Stray Cat Strut by Shelley Munro

swallowed, trying to relieve the sensation.
    “Beer?”
    “Ah, thanks.” I sat and immediately sprang
to my feet again, marching around the lounge while Gavin headed for the
kitchen. I prowled between two dark brown leather chairs, stopped to gaze out
the window at the neighbor’s house before returning to pick up a farming
magazine off the coffee table near one of the chairs.
    “Here you go.” Gavin handed me a beer I
didn’t really want once I’d replaced the magazine. He sank into one of the
chairs and tipped his head back to regard me with intense green eyes. “How have
you been?”
    I set the beer on the coffee table. “Gavin,
I’m really pleased to see you but I didn’t come for a friendly chat. I have two
friends waiting for me in my SUV—”
    “Bring them inside,” Gavin said.
    “It’s my boyfriend and his sister,” I said
bluntly.
    Gavin didn’t even blink. “So?”
    “Leticia is FIV positive. She needs to see
a doctor.”
    Gavin straightened abruptly, a whistle of
air emerging between his front teeth. “Feline AIDS. I’ve never heard of a shifter
getting that before. You sure it’s AIDS?”
    “So they say. They have medical records.”
    “Bring them into the surgery,” Gavin said.
“I’ll meet you there.”
    “Aren’t you worried about catching it?” I
asked.
    “It spreads by blood and saliva in a bite.
She’d have to bite me pretty badly before I caught it,” Gavin said.
    I nodded, relived and pleased at his
reaction. “One more thing.”
    Gavin’s brows rose in a silent question.
    “They’re lion shifters, not leopard like
us.”
    “No problem.” Gavin shrugged and brushed
his dark hair away from his face. “Bring them inside.”
    I felt like kissing my friend but I didn’t
want to scare him. I hurried outside and opened the driver’s door. “Gavin said
to come inside.”
    “Are you sure?” Leticia asked.
    Lucas didn’t move. “Does he know we’re not
leopard?”
    “Yes to both. Come on,” I said. “I’ll
introduce you to Gavin then I need to make some calls.”
    I waited for them to climb out of the SUV
before walking up the path to Gavin’s surgery. The door opened at my touch. I
stood back to let brother and sister enter and closed the door after me.
“Gavin, this is Lucas and Leticia.” I glanced at Gavin and suppressed a grin.
Judging by the dopey smile, Leticia had won him over already. “Can I use the
phone while you check out Leticia?”
    “What? Oh! Yeah, that’s fine.” A faint tide
of red rose up his neck. “Leticia, can you sit up here please?”
    I left them in the surgery and used the
phone in Gavin’s living quarters. I dialed, my nerves jumping to life yet again
while I waited for one of the Mitchells to answer.
    “Hello?”
    I recognized the sultry tones of Saber’s
wife Emily straightaway. “Hi, Emily. It’s Saul Sinclair. Is Saber there?”
    “Sure is,” she said. “Where are you? Are
you coming home?”
    “Emily, please. Can I talk to Saber? It’s
important.” I figured Saber was the best person to talk to since he was a
member of the council who made laws and decisions on behalf of the Middlemarch
black leopard shifter community.
    “Saul, how are you?” Saber’s husky voice
drifted down the phone line.
    “I have a problem,” I said, deciding it was
best to lay out the facts straightaway. “I have a couple of friends with me—a
brother and sister. We’re at Gavin’s surgery at the moment.”
    “Why?”
    “Leticia has feline AIDS.”
    “Hell. Wait there. I’m coming over.” The
phone slammed in my ear.
    I pulled a rueful face before setting the
phone down and heading back to the surgery. “What’s the verdict, Doc?”
    “I need to do blood work. The results will
take a day. Hey, don’t look so worried, Leticia,” he chided. “I don’t see why
we can’t control your symptoms with a healthy diet and lifestyle. Keep the
stress levels down. From what you’ve told me, stress aggravates the