Panthera Spelaea

Duncan, Olivia, and Edward turned to us as we entered the office from the yacht’s bow. Svetlana was eating her late dinner; she raised an eyebrow as I walked in. Edward stood up, nervously looking at me. “Are we good?”

I didn’t know what to say. “I understand why you worked with Mikhail and placed me in danger. I can forgive you for that. What I don’t forgive is involving my family. You told Mikhail about the people coming in to interview, including my sister?”

“He would have known something was up from the email and phone traffic we let them intercept. I’m sure his people were watching the airports and had a flag on your family, just in case they came over to meet you,” he explained. “We didn’t expect him to act against her.”

“Mikhail killed one of my men in the kidnapping,” Art said. “We didn’t hand her over, no matter how it looked to you on the island.”

I let out a breath. Svetlana didn’t seem surprised, so I bet Edward told her while Art and I were talking. Recriminations would do nothing at this point, but my trust level in Art and Edward had gone down. “It ended well,” I replied as I embraced him. I then sat next to Svetlana, with my piled-high dinner plate in front of me. “What matters now is what we do next.”

“I agree,” Art said as he sat at his desk. “We need to dispose of the bodies, clean up the island, and complete the takeover of Mikhail’s company.”

“And Melanie,” Olivia added. “She needs to learn about her Switcher nature and meld with her in safety.”

Duncan nodded. “And we need to deal with all the people we brought here to interview for the spot that no longer exists.” He looked at me. “The others arrived before we departed Sibenik. Some believe they are here for job interviews, others for charitable grants.”

Art waved his hand at that. “My agents will take care of our problems, and my staff will take care of the interviews. The Captain is heading north now, towards the fishing village of Rovinj. We will dock early in the morning. Given what will be happening tomorrow, you need an ironclad alibi. Take the girls sightseeing; it’s a beautiful place with lots of tourists. If the paparazzi spot you in public, so much the better.”

I was game as long as Melanie was awake and safe. Svetlana picked up on the other problem. “What do we do with the seven people all day? You can’t interview them all at once.”

Art agreed. “We’ll start with the older ones in the morning; we hear about their endeavors, hand over a check, and send them on their way. We can schedule them an hour apart. The younger ones can go in the afternoon.”

“I’ll take them along,” I said. “Better for my alibi if there are unrelated people along, and we are safer in a bigger group.”

Duncan nodded. “Good idea. I don’t need to be here either, so Olivia and I can go. I assume you’ll be sending security along?”

Art nodded. “Absolutely. Just because Mikhail is dead doesn’t mean the danger is over. We don’t know what orders he left regarding us.”

Svetlana finished her meal and stood. “I need to check on Melanie, and then I’m going to bed. Don’t stay up late,” she told me before she kissed me goodnight.

“I’ll be along soon.”

The sway of her ass as she walked out the door told me two things; she knew I was watching, and she wanted me to watch. “Why don’t you go over your plans for Mikhail’s company and the money while I eat.”

Art pulled up some graphs showing trading on the steel company. “The equity stake was Edward’s idea. However, you were the one we put in danger, and your quick thinking on the text messages got the transaction done.”

“I’m proposing we split the stock between the two of us,” Edward said.

“What about the fifty million?”

“Half goes to you, the other half to Melanie with my apologies,” Edward replied. “Think of it as your Switcher Starter Funds. You’ll need to buy enough property for your beasts to roam without being in danger.”

I looked over at Duncan. “You don’t want any of this? Art, what about you?”

“We’ll be fine,” Duncan said. “We’ll make our money by investing.”

Art was kind enough to explain. “The stock value has taken a pummeling since we started going after it. When news of Mikhail’s death hits the markets, it will tank. That’s when I swoop in, with Duncan as another investor, and Karpen Investments takes a controlling stake in the company. We open up the supply lines again, get the government off our back, and in a year, we triple our money.”

“Damn. I suppose I should hold my stake for a while?”

“You’ll be a rich man if you do,” Art said. “You give Karpen a proxy vote for your shares, and I’ll buy them from you in a year.”

I’d never expected to be a poor man; my parents gave me a generous allowance while pursuing my academic dreams, and Dad’s company would fall to the three of us when they were gone. I’d learned how important money was to Switchers. We needed to disappear and create a new identity every twenty years, and I had two pregnant mates to support now.

