Sophie nodded. ‘I’ll call his family.’ They watched the ambulance dart away, the blue lights flashing through the trees.
Sophie turned to them. 'How the hell did the cats get out in the first place?’
‘Come, I’ll show you.’ Tabitha started walking over to the enclosure.
Sophie didn’t move. She swallowed.
‘They can’t get out,’ Dylan said. ‘I shut them in myself.’
Sophie nodded, and then followed Tabitha up the hill.
‘There was nobody here,’ Dylan said, hearing the desperation in his own voice as they walked. ‘No people, no electricity, no phone signal.’
Sophie swallowed. ‘I was told the tigers were secured in their sleeping quarters. I had staff here, but they were all looking after their own animals and I was trying to get the electricity and phones sorted. Of course, nobody would go outside in the storm.’
The wind had calmed down, and the rain had slowed to a drizzle. ‘Look.’ Tabitha pointed to the tree.
Sophie gasped. ‘Oh God. The press will have a field day.’
Tabitha was shivering, her thin body shaking hard, her teeth chattering. ‘I’ve bought the land, Sophie. And my friend has a place for our cats at his wildlife sanctuary in India. There’s plenty of space for them, and it’s as close to being in the wild as they could handle. He’ll take them as soon as we can get them there. You just need to sign it off.’
Sophie swallowed. ‘You’re right. They shouldn’t be here. Not after tonight. Now get home and warm up. I’ll need to talk to you both properly tomorrow.’
‘Of course,’ Dylan said. ‘You know where to find me.’ They started back down the hill. ‘You did it,’ he whispered to Tabitha, sliding his hand into hers. ‘You got them to safety.’
Tabitha sighed. ‘I hated putting them back in that cage.’
‘There was no other way. Max would have shot them.’
Tabitha closed her eyes and leaned into Dylan’s side. ‘I just want to get them out of here for good.’
Dylan looked at her thoughtfully. ‘What was all that about? With Sophie?’ he asked.
‘I’ve bought some land in India to rewild. I’ll be extending a tiger reserve, and I’ve also found a place for our tigers in a sanctuary with someone I trust.’
Dylan shook his head, trying to make sense of her words. ‘You’re extending a tiger reserve? Doesn’t that cost a fortune?’
She didn’t look at him.
‘God knows how much it would cost to extend a tiger reserve. I thought artists were poor?’
‘Most are.’ She didn’t look at him. She kept walking, her eyes on the ground in front of her, but she drifted further away from him, wrapping her arms around her middle. ‘I’m one of the lucky few. I have money put aside. And that makes it my responsibility to do something important with the exposure I have.’
He stopped walking. His heart was pounding. Her hair whipped around her head in the wind from the tail end of the storm. She stopped, stood frozen for a moment, and then turned to face him.
‘Who are you, Tabitha,’ he said, his voice hoarse.
‘You know who I am. I’m the girl you kissed, the girl you’ve been talking to, the girl who changes into a tiger and paints cats. It’s just, when I sell my work, I use a different name. It helps me keep boundaries and live a normal life.’
‘What’s your real name?’
She swallowed. ‘Dylan, my real name is Tabitha. I haven’t lied to you.’
‘So what is your work name.’
He saw the muscles contract in her throat. His heartbeat rose another notch.
‘My given name is Tara McLoughlin. I changed my name to Tabitha a couple of years ago.’ Her voice barely carried over the whistling of the wind.
‘Tara McLoughlin?’ Dylan repeated, his voice a whisper. ‘But … you were on the news. You just sold that painting, for a million pounds.’
‘That money all went to the tiger reserve.’
Dylan let out a slow exhale. ‘You didn’t tell me.’
‘I didn’t think it mattered.’ Tabitha shrugged. Her eyes clouded over. She stepped back, crossed her arms over her chest. ‘There’s a reason I use two different names. People act differently when they know I have money and reputation. I don’t like that. I am who I am.’
‘I get that,’ Dylan nodded. ‘But I’ve held nothing back from you.’
