grizzly growling and shredding my insides,” he stammers out.
“We need to get an elder, a wise one, in here to help explain what is going on between Emmaline and myself.” As I speak these words, I realize that I meant to say them internally not out loud.
“Vaughn, while you were sleeping, Gaia called her family. They are some of the founders of the island so we thought that would be a great place to start,” Trigger explains.
I’m thinking of all the countless lists that I need to get started. First and foremost, I need to get a hold of Shyla in order to find placements for the baby boy leopard, and for Emmaline. The thought alone of handing Emmaline over crushes my heart, but unfortunately this is a part of my job; one of the hardest parts. I don’t feel comfortable leaving the boy at the hospital, even if he does have a Warrior with him. Not sure that I’m even willing to let Emmaline out of my sight, even if it is with someone on the island. I, too, am a Guardian after all and am probably more qualified to be her caretaker than most who reside here. At least that’s what I feel deep inside my heart. I’ll prolong finding her a placement until tomorrow, and even longer if I can get away with it. Looking around the room for my purse so I can get my phone out to call Shyla, I see some files on a small, desk side table, so I decide to peruse them. Call it being nosy, but a gut instinct says to me that they are the key to solving our issues. Echo Childs is the first name that I come across. I’ve heard that name before, just not sure where or when. As I’m skimming through the file, I notice that he has been in and out of trouble most of his young and adult life. Then it hits me like a ton of cement bricks, I placed this man in a home many years ago. Both of his parents were presumed to have died by the hands of mortals. This could be why he is a suspect in the rapes and kidnappings that are happening around Texas.
“What in the world are you doing browsing through my files without permission? Those aren’t for unauthorized personnel’s eyes to roam freely through,” Tigger snaps out at me.
“They weren’t hidden. I didn’t go snooping around your office. They were laid out in plain sight on the table. If you didn’t want me to look through them, then maybe you should have put them away.” My inner leopard is pouncing, ready and willing to fight for our rights as citizens and Guardians to the residents of this island.
My phone begins buzzing and dancing around just as I’m about to pull out my smartassness. “It’s Shyla, sorry, I have to grab this call. We can pick this argument up later.” I dismiss this conversation as quickly as it began. “Hello? Shyla, calm down I can’t understand a word you’re saying through all of that background noise.”
Shyla
I keep hoping that the elders come to the precinct soon and they’re able to figure out this mess of why Vaughn and Emmaline have such an intense and unbreakable connection. In the meantime, I must find a suitable home for the baby boy leopard. I would be looking for a home for Emmaline as well, but Trigger told me not to bother with that, that he will be taking care of Emmaline and Vaughn at his home. I’m not sure that Vaughn is going to be a willing participant in everything that Trigger has planned. This should be entertaining, and I for one, can’t wait to see how she reacts to his declaration. A little giggle escapes me as I imagine the looks and words coming from her. Reaching the hospital in no time at all, I walk into the nursery to find some strange woman looking over the babies one by one. I have been here too many times not to know and recognize everyone who belongs here, plus they would have given me a heads-up if someone new was hired on.
“Excuse me, can I assist you with something?” I skeptically question her.
“No, I’m a volunteer in the hospital. I enjoy coming in and looking at all the new babies,” the stranger informs me.
“Well, I am going to have to ask you to leave the nursery area. This area