“Okay. We’ll keep an eye on her. She might just be trying to talk to her cat.”
Rafe rubbed his aching temples and focused on the other question he had for Josh. “Why would Tony have been sharing a storage unit with Cindy? And why would only her name be on the unit, not her husband’s too?”
Josh frowned. “Just hers? That’s odd. I have no clue.”
“Tony and Cindy were friends? Or lovers too?”
“As far as I know, only friends. She’s friendly with everybody, though, so who knows if it was more. I never cared to ask. Not my business.” Josh narrowed his eyes. “What else was in the unit?”
“Random stuff. Books, old furniture, boxes of junk. Nothing that would offer us other clues.”
“So all we can say for sure is that Tony was bidding on shifter cage fights?”
“And that he’d lost about twenty-grand at it. Tony had kept a log of the fights and his bids. I can’t say whether he was paid up on it, but that’s a lot of play money to be tossing around, especially after just adopting Megan.”
Josh clenched his hands until white-knuckles betrayed his anger. “Why would he get involved in this? He knew Megan was a shifter too.”
“Those bid sheets go back a year. He was involved in exploiting shifters long before he ever became a father of one.”
Josh turned and slammed his balled fist against the table. A container of nuts and bolts spilled. The pinging sounds of metal hitting the floor filled the room. He planted his palms on the surface and hung his head.
“He never talked about adopting a kid. One day, he just showed up with Megan. He made a point of complaining about the lawyer fees. He even waved the stacks of paper and bitched about how long it had taken to sign everything. I never looked at any of it. I should’ve. Maybe I would’ve noticed something wrong.”
“And you didn’t think it was strange that he just came home with a kid? That social workers didn’t inspect the house or talk to any of you?”
“Sure, but”—Josh glanced over his shoulder—“he was my brother. A good guy. No matter what he was involved in, he cared about Megan. I guess I just didn’t want to know.”
“Understood.”
And Rafe did. It was easy to ignore inconsistencies when you cared about the person involved. He’d done the same where Jon was concerned.
“I’ll talk to Cindy tomorrow night and see what I can find out.” Josh bent and picked up the screws that had fallen. “Maybe she knew more than she let on.”
“Do you want me to send one of my brothers with you?” Better he ask. Josh wasn’t the type of man who likely responded well to orders.
“And take a guard away from Jazz and the kids?” Josh snorted. “No way. I have a carry permit. If the guy comes at me, I’ll shoot him.”
“Then you better shoot to kill.” Rafe gave Josh a warning look. “Shifters heal quickly.”
“Good to know.”
Rafe made his way to the door. He wanted to spend some time with Megan. He hadn’t gotten the chance to talk to her earlier in the day. There’d been too much going on.
“And Rafe?”
Rafe stopped with his hand on the door. “What?”
“If you break Jazz’s heart or disappoint her kids, you’re going to regret it, and believe me, I’ll be watching to make sure you treat them right.”
The warning didn’t surprise him. The acceptance behind it did.
“Aren’t you going to try and steal her from me?”
“No.” Josh placed the container of screws on the countertop, then left through the back door.
Rafe didn’t know what to make of the change in the human’s attitude, but he wouldn’t question it. Competition for Jasmine was the last thing he wanted to worry about, not when more practical matters came first. And keeping her safe until he could inflict a life-threatening wound ranked right up there.
Chapter 26
Jazz couldn’t tear her gaze from Rafe. After an initial awkward moment where Seth and Levi had stared wide-eyed at Rafe when he’d taken his bowl of ice cream and sat on the floor with them, they’d settled into a discussion about their favorite superheroes. Then they’d looked through the boys’ comic book collection and played a board game. It didn’t take much to imagine Rafe stretched out on the floor watching cartoons or playing ball in the yard.
The clock on the wall chimed. “Okay, kids. Say good night to Rafe. It’s time for bed.”
“Can Rafe read us a story?” Levi asked.
“Please,” Seth added.
She glanced between her kids and a grinning Rafe. He winked at her, and she smiled. “Sure. Hugs from me first.”
Seth and Levi squeezed her tight, then Rafe kissed her on the cheek. “I’ll be down soon.”
She caught both boys watching them closely, curiosity on their faces. Her skin warmed. “Okay.”
Rafe flashed her a pleased smile. “By the way, Seth and Levi gave me permission to love you.”
“They…did?”
“Mmm-hmm.” Rafe took her hand and ran his thumb over her knuckles. “I explained how special you are to me. That I wanted to make you happy. And the best way to do that is to stay close to you.”
“So we told Rafe that he could move in,” Levi said.
Seth nodded. “We can be a real family.”
“That’s okay, isn’t it?” Levi asked.
“Yes.” She swallowed hard. “That’s okay.”
Seth and Levi raced toward the stairs. Rafe slipped his hand around her waist and pulled her close. “And just so you know, they told me I could share your room since Mira would be sleeping in the spare one.”
“You’re sneaky.”
He brushed his lips over hers. “I am when I need to be. I do house big cats. Sneaky is one of their traits.”
He slipped from the room before she