‘I have told you more than I’ve ever told anyone before.’ Tabitha’s voice was a whisper, but it carried over the dropping wind. ‘I have too much experience of people to think I can tell everything to anyone.’
‘I’m not people,’ Dylan said, stepping closer.
Her arms tightened around her chest, her knuckles turning white where she clenched her hands into fists.
Dylan took one of her hands and prised the fingers open. He began to massage her palm, his fingers soft as they drew circles over the tense muscles. ‘You can tell me anything. You can trust me.’
A single tear slid down Tabitha’s cheek. She pulled her hand from his and knocked the tear away. ‘Come on, let’s get out of here. We both need to warm up.’ She started walking, her pace uncomfortably fast for the length of her stride. Dylan fell in beside her, his longer legs easily compensating. ‘You know Max saw the white tiger appear. He knows it’s something unusual and he knows it came from you.’
Tabitha sighed. ‘I’ll deal with Max later. He has more to worry about than my tiger right now.’ She staggered, and then leaned on a tree for a moment, before forcing herself to carry on walking.
‘Here, lean on me.’ Dylan put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side. ‘I’ll get you home.’
54
Max
Pain jarred through Max’s body, jolting him back to consciousness. He screamed as the ambulance went over a speed bump.
‘Here, the meds’ll kick in soon.’ The voice was low and soothing. ‘Just keep breathing.’
‘Did they get the cats?’ Max croaked.
‘Yes. They locked them in their sleeping quarters before we arrived.’
‘Thank God,’ Max whispered. Another jolt sent his mind reeling and his body jettisoned his consciousness. He swam in a pool of awareness, in and out of his body as the ambulance swerved and bumped, all to the soundtrack of blaring sirens. This time, the cats had won. If there was a next time, it would be different.
‘I need to get back.’ Max tried to push himself up onto his elbows, but he couldn’t move.
‘There’ll be plenty of time later for that,’ the man said. ‘You’re with me for now.’
‘I’ve been scratched before. I can handle it. I know what I’m doing.’ He lifted his head, and then sank under a wave of dizziness, as the pain threatened to pull him under. The ambulance drifted away. He could still hear the man talking, but had no idea what the words meant, they just floated around as his body jolted, immovable where it lay strapped to the stretcher. His teeth were clamped together and he ground them when the ambulance swerved around a corner. It pulled up and stopped.
‘Here we are, you’ll be in soon. Just try and breathe while we get you out of here. You might want to close your eyes to block out the lights.’
Max kept his eyes wide when the stretcher was lifted from the ambulance onto a trolley. There was chaos as he was wheeled through a brightly lit corridor. People were talking fast over the top of him. There was a moment of silence when the word ‘tiger’ was absorbed. Max would have laughed if a jolt hadn’t sent another knife edge of pain through his body.
‘Tetanus … infection … internal damage … stitches …’ It went on and on. Max rolled his eyes, the only movement he was capable of. This was definitely one point to the tigers, but next time it would be all about him. As the image of the large male flashed through his mind, fear spiked through Max’s system. He gagged, and then threw up all over the person to his right. Point taken. This was not the moment to think about tigers.
He wondered if Tabitha would visit him in hospit
al. Maybe seeing him like this would stir her sympathy. Unbidden, the image of the white tiger shivering into existence from her body flooded his mind. He screamed again, not sure this time whether it was from pain or fear.
55
Dylan
The walk to Tabitha’s house seemed endless. The wind had largely abated and the rain was a drizzle. Tabitha shivered. She pulled her keys from her bag, but fumbled the lock, her hands pink with cold. Dylan reached for the keys, but she shook her head and tried again. This time the lock clicked and she pushed the door open.
The room was exactly as they had left it, the remnants of their food spread out among the artwork. There was a mew and Emily ran up, weaving through Tabitha’s ankles and leaning into her hand when she bent down to stroke her. Tabitha picked the cat up, holding her close to her chest.
‘Here, sit down.’ Dylan pulled the chair out from behind the easel.
