Read Online UnexpectedFind by Nancy Corrigan - Free Book Online Page B

didn’t
calm until he caught a glimpse of a car ahead of him. At the first sign of red
taillights, he slowed. He allowed his cats to rise and offer their increased
senses. Just as it had in the bar, the red lights turned to dark gray and the
world around him brightened as their night vision became his.
    He squinted, not wanting to get too close to the car in
front of him, and breathed a sigh. Jasmine. He’d memorized her license,
remembered the decals she’d had on her windows—stickers to save big cat habitat
and to put an end to animal research. He smiled. They were worthy causes and
ones he approved of too.
    Relaxed now that he had her in his vision, he put the
speakerphone on and called Kade.
    “Where are you?” Rafe asked as soon as the call connected.
    “In the middle of fucking nowhere,” Kade grumbled. “It’s no
wonder these humans got away with hiding our shifter kids so long. They live in
the damn boondocks.”
    Rafe chuckled, not at Kade’s irritation but at Jasmine. Her
head was bopping as if she were singing along to music.
    “It’s not funny, Rafe. I stepped in dung! Do you know how
bad that shit smells?”
    Now Rafe’s laughter was directed at his bother. “It hasn’t
been that long since our only mode of transportation was by horses. I remember.”
He cleared his throat. “Did you find Jasmine’s children?”
    “Not yet. Her property is smack-dab in the middle of two
large cow fields. I checked those first, found nothing.”
    He closed his eyes briefly and sent a prayer of thanks to
the gods before focusing on the car in front of him. Whether her home choice
was intentional or not, she couldn’t have picked a safer location. The stench
from manure would cover up the scent of her boys and deter other shifters from
investigating.
    “She said they’re with a Mr. Wilkins,” he said.
    Kade grunted. “Figures. He was next on my list. He’s on the
opposite side of the bigger farm.”
    Up ahead, Jasmine’s car slowed. She turned down a smaller
road. He drove past it then did a one-eighty. He waited for her to disappear
from view and followed behind with his lights off.
    “Looks as if we’re headed there too. Wait until you see
headlights then go out to her home and make sure it’s safe.”
    “More damn orders. Sure thing, brother,” Kade grumbled and
ended the call.
    The one-lane macadam turned into a gravel road. He was
forced to pull the car off into the bushes so as not to stir up dust. His heart
raced. The separation from Jasmine was unavoidable. He didn’t want to alert her
to his presence but he hated not knowing where she was, if she was safe.
    In all likelihood, the shifter who’d sliced Tony’s throat
and spilled his guts was gone, scared off, probably before they’d arrived. Most
of the rogues who dealt in shifter trafficking were opportunists. They didn’t
tangle with the human authorities often because nearly every county had at
least one person in the police system with ties to Shifter Affairs. Those
humans fed them information. It was through one such individual that they had
come to know about Megan. The little girl’s adoption raised a few flags when
Tony moved back home and enrolled her in kindergarten. They were notified
immediately but as in any organization, the paper log slowed them down.
    Guilt ate at Rafe over their failure. No human should die as
a result of shifter issues, but at least they’d secured Megan’s location and
her new guardian. Now the difficult decisions came, the ones he didn’t envy his
brother of having to make. Since Megan was found in Alexander territory, she
would eventually be assimilated into their family unless her birth parents
could be found.
    But what happened to those humans who loved her? Take the
child and let the human family think she’d died? Or bring the human into their
fold? Most often, the first choice was best for both sides. But for the first
time since he’d been involved in rescuing their lost innocents, Rafe