Catch a Tiger by the Tail (11 page)

“Cael, sweetheart, please get out of the box.” Ash held a bottle of water out to him. “Or at least drink this.”

Ethan pointed to the box and Cael, who was already nestled in the packing peanuts.
I think Ash needs more training in that department.

Cael smiled sweetly up at Ash. “I’ll take the water if you join me.”

“No.”

“Why?”

Ash let out a heavy sigh. “Because I don’t fit.”

“Get your phone ready.” Dex dug into his pocket and pulled out his smartphone. At that moment Sloane reappeared.

“What’s going on?”

“Cael’s asked Ash to join him in the box,” Calvin replied with a chuckle.

Sloane wrapped his arms around Dex. “You think he’ll do it?”

“Are you kidding me? Cael’s about to bust out the sad puppy face. Not even my dad’s immune to that shit. Ash is finished, and he knows it.”

“Please, Ash?” Cael jutted out his bottom lip. “It’s not fun if you’re not with me.”

Damn, he’s good.
Ethan turned to Calvin, his bottom lip jutted out.
Please can I play in the box?

Calvin didn’t hesitate. “Still no. If I let you shift now, you’d never get out of the box, and we both know it.”

Well, it was worth a try.

“Cael….”

“It’s okay,” Cael sighed. “I can have fun on my own.” Cael flicked a Styrofoam peanut. It fluttered pathetically down in front of him.

“Really? You’re really going to make me get in there?”

Ash looked pained, like the thought of getting into the box physically pained him. How could Ash resist? Ethan had spotted Sloane eyeing the box earlier. As if sensing his thoughts, Sloane met his gaze. They peered at each other.

No box for you, Brodie.
Sloane looked like he might challenge him on that. With a wicked smile, Ethan petted Dex’s cheek. Sloane straightened.

“Um, that was weird,” Dex murmured. “Did you pet me?”

Ethan grinned.

Sloane narrowed his eyes at Ethan. “Did you just leave your scent on my boyfriend?”

“I’m not sure what’s happening here,” Dex murmured. He took hold of Calvin. “Help me.”

“Sloane was eyeing the box, and Ethan knows you’d let him shift and play, so he’s trying to wind Sloane up.” Calvin shook his head. “Besides, the box is about to become a little crowded.”

Calvin pointed to Ash, who was climbing into the box, the packing peanuts fluttering around him as his heavy mass took a seat, his expression less than impressed. At least until Cael started tossing up handfuls of packing peanuts.

“It’s like snow, except you don’t freeze your ass off!” Cael stated cheerfully, tossing a handful at Ash, who grabbed a handful and tossed it back. The two proceeded to have a packing peanut fight.

“This is perfection,” Dex said quietly. “Ooh, look at this one.” He showed them a shot of Ash half-buried in packing peanuts. “This one’s going in next month’s newsletter.”

“He will murder you,” Calvin said with a laugh.

“He’s always threatening to murder me, but I have an insurance policy in the form of an adorable cheetah Therian brother.”

“Hey, Hobbs!” Letty called out to him, and he turned, smiling when she waved him over. “Come here, big guy. I got a question for you.”

Rosa shook her head. “Tell her she can’t use explosives to unclog the kitchen sink.”

Ethan beamed brightly. He cracked his fingers and gleefully went over, then deposited himself between Letty and Rosa.
Oh, Rosa. Sweet Rosa. You have no idea.

“SO HAS
Hobbs always liked blowing things up?” Dex asked, swatting Sloane’s hand away from his ass.

They were so going to lose that bet.

Calvin couldn’t help but smile at Ethan’s dopey grin as he showed Letty his phone. “His favorite holiday was the Fourth of July because of the fireworks. Seb showed us how to be safe, especially since Ethan was so fascinated. He’d take the fireworks apart to see how they were put together, then reassembled them. Sometimes it didn’t work out so well. He burned his eyebrow off once.” Calvin’s phone went off. It was his mom. “Hey, Mom.” The moment he heard the screaming he straightened. Shit.

“Can you and Ethan come home? We can’t get ahold of Seb or Rafe.”

“We’re on our way.” Calvin hung up and turned to Sloane. “Hey, sorry, man, we gotta go. Ethan’s mom needs help with his dad, and she hasn’t been able to get ahold of Seb or Rafe.”

Dex looked worried. “Shit, everything okay?”

