Cael (Were Zoo Book 11)

something in my bedroom and caught him breaking in. He said I was his child, and he wouldn’t allow me to live. He tried to get to me, but my mom and aunt managed to get me out of the bedroom and called the police.” She blew out a breath. She had no memory of the incident because she was so young, and she was always grateful for that fact. “My mom got scared after that and moved again, but my dad found her. So she went on the run and we’ve been in hiding ever since. He always seems to find us if we stay too long, so we move every six months or when she gets worried someone’s paying too much attention to us.”
Cael reached his hand across the table and covered hers. “I’m sorry you had to deal with that. It must be so scary to always be looking over your shoulder.”
Her eyes stung with tears and she bit her lip to keep from letting the sadness overwhelm her. “I’ve never told anyone that,” she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. “I don’t know why I told you.”
He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “Maybe because you feel safe with me.”
She nodded. It was true—she did feel safe with him, and she hadn’t felt safe in a long, long time. “I hate it. I hate everything about being on the run and never being able to put down roots. I hate that my mom can’t date or make friends because she’s too afraid to stay put anywhere.”
“How many times has he found you?”
“A handful of times. He’s so determined. Once, when I was ten, he found us at a park and tried to grab me. If it weren’t for the people around that intervened, he would’ve gotten me. She doesn’t want us to talk about our personal lives at all, so I never was able to really make good friends or have a serious boyfriend.” She shook her head and pulled her hand from his. “I don’t want you to feel sorry for me or anything. I mean, I have a mom who’s willing to give up everything to keep me safe. There isn’t anything she wouldn’t do for me, and I love her for that.”
“My mom’s the same way,” he said, giving her a gentle smile. He picked up his burger, taking a bite. When he’d finished, he said, “Do you know anything about your dad aside from his trying to harm you?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, do you think you take after him physically?”
She stared at him for a long moment, wondering what he was getting at. For a heartbeat she wondered if he was talking about the way she’d growled like a freaking animal when she saw the elephant in the paddock, but she mentally tossed the idea away. He hadn’t been there so he wouldn’t know about it. Unless the tour guide heard her and told him?
“I don’t really know,” she said finally.
His gaze narrowed slightly, and she felt like he was trying to read her mind. But then he smiled. “How long has it been since you saw him?”
“Almost two years.”
“Maybe he’s finally given up?”
“It would be nice if that were the case,” she said. “I’ve wanted to stop running for such a long time, but Mom’s so afraid.”
“It’s totally understandable.”
“Can we talk about something else?” she asked as she picked up what was left of her burger.
“Sure. Did you get to meet Tank the moose?”
“Well, I didn’t get to meet him, but I did see him. He was drinking from the pond. He’s really cool.”
“Would you like to meet him?”
“How would I do that? Is he part of a petting zoo or something?”
“I’m the safari vet. I’d be happy to take you into the paddock to see him.”
“Really? I...you could do that?”
“Sure. It’s one of the perks of being the vet. If you don’t have to leave right away, that is. We’d have to wait until the final tour is done.” He glanced at his watch and said, “There’s one more on the schedule.”
“That would be neat. Do you think we could see the elephants?”
He blinked a few times. “Why?”
She finished the last bite of her burger and washed it down with the soda. “I just like them.”
He didn’t say anything for so long, she wondered if she’d crossed some kind of line. She was about to tell him to forget it, but then he said, “We can, but we can’t go into the paddock like we can with Tank. The elephants are territorial.”
“Oh, well one came right up to the fence to see me. He even touched my fingers with his trunk. It was pretty neat.”
Cael grinned and stood. He gathered their trash and dumped it in a nearby canister then said, “How do you feel about ice cream?”
When they’d finished their cones—both of them had chosen the flavor of the day, which was strawberry cheesecake—they headed back toward the paddocks. He stopped by the booth where she’d checked in and told them he was going to take her on a walk by the paddocks since the last tour had returned.
“I’ve never done anything like this before,” she said as they walked the opposite direction down the path to the paddock where Tank, deer, and antelope called home. “It’s like a backstage pass.”
Cael chuckled. “I’m glad you’re excited. It’s so normal to me since I’ve been around these guys for years, but it’s exciting for me to get to share it with you.”
He moved a shrub near the bottom of the tall fence and exposed a keypad. He entered a code, then there was