He held out his hand to her as he glanced down at his phone. “The house is secure. Let’s go check in with Fyodor and Evangeline.”
Before she could respond, he glanced at his phone again. “They’re coming out. We’ll meet them in the sitting room. He doesn’t want Evangeline staring at the dead bodies. I’m sorry, malen’kiy smerch . I should have thought of that and gotten you out of here.”
Ashe wasn’t about to say it was all right. She couldn’t stand looking at the mangled body of the one leopard Temnyy had killed, or the one with most of his head blown off that she’d killed. And then there was the naked man …
His fingers circled her wrist and he tugged until she followed him into the next room. He closed the door on the scent of blood. Ashe moved across the room. She liked the sitting room with its cozy fireplace and informal chairs. It looked less like an elegant showroom and more like an actual lived-in home.
“It’s nice in here.”
“It is.”
The way he looked at her, his blue gaze wholly focused on her, was a bit disconcerting. He always saw too much, and right then she was feeling extremely vulnerable.
“Ashe, how did your female know there were other males in the house? Was she able to smell them?”
“No, I asked her that question. I was a little shocked that she knew, but then thought maybe the scent-blocker didn’t work on females. She indicated otherwise, but then she didn’t elaborate. Obviously, I have a connection with her, but I don’t always know how to ask questions to make her understand what I need from her.”
“Ask her again, Ashe. We need to know.”
Ashe wandered around the room, mainly to put a little distance between her female and Temnyy. She could feel her female’s attraction to the big cat and didn’t want the leopard’s hormones raging, not when Fyodor and Evangeline would be there any moment, presumably with bodyguards close.
Godiva, how did you know the others were here?
The silence stretched for so long Ashe was afraid she wouldn’t answer. Eventually the little female gave the impression of stretching. I sense them with my whiskers. My fur. They rub against furniture or walk on the floor and the scent isn’t there, but that doesn’t mean I cannot feel their passing. They aren’t ghosts. They leave behind a trail.
Elated, Ashe swung back to Timur. “She says they aren’t ghosts and they leave behind a trail. If she can sense them, even with the scent-blocker, we should all be able to do so, especially the leopards.”
She couldn’t help the excitement in her voice. “We’re relying on our normal senses because we’re programmed that way, but from having a leopard, I know there are other senses we haven’t yet tapped into. Their fur and whiskers act like radar for them, telling them something’s close and what it is. Our hair does the same because we’re shifters, right? So, if other leopards touch anything or even walk on the floors, they have to leave something of their passing. That’s just the way it is.”
He nodded slowly and went to the small table where a decanter of scotch sat with four glasses. He poured himself a small drink and sipped at the amber liquid. “She has something there. It’s a way to track them when they think they’re invisible. I’ll give that some thought.”
She liked the way he gave weight to Godiva’s remark. It wasn’t as if her female had given him a lot to go on. There was nothing all that specific, but Ashe knew she was telling her the strict truth as she saw it.
The door opened and Fyodor came through, followed by Evangeline. Ashe could see Evangeline was doing her best to get around her husband, but his hold on her was very secure and there was no way for his wife to break free. When he had assured himself that Timur and Ashe were alone in the room, Fyodor released Evangeline. She rushed to Ashe and hugged her tightly.
“I saw what happened, Ashe. We were watching on the monitors. I’m so sorry, that must have been terrible for you.”
“I hate to say this, but it was easier shooting the man than the leopard,” she admitted, grateful to get the truth off her chest. “Leopards are so beautiful, and although Godiva didn’t want him to harm us, she thought him magnificent.”
Timur nearly dropped his glass of scotch. “Magnificent? Temnyy is already royally pissed at her, I can’t imagine what he’ll think about that.”
“He wouldn’t think anything if you didn’t have a big mouth,” she pointed out.
“Why Godiva?” Fyodor asked.
Ashe tried not to squirm. She’d just called her cat “baby” for a long while, when she didn’t know her and the leopard wouldn’t respond. She tried to coax her to come out and visit, especially when she was lonely, but that hadn’t happened. Then, the first blazing hot, urgent need for a man hit. It was wild and uncomfortable, and Ashe had stripped naked and tried to alleviate the terrible burn that refused to stop.