I don’t—laugh, that is—because I notice that unlike back at Triple E and the gift shop, Liam isn’t questioning the shop owner. He’s questioning me. Like maybe whatever courtesy he was giving me because I work for his brother-in-law is now gone. Replaced with suspicion after I tried to run.
“Leith was at the rink.” My heart spikes as I say his name. “Leith Rogowsky. He plays for the Blades. He showed up just as I was done locking up and he was here. Practicing.”
My cheeks flush with heat as I remember my time with Leith, and the way he just flew away. But I know how it must look to a cop. Flushed cheeks mean guilt. I’d be suspicious, and obviously Liam is too.
“What aren’t you telling me, Zoe?” he asks.
Which leaves me with two choices. Tell him the whole embarrassing truth. Or lie.
Usually, I’d pick option two—mixed with a healthy dose of cheerful, care-free Zoe. Which is when I realize that one thing I told Leith wasn’t completely right. That fun-loving Cleanly Den maid everyone in Silver Springs knows may not be the real me, but she’s someone I really want to be. And I haven’t been pretending to be someone else. I’ve been acting like the person I want to become. I’ve been faking it until I make it. And maybe it’s time I started telling the truth.
“Leith is my mate,” I tell Liam. I hear Xavi inhale sharply and quickly add, “I only met him last night. After I was done cleaning the shops. And I might as well tell you the reason I just tried to run. Xavi is my mate, too.”
“I am?” Xavi sounds surprised.
“He is?” Liam sounds just as surprised.
“Congratulations,” Thora, the shop owner, squeals.
“I’m really your mate?” Xavi asks. He looks hopeful, but I don’t let it affect me. Not after how badly things ended up with Leith and Ghost.
So I just nod instead.
“But then why did you try to run?” Liam asks.
“You’re one to talk.” I roll my eyes. “I heard how you reacted when you first met Violet. She said you ran through a glass door. I was the one who got called in to clean it up.”
“I didn’t run through it,” Liam growls. “I slammed it shut. And she looked older than Gran.”
He has a point. Violet had been posing as an eighty-year-old woman at the time. My mate is hot.
“I just wasn’t expecting to find a third mate this afternoon,” I tell Liam.
“Third?” Xavi asks.
“Long story.” I shake my head. “But I wasn’t lying when I said I don’t know how the thief got in. I didn’t see anything suspicious. No one was here, other than Leith, and he showed up right as I was finishing up.”
“And he left with you?” Liam asks.
I hesitate, but there’s no sense lying to a cop, especially when he can easily verify it with Leith. “No. He left before I did. Shifted into a bird and flew away.”
“That’s unusual,” Liam says.
“Not really,” Thora says. “Flying is a very efficient mode of transportation. Good for the environment. You know, I always tell myself I’ll fly to work more often. Be a good dragon and keep the wings in shape. Damn shame I am not one, though. Oh well, at least I recycle.”
Liam shakes his head. “Zoe, Bert and I will finish up here. You’re free to go. Just don’t leave town, okay? Just until we figure this out.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I tell him. “Silver Springs is my home.”
He moves out of the doorway, and I step outside. Xavi follows me. He doesn’t say a word, just falls into step with me and starts walking.
I sigh. It’s not a good sign that Liam changed his mind about me walking through the shops I cleaned with him and Bert. And it’s definitely not a good sign that he asked me not to leave town. And now I have a third mate who I don’t know what to do with. Especially not after both Leith and Ghost rejected me. What if Xavi does too?
“I’m going to figure out who’s behind the robberies,” he suddenly tells me.
“You don’t think I did it?” I ask softly.
What I should do is ask him to leave. I don’t want another mate. I don’t have it in me to get rejected by another mate. But I can’t quite bring myself to get rid of him. And it’s not just because he’s already interviewed Thora, so he may know something I overlooked.
“I know you didn’t,” he tells me. And he sounds so sure of himself. So sure of me.
“How? We only just met. You don’t even know me.”
“But I know you love your job,” he says. Which isn’t such a surprise, since most people in town do. “Plus, it would be stupid to rob your own clients.”
“It would.” I nod in agreement.
“I spent all day interviewing every store owner who got robbed,” Xavi adds. “I only found out about the rink an hour ago, but I came straight here and have been by most of the shops.”
“And what have you found out so far?”
“Honestly, not much. But maybe we could grab some coffee and compare notes?” he asks hopefully.
“Sure. Jewels Cafe?” Because, even though there’s a coffee shop here, I really don’t want to stick around the rink right after it got robbed.
“I’ll meet you there.” He turns around and heads in the opposite direction of the parking lot.
My best guess is he left something behind—like a thick winter coat. I don’t understand how the guy isn’t freezing. Either that or he can shift into a bird and he plans to fly.
The thought of birds makes my heart constrict, and I hit on the brake with a bit too much force. I peel out of the parking lot and turn the corner onto the main road, only to stop short. Because I spot Xavi. Walking. To Jewels Cafe.
“Are you insane?” I call out, pulling over next to him.
“I like to walk.” Xavi’s cheeks flush, but honestly, I think it has more to do with the cold.
“Just get in.” I gesture at the passenger seat. Xavi shakes his head and waves me off. Like he seriously plans to walk all the way to Jewels Cafe. In an unzipped coat over a thin dress shirt, with no hat or gloves or scarf. Is he insane?
Sure, Ember walks around in tank tops in the snow, but she’s a fire kitsune. Maybe Xavi’s one too. But even if that’s the case, we’re nowhere near Jewels Cafe.
“I’m going there anyway,” I tell him pointedly.
“That’s okay.” Xavi smiles. And it’s another one of those soft, sweet smiles that warms me from the inside. While he must be freezing.
“Seriously, Xavi. You’re not walking all the way to Jewels Cafe. Get in.”
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” He pushes his glasses up his nose, which somehow only makes him more adorable. And makes me want to protect him, or at least to make sure the poor guy doesn’t freeze.
“I’m not leaving until you get in,” I insist.
He still seems to hesitate for a few seconds, but then he opens the door and jumps in.
The moment the door’s shut and his seatbelt’s firmly in place, I signal and get back on the road. I only get a couple of feet before Xavi starts hyperventilating.
“Are you okay?” I ask, taking him in. His cheeks are flushed, his eyes are filled with panic, and he’s gripping his seat so tight his knuckles are turning white.