She pushed to her knees, obviously not in the mood to snuggle with him. He couldn’t blame her. The timing was bad, but he wanted to touch her. To remind himself she was safe. She skimmed her fingers over his knuckles as if she sensed his need for her.
“I had a hard time telling Seth and Levi apart those first couple of weeks too. I kept Seth in blue and Levi in yellow until I learned to distinguish their cries. Seth was more intense.”
Rafe had noticed the difference between the boys almost immediately. Seth would need guidance as he grew but it wasn’t his fault he had a hard time reining in his emotions. It only meant his animal spirits were more stubborn than Levi’s. Rafe hated to think of the issues Jasmine would’ve had to tackle once they hit puberty.
He sat back on his legs, matching her pose. “It’s been a long time since I was around shifter babies, but I remember how hard it is to care for them. You’ve done a wonderful job with Seth and Levi. They’re healthy and have a good sense of morality.”
She inched closer to him so their knees touched. “It was hard, especially after they first shifted. They didn’t seem to have any control of it. Once I was pushing a stroller down the street and Levi changed. Thankfully he was in the back of the double seats and I was able to get him into the car without anybody seeing. I rarely took them out after that until they got a little older. Stress seemed to be a trigger.”
“That it is.” He lifted her arm and traced the claw marks there. They weren’t deep, more of a scratch but it had scarred. “One of the boys did this?”
She nodded.
“You’re lucky he didn’t hurt you more seriously.”
She yanked her arm free. “It was an accident. He didn’t do it on purpose.”
“I never said he did. Don’t be defensive. I didn’t mean it negatively.”
“I know.” She dropped her gaze. “I’m nervous. I need to talk to you, and I don’t know where to start.”
“This is more than just about us, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” She stared at him from under her lashes. “Have you looked at your phone lately?”
“No, I left it charging in the car. It was dead. Why?”
“Cindy, Tony’s neighbor, sent pictures of documents she was holding for him to your phone. Megan has a twin—”
“Molly.” He sat up straighter. “I know. Megan told me about her. It’s why I went to the shifter agency.”
“The papers are from a lawyer who was arranging her adoption.” Jasmine gripped his hand tighter. “There’s more. Cindy was involved with Tony and another guy. Together.” She looked imploringly at him as if she wasn’t sure he’d understand what she was getting at.
“They were lovers?”
“Yes, and I told her to come over here. I’m afraid for her. The other guy…the way Cindy described him…he could’ve been the shifter from the hotel. His name’s not Jon, though. It’s—”
“It’s Jonah, isn’t it?”
Jon had often used alternate versions of his name to create new identities. It was a common practice among shifters. Rafe had done so himself.
“Yes.” Jasmine pressed a hand to her mouth. “Cindy’s in danger, isn’t she?”
“Probably.” He stood, pulling Jasmine with him. So much for the few minutes of privacy to talk about them. “We need to warn her. Tell her to get to a public place. Somewhere busy.”
Jon had already proven with his aggressiveness toward Jasmine in the hotel lobby that he didn’t have a problem pushing what he could get away with in front of humans, but more eyes watching Jon would create a small level of protection for Cindy. Hopefully.
“She was headed over to a storage unit to get some more of Tony’s things, then she’s coming over.”
“She’s not going to find anything. Evan already took the box that belonged to Tony. We’ll call her. Come on.” Rafe hurried with Jasmine across the yard to his car, retrieved his phone, then ushered her into the house.
Kade turned at their approach. Rafe gave him a quick rundown of what he’d learned, then shoved his phone into Kade’s hands to text the pictures to Ella at the Shifter Affairs agency.
That done, Rafe dialed Cindy’s number on the landline. She didn’t answer. He ended the call and tried her house. Nothing.
The lack of response set Rafe on edge. He met Jasmine’s gaze. “I’m going to the storage unit. If Cindy shows up, call me.” He took his phone from Kade’s outstretched hand.
But it’d be a miracle if she did arrive safe and sound. If Jon hadn’t killed Cindy before, it was because he still needed her, probably so he could get his hands on the same documents she’d sent to Rafe.
The papers had the lawyer’s address who was handling Molly’s adoption. Knowing that, it’d be a simple matter of tracking down the human and either stealing the information of Molly’s whereabouts or coercing it out of him, maybe in a similar manner as Jon had done with Tony. Either way, Rafe had to make sure the papers didn’t fall into the wrong hands.
He couldn’t lose Molly. He’d promised.
Chapter 33
Jazz watched Rafe walk away and pressed against the ache in her chest. Everything was spiraling out of control. They needed to talk, but life wasn’t giving them a chance.
The minute he returned with Cindy, Jazz would escape with him to their bedroom.
Had she actually complained about life being too boring? She’d take the mundane stuff over what she’d been dealing with since Tony died.
Her stomach growled, reminding her that she’d been up for a while yet hadn’t eaten. She
