I start the conversation. “Andi.”
“She’s ignoring you,” her panther answers.
“And who are you?”
“I’m her panther, obviously.”
“Well, Panther, I’m Salvation, nice to meet you.”
“Why are you here?”
“I need to talk to Andi.”
“Well, Andi doesn’t want to talk.”
“Can she be the one to tell me that?”
“Well, if she wasn’t pouting in the corner, she might.”
“Andi? Please talk to me,” I try again, but she refuses to speak. I can see the fear in her eyes. She’s afraid of being sent away because she showed her cat. We would never ask her to leave. This is what we are. We’re a family of leopards, panthers, tigers and big cats with powerful talents, things that threaten our very existence, but this is where we’re safe.
“Andi, come on, girl, talk to me.”
“She won’t talk to you.”
“Why not?” I ask.
“Because she’s stupid.” Her cat is obviously annoyed and exasperated at the current happenings, but if I can get Andi to talk to me, we could figure this shit out. “She thinks our mate will send us away like everyone else has in our life once they find out about me.”
“Mate?” I ask.
“Yes.” Andi’s panther smiles. “Him.”
“Ridge is your mate?”
“Yes.”
“And Andi thinks he will send her away?” I question.
“Yes.”
“Because of you?”
“Yes!” Her panther is annoyed and I’m sickly enjoying this.
“Okay, first of all, lose the attitude; I am here to help you and Andi. Second, Andi, please hear me. You will not get sent away. If anything, this is where you belong.”
“That’s what I keep telling her.”
I appreciate her cat trying to help, but I need to talk to Andi. “Panther, please let Andi come forward. I need to speak directly to her.”
“Why won’t our mate speak to us?”
“Because he can’t. Ridge can’t talk to you telepathically until y’all are mated.”
“Then, how can you?”
“The same way you were able to mask your scent and prevent the club from knowing you were a shifter.”
“So, it’s your gift?”
“Yes.”
I could tell I was getting through, but I could also see the banter back and forth between Andi and her panther as her panther tried to convince her that the DLMC is her home. I know the break in trust she feels, because that’s what I felt when Lux and Ridge found me. I thought for sure I was dead, but Jude, Sharayah, Ridge, Andi, and Lux have been my family. They are unyielding. They protect what’s theirs at all costs.
“Andi? I know you’re there. I heard you. Please, babe, just talk to me. Let me help you.”
“I…” Andi clears her throat and starts apologizing for shifting, promising me that she’ll never do it again.
“Whoa. Slow down. You have nothing to be sorry for, Andi. We aren’t sending you anywhere. Please shift back and talk to us.”
A few minutes later, Andi is standing in the same spot her panther had been sitting. I smile at her. “Welcome back,” I say, still smiling. “That panther is…”
“Somethin’ else,” she whispers. “I know.”
Andi’s eyes meet Ridge’s and before she can say a word, Ridge is across the room, swallowing Andi in his arms. I know he’s shielding his mate from me. “All good?”
“Yeah,” Ridge answers.
“Thank you,” Andi replies in a small voice.
“No problem.”
“Lux in his office?” Ridge asks.
“Nah, he’s at the bar,” I direct. “I gotta go check on a woman of my own.”
68
Maximus “Max”
“Is everything okay?”
“Yes, everything is fine,” I say crossing my arms over Max’s shoulders, but she turns to face me with her coffee still in hand. “How’s the coffee?”
“It’s good, you want a sip?”
“Not with that sweet shit in it. I drink my coffee black.”
“Oh.”
He goes to the cabinet to get a cup and pours his own coffee. How could anyone drink coffee black? Ick?
He laughs into his mug and it’s the greatest sound ever. I know he heard me. Everything about him is perfect. “Salvation?”
“Yes, dollface?”
“Thank you.”
He looks up from his cup, and his eyes meet mine. “For?”
“For being my salvation.”
He sets his coffee down, coming to me in a few quick steps. I brace myself for impact as he wraps his arms around me. My chest crashes into his as he lifts me into his arms, my feet leaving the floor. His lips are sealed over mine, his tongue coaxing my mouth open, and it’s the best fucking sensation I’ve ever felt. Butterflies come to life in my tummy and heat slides all over me. Time slows to a crawl and oh god, I wish it would stop so I could relive this moment over and over again.
“Hey, guys…whoops! Sorry,” Sharayah says.
Salvation sets me back on my feet but doesn’t part his lips from mine. He takes one last sweep of my bottom lip before backing away. “Mornin’.”
Sharayah smiles and looks at me. “I know you just got here, but I was wondering if you would be into helping me at the DLMC’s strip club.”
Heat creeps into my face and the blissful feeling in my stomach quickly turns to nerves. “I won’t dance, don’t ask me.”
They both laugh and Sharayah throws her arms over my shoulder. “No, girl. I could use some help behind the bar.”
“Oh, okay, I can do that. I can help you keep stock and take inventory. I’m kinda good at that.”
Salvation grins, placing a kiss on my cheek. “You got yourself a job, baby.”
“Wait, shouldn’t I talk to Lux or somethin’? Fill out an application?”
“I’ll talk to him, it’ll be cool,” Salvation reassures.
I look at Sharayah, raising an eyebrow. “Relax, it’s cool. Like he’s the boss or somethin’.”
She laughs. “Love, the customers will pay good money to see you behind the bar. You’re like the naughty librarian.”
“Huh, that’s an interesting analogy. I do like to read. It makes me sad to think about all those books I left behind. Man, I had a solid collection.”
“We’ll get ‘em soon, baby, don’t worry. I said in a few months, we’d go back to get some of your things.”
I smile. I didn’t have much in my home, just a few pictures of family,
