Page 19 of Moody as a Minotaur

The only thing I found was the black cat that was always hanging around the place. I was sure it was thesame one that’d tripped Levi earlier at the pub. The thing was a menace. I frowned and debated trying to catch it. The cat was too plump to be a stray, but animals shouldn’t be allowed to run around the community. They could be hit by a car or get eaten by a coyote or…

The cat hissed and bolted when it saw me approach. I gritted my teeth. I wanted to run after it, but I wasn’t here for the cat.

I had to find Nana.

If she wasn’t here, she must have gone to the Willow Lake Pub. I had to get there before she tried to break in. Knowing her, she had probably packed her set of lock picks, and I knew she knew how to use them.

I rounded the corner of the motel and slammed into something.

“Oomph,” I grunted.

“I’m sorry,” a deep, masculine, and familiar voice said.

Levi.

I blinked up at him. He peered down at me. I’m not sure which of us was more surprised.

“Parker?” He frowned before glancing at his phone. He quickly shoved it in his back pocket like I’d caught him doing something he shouldn’t.

“Levi?”

Then I realized how close we were standing, and every other thought was chased away. All that remained wasLevi, Levi, Levi…

My hands were resting on his waist. He wasn’t wearing a jacket, so I could feel his shape under my hands. I swallowed hard. His gaze caught on my lips. Thiswas it. This would be the moment we kissed. Right here. Right now. Under the full moon.

It was all terribly romantic.

I leaned closer. He stepped back.

Uh. Right. I yanked my hands away and shoved them in my pockets.

“What are you doing here?” Levi asked. His gaze darted around like he was expecting me to have an entourage.

“I could ask you the same thing. Why are you here? Did something happen at the motel? I didn’t see Simon…” Shit. If Nana did something that had Levi’s staff calling him out in the middle of the night, I’d burn all her clothes and replace them with pastel polyester pantsuits.

“I… uh…” Levi scratched the back of his neck and averted his eyes. “I couldn’t sleep.”

Huh. Why did I get the impression he was lying to me?

“Why are you here?”

“My grandmother took a walk, and I’m worried about her.”

“Why are you worried? Willow Lake is a safe town.” His forehead furrowed. “Does she have dementia? That happens to some humans when they age, doesn’t it? Do you think she’ll get lost?”

Humans? What a weird thing to say.

“Nope.” I shook my head. “Nothing like that. She’s just bullheaded.”

Levi flinched. I played my words back in my head. I didn’t know what would have bothered him. Consideringthe circumstances, it was a nicer word than some others I could have said about her.

“Do you want help looking for her?”

“Nah, that’s okay,” I said. “Besides, you must be freezing out here.” When his forehead furrowed in confusion, I pointed at his shirt. “You aren’t wearing a jacket.”

He glanced down. “Oh. Uh. Right. I’m okay. I run hot.”

Oh, I knew he was hot. He didn’t need to tell me that.