"Not everything. But she saved me, Fritz." Her voice was muffed against my chest. "When I first lived at the park, I never knew anyone. I hid there, kept my head down, tried to disappear. Then she moved into a caravan, and suddenly I wasn't alone anymore. She brought me food when I was too proud to ask. She made me laugh when all I wanted to do was cry. She was the one who found the advertisement. She was the one who made me apply for the job as your surrogate." She pulled back to look at me. "She's my family now. She did all that for me, and she was hiding herself the whole time."
I pulled her into my arms, burying my face in her hair. "You're something special, Presley Prince."
"I need to find her," she said, her voice muffled against my chest. "I need to make sure she's okay. If Callaghan finds her—if he finds out where she is—"
"He won't."
"You don't know that."
"I do." I pulled back, cupping her face in my hands. "Because we're going to find her first. And we're going to make sure she's safe."
"But how? She won't tell anyone where she is. She's terrified of being tracked. Of phones being bugged. Of—"
"We'll find her," I repeated. "I promise. But first, we're getting that cat."
"Really?" Her eyes were red-rimmed, hopeful, desperate. "But he hisses at everyone. He brought me mice as gifts and once he scratched Mrs. McAdams so badly she needed stitches. He's super grumpy. "
"So is Hastings and we kept him."
She sobbed out a laugh, the sound half-hysterical, half-relieved. Her hands covered her face as she shook with laughter. Happy tears and relief all mixed together.
I pulled out my phone and dialed Hastings.
He answered on the first ring. "Fritz. What's wrong?"
"Presley and I are going to Ripon. There's a cat situation."
A pause. "A cat situation."
"It's an emergency. Are you coming?"
"Fritz—"
"The cat is being put down today. We're leaving in twenty minutes. I'll explain on the way."
I hung up before he could argue and dialed Etienne.
"Oui?"
"Where are you?"
"On my way home from training. Why?"
"Meet us at the house in twenty minutes. We're going to North Yorkshire."
"For what?"
"To save a cat. And possibly Presley's sanity."
"I'm on my way."
I hung up and looked at Presley. She was staring at me like I'd just offered her the world. Like I'd hung the moon and rearranged the stars just for her.
"You're serious," she whispered. "You're actually going to help me get Mr. Cheddar."
"Of course I am. He's part of your pack." I pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Now go get changed. Something warm. North Yorkshire in February is miserable."
She ran for the house, her steps light despite everything.