“Yeah, it’s his Therian Acheron Syndrome. Sometimes the pain gets so bad he needs to be sedated, but Julia can’t subdue him
and
administer the injection, and certainly not on her own. When it hits, Thomas’s strength peaks, and he can be dangerous. The doctors didn’t think he’d last this long. That shit’s fucked up his immune system, his joints, everything.” Calvin shook his head. “It’s heartbreaking to see.”

“Go, and if you need anything, let me know.”

“Thanks.” Calvin looked over at Ethan laughing at something Rosa said. “We won’t be able to come back, though. This is going to set off his anxiety really bad.” Calvin hated that he had to bring Ethan into this. If he was a Therian and could handle it, he wouldn’t even tell Ethan. “Thomas’s condition is difficult enough for Ethan at the best of times. Seeing his dad in pain like that, it’ll hit Ethan hard. That’s why his mom usually calls Seb or Rafe.”

“I’ll go,” Sloane said.

Calvin snapped his head up, his eyes wide. “What?”

“You don’t really need Hobbs to be there, right? I mean, you just need a Therian to help subdue Thomas?”

“Yeah.”

“So spare him the pain.” Sloane put his hand on Calvin’s shoulder. “Don’t tell him, and I’ll come with you.”

Calvin didn’t hesitate. “Okay.” He walked over to Ethan and smiled, hoping his best friend wouldn’t want to come with him. Ethan seemed comfortable nestled between Letty and Rosa, his right arm hooked with Letty’s as she teased Rosa. “Hey, I’m going to pop out with Sloane for a few minutes. We’ll be back soon.”

Ethan nodded, a wide, dopey smile on his face. He put his thumbs up, and it took everything Calvin had not to let his own smile falter. That smile meant everything to Calvin. With a wink, he turned and left, with Sloane following quietly. When they were sitting inside Sloane’s Impala, Calvin let out an unsteady breath.

“You okay?” Sloane asked as he turned on the ignition.

“Yeah, sorry.” He blinked away his tears and laughed at himself. “God, look at me. I’m such a dork.” He wiped his eyes and drew in a deep breath. Sloane put a hand to his shoulder, giving it a squeeze.

“Hey, whatever it is, you can talk to me.”

“It’s fine. I’m fine. Really. Thanks.”

Sloane didn’t look too convinced, but he nodded. “Okay.”

Calvin was grateful Sloane didn’t push him. He didn’t want Sloane knowing about his selfish thoughts. About how sometimes he wished he could hide Ethan away from the world so it was the two of them, nothing to set off Ethan’s anxieties. Just
one
day where his best friend could be happy without the threat of fear. Where some asshole wasn’t screaming at him on the street for not ordering his food fast enough, where someone wasn’t looking at him like he was some kind of freak, with pity or disgust because he was having a panic attack. Where looking at his own father was painful enough to bring him nightmares.

“Thank you. I really appreciate this, Sloane.”

“No problem.”

In twenty minutes they were pulling up in front of Julia Hobbs’s brownstone. His mom’s house was a couple of doors down, but she spent most of her time around Julia’s. The two had been best friends as long as Calvin and Ethan. Calvin had paid far more than asking price for his mom’s house so she could live on the same block as Julia. His mom and Julia’s happiness had been priceless. After years of shitty—and at times dangerous—jobs, his mom was able to retire and get the break she deserved in a house all her own. No crackhead neighbors, no drunks in the stairwell, and no scumbag landlord making inappropriate offers in exchange for skipping a month’s rent.

“Will Julia be okay with me there? I can imagine that sort of thing is pretty personal, and with what happened with Seb and the team….”

“It’s fine. Julia never held it against you,” Calvin assured Sloane. “She understood Seb had a choice, and he chose to save the man he loved. Don’t for a second think she doesn’t know that it was thanks to you and Dex that Seb got promoted to Team Leader.”

Sloane held his hands up. “That was all Seb’s doing. He worked his ass off for that promotion.” As soon as they stepped out onto the sidewalk, they could hear the screams. “Jesus.” Sloane stared up at the house. “Poor guy. No one’s called the cops?”

Calvin shook his head. “Everyone on the block knows what the Hobbses have been through. They’re really good about it. It doesn’t happen as often as it used to.” He pulled out his keys to the Hobbs residence and quickly went inside. Calvin’s mom came running and gave him a kiss.

“Hello, darling. Thank you so much for coming.”

“I brought Sloane. I couldn’t….”

She placed her hand to his cheek. “You did good, baby. Ethan doesn’t need to see this.” She turned to Sloane and gave him a big hug. “Thank you, Sloane. This means so much to us.”

“Of course, Darla. Anytime.”

