Locked in his pain, he barely noted the movement at his window. It was open. The old screen had holes he’d not gotten around to repairing. Buffy hooked claws in one of the tears and shredded it.
“Go away.” Zach didn’t recognize his own voice.
But the cat, being a cat, ignored him. Buffy squeezed through the screen and briefly disappeared when she jumped onto the floor.
A pulse from Jessie. Unmistakable. Any chances that she might reject the Sabre were rapidly dissolving, but what were her alternatives? Would it matter if she chose another Sabre other than Kade? She’d be just as out of reach. And Braden... Braden was a monster.
Even though he was braced for it, the kiss—and her reaction to it—stabbed clear through him. He curled around himself. A grown man in theshatzafetal position.
That word wasn’t from Jessie. It was from effing Kade. And he didn’t think he’d used it properly, either.Dammit.
A rough tongue swiped across his brow. His eyes snapped open to meet the bright blue of the cat’s. She leaned forward and licked him again, then she pushed her head into his jaw and emitted a familiar tide of soothing calm.
Zach seized it like a starving man grabs at food. Anything to stop this pain. He wrapped a hand around the animal and tucked her against his chest.
And, one brick at a time, Buffy helped him build the wall.
29
The day passed. Zach confirmed that daytime television was not his thing. By the time someone knocked on his door, he’d lost all track of the hour.
Thanks to Buffy, however, his walls were holding. Just. He rolled to a sitting position on his bed, dislodging the cat. “Come in, Cara.”
The door opened slowly. Concerned blue eyes peered at him.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
Zach snorted and gestured to Buffy. “Don’t you already know?”
She stepped into the room. “They are my eyes and ears. But I’m no Empath.”
“Been better, frankly.” He briefly met her gaze. “I just want this to be over. I want to go back to my life and move on.”
“Don’t close yourself to all possible futures,” Cara advised.
Zach intended to do just that. Because most of them were crazier than hell. “You sound like Yoda.” His gaze focused on his window. “And you owe me a window screen.”
“From what I saw, it wasn’t in the best shape to begin with.”
Zach conceded the point. “Yeah.” He scratched the stubble on his chin. “I’ll add it to the list.”
“It’s quiet downstairs. Kitani served pizza and sent the Weres out to the front porch. Jessie’s with them. Laura is in her room. Why don’t you come down for dinner and some tea?”
Zach’s stomach growled. He’d managed to stash crackers in his room, but they’d been consumed by midafternoon. The Weres had long since made dinner.
He sighed. He would have to face them all, sooner or later. Zach longed for this to be over. To go back to working with horses. Much easier than people. And he’d have to get his delivery business going a little earlier than expected. The courier might take him back, but they would already have given his regular deliveries to someone else. His rock-solid reputation had taken a helluva hit with all this.
Buffy purred, and head butted him, kneading the bed.
“Don’t get used to it.” Zach warned her as he stood. “The bedroom’s still off-limits.”
Cara snorted. “Just be grateful stairs are difficult for donkeys.” She led the way out of the bedroom.
“No donkeys in the bedroom,” Zach agreed. And then contemplated that Cara was the only person in the world that wouldn’t misconstrue that comment.
He rubbed his temple. It was going to be the longest twenty-four hours of his life.
* * *
