Page 66 of Stray Cat

“There’s only a baby computer up here,” Neal said, whatever that meant. “But I’ll give it a shot. AC’s asleep. At leastsomeoneis relaxing. I’ll keep you posted.”

He signed off without a goodbye, but Diego knew Neal well enough now to understand that his abruptness meant he was troubled.

“I’ll start at Xav’s house,” Diego announced. “That’s where he was heading when I last saw him, eight hours ago.”

“Good.” Leah turned away. “Let’s go.”

“Leah.” Eric called after her. “We have to think about this first. Pinpoint where she’d most likely be instead of running around over the entire state.”

Leah swung back. “We do what Diego says and go to Xav’s. If she was there, I can find her scent and track her.”

“It might be more complicated than that,” Eric tried.

Leah glared at him. “I think I can track myown daughter.Come on. Let’s do this.” She marched away, Martin following her with the same grim determination.

“I’ll take them, Eric,” Diego said, hoping Leah would at least give him a few seconds to dress. “Round up who you need to. Iona, I thinkyoushould have the job of waking up Tiger. He’s less likely to rip you to shreds.”

Iona sent him an amused nod. “I’m on it.” Tiger and Carly, with Seth, were staying with Graham, whose large house could accommodate guests. Not that Graham had complied docilely with Eric’s request to let Tiger in.

Eric scowled. “Hey, since everyone else knows what to do, maybe I’ll go back to bed.”

“No, you won’t,” Diego said as he started down the hall to his and Cassidy’s bedroom. “Meet up with us at Xav’s. We’ll use it as a base. Keep the bigger Shifters out of sight, though, so his neighbors don’t freak out and call Shifter Bureau.”

“I can do my job, Escobar.” When Eric used Diego’s surname, Diego knew he was on the edge of losing his leopard temper.

“Good,” was all Diego said. “See you there.”

Diego reached the bedroom and pulled on clothes he always kept ready for emergencies. Cassidy had followed him and dressed even more quickly.

“I’m coming with you,” she announced as Diego did up his belt.

“Cass …”

“Lindsay is my best friend,” Cassidy said in a hard voice. “I can track her almost as well as Leah can. Iona will be here to look after Amanda.”

Diego gazed into the beautiful eyes he loved, and relented. He knew she was right, and he missed working with Cassidy by his side.

He leaned forward and softly kissed her lips. “Let’s go then,querida.”

Cassidy bathed him in her warm smile and proceeded him out the door.

Not until they had driven halfway to Xav’s, Leah and Martin sitting firmly together in the back seat, did Diego realize they had stowaways.

“Is this another adventure, Uncle Diego?” a little boy asked from the very back of the SUV.

“Don’t worry,” his identical twin brother said to Leah and Martin, who didn’t seem as startled as Diego was. “We’ll find Lindsay. Lindsay’s nice.”

It was far too late to turn around and drive them back to Shiftertown. Diego sighed, hoping Graham wouldn’t kill him for taking Matt and Kyle once more into danger.

* * *

“These are cute.”Lindsay held up a pair of sneakers in delight. She’d dug them from a mountain of Styrofoam peanuts in a box she’d asked the henchman to lift down from an upper shelf for her. The shoes were years out of date but crisply new from whatever factory had made them, bright blue and studded with sparkling stones. She waved them at her watcher. “Don’t you think these are cute?”

The man slapped dust from the box off his hands and shrugged. “They aren’t bad.”

“You should scrounge some for your girlfriend,” Lindsay suggested. “Or your sister, or mom.” She winked. “Get on their good side.”

“Maybe.”

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