Shelley’s headache, which had settled to a dull throb, roared to full-on agony. Her blood pressure shot up and, frack it all, tears stung her eyes. She glanced across the open living room to see Dev still speaking into his cell on the porch. He paced back and forth, grim-faced, seemingly unaware of Shelley watching him. Panic rose in her throat. She wanted to call out to him but held back. Her vision blurred as thoughts of the last six months of work, the animals that had disappeared, and Miah’s mournful roar clamored in her mind. If she didn’t find those files, she’d be letting down all the creatures that had come to rely on her. And Miah. That poor tigress was lost without her babies. Shelley couldn’t break her promise to the Bengal. There had to be something on her computer. Files didn’t just vanish. Not without crashing. And everything had been there last night when she’d hit save and shut down.
