Page 31 of De-Witched

She should be turned in.

Rejection at the idea shoved against his skin and he fought to understand why when this was clearly the smart thing, the sensible thing.

Except...if he did that, he’d lose this job. He needed this job to get back to his normal life. It was that simple.

Better to bide his time, he thought, staring at the visitor pad, the lines of precise writing blurred. He could watch her. See how much she knew. Make sure—they were all safe.

Maybe...maybe Leah would be different.

The memory of her eyes staring into his as they’d crouched on the bar floor, glass shards between them. His spine curved to the chair as he released a heavy breath.

He’d pretend he didn’t know. For now. At least the pressure was partly off, mistakes he made no longer cause for concern. She’d kept their secret however long.

It was that that had the tightness in his chest easing. He’d play pretend. He was getting good at that.

Like pretending not to notice how the damp coffee-stained T-shirt had clung to her breasts, outlining their shape.

She wore black lace against her skin.

Nope, he hadn’t noticed that at all.

Leah wasn’t at the shelter the following day. It was a surprise and, Gabriel assured himself, a pleasant one. It was good to have time to process his new knowledge, how he’d react to her and not let her know that he knew. And it was a relief to be left to his own devices. He didn’t want her watching him with that skeptical smile. Laughing that deep-in-the-gut sound that absolutely, one hundred percent got on his nerves. Yes, he was pleased she wasn’t around.

It was Sonny that greeted him, along with a dog by his side that he introduced as Danny. Goddess knew what the dog was, some kind of mixed breed, but he seemed friendly enough and calm—unlike the bruiser, Chuck, who watched him with near-fanatical devotion whenever Gabriel came within sniffing distance.

“How’re you liking it so far?” Sonny led the way to the cat pens where he’d be cleaning out litter trays for the morning. Their footsteps sounded as they walked, accompanied by muffled woofs and whines.

Gabriel held himself tall as he followed the older human, debating how honest to be. He needed the job, after all. “I like a challenge.”

Sonny’s eyes twinkled as he threw a look over his shoulder. His hair was thinning on top, plenty of white hair threading through the mid-brown shade, but not bad for his age. He pushed the door open on a groaning squeak, gestured for Gabriel to walk through. “Not an animal fan?”

“I don’t dislike them.”

“Never had pets?” At Gabriel’s head shake, Sonny patted Danny on the head. “Damn shame. All kids should have something to love. Didn’t your parents ever think to get one?”

“They were busy elsewhere.” Setting up the company, running it, putting humans first. He swallowed that down.

“Didn’t mean you couldn’t have had a pet. It’s not just about the love, you see. It teaches responsibility, how to care for someone other than yourself. How to relate to something not like you. And, of course, there’s the friend for life factor.” Sonny pushed open the next door and the immediate rush of sound from the cats hit them.

“Is that your sales pitch?”

Sonny barked a laugh. “Damn good one, right?”

Gabriel inclined his chin.

“Not a talkative soul.” Sonny smiled. “Another good reason for a pet. They don’t need you to talk; they just need you to be there.”

“I’m just here to work,” Gabriel said, polite as he’d been raised to be. He couldn’t disrespect elders, even if they spoke a lot of nonsense.

“Apparently so. Give the girl credit, she does come through on her promises.”

“I’m sorry?”

Sonny bent, unlatched the door of a gray cat’s pen. He reached in and scratched its chin, smile widening as it purred. “Leah. She told me she’d find more volunteers for free. I didn’t think she could, everyone feeling the squeeze as they are, but she came through.”

It was like the human was speaking a lost language. “Free?”

“Mmm. And I gotta say, thanks.” Sonny looked up, nodded at him. “We need all the help we can get and more besides.”

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