Read Online Woof at the Door by Laura Morrigan - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Laura Morrigan
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sniffed
the air.
Bottle?
Relief flooded through me, and I let out the shaky breath I hadn’t even realized I’d
been holding. I grinned at the big cat. “Oh, so you remember your bottle, huh?”
Charm loped forward and wound her sinewy body around my knees in indisputable feline
welcome.
Bottle!
I knelt and took hold of the big cat’s round head in both hands. I looked into the
green-rimmed golden eyes, one slightly clouded. “I don’t have a bottle for you right
now.”
Charm butted my head with hers.
No bottle?
I laughed.
Maybe later.
I remained on the floor, stroking the cat. I glanced at the window. Kai stood outside,
gun drawn, watching intently. I nodded to him, and he slowly holstered the gun.
I turned my attention back to Charm, who had stretched out on the floor so she could
lick the scented lotion off my leg. “Ouch! Sandpaper Tongue.”
Quit that!
Charm looked up at me and plopped a giant paw on my bended knee.
“Quit begging. Haven’t you been fed tonight?”
In answer, Charm sprang up and loped across the room. I followed. The big cat led
me into LaBryce’s spacious stainless-clad kitchen. Charm pawed at the refrigerator
door that I knew was reserved just for her food.
Fish.
“Tonight is fish, huh?” I opened the wide fridge. Charm paced in anticipation as I
searched the shelves.
No fish. In fact, except for a small container of ground beef, there wasn’t much in
the fridge at all.
I glanced at Charm.
“Who’s supposed to be feeding you?”
Fish!
Something wasn’t right. If the police had brought LaBryce in for questioning and he
hadn’t warned them she was out of her enclosure, he must have thought she was being
fed and cared for. Which wasn’t the case.
Charm rubbed her head against the back of my knee, making me stumble forward. She
pawed at my ankle and began licking my calf.
Hungry.
Okay, I could ponder the hows and whys later. I needed to offer the jaguar something
other than my leg to munch on.
Opening the freezer, I found a bag of whole herring—but it would take too long to
thaw.
“No fish tonight, girl. We’re moving on to plan B.”
Charm followed me around as I rummaged through the cabinets.
Finally, I came up with an acceptable amount of canned tuna, added it to the ground
beef, and mixed the two together to make a lumpy, fishy meat loaf.
I dumped the concoction onto a stainless tray and said, “Okay, you can eat in your
enclosure, let’s go.”
Charm padded beside me looking up at the tray like, well, like a hungry jaguar.
Go on
. I shooed her forward with my mind. I was sure Kai was wondering what was taking
so long, and I wanted to get her secured as quickly as possible.
She bounded past me out of the kitchen. I hurried behind. The house was dark, and
I had to flip on lights as I went. It had been a while since I’d seen the addition
LaBryce had commissioned to be Charm’s room, and I’d never been there in the evening.
It was a bit eerie at night. In the day, the room appeared to be part sitting area,
part jungle. In dim light, all I could make out was the large couch and exotic stone
coffee table. The far side of the room seemed to be swallowed by the blackness of
a thick tropical forest.
I took a step toward the thicket of trees to my right, looking for a light switch.
After a moment I found one and clicked it on. A gentle glow lit the room. And somehow
didn’t take away from the wild feel. Though I knew the sitting area was separated
from the jungle by a wall of thick glass, it didn’t look like it. The room just melted
into forest. The illusion was aided by several large potted trees and ferns that were
grouped in front of the glass and along the perimeter of the room.
Charm stood at the far end of the room near a clump of banana trees and grumbled impatiently.
I walked toward her. “Who let you out?”
Open
. Charm slinked behind the giant banana tree and vanished.
I moved to
the air.
Bottle?
Relief flooded through me, and I let out the shaky breath I hadn’t even realized I’d
been holding. I grinned at the big cat. “Oh, so you remember your bottle, huh?”
Charm loped forward and wound her sinewy body around my knees in indisputable feline
welcome.
Bottle!
I knelt and took hold of the big cat’s round head in both hands. I looked into the
green-rimmed golden eyes, one slightly clouded. “I don’t have a bottle for you right
now.”
Charm butted my head with hers.
No bottle?
I laughed.
Maybe later.
I remained on the floor, stroking the cat. I glanced at the window. Kai stood outside,
gun drawn, watching intently. I nodded to him, and he slowly holstered the gun.
I turned my attention back to Charm, who had stretched out on the floor so she could
lick the scented lotion off my leg. “Ouch! Sandpaper Tongue.”
Quit that!
Charm looked up at me and plopped a giant paw on my bended knee.
“Quit begging. Haven’t you been fed tonight?”
In answer, Charm sprang up and loped across the room. I followed. The big cat led
me into LaBryce’s spacious stainless-clad kitchen. Charm pawed at the refrigerator
door that I knew was reserved just for her food.
Fish.
“Tonight is fish, huh?” I opened the wide fridge. Charm paced in anticipation as I
searched the shelves.
No fish. In fact, except for a small container of ground beef, there wasn’t much in
the fridge at all.
I glanced at Charm.
“Who’s supposed to be feeding you?”
Fish!
Something wasn’t right. If the police had brought LaBryce in for questioning and he
hadn’t warned them she was out of her enclosure, he must have thought she was being
fed and cared for. Which wasn’t the case.
Charm rubbed her head against the back of my knee, making me stumble forward. She
pawed at my ankle and began licking my calf.
Hungry.
Okay, I could ponder the hows and whys later. I needed to offer the jaguar something
other than my leg to munch on.
Opening the freezer, I found a bag of whole herring—but it would take too long to
thaw.
“No fish tonight, girl. We’re moving on to plan B.”
Charm followed me around as I rummaged through the cabinets.
Finally, I came up with an acceptable amount of canned tuna, added it to the ground
beef, and mixed the two together to make a lumpy, fishy meat loaf.
I dumped the concoction onto a stainless tray and said, “Okay, you can eat in your
enclosure, let’s go.”
Charm padded beside me looking up at the tray like, well, like a hungry jaguar.
Go on
. I shooed her forward with my mind. I was sure Kai was wondering what was taking
so long, and I wanted to get her secured as quickly as possible.
She bounded past me out of the kitchen. I hurried behind. The house was dark, and
I had to flip on lights as I went. It had been a while since I’d seen the addition
LaBryce had commissioned to be Charm’s room, and I’d never been there in the evening.
It was a bit eerie at night. In the day, the room appeared to be part sitting area,
part jungle. In dim light, all I could make out was the large couch and exotic stone
coffee table. The far side of the room seemed to be swallowed by the blackness of
a thick tropical forest.
I took a step toward the thicket of trees to my right, looking for a light switch.
After a moment I found one and clicked it on. A gentle glow lit the room. And somehow
didn’t take away from the wild feel. Though I knew the sitting area was separated
from the jungle by a wall of thick glass, it didn’t look like it. The room just melted
into forest. The illusion was aided by several large potted trees and ferns that were
grouped in front of the glass and along the perimeter of the room.
Charm stood at the far end of the room near a clump of banana trees and grumbled impatiently.
I walked toward her. “Who let you out?”
Open
. Charm slinked behind the giant banana tree and vanished.
I moved to
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