“I have no idea,” she said, though that wasn’t entirely true. But it wasn’t something she wanted to talk about at the moment, especially not with Connor. “Maybe you seemed like someone I could trust. Or maybe I simply got tired of running.”
That confession seemed to catch him off guard, and silence descended over the kitchen again as they ate. There was so much she wanted to say to him right then, a hundred questions she wanted to ask. While she’d lived with him as a cat, she’d collected and stockpiled a laundry list of things she wanted to know about him. But right now obviously wasn’t the time, if for no other reason than it was getting late and both of them were tired.
She was mostly exhausted thanks to the magic she’d used during the transition from feline to human form and her body’s attempt to recover from the experience. But she was also still worn out from the magic she’d used to take out the sims in San Antonio.
And yet, as she sat there nibbling on a slice of pizza, she knew there was something else weighing on her way more than all the magic she’d been using lately. It was the fact that Connor was keeping her at arm’s length. Being rejected by him physically hurt. Unfortunately, she had no idea what to do about it, especially since it seemed clear that he wasn’t going to change the way he felt about her anytime soon.
“I think I’m going to get some rest,” she announced.
Not because she needed sleep—though she did—but because right then, she needed to be anywhere else other than this tiny kitchen with a man who made her feel things she’d rather not.
“Yeah, of course,” he said, and she wondered if that was relief in his voice. “You can take the bedroom. I’ll sleep on the couch.”
Kat didn’t fight him on it, but when she finally climbed under the blankets a little while later, she knew that sleep was probably a long way off. The only time she’d ever slept in this bed, Connor had been in it with her. Right now, he was out on the couch, and all Kat could think about was how badly she wanted to curl up on his chest and snuggle like she’d done every night since moving in with him.
Chapter 9
Connor woke up to the sound of his cell phone ringing, theDoctor Whotheme jarring in the late-night silence. He instinctively reached out in the darkness to grab the phone and promptly fell off the couch. The thump of his shoulder and elbow hitting the carpeted floor did a bang-up job of knocking the rest of the sleep out of his head. Cursing, he picked up his cell from atop the uniform tee and pants he’d folded and left on the overstuffed chair last night.
“Dude, it’s the middle of the night,” he said softly, running his hand through his hair and abruptly remembering why he was on the couch and not in his comfortable king-size bed. “What’s up?”
“There’s been another kidnapping,” Trevor said. “Detective Sandoval from Missing Persons called and said it’s damn near the exact same MO as Addy and Ben. A sixteen-year-old girl disappeared out of a locked condo while her parents were downstairs watching TV. The window in her room was open, and based on what we told Sandoval we found at the Lloyd residence, he’s sure that’s how this kid got out, too. No signs of a struggle, no recent calls or texts on her cell, and no emails, tweets, or DMs on her computer or social media. He asked if we could take a look.”
Connor was pretty sure Sandoval was the older detective Trevor had been chatting up while he’d been upstairs with Kat and Hale in Addy’s room. “I knew you were good at schmoozing, but what the hell did you say to the man to get him on our side? The way he looked when we first showed up, it was obvious he wasn’t thrilled to have us involved in his case.”
“He isn’t,” Trevor said, his voice as casual as always, even at this time of night. “But that unlocked window in the condo I mentioned is on the fourth floor of the building. Sandoval doesn’t know what’s going on, but he’s been doing this job long enough to know when he needs help. And he’ll take that help from anywhere he can get it at this point.”
Meaning Sandoval was probably aware there was something unusual going on and was willing to look the other way if SWAT could come up with something he could use. Which wasn’t as strange as it seemed. There were a lot of cops in Dallas who’d run up against the supernatural over the years, even if they’d never admit it to anyone. And those cops were aware that SWAT seemed to have a knack for dealing with the strange and unusual.
“Text me the address and I’ll meet you there,” Connor said. “I assume you’ve already called Hale and Rachel?”
“Yeah, they’re on the way now,” Trevor replied. “You going to bring Kat? Her ability to sense magic might come in handy.”
Connor threw a glance at the closed bedroom door, pausing to listen, hoping his ringing phone hadn’t woken her up. She’d been exhausted last night, yet he’d heard her tossing and turning in his bed for hours after she’d gone to bed. He knew because he’d been awake even longer, tortured by Kat’s delicious scent wafting under the door in endless, intoxicating waves, paired with visions of her half-naked body kicking the sheets off as she fought for sleep.
He’d been seriously tempted to go in there and suggest something that would tire them both out enough to get some rest. He hadn’t, of course, because he was a stupid dumbass.
Connor was baffled by the thoughts that kept popping into his head. Earlier, he’d been mad at Kat, but now, he was having a harder and harder time remembering why. He’d already accepted there was no reasonable way she could have let him know she was a human. There was even a point in the middle of the night when he wondered if maybe he was upset that Kat had essentially “taken” his cat away. But that was just plain stupid—and weird. Kat was still his cat, only in human form. How could he be upset about that? After everything she’d told him about the life she’d been living for the past few years, it was difficult to feel anything but empathy…and respect. Kat had gone through more than anyone should ever have to endure. Pure and simple, she was amazing. “Kat admitted she’s been running on fumes since her shift back into human form,” he told Trevor. “And that fight in San Antonio used up whatever reserves she had left. She only got to sleep a couple hours ago, so I’m going to let her rest for a while.”
“Okay,” Trevor said after a long pause. “If that’s what you think is best. Just be sure you’re doing this for the right reason, huh? Because you know she won’t take it well if she thinks you’re trying to leave her behind again. She might decide to do that toad thing Cooper told us she threatened him with.”
When Connor refused to comment on that, Trevor gave up, saying he’d text with the address of the latest kidnapping before hanging up.
Since he couldn’t go into his room for a fresh uniform without waking Kat, Connor had no choice but to pull on the one he’d worn yesterday. He slipped into the bathroom to brush his teeth, leaving his boots off so he wouldn’t make any noise, but when he came out a minute later, he found Kat standing in the middle of the living room, looking more exhausted than before she went to bed but fully dressed.
“I heard the phone ring, and then you jumped up and started getting your clothes on,” she said. “Did something happen?”
He considered telling her to go back to bed, but the expression on her face practically screamedDon’t even think about trying to lie to me.
“Another kid is missing. Same MO,” he said, deciding that lying wasn’t going to get him anywhere. “Trevor and the others are going to meet me there. And before you ask, I know you want to go, but I think you need to stay and get some more sleep. You look tired.”
Her expression softened. “I appreciate the thought, but I wasn’t sleeping well as it is, and it won’t get any better if you leave, so I might as well go with you.”
Connor wanted to know what she meant by that, but there wasn’t time. His pack mates were waiting for him.
The drive in his truck was silent, except for the rattle of foil as the two of them ate the chocolate Pop-Tarts he’d grabbed for them on the way out. He almost asked Kat why she hadn’t been able to sleep but couldn’t find a way to bring it up. So, instead, he sat there in the confined space of his pickup, breathing in her glorious scent, trying not to lean over so he could take in even more of the scrumptious cinnamon cake she smelled like.
It might have been four o’clock in the morning, but the condo was a veritable zoo of a crime scene. He counted at least twenty sleepy people in pajamas wandering the hallways of the fourth floor with their cell phones out as if they expected a movie star to come walking by any second. Or maybe they were all hoping for some footage they could sell to the local media.
