I opened my mouth, closed it, and tried to think of something else to say out loud. "Why keep killing the tigers?" I said.
"You mean now that they know you and Jean-Claude have your own gold tigers in St. Louis?"
"Yes. They were supposed to kill the clanless tigers to keep us from getting the gold tigers to bond with metaphysically. It's too late, Edward, we've already done that, so why keep killing the other tigers?"
"Maybe they're looking for a specific weretiger."
"Maybe, but why, or who, and again why? There's nothing to be gained by it."
"I can think of one thing they've gained," he said.
"Okay, what?"
"They've separated you from Jean-Claude and all the other people you're metaphysically tied to. In St. Louis you have enough bodyguards to make up a small army. Here, it's just you and the police."
"You think they'd risk attacking me with the cops around? I mean, the whole concept of these guys is that no one knows they exist. They're really invested in being this big dark secret."
"If Mommie Darkest told them to kill you, would they risk being outed to the human police?"
"Maybe," I said, and then I had another idea. I wasn't sure it was worse, but it scared me more. "Her first idea was to take over my body. She wanted to kill me only after she realized I was too powerful for her to move into me."
"Are you as powerful out here hundreds of miles away from Jean-Claude and the rest?"
I thought about it, really made myself look at it. "Metaphysically, no. I'm safer if I can touch my master and animals to call."
"Maybe they're killing the tigers to keep you out here."
"You think they'll try to kidnap me?" I asked.