Free Fascination: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Shifters Forever After Book 2) by Elle Thorne Page A

trunk with the remote.
    “Give me a hand?” He indicated one of three boxes. He picked one up. “Stack that one on this one. And can you grab the smallest one?”
    Cade was still perturbed. “Sure.”
    Four flights later, Isaac set the boxes down and knocked on a door.
    A kid answered, not much older than Ignacio was when he died. “Officer Romanoff! Look, Mom!” The boy flung the door wide, revealing a too-thin woman with tired eyes and creases where a smile should have been.
    She regarded Isaac with suspiciousness. “Are you taking me in?” Then she noticed Cade and frowned. “Social services. I should have known.” She shook her head, disbelief and disappointment prevalent in her sloping shoulders.
    “Nope.” Isaac picked up the boxes and walked in. “Not here in any official capacity. This is my—This is Cadence. She’s a teacher.”
    Cade gave him a double take. What was he going to say? She’d have to ask. And if she was his anything then it didn’t seem he’d be carting her off to prison, did it? Or was he thinking she’d do her time and he’d wait.
    What the hell am I thinking? We’ve kissed, nothing more. Her panther snarled.
    Okay, okay, maybe there’s more.
    “So why are you here?” The woman’s voice hadn’t lost its tinge of distrust.
    “Cadence, this is Mary and that’s Eric.”
    “Nice to meet you.” Cadence kept her tone light.
    “What’s in the boxes, Officer Romanoff?” Eric jumped up and down. “Look, Cadence.” Eric grabbed her hand and pulled her from the short hallway into the living room. “See the tree and the presents? Officer Romanoff gave those to us.”
    Cadence glanced at Isaac.
    He pointedly avoided her gaze, instead, telling Eric, “Isaac, not Officer Romanoff. I’m off duty.”
    “I didn’t think you were ever off duty,” Cadence hissed the words low, inaudible to human hearing.
    Isaac cut his eyes her way, gave her a quirked eyebrow.
    “So this isn’t an official visit?” Mary’s shoulders slumped even more, this time in visible relief.
    “Nope. Just brought you a few extra things I had at my place.” He set the boxes on the table.
    Cade put hers next to them.
    Mary pulled the box open, poked through it. “These things still have tags on them.”
    “Yeah, uh…” Isaac cleared his throat. “I never got around to using them.”
    Cade’s panther scented the lie. She smirked. Isaac gave her a dirty look over Mary’s head. Cade feigned interest in the items Mary was ooohing and ahhhing over.
    “Not everything’s black and white,” Isaac said.

17
    A n evening of setting up Mary’s kitchen and jazzing up Eric’s bedroom ended quickly. Cade settled into Isaac’s car, the heat from the vents warming chilled limbs.
    “They didn’t have the heat on.” It hadn’t occurred to her before.
    “Not sure they can afford it. Mary’s out of work. I’ll help her line something up on Monday.” He told her about his meeting with Eric and the circumstances of Mary’s arrest for stealing a Christmas tree.
    “That’s nice of you.” She chewed on her lip, Mary’s arrest made the subject of her incarceration prevalent in her mind again. She pushed it away. “What happened to the black and white guy?”
    “He’s seen a different perspective.”
    “Isaac. I know you’re struggling, and we’re pretty close to related, what with my sister and your brother being mates…” She heaved a sigh. “I’m going to turn myself in. I don’t want you to be the one who has to take the heat from our families. Except it means you won’t get the credit.” She tried to force a reconciliatory smile to her face. “At least, you won’t get the blame, right?”
    Isaac pulled the car into her garage, nosed the vehicle into her spot, shifted into park, turned to face her. “No.”
    He opened the car door, got out, opened hers.
    “But…”
    “No.” He strode toward the elevator, pressed the button.
    She powerwalked to keep up with him. “Stop. Listen to