Midnight Wolf (Shifters Unbound #11)(24)

Damn it, she sounded like a Shifter girl just past her Transition, thrilled a hot guy had noticed her.

“Yes.” Angus’s frown returned. “It was.”

Tamsin cleared her throat. “You rate your kisses? It was awesome, pretty good, or meh?” There, that was more like her.

“No.” He resumed his harsh tone. “Take the compliment. Don’t ruin it.”

He had a point. Tamsin clamped her lips shut and looked out the window.

Streets went by, bringing back memories. This town had seen a lot of damage since she’d been here with Glynis, but its spirit hadn’t been broken. They drove slowly through an area where wrought-iron balconies on stucco buildings hung over brick sidewalks.

Clouds had gathered, and it started to rain, a gentle autumn rain. Farther along, they passed parks and gardens open to walkers, the pavement damp and the greens lined with brilliant flowers.

Angus thought Tamsin was a good kisser, did he? A warm shiver went through her.

What is wrong with me? He’s taking me to this Haider guy, who I’m going to kick in the balls and run away from, after Angus’s cub is safe. I’ll never see Angus again. Safer for him if I don’t.

The regret that thought brought unnerved her. With the life Tamsin had chosen, any connections she made could only be temporary ones. She knew that. She should be used to it by now.

But she wasn’t. She was lonely and disheartened, tired of the people she met who shared her outrage turning out to be completely crazy. Tamsin wanted Shifters free but safe, able to live life on their own terms. She didn’t want to overthrow human governments or join up with Fae or slaughter every man in Shifter Bureau. Rough them up a little maybe, because they’d done some horrible things, but that was all.

Mostly she wanted Shifters to have true freedom—to live where they liked, with whom they liked, go where they liked and when.

Many Collared Shifters she’d met had thought her a dreamer. Look, they said, we’re not starving anymore, women don’t die bringing in cubs, those cubs have a better chance of growing up, and we’ll live longer than the humans around us anyway. One day, we’ll have what you want.

Maybe, but she hated seeing cubs given their Collars when they hit their teens, hated that Shiftertown rules kept her mother from seeing her own daughter. Tamsin was convinced that waiting would only give the Bureau time to come up with some new way of keeping Shifters under their thumbs forever.

She pushed the thoughts out of her head. Now was the time to come up with a plan of escape. She’d save idealism for later.

“Where are we meeting the dirtbag Haider?” she asked.

“He wants me to go to the cemetery in the Garden District.” Angus kept his eyes on traffic and turned the giant car through small streets. Tourists were everywhere in spite of the rain, rambling on foot, riding in horse-drawn carriages, even sitting at sidewalk cafés.

“Sounds ominous,” Tamsin said.

“I’m not meeting him there. He told me to go there and call in.”

“Still sounds ominous.”

“I know that,” Angus said sharply.

Tamsin fell silent as Angus navigated the streets. The walkers through the old district stared at their incongruous car as much as they did the lovely, well-preserved houses around them.

How Angus would find a place to park, Tamsin didn’t know, but somehow he managed to squeeze between the front and rear of two cars against the curb.

Beside them was the wall that separated the road from the historic cemetery. Across the tree-lined street were houses, stately and large, with trimmed lawns and gardens.

“Have to wonder how spooky it is to live across from a cemetery,” Tamsin said as Angus turned off the engine. The lack of the engine’s roar didn’t mean silence—plenty of cars rushed past, and people walked up and down the street, while cyclists pedaled by serenely. “Must be creepy at night.”

Angus didn’t answer. He climbed from the car when the traffic was clear and came around to help Tamsin out.

She could run now. She could make a dash for it before Angus took her into the cemetery, blend in with the people strolling through the neighborhood, leap onto a bus, and lose herself in the throng of downtown New Orleans.

From there she could figure out a way to get the hell out of town, out of the state, out of the country if necessary. She could go to Mexico and regroup—Mexico had enough problems with drug cartels and border violence that they didn’t have time to pay attention to stray Shifters. She’d have to dodge the drug runners and human traffickers, true, but one thing at a time.

But if she made a run for it, Shifter Bureau might keep Angus’s cub to coerce him into going after her, or maybe they’d hurt the little guy to punish Angus. Tamsin had seen the terrible fear in Angus’s eyes—he hadn’t been lying about Shifter Bureau holding Ciaran hostage. Why was Haider torturing Angus like this? Retribution for the trouble his brother had caused?

Tamsin made her decision. She’d let Angus take her into the cemetery and call Haider so he could have his cub back. She’d at least wait for that. Once the cub and Angus were gone, then she’d get away and hope the backup Angus promised appeared. Maybe he’d talked Zander into helping her—the thought made her spirits rise.

As they walked through a gate that stood half open, the noise of the street traffic died behind them.