This man wasn’t going to keep anyone’s secret. Not if he would steal a pet and threaten to kill her over it.
Whitmore obviously thought she was talking to him and laughed, even as he seized her by the damn hair again and stopped her dead in her tracks.
She twisted around, grabbed her own hair at her skull and tried ripping it from his grip, but he had too much, too big of a handful. She couldn’t break free, no matter how hard she tugged. And then he slapped her in the face hard enough to snap her head back, and she cried out as stars danced in front of her eyes.
Got it, she heard Sindre say, but didn’t understand what he meant until her eyes cleared and she saw him paw at the vial that must’ve been kicked near the cage during their struggle.
“Sit down, Elizabeth,” Whitmore said in a too-calm voice. “Be a good little student.”
Her stomach heaved, and her breaths came out in short pants, but he gave her no choice. He forced her to sit hard.
“Good girl. Try that again, and I’ll have no alternative but to hurt you.”
He already had, she thought as he retrieved a roll of duct tape from another drawer.
“I’m not sure why my ace student has decided that it’s more important to have sex than to complete the tasks I laid out for her, but she has.”
“I don’t—” She blinked. “What did you say?”
“You think I don’t know where your allegiances lie? My room is right next to yours, Elizabeth, and I wasn’t born yesterday. I know what a woman in the throes of an orgasm sounds like.” He ripped the tape with his teeth, grabbed her wrists and reached around her, his body inches from her face, as he wound the tape around her wrists.
“It even sounded like there were two men in your room last night.” He gave her a smile that was more sneer than comforting. “The walls are very thin.”
She thought she might throw up. She figured sitting silently and letting him tie her up was the best course. If she was quiet and not a threat, maybe he wouldn’t kill her. So long as she was still breathing, there was hope. She couldn’t help anyone if she were dead. The potassium chloride was standard in any lab, used for a variety of tasks. But one syringe would drop her, or Sindre, like a ton of bricks. Stone cold dead. Chances were Whitmore needed more tests on a live cat before he actually killed Sindre, so there was time.
She watched Sindre cover the vial, now inside his cage, with his big paw. It would help buy some time, but not much. Whitmore wouldn’t reach into the cage for it, but he could always tranquilize the cat again to search the cage.
Sindre’s family would know if he were missing. Right? She wanted to ask, but Whitmore was wrapping the tape around her body, anchoring her to the chair. She glanced at Sindre who lay staring at her. If a cougar could look worried, he certainly succeeded.
She tried to convince herself that Whitmore wouldn’t really kill her. How would he explain her death? Or her disappearance if he dumped her body? Tim wouldn’t help Whitmore, would he?
Never in her life had she been so terrified, and she couldn’t stop the tears that trickled from her eyes. How had she worked with this man for six years, studied under him, and never seen this side of him? He’d always been a little hard edged, but this was all wrong. He’d go to jail for this.
Torsten should be looking for me, Sindre said to her. I was supposed to be right behind him, and that had to be a couple of hours ago. If I shift, we-When Whitmore moved behind her, she mouthed silently to Sindre, Don’t change. Then said aloud, “Please don’t,” looking into the cat’s eyes.
“You leave me no choice,” the professor said.
The cat grew quiet, but his tail flicked in agitation as he watched Whitmore’s every move.
What else can I do? I can’t sit here and watch him kill you.
A tear fell, but again she mouthed, No, please. Don’t shift.
Whitmore came back in front of her and stood looking down at her. He shook his head and made a face of disgust. “I had hopes for you, Elizabeth. You disappoint me.”
“I’m sorry, Professor Whitmore,” she said, trying to stem the tears. “But don’t you see what you’re doing is wrong? It’ll destroy everything you hope to accomplish with this research.”
“Shut up.” He shook his head and ripped off another piece of tape. “You’re wrong, but I haven’t the time to waste dealing with your insubordination.” He sighed. “What the hell am I supposed to do with you now?” He pressed the tape over her mouth, then sat in the other office chair, turned her laptop to face him and went back to studying the video.
She closed her eyes and tried to calm her rapid heartbeats. They’d come after Sindre. His family would rescue him. They had to. She looked at Sindre through her watery eyes.
Or Tim. Tim would be back. Whitmore said they’d move as soon as Tim returned. He must be in the forest, because the ATV wasn’t in the trailer, and she hadn’t seen it outside when she drove up.
When Tim got back, he’d call the police.
If I change, I can get us out of here, Sindre said.
She furiously shook her head. It could be a disaster. It would be a disaster for the Falke family if Whitmore learned what she had that morning.
The professor glanced up from the computer. “What?”
She shook her head again, this time at Whitmore.
He made a face then turned back to the laptop.
Sindre sat on his haunches and stared through the thick wire cage. I don’t know what to do. I think someone will come for me, but…
Her heart ached for Sindre. He was younger than Kelan and Reidar, and probably had never been in this kind of trouble. She wanted to tell him how sorry she was. How this was all her fault for capturing Kelan the first time.
She dropped her head forward and couldn’t stop the tears. Please, Kelan. Reidar. Come for us.
Your brother needs you. I need you.
Chapter Twelve
“I think we need to think about moving into the extra apartment above the store,” Reidar said as they walked toward Catamount Outfitters.
Kelan cast him a glance. “Why?”
“Well, for one, we wouldn’t have had to drive out to our dads’ place to pick up uniforms.”
Kelan nodded. “True.”
“Get ready to hear Axel’s wrath for being late,” Reidar warned good-naturedly.
When they reached the store’s front door, however, it was locked. The Closed sign was still in place.
“What the hell?” Kelan peered in through the glass. “Something’s not right.”
“Let’s check around back.”
Before they turned the corner into the dead-end alley, chaos was evident in the form of Torsten’s frantic tirade. “I don’t know, damn it! I told you everything.”
This isn’t good, Kelan told Reidar who saw Axel raise his gaze and spot them in that same instant.
“You’re late,” Axel snapped. “Where the hell have you been?”
“Hey, chill, Ax,” Kelan said. “We’ve been dealing with our problem.”
“The hell you have!”
Dakota touched Axel’s arm. “Let’s focus on Sindre, okay?”
“What’s wrong with Sindre?” Reidar asked as he and Kelan walked deeper into the alley. Gunnar was in puma form, sniffing around the ground. Axel looked angrier than he’d ever been before. Not even his mate’s touch seemed to have any effect. But it was Torsten’s expression that put a frown on Reidar’s face. “Tor?”