“You are not fine,” she whispers.
I don’t respond because I don’t want to lie to her. Moving at a steady pace, the crowd parts easily, and we make it to the front door. I allow Rylee to go first after I open the door, and the bouncer nods at her. Luckily, I didn’t park far away, and I click the locks as we approach. I open the passenger's side door and wait for her to get in. She pauses, staring at me.
“What?” I ask.
“I can drive,” she says, and I smile.
“Foxy, I can drive.” I don’t have an excessive amount of pride. I think I have the normal amount. I cup her cheek. “Will you let me escort my lovely mate home? It means something to me.” She leans against my hand.
“Yes.” She smiles slightly and gets inside. I walk stiffly around the hood and sit in the driver's seat. I wait until she clicks herseat belt before doing the same and starting the car. I pull out my phone and pass it to her.
“Put in your number, and text yourself.” She takes it from my fingers. “I don’t know where you live. Can you put it in the system?”
“Yeah.” She enters her address, and I drive away.
“How long have you known all of them?” I ask.
“Not long.” She slides my phone into the cup holder. “Heath is a private man. He’s known Micah and Quinn, a bear shifter, for a long time. They lost touch for years, and then reconnected. He didn’t want to be part of the group and didn’t tell anyone about me. His family is long gone, and he didn’t want to get close to anyone again, only to lose them. When he met Juliana, everything changed. Sally came to one of my fights and discovered who I am to Heath. There was no stopping her after that,” she laughs.
“I haven’t known Sally long, but that doesn’t surprise me.” I glance at the screen on the dashboard as I turn.
“I love her. We’ve spent time together outside of the group, and I admire her. She loves hard and wants to include everyone in her circle. After Heath completed the bond, he became more involved with the family. He needs them, but doesn’t like admitting it.” She crosses her legs, leaning closer to me. “Bane and Hunter work for him. They are my brothers regardless of blood. Haven is my best friend. Not long ago, she came to visit, met the four of them, and completed the bond. Heath knew about her before she came, but no one else did. This dynamic is new to her, and she was human before the mating.”
“She has adapted well to being a jaguar.” I could tell she was newly turned, yet her animal is deeply ingrained.
“I’ve known her since we were teenagers, but I didn’t reveal what I was until she was driving her to meet me,” she says.
“You’d never met in person?”
“No. We were pen pals in school. Both of us were a little broken and dealing with extreme situations. She became my safe place,” she whispers.
“I’m grateful to her.” I pull into a parking lot.
“You can park in front.” She points to the right. “I’m on the fifth floor.” I find a spot to park and turn off the car. “You don’t have to come up.”
“Yes, I do.” I grab the keys and phone, then step out. I make it to her door as she opens it. “Humor me.” I take her hand and lock the car. “Lead the way.”
The building looks nice. I look around the area and notice security cameras in every corner and at the front of the apartment. All of the lights work, and I don’t see any dark spots. We stop at the double glass doors, and she enters a code. A man at the desk stands.
“Miss Rylee.” He nods.
“Hey, Stan. This is Ezra. You’ll see him around.”
“Good to know,” he says, smiling.
“He’s dropping me off, so he’ll be back down soon,” she says, walking toward the elevators.
“Sure thing. Have a good night.”
“Same to you.” She pushes the button, and the elevator opens in the next second. “It’s a nice building.”
“I see that.”
“You remind me of Heath,” she laughs. “He looked around at everything when we found this place. He wanted to make sure I was safe.” She looks at me. “Thank you for thinking about my safety.”
“I’m warning you now that won’t stop.”
“I know I can take care of myself, but I won’t turn down someone who wants to do it for me.” The doors open, and she steps to the right. Her door is steps away. “The most important thing to me is being careful and safe.”
