He signals to the waitress and asks her to box my food up, along with a few extra orders.
Halfway to the car, he stops and pulls me alongside the building. He crowds me against the wall and frames my face with his big hands. "Foxfire, talk to me."
"They didn't know he had a daughter," I say around the lump in my throat. "They had no idea…"
Tank searches my face.
"He didn't want me." My voice wobbles.
"Baby." He hugs me. "You know that's not true. He sent your mom money all these years."
"Why didn't he ever come to meet me?"
"He thought you were human, remember? Maybe he wanted to protect you."
"Yeah."
"Do you think he wanted to expose you to those people? Risk their laying claim to you, demanding you be raised among them?"
I shake my head. Life with Sunny was definitely better than with the extras from the cast of Deliverance.
"Sounds like he was trying to escape them himself."
"But what about what they said?" I ask. "Shifters disappearing?"
Tank straightens. Shadows move across his face. "I don't know," he says finally. "I can't say whether their claims are true or not. Your father could've just run and escaped them. We may never find out."
"It just sucks. I finally have a reason to seek out my father, and I'm a year too late."
"I know, baby. I know."
I head into the diner for a pitstop while Tank loads the food into Daisy. When I return, a soft voice calls my name.
I whirl and peer into the shadows. "Jordy?"
My female fox kin inches away from the wall where her bike leans.
"You came to find me?"
"I wanted to give this to you." She holds out a small brown object, a wallet. "It's Johnny's. He left it hidden at the market stall, the day he disappeared. I found it in the locked money box. I was the only one who had a key."
I flip the worn leather open and peer at the driver's license. A solemn faced man, light-haired, with freckles, looks up at me.
"Johnny," she confirms. "He was my brother. Older by a bunch of years."
I close the wallet, hiding my father's picture away. "That makes you my aunt."
"Yeah." She smiles shyly. She doesn't look that much older than me, maybe five years.
"Foxfire," Tank calls. Jordy startles.
"It's okay." I step into the light and wave at Tank to wait a minute. Jordy cringes against the wall, the whites of her eyes flashing in the dark. "He doesn't bite, I promise."
"Wolves are so dangerous," Jordy whispers.
"You get used to him." I shrug.
She shakes her head. "The clan doesn't want him around, even if he is your mate."
"My what?"
"He marked you." She jerks her chin at my neck. I put a hand over the place where Tank bit me. "That's what wolves do when they find their mates."
"So?" I say, not certain what she means by mate. "I'm still one of you."
"No, you ain't. And that's the way it's gotta be."
"But you're my family."
"You'd better just forget all of us. Johnny would want you to. Johnny wished he could sometimes."
"Everything all right?" Tank walks slowly toward us.
"I gotta go." Jordy grabs her bike and climbs on, poised to flee.
"You going to be okay?" Tank asks her.
"Yeah."
I add, "You're not in trouble for coming to talk to us?"
"I had to come. Johnny would've wanted it."
"Jordy…" I want to tell her she doesn't have to go back, that she can come and live with me. But I don't even know what I'm going to do. I thought I'd find my father and things would magically make sense.
"Write down our numbers," Tank decides for me. I fumble in my purse for a pen and paper and take down the digits. "You get in trouble, you call." He holds the paper out to Jordy. "We'll get you out."
She snatches the paper and folds it so it disappears among her clothes before pedaling away.
"You okay, baby?" His hand rests on my neck, stroking.
"Yeah," I whisper, watching the lone figure ride into the wilderness.
~.~
Tank
Foxfire's quiet as I drive to the hotel. Jordy gave her something. I can smell it in her purse, but she doesn't mention it, so I don't bring it up.
Back in the room, she disappears for a few minutes in the bathroom. I give her space, touching her lightly when she leaves and I take my turn to wash up.
When I come out she's lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling. The bag of food sits by her, untouched. I don't like how little she's eaten, but I understand. It's been an intense day.
I lie down beside her.
"What do you need?"
A little sigh escapes her. Her scent changes. Before I can analyze it, she rolls to face me, blinking her large gray eyes.
"Make love to me, Tank."
I don't know what to say, so I stay silent. Her whole world is upside down. I'm the only one she has to talk to. I'm happy to be there for her, I'm just not sure I deserve her trust.
"Please." She wriggles closer, her head tilting up to mine. "I need to be touched." She lifts her hand, hesitates, and then touches my hair. "I need you."
I swallow, hard. I thought resisting Foxfire, the crazy-haired sex kitten, was hard, but seeing her hurting guts me. Nothing on the planet would keep me from giving my mate what she needs. Even if I haven't wrapped my brain around the fact I've marked her.
As in, she's mine forever. And I'm still not sure that's the best idea.