Page 55 of Stray Cat

Lindsay walked to him with the pace of a cat who didn’t give a crap what the humans were yelling about, and dropped a small, rectangular package wrapped in brown paper in at his feet. Then she sat down and licked her paw, brushing it over the side of her face. One of her ears turned inside out as she worked.

Xav leaned down and picked up the package, tore a corner of it with his gloved finger, and peered inside.

A cluster of hundred-dollar bills met his gaze. He stared at it in surprise but not disbelief. The kind of men AC described as having taken Dean were accustomed to toting large amounts of cash.

The package was fairly small, which could mean it had been left behind by mistake, missed as the passengers were trying to scramble the hell out of the helicopter.

There was probably five thousand dollars in here, Xav guessed. Had this been dropped, unnoticed, because they’d carried out a bunch more packages like it?

This was a good find, but still, Lindsay had taken a stupid risk.We’ll talk later,he promised with a silent glare.

Lindsay seemed to understand, because she rolled her cat eyes and turned her back on him.

“Tiger,” Xav called to him, holding up the packet. “Any more of this in there?”

Tiger calmly ripped the rest of the door off and wedged it under the copter to keep it stable. He leaned inside and did a quick but thorough search.

“No,” he said when he emerged. “No personal effects either. No phones, no wallets, no dropped IDs. Nothing to identify anyone.”

“Was he in there, Linds?” Xav asked her. If Jeff had been telling the truth, Lindsay would have scented Dean among the passengers.

Yes.Lindsay gave him the barest nod, focusing tightly on him.

Tiger watched the two with enigmatic eyes. “No one in the helicopter was a captive,” he announced.

Xav regarded him in surprise as the rest of the men fell silent behind him. It would be useless to ask,Are you sure?because Tiger always was.

Lindsay had moved to Xav’s side, her warmth cutting the chill of the night. The look on her face said she agreed with Tiger.

“Stockholm syndrome?” Mitchell suggested.

“Dean has become a willing prisoner?” Xav mused. “Decided to join them instead of fighting them? Or is he faking, gaining their trust so he can escape?” He heaved a sigh. “More things we’ll have to grill Jeff about when he comes out of it. No wonder Jeff sounded surprised when we asked about Dean. Maybe to him, Dean was just one of the team.”

No one had any further contribution to this statement. They couldn’t know until they questioned Jeff or found Dean.

Tiger, finished with his report, had returned to studying the debris. February wind swept down from the ridge and made Xav shiver. Must be nice to have a fur coat, he thought, glancing at Lindsay. He swore she looked smug.

“All right, let’s call it a night,” Xav said. “I don’t think we’ll learn anything more out here. Take some photos, pinpoint the wreck’s location, and we’ll call it in to the local police. This, I’m going to study some more.” He hefted the package then tucked it inside his coat.

“Or take your girlfriend to Cabo,” another of the men joked.

“Sounds really nice, but no,” Xav said regretfully. DX Security maintained a reputation for staying on the right side of the law. He’d investigate where the money came from and turn it over to the Las Vegas police to take it on up the chain.

Lindsay began padding toward the ridge she’d climbed down, already finished. Xav gave a few more commands, then they scrambled back up the hill, Tiger assisting those who slipped or struggled. They hiked back to the nearest road, where Xav had radioed for the drivers to meet them.

Lindsay had run ahead, and by the time they reached the rocks behind which she’d shifted before, she came walking out from them, fully clothed and human, carrying her backpack.

Xav called in the helicopter crash to the sheriff of that county—by his GPS, the crash site was just outside the national park, and so the problem belonged to either Inyo County, the State of California, or the local tribal police. The lucky person who answered the phone at the sheriff’s department wanted a lot of details, and by the time Xav was finished—leaving his phone number and promising he’d be available for more questions—the SUVs were loaded and ready to go.

Lindsay rode with Xav and again said very little. Tiger was quiet, but this was normal. Lindsay was usually a chatterbox.

When they reached DX Security, Xav had to report to Diego and couldn’t corner Lindsay for a talk. He asked Neal to make sure she got home safely, and then she was gone before Xav had time to say goodbye.

This was one reason why he’d avoided becoming serious with Lindsay, Xav reminded himself as he strode to meet Diego outside the interrogation room where he’d been holding AC. His job didn’t exactly have regular hours. Xav couldn’t leave Diego with all the work to go sort out his love life.

Tiger’s unnerving stare told Xav he thought he should.

Xav tried to ignore him while he and Diego stepped into Diego’s office, where Xav briefed him in more detail on what they’d found, including Tiger’s assertion that Dean might not have been a captive at that point.

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