“Really?”
“Yes. Thankfully, that wasn’t picked up by any news stories because Lucifer would put it together and go after her. At this point he has no idea where she went.” Damian glanced at his watch and stood. “I have to go meet the auto-transport people.” He paused at the doorway to the living room. “Just hang here, okay?”
The worry in his eyes made me nod. I didn’t need to help pack the cars anyway. I had some packing of my own to do. “Be careful,” I said.
“I always am,” he said and I huffed and Damian rolled his eyes. “I’ll try,” he added and disappeared from view.
Chapter 8 - Naomi
I made the mistake of turning on the television and taking in the news story. The raw anger that bit at me sparked a chuff from my lips and the shock of the feral sound pulled my gaze to the floor, and the white-furred paws.
Shock transitioned through my body and I took another step, still locked in tiger form. I hissed and spat and padded down the stairs. The keypad was difficult to manage with my paw but I finally had the idea to use one of my razor sharp nails.
The door squeaked open and I padded my way down the tunnel, turning into a gallop and by the time I reached the stairs, my heart pounded and I was sure Damian was being tortured on the other side of the hatch. I flew up the stairs, using the strength in my massive shoulder to open the hatch. I came to a sliding stop in the middle of the garage, a snarl coming from my mouth.
Damian spun along with one of the work crew. I growled and then chuffed and licked my chops, looking between Damian and the group of workers who were backing away slowly. Their expressions would have made me laugh had I been in human form.
Damian gave me a cocked-head stare and then he approached, slowly.
“Hey, baby, how’d you get out of your cage?” he asked with a soft voice, like one meant to disarm an angry tiger.
“Wo, dude, that’s yours?” one of the crew asked.
“Yeah, she’s mostly harmless unless you decide to attack me or something,” Damian said coming up to me and running his hand over my head and scratching me behind the ear. I rubbed my head against his leg, knocking him back a step.
“Sit,” he said with authority and I glanced up at him. While I wanted to tell him to fuck off, I obeyed and sat down on my haunches before stretching my paws out.
“That’s my girl,” he said and I actually bared my teeth at him for a moment before settling in place.
I wish I could have answered the questions in his eyes but I didn’t quite understand the switch either. I was angry at the news story, but I had been angry before and never just popped into the tiger like this. It’s usually caused by mortal danger but there was no danger here.
I licked my paws as I watched them load car after car until all the vehicles were loaded. After Damian closed and locked the doors, he turned and stared at me.
“What the fuck?” he asked and I stood and stretched before crossing to him and rubbing against his leg. He squatted and held my head between his hands. “Can you change back so we can talk?”
I licked his face and he sat back on his haunches, concern marking his handsome face. The man smelled wonderful and I stepped in, nuzzling against him.
“Naomi,” he whispered, his voice carrying a warning and I looked up at his face, but he wasn’t looking at me anymore.
I turned my head and followed his gaze to the back door. Paws smashed through the door, breaking the hinges and the door swung open. The stench of the thing made my nose crinkle. It smelled like a cross between a demon and a wet dog and it didn’t look much better.
The beast filled the exit and I bared my teeth, positioning myself between this thing and Damian. The sound of metal scraping pulled my attention in Damian’s direction and he stepped next to me, the crowbar gripped in his hand.
“What do you want?” Damian asked, like he expected the mutant dog to speak.
“I’ve been sent to bring your head back to my master,” it growled and stepped inside.
The shock of actually seeing a hellhound talk gave me pause, and I measured it up against my formidable size. It wasn’t quite as big as I was, and it certainly didn’t have the raw strength I had. It looked more like a mangy mutt than a powerhouse.
It wasn’t until the second one stepped in that my confidence wavered. The hatchway to the basement sat open and I wondered what our chances were of making it to the tunnel opening. Although, I had doubts the salt ring would keep these demon-dogs out. Especially since I thought Damian had reinforced the garage.