They kept going over things as I ate, and I was getting sleepier by the minute. I finished the pie and stood up. “I can’t keep my eyes open,” I said. “Goodnight.”

Duncan laughed. “I’m shocked you didn’t follow your mate out of here.”

“We’ll talk more in the morning,” Art said.

I walked out and down the stairs to my cabin. It was dark, but my cat eyes had no trouble making out what was going on. Three girls were under the covers, and all were sleeping soundly. I went into the bathroom to shower and get ready for bed. I put on shorts and climbed into the open spot on the king-sized bed. Anna was on the far side, cuddled into Melanie, while Svetlana was on her back close to me. She turned and snuggled into my side as I lay on my back, and I soon joined them in sleeping.

I woke to panicked movements. “WHERE AM I,” Melanie yelled.

“You’re safe,” I told my sister. Anna turned on the bedside light, letting her see the room and her bedmates. “We’re on a friend’s boat. Anna and Svetlana brought you here after you passed out.”

Melanie groaned in pain as she looked around. “He shot me!” She felt her neck, seeking the wound that was no longer there and gasping as the memories came back to her.

I pulled her into my arms. “How do you feel?”

“I must be dead,” she concluded. “It hurt so bad! My neck was gone, and I couldn’t breathe. I saw you looking at me on the ground. I felt your hands trying to stop the bleeding, and then everything went dark!”

“You are here with me, and you are fine now,” I told her as she sobbed onto my chest. “How it all happened is a long story for another time. How do you feel?” I looked over at the clock; it was just past four in the morning.

“I’m cold, and everything hurts. It’s like I got run over by a truck, then it backed up and made sure,” Melanie told me.

“I’ll get her a swimsuit,” Svetlana said. “She’s close enough to my size. The hot tub will do her a world of good.”

“Good idea.” I grabbed my trunks and went into the bathroom to change while the girls helped my sister out. I came back out to three smoking-hot babes in bikinis. “Come on. Karpen Investments owns this yacht, and it’s amazing.”

“I want to know what happened,” she said.

“Trust me when I say you aren't ready to know everything just yet. Right now, let's get you feeling better. A good soak will help,” I said. Melanie could only stand with assistance, so I carried her out the door and up the stairs. We went out on the aft sun-deck, past the bar to the lounge and hot-tub area. We weren’t alone. “Good morning,” I said as I smiled at the guy already in the tub. “Mind if we join you?”

“Not at all,” he said. I carefully made my way in while holding Melanie. She moaned as she sank into the warm water. She moved to get a jet running over her back. I’d been sore for a week, so I knew how she felt. “Colonel Hunter West.”

“John Cantwell,” I said as I reached forward to shake his hand. “My sister Melanie, my fiancé Svetlana, and my friend Anna.”

Hunter slid closer to Melanie, who struggled to raise her hand to shake his. “I’m sorry, everything hurts right now,” she said.

“Quite all right. Are you ladies joining us?”

“We’re good,” Svetlana said. “Pregnant women aren’t supposed to be in hot tubs.”

“Congratulations,” he said.

Like magic, a ship’s steward showed up and took drink orders. We watched the islands go by in the early light of dawn. Colonel West and Melanie had started talking early on and hit it off, so I felt like a third wheel in the conversation. When Hunter began massaging her shoulders, I joined the girls on the sun lounge with my glass of juice. It was a little cool in the wind, so my wandering hands stayed hidden by the thick blanket the steward brought us. Melanie didn’t care; she was deep in conversation with a man twenty years older than her. I knew it wouldn’t matter if they were mates, and I knew Hunter was a good man. Stranger things had happened.

Breakfast arrived with the sunrise, and the steward brought robes for us to wear to the table. Hunter carried my sister over to the table. Edward joined us, and we ate and talked as we pulled into the harbor at Rovinj. It was a beautiful town, with a large church at the top of the hill, surrounded by winding streets and homes down to the water’s edge. “Anyone up for some exploring today,” I asked.

My mates were up for it, but Melanie looked sad. “I don’t know if I can stand, much less shop,” she said.

“I’m sure we can get a driver and a wheelchair for you,” I said.

“I’d be happy to take you around, at least until I have my interview,” Hunter said.

“Your interview is not scheduled until four, Colonel. You have plenty of time,” Edward said.

“Okay,” Melanie said with a smile. “I’d like that.”

“We’re going to have so much fun,” Anna said. “You can tell us all the secrets about your brother.”

Not all of them. Some things would have to wait.