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Strange eye color and purring? Was she losing her mind?
Putting her thoughts on the back burner for the time being, she focused on the drive and told him about some of her favorite restaurants near her apartment so they could find a place to take everyone out to eat.
“Before I forget, Darcy and Reagan want to get together next weekend. They want me to meet them for manis and pedis at a spa we like to frequent and have lunch. Maybe Sunday?”
“Sounds good. Can I drive you, even if I’m not getting my nails done?”
“I’d love that.”
“I’ll keep myself busy and not listen to your girl talk. Unless you mention me.”
“That works for me.”
He turned down the road to her apartment and she sat up, grabbing her phone and sending a text to her friends.
Manis and pedis Sunday, then brunch at the golf course restaurant we like?
Her friends replied swiftly and she laughed at how excited they were, especially hearing that Mercer would pick them up and they could drink all the mimosas they wanted.
“You just got drafted as our driver,” Rhomi said.
“I’m at your service.” He wiggled his brows at her, and she grinned. Meeting Mercer was definitely the best thing that had ever happened to her.
* * *
Ginny opened her eyes slowly and had a mini panic attack at not being able to see anything. Then she realized that she was in the dark and not actually blind. As her eyes adjusted to the low illumination, she was able to see more clearly.
Cage bars.
Freaking damn things.
But she was actually now in a very spacious cage, unlike the dog crate she’d been stuck in for weeks while those asshole humans tried to find someone online to buy her. It was just her bad luck that she’d been running through the woods and got caught in a trap. Two humans—a male and female—found her and caged her, calling her the ugliest dog they’d ever seen before.
Which, hello, Ginny wasnota dog. She was a jackal shifter, on the run from her murderous grandfather.
Her heart panged as she thought about her ruined family. She’d escaped to save herself and had run so far, she hadn’t been sure where she was or where she’d be safe.
She ached everywhere from being cooped up.
And nearly killed too.
If it hadn’t been for the male who’d decided she was worth saving, she was headed for some terrible fate at the hands of animal shelter employees. The sucky thing was that she’d never been in a cage big enough to shift back to human, so she’d been trapped. Her survival had depended on someone opening the cage door so she could slip free and run, but it hadn’t happened.
She didn’t even remember getting put in the larger cage, which meant the food the new people had given her was drugged and she’d missed her opportunity.
But this cage? It was big enough for her to change.
She rolled to her paws and shook herself out, her leg hurting sharply. She looked down to see a bandage covering it. They’d taken her blood!
She wasn’t sure if bloodwork would reveal she wasn’t a natural jackal, but she needed to get gone before any results came back.
Peering at the locking mechanism on the cage, it seemed to be the kind with two parts that had to be squeezed at the same time to release. She should be able to get her hand through the bars. Then she’d find something to put on to cover herself, get the hell out of here, figure out where she actually was, and find somewhere to hide forever where her grandfather would never find her.
Piece of cake.
If the cake was an explosive frosted with gunpowder.
Listening intently, she held her breath and waited to see if she could hear anyone milling around. She was clearly in some kind of animal clinic, but she was the only animal in the place. When she was certain the coast was clear, she moved to the center of the metal cage and called for her human form.
