Cael (Were Zoo Book 11), R. Butler [best management books of all time txt] 📗

for the vehicles. A few minutes later, her mom’s car parked in front of the complex, and Cael got out of one of the park’s marked SUVs.

Novi waved at her mom as she got out of her car.

“Welcome back,” Novi said.

“Thanks, honey.”

Cael spoke to whoever was driving the SUV for a few moments, and then joined Novi and her mom on the walkway.

“Here’s your key,” Cael said, handing her mom a keyring with a single key hanging from it. “I think it would be a good idea if you took a couple days off work and stayed here. Some of the park guards are going to head to your house and look around, so we’ll need your keys.”

“I don’t want anyone to get hurt,” her mom said, squeezing her car keys in her hand.

“No one will, I promise. They’re very good at what they do.”

She nodded and handed him the keys.

“Let’s go look in your new place, Mom,” Novi said. She looked at Cael and said, “She could use some supplies for the night.”

“On it, love.” He pecked her cheek and whispered, “I’m going to your mom’s place. I’ll text you when I know what’s up. In the meantime, I’ll send one of the females with supplies for your mom.”

“Thank you, be careful.”

“I will.”

They both said they loved each other, and she watched him stride swiftly away and down the walkway.

“He’ll be fine,” Novi said, smiling at her mom.

“Who are you telling? Me or yourself?” she asked with a smirk.

Novi chuckled. “How about both of us?”

“He’s not going alone, right?”

“No.”

“Good. I don’t trust your father. He’s dangerous.”

“I know, but Cael’s strong. He’ll be fine. Now let’s check out your apartment.”

Her mom unlocked the door next to her and Cael’s apartment, and they walked in to find an identical one. It was done up in shades of blue from a navy couch to a light blue comforter.

Her mom sat on the couch and sighed deeply. “I appreciate this. It feels weird.”

“What does?” Novi asked as she joined her on the couch.

“You taking care of me for a change.”

“I learned from the best.”

Chapter Fifteen

Cael didn’t have the greatest sense of smell. Some of the other shifters, like the wolves, had incredible senses, but elephants weren’t known for that. He could smell better than a human, but at the moment he couldn’t smell anything inside Lori and Novi’s house save for the two females.

But he could definitely tell that someone had been in the house because the backdoor lock was busted, and while nothing really seemed out of place, there was an air of “not quite right” that he couldn’t put his finger on.

Alistair put his hands on his hips and looked around. “I’d say more than one was here.”

Jupiter said, “I’m picking up four or five different males, all bears.”

Nathan, one of the gorillas, nodded. “I’m getting that as well. It doesn’t look like they did anything but break in and wait. Lori’s lucky she didn’t come in.”

Cael agreed. “I wonder how he found her.”

“He’s obviously a very determined male,” Alistair said. “He’s been tracking her for two decades and, according to Lori, he’s come close a number of times. He’s probably using some kind of database search to check for her and Novi’s information, like background checks for jobs or the houses they rent.”

“Novi said they don’t even use credit cards, they buy the prepaid ones, but their whole lives are cash. They’re really careful.”

“However he found them, we need to keep them both safe. Lori’s okay with moving into the complex?” Jupiter asked.

“For now, yes. She’s mostly just freaked out, so I don’t think she’s had a chance to think much past tonight.”

“We’ll arrange escorts for her to and from her job,” Jupiter said. “I put out a call to Joss, and there are plenty of wolves and lions willing to help out.”

“I’m going to pack a bag for her,” Cael said. He’d gotten a list of things from Novi that her mom requested, so he didn’t have to guess what she might need. Nathan offered to pack up the bathroom necessities, and Cael left him to that, heading to the bedroom to collect her clothes and shoes.

Alistair leaned against the doorjamb. “I fixed the door so it’s locked now and can’t be opened again, but if they want in badly enough, they’ll get in. She can call the landlord and have them replace the lock tomorrow.”

“Thanks.” Cael grabbed handfuls of socks and undergarments from the dresser and stuffed them into a suitcase from the closet, then turned to face the hanging clothes. “I wish they didn’t have to deal with this.”

“Me too. I hope he will give up and leave them alone, but I think he’s determined to get to them, so we’ll need to be on our toes.”

“I’ll drive Novi back and forth to work. She only has a little over a week left.”

“She can’t just quit?”

“She doesn’t want to leave her boss in the lurch. It’s too bad we can’t get Lori a job in the park.”

“Not as long as she’s oblivious to shifters. There’s too much of a chance for her to overhear something she shouldn’t.”

When he was finished packing, he carried the suitcase out to the unmarked SUV and got behind the wheel. He waited for Alistair, Jupiter, and Nathan to come out. Nathan set the bag of toiletries in the backseat and joined Jupiter in the other SUV. Alistair joined Cael. Cael put the SUV into gear and backed away from the house.

“You look disappointed,” Alistair said.

“I kind of wish that Keir had been there.”

“What would you have done if he had?”

“Make sure he knows that Novi and Lori are under our protection.”

“He doesn’t seem to be the sort