Page 25 of The Manticore's Mate

I back away a few feet to give two EMTs and an officer room to examine Cade. The officer sniffs the needle. “I think this is a sedative.” He shakes the vile. “Still a few ccs left. Must not have fully injected.”

Derek yells. “He’s mine. I’m not getting left out of this.”

The female officer grabs him by his cuffed hands and pushes him to the ground. “If you run away from me like that again, sir, I’ll be forced to manacle your legs as well.”

“What? Why is he like that? Where’s the manticore?”

With a groan, Cade blinks his eyes.

A young officer with dark hair and eyes, says, “Mr. Petroyan? Can you hear me? Do you know what day it is?”

“Jose? It’s Sunday. What the heck happened?” Holding his head, he sits up.

“Easy,” the EMT warns. “You’ve been given a potent tranquilizer, Mr. Petroyan. We’re going to go slow, take your blood pressure, and then we’ll decide if we should move you on a stretcher.”

“Leona?” Panic laces Cade’s voice.

Filled with relief, worry, and anger, my voice is tight. “I’m here. I’m fine.”

Lying back down, his eyes unfocused, Cade relaxes. “Okay. Take my blood pressure. I could use a rest.”

Eleven

Cade

Because the dart malfunctioned, only a fraction of the contents made their way into my blood.

Leona and I are in the police station giving our accounts of the events.

This time, Derek opted for a tranquilizer. I guess he thought to kidnap me and get me to change either with his wife’s help or by some other means. Who knows what he planned? Whatever it was, it was foiled by my brilliant mate.

Brian’s betrayal hits hard, but I’m going to try to let the authorities handle the punishment. Most of the local police know me as a man who gives to their charities and participates in local events. So, when Brian and Derek go on about me being a manticore, they get put in a mental ward until they can be evaluated for sentencing.

Keeping my attention on Leona while she finishes her report to the police, my heart swells with pride. When she finishes, we leave the station, and she drives since I’ve recently been drugged.

“How did you keep from shifting?” she asks when we’re alone on the road back to the resort.

“Do you think your sister could tempt my beast?” Reaching across the console, I tuck her hair behind her ear. The bruise on her cheek fuels the anger of both man and beast, but I’m fully in control of myself.

She smiles. “No. I didn’t think Melony could change you or that you would shift because of a sexual stimulus unless you wanted to. But I think anger and protective instincts might make you shift. How did you keep from changing to protect yourself?”

The memory of her screams forces me to close my eyes and push my beast down. “I can control the beast, but when I heard you in distress, it wasn’t easy.”

“I had to alert the police to where we were before Derek heard me. It was all I could think of.” She shrugs.

“You saved me again, little lioness. If not for you, Derek might have hauled me away before the police arrived.”

Frowning, she turns down the road to the resort. “Derek is a terrible person. I don’t know why it took me so long to realize that. My sister isn’t much better…”

There’s more to her thought. I can see the wheels turning in that gorgeous head of hers, but she doesn’t say it.

“What else troubles you?”

She huffs out a long breath and stops before we reach the valet parking area. “Brian was your friend. You’ve known him for years. Why would he betray you?”

“Money makes some people do things even they might not expect.” I wish that were not the truth, but it is.

Continuing to the front door, she sighs. “I suppose, but I don’t know why you're not more upset about it.”

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