“You’re concerned for my safety, you called just to make sure I was okay after a message from my ex, and you said I made you happy for a little while.”
“Okay, okaaaay—”
“You really liiiiiike meeee,” she sang, “Not just for my bodyyyyy.”
“God, I’m hanging up now.”
“I’ll send you some heart emojis.”
“Bye, Novak.”
“I’m not hanging up until you call me by my real name—”
The line went dead and Remi pouted. The phone rang immediately, and when she answered, all Kamp said was, “Talk to you soon, Remi.” And then it went dead again, but her pouting was through! She texted him a heart emoji and a laughing face just to mess with him, and while she snarfed her sandwich, she giggled at herself for being the most amusing court jester in all the land. Up until the moment he sent her a heart emoji back with no laughing face.
Remi slurped a pickle and stared at that little red symbol of love.
Wait, did he really like her? Like she liked him?
Be cool. Don’t respond.
Poop emoji. Send.
Aw crap. She was going to die single.
Chapter Ten
Remington had been completely confident in her decision to find Sophia…until now.
Until the moment she was sitting out in front of Daisy Duke’s Flower Shop, staring in the window at an intimidatingly beautiful curly-haired goddess with skin the color of milk chocolate, big doe brown eyes, perfect cheekbones, full lips, and the best damn curves she’d ever seen on another woman. She didn’t swing that way, but if she did, Remi would totally have a crush on Sophia. The mother of Kamp’s child. His ex-lover. Oh, gross, get a hold of yourself and don’t say ‘lover.’
Here she was in a hoodie, ripped skinny jeans, an old pair of mud-crusted hiking boots, and very little makeup, with wild hair she hadn’t bothered to curl today. And here she was going to talk to Sophia about her child like this was any of her business.
Remi searched frantically for a 1010 anywhere but found none. Maybe that was a sign to abort mission.
But she couldn’t make herself drive away. She’d come three hours in a stolen truck to talk to this human because what she was doing to Kamp was wrong.
And that thought—protecting Kamp and giving him a better life—was what helped Remi turn off the truck and slide out of the cab.
According to the hours posted on the door, the shop was almost closed. Sophia seemed to be the only one inside since Remi could only hear one heartbeat besides her own.
Sophia was working on an arrangement behind the counter when Remi walked in. The bell on the door dinged clearly, and Sophia turned around with a big, bright smile.
Maybe this wasn’t Sophia. Maybe Sophia was a very non-intimidating troll with bad manners who owned twenty-seven tarantulas and only drank pickle juice.
“Hi, welcome in! I’m Sophia.”
Aw, dangit. “Hello,” Remi said, sidling up to the counter. Goodness, how did she even begin? She cleared her throat. That didn’t help knock the old brain loose, so she cleared her throat again.
“Are you wanting an arrangement?” Sophia asked, twitching her tight curls off her shoulder. They were blond at the ends. So pretty. Remi was way out of her league. If this was Kamp’s type, Remi wasn’t worth anything more than a casual fling. Sophia was poise and grace, while Remi…well, Remi was a walking disaster.
“Are you okay?” Why did people keep asking her that?
“I’m here with a strange request.”
“Okaaay,” Sophia drawled out, looking disturbed.
Remi blew out a steadying breath. “I know Kamp.”
Sophia’s face went completely blank, and she froze like a garden gnome. A beautiful, beautiful garden gnome.
“And he really wants to be a part of Raider’s life,” she rushed out, her words tumbling end over end. “I don’t have any right to come in here and get involved because I’m sure I only know the surface story of why you keep his son from him. But I see Kamp and how much he hurts missing his cub, and he’s not doing very well.”
“This is none of your business—”
“I know. Seriously…I know. It’s just he doesn’t know where you are, or where Raider is, and it isn’t fair on him—”
“Fair on him? I watched him attack his own mother. Did he tell you that?”
“Yep. He told me he Turned her.”
Sophia frowned. “He did tell you?”
“Well…yeah.”
Sophia opened her mouth and shut it again, her frown deepening. “Kamp isn’t really a talker. Or a sharer. So I guess you caught me a little off guard. But still, it was awful. I’d never witnessed anything like that, and I was scared for my life. He found out about something I was doing—”
“You mean someone you were doing?”
Anger flashed across her face, and she gritted her teeth. “Judge all you want, but I’m married to the man I fell in love with.”
“Okay, but you were still with Kamp. To him, a dominant predator shifter, you were his and he was yours. Nearly any shifter in his position would’ve gone in a rage.”
“Yeah, and when his mother showed up? She was Turned. It was awful. I thought he’d killed her. I don’t want my son around that.”
Around that? Kamp wasn’t a that. “He is your son’s father.”
“Raider has a father. His name is Todd.”
“No, Sophia. You are a smart and strong woman, and I can tell you know right from wrong. Todd is Raider’s step-father. Raider is a lion cub. Kamp is his dad, and you’re keeping them apart.”
“Yes, and that lion inside of him is a monster. That’s what Todd and I get to deal with. That’s what Kamp did. He put a lion in his mother, put a lion in his son, and I don’t want anything to do with him or his people.”
“But you chose a shifter.”
“My life, my choice.”
“Agreed,” Remi said, nodding. “I completely agree. But the more support Raider has as he grows up, the better. You cutting him off from his dad? That will hurt him so much more than you can even fathom over his lifetime.”
Sophia lifted her chin high, and her eyes were rimming with moisture. “He has Todd. It’s enough.”
“It’s not enough. I can see it in your eyes. Raider is having trouble with that lion cub, and he has no adult male lion to teach his animal manners or how to be a lion. You didn’t get a deadbeat father for your child, Sophia. I’ve looked Kamp in the face when he talks about his son. He wants to be present. I mean, hell, he’s paying into that child support account with no rights and no hope he’ll ever see his boy. He just wants to be a part of his life in any way he can. You’re cutting him out of Raider’s young years. How many firsts has he missed because of your choice to hide him?”
Sophia shook her head, over and over, and wouldn’t meet Remi’s eyes anymore. Outside, a car door shut, and when Remi turned around, a little boy was running up to the door. A dark-haired man followed him, but Remi couldn’t keep her attention from the boy. He was tall for a four-year-old, lanky, but that would change when he hit maturity. He would likely be every bit as big as Kamp. His skin was lighter than his mothers, and his hair was curly and a sandy-brown tone. One of his eyes was bright green and one was gold. He was holding an old threadbare teddy bear against his chest as he tugged at the heavy door.
After he wiggled in through the space he’d made, he paused when he saw Remi, and a little snarl rattled his throat. Remi was stunned by the boy. Not because of the way he looked, but by the sheer power of the little lion he had tucked inside of him. Brawler, indeed, with an angelic face. He was the perfect combination of Kamp and his mother.
“You should go now,” Sophia said to her sternly as Raider made his way around the counter to his mom.
“Please just think about what I’ve said.”
“Think about what?” the man asked as he came through the door. He smelled like fur, and his eyes were too bright blue to pass for human. Todd.
“This woman knows Kamp,” Sophia told him. “He’s found us.”
