A grin spread over Josh’s face that didn’t reach his eyes. “I won’t have to. She’ll come to me the first time you two fight.”
Jasmine glanced between them. “Everything okay?”
Josh smacked Rafe on the back. “Sure. Just some male bonding.”
Rafe bit back the growl. He held a hand out to Jasmine. She took it without hesitation. He flashed Josh a pleased smile. Josh scowled, and Rafe chuckled.
“If the two of you are done”—Devin stepped next to them—“I’m going to go pick up Kade and the cubs so we can get out of this town.”
“What?” Jasmine looked between them. “You’re not taking my boys anywhere.”
“It’s too dangerous here. The children will be safer back at our place,” Devin reasoned.
“No!” She fisted Rafe’s shirt. “Please, don’t let him take my boys.”
He ran a hand over her loose hair. “You’re coming too. I’m not leaving without you.”
She stepped back. “Excuse me?”
“You’re moving home with me.” Rafe looked to where Josh stood near Megan. The little girl met Rafe’s gaze. She might only be a child, but her protective instincts were strong. Definitely a dominant. There’d be no splitting her from her human family. “Josh will have to come to.”
“I am not moving anywhere and neither is Josh.” She waved an arm out to indicate the road next to them. “This is our home. We both have businesses here. Friends.”
“You’ve attracted the attention of an evil man. Even if we don’t catch him, you and your kids will always be in danger.” Rafe mimicked her encompassing wave. “This backwoods town is the only reason you were able to live unnoticed by the shifter community, but now you’ve been spotted. You won’t survive the week without my pride’s protection.”
“No.” Jasmine crossed her arms over her chest. “I am not moving anywhere.”
Rafe sighed. “Be realistic—”
“I am. I only met you a few days ago. That’s not long enough for me to blindly give up everything for you or to put my boys’ lives completely in your hands.”
“But you’re in danger.”
“I understand that, and if it was only me, I’d leave with you. It’s not. I need to make sure you’re not more of a risk to Seth and Levi than we’d face if we just took off, destination unknown.”
“And while you’re making that decision, you’ll be at risk.”
“Then you can stay here and protect us. I won’t just leave with you.” Jasmine dropped her arms and took a step forward. “End of discussion. Those are your choices.”
“Kade won’t like it,” Devin chimed in.
No, Kade wouldn’t, but what was Rafe supposed to do? Sure, he could move them by force. They wouldn’t be able to stop him. Once they were back in Virginia, Jasmine would realize he wasn’t a threat to her or her kids.
Not only did his small family reside there, the largest Royal wolf pack in the States called it home. No shifter would dare attack them, not even Jon.
Jasmine would also hate Rafe for taking her choice away.
A day or two here wouldn’t hurt. He was confident he could protect her, and as long as the kids were with Devin or Kade, there’d be nothing to worry about. They were stronger than Jon, and if Rafe brought in his brothers to help hunt Jon, they might just be able to punish him and find Nina.
“Okay, we’ll try it your way.”
Her breath rushed out, and she grinned. “Thank you.”
He gave her hand a squeeze, then faced Devin. “Call and see if any of my brothers can come down.”
Devin nodded and glanced at Megan. “I’ll ask Mira to come too. She’s good with kids.”
Rafe studied his friend carefully. “Are you sure? You usually don’t allow her around humans.”
“I’m hoping being around Megan and the other cubs will give her some ideas. She’s been alone too long.”
Rafe closed his eyes against the sadness that statement brought. “We can hope.”
“Who is Mira?” Josh strode closer to Devin. “And why isn’t she allowed near humans?”
“My twin.” Devin faced him. “And humans aren’t trustworthy.”
Chapter 18
Jazz waited until Josh got Megan settled in Devin’s vehicle before focusing on Rafe. “Start talking. I want to know who you really are.”
“My name really is Rafe Alexander.” He turned in his seat to face her. “I assist a special unit of the government that retrieves shifters who’ve been kidnapped and prosecutes those who deal in shifter trafficking.”
Shifter trafficking?
And he’d come to town to follow up on a missing person. Gathering information, he’d told her that. Did the government find out about the fake birth certificates she had for Seth and Levi?
“How can I trust that you’re with this special unit and not feeding me a line?”
He grumbled but dug out his wallet, folded it in half, exposing an ID, and handed it to her.
Rafe Alexander, SA Field Liaison.
“Shifter Affairs,” Rafe said. “In case you were wondering about the title. I’m not an agent, just a shifter who’s been trained to do field work. I have limited privileges and don’t get paid, but I’m a point of contact in any feline-related issues in this section of the country.”
She nodded her appreciation and scrutinized the rest of the badge. It had an official-looking stamp on it, and the main address was listed in Washington. She turned it around, studied the glyph in the light, then glanced from the picture to him. It looked official. Real.
It made perfect sense the government would have a group that policed shifters. Someone must’ve raided the warehouse where she’d been kept. The morning after she’d escaped, a fire was reported to have leveled a large section of the industrial facility where it was located. The men running the illegal center wouldn’t have willingly burned it and lost all the experimental facilities there.
Jazz handed the card back. Time for the tough questions. “Okay, fine. Now why were you here in the first place?”
He held his hand out to her, palm up. She stared at it
