’d ever seen, and he could look into her amber eyes for hours at a time. She was beautiful inside and out. His family loved her almost as much as he did.
She shivered, and Blake kissed the top of her head. “Are you cold? You’re shaking.” It was probably seventy-five but there was a breeze.
She leaned against him. “It’s reaction. I expected the leopard to attack.”
He pressed a kiss on her forehead, and her trembling began to slow. “You didn’t run though.”
“I wanted to, but I knew better than to run from a leopard. Besides, I was confident you’d be there shortly. I was about to turn my flashlight on to try to scare it away when you arrived.”
“Someone doesn’t want you and Drew investigating your parents’ murders. The question is why.”
