Page 119 of The Diamond in the Rough

Maybe my body was shutting down, and I just couldn’t feel it, but I?—

Something behind me moved.

Something big.

And warm.

And… soft?

A low rumble came from behind me, sending a vibration through my spine.

I reached out my hand and touched…

Fur.

I felt along the fur in the darkness, wondering if a dog had somehow fallen in with me.

I found a paw.

It was the size of my head.

I whimpered.

The creature rumbled low, soft. A grunt and a… purr?

“Raj?” I whispered through swollen and cracked lips, not believing it.

I had to be hallucinating.

He grunted, then pushed at the back of my head with a leathery nose.

I couldn’t help it—I started to cry. Relief. Pain. Both at once.

He rumbled again, then snuggled closer, resting his huge head on my shoulder, his other massive front paw coming to rest on my hip, and something—a tail—curling around over my thigh.

I woke up again,screaming, as Drew Shao strapped my arm to a rigid split.

Still half-curled around me, Raj growled.

“Oh, shut it, Tony,” came Hart’s voice, although it was tense and worried. “We have to set it before we can move him.”

A soft grunt.

Hart and Agent Shao strapped me into a harness like the ones they were wearing, although I couldn’t really hold myself up. “I’ll go up with him,” Hart said. “Hold him in place.” He looked at Agent Shao. “You can deal with the nine-lived wonder here.”

It took me several minutes to figure out he meant Raj. Because cats have nine lives.

Hart clipped himself in, then drew me back against his chest. “Stay with me, kid,” he said softly into my hair. “I’ve got you.”

25

She was excitedfor the baby shower. They still had to finish making the favors tonight, but that should only take an hour or two. Three if they had a lot of sangria.

She hummed to herself as she fluffed and folded each set of sheets. She might not be smart like Emanuella was and her baby would be, but she could still help people by making sure they had fresh sheets.

I pushed awaythe woman’s thoughts, although I was at least grateful that they were more pleasant than any of the thoughts of the people who’d done the laundry at Tranquil Brook. That was nice, at least.

It was also nice to be lying on clean sheets because it meant I hadn’t died at the bottom of a cold, filthy well.