Midnight Wolf (Shifters Unbound #11)(32)

The look Angus turned on her could have flattened a forest. “I’m not talking to Spence about it. He won’t make me second again just because we get all touchy-feely and sing campfire songs. Doesn’t work that way in a Shiftertown.”

“I wouldn’t know.” Tamsin made a sweeping gesture. “I stay far away from those.”

“Which is why you’re on the run, taking help from a Lupine you met last night. Is this what you’re going to do the rest of your life?”

“If I have to. You going to take shit from Shifter Bureau the rest of your life?”

“If I have to.” Angus scowled at her. “As long as Ciaran is safe, that’s what I’ll do.”

“Gee, thanks,” Ciaran muttered. “Blame it on me.”

“Ciaran deserves better,” Tamsin said. “My mother thought Shiftertown was the safer place for her family. Glynis ran away because Shifters were being taken in to be experimented on. Running was a better option, or so she thought. I ran too, but in a different direction.” She tasted sorrow, anger with herself for not being with her sister on that fateful day.

“I’m sorry.” Angus’s eyes held sympathy, but his voice was harsh. “But if you’re questioning how I take care of my son, you can bail out.”

Tamsin sat up and looked around for a likely spot to dive and roll. “There,” she said, pointing to a wide place on the shoulder. “Dump me there. I’ll hitch to Middle of Nowhere, Texas, and tell them you sent me.”

Angus didn’t slow. “Stay where you are.”

“Hey, you told me to bail out.” Tamsin clasped the door handle. “If I stay, I’ll keep on asking questions, so I might as well go.”

Tamsin had no intention of diving out of a vehicle moving at seventy miles an hour, but she couldn’t resist seeing how far Angus would take his threat. She pushed the button to unlock the door.

Angus reached out with alarming swiftness, wrapped one arm around her, and hauled her to him, never slowing or swerving the SUV. Tamsin found her nose buried in his side, where she inhaled warmth and the scent of male.

“Oh, this is nice.”

Angus started to unwind himself from her, but Tamsin burrowed in, nuzzling him and closing her eyes. In spite of the console between them, she was able to nestle into his shoulder, enjoying his strength.

She’d had a long night, little sleep, and a long day. The touch of Angus’s body against hers, the soothing rocking of the SUV, and the rhythm of Angus’s breath under her cheek unwound all the knots inside her. Tamsin fully meant to tease him a little and rise back to a sitting position, but her exhaustion took over, and she dropped almost instantly into sleep.

“I think she likes you.” Ciaran’s voice was hushed.

Angus kept his arm around Tamsin’s shoulders as he drove with his free hand. Her red hair spilled over his lap like a stream of fire, her head resting trustingly against his side.

He couldn’t think of a way to answer so he settled for, “Mmph.”

As far as Angus could tell, no one had followed them out of New Orleans. Abandoning the station wagon and driving carefully away in Reg’s anonymous SUV seemed to have done the trick.

The best place to leave Tamsin was in Kendrick’s capable white tiger paws. Kendrick knew how to deal with rogue Shifters, seeing as he was the biggest rogue—or un-Collared Shifter—out there. He’d held together a group of rogue Shifters in freedom for more than twenty years.

Kendrick’s band lived in secret and had to be very careful when interacting with humans. They also wore fake Collars when they went to Shiftertowns so no one would report a Shifter without a Collar running around there.

Kendrick wouldn’t thank Angus for bringing in a fugitive. This would only work if they didn’t pick up a tail.

They’d have to switch from Reg’s SUV before they hit the Texas border. Reg had said he hadn’t registered it with Shifter Bureau, but other Shifters would know he owned it, and if Shifter Bureau went sniffing around the NOLA Shiftertown, they might mention it, even in innocence. And not all Shifters were loyal to Spence and Reg. Jostling for dominance happened all the time, and if a clan thought being in thick with Shifter Bureau was the way to advance, they might tell the agents what close friends Reg and Angus were, and all about Reg’s missing SUV.

Angus slid his cell phone from his pocket and handed it behind him to Ciaran. “Call Dimitri. Ask him if he has a ride we can borrow. Keep the details to a minimum.”

Ciaran took the phone with an expression that showed he was proud to take on this responsibility. He flipped open the phone, expertly scrolled through Angus’s contacts, and touched a button.

In a moment, Dimitri Kashnikov’s voice came through the phone.

“This is Dimitri. What’s your pleasure, Angus?”

“It’s Ciaran.” Ciaran adopted a nonchalant slouch as he spoke. “We need wheels, Dimitri. Can you get us some? There’s three of us—me, my dad, and a hot chick he picked up. She’s on the run, and he’s helping her. Meet up on the Louisiana side of the border?”

Dimitri’s carefree tone vanished. “What?”

“I said we need—”

“I heard you, kid. I’m just stunned. Let me talk to Angus.”

“He’s busy driving. We’re running for our lives.”