Midnight Wolf (Shifters Unbound #11)(78)

Tiger accompanied Angus, Tamsin, and Ciaran back to the carnival, now their self-appointed bodyguard.

Tamsin hugged Ben before he got onto his motorcycle and rode off, her heart heavy. She wasn’t sure if she hoped he found the arsenal intact or discovered it had gone. Damn Gavan—what had he been thinking? If Shifter Bureau hadn’t caught him when they had . . . Tamsin shuddered. She didn’t like to think about what Gavan would have ultimately done with the weapons.

Angus was quiet as they drove back to the field where the carnival was being set up. He returned the truck, then went to help out, after giving Tamsin a long, heartfelt kiss.

Now to wait.

If Ben rode his motorcycle all the way, it would take him at least a day or so to cross through Texas, cutting south and east to Louisiana. Longer if he needed food and rest, though who knew what kind of sustenance a goblin needed? Ben could sure put away the food.

Tamsin tried not to worry about him. Shifter Bureau didn’t know about him, Ben had told them. Not much of anyone did. He was good at taking care of himself, he assured them. Had been for a thousand years. The loneliness touching that statement nearly broke Tamsin’s heart.

Ben checked in with Tiger later that night—how, Tamsin didn’t know, because she never saw Tiger with a phone. Tiger conveyed the message that Ben had made it to Dallas and would sleep and then ride on to Shreveport early in the morning.

After Tiger delivered the message, Tamsin put Ciaran to bed and sat up on the mattress in the back to wait for Angus. She browsed through magazines Celene had lent her, seeing that adorable shoes were in the stores for fall and winter. Maybe Tamsin could use the rest of her poker money to go shopping, now that the carnival was giving her a regular weekly paycheck.

She put any plans aside, along with the magazines, when Angus came in.

He paused to check on Ciaran, who was snoring—in a miniature version of his dad’s snores—and started to strip off his clothes.

Tamsin forgot about a lot of things as she watched him. Angus was a big man, tight with muscle, a strong wolf with a broad chest and powerful thighs. Angus put out the light before he slid off his underwear, modest when he wasn’t undressing to shift.

Tamsin, in a nightshirt and nothing else, slid over to let him into the bed. Angus settled down, and Tamsin draped herself across him under the covers.

“I need new clothes,” she said. “I’m sure Celene doesn’t want to share hers with me forever. I saw that Albuquerque has a mall.”

Angus rumbled in the darkness. “I thought we were hiding weapons from Shifter Bureau.”

“What has that got to do with anything? Ben won’t get back to us until tomorrow, and then we’ll have to decide what to do. A few hours of shopping in between won’t hurt.”

Angus rubbed his hand over his face, catching on his beard. “I’ll never understand females.”

“There’s nothing to understand. We are the most logical of beings. We need clothes, we shop. We don’t go into denial wearing the same shirt for months until it’s a rag held together with a few pieces of thread.”

The rumbling deepened. “What are you saying?”

“And we don’t automatically assume everything someone says is about us.”

“Yes, you do. Women take everything personally.”

“I don’t,” Tamsin said with emphasis, then she laughed, skimmed off her nightshirt, and snuggled down with him. “We need to talk.”

Angus feigned a shudder. “Why does that fill me with foreboding? What are you going to spring on me now? My brother had two arsenals? Or twenty cubs with all these women he mate-claimed?”

“He didn’t have any cubs at all. Which is interesting. But no.” Tamsin traced a pattern on his bare chest, liking how his wiry hair curled around her fingertip. “What are we going to do afterward? I mean if Shifter Bureau doesn’t catch us and kill us. Where will we live? Together? Or . . .”

Angus went silent, and Tamsin’s heart thumped. The silence held tension.

“I thought you were happy following the carnival,” he said after a moment. “Living the nomadic life.”

“I am. For now. But I’ve been thinking. You have friends in your Shiftertown, good friends, like Reg. Ties. Ciaran has friends there too, and I assume friends at school. Do you truly want to never see them again? Be on the run all the time?”

Angus’s faint growl vibrated his chest. “What’s this really about, Tamsin?”

Tamsin raised her head, her braid falling across her shoulder. “I’m not sure. I’ve never wanted to live in a Shiftertown. I don’t want to be Collared. I’d die, I think. But then, I want to see my mother. I miss her—I’m crazy with missing her. If I remain a fugitive, I’ll never see her again. So it made me think—is that what will happen to you if you don’t go home? You’ll never see the ones you care about again? Is that what you want?” Tears stung her eyes, and she tried to blink them back.

Angus lifted his hand and smoothed a wisp of her hair. “Sweetheart. Why didn’t you tell me?”

Tamsin sniffled, swiping at her cheeks. “Which part? I made a lot of statements in that speech.”

“About missing your mum. You seem so contented, like it’s easy for you to find joy in anything, no matter what.”