He had taken his eyes off the road long enough to watch her face when he told her the truth. He saw he’d scored. She swallowed and looked away from him. He hated that he couldn’t comfort her. He hated that he’d cuffed her to his truck and her wrists were already bruised. She had a bruise on her cheek and her face was swollen from crying. He couldn’t pull her into his arms and just hold her. First, he had to get them to safety, and it didn’t matter to him whether or not she wanted to be safe. He had to make her safe. Not only because he helped put her in this position, but because it was a compulsion and damn it to hell, she’d gotten under his skin.

He waited, hoping curiosity would win out and she’d ask him questions, but she didn’t. She didn’t look at him again either. She kept her gaze on the floor. Her head had been down the same way, her hair everywhere when she’d bent to vomit in the police station. That was on him too. That had nearly killed him. He wanted to beat the hell out of Frank with his bare fists. He wanted to beat the hell out of Rafe Cordeau. Mostly he wanted to take back everything that had happened and play it all another way.

He pulled into the automatic car wash. He wanted a thorough wash and that meant going through twice. He had no doubt that Rafe had followed Catarina’s scent to the police department. He was grateful, at least, that the warehouse had been raided. Rafe would know she hadn’t gone voluntarily. If what he suspected were true, Rafe would never kill Catarina. He might hurt her, but he’d never kill her.

“What do you know about shifters?” he asked.

She stared at the floor, but her shoulders shrugged. Her hair covered her face, and her cuffed hands.

“You know Rafe is a leopard. So am I. And I suspect you are as well.”

That got him a head turn. Her blue eyes were so dark they looked violet, but again there was no real life in them. Not even the interest he’d hoped for.

“That’s why he waited to claim you, Cat. A female shifter doesn’t necessarily feel her leopard right away the way a male does. She can’t emerge until both the human and the leopard enter the same cycle together.” He kept his eyes on hers. “A heat. You both have to be fertile at the same time. When she emerges, both of you are going to need sex. It’s hot and wild and not for an innocent.”

She blinked, but again, there was no response in her eyes. She turned her head away again.