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“I’m going to take care of her,” Mercer said. “Thanks.”
“You bet. Good luck.”
Jasper closed the apartment door, and Mercer sighed. He placed Rhomi on the couch and sat next to her.
It was time to face the music.
ChapterFifteen
“Rhomi? Sweetheart?”
Rhomi woke slowly, her mind swimming and her thoughts a puzzling mess.
“Wake up, Rhomi.”
She opened her eyes and saw the ceiling, and then Mercer leaned over and smiled at her. “Hey, there.”
“Hi?”
He smiled a little more broadly. “You’re in my apartment.”
She sat up and looked around. The puzzling images in her mind were slowly starting to come together.
“How did I get here? I don’t remember…” she paused as she remembered walking into the aviary to check on the jackal.
Holy shit!
She’d seen that jackal turn into a woman.
Jerking back, she nearly tipped over the edge of the couch, but Mercer grabbed her arm and pulled her forward.
“It’s okay, Rhomi.”
His voice was soothing, but she didn’t want to be soothed, she wanted answers.
Pulling her arm free from his gentle grasp, she stood and stared down at him.
“It’s not okay. I saw that animal turn into a person.”
He looked up at her, his hazel eyes swirling with that amber color she’d seen before.
Then she realized what was bothering her most. It wasn’t just that the jackal had changed into a person, it was that Mercerwasn’tbothered by it.
“Why aren’t you upset?” she asked.
His brow arched. “Because it’s all going to be okay. Sit down, sweetheart. I want to tell you some things.”
She took a step back, and he let out a short growl.
Her skin prickled in awareness as some ancient part of her recognized that Mercer wasn’t just a man, he was a predator. He stood slowly, gracefully, his irises blooming to full amber.
“Rhomi, don’t run. You can’t leave.”
At the phrasedon’t run, she did just that, turning and lurching for the door.
She let out a sharp shriek as she nearly collided with a man outside the apartment.
“You must be Rhomi,” he said, genially. “I’m Jasper, part of the security team.”
