“Good. You do that.” Relief coursed through her, and she let go of Javier’s shirt.
“Can I see it? It’s going to live, right?”
She smiled. “Yes, he is. But he’s not here anymore. I’ve transferred him elsewhere with better security and proper facilities to help with his recovery and reintroduction back into the wild.”
“Oh. Okay.” Ritchie glanced at Javier again. “I, uh, guess I’ll see you later then.” He tossed a thumb over his shoulder. “Gotta get back to work anyway.”
“Ritchie.” When he paused, she gave him a quick a hug. “Thanks again for calling me. You might’ve made a mistake, but you did the right thing and helped save the cat’s life. That’s something to be proud of.”
His expression brightened. “Sure, sure. Thanks. See ya later.”
“Bye.” She watched him walk out then said to the silent giant beside her, “Let’s go.”
Javier waited until he was seated in the passenger’s seat, his crutches in back, and she was behind the wheel before he spoke. “Your boyfriend?”
“No. An old friend.” She cast a sideways glance his way. “Don’t even think about getting revenge.”
He huffed and stared out the window.
“I mean it. Ritchie is a nice guy, and if he hadn’t called me when he realized you weren’t the black bear he was hunting, then you wouldn’t be here, and we wouldn’t be having this discussion.”
“Is that what this is?” He didn’t look her way.
“Of course, what do you think it is?”
“You dictating to me what to do.”
Her lips twitched. The man was so...alpha. “Call it whatever you like. Ritchie is a friend of mine, and I’m in the business of helping save lives, not condoning the harming of them. So if you want my help, you’ll have to abide by a few rules.”
That made him turn his head as she braked for a stop sign at a four-way intersection. “Those rules are?”
She kept her eye on the road and hands on the wheel, maneuvering through light traffic. “No harming anyone I care about. That includes family, friends, or casual acquaintances.”
“Am I not permitted to defend myself?”
“Of course, but that won’t be necessary.”
He scoffed at that, but she chose not to respond.
They were a few blocks down the road before he spoke again. “Where are you taking me?”
“My home.”
He muttered something she didn’t catch, although the tone left no doubt to his intended sarcasm.
“Don’t worry. You’re virtue is safe with me,” she teased, trying to lighten his mood. The man could scowl a hole through granite.
He snorted, but she noticed a brief twitch to his lips.
Heidi sat behind the wheel of her SUV, the engine off, scanning the windows of her home, searching...preparing.
“Nice house,” Javier said. “Big.”
“Thanks.”
“What are we waiting for?”
She ignored his question. “Can I trust you to stay put?”
Before he could respond, one of her fathers stepped onto the front porch. Dressed in a stylish pair of beige slacks and an evergreen golf shirt, Fridrik moved into the sunlight, both hands on the rough-hewn log rail that spanned the space between the thick tree trunks acting as support beams for the roof.
Too late now. “Never mind.” She opened the driver’s side door. “Come on.” She rushed around the vehicle, retrieved the crutches and handed them to Javier.
Touching the small of his back, she guided him toward the house and kept a smile on her face as Burke, her other dad, positioned himself at the top of the porch steps. He wore a short-sleeved shirt similar to Fridrik’s, but with faded jeans and sneakers.
“Hi,” she said, keeping her tone cheerful in spite of the nervous turmoil in her belly.
She could feel Javier tense when he too noticed the older men blocking their path. Feeling already outnumbered, Heidi looked at the front door to see whether anyone else was home to make an appearance.
“Who—or what—do we have here?” Fridrik asked, his serious gaze on Javier.
Burke took a deep breath, and Heidi knew from the look in his eyes that he now recognized the scent that must’ve clung to her the other night.
“This is Javier Montero.” She kept her hand at Javier’s back until Fridrik’s gaze pointedly zeroed in on her arm. “Uh, he’s a jaguar shifter from Mexico who was wounded recently and needs a place to stay...just until he recuperates.”
“Heidi—” She risked their wrath by interrupting Burke. “I can’t leave him at the clinic now that the media is snooping around, which is a really long story, but let’s not get into that. Suffice it to say I figured it was safer to bring him here.”
Burke ended her rambling. “You thought wrong.”
“If you’d rather I leave—” Javier began, only to stop when her fathers glared at him.
“State your intentions, shifter,” Fridrik demanded in a fierce tone that brooked no argument and surprised Heidi. In all the years since she’d been old enough to date, neither of her fathers had ever taken such an aggressive approach when greeting anyone she brought home.
Axel, the family’s official alpha, had been the more aggravating one to deal with, the rest of her brothers a close second.
She glanced at Javier, his features hard and stern, knuckles white where he gripped the crutches. He neither backed down nor threatened with his solid stance, but she could tell he didn’t like having the low ground when it came to facing her fathers. Neither did she, if she were to admit the truth, even though she didn’t think they would attack a wounded, unarmed man without provocation. Of course, she’d never brought a lone shifter home either.
“I mean no harm to you or your family. Once I locate my car, I will gladly leave.”
“You can’t drive,” she pointed out, drawing an exasperated look from her patient and a pair of familiar fatherly glances. She took a deep breath and met each gaze. “Well, he can’t, not until his broken leg has healed enough to remove the cast. Until that happens, he’s my patient. Under my care and supervision and, therefore, protected by me.”
That earned her a raised eyebrow from Burke.
“I gave him my word.” Not exactly a promise, but that was beside the point. “I know I should’ve called first, but we’re here now. So, can I keep him? Here, I mean,” she rushed on, feeling her cheeks heat. “Just until he’s healthy enough to leave. He won’t be any trouble.” She looked at Javier for confirmation and got a dry smirk for her effort. Squaring her shoulders, she grabbed him by the elbow and faced her fathers. “I’ll make sure of it myself.”
