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“Guys!” I shouted when I saw a small patch of white launch away from a tree and into the sky above. “He’s getting away!”

“Oh, no, he isn’t!” Bravo cried and catapulted after him. “C’mon 82. 84, too. We can’t let this stand.”

Everyone but the judge, Abigull, Pringle, Charles, and I departed to bring the war criminal to justice. I doubted his end would be a pleasant one.

“You were right,” I told Charles, shaking my head. It had all happened so, so fast. “This whole time. You assumed foul play, and you were absolutely, undeniably right.”

He smiled and pressed a kiss onto my forehead. I thought he was going to comment on my clever pun, but instead he said,“You were going to risk not meeting your grandmother for me.”

I laughed.“Yeah, well, romance is a verb, you know?”

His eyes squinted in confusion.“No, I really don’t know. I believe you, though.”

“Thank you for your help, Pringle.” I reached down to offer the raccoon a high five. “You really saved the day.”

He sniffed and held his snout high.“Maybe. It’s a shame what happened to all those birds, though.”

“Still, you’ve more than earned your treasure.” Then I realized… “I’m not so sure Flock 82 is going to be eager to give us the payment they promised, but I’ll make sure you’re paid for your time. What do you want? A motorcycle? A robot?”

Oh, man. Why was I giving him ideas?

Pringle’s eyes became huge with all the exciting prospects. “Well, actually—”

CA-CAW! Bravo announced his return with a shrill cry as he swooped back to the earth.“The others have this well in hand.”

I didn’t know what to say to that, so I simply nodded.

“Your name is Abigull, right?” he said to the chick who still stood huddled beneath Judge’s wing.

She ambled out to face him with a salute.“Sir, yes, sir!”

Bravo bent down and gazed directly into her eyes, then straightened and said,“I know it won’t replace the flock you lost, but I invite you to join 82 if you would like. I’ll raise you as my own and make sure no one ever hurts you again.”

“Wow. But aren’t you the new Alpha?” Abigull whispered reverently.

“Alpha? No, I’m not going to take that name. Call me Bravo. That’s who I am and who I will always be. I may be in charge now, but it doesn’t mean I need to act like a jerk about it.”

“Okay, Bravo,” the chick said, then pressed her fuzzy gray body into his.

I teared up watching them.

Even Pringle seemed to have something caught in his eye.

Charles wrapped his arms around me from behind and rested his chin on my shoulder.

“You tried to help me see that Alpha’s orders were too much. But I denied your help and stuck blindly to his commands. I could have stopped all this. I could have saved—”

“No,” I insisted. “None of this is your fault. As soon as you knew what was going on, you fixed it. You’ll be a great leader to your flock, Bravo. I’m sure of it.”

“I haven’t forgotten our promise to you,” the bird said, hopping along the grass. “Follow me back to the dumpster, and I will present your material payment. The flock will have a lot to figure out with the loss of 83’s land, but it’s only fair we don’t benefit from our corrupt leader’s actions. Once my birds are safe, I will take you to meet your grandmother. I wish I could take you sooner as a thank-you for all you’ve done, but none of us expected what happened. It will be a huge transition for our flock, plus I need some good quality time with my new daughter.”

Abigull gave a happy chirrup.

I bowed my head.“That’s all I can ask for. Thank you so much. I’ll be ready whenever you are.”

Judge chose to remain in the field and wait for the return of the others.

The rest of us made the short trek to the dumpster in the nearby strip mall parking lot.

“Oh, I can’t wait to see my secret prize!” Pringle rubbed his hands together and jumped up and down as Bravo dove into the smelly trash receptacle and began to rummage about.

When he emerged a few moments later, I expected to see a dirty fast-food wrapper or maybe a plastic doohickey on display. But instead Bravo held a sparkling diamond solitaire ring clamped firmly in his beak.“Now which one of you gets this?” he asked, looking from me to Charles to Pringle.

“Mine!” the raccoon screamed gleefully, scurried up the side of the dumpster, and snatched the beautiful piece of jewelry.

“Well, that was unexpected,” Charles said with a laugh as he looped an arm around my waist.

I smiled but didn’t say anything.

Yes, it certainly was unexpected. Not just the treasure being something of actual value, but this entire day, the truth about the horrible fate that had befallen Flock 83 and presumably Alpha as his punishment.

But the most surprising part of all had been the way I felt inside when that glittering engagement ring came into view. My breath hitched, my heart skipped a beat, and I definitely got love butterflies.

It wasn’t from fear, though, rather an unwavering certainty.

If Charles had been the one holding that ring, I would have definitely said yes.

12.5. BLACK CAT BENEFIT

Chapter One