*   *   *

Addie remained on the porch with Kendrick as the others dispersed. Jaycee went out to patrol as her wildcat, as did Seamus. Dimitri disappeared into the house then reemerged, dressed but without the sling. He too walked away into the night.

Charlie had taken the cubs back to bed. They’d been somber, seeming to understand just how hurt Ben was.

They had seen death before, Addie realized as she gave them a second kiss good-night. The tigers’ mother had died, and Robbie had lost both mother and father. They barely knew Ben, but they understood what his injury might mean.

Addie sat down on the porch swing next to Kendrick. Ben lay on blankets at their feet, where he slept fitfully. Kendrick had pulled a sheet over Ben’s legs, but with the night still in the 90s, Ben had shoved it off almost immediately.

Addie felt Kendrick’s arm against hers, then his thigh. In spite of the night’s oppressiveness, his warmth wasn’t overwhelming—it was comforting.

Addie gave up on trying to fight her feelings for him and leaned into him. “Who is this healer you’re looking for?” she asked. “Why is Seamus worried?”

“He’s kind of eccentric,” Kendrick said. “You’ll see.” He let out a faint mmph noise. “I hate that Ben’s hurt because of me.”

“How do you know it’s because of you?”

A reasonable question, Addie thought, but Kendrick growled. “He was poking around in things I’d been investigating. They must have caught him at it. They must know more about me and my friends than I realized.”

“It could have been random violence,” Addie suggested. “He might simply have been mugged.”

Kendrick shook his head. “I doubt it.” He stared off into the night, his entire body pressed the length of hers. She was aware of every twitch, every stillness, every beat of his pulse.

She laid her head on his strong shoulder. “Why do you want me to stay?” she asked softly.

Kendrick’s shrug moved his body. “I need you.”

The simple declaration warmed Addie’s heart. “I’ve heard you say that to many people since I’ve met you. Dimitri, Jaycee, Seamus, Tiger. Even when you didn’t say it out loud, that’s what you meant. You seem to need a lot of people.”

Another shrug. “I had a crappy upbringing,” he said, forcing a light tone. “I have issues.”

“An upbringing so crappy it made other Shifters rush to follow you to live in an underground compound in the middle of Texas?”

“Yep.”

Silence descended, broken only by a chorus of crickets, the occasional crackle of brush as a lizard or snake slid by, and Ben’s uneven breathing.

“Are you going to tell me about it?” Addie asked after a time.

Kendrick glanced at her. “You want to know?” He sounded surprised.

“I want to know everything about you.” Addie rested her fingertips on his blue-jeaned thigh. “Have, ever since you walked into my diner.”

He continued to study her in a puzzled way, as though he couldn’t understand why she was interested. “When I was ten, my father died,” he began. “He was a white tiger, an old Shifter, much older than my mother, and he came to the end of his natural life. My mother was still young, very beautiful. She was a tiger, but an orange one like Tiger. I’m an aberration.”

“Is that what you call yourself?” Addie asked. “I’m sorry about your dad.”

“I grieved. The Guardian of our clan sent him to dust, and my mother and I tried to get on with our lives. But that was back in a time when Shifter males far outnumbered females, and an unmated female like my mom was considered fair game. The strongest male around mate-claimed her, took her as mate under sun and moon, and then tried to kill me.”