Tabitha shook her head. ‘No, I’m too cold. I’m going upstairs to shower. Go home. Get some dry clothes on, and then come back.
‘I don’t want to leave you alone.’
Tabitha put the cat down and walked over to him. ‘Dylan, I wasn’t the one in danger. You were. I was bigger than either of them. They knew that. You were at risk the whole time; that’s why I didn’t want you to come.’
Dylan closed his eyes for a moment. He took a deep breath and then looked Tabitha in the eye. ‘It didn’t feel like that.’
‘I know, but it was like that. I will be okay. I’m only going for a shower. You will be fine too, because the tigers are locked away now. So get dry and warm before you get ill.’ She picked up the cat and went up the stairs, shutting the door firmly behind her.
Dylan sighed. He went out the front door and pulled it hard to hear the click of the lock. Then he ran down the path and over the road, determined to get back to Tabitha’s house as soon as possible. Logically, he knew she was right. He had been in far more danger than her, but the vulnerability he had felt when she lay in his arms, limp, pale and surrounded by vicious predators had been shocking. He never wanted to feel that helpless again. He shoved the door open, bending down to scoop up a packet from the floor. His fingers were numb and he fumbled as he tore it open. It ripped and a memory stick fell onto the floor. He stared at it, heart racing. The name of the studio was printed on the side. It was his music.
Bending down, he picked it up and put it on the sideboard, backing away from it and then turning and bolting for the shower. He couldn’t face that kind of moment until he’d warmed up.
The shower was scalding hot on his frozen skin, but it warmed his blood. He washed, shampooing his hair, removing every speck of mud from the rain-sodden zoo. By the time he stepped out, pulling the towel around him, he was flushed, his hair sticking up in all directions.
He stared into his wardrobe and scrutinised his clothes as though they were life choices. In the end he chose one of his performance tank tops, hoping the tiger on his bicep would remind Tabitha of their connection. But even he wasn’t prepared to go over the road in shorts in this weather, so he pulled out one of many pairs of almost identical jeans.
He looked over the road. The lights were on upstairs, but the gallery was pitch black. Tabitha must still be in the shower. Sitting at his desk, he powered up his laptop and slotted in the memory stick. He held his breath as his own voice filled the room. Emotion rolled over him through the words he had written. The pain of the loneliness was so palpable, it took his breath away. He had spent years hiding behind an image he had outgrown. Tabitha had shown him that. She had faced down his masks and dug underneath to wake up the part of his soul that had been in fitful sleep. She had offered her hand, promised connection, but he hadn’t been brave enough to take it, until now.
The light over the road had moved from the bedroom down to the gallery. He copied the song to his phone, pulled on biker boots and his jacket, and then went out into the street, running his fingers through his hair. It was still wet and it would be even wetter by the time he’d crossed the road. The street was still empty. People would stay locked up in their houses for tonight, at least, and he relished the quiet aloneness of it.
He slowed as he approached Tabitha’s house, nerves fluttering through his bloodstream. This was the moment. If he couldn’t tell her how he felt now, after being on the edge between life and death with her, he had no chance.
The owls hooted behind him, but they stayed put this time and he took that as an endorsement. They had not trusted Linden or Max, but today Dylan had their confidence.
Reaching up, he rang the bell and then waited, heart thumping in his chest.
The door opened. Tabitha looked rosy now, warm and healthy. Her hair tumbled in damp, copper waves around her shoulders. Her tunic was pulled in over her tight jeans with a wide belt, and flared sleeves hung to a point over the backs of her hands. She looked stunning and otherworldly.
Dylan swallowed. ‘Can I come in?’
56
Tabitha
Tabitha let the curtain drop as Dylan came out of his front door. She fluffed up her hair, and then straightened it out. ‘Urgh, what am I doing,’ she said, crouching down to stroke Emily. ‘I was sodden when he saw me half an hour ago. He’s not going to care if my hair is arranged wrong now.’
The knock on the door set her heart racing. ‘Come on, Tabitha. It’s raining. Let the guy in.’ She stood up and then walked over to the front door, feeling the prickling energy that always told her when Dylan was close. She had never been this aware of anyone before.
