Page 16

I t had been almost a month since Frisco confessed to killing Davey. A month since everything she thought she knew about her life had cracked open and reshaped into something new.

Most of the time, Billie Ann managed to stay busy. There was always something to do at Shift Faced, from inventory, repairs, managing Shifters and drunks, and trying to keep Bruce from stealing chicken wings off people’s plates.

But tonight, after the last customer left and the doors were locked, the silence sat heavier than usual.

She stood alone in the kitchen, leaning against the counter, the overhead light humming faintly above her. The place smelled like bleach and old fryer oil, with a hint of lemon from the cleaner she’d used to wipe everything down. It was comforting in a strange way. Familiar.

What wasn’t comforting was her phone.

Still nothing.

Rafe had been gone for three days, returning to Mexico to tie up the last of his affairs there. He’d called the first two nights. He had sounded tired, but still teasing and tender. But today… nothing.

And she hated how much that unsettled her.

She set her phone down and took a deep breath. “You’re fine,” she whispered to herself. “He said he’d come back. You believe him so stop freaking out.”

“Hey, everything is cleaned up, so I’m taking off unless you need me to do anything else.” Macy peeked in over the swinging doors. The sparkle that was usually in her eyes was absent.

After what happened with Frisco, Macy had been unusually quiet.

Not her bubbly self. Billie Ann knew she’d had feelings for Frisco.

How deep those feelings ran, Billie didn’t know.

She also didn’t know what had happened to Frisco after that night.

Rafe told her that she never had to worry about him again.

Honestly, she didn’t want to know. She trusted Rafe fully.

“You okay, Macy?” Billie watched her closely.

“Yeah, I’m good,” Macy said, smiling, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Just tired, but I made a killing on tips tonight.”

“Good,” Billie Ann smiled back. “Listen, if you ever need to talk, I’m here. Okay?”

Macy glanced away, but nodded before looking back at her. “Thanks, Billie Ann.” She then looked around. “I’ll stay if you want me to until you’re finished here.”

“No, you go ahead.” Billie shooed her. “I’m almost done back here. Just lock up when you leave, please.”

“Don’t worry, I’m her protector until Mr. Tall, Dark, and Moody gets back.” Bruce walked underneath the swinging doors.

Billie Ann rolled her eyes, then grinned at Macy. “Be careful going home.”

“I will.” She gave a quick wave and then left, leaving Bruce and her alone.

Billie Ann glanced at her phone again and sighed.

“Lover boy still hasn’t called?” Bruce sat watching her.

“No, I’m sure he’s busy.” She replied, putting her phone away.

“What in the hell can he be doing at two in the morning?” Bruce snorted, shaking his cat head. “Only trouble happens at this time.”

Frowning, Billie Ann narrowed her eyes. “Bruce, why don’t you go to the trailer...or better yet, go home. I don’t need protection.”

She didn’t need his snarky little jabs either, or the way he stared at her like he knew something she didn’t.

The truth was, she was doing her best to keep it together, waiting on a man who hadn’t called in nearly a day.

Rafe had said he was just tying up loose ends back in Mexico, but her mind.

..yeah, her damn overthinking mind didn’t care about logic.

Bruce arched a brow, twitching his tail. “Fine. Be that way.” He hopped down from the counter with a soft thud and stalked toward the door. “But if something slinks out of the shadows to eat you, I’m gonna say I told you so.”

Billie Ann followed, opening the door with more force than necessary. “I’ll take my chances.”

“That chair I’ve been sleeping in sucks anyway,” Bruce muttered as he disappeared into the night. Rolling her eyes, she closed the door with a heavy sigh.

For another half an hour, she found things to clean. She didn’t want to go to the trailer alone. She’d rather just stay all night here.

Picking up her phone again, she glared at it. “Why in the hell won’t you call?”

“Why in the hell is this door not locked?” Rafe’s voice made her jump with a squeal as she spun around. For half a second, she froze, heart in her throat. “And I didn’t call because I couldn’t this morning, and then I knew you’d be working, and I expected you to be in bed waiting for me.”

“I would have answered even if I was working, and I don’t like being in bed without you,” she said, her voice low as she took in his messy dark hair and tired eyes.

Within a heartbeat, he was taking her in his arms in two strides, pulling her in tight. The second her body hit his, all the worry, fear, and tension melted into something deeper. He was back.

She pressed her face into his chest, breathing him in. “I missed you.”

“I missed you more.” He tilted her chin up. “Every mile, every hour was torture, but I’m here to stay.”

His mouth took hers before she could say anything.

The kiss began softly, but quickly deepened into something desperate, something undeniable.

It was need and relief, longing and love, all crashing together like a tide that had waited too long to come in.

Her back hit the counter as his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her against him.

Her fingers threaded into his damp hair, fisting as she kissed him back with everything she had.

Their foreheads touched when they finally broke apart, breathless and clinging to each other. Her chest rose and fell against his. He still held her like he was afraid she might vanish. But she wasn’t going anywhere.

“I love you,” Billie Ann whispered, her voice trembling from the weight of everything she felt.

His golden eyes locked on hers, fierce and unshakable. “Say it again.”

A smile broke across her lips, this one real and unguarded. It had taken her longer to say those words to him, and he loved to tease her about it. “I love you, Rafe.” She whispered slowly with a half grin.

A sound escaped him—half laugh, half moan—as he leaned in to kiss her again, slower this time, savoring the moment.

He pulled back just enough to speak, his voice low. “You’re mine, Billie Ann Carter. I knew it the moment I saw you.”

The creak of a floorboard made them both look up. Bruce stood in the doorway, tail twitching, his whiskers angled in disapproval.

“Gag,” he muttered. “I knew something was going to slink in from the shadows, and I was right. That’s what happens when you leave the door open.”

“Bruce,” They both said with warning in their tone.

“I swear I get no respect.” Bruce turned back around to leave, then glanced over his shoulder. “Just heard a motorcycle and wanted to make sure you were okay, but do I get a thank you? Nope, I do not.”

“Thank you,” Rafe growled as he reached out and slammed the door in Bruce’s face.

“Well, you aren’t welcome,” Bruce yelled through the door. “Don’t ask The Bruce for any favors, asshole.”

“I’m going to kill that cat one day.” Rafe hissed as he nuzzled Billie Ann’s neck.

“He did keep me company while you were gone,” Billie Ann whispered, leaning her head back against Rafe’s chest, her arms wrapped around his waist. She breathed him in—warm skin, leather, and his own special scent that made her knees weak.

“Fine,” Rafe muttered, pressing a kiss to her temple. “He can live… for tonight.”

Without another word, he bent and swept her into his arms like she weighed nothing at all.

She gasped, laughing softly. “What are you doing?”

“Carrying you to bed before he finds a way to interrupt again,” he growled, already heading toward the trailer. “Now, can we stop talking about Bruce?”

As if on cue, the familiar voice came from somewhere in the shadows, smug and loud as ever. “It’s The Bruce to you, dickhead!”

Billie Ann burst out laughing, her head falling against Rafe’s shoulder as he snorted in response.

“He says he’s got nine lives,” Rafe said with a growl, pushing open the trailer door with his shoulder. “And I swear I’m using one if he shows up again tonight.”

But once the door closed behind them, and the quiet of the trailer wrapped around them like a warm blanket, neither of them gave Bruce or anyone else a second thought.

Rafe set her down gently, his eyes never leaving hers. No more goodbyes. No more danger. Just the two of them, in the place where it had all begun.

As their lips met again, Billie Ann knew this wasn’t just the end of a long, hard chapter.

It was the beginning of everything.