“Okay.” Oz took the phone from her and sat it down. He made a point of showing her the ink and paper logo and not the picture of the ring imprint from her cheek.
“What does that mean? What does that have to do with my sister?”
“I just wanted to confirm we were searching in the right place. The thing is this, Golden’s boyfriend comes from a terrible family. They deal in everything from drugs to prostitution.”
“Shit. I told Goldie something was wrong with that boy.”
Ronnie moved to get off his lap, but he held her in place. “I know this seems weird, but is your sister, by chance, adopted?”
The crease in her brow told him he was off base, but his nose didn’t lie. She was human and Golden was definitely a shifter. Something was amiss in their family tree.
“What? No. Same Mom-Same Dad. Although I remember them fighting a lot right after Goldie was born, then he disappeared.”
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to bring up bad memories, but there’s something about your sister you might need to know before we find her.”
Ronnie tensed up as she stared at him. When she eased off his lap, he didn’t stop her. She stood with her arms folded under her breasts. He recognized the defensive stance, but he remained seated.
“How could you possibly know anything about my sister that I don’t already know?”
How do you explain that a person you’ve known your entire life is actually another species? He could see the suspicions and unrest building in her.
“Has Golden always been agile? Healed easily?”
Ronnie’s brow eased as a smile inched out. “Yeah.”
“Always seemed to be really hot, but never sick? Maybe even some special power?”
“Yes. She always seems to know what card you’re going to pull or what numbers dice will land on. My mom said she got it from our dad, but I was never good at guessing games and I always got sick. What’s that got to do with anything?”
Oz stood and pulled her arms away from her body, loosening her fingers, then intertwining them with his. “When we find your sister, she might be changed.”
“How?”
“Mentally and physically, she’ll be changed. She won’t be the little sister you knew before.”
“Oh, oh…” Ronnie pulled out of his hands and covered her face. “You mean, they could…” she didn’t even finish the sentence.
He was really botching this. “No, no. Of course, we’ll find her before anything like that can happen.”
“I understand and I love her. No matter what they do to her, as long as I get her back. I don’t care what she looks like. She’s my sister.”
“Good.” He wasn’t about to try to explain actual physical changes. He just hoped she was true to her word. “Why don’t you take a bath? I want to see if Kit found out anything from Router.”
He kissed her on both cheeks. Those baby kisses must not have been enough for either of them. They both went in for another kiss and bumped heads. Oz winced and rubbed the point of infraction.
“Owww.” Ronnie held her forehead. “Okay, that means I’m tired. You’ll tell me, right? If you find out anything?”
“Of course.” He watched her as she walked toward the bathroom. When the door shut, and the water started, he walked out to find that loud-mouthed tiger.
Chapter One Hundred Four
The room next door looked exactly like as the one he was sharing with Ronnie. This motel must have gotten a deal on the cardinal and blue jay with branches motif wallpaper.
Oz paced back and forth over the threadbare burgundy carpet.
“Dude, you need to chill.” Kit lounged against the headboard of the king-sized bed. “She’ll call back soon.”
“Isn’t she normally faster than this?”
The prospect ignored his question and asked, “So… Ronnie?”
Oz stopped in his tracks and glared at the young man. “Don’t.”
The young tiger seemed oblivious to Oz’s growing hostility, either that or he didn’t care. He continued to speak with his eyes closed. “Hey, man, I know she’s human, but she’s hot.”
A growl filled the small room.
Kit’s eyes popped open, and his hands went up. “Why so protective? I’m just making an observation.”
Oz’s cat came to the surface and his voice dropped an octave as they both said, “Don’t observe.”
Kit sat up and stared at Oz, then inhaled. A huge smile spread across his face. “Could it be? The solitary, ‘I don’t need nobody’ snow leopard has found his mate? A human no less.”
Oz broke eye contact and all his animosity left him in a big whoosh. He fell into the nearby chair. “Let’s not talk about it.”
“Come on. This is great news. So, you tell her yet?”
Oz frowned and looked away.
“Okay, I can tell by the grief pouring off of you, you haven’t. But you have to tell her about you. Hell, about all of us.”
“I tried.”
“Try harder. You need to. You can’t keep that kind of secret from your mate. You are planning on mating her, right?” Then Kit looked away and licked his lips. “If not, I’d like for her to get to know my big tiger.”
That sonofabitch just licked his chops. He’s fucking thinking about my woman. An irrational flood of jealousy rolled over Oz. He wasn’t sure if it was him or his cat.
Our woman. Kill. Now.
Before Oz knew what had happened, his cat had taken over.
A very animalistic growl came from Oz as he leaped across the room and wrapped his hands around the prospect’s throat when his phone rang.
Kit smiled, then choked out, “You might want to get that.”
Oz jumped off the annoying cat and answered his phone. “What?!”
“Hello, Sunshine. I guess you must be talking to that lovely kitten of ours if you’re in this good of a mood.”
“Router,” Oz said her name warningly.
“Fine. King has a place in Houston, but after an anonymous tip, the police checked it out. Nothing. The place was clean. Look, I can’t tell you exactly where the lions are holed up, but you are close to
