“She’s smart, Jake. And I mean real smart. She kept a low profile in his house, learned to turn herself into a little mouse. He didn’t want her educated and she managed to get an education right under his nose. She cracked his safe. Used his computer when he had hers rigged so he knew what she was doing on it. And she got away from him. She’d still be under his radar if he hadn’t been tipped off where she was.” Eli didn’t bother to keep the admiration out of his voice.

“She’d have to be very intelligent to survive his household and come out intact. Do you know much about her lineage? I made inquiries after you told me Tracy Benoit wasn’t her birth mother. Drake knew of her mother’s line. She was from the Borneo rain forest, and he knows her family. Her father we’re still tracing, but he thinks he comes from a branch of shifters around Panama.”

Another wave of laughter came from the kitchen, catching both men’s attention. Catarina had argued with him about coming. She’d gone silent once she realized he was insisting, and his belly had been tied up in knots. He knew she expected the wife of a billionaire to be haughty and look down at her for her lack of education. She’d even murmured that at the beginning of the conversation, before she’d distracted him with fears of Cordeau finding out.

Her lack of self-confidence seemed to come back to that—no formal education. Her laughter eased something in him he hadn’t known was so tense. He couldn’t help but listen in on their conversation. He knew, sometime in the future, if it were still important to her, he would make certain she could go to school and get a more advanced education. Not that he thought she needed it, she’d certainly continued with acquiring knowledge, but he wanted her to have whatever was important to her.

“I love this stove,” Catarina said to Emma. “Love, love, love it. I saw it in a magazine once and then looked it up and read all about it. I have to admit I covet this stove, although I don’t need one quite this big. It’s always been my dream stove.”

“I do need the larger one,” Emma said. “Quite often the boys come up to the house to eat so I make certain there’s plenty of food. And I’m with you, this is the best stove ever.”

Eli glanced at Jake. He was listening too, and he had a faint smile on his face. When he caught Eli looking his smile widened to a grin. That grin said he was reading Eli’s mind and he knew Catarina would be getting a new stove very soon.

“Emma always feeds my crew. That’s just her way.”