“They’re upstairs in the bedroom.”

Calvin and Sloane followed her upstairs, the screaming getting louder as they neared Julia and Thomas’s bedroom. No matter how much he was used to hearing Thomas’s screams, it still sent a chill through him. Calvin stepped into the room and couldn’t stop himself from turning away. Jesus Christ. Thomas was thrashing around on the bed, his cries turning Calvin’s blood to ice. He looked as if he was possessed, his body and limbs contorting, his muscles strained, his black hair soaked in sweat from the exertion.

“Cal.” Julia ran over and hugged him. “Thank you so much.” She looked up at Sloane and smiled. “Sloane, it’s been too long.”

Sloane hugged her close. “Julia. It’s good to see you again.”

“Okay.” Calvin turned to Sloane. “We need to hold him down and keep him from lashing out. It’s going to take three injections. The one to his spine is always the worst.”

Sloane nodded and took a deep breath. They went over to the bed, and Calvin spoke to Thomas, his voice loud yet gentle.

“Thomas, it’s Cal. Sloane’s here with me. We’re going to help Julia.”

Thomas nodded as he gritted his teeth. His skin was red, his veins bulging as he struggled fiercely to keep himself in control. If they weren’t careful, he could shift before they administered the sedative.

“You hold down his arms. I’ll hold down his legs,” Calvin told Sloane. He wrapped his arms around Thomas’s legs and held on tight while Sloane managed to get a good grip on Thomas’s arms. Julia got to it, taking the injector and placing it to her husband’s neck.

It wasn’t so much the holding Thomas down that was difficult. It was the screams of agony. They were heart-wrenching and terrifying. Calvin held on to Thomas, waiting on Julia’s signal to turn him onto his stomach. This was going to be rough.

After the injection to Thomas’s arm, Julia gave them a nod. It was time. Calvin and Sloane struggled to turn Thomas over. Despite his condition, Thomas was still a tiger Therian. He wasn’t as strong as his sons, but he was still stronger than Calvin, which meant Sloane had to do most of the heavy lifting. At one point Sloane’s hand slipped, and Thomas managed to elbow him in the face. Sloane cursed under his breath and grabbed hold of Thomas as blood trailed down from his nose. They flipped Thomas over and held on as Julia placed the injector to Thomas’s spine. Darla quickly wiped the blood from Sloane’s nose and mouth with a wet towel. As soon as she stepped back, Julia pulled the trigger.

Thomas’s scream shook the windows. He arched his back violently, and his body went into horrific spasms, followed by what resembled an epileptic fit. Except it wasn’t, because if they released Thomas now, he’d shift into his Therian form and have no control until the medication set in.

As they held on for dear life, Julia did her best to calm her husband, talking to him softly and running her hands over his face and head. She kissed his brow and smiled warmly. The love they had for each other shone in their eyes, and Calvin was forced to look away. He’d always thought it so unfair that Thomas suffered the way he did. He’d given so much for his country, and what did he get in return? A virus that didn’t kill him yet tortured him every day of his life. Still, Thomas fought it with everything he had, for his wife and his boys. Maybe what hurt Calvin most of all was how much Ethan looked like Thomas.

When Thomas settled down enough not to pull at them, they turned him onto his back. It seemed like forever, but he finally calmed, and soon he was out. Darla returned from the bathroom with a damp hand towel and fussed over Sloane, who obviously had no experience with that sort of thing. Poor guy didn’t know what to do with himself. It suddenly occurred to him that several of his friends had spent only a little time with their moms before losing them. The thought saddened Calvin. As far as he was concerned, he didn’t miss his dad. His dad had been a royal dick. If he hadn’t been, maybe Calvin would have felt the same loss. In Cael’s case, he couldn’t even remember his biological parents.

Julia’s voice snapped Calvin from his thoughts.

“Thank you.” She took hold of Sloane’s hand, her eyes filling with unshed tears. She was flushed and a little shaky, but her relief was evident in her smile. “Thank you for sparing Ethan. This would have been difficult for him. And I’m so sorry about your nose.”

Sloane waved a hand in dismissal. “I’ve had much worse. Don’t you worry about it.”

Darla ushered them outside and left the door slightly ajar. They headed downstairs into the living room, where she left to make some coffee. Julia took a seat on the couch with a weary sigh. “Thomas didn’t want me to call. He didn’t want to put Ethan through that.”

“I’m glad you called,” Calvin said. “Thomas might have hurt you or Mom, and the pain would have gotten worse until he passed out, if he didn’t shift first.”