turn. Kelly stared at the man, wondering what questions she should ask to get the most knowledge in such a short span of time. She’d chosen him, like it or not, by an impulsive act of mercy. Now, she needed to find out what sort of man she’d picked.
She’d always trusted her dogs’ judgment of people. They all loved Ben, which was part of the reason she trusted him.
Brandi, the golden-eyed pit bull with the battered ear, never strayed from Mac’s side. She adored him. Kelly suspected that it might be a case of one damaged individual drawn to another, as if the dog recognized a kindred spirit.
Maybe that rationale would explain why she’d given something so sacred to a complete stranger. Sometimes, she felt like one with the damaged dogs. Something she’d never admitted, not even to herself, until now.
Putting such thoughts from her head, she forced herself to focus on what she needed to know.
“Have you remarried?” Though he didn’t wear a ring, she needed to get this out in the open.
One brow went up. “Maggie’s only been gone eighteen months.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“No. What about you?”
“This isn’t about me,” she said, her tone impersonal. “I don’t have the benefit of a folder with all your personal info inside like you did.”
“Fine.” He shrugged. “Ask away.”
She wished she was better at this or, at the very least, had some sort of checklist to operate off of. Something along the lines of “ten things to ask before you bind yourself to someone.” Only, in her case, it would be too late.
The deed was done. Once given, her protection could not be taken back.
Therefore, she persisted. “Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“No. I was an only child. And, before you ask, my mother is still alive. She’s a shifter. I never knew my human father.”
Gently, she asked the rest of it. “You and Maggie had two children, if I remember right. A boy and a girl?”
He glared at her. “Twins. Caleb and Isobel. They’re three. I haven’t seen them since their mother died.”
She noticed he held himself stiffly, as though by moving less he could make himself invisible, invulnerable or both. Though she’d never had children, she could definitely relate. She missed her family. She understood very well how the pain of loss never went away, just diminished slightly over time.
She didn’t show her pity, aware she wouldn’t want his whenever she spoke of the loss of her own family and the death of her father. She already knew he felt as if he’d laid his soul bare in front of her, a distinctly uncomfortable feeling. Compounded by the fact that they were virtual strangers … She bit her lip and forced herself to look at him.
Now he looked away. A moment passed, a bit of silence broken only by the jagged sound of his breathing. When his gaze finally returned to meet hers, she saw anger lurking in the depths of his blue eyes. A second later, it was gone, quickly banished.
She sighed, well aware of how sorrow could eat you up from the inside out. “It’s not easy, is it?”
“No. Even after all this time …” As he trailed off, the rawness of his repressed emotion lurked in his voice. Of course, the anger that blazed in his eyes told her what was coming next.
“I want my children back.” Leaning forward, his gaze captured and held hers. “Honest to hounds, if you have an ounce of compassion, you’ll help me.”
She said nothing, unwilling to make promises she couldn’t keep.
Finally, he nodded, his jaw set. “Why are you doing this? What’s your reasoning?”
“I want my sister back. So we do have something in common.”
“Then why won’t you work with me?” His rough voice spoke of his emotion. “If I can get your sister for you, will you make sure I find my children?”
Though she knew she should lie, she couldn’t force the words from her suddenly closed-up throat. When she finally did, she only repeated the question that he’d never answered. “Do you have my sister?”
Slowly, he shook his head, his bereft expression letting her know it pained him to do so. “No. Nor do I know where she is. I can tell you that the Protectors aren’t the ones who took her. I was only bluffing earlier, because I’d hoped you could lead me to my kids.”
Since he’d given her a truth, she could only respond in kind. “I don’t know where your children are, either. I wasn’t even aware that they’d been removed from your custody.”
“Stolen,” he snarled. “Don’t make it sound so civilized. I was at the funeral home, planning for her funeral, for Christ’s sake. Someone from Maggie’s family—your family—swooped in and grabbed them. They couldn’t even attend their own mother’s funeral. Maggie’s family had disowned her, so I had to bury her alone.”
The words hung in the air between them. Despite herself, Kelly’s eyes filled with tears.
“You’re crying?” he said, his tone filled with an odd combination of wonder and anger. “Why?”
Lifting one shoulder in a shrug, she sighed. Then, she gave in to temptation and reached out and touched his jaw, feeling the stubble like sandpaper against her fingertips. After the first reflex, a nearly imperceptible jerk, he froze.
Feeling completely stupid, she took her hand away. “Sorry.”
“Yeah.” He stood, placing one leg in front of the other as if testing his own strength. After a moment, he began to walk, slowly at first, increasing his stride as he gathered confidence. “Can we stop with the fifty questions?” he asked.
“For now. But I’m sure there’s more I’ll need to know later. I’m trying to get to know you,” she said.
“Again, why?”
Once more, she offered the truth. “I’m hoping to learn something that will explain to me why I offered you my protection.”
He stared. “You speak as if giving your protection is an unusual thing. Is it that rare?”
“Yes. Extremely. We can only do that once in our lives.”
Again his face closed in, letting her know he was thinking of Maggie, the wife who had chosen not to give him the precious gift, who had never truly been his mate.
“Why does it matter?” he finally asked, the devil-may-care smile at odds with the bleakness in his gaze.
“Believe me, it does.” And that was all she’d say on this. For now.
Chapter 4
“Don’t think you can shut this down so easily,” he said, and he laughed. Something about the masculine sound made heat flare inside her.
Not good. Not good at all.
“You’ve got to at least answer my earlier question. Who called my phone?”
Crap. She’d hoped he’d forget.
She held up a hand. “In a minute. I need to ask one more question first. Do you know who is behind this? My sister’s abduction, the attack yesterday, all of it.”
“No.”
Oddly enough, she believed him. Continuing to hold his gaze, she nodded. “You’re privy to inside information. Do the Protectors have any idea who took Bonnie? Any clues where she might be?”
Instead of answering immediately, he dragged a hand through his choppy, dark hair. “It wasn’t in the file. But our intel has led us to believe that whoever took