“Yoga pants and a T-shirt if I’m home.”
“Any siblings?”
She shakes her head.“No, you?”
“Nope.Are your parents still…” I trail off, wishing I could go back and rephrase that question.
“They’re still alive.”
“Do they know about the cult?Would they have sold you, too?”I demand, growing furious at the thought.
“I don’t know.I’d like to think they wouldn’t, but I never thought Fern’s dad would sell her.”She sighs.“He was desperate.My parents are… oblivious and negligent.Not abusive.”
“That’s still shitty.”
“I know.It could have been worse, though.At least I had Fern.”
My chest warms as Roxie smiles and talks about her friend.I like seeing her happy.Love it.
“What about you?”she asks.
“My parents both passed.They were… strange.”
“How so?”
“They didn’t believe in packs.Most shifters do.Strength in numbers and all that.They thought it made people weak, and didn’t want me to rely on anything or anyone.”
“Do you agree?”
I shake my head.“No.It was lonely living like that.Lonely and harder than it needed to be.Here, I have a community and friends.When I went in to rescue you, I had people to help.I could have gotten you out by myself, but it would have been harder and more dangerous.The chance that things wouldn’t go well would’ve been a lot higher.”
“I’m sorry you had to live like that,” she says softly.
I smile slightly.“It’s okay.It made me strong.”
“I have a feeling you would’ve been just as strong if you hadn’t been raised like that.”
“Yeah,” I agree.
“What do you do when you’re not rescuing damsels in distress?”
“Well, I was in the military for a bit.Now, rescuing and security is my full-time job.I have a security consultant firm that I run from here, and I volunteer for the Midnight Haven group.”
“Sounds like a good life.”
“It is.What about you?What were you doing before all of this?”
“I worked days at this accounting firm.I was a secretary to one of the higher-ups.Then, three nights a week, I cleaned office buildings.”
“Busy,” I comment.
“Broke,” she corrects.
I grin as she laughs.“Ambitious and hardworking.”
“More like Fern and I had a plan.We were going to move far away and start over.We’d be free and happy.Then Fern was taken, and?—”
“And here we are.”