Midnight Wolf (Shifters Unbound #11)(31)

“Ben will be there,” Tamsin said in concern. “Should we warn him?”

“Ben and the house can take care of themselves,” Angus answered. “Ben’s not Shifter. Shifter Bureau has no jurisdiction over him, and the house is owned by a human woman. They’ll have to leave it alone.”

“What is Ben, exactly?” Tamsin asked, trying to distract herself. “He said gnome or goblin, but those are human words, used in place of that unpronounceable name he told me.”

“He’s a forgotten race from Faerie,” Ciaran said with the confidence of one in the know. “They were exiled a thousand years ago. The Fae killed almost all of his people and banished the rest to the human world. Most of them died out, and Ben is left.”

Tamsin listened with growing sympathy and horror. “Stupid Fae bastards.”

“That’s what I said.” Ciaran studied Angus. “Then where are we going, Dad?”

Angus didn’t take his eyes off the road. “Somewhere you’ll be safe.”

Ciaran’s face fell. “Aw, don’t dump me. I want to go with you.”

“I’m not dumping you. We’ll go to Kendrick’s compound, and you can spend some time there. You like visiting Dimitri and Jaycee, don’t you?”

“Yeah, but I’d rather stay with you.” Ciaran’s brows came down, jaw tightening in rebellion.

“I’d rather you stayed safe with Shifters who know how to hide you,” Angus said. “You’ve already been captured by Shifter Bureau once. How many times do you want it to happen?”

The scowls of father and son were so identical Tamsin wanted to laugh.

“Tamsin can stay there too,” Ciaran announced. “They’re un-Collared Shifters, hiding out,” he told her. “They have a big ranch—it’s so cool.”

“Which is supposed to be a secret,” Angus said with a growl.

“It’s all right if Tamsin knows. She’s un-Collared too. Besides, you just said we’re going there.”

“I was keeping the details to myself.”

Ciaran heaved a long sigh and slammed himself into his seat. “Fine. Whatever.”

Tamsin slid off the sunglasses and gave him a look of understanding. “Where is this supersecret enclave of un-Collared Shifters?” she asked Angus.

The answer came from behind her before Angus could speak. “Middle of Nowhere, Texas.”

“Awesome. I’ve always wanted to go to Texas.”

Angus said nothing. He was tense all over, hands tight as he concentrated on the road.

He was a hard man, tough. Tamsin had seen him soften when he’d crouched down to Ciaran in the cemetery, making sure he was all right, and again when he let Ciaran lie against him in the station wagon. He’d softened a little bit also when he’d told Tamsin the kiss they’d shared was good. Started a shiver down inside her, those words had.

She ran her gaze over the well-muscled arms, taut as he clenched the steering wheel, his chest hugged by his T-shirt. His close-cropped beard framed his square face, and his dark hair managed to be wolf shaggy, even cut short.

His eyes were as gray as the sky above them. Clear gray, rain gray.

Her hunter and captor had switched to being her savior. Why, Tamsin wasn’t sure. Feeling sorry for her was one thing. Spiriting her away from Shifter Bureau was something else.

Tamsin had been stunned to learn that Angus was Gavan Murray’s brother. The two men couldn’t be more different. Gavan had been electric, outgoing, courageous, and, in the end, utterly selfish. Angus was closemouthed and growling, but his love for his cub shone like a beacon of pure light.

His mate had left Angus for Gavan? She had to have been crazy. Tamsin hadn’t known Angus long and not under the best of circumstances, but she already recognized he was the better man.

“So, who’s Spence?” she asked him.

“Our Shiftertown leader.” Angus closed his mouth immediately, indicating this was another subject he didn’t want to get into.

“He fired Dad,” came the answer from the back seat. “Dad was his second. Then Uncle Gavan went off the rails and Shifter Bureau came after Dad and Spence. Spence booted Dad out of being second in command to save his own ass.”

“He didn’t have a choice,” Angus said tightly. “They’d have removed him as leader and replaced him with a total dickhead. I understood. I stepped down.”

“That was eight years ago. I was just a baby,” Ciaran put in. “But Spence hasn’t asked Dad back to be his second, or even to be a tracker for the Shiftertown again. Reg is second now—he’s a good one, and everyone likes him—but it should be Dad.”

“All right,” Angus said firmly. “That’s enough.”

“Dad is in Spence’s clan,” Ciaran rattled on. “Reg’s clan is down in the pecking order, though Reg is pretty dominant. Even Reg thinks Dad should be second, with Reg as third.”

“I said enough,” Angus said in a hard voice. “It’s the way it is. Talking about it doesn’t change it.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Tamsin said. “I think talking can change a lot of things. It’s helped me out of trouble so many times. Maybe you should tell Spence how you feel.”