Fisher (Prince of Tigers, #3) - Kathi S. Barton Page 0,26

an eye on children born to a family that isn’t making it, or if there is violence there. We, as magical creatures, have managed to save a few of them. Not nearly as many as we’d like.”

“That’s wonderful.” She looked out the front window of his truck as they pulled onto the highway. “That’s how I met Aurora. I didn’t know who she was at the time, other than someone who would bring food by when Mom and I were running low. A couple of times, she even picked up Mom’s medication and brought it to us. When Mom died, I called for her, over and over, to come and stay with me. To be there for me. But she never came. She didn’t even bother telling me why she couldn’t be there with me. She just didn’t come around anymore.”

“Is that why you were so upset with her?” Piper told him that it had been. “Did she tell you why she’d not done as you wanted?”

“She didn’t know. The hospital, she told me, is many levels of metal and concrete, so she’d not felt Mom’s death as she might have if she’d been at our camper. Mom loved the outdoors, and she’d spend as much time as she could sitting out in the sun. That was how we met her. Aurora told us she’d been out walking and came upon us. It wasn’t until she showed up at the camper last night that I even knew she was magical. I just thought she was just a woman who enjoyed the outdoors as much as we did. I didn’t know how right I was until now.”

The two of them spoke all the way back home, mostly about how he’d become what he was now, a cat that could shift into a man. How he’d been around for a long time, and how he had money. She told him she didn’t hate her brother and sister, but she didn’t like them at all. They had not just done her wrong, but mostly their parents. Just going on as if they’d not raised them or kept them safe and fed all the years they were growing up.

Fisher learned a great deal about her. She’d not had it very easy, but she told him she’d never trade getting to spend time with her parents in their final days for any reason. As soon as they stopped for gas again, he told her they could get some lunch and take a walk. Fisher wanted her to see his cat, something she’d been asking him for since they started out. He just hoped he didn’t scare her too much. But he also knew that now was not the time. He’d show her his true self when they were home.

Chapter 5

Paddy hung up the phone and sat staring at it as he thought of all the things he wanted to say to his wife. She’d ruined them both financially, as well as him mentally. This was putting such a strain on his mind that he’d been popping pain medication for his headache since he’d spoken to his partner three days ago. Mary had a great deal to answer for.

When he’d first found out that she’d been skimming— Not even close to what she’d been doing, but for now, calling it skimming made him feel better. But she’d been skimming money from the business bank accounts for months without either him or his partner knowing. Charlie said he’d suspected that was what she was doing, but with the huge merger coming up then, he’d forgotten to look. By the time he had looked, it was well into bankruptcy territory. Without going public about the loss to their company, there was no way they were going to be able to hide this for much longer.

“Mr. Benton, there is a man by the name of Bryant Prince here to speak to you. He said it’s very urgent.” Paddy told her to tell him he was out. “I’m afraid that won’t work, sir. He told me he knows you’re trying to contact your wife and the reason behind it. I wasn’t aware you were trying to contact Mary, sir. I could have done that for you.”

“It’s all right, Connie. Just tell Mr. Prince I’ll speak to him. Send him in.” It startled him to see such a large man come through his doors. For whatever reason, Paddy had it in his head that this was one of the many