“He’s still in the park.” Xavier tilted his phone toward me to reveal a rough map of the zoo.
“What’s this?” I asked. My eyes scanned the screen and landed on the blue pulsing dot.
“It was Santiago’s idea,” he said tensely. “With his mother and his hunger… we didn’t want to lose track of him.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” I nearly roared. They were your parents, but I needed to know these things too. And I didn’t like that they were keeping secrets.
“We’ll argue about it later,” Xavier said, already heading in the direction he believed you to be.
We jogged along the crowded pathway until we reached the perimeter of the tiger exhibit, which was separated from visitors by both a fence and a moat.
“Vincent,” I shouted, visually sweeping the length of the grassy lawn. You were nowhere in sight. Xavier’s calls echoed my own in both their desperation and escalating panic. Patrons began to gather, and I repelled them with seduction.
“Are you sure it’s accurate?” I demanded. “Maybe he took it off.”
“That would be impossible. The chip is implanted under his skin.”
My irritation flared at that detail. I raced along the fence to surveil the enclosure from all angles. I recalled the animal having been out earlier in the day, pacing along its moat as though restless. Where was it now? And where were you? I calmed my body and sniffed the air. Your scent was fresh, and thankfully, there was no hint of blood. I recalled those words you’d said earlier. Not this one.
“He’s inside,” I told Xavier. It was purely an instinct, but one that I trusted.
Xavier’s eyes went wide. “In there? How?”
The fence you could have scaled with some effort, and the moat didn’t appear too deep, but the embankment was steep and would have been a challenge to climb. You were agile, though, and a natural climber.
“If I’m not back in five minutes, alert the zoo officials and have them lock this place down.”
I scaled the fence and jumped into the moat, wading across it in just a few strides. I anchored my fists to the weedy embankment and grappled my way up it, heaving myself onto the grassy lawn.
“Vincent,” I shouted. Adrenaline coursed through my veins like quicksilver, causing my muscles to shudder and quake. My toes dug into the grassy earth, and my fingers tensed. I was prepared to throw myself between you and a predator at a moment’s notice.
If only I could find you.
“Henri?” Your voice was faint as I glanced across the lawn to a structure that was a reproduction of a Buddhist temple. I scanned the building’s facade for an entry point and found a narrow gap in the walls.
I sprinted toward it and ducked through the tight space. My eyes quickly adjusted to the dim lighting, and there I found you seated in the middle of the animal’s den with the tiger sprawled at your side, its massive head in your lap.
“Vincent.” My voice cracked. My terror made it difficult to breathe.
The tiger lifted its head and growled at me. I didn’t have any of my weapons because of those damned metal detectors at the park’s entrance. I’d have to use my teeth.
“It’s okay, Henri. He won’t hurt you.” You continued petting the tiger’s crown while your other hand trailed along its spine. The cat lowered its head, its amber eyes fixed on me as if daring me to come closer.
“Vincent, what are you doing here?” I whispered in a shaky voice.
Your head lifted, and your unblinking eyes found mine. “Mater told me I had to tame him.”
A deluge of anger flooded me as I silently cursed her with every rancorous sentiment I’d ever harbored against her. I’d have her blood for this.
“She told you to tame a tiger?” I had to remain calm. The animal could probably pick up on my fear and aggression. I didn’t want it to feel threatened and react in kind.
“Or a lion. Or a puma. This one’s my favorite though. Isn’t he pretty?”
The animal tilted its head for you to reach underneath and scratch along its jaw—a jaw that could snap your bones like twigs, fangs that could tear through your skin like tissue, and claws that could disembowel you with one swipe of its gargantuan paw. Our bodies were resilient but not indestructible. And the pain was as real as any human trauma.
I took another step toward you. The tiger raised its head again, your hand just inches away from its large, yellow fangs.
“Vincent, Papa is worried.” I edged closer, trying not to alarm the beast.
“I wanted to tell you, but Mater told me not to.”
I would kill her. Peel her apart one sinew at a time, grind her bones to dust, then scatter her bloodborn bits across the globe so her body could never be resurrected again.
“It looks like you’ve accomplished your mission. The tiger looks very tame. Perhaps it’s time we leave?”
You sighed and the animal rolled onto its back, still with its head in your lap. You reached down to rub its stomach with your hands submerged in its thick white fur. Your neck was just inches from the tiger’s mouth, its hot breath ghosting your face. Without much effort, the cat could easily tear out your throat. What if it was only luring you into complacency?
“Vincent,” I begged quietly. My nerves were raw, and my throat was thick with emotion. You were only a few feet away, close enough that I could reach out and grab you.
But the tiger was closer.
“I don’t want to leave him. He’s not happy here. He can’t even hunt for his food.”
You’d said the same thing when Santiago belled your cats. Were you projecting your own feelings about your situation?
“Come along, come along, come along.”
You gave the tiger one last long stroke along its sternum, then gingerly removed its head from your lap. When you stood, your clothes were coated in tufts of fur. I’d been prepared to wrestle the animal with my bare hands if it came to it, but the tiger seemed utterly tame as you leaned down to place a gentle kiss between its ears. I bit my tongue so as not to disrupt whatever thrall you’d cast.
“I’ll visit again soon,” you promised the tiger.
Over my dead body.
When you were within my reach, I hauled you into my arms and sprinted all the way to the moat. I jumped in gracelessly and strode across it. On the other side of the fenced enclosure, I set you down carefully and struggled to catch my breath.
Xavier laid into you with uncharacteristic fervor, and I let him because you should have known better. By the end of his tirade, both you and he were sobbing. Xavier hugged you so tightly the flesh of your arms dimpled from his grip. Meanwhile, I’d collapsed on a bench and was fading in and out of lucidity while trying to stave off a panic attack. Even in my line of work, I hadn’t experienced that kind of terror in years.
Not since the last time Lena had threatened your life.
6
Henri
“Was it in his journal?” Santiago demanded. I could always determine the man’s state of mind by the condition of his hair, and at the moment, his carefully coifed style was in utter disarray.
Xavier had called him home that afternoon to discuss the incident with the tiger while you played in the yard. We were in their living room, reviewing your journal while I kept a close eye on you and the fence that enclosed the property.