Nischal [leopard spots 9] by Bailey Bradford

knew him for a helper or he simply trusted Preston enough to follow his lead.
    As Preston slammed the doors of the vehicle for them, Nischal’s senses began sounding a shrill alarm. He turned his head and stared out of the window and the hair along the ridge of his spine stood up.
    Sabin whimpered and lay down in the back seat, but Nischal kept staring, watching, knowing in his bones that they were being watched in return—by something other than a human. The knowledge kept him from shifting.
    Preston got in and had them barrelling down the road in seconds. “Who’s watching us?”
    Nischal wasn’t surprised that Preston had picked up on the thought. He hadn’t tried to censor it from the man.
    Sabin whimpered again and Nischal left off glaring out of the window to make his way into the back seat instead. He got as much of his lower half into the floorboard as he could while Preston took a turn a little too sharply. Nischal shifted.
    “Don’t drive like you’re trying to get away,” he advised.
    “Right. Right, that’s a good idea.” Preston slowed the vehicle down some. “Any idea who you felt watching us?”
    Nischal flicked over the image of the one man who’d stood out at the vet clinic. Tall, dark, deadly, that was the impression Nischal had of the guy. “No name, but there was a man at the clinic. He seemed…different.”
    “Different or not, he can’t keep up with a car doing seventy or eighty,” Preston muttered. “I thought it was insane that people in Texas raised the speed limit a while back. Now I’m totally appreciative.”
    Nischal listened to Preston but he was focused on Sabin who was shivering and mewling.
    “What’s wrong with him? Did he get hurt?” Preston asked.
    “I don’t know. It might just be the tranquilisers he’s been subjected to, but he also took a hard fall over the fence.”
    Sabin opened one eye and gave him a dirty look at that admission. Nischal smiled at his brother. “Glare all you like, just stay conscious.” His smile felt smug as he continued. “Kapuk wasn’t crazy like we thought, or at least not completely. He was right about shifters having mates, or a mate, rather.” Nischal peeked over his shoulder at Preston. “Now I know why I couldn’t stop staring at him yesterday.”
    Gods, it’d only been one day, a little over twenty-four hours. It was mind-boggling, really.
    Preston turned on the radio. “I’m so tempted to eavesdrop, but I figure you two might need a little privacy.” Nischal felt Preston pull back mentally as well, without a trace of remorse for doing it. Preston’s generosity and understanding were incredible.
    Sabin made an inquiring sound and Nischal nodded. “Yes, that amazing, sexy man Suraj tried to kill is my mate, and he’s…” Nischal lowered his lips to one of Sabin’s twitching ears as Preston nudged the volume on the radio up. “He’s so fucking perfect, so gorgeous, Sabin. He has a twin, Paul. We saw him months ago, do you remember?”
    Sabin went still, then he lifted his head up and gave Nischal a sorrowful look. Nischal quietly explained the happenings and findings of the past day. All the while, Sabin didn’t shift. He eventually closed his eyes and lowered his head to sleep, and Nischal thought it wasn’t a drug-induced rest this time, but the true, pure sleep of being free in more ways than one.
     
     

Chapter Eleven
     
     
     
    After a couple of hours driving down I-10, Preston finally began to relax. His throat hurt worse than he’d let on, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as strep, so he could handle it.
    What was worrisome to him was that they might be followed and busted for breaking out Sabin. Surely if anyone had been on to who they were and what they’d done, they’d have been arrested already.
    The hill country was pretty even in the dark. The headlights and occasional street light showed the sides of the hills the interstate had been cut through in places. They also showed all the deer that