Chimera and the Cat Burglar (FUC Academy #46)

Chapter 2

Chapter

Two

“None of your business,” Boo replied, batting at the white beam of light Zeb directed at her eyes, the ray reaching the back of her guilty brain.

“You’d better check that attitude,” Zeb snapped. “I know a thief when I see one.”

Boo swallowed hard. He wouldn’t be as easy to convince as Willy had been. Could the agent see all the rule-bending things she regretted in her past that led to her family disowning her? If so, she was heading back to jail before she earned her family’s forgiveness by delivering the Bastet heirloom back to where it belonged with her family.

If only someone hadn’t made off with it during the assembly, thwarting her own plan to steal it.

However, she didn’t have time to debate whether stealing the artifact would have led to redemption or damnation. She needed to throw Willy and Zeb a bone and dig herself out of this hair-balled, failed plan to steal the statue.

She glanced away and threw up a defensive hand. “Get that light out of my eyes, Agent Earhart. Like, seriously, you’re wasting time here when you should be hunting the real thief.”

The agent took a step backward and dropped his hand, the glow of the flashlight illuminating the space where she and Willy had left an imprint on the grass.

Clear as the night, she recognized the outline left on the sod of their entwined limbs and her ass cheeks. Embarrassment flooded her fiery cheeks, and a tickle started in her throat. The smudge on the grass looked terrible, like they’d been sneaking out and doing the nasty, comparable to when they’d lived under their parents’ roofs.

She coughed until her head spun from lack of oxygen. At least she blamed her swimming mind on that, not on Willy rubbing a small circle on her back and telling her to breathe. It was the first time he’d touched her in four years.

Could my night get any worse?

Trying to defend what was left of her honor—not that she had much left with a rap sheet the size of the Great Lakes—she said, “This isn’t what it looks like.”

Really. Believe me.

“Don’t tell me what to think, cadet.” Zeb jabbed his index finger her way. “I know this wasn’t a little tryst out here. I heard the two of you talking. What’s this secret you’re bent on keeping?”

“It was nothing.” Yet it was everything. Would Willy be true to his word and not reveal it? She didn’t want her past shared with some agent who could be a quick judger like her mother, Cecilia. Crap. Maybe Boo should have worked the hanky-panky angle. It would have been better to let the agent think that than deal with the third degree.

But Boo’s feline intuition told her she wasn’t getting out of this situation quickly.

The bone. Throw the bone, Boo. But what could she say?

A chilly draft shot up Boo’s backside, proving how vulnerable she’d let herself become, and she slapped down the hem of her dress. It was a stupid move to think she’d absorbed investigative experience by being near FUC agents.

She felt exposed. Dang it. “Let meow explain.”

Zeb raised his palm, silencing her, and turned the beam on Willy, giving him a raised brow at seeing their intimate proximity. “What were the two of you doing out here?”

Willy readjusted his shredded shirt, so it covered his two swinging privates. Those were new. Well, at least one of them , Boo mused. There was much she didn’t know about her first love now that he was a chimera.

“I’ll take it from here, Boo.”

Her heart squeezed at Willy’s attempt to protect her morality.

Willy cleared his throat. “I saw the artifact floating and its lavender aura hanging midair when the lights went out, and I chased after the person taking it.”

“You saw a purple aura?” The agent rubbed his chin. “You’re a Lump… er, a Chimera.”

“I’m an experimental survivor. My new DNA is seventy percent feline. And apparently, anyone who carries a feline gene would be able to see the aura.”

The agent narrowed his gaze as if he hadn’t known this tidbit.

What else didn’t he know? Boo had been surprised when he’d been unable to answer questions about the artifact earlier, and this further proved that he knew nothing. Strange. He didn’t appear incompetent. He was a FUC agent and a badass, but not everyone knew everything the world had to offer, including ancient artifacts of the feline variety.

“Is that your story, too, Cadet Bombay?” Zeb thrust his chin in her direction.

Boo flicked her phantom tail, her heart pounding in her chest. Zeb seemed to believe Willy, but that was because he was the trustworthy sort. Boo never had been. And while she might not have been the one who stole the artifact, she’d sure intended to try.

Would her lies cover up the fact that she’d wanted to seize on an opportunity to clear her name with her mother and her entire family? Bringing the artifact home was her shot at proving everything she’d done previously had been to benefit her family long-term. It was returning the artifact to its true owner and not some thirsty, no-name museum where it could fall into the wrong hands.

Intent alone was enough guilt on her conscience to make her look suspicious.

She cleared the rising hairball from her throat. “Willy’s spot-on with his detail. We both saw the item floating when the room blackened because we are feline shifters and detect the object’s aura.”

“Willy’s not a purebred,” Zeb corrected, his expression as stiff as a scratching post.

“You’re splitting hairs. I saw what I saw,” Willy said.

