Safari Island Shifters: The Complete Collection(42)

“I didn’t mean to, honest. I thought it was going to be a short little thing.”

“Not anymore. You marked her. Congratulations. You’ve found your mate.”

“Maybe not,” Branch said. “I don’t feel any different.”

“Really?” Fin laughed. “You’re talking about seeing this girl when you go home for the holidays. I’ve never heard you say that about anyone. Ever. I didn’t even know you had a family.”

“She’s from my home town. She probably already knows my parents. Not that I said I’d introduce her to anyone.”

“Sure, man. This is different. You know it is. Don’t fight it. Just let it happen and you’ll be much happier.”

Branch put his clothes back on. “I’ll need to talk to her first, no matter what. She didn’t seem too keen on seeing me after her vacation was over.”

“I’m sure she’ll change her mind. Good luck.”

“Thanks. I’m going to need it with this girl.”

***

Maura had no time to waste after Branch left her room. She had to get down to the bus and get to Safari Town.

The six a.m. bus was almost full. There were a few tourists, but mostly it was employees headed home. Most of the employees didn’t look like people getting off work either. There were a lot of short dresses and button-down shirts.

It seemed like a lot of the employees had flings with tourists. It made her feel better about telling Branch to go. He would get over it. There would be hundreds of pretty girls flying into Safari Island before the day was done. He could find someone else to keep him company.

When she got into town, she headed for the beach as discreetly as she could. She wasn’t sure of the exact spot where she was supposed to meet Jimmy. The beach wasn’t terribly long, and she could see most of it from a bluff.

It didn’t take long for her to spot his raft in the sand. She ran over and looked around.

“Jimmy?”

“Over here,” he called back. She found him stretching in the sand. “I got in a little earlier than expected. Want to help me break up the raft?”

She hugged him tightly. “I’d love to. Thank goodness you’re here. I’ve been sweating bullets.”

He patted her on the back. “No worries, my dear. I’m here to take care of everything and get you home safely.”

“I’m surprised you were able to get to shore without being seen.”

They pulled the raft to shore and pulled out the knives he had in his backpack. Their mission had been thwarted a year earlier because someone had spotted the boat. This time, Jimmy had used a rubber raft and they were going to sink it. They cut it up as much as possible and then let it wash away from shore. It sank pretty quickly.

“Nice job,” Jimmy said. He high-fived Maura and put her knife back in his backpack. “This is going to be a major success. You’re going to be a hero.”

She blushed. Hopefully, he’d never find out that she’d spent the night with Branch. Jimmy didn’t like any of the resort employees. He thought all the shifters were traitors. They were helping abuse animals that they shared a form with.

She didn’t agree with that sentiment. The employees didn’t know what they were doing.

“Stop. I’m only doing what I think is right.”

“And it is. We should get out of here before it gets too busy. I thought we could walk around the Safari Walk before trying to get me into the hotel.”

“Perfect!” Now she wouldn’t have to explain why they had to wait. Lily was working until ten in the morning. They would be able to get in with no problem once she was off. “I haven’t gone to look at the shops yet and it’ll be more comfortable than hiding out on the beach.”

Jimmy nodded. “Tell me, how has the trip been going?”

Maura thought as they walked to the bus stop. She couldn’t give too much away, but she didn’t want to outright lie. “It’s been nice. I met a very nice employee. She had dinner with me and showed me Safari Town. It was pretty useful. I got a good idea of how the employees move around.”

Jimmy frowned. “I hope you aren’t getting attached to her. The employees are as bad as the company they work for. Even worse, I’d say.”

“How so?”

“Many of them are shifters who are working to keep other animals penned up. That’s disgusting.”

“I don’t know if I’d say that.” Maura chose a seat at the back of the bus this time. “They don’t know what they’re doing.”

“You can think that if it helps. I’ll have to disagree vehemently. They know exactly what they’re doing. How do they think the animals get here? Magic? No, they have to be trapped and taken out of their natural habitat for human amusement. You would think shifters would feel for their animal brothers and sisters.”

Maura shrugged and looked out the window. She hated it when Jimmy got all riled up. His normally cool, calm demeanor became agitated and he’d almost foam at the mouth.

She’d never heard him go on about shifter employees before. Usually, his anger was saved for the humans who visited Safari Island and zoos around the world. Maura didn’t believe in keeping wild animals penned up for people to gawk at, but she could understand people doing their jobs.