Free Red and the Tiger (BBW Shapeshifter Paranormal Romance) (Shifters Everafter Book 2) by Lola Kidd Page B

going to have to go farther to look for her.”
    “No, we need to call the police.” Cindy grabbed her hand. “You can’t go out there too.”
    “The police won’t look for her,” Suzy explained calmly. “They’ve told us a thousand times. They won’t go looking for an adult who left on her own accord. There’s no reason to think any kind of foul play is involved. Gran is just out having too much fun.”
    Cindy shook her head. “You won’t know where to go. You’ve never been outside of Penicalla. You’ll get lost and get hurt. I’m going to ask Roger for help. He’ll know what to do.”
    “No, I’m going to go,” Suzy said forcefully. “I’ll take the phone Gran gave me and I’ll call you every two hours. If I can’t find her in two days, we’ll talk to Roger. He isn’t even in town now. He’s working at the capital, but he’ll be back in three days. I’ll go ask him myself when he gets here.”
    “No. No. No. No,” Cindy said vehemently. “You aren’t prepared to go out there. You can’t. You just can’t.”
    “I’m going,” Suzy said. “I’m going right now. I’m sorry, Mom. I have to do this. We’ll never know where Gran is if I don’t at least try. I’m going to be very careful, and I’ll be back before you know it. I love you.”
    Suzy quickly walked to the door and stepped outside, then walked purposefully toward the end of the block. As soon as she was out of sight of her home, she stopped to catch her breath. She had actually left. She was going to the Wasteland. There was no turning back now. She had to do this for Gran. What if she was trapped and needed help? The only way to find out was for Suzy to go herself. It would be fine. So what if she’d never been farther than the outskirts of town? She was a grown woman. She could do this. She had to do this.
    She felt the phone in the pocket of her jeans and took a shaky breath, then pulled the hood of her red cape up against the cold and walked toward the forest. 

Two
    Tyler Wolf could hear Randall the Rat long before he saw him. Randall was the worst rat in the entire Wasteland when it came to sneaking around. It was a running joke that Tyler was careful not to mention, the same way that Randall never joked about the fact that Tyler was a tiger-shifter with the last name Wolf.
    “Are you sure you weren’t followed?” Randall asked as soon as Tyler was in earshot. His beady eyes darted back and forth, searching the trees for any movement or danger.
    “Of course not. No one cares what a loser like me does,” Tyler said. Painful but true. He was the lowest of the low in Rose Valley. He wasn’t a member of the Thieves, and didn’t have any friends besides Randall.
    “All the more reason for us to go through with this,” Randall said. “Those guys are going to learn what a big mistake they’ve made. We’re going to crush them all.”
    “Sure we are. Let’s hear this plan of yours.”
    Tyler rubbed his hands together. It was starting to get very cold in the woods. He wished Randall had told him his plan back at his house. The rat was way too paranoid. No one in the whole town cared what they did, and no one was spying on them. The only reason Randall had wanted to come out to the forest was to make a show and be dramatic.
    “Let me finish before you make any judgments,” Randall began. “You know I’ve been talking with Reno from the Ganjis for a few months now. We scavenge in the same dumps, and he’s always telling me how I should leave Rose Valley. Well, an opportunity has arisen. You and I can make some good money and get in with the Ganjis.”
    “No. Man, why’d you even make me come all the way out here in the cold?” Tyler started walking away. “You’re out of your mind if you want to join up with the Ganjis.”
    “You haven’t even heard the opportunity!” Randall followed at Tyler’s heels. “Do you like living in Rose Valley? If you could choose, would this be your life? If you had