Her pulse sped up. She was excited by Willy’s defense, turning around her irritation at how things had gone down between them. “But big cats are his new genetic strength. So, he may have been born a gorilla shifter, but he’s clearly strong in feline attributes now like he mentioned, including agility and intelligence.”

“That’s true.” Willy beamed.

She stood taller, resisting an eye roll. She’d mentally discarded arrogance, neuroticism, and impulsiveness.

Would she have hesitated to chase after the thief and the artifact if she’d thought Willy would stand between her and her goal? If she could have known that he’d get her dragged into an investigation? She wasn’t prepared to solve the case of the missing artifact—especially considering that if she found the thief, she’d take the artifact for herself—but she could tell Willy was ready to prove his skills.

Battle of the egos much?

Boo sighed. She had an idea for the cocky agent. “I don’t think anything more needs explaining, Agent Earhart, regarding our reasoning. We’re FUCN’A cadets. It’s in our blood to protect the furry kind.”

“But they managed to evade you?” Zeb lifted a brow.

Boo winced. “Unfortunately, yes. If only we had your keen eye and savvy investigative skills, perhaps we would have had better luck.”

The agent lengthened his spine, appearing taller. “Which is why I’m asking both of you to come with me. Director Cooper will want to know exactly what you saw as key witnesses before I cut you loose.”

“Key witnesses?” she yowled. “I didn’t see enough to be of any help. The one who took the item is probably a mile from campus now, and it would be a better use of your time tracking him instead of questioning us.”

Willy shoved back his shoulders upon standing. “Or he could be hiding in the classrooms, dormitory, hell, the cafeteria where they keep the meatless meatballs. I chased him around the back forty and through the dorm buildings until he gave me the slip. I thought Boo was the thief, but clearly, she’s not hiding a two-foot cat-headed phallus under her skirt.”

The two roamed their gazes over her, as if she could conceal the artifact under her dress.

Scratch my eyes out now. She pulled her jacket and dress to reveal her silhouette. “I don’t have it.”

On me… Yet.

“Let’s see if we can’t backtrack.” The agent motioned for the duo to follow him and raised his cell phone to his lips, updating his team.

She dusted herself off and plucked a blade of grass from her hair, sampling the fescue between her teeth. She couldn’t help sucking as much folic acid out of the culm section of the plant as possible.

This was the start of a long game of the chimera and the cat burglar, and she needed all the nutrients she could get to boost her O2.

“I lost him here.” Willy thrust his hand, the one with the crooked pinky finger, toward the block wall dividing the one-story classrooms from the three-story dorms.

Willy was digging them a hole, one Boo had no business lying in. She wanted the artifact, but she also wanted away from the authorities. The only way she’d be able to take the artifact for herself was if she was on her own and not being babysat by Agent Earhart.

“Now, hold on.” She raised her hand and crowded the space between Willy and Zeb. “Let’s not get too big for our britches. I’m sure the agent can find the thief on his own, considering they were too slippery for cadets like us, no matter how heroic we thought we’d be.”

“Too heroic? Is that a thing?” Willy asked. “I want in. That wily tomcat was feral and undomesticated. A true threat to society. I plan to help find him and see him locked away.”

Locked away? Boo shivered and choked back a hiss, remembering her own time in lockup. She thrust her hand into her pocket, gripping her blade, the one she’d found so long ago. It provided comfort, and she could use all she could get.

“With what evidence?” The agent pinned Willy with a hard stare.

Willy tapped his nose and sniffed. “I may be unable to identify the culprit’s physical specifics, but I know stink when I smell it. I can’t get that rotten egg stench out of my sinuses.”

Both the agent and Willy wrinkled their noses.

But in truth, his words worried Boo. The person who stole the item wasn’t the true threat; the artifact was. It was the object that needed to be locked away where it would never be found... It just so happened that specific place was inside her family’s museum vault.

As much as she wanted to get away from the agent, she had to admit that any help finding the artifact was useful. “Yes, yes. I believe Willy’s right. This fella needs to be rooted out, and sniffing him out might work. I think we should start with a sweep of the academic buildings.”

“Follow me but keep back.” Zeb sprinted toward the classrooms, his leather loafers slapping against the sidewalk and his black jacket giving him the illusion of wings.

That man was as much of a beast as Willy, both men extraordinary fit.

But it was Willy her heart pined for, dang it.

Willy motioned for her to go ahead of him, and he took up the rear, both jogging after Zeb.

Her stomach knotted, and she could only hope they wouldn’t be barraged with more questions as they came upon a swarm of fresh agents.

“Spread out,” Zeb ordered. “These two cadets chased the culprit. They believe he entered one of the classrooms. But be warned. The suspect may be a skunk shifter.”

