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“I’ve been following whoever has her for days,” the man who I’m now one-hundred percent certain is Clyde’s owner says. His size and the cat tattoo I now glimpse on the side of this thick neck are unmistakable. “They finally stayed put long enough for me to catch up with them, but I can’t tell exactly where they are in the hotel.”
“Sir, I can’t—” the woman starts, but Clyde’s owner breaks in, “I promise, I don’t want any trouble. I’m not trying to start something with these people. I just want my cat back. I miss her so much. She’s pregnant, due to deliver any day now, and has terrible acid reflux. She needs special care.”
The exhausted woman shakes her head. “I’m sorry, sir. I feel for you. I really do. But I can’t give out private details on our guests. I could get in big trouble.”
He sighs. “I understand. Could you maybe just tell me if anyone checked in with a cat? And, if so, the floor they’re on?” he asks. “Like I said, I don’t want trouble, I just want to find Clyde. I’ll give the people who took her whatever they want. Money, contracts, toys, whatever, it doesn’t matter. I won’t even call the police. I just want my little buddy back. If you can help me figure out where to start looking, I know I can handle this peacefully.”
My heart lurches and a surge of guilt makes it impossible to sneak away and alert Matty to this new development the way I’d planned.
This poor man is in pain, pain at least partially caused by me, since I didn’t make contact as soon as I realized who Clyde was to assure him I’d keep his cat safe and do my best to reunite them as soon as possible.
Pulling in a breath and wishing I didn’t have to do this dressed like a call girl with a bra allergy, I tap him on the shoulder.
When he turns, gazing down at me with surprised green eyes rimmed with red from exhaustion—or grief—I know I’ve done the right thing. He might be a giant, but his eyes are so gentle and kind, the eyes of a man who deserves a sweet floof like Clyde in his life.
“Come with me,” I say, nodding toward the elevator.
He blinks. “Excuse me? Who are you?”
“I’m Nora and my boyfriend is with law enforcement. We can help you.” It isn’t exactly true. But it isn’t exactlyun-true, either. The CIA is law-enforcement adjacent and, most importantly, I know I can ease this man’s mind and reunite him with his best friend.
What kind of human would I be if I didn’t do that?
And Matty will probably be glad to see this guy. After all, he was planning to return Clyde to his owner this weekend, anyway. This might actually work out beautifully for everyone.
Well, everyone except Kitty, the naughty wife, who will not be getting her spanking this afternoon, after all…
Chapter Twenty-One
MATTY
When I exit the elevator, armed with an empty book box, a dark blue fleece blanket, and a pocketful of condoms, the last thing I’m expecting to see is Nora standing in front of our room with another man.
A very large man…
A very large, familiar-looking man…
I slow as I connect the dots, then walk faster, determined to convince Bear Hanson that Nora had nothing to do with Clyde’s disappearance. I didn’t either, of course—at least not the initial disappearance, and I planned to return Clyde to him as soon as possible—but I’ll work on convincing him of that later, after I’m positive Nora isn’t caught up in this.
Hearing my footsteps, she turns, her eyes lighting up when she sees me. “Hey, we were waiting for you. I forgot my key.” She gives a strange little wave I don’t understand until I realize she’s working hard to keep her arms crossed over her chest.
Cursing myself for deciding now was a good time to indulge my kinky side, I reach into the non-condom-stuffed pocket and pull out the keycard. “Of course. No worries. And no worries about Clyde, either. I can explain everything, Mr. Hanson. If you’ll just give me a few moments of your time.”
Bear’s eyes go wide as he glances between Nora and me. “What the hell is this about? You said that your boyfriend was in law enforcement.”
“He is!” Nora says, nodding too fast. “But we also have Clyde inside our room.” She winces. “It’s a long story, but the gist of it is—there are bad guys, they took Clyde to try to blackmail you, Matty took Clyde back toreturnhim to you, but then the bad guys came after us and we ended up hiding out here to regroup. And then Clyde went into labor, and we ran out of the room to get stuff for a kittening box.” She motions to the newspaper tucked under her arm. “That’s why I asked for the newspaper and why he’s carrying a box and a fleece blanket. We just want Clyde to have the most peaceful birth possible because we love her, too. She’s just a doll, even though until about fifteen minutes ago, we thought she was a boy.”
“She’s right. We only want to help.” I extend my hand. “Matthew McGuire. I’m with the CIA. I can give you a number to call and check my name and badge number if you’d like.”
Bear exhales, reaching up to rub the back of his neck, staring at my hand as if he isn’t sure whether to trust me or hit me.
“I can’t share much about the investigation. That’s classified,” I say. “But we’re primarily interested in the Sweetwater criminal organization’s international activities and how those compromise the safety of U.S. citizens. Clyde just got caught up in the other chaos. But when I saw him—” I shake my head. “Her, locked up in the Sweetwaters’ back storage area, I had to take her. I figured I could kill two birds with one stone—stop them from exploiting your love for Clyde for toy rights and reunite you with your pet, who you clearly care a great deal for.”
“I do,” he says, seeming to thaw a bit. “So, you’re not associated with them? The people who took her?”
I shake my head. “I promise, I’m not. And again, I can give you that number to call right now, if you’d like. Or you can do an internet search and go directly to the CIA site yourself. There’s a number listed there. I can wait here with you, if you don’t feel safe coming inside with us until you have that peace of mind.” I glance toward Nora. “But I think someone should go check on Clyde. It seemed like things were progressing pretty quickly, and I’m sure the hotel would appreciate it if we moved her gently to the kittening box as soon as possible, to prevent further damage to the linens.”
Nora pulls in a bracing breath. “Yes, let me go get her settled.” She collects the rest of the supplies from me, holding them in front of her chest as she mutters, “and put on some pants.”
