Page 16

“Hey, you!”

Tahnee’s voice rang out from behind him, slightly shaken, but with that cheeky, mischievous edge that had been haunting his dreams for over twenty-five years.

The croc’s head turned – definitely a shifter, then, not just some random prehistoric creature that had been set loose in the city.

“Yeah, you!” Tahnee went on, her voice growing stronger as she moved to stand beside him… before she hesitated, clearly unsure of what she was going to do now that she had the giant beast’s attention.

Impulsive as ever, I see, he thought, with what he realized was almost a fond exasperation. It wasn’t a feeling he was particularly used to.

“Uh… Melbourne coffee is shit?” she said, the words coming out more as a question than a statement. As far as distractions went, it wasn’t the best one Robb had ever heard.

Unable to help himself despite the very real danger they were in, he turned his head to look at her incredulously.

Was that really the best you could do?!

Tahnee shrugged helplessly, and he could almost hear her reply: Well, I don’t see you coming up with anything better.

A deep, guttural growling sound had his head snapping forward at lightning speed. Whether the croc was actually offended by Tahnee’s opinion of Melbourne coffee or it just wanted to get down to business, Robb couldn’t be certain – but what he could be certain of was that this croc intended on doing both of them some major bodily harm.

“Get out of here,” he murmured, not taking his eyes off the croc. He was willing to do whatever he had to do to keep Tahnee safe, even if it meant that he ended up injured – or worse. On that, he and the dingo were in complete agreement.

“What, and let you get all the glory?” Tahnee muttered back. “Like hell.”

So much for that plan, then.

Not that he would admit it, but a secret part of him deep down inside was thrilled at the idea of having an excuse to fight side by side with Tahnee, instead of trying to bring her down. With his expertise and her cunning, the two of them would make a formidable team.

“Okay,” he whispered. “When I say –”

Tahnee sprang forward with a yell and threw herself bodily on top of the stunned crocodile, apparently doing her best to cling to its back and disable it… or, at least, to really, really piss it off.

“What the hell?!” Robb yelled, watching in horror as the croc thrashed about wildly, swinging its tail about and snapping its jaws while Tahnee wrapped one arm beneath the croc’s belly.

“Do it!” Tahnee yelled back.

“Do what?!”

“Whatever it was that you were planning to do!” she called out with a breathless laugh, attempting to jam her thumb into the croc’s eye and almost getting thrown across the laneway for her efforts. “Whoa there, big fella.”

Robb’s stomach dropped as he watched his mate wrestle a giant primitive crocodile one on one. She was doing an admirable job of it… but still, what the hell had she been thinking?!

The croc began to advance on him despite Tahnee’s best efforts – and then it started to speed up, its eyes narrowing as they locked in on Robb once more. Obviously it had gotten over its initial surprise, and was looking to finish the job.

Robb’s initial plan had relied on Tahnee not being perched on the crocodile’s back, and now it was taking him a moment to regroup.

He wasn’t the type to run on instinct – even in a volatile situation, he always took a moment to think things through.

Tahnee had just thrown an enormous spanner in the works with her impulsive act, and now his fear of something happening to her was messing with his ability to come up with a new plan. The dingo was struggling as well, being even more by-the-book than he was. But then again, it had always been a bit flummoxed where Tahnee was concerned.

The crocodile lurched toward him, its jaws opening impossibly wide – and, without thinking, Robb grabbed the umbrella that was in his jacket pocket and jammed it into the croc’s enormous mouth, leaving his hand in peril just long enough to press the release button on the handle. The umbrella’s shaft shot out with a whoosh, the canopy half-opening against the roof of the surprised croc’s mouth.

I can’t believe that worked, Robb thought, stunned, as the crocodile shook its head in a frenzy and waved one of its tiny little front legs as it tried to dislodge the umbrella, its jaws trapped open.

But he knew that the umbrella wouldn’t last long at all once the croc got its head together, and the human’s instincts to pull an obstruction out of its mouth were replaced by the croc’s instincts to crush the obstruction with its insanely strong jaws – but it was enough, at least, for Tahnee to jump off its back and get a grip around its hind legs, attempting to fling the beast bodily into the laneway wall.

She didn’t entirely succeed, instead just managing to heave it hard enough that it tumbled a couple of meters before she delivered a few swift kicks to its exposed belly, but, Robb supposed, it was better than nothing.

Still, that’s not going to hold it for long. We have to get out of here. Now.