Violets Are Blue - James Patterson [82]
Someone called out; someone was there. Behind me.
“Alex, where are you? Alex?”
I heard Jamilla coming forward in the tunnel and I let out a breath.
“Don’t move,” I whispered. “Don’t do anything. The tiger’s in here.”
I didn’t dare move. I wasn’t even sure I could. It was a standoff. I couldn’t imagine the tiger being as frightened as I was. Was the Sire there? The two brothers? Anybody else?
“Alex?”
It was Kyle. He was whispering. But if I heard him —
“Stay right there, Kyle. I mean it. Listen to me. Stay where you are unless you want me dead.”
Everything happened in a terrifying instant.
Suddenly, the cat rushed at me. Full speed? Half speed? Very goddamn fast. Shadows — a blur of fur.
It seemed to leap straight up into the cone of light shining from my flashlight. The cat was tensed muscle, raw speed, gleaming teeth, and the widest, brightest eyes — tremendous focus. It was aimed at me as surely as a deadly bullet.
Its upper body twisted athletically, showing off incredible strength. It seemed to be three to four feet off the ground, coming straight at me, unstoppable.
I had no choice, no options, and no room for error. I didn’t even have to think about my next move. It just happened. I squeezed the trigger of my Glock. I fired off three quick shots. All head and upper-body shots, I hoped, but I was just guessing.
The cat kept coming at me. It didn’t even slow down. The gunshots couldn’t stop it, could they? I had no defense and no place to run, no place to hide.
The big cat hit me hard, knocked me down like weak prey. I waited for the powerful jaws to clamp down on me, to crush my bones. I might have screamed. I don’t know what the hell I did. I’d never been more afraid. Not even close.
The cat kept going past me! It made no sense. I didn’t understand. A few feet up the tunnel, I heard a loud thud. It was down. I had shot and killed a tiger.
Chapter 90
“HOLY SHIT! Holy shit!” The words exploded out of Jamilla’s mouth. Then she smiled. “Jesus. I don’t believe it.” She stared down at the huge, fierce animal that had tried to kill me and was now lying at her feet.
I pushed myself up, forced my legs to move. I took tenuous steps back to where she and Kyle were standing. The cat lay twisted across the width of the tunnel. It didn’t move and it wasn’t going to.
“Are they down here in the tunnel? The Lost Boys?” Kyle asked in a whisper. “The Sire?”
“I haven’t seen anybody. Just footprints, and the cat. Let’s go,” I finally said.
The tunnel was much longer than I would have thought. I wasn’t even sure which direction we were headed. Toward the road? The foothills? The Pacific Ocean?
“I sent men toward the perimeters of the property, about five or six hundred yards out. It spreads us thin,” Kyle said. “I don’t like it.”
I didn’t answer him. I was still shaky, not quite over my bad moment of truth with the tiger. My heart was pumping like an engine pushed to its limit. I wondered if I might be going into shock.
“Alex?” Jamilla spoke. “You with us? You okay?”
“Just give me a minute. I’ll be fine. Let’s keep going.”
Soon we could see the faintest glimmer of daylight up ahead. That was hopeful. But where were we coming out of the tunnel?
“Can’t tell how far it is,” I said. “Or what’s between us and the light.”
My hip brushed against something. Then my shoulder. I jumped back and my whole body shuddered. But it was only a valve sticking out from the tunnel wall. Nothing. Scared the hell out of me, though.
Then I could see part of the scene outside — a couple of cypresses leaning away from the wind, a streak of soft gray sky.
It wasn’t far, maybe thirty or forty yards. Usually, the most dangerous part of a raid was breaking in, but now it was getting out of this dark tunnel.
I turned to Jamilla and Kyle and whispered, “I’ll go first.”
I knew I was better with a gun than Kyle, and I was physically stronger than Jamilla — at least I thought so. Besides, this was the way it had been