Page 17 of Whiskers on Kittens

No kidding. As I was feline perfection, I’d enjoy the ride. “Honestly, you won’t even have to chew if you’re taking me out, not at eight hundred and ninety pounds. I’d vanish into your stomach with a single gulp.”

“As a human or a cat?”

“I’m figuring it would take two gulps while human,” I replied, and I hurried off to grab my evening bag, my laptop, my other tech, and my briefcase. “Try not to take all day making yourself pretty. And skip the uniform, just don’t forget your badge.”

“What should I wear?”

“Nothing would be fine, but as indecent exposure would cause you trouble at work, aim for casual. If I want you in a suit, we’ll go to the store.”

“I do own a suit,” he growled.

I halted, turned, and graced him with a wide grin. “If it isn’t the perfect suit, I will shred it with my claws and drag you to the store. I recommend you just accept I’m buying you a new suit, one that’s appropriate for the wicked places I intend on taking you.”

His eyes narrowed. “What sort of wicked are we talking about here?”

“That’s for me to know and you to find out.”

While he tried to hide it, Easton loved everything about my Lexus. Within five minutes of leaving my garage, which I spent working on my laptop with my phone providing an internet connection, he’d gone from quietly surly over my taunts to reeking of glee. Until that moment, I hadn’t known someone could crank up the joy to such an intensity it bothered my nose. My virus delighted in having pleased him, and I bet the furry traitor would eat out of his hand at the first invitation.

At the next stop light, I reached over and pressed the sport button. “She’s going to get a little touchy on you now, Easton. Be wary of the gas, and she’s going to handle a little differently.”

“What button did you hit?”

“I engaged my car’s ridiculous mode.”

“Ridiculous mode? Is that even a thing?”

I allowed myself a smile, braced for the inevitable acceleration followed by panicked braking, and waited for the light to turn green.

As he was first in the line, he opted to test his luck as expected, and while he was gentle enough on the gas, he got to experience the Lexus’s full acceleration. He squeaked, managed to keep the car below the speed limit, and once he had complete control of my baby, he spewed curses.

I laughed at him. “One of the things I like about this specific model is that they implemented an eco mode. Don’t ask me how, but it saves a great deal of gas and still lets me play on the track when I want to. It’s a new thing in the sportier models, although cars like my Acura have had it for a while. I’m guessing they decided to test if there’s a market for it. Well, there is: me. I use eco mode most of the time, and I put her in sport mode when I’m at the track. That eco mode is why I maintain my pristine driving record.”

“At the next light, show me how to turn it off and on, please. Do I have to be stopped to switch it?”

“Nope, you can be driving along and decide to switch modes. I will sometimes switch modes when doing evasive maneuvers. I value my life, and my car is very good at getting out of the way of idiots.” As he requested, at the next light, I showed him where the button was, grinning when he pressed it to return to my car’s sane setting. “If you’re a good wolf, I’ll take you to the track and give you some lessons.”

“Do I want to know what happens if I’m a really good wolf?”

“I’ll take you to every fancy dealership in town and have you help me pick a new baby for my garage. I’ll even let you drive her.”

If the scent of his glee intensified any further, I’d be tempted to roll down the window and stick my head outside to get some relief. My virus adored his delight, which meant we’d be engaged in an ongoing feud over him and his scent.

Normal Mr. Goody-Goody scent appealed. I could only hope I’d go somewhat nose-blind to his joy before I went insane.

“I feel like I should ticket you for owning this car, Kelsie.”

I laughed. Half the time, I agreed with him. “We’re going to end up in a rental minivan on the way home because I can tell you one thing about this car. It does not fit a litter of kittens. I’m lucky it has a backseat and decent trunk space.”

“Well, it’s disguised to look mostly like a luxury sedan but a lot sleeker. It’s what luxury sedans could be if only more people hated their backseat passengers.”

Snickering, I twisted around to regard the backseats, which were barely large enough to accommodate an adult. “Let’s just say I don’t take this out of my garage if I’m anticipating more than two people in it. It skirts cruel and unusual punishment territory.”

“That it does. So. What have you learned about our missing kittens?”

“Not much,” I admitted. “I was too busy working on your case, and then I got what sleep I could. I’ll be going through what the archangels gave me and trying to make sense of the timeline. The kidnappers must have been watching the family for a while, though.” I tapped on my laptop, grateful that the archangels had sent me digital copies of everything, including the data from the courthouse. “According to this, the parents are pretty diligent. The children were in their fenced backyard at the time of the kidnapping, and the parents had been distracted by a knock on the door. Very probably planned by the kidnappers. The knock was a salesman trying to hook them up with solar. The father went to check on the kittens to discover they had been taken. There was evidence of a scuffle, so the kittens did not go out without a fight. I’m guessing a practitioner blocked the sound of them screaming, as neither parent heard anything.”

“Bastards,” Easton growled.