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I slanificent The ultimate protector And he’d paid the ulti hand to pet him He was too still Too quiet

I dropped to h his thick fur Nuzzled his ears Leaned over the gorgeous beast and whispered, "You tried, didn’t you, boy? I proel said He’d draped an aro"

I nodded, gave the beautiful dog one last caress, then stood up I kne that the Vandenbergs’ captors er I had no choice but to tell the police what I knew But if they caught et lost in the fact that I broke and entered

"Okay," I said, wiping at rab the cat, then run The cops will show up and find the dog They’ll know sorab the cat first"

True I picked up the cat, took a few hits for the teael if he saw a phone

He looked around "Nope"

"Wonderful" We searched the house again, this ti for a phone, with no luck "They ht all mansions cael said, "You’ll have to go to a pay phone or so and call in an anonymous tip"

"Good idea I just have one probleh the cat’s nose

The cat swiped at him, and I was surprised It actually saw hiet the cat through the doggy door?"

He turned to assess the situation "You’ll have to put the cat through first"

"What if it runs off?"

"Dude, it’s a cat It can hunt the shit out of this town"

"That doesn’t help Oh, wait" I grabbed a cookie out of a jar on the kitchen counter "This’ll keep it busy"

After enticing the cat with it, I tossed the cookie out the doggy door, then shoved the cat through I suffered a few near-fatal lacerations in the process – fucking cat – but it seeh the door after it

"You know," Angel said, standing over me, "you could just unlock the door"

"Fuck" I shimmied back inside, unlocked the door, then ran for my life Or, well, for Mable’s car The cat was none too happy about beingI could do about it at the e its claws We had to hurry Mostly because the alarm went off the second I opened the door

We ran past departed Darwin, and I felt bad Like I was abandoning hirabbed his are, I yanked at hio"

"Charles!" I yelled in his face He snapped to attention It would be crazy if that was really his name Or if he really was Charles Darwin I pointed to the car "Move it!"

He loped after us Angel helped with Charles while I tried to get into the car holding a volatile ball of fur with razors for claws

I finally got it inside and tossed it in the backseat It hissed Like literally After Angel got Charles inside the car, I turned the ignition and sped down the street About two more blocks away, I pulled a U-ey, then parked to watch the cops Thankfully, we’d hightailed it out of there before they cael tapped my shoulder and pointed

"Crap" I’d taken off without Charles "He et him?"

"What if the cops coht" He disappeared, then reappeared beside Charles and dragged hiain, he asked, "Just what are you going to do with hiuy"

"I’ated so out the windshield

Charles, as now in the backseat directly behind ?"