tabby

she didn’t dance private parties. And it was an area that Bae and Arin hadn’t finished examining. Yet, I could smell her. Her fear and resolve. But the only other scent that mingled with hers was that of the new person. A scent that made my nose tickle and burn from the coldness. “She came this way, but not with Mike. The new person is some type of shifter as well but another new scent.”
“Do you sense any panic in her? Any pain?”
I cocked my head. “Nope. I sense fear and resolution, but I’m sure she walked out of here unharmed and under her own power.”
“Good.” It wasn’t good, but I understood what Bae was saying. We had a solid lead, and she wasn’t harmed. At least before she left.
They followed me down the corridor until we reached another backdoor. I pushed it open and walked outside. Shit. Her scent faded, but with the addition of gasoline, I knew she’d been taken somewhere in a car, and she was still without injury at that point.
Arin interrupted my thoughts as I tried to see if I could follow the scent of the car. “This is part of her dressing gown.” He held out a rectangular patch of silk fabric. Outside of the scent that wafted off it with a strength that almost matched what emanated from her skin, I wouldn’t have known it was hers, but I trusted him. He spent more time with her in this state of undress than I did.
“Does that mean she left it here for us, or did it break off during a struggle?” Arin held the patch out for me, but I didn’t need it to know the truth.
“She left it for us. I sensed no change in her emotions. And she’s smart. She may not have all the experience we have, but she’s smart.”
“I agree.” Bae bit his lip as he looked between the club and the road. “I think we need to split up. Kasim, do you think you can try to follow the car? Did enough of her scent leak out to give you a trail?”
The challenge, even though it wasn’t meant to be one, triggered my pride. I was one of the greatest predators alive. And I would die before I let her escape my grasp. I squared my shoulders and allowed my panther to bleed through in the growl of my voice. “If there’s one drop of her scent, I’ll find it.”
“I know you will.” Bae clasped my shoulder and drew me in for a hug. “But stay in touch. Don’t go all hero and try to rescue her on your own.”
“Unless she’s in danger. Then rip them to shreds.” Arin’s grin matched the bloodthirstiness of his statement.
I nodded. The scent itched at me, urging me to take off, but I needed to know all of the plan before I left. Communication between us was key. Without it, we might inadvertently tip off the people we didn’t want to know we were coming.
“Arin and I will go through the security footage from the area, as well as comb through all the information we have on Mike to see what we could have missed now that we know he’s a mutant. And I’ll also inform FUC that we found mutants who can seemingly hide their scent.”
Nothing more needed to be said. We had our marching orders, and I was eager to go. I stripped off my clothes, handing almost all of it to Bae. My boxer briefs—specially designed with zippered pockets—and my cell phone went into the hidden foldout pouch in my belt. Since my teammates were here, I didn’t have to do up the belt before my shift, knowing that they would attach it securely to my right front leg. With a final nod, I shifted. In the place of a man stood a large midnight black panther. In this form, I stood larger than a natural born panther, but shorter than my six foot plus height. The moment Bae finished attaching my belt, giving me a slap to my rump, I turned and melted into the shadows. There was only one way for the car to exit the parking lot, giving me a place to start. I took one last big lungful of air to memorize the scent of the car before I took off running.

19
Bae
With mixed feelings, I watched Kasim slip into the shadows and leave. He was the best, and I trusted him completely, but still I worried. With my tabby already gone, I didn’t want to lose another member of my family, even if I knew splitting up was the best idea.
I turned to Arin, who continued to stare out into the blackness. “Arin, do you remember those gadgets that tabby made, the DICC something or other?”
He turned to look at me with a question in his eyes. “Uh-huh...”
“Do you have any of them or know where she keeps them? And more importantly, do you know how to use them?”
“I know where she has them, and I might have watched her work on them. Why? We don’t know where Ed keeps his computer yet. And as much as we should continue with the mission, doesn’t getting my blueberry back take precedence?”
“Of course it does. I was just remembering something she said about how the device can get the information off a phone when we talked about the heavy-duty one used by Ed, and I wondered if it would work with a tablet? I never see Mike without it.”
Arin rubbed his jaw as a slight flush coloured his cheeks, but I ignored it. “Uh, she did mention at her talk at FUCN’A that it worked with all mobile devices.” He raced to the door. “Come on. I have them in blueberry’s bag.”
We raced inside, stopping long enough to grab a few of her DICCs—I remembered that that was the name Arin christened them—and took off to find Mike. We didn’t need a plan on