The agents skittered outward, leaving Willy and her standing alone. It made her think about the object, how some believed it had magical properties to turn back time.

She didn’t know if rewinding time was a good thing when it came to Willy and her. What would it be like to be back in a time when they were in love, back before she’d been jailed?

He’d been carefree; they’d both been picturing a future that no longer existed.

Her mother had still showed signs of loving her.

Boo shook her head, willing the thoughts to go away. She would not cry over her loss. In life, there were no true re-dos.

Willy surprised her by asking, “So, do you really believe the artifact is cursed?”

She blinked, surprised at the question. “How do you know that?”

“You had asked Agent Earhart about it earlier, in the assembly.”

Right. She’d wanted to get a feel for how much Zeb had known. She shrugged, playing it off. “All I know is that some say the object is so mesmerizing that it will call for you to touch it, and when you do, you’ll no longer be of this time.”

“Of this time?” Willy’s leaned in. “Are you saying some actually believe it’s a time travel device?”

Boo pumped her shoulders. “I’ve only heard stories, but they’re bad, Willy. No matter how the statue beckons to you, promise me you won’t touch it.”

Willy’s brows knitted together as if he wrestled with his options. “The agent did.”

“He was wearing leaded gloves. Those gloves kept him safe, but I’m not sure if the agent understands the severity of the curse, should he slip up.” She lifted her hand, realizing she was stroking an unfamiliar arm.

Willy was no longer the boy she once knew. He was a man , muscular in all the right places, secure in his new form.

And here she was still stuck in the past and trying to make amends with a parent who no longer called her on her birthday.

Willy sidestepped, putting a good foot between them. “Why are you suddenly worried about what I’m doing or what happens to me? I know I broke it off after I was kidnapped and dealing with shit. I get that you’d hate me for that, but when I got better, I called you and you never returned my calls. You didn’t care when I needed you most, so don’t bother now.”

She opened her mouth to question his logic, but the reality was she had resented him because, even though he’d suffered, he seemed to embrace his new life.

While she’d allowed her bitterness to keep her in the past.

She’d put distance between them after he broke off their relationship. She’d been in her own world then. She hadn’t gone to see him. She hadn’t returned his calls. She’d been angry at the world, jailed for a time, and then unsheltered before Alyce Cooper found her and offered her an opportunity to find her place in this furry world.

Boo hadn’t found it yet.

If she’d stayed with Willy, she’d have only screwed up his future. Maybe she already had, even though she’d never stopped thinking about him and caring. “I never want to be the cause of your pain.”

“Same…” Willy shuffled his feet and kicked at the marbled walkway between the row of classrooms.

A shout echoing from one of the classrooms pierced the night.

Birds chittered above the treetops, and boots clamored toward the call for help.

Boo put up fists and took a defensive stance, fine whiskers popping out on her face and testing the thickening tension riding the air. “Something’s happened to Zeb.”

Willy was already jogging toward the crush of agents who raced toward the location.

Boo had a choice. She could follow… Or she could run in the opposite direction and use this distraction to go off on her own and track down the thief.

Her legs stiffened. Something disastrous had happened, and she had no business getting further involved. Yet…

“Hey, I need you.” Willy waved her onward. “Boo, come on. Now is our chance to make a difference, to help, and for our elders to see us as more than underlings.”

She looked across her shoulder, meeting Willy’s determined gaze.

“Running away from problems is your go-to. How are you my daughter?”

Boo’s mother’s accusations threatened to send Boo into a haunting spiral.

But as Boo stared at Willy, a dizzying wave rolled over her, and his words looped two more times as if time was waiting for her to make a spectacular choice.

“Hey, I need you.” Willy waved her onward . “Boo, come on. Now is our chance to make a difference, to help, and for our elders to see us as more than underlings.”

Was it dèjà vu? Had someone touched the item and rewound time to this moment? Why did she feel a pull, like fate was telling her to face her fears? To make amends? That Willy could be her future?

She didn’t believe any of it, but her feet seemed to have a mind of their own, leading her toward Willy, leading her toward the agent in trouble.

Boo squeezed through the mob of black, wool suits, snagging her silken dress as she followed Willy into the building and down the hall, entering a classroom and spotting Zeb.

Zeb lay on his back, holding out his hand, reaching for her through the swarm of agents. His blue eyes welled with tears. “The Chosen One.”

Who? Boo glanced behind her, only spotting Willy in the classroom. Certainly, neither of them was special.

Zeb curled his fingers, summoning Boo. “Come closer…”

She bent down, lining up her ear with his lips, listening to Zeb.

“Thirty degrees, 34 minutes, 22 seconds, N, 31 degrees, 30 minutes, 36 seconds E, June twenty-second,” he uttered, and then he disappeared.

What was significant about those latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates? And that date?

But mostly, Boo wondered, where had Zeb gone?