Page 45 of The Tracker's Revenge

A pang of jealousy hit me at the thought of Rosalina taking him. It was stupid, but that made me realize I wanted him. Even Cupid with his low-profile presence had served as company, and I missed that. And my complexdidallow pets, I’d made sure of that.

“Soo?” Rosalina said in a sing-song voice.

I sniffed. “Well, if he’ll have me, I’ll have him.”

At this, the cat opened one eye then closed it again as if he were winking his agreement.

Rosalina laughed. “I guess that settles it.”

So before lunch, I headed to the pet store and bought a bunch of supplies, cringing at the hit to my credit card, but feeling it was way worth it.

After getting a cat carrier, a litter box and scooper, dry food, wet food, bowls for water and kibble, a collar, and a hairbrush, I picked him up from the office, stuffed him in the carrier, and took him home.

Luckily, he didn’t seem at all bothered by the experience and started exploring the apartment as soon as I let him out. I hated to leave, but I had a potion to brew back at the office, so I poured water and food for him and snuck out when he wasn’t looking.

I left the condo with a smile on my face, looking forward to returning home later today.

Chapter 15

“Where do we stand?”The next day, I sat at my desk with Rosalina and a stack of printed pages before me.

It was Thursday. We had tall cups of coffee in front of us, and a couple of slices of cheesecake waiting in a paper bag in case we got hungry while we discussed our finances and the future of our agency.

For lunch, I’d eaten a huge steak, a loaded baked potato, and creamy mac and cheese. Eric had been right about getting enough calories. We had practiced fleeting again today, and it had left me exhausted. He also showed me how to control my alpha vibes.

Something else that had me exhausted was the lack of good sleep. Blaze—it was what I’d name my new cat because of his beautiful eyes—had woken me up a few times through the night as he tried to find a comfortable position sidled next to me. The new arrangement would certainly take some getting used to. For both of us. I was a bit worried about him, though. This morning I hadn’t seen him as I rushed through a shower and dressed for work. I suspected he’d climbed behind the refrigerator, but I’d had no time to look.

After a hefty, leisurely lunch, I was feeling much better, though I suspected the cheesecake would have a short lifespan.

Across the desk, Rosalina was dressed in a silken cream blouse and black pinstripe pants. Her makeup was flawless, and there was a glow to her skin that hadn’t been there in the last few days. It was as if, by putting extra time in her skincare, she could lift up her spirits. I thought of her dressed in tight leathers, toting a scoped rifle, blasting people off, and had to convince myself I wasn’t thinking of two people, but only one: my best friend who turned out to be a badass in more ways than one.

She handed me the top page of her report. “This is a summary. Most of the bills are due by May the fifteenth. After we pay the rent, we will have exactly $251.35 left in our savings account.”

“Shit.”

“If you are able to track a mate for Mr. Taylor, we’ll have enough to cover rent for May, but there won’t be enough to cover all the other bills... electric, water, insurance, supplies. Not to mention our salaries.”