That would be Round Two. The girl, Dark Angel, and her blog. Leo probably had her in on this, too. Then again, Leo could very well be Dark Angel for all she knew. Anyone with an Internet connection could set up a blog page.
After all, there couldn't be more than one Catman in Seattle. I mean, really, what were the odds of there being one, never mind a whole tribe of them. Right?
So it was time to tackle that leg of the hoax. Grabbing the pink throw from her couch and tossing it over her unwelcome guest, she took her laptop off the coffee table and opened it up. It didn't take her long to boot it up and find the blog again. She quickly located the e-mail link for Dark Angel. Susan clicked on it, then sat there staring at the blank e-mail screen.
How should she even begin?
Might as well be blunt. She honestly didn't know any other way to live her life or write.
Dear Dark Angel,
I've found your missing Catman in a local animal shelter. He's currently passed out on my floor. Please respond soon and let me know what you want me to do with him as I am highly allergic and I don't have time to housebreak him.
Thanks,
Susan
Okay, so it read like she was on some serious medication. But what the hell? If this was real, she'd probably start needing some.
She reread the post about Dark Angel losing her boss last night. Glancing over to the man on her floor, Susan gave a wicked smile. "Well, if I lost something like you, I'd certainly want him back."
Okeydokie, she thought as she sent the e-mail off. Now it was time for her to see about securing the Catman of Seattle until she heard from either Dark Angel or Angie. Hmmm... here's where being a rock climber would have come in handy, or even a serial killer. Any kind of hobby that would've allowed her to have had some kind of rope on hand. But she didn't.
As she searched the room for something to use, her gaze fell to the collar that she'd pulled off the cat. Frowning, she went over to it and picked it up. It was the strangest thing she'd ever seen. The material felt like both metal and cloth. Truly, it was odd. And unfortunately, it was too small to use on the guy.
You do have some bungee cords in the closet... .
Would they work?
All she could do was see.
As she headed for the closet, she heard the ping from her computer, telling her that mail had arrived. Her cords forgotten, she went over to it and paused as she saw an e-mail from Dark Angel.
Clicking on it, she couldn't wait to see what the girl had to say.
Dear Psycho Susan,
You need help. Really. This isn't a game here, but let's say for argument's sake that by some long stretch of the imagination you're not lying and that you did find him. If I were you, I'd be on my knees, praying. 'Cause when he wakes up, he'll rip your heart out and laugh about it, then drink your blood and dump your body in the nearest ditch. Shapeshifters don't have a sense of humor and they can't stand to be trapped anywhere. Therefore, I'm not worried about getting him back from you. He'll come home when he's ready to.
DA
Susan stared at the words as a feeling of anger filled her. What kind of crap was that?
They were screwing with her. They had to be.
And to think there for a minute she'd almost bought into it.
What about the lightning?
Special effects. Really, what were the odds? Out of all of Seattle, she would be the one to find the missing cat that Leo had told her to investigate...
Yeah, right. Leo and Angie were always saying that she needed to loosen up. What better way than to pay some cute guy to come play a prank on her?
"That's it, Puss," she said, aggravated at all of them. "It's time to get you out of here."
Shutting the lid for her laptop, she headed for the unconscious man. She was no more than a foot from him when one long, muscular arm shot out and swept her feet out from under her.
Two heartbeats later, she was pinned to the floor and staring up into the blackest eyes she'd ever seen.