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“They might not have known it was there,” Rhomi offered.
“Good point, it’s pretty new and not accessible from the park. The question is, though, how’d they fucking get in the front when the gates are locked?” Mercer said.
“I’ve got it,” Amadeus said. He pointed to one screen and pressed rewind. Rhomi leaned forward, watching as he stopped and started the recording. A group of ten men approached the park on foot and split up. Four of them waited in the shadows and then scaled the stone wall like they were simply walking up the stairs, avoiding the motion detectors at the top of the wall that were placed a handful of feet apart. They jumped down and hid, waiting for the security team to pass by. She saw Mercer and Jupiter run toward the animal paddocks and the men dart right for the season ticket office.
She shuddered and turned away from the monitor.
Mercer made a curious sound, and she glanced up at him. “I don’t want to watch that guy beat on the window of my little office.”
Mercer nodded and pulled her gently to her feet. “Let’s go in the other room.”
He took her to the room where the photo albums for the VIP tours were printed and sat next to her on a set of chairs. He put his arm around her and kissed her temple.
“I’m so sorry you were scared, sweetheart. I’m just thankful you weren’t hurt.”
“I’m thankful for that too, but shit that was scary.” She leaned on his shoulder, feeling her emotions start to rise. Her eyes stung, but she didn’t want to cry.
“You can cry if you need to; your adrenaline is dropping now that you’re safe. You were probably in shock too.”
She sniffled and blinked rapidly against the tears. “You told me not to run from shifters, but when he broke the glass, I knew he’d either come in there or pull me out.”
“You did the right thing,” he said. “If staying put would keep you safe, you should do that, but if running is the best or only option, then you should do that instead.”
She shivered again, snuggling into his side, and then she stopped trying to not cry and let herself have a good, long cry.
* * *
Mercer was furious. At everything. That jackals had come to the park, that Rhomi had obviously been seen as a weak spot they could exploit, and the fact that he’d brought Ginny to the park in the first damn place.
He hated to see Rhomi cry, hated that he’d been part of the reason.
It never occurred to him that she wouldn’t be safe in the season ticket office. Then again, as far as he knew, no one had ever tested the window of the office to see if a shifter could break it. After all, why the hell would someone do that?
He kissed the top of Rhomi’s head. “I’m sorry.”
“You said that already,” she said, sniffling and leaning away to wipe at her wet cheeks. “Ugh, I hate crying.”
“Why?” he tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “You were scared for your life. You have every reason to freak out and cry.”
“I just hate the way my face gets all blotchy.”
He leaned over to an end table, grabbed a box of tissues, and held it while she took several.
“You look beautiful no matter what.”
“You’re biased,” she said, wrinkling her nose.
“Nope. You’re gorgeous. Stunning.”
She rolled her eyes and blew her nose, then crushed the tissues in her fist. “Those guys got away?”
“It looks like it,” he said. “Once we showed up, they fled.”
“How will the security team stop them from coming back and doing it again?” she asked.
He could sense her fear again, like a bitter pill on his tongue. “They’ll increase patrols and move Ginny somewhere else more secure. I just wish I knew how they knew she was here.”
“A tracker, maybe?”
