Cats Got Your Tongue (Shifter Squad Six) Read Online Free Page A

down the aisle and then collapse in willful piles until the sounds muffled and quieted again. Slowly, she was regaining control of herself, breathing through the mask, until her muscles seemed willing to cooperate enough for her to sit up.
    She felt like she might have gotten a cracked rib and her head was throbbing painfully, but looking at the scene around her, she seemed to have made off easily. The airplane was littered with unconscious bodies, heaving for breath, but knocked out cold. She’d never seen something quite like it.
    “What the fuck,” she said, her voice strangled.
    “My thoughts exactly,” Grim answered, panting visibly as he offered a hand to her. “You all right, Kelis? I saw that guy get the mask off for a moment. Did you get any of that shit in you?”
    “I think I took a few breaths, but I’m feeling better now.”
    The airplane stuttered and veered to the left again, dipping down noticeably. Her pilot senses kicked into gear and her eyes went wide when a stark realization came to her. Everyone without the mask had seemed to be affected by whatever the shit in the air had been, and if it was everyone, then…
    “Who the hell is flying this plane?!”
    “Hmm, good question,” Grim said, and for an insane moment, Kelis thought she saw amusement in him, like this was all some grand joke.
    Grim offered his hand and Kelis took it, not trusting her legs. They wobbled through the aisle, littered with bodies, and Kelis could count at least three dead among them, all tall, blond, and built like brick houses. When they made it to the front of the plane, one of Grim’s friends was just getting done taping the stewardess to her seat.
    The woman, Ashley by her nametag, had been so sweet and mild when Kelis had talked to her, and now she it was as if she was possessed, the whites of her eyes pink and her body convulsing as she thrashed against the bindings.
    “So this is new, huh, Thatch?”
    “Yup, can’t say I’ve seen this shit before,” the man noted with a chuckle.
    Kelis was floored by how blasé the men were about the situation. This was like something out of a real nightmare, and she’d been on plenty of horrific battlegrounds to know the difference. There, even the destruction seemed to have a reason. Here though? It all seemed entirely senseless because she couldn’t understand what on earth could drive someone to try and manipulate people in such a horrific way.
    The plane made another sudden change and Kelis was thrown into Grim’s arms and against the wall, his strong grip locking around her and keeping her steady.
    “I’ve got you,” he said with a small smile, sending butterflies flying in Kelis’s gut, further exasperating her current intense and utter confusion.
    “Thank you,” she muttered lightly as he pulled the door to the cockpit open, revealing the prone bodies of the pilot and the co-pilot and a slightly bloodied Grant, sitting at the helm with another one of the squad thoughtfully standing behind him.
    “There you go, apparently Grant’s a pilot now,” Grim said, the humor disappearing in his voice.
    “Is he really a pilot?” Kelis asked, getting three firm and fast answers of “No!” in response. “Oh that’s good then,” she said with a sigh, pushing herself away from Grim and slipping into the co-pilot’s seat.
    She hadn’t flown anything bigger than a SuperCobra in a while now. The Marine attack helicopters were beefy and serious machines, but no match for a Boeing. Her hands went to work swiftly enough, checking fuel and oil pressure and the set course.
    “You know what you’re doing, Miss?” a firm voice asked, belonging to the third guy in the room, his words slightly muffled by the mask.
    “I’m a US Marine Corps helicopter pilot. I get the feeling I know more than you guys do,” she said, flicking a look over her shoulder.
    She couldn’t see his lips, but his eyes warmed and she pegged him immediately as the squad leader. There was a