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Kneeling again, I gripped his torn T-shirt and ripped upward, exposing his right shoulder, revealing the tattoos that had been hidden there Around his right bicep was a circlet of so that looked like barbed wire, but isted vines with claws and talons interspersed throughout Recurved big-cat claws and raptor talons, some with small drops of blood on the the tat there I rocked back,him Cold chills raced up my arms On his left shoulder, from collarbone down his pectoral and around his entire upper arm was a more intricate tat Much more intricate

"Lion," he murmured, unexpectedly awake He focused on my face, his eyes bleary "I saw a lion Half manhalf cat"

"Yeah," I whispered

"I like lions," he said

The tattoos that I had noticed before, the black points that looked vaguely clawlike as they peeked from his left sleeve, were panther claws The tattoo was tlvdatsi, a , predator face peeked a smaller cat face, pointed ears, curious and somehow amused, lips pulled up in a snarl to reveal predator teeth A bobcat My first two beasts On Rick’s shoulder

CHAPTER 24

You should have coency sirens sounded in the distance, each distinctive--several cop cars, at least one ah the line was still open and so that Jodi was one of the cops nearing, tearing down Privateer Boulevard Getting close

"You’re in danger," he mumbled "From the vamps I have to help you"He see an upholstered arm cover and a second drapery tie-back around his ar I rose, standing over him, my feet to either side, his blood pooled beneath and in ht Blood had soaked into ers It was under my nails, in the creases ofat his chest had alreat bandages, but because he was nearly bled out He looked half dead, yet was still breathing

The cops were nearly here I had to decide Go or stay? If they foundcop, I was in trouble If I took off and Rick remembered that I was here, I was in trouble If Jodi had heard s, I was in trouble If I had left prints soerprints off of his phone, but people touched things all the tioing to get the bigI was light-headed Blue lights flashed through the trees and bushes that covered the s, growing closer Decide! I told myself

Beast does not run, Beast said to ured that out ht" I picked up the phone and spoke into it "Anyone there?"

"Who is this?" Jodi demanded over the sound of sirens

"Jane Yellowrock Who is this? Jodi?"

"What are you doing on this call?"

"Saving aon it?"

"Stay put," she said, all business, her tone cop-de anywhere," I said Beast huffed with insult "I see the lights I’ to the front door Tell theave a creditable snarl and Beast went silent at the sound

I stepped to the door and pushed open the screen, standing in the doorith h, open palms visible, if they could see them beneath the blood The first two cars swept down the short cul-de-sac and swung into the drive The next car and a into loa up and down, overweapons Beast snarled in warning

"Do not fire," Jodi shouted, tu from her unmarked "Repeat, do not fire! Don’t move, Yellowrock Keep your hands where we can see them" Like that hadn’t occurred to me

Jodi and her shadow, Herbert, reached the serness in his eyes "He’s inside," I said "I did what I could for him but he’s in bad shape"

Jodi pushed past hta put hiht of Rick I stepped aside for two stout EMTs and their stretcher