“Jasmine, come here.” Rafe pointed to the spot in front of him.
Josh pushed her behind him. “No. Jazz isn’t going to you.”
“Yes. She is. We need to talk.”
“Do it from over there.”
That was it. Rafe strode forward. One way or another, he would hold her. He needed Jasmine’s scent in his lungs. It was the only way to calm his cats who demanded Josh be put in his place.
“Stop it, both of you. I’m coming.” She ducked under Josh’s arm and walked to Rafe. “You lied to me.”
“I didn’t lie. I just didn’t tell you the truth.”
“It’s how you look at it, right?”
“Yes.”
She sighed and shook her head. “What’s going on? Who is that crazy guy who just tried to kill us?”
Rafe glanced from Jasmine to Megan. “I promise to explain everything but not now.” He blew out a breath. “I know it’s asking a lot, but I need you to trust me.”
“I’m willing to listen to you.”
But she didn’t trust him. Was that what she implied? No. He needed her trust, especially with Jon in town.
“I sent Kade to guard your boys and had Devin watching over Megan. If I’d meant to take the kids, I could’ve at any time.” He narrowed his eyes. “That’s what you were afraid of. That’s why you left me this morning. Isn’t it?”
“Do you blame me?”
“No, I don’t, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the truth.”
“I was going to call. I just needed…”
“To make sure your kids were safe.”
She nodded.
He held his hand out to her. “Come here. I want to hold you.”
Jasmine walked closer. The moment she was within arm’s reach, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and tucked her against his chest. “What happened at the hotel?”
“I called the boys and—”
“In the lobby.” The reason she’d left him was important too, but her safety came first.
She tipped her head to glance into his face. “Some guy gave me a hard time.”
“Hard time? Yeah, he was trying to force…” Josh glanced at Megan. “He wouldn’t leave Jazz alone.”
Rafe met Josh’s gaze. The unspoken clarification was stamped on his expression. The guy had harassed Jasmine. Touched her. “You made sure he did leave her alone?”
Josh’s sharp nod answered him.
His tiger’s snarl echoed in Rafe’s head. He blocked it out. The aggression wouldn’t do him any good after the fact. Neither would regret. All he could do was focus on the outcome—Jasmine was safe. No thanks to him.
“What did this man look like?” Rafe asked.
“Brown hair. Brown eyes. Built. Maybe in his late forties.” Josh shrugged. “He was shorter than me. Five-ten, maybe.”
Josh’s description could’ve been any number of humans, but the timing suggested Jon had been the one who’d touched Jasmine.
Jasmine had been in Jon’s grasp. He could’ve killed her before Rafe even knew a threat existed. Rafe pillowed his head on hers and lowered his voice. “He held you. As close as I am now. Then tried to hurt you.”
“The…the shifter Devin scared away? It was him?” She tilted her head. “The guy from the hotel.”
“Yes. I think so.”
“Do you know him?”
“Yes.”
And Rafe would make sure Jon didn’t get a second chance at Jasmine. The coward would try too. He’d hated Rafe a century ago, simply because Rafe had been born a Royal. Only, Rafe hadn’t known the extent of Jon’s hatred until it was too late.
The conversation that night Jon had beheaded Rafe’s father had started innocently enough. Jon had found his first gray hair. At four hundred, he’d begun to age and wanted to stop the natural process. Jon had brought up the mating laws involving Royals. It was widely known that when a male Royal mated a human or single shifter female, she shared in her mate’s immortality. Jon had wondered if it worked the same for a female Royal and a male human or single shifter.
Rafe had told Jon not to get any ideas. It’d been tried several times. A Royal female couldn’t form the same bond a Royal male could. Their gods and goddesses had deemed it so. Female shifters were meant to share in their mate’s strength, not the other way around. And immortality was the greatest strength anyone could possess.
Gender equality didn’t exist in the shifter world.
Jon had gotten angry. He’d said the gods had forsaken the single shifters. That it wasn’t fair to favor the Royals over them. He deserved immortality too.
He’d stormed off, but not before he wished Rafe would get to experience his share of death, even if it would never be his own. Jon had made good on his promise too.
Devin cleared his throat, pulling Rafe out of his grim thoughts. “We should go.”
“Yes.” Rafe tucked Jasmine into his side and led the way back to their cars. “Let’s go collect your boys.”
At the roadside, he picked up the purple car seat that sat on the ground next to Devin’s vehicle and walked toward Rafe’s SUV.
“No,” Megan said with a shake of her head. She planted little fists on her hips and glared at Rafe, then faced Josh. “I’m not going with him.” She motioned behind her. “He didn’t talk nice to you. I don’t like that.”
“You don’t have to go with him.” Josh yanked the seat from Rafe’s hands and handed it to Devin.
“No biggie, kid. You can ride with me.” Devin crouched in front of Megan. He held up the car seat. “Do you know how this thing works?”
“Let me help.” Jasmine pushed away from Rafe.
Josh stepped next to Rafe while Jazz installed the car seat. “Let me make this very clear. Devin explained briefly what we’re up against. After what happened today, I know I’m out of my element. That doesn’t mean I’ll blindly trust you or your friends.”
“You have no choice but to trust us.”
“Doesn’t mean I’m happy about it.” Josh leveled a hard look at Rafe. “Betray me, and I will find a way to destroy you.”
Rafe nodded and matched
