Zach stared incredulously at him. But when Jessie raised a brow and pointed to the muffin, Zach grimaced and broke off another piece.
Kade stared at the map and dropped a thick finger on the Forks Market, located in downtown Winnipeg. It was named for the juncture of two of the City’s three major rivers, the Red and the Assiniboine. “We’ll do the first sweep from here, and then we’ll go mobile, so we can try to pinpoint his location.”
Zach swallowed. “If he can feel Jessie, won’t he try to find us?”
“He’ll know she’s close. Speed is everything. He won’t have time to chase her down if we’re fast, and mobile. Once you get a bead on him, we’ll close in.” Kade folded the map. “Neil will be with us. The others will be waiting for my signal. Even if Braden ends up on top of us, we’ll get him.”
“Um. I have a question,” Jessie said. “It’s broad daylight. How are you planning to take him down? Aren’t big hairy beasts pouncing all over each other bound to be noticed by the residents?”
Kade grimaced. “Weres tend to set up shop in out of the way kinds of places. Winnipeg isn’t the concrete jungle that a lot of cities are. It’s full of quiet places for them to hide. Places where they can shift, and not be seen, even in daylight. I expect we’ll find them in a similar location to where they held you—an industrial park. Or an abandoned building.”
Jessie stared at him. “You shift form in abandoned buildings? In thecity?”
Kade’s eyes flared. “And parks. Golf courses. The night hides much.”
Jessie shook her head. “With my luck, my rookie forays as a Were will be plastered across Facebook. ‘Bigfoot sightings along the Seine River.’”
Lightly spoken, but Zach caught a pulse of her fear and glared at Kade.
The Were ignored him, but his lips twitched at Jessie. “Wouldn’t be the first time.” He tapped the map on the table. “All right, let’s roll.”
18
The compact car backed out and pulled away. With a grunt of satisfaction, Kade drove the truck into the tight spot and turned off the engine.
“Good thing we aren’t getting out.” Zach peered through the window.
Jessie agreed. A four-year-old couldn’t fit through that gap. She was shocked Kade had managed to squish the truck in.
It was late morning on a Saturday. The place was a zoo. It had taken the big Were ten minutes to find a place to park. Neil was still searching.
Jessie rubbed her arms. The moment they’d left Cara’s property, the antsy feeling had returned with a vengeance. The virus in her blood called to her, wanting to reunite with the source.
With Braden.
She shivered, and stifled it as hard as she could, gazing out at the Forks Market. It offered a wide selection of food vendors, and those that worked downtown frequented them with enthusiasm. On a Saturday, they’d been joined by many others enjoying such a lovely spring day. Visitors packed the benches and tiered seats along the riverbank.
Zach glanced at Kade. “You sure this is the best place for this?”
Jessie winced. With the numbers of people, Zach’s mind must be buzzing. How was he going to find anyone?
A muscle jumped in the Were’s jaw. “We need someplace central. We won’t be here long.”
Jessie tried to catch Kade’s eye, but he avoided it. Easy to do at the moment because she was sitting behind Zach who was in the truck’s passenger seat. But the huge Were hadn’t looked Jessie’s way, even once, since they’d gotten into the truck. “What if this doesn’t work?” she asked.
Kade’s brows dropped. “It’ll work.”
“Not an answer,” Zach pointed out.
Jessie didn’t need to be an Empath to feel the tension between the two men. They didn’t like each other. Not one bit.
The Were ignored him. “Let’s get this done.”
“Okay.” Jessie leaned forward from the back seat. “That would be helpful if I had any idea what to do.”
Cara, who was sitting behind Kade, shuffled closer to Jessie. “I’m going to guide you guys through. If you get overwhelmed, just let go of Zach. That will bring him, and you, back here. Are you ready?”
“Yes.” Jessie wasn’t sure it would be so simple.
