Free Lion Lost & Found, Paranormal Romance (Ghost Cat Shifters Book 2) by J.H. Croix Page B

he wasn’t going to hide his feelings. He nodded and took a gulp of his coffee, savoring the rich flavor.
    Sophia looked at him for a long moment, her eyes searching and considering. “She means a lot to you.”
    “She does.” His heart tightened. Last night had taken the hints of his feelings and ratcheted up their intensity.
    Sophia watched him for another moment. Her breath came out on a sigh. “Oh. Does she know how you feel?”
    He shrugged. “Maybe. I tried to let her know, but I’m not so sure how much she’s ready to hear.”
    Sophia was quiet for several beats. “Give her time.”
    “That’s it? Give her time?”
    Sophia gave him a small smile and shrugged. “That’s it. It may not sound like much, but she’s been on her own for years. After the way things went with Chris, she’s wary. If you don’t give her time, she’ll get in her own way.”  
    At that moment, another customer approached the counter and Heath stepped out of the way. “I’ll probably be by again soon,” he said with a lift of his coffee cup.
    “I’ll be here. Maybe you can meet Daniel and I for dinner tomorrow.”
    “Just tell me where.”
    At that, he turned and left. As he was walking back across the street, Daniel’s truck passed by. He came to a quick stop and waved to Heath as he rolled down his window.
    “What’s up?” Heath said when he reached Daniel’s truck.
    “I was just about to call you. Roger wants us to stop by. They’ve caught a few leads north of town.”
    “You got it. I’ll meet you there.”
    A short while later, Heath leaned against the wall in Roger Shaw’s office. Roger was the lead investigator on the various cases associated with the smuggling network. He and a few other officers were shifters, which came in quite handy during the months of searching for Nelson.
    “To keep it short, we’ve been revisiting the properties around town, and we’re pretty sure someone’s living in the old buildings on the main property where your grandfather’s offices were. It’s one of the first places we checked out. I figured all along Nelson and anyone helping him would wait it out and loop back this way.”
    “What now?” Daniel asked.
    “Since you guys have been searching, I thought it’d be best if we made sure we’re covering different areas. I’d prefer if we planned a rotation. I also followed up on that shifter you saw last week. My best guess is it’s Chris Barnett. He’s…”
    “Vivi’s ex,” Heath interjected. “Why do you think it’s him?” Heath had never even met Chris. Vivi had dated Chris and had Julianna while Heath was away in the military. He’d come home on leave during that time, but he’d never actually met Chris.
    “One of the guys we’re holding on charges for dealing thinks it’s him. The guy said Chris handled some of the pick ups in this area. After he moved away from Painter, he got picked up for dealing in Boulder. He bounced back here and a buddy of mine on the force there gave us a heads up to keep an eye on him when things heated up with the smuggling network,” Roger explained.
    Heath shifted his shoulders against the wall, considering what it might mean to Vivi to learn Julianna’s father was involved in the smuggling network. “Are you gonna try to bring him in?” Heath asked.
    Roger nodded. “Of course. I was actually hoping you guys could help with that. Since he didn’t seem to know who you were, he got flushed out. He definitely knows who we are. I was thinking you guys could keep scouting over on that side of town and we’ll focus on the other side and north.”
    Daniel was nodding along and asking questions, while Heath considered how to talk to Vivi about this. He didn’t want her to find out some other way, but he worried about how she’d react. He’d gathered enough threads of information to understand things didn’t go well between her and Chris. Chris’s complete absence from Julianna’s life had led Heath to conclude Chris