"No," he snarled, his nostrils flaring. "You can be stupid if you want, but this isn't a game. I thought it would be safe to talk to you here in this shelter of all places. And then I find out that one of them is working with Angie. Working here. Right here in this clinic. He could be listening in on us right now and reporting back to the others that I'm on to them. None of us are safe."
"Who's here?"
He swallowed hard. "The other vet. Dr. Tselios. He's one of them. "
"Them who?"
"The vampires."
Susan ground her teeth as she fought the urge to roll her eyes. It was a battle she was amazed she won. Surely, Angie and Jimmy wouldn't be so cruel as to play this game with her. Not when they knew how much she loathed her job at the Inquisitor. "Jim-"
"Don't you think I know how crazy I sound?" he hissed, cutting her off. "I was just like you, Sue. I thought it was all bullshit, too. There's no such thing as vampires, right? We're the top of the food chain. But that isn't true. They're out there and they're hungry. If you know what's good for you, you'll get the hell out of here. Please write it up to let other people know before they kill them, too."
Now that was just what her bloody reputation needed. More wounds. Thanks, Jim.
Jimmy's eyes narrowed on her as if he knew what she was thinking. "It's your ass now, Sue. I did my best to save it. You can do what you want, but I'm out of here."
Before she could say anything more, he left her standing alone in the room... and returned the cat cage to the floor by her feet.
Susan sneezed.
As she dabbed at her nose, the door opened to show her Angie, who stared at her with a frown. She entered the room and shut the door behind her. "What did you say to Jimmy?"
"Nothing really. Why?"
"He wants me to leave with him right now."
Susan sighed at the fear in her friend's voice. "Did he tell you what was going on?"
She shook her head. "Not exactly. He said too many people were missing and dying and that he's terrified that the ones responsible will come after him next. He wants us to head out for his parents' house in Oregon."
"Did he also tell you about the vampires?"
"The what?" By Angie's face, Susan could tell that Jimmy hadn't shared that bit of information with his wife.
"Yeah. According to him, the vampires are out to kill all of us off. No offense, Ang. I think Jimmy needs some help. Has he been doing a lot of overtime?"
Anger flared deep in Angie's eyes. "Jimmy's not crazy, Sue. Not by a long shot."
Maybe, but she didn't want to argue with her friend. "Yeah, well, thanks for the hot news tip."
As she started for the door, Angie stopped her. "Here. Take the cat with you."
She gaped. "Excuse me?"
"Please. For whatever reason, Jimmy is terrified. Take the cat to keep up appearances and I'll come by and pick him up after work."
Sue cringed at the thought, but she would do anything for her best friend. "All right, but you owe me. Big-time.'"
"I know."
Growling low in her throat, Susan picked up the box and followed Angie to the counter out front.
Angie handed her some papers while she wrote out a check for the adoption fees. "Now don't forget to spend time with him until he gets used to you." She was back to being stilted and odd again.
"No problem."
"Hope you enjoy your new pet," the receptionist called.