She swung the door open, forcing herself to breathe steadily.
Dylan smiled. His hair was still damp, but was styled back from his face now. He rubbed the back of his neck and cleared his throat.
‘Come in,’ she said, her voice rough. She coughed as she closed the door behind him. He bent down to untie his boots, put them in the corner of the hall, and then pulled off his jacket. He was wearing one of his gig tank tops, the ones that showed the tiger on his arm. Her breath caught. She swallowed. ‘Can I get you something to drink?’ Her voice was steady now, controlled – unlike the pounding of her heart. ‘I still have the wine we opened earlier.’
‘I’d love some, thank you,’ Dylan said, following her into the gallery. He stopped in front of the painting of the tiger standing on the top of the tree trunk, ready to jump onto the grass verge.
Tabitha felt her face flush. This was hard to explain away.
He shook his head. ‘You really are incredible. You know that?’
‘Incredible? Not terrifying? You don’t want to run for the hills and accuse me of witchcraft?’
‘You have a thing about that, don’t you?’
She shrugged. ‘That happens when the accusations come your way often enough.’
‘You’ve been hanging around with the wrong kind of people.’ He grinned. ‘I wouldn’t know a witch from a goddess, but I’d be very happy to meet lots of them to learn the difference.’
Tabitha let out her breath. She laughed. ‘You really know how to break the tension.’
‘You never need to be tense around me, Tabitha.’ His eyes burned a clear turquoise. He stepped closer and she tilted her head, holding his gaze. He reached out one hand and ran it down her arm until their fingertips touched.
She was holding his glass of wine and she raised it, slowly. He took it from her. Tingles ran along her arm where he had touched it. Her body felt alive and she sank into the energy around her. She could sense Emily, the owls outside, the cats sleeping at the zoo. She felt the vibration of a lion roar even though she was too far away to hear it. She moved towards Dylan, her body pulled by the electric charge of her energy. The blue of his eyes deepened as they almost touched. She was breathless. Her heart was racing, and she reached up to trace the tiger on his bicep, feeling the curve of his muscle. His skin was soft and warm. He tensed at her touch, making the cat move. She shivered.
‘You walked away last time,’ she whispered.
&nb
sp; ‘That was a mistake.’ His voice was low and rough. ‘I won’t walk away from you again. I have never met anyone like you, Tabitha. I doubt I ever will.’
Tabitha chuckled. ‘Well, that’s true at least, but I’m sure you’d survive.’
Dylan swallowed. ‘I wouldn’t bet on it. Before you came along, my life was stunted. Since you arrived, everything has changed.’ He paused. ‘Do you have a speaker?
Tabitha blinked. ‘A speaker? You mean for music?’
He nodded.
‘Over there. The Bluetooth details are on the side.’
Dylan tapped on his phone as he walked over. He didn’t turn when the music started, but leant both his hands on the table and hung his head, flexing the muscles in his shoulders and back. A single guitar melody drifted from the speakers followed by Dylan’s voice, soft and husky.
Stripes in the moonlight
Silent paws on glassy ground
Eyes flash in the darkness
Eyes flash and my heart drowns.
Tabitha’s breath caught. The sound was so raw, so real, that it grabbed at her heart and pulled. This was a side of Dylan so intimate that he kept his face averted, his body still while he waited.
You shatter my defences
You fill my heart with fire
With you I am creation
With you I find my wild.
But when the shadow fades,
My world is small and dark
I can’t find my way forward
I can’t light my inner spark
Wild Shadow you consume me
With your flames that burn so bright.
Come back to me my tiger
Come back to me my light.
Wild Shadow
The music faded. ‘Is that me?’ Tabitha asked. ‘Am I the Wild Shadow?’ She walked slowly towards him, touched his shoulder and felt his muscles tense. She wrapped her fingers around his arm and pulled him towards her, turning him to face her.
Wild Shadow : A Sweet Paranormal Romance Page 21