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“Luke also said Dawn claims one of the loners once stayed at her shelter.”
Havana sighed, her face falling. “Yeah. Keziah Crompton. She’s only fifteen. Dawn last saw her two weeks ago. She thought the girl just decided to leave—not all residents choose to stay long. I just hope she’s alive and we can somehow find her.”
Havana was surprised her hands didn’t shake as she tore open a bag of chips and poured them into a bowl. Having Tate so close—inhaling his scent with her every breath, feeling his body heat radiate against her, listening to that sensual voice that could talk a girl to orgasm—was hard on her senses. It was tougher still when she could feel his eyes boring into her, watching her too closely.
She cast him a sharp look. “Enough with the staring.”
“Stop being so beautiful, and I’ll stop staring. Maybe. Probably not. I like looking at you. And since I just got a tiny peek of your neon pink bra strap, I’m wondering if you’re wearing the matching panties. I recall peeling them off you on more than one occasion.”
She was not touching that comment. “Anyway, I spread the word throughout the building that it’s possible loners are being targeted. Corbin did the same at the rec center. Dawn is making the residents of the shelter aware of the situation.”
“My pride mates will inform the loners who work for our pride to be careful.”
“Aspen posted a warning on an online forum for lone shifters, asking them to pass it on. The news went viral pretty quickly.”
“Good.”
Once she’d poured all the snacks into bowls, she gathered the empty packets. “I found out today that a bear shifter once auctioned off some of his clan members after they shunned him.”
Tate’s brow furrowed. “Who told you that?”
“Someone I met at the rec center years ago,” she replied vaguely, tossing the bags in the trash. “Anyway, the story goes that the bear took bids from people online.”
Once she’d finished relaying the incident, Tate shook his head in disgust. “It’s sickening to know there are people out there, human or shifter, who’d actually buy or sell others.” He narrowed his eyes, his gaze speculative. “You handled the interrogation well.”
She didn’t let her expression alter. “Why, thank you.”
“Why do I get the feeling it wasn’t your first?”
“You’d have to ask yourself that—I can’t answer it for you, Garfield.”
His lips thinned. “Didn’t we agree that you wouldn’t call me that anymore?”
“No, you asked me not to. I didn’t say I wouldn’t.” And it seemed a good way to divert him from his line of questioning.
He moved closer, boldly entering her space. Then he frowned. “Why is your devil so pissed at me?” he asked softly. “My cat senses it, he hates it. What did I do that upset her so much?” His gaze sharpened. “It wouldn’t happen to be the very thing that made you decide to walk away, would it?”
She exhaled heavily. “God, Tate, you’re like a goddamn bulldog.” On the one hand, it was impossible to not admire that level of relentlessness. On the other hand, it was damn irritating.
“Just tell me what I did. I can’t apologize or fix it if I don’t know what I did.”
She softened. It wasn’t his fault that she’d been unable to keep her feelings out of their fling. He’d been nothing but honest with her from day one. “You didn’t do anything. Really.”
“Then why is she so mad at me?”
“She’s a devil. She spends seventy percent of her day mad. Don’t take it personally.”
“Movie’s ready!” Bailey shouted from the living area. “Where’re the munchies?”
“On their way,” Havana loudly replied, grabbing two bowls.
“I’ll carry the others.” Tate followed her into the living area and, like her, positioned the bowls on the coffee table. “What are we watching?”
Havana felt her stomach flip. “You want to stay for the movie?”
He shrugged. “Got nothing else to do.”
“I’m up for it,” said Luke.
Hell. The whole point of watching a movie with her girls was to relax and wind down. She couldn’t do that so easily if Tate was here—her body was too aware of him, too attuned to his, too braced for his touch for her to settle and feel at ease.
It might not have been so bad if she could have sprawled in her favorite armchair, but Luke had already claimed it. And since Bailey was lounging in the other chair, that only left the sofa. Aspen and Camden had taken up one side of it, which meant Havana and Tate would have to squeeze on the other end. There’d be no keeping a reasonable distance from him.
She’d be lying if she said she actually wanted him to go, though. She’d missed him. Watching a movie with him wouldn’t hurt. It wasn’t like they were alone or anything.
“Just don’t touch my popcorn,” Aspen said to both Tate and his brother.
