Page 13 of Run Free

“Of course you can,” I assured them. “Take all the time you need.”

Leaving them, I made my rounds to check on the others. No further surgeries were required at the moment. Everyone seemed to be on the mend. I checked in with my cleanup crew and that was going smoothly, too. By all rights I should have been elated, but all I felt was empty inside. How could one person I’d only known existed for a few days have such an effect on me?

Gage

Chapter 9

I lasted alone in that cabin only seventeen minutes. Seventeen of the most painful minutes of my life and that, was saying something after all I’d been through. I didn’t want a mate. I was better off by myself. Other people only disappointed you in the end. Even knowing she would too, I couldn’t make myself stay away.

My wolf rejoiced in tracking our mate. He was happier than I ever remembered him being. It caused an odd sensation to well up inside me.

When we reached the entrance to the zoo, I checked up. I had let her keep a few minutes lead, so she wasn’t in sight. I didn’t think she realized I was following her. I didn’t want her to know, but I had to see that she was safe. She’d said these humans were her friends. I didn’t know how that was possible.

I had a few human pals I’d hang out with in various cities. People I’d worked with when I needed some quick cash. I didn’t mind stopping in and having a beer with them if I was in the area, but friends? No, they weren’t my friends. I didn’t do friends.

Thinking of the girl, I reminded myself—I didn’t do relationships, either. Everything about my angel screamed danger. I shouldn’t get involved. I couldn’t afford to care, but here I was walking back into the death trap that nearly ended my life and was currently filled with humans more dangerous than any others, because they new our secret, and that terrified me more than anything.

Taking a deep breath, I proceeded forward, one step at a time. I kept to the landscaping or around buildings whenever possible, trying to be inconspicuous and covert. I wasn’t very good at it.

“Hey, you? What vector are you working?” a man stopped me and asked. I sniffed the air. Human.

“Two,” I said, giving a random number. I didn’t even know if that’s what he was asking.

“Okay, you’ve crossed into vector one. Your section ends right over there by the elephants. Do you have your checklist?” he asked.

“No, sir. Sorry,” I said. I really didn’t have a clue what we were even talking about, but I was good at blending into crowds and disappearing, just apparently not sneaking around and trying to hide. There really was a big difference between them.

“Here,” he said, handing me a clipboard with a piece of paper on it. He then glanced at the map in his hand and pointed to something. I feigned interest until his words caught my attention. “There’s some sort of monkeys in the cages here, next to the clinic.”

The clinic. That’s where Clara would be. I had no idea what he expected me to do, but it got me close to her.

I gripped the clipboard with authority. “Thanks,” I said, and turned to openly walk in that direction this time. Now that I looked official, I could hide in plain sight. Even though I’d been here before, I hadn’t been in my human skin, so I was confident no one would recognize me.

When I reached the clinic, I looked around. The guy was still keeping an eye on me. I looked down at the clipboard and then turned and headed for the cages he had mentioned. I checked the list. Shit! This was actual work.

Checking out my location, I realized he’d set me up in perfect proximity to Clara. When a window opened in the clinic, her scent wafted through and I knew with certainty she was in there and had made it back safely.

I hated the feeling of relief that washed over me. Why did I even care? She wasn’t my problem. Unfortunately, my wolf didn’t agree with that sentiment.

I sighed, studied the list, and got down to work. At least I’d be nearby if anything happened to her. She’d never even have to know I was there.

There weren’t any monkeys in the cages he sent me to. That bothered me a lot. The place smelled of bleach and death. They’d cleaned up the worst of the zoo, but it was still not in a condition for an animal to safely live there.

I looked around, wondering why they were going to all this effort. Why not just rehome the animals that had survived the brutal conditions the owners had maintained? Shaking my head, I dove into the task at hand. “I better get paid for this,” I grumbled under my breath.

It took me all damn day to clean those cages properly, but they were the sight of perfection when I was done. That was one of the reasons I had never had trouble finding work, despite being a wanderer. I was a perfectionist and when I did something, I worked hard and did it right the first time. Most drifters didn’t have a lot of references to hold on to, but I had several dozen people I could call who would confess they’d take me back anytime even for only an hour, because that one hour of my work was more than they’d get from an average guy all day.

I was proud of that. I was proud to live free and be my own man. I didn’t want to be accountable to anyone, especially not a woman.

A man strolled up and examined my work and nodded his approval. “Dave,” he said.

“Gage,” I told him, then berated myself for using my real name.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you around. Did you just get in?”

“No, sir, I’ve been here since the beginning,” I assured him, and I wasn’t lying.

He contemplated that, but then shook his head. “Sorry. I’m usually better with faces than that, but this one’s had us all an emotional mess. Well, it’s nice to meet you, Gage. Keep up the good work. Rick had told us this morning that these wouldn’t be done for a few more days. Clara will be very happy to hear he was wrong. I know she’s anxious to return these guys to their cages.”

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