Outlaw Tiger

by Terry Bolryder

  He looked content now that she was eating. He was so funny sometimes.

  The sun was beginning to set as they meandered down the lane, enjoying their food. They cut a wide berth through the crowd, probably because Dallas was growling at nearly everyone that came close to them.

  She loved that he was so protective of her. He really was her ideal man in every way. As they walked past a family with a few small kids, Mel was hit with an image.

  Mel and Dallas settling down and making a life out here, having a few kids, and spending the rest of their days playing, laughing, and loving together.

  It was a beautiful image. She couldn’t think of a more perfect future.

  After a few minutes of wandering around, he pulled her over to the Ferris wheel, and they got on, squishing into the ride. Dallas was far too big for one of these, but Mel didn’t mind. She liked being close to him.

  He held her tiger with one hand but draped the other over her shoulders, pulling her close as she cuddled into him.

  When they got to the top, the wheel shifted to a stop, giving them a breathtaking view of the glowing horizon and the sun as it waved good-bye for the night.

  The perfect moment with the perfect man. She reached up and touched her lips to his for a second, then pulled back and held a hand to his face.

  “Dallas, I’ve been thinking,” she said.

  He eyed her curiously.

  Mel took a deep breath. “I-I’ve never felt this way about someone. I’m not sure how all of this will pan out, but I want to give this a try. Us, a relationship. I want it. With you.”

  She paused. Maybe there was a small station she could work at out here. Or, if there wasn’t, she could give it up and become a cowgirl. Not yet, of course, not while they were still trying to figure everything out.

  At this point, it wasn’t even about the story anymore. It was just about finding the truth.

  And the truth was that she wanted him in her life.

  He smiled and leaned down to kiss her forehead. “I want you too, always. No one else, just you and me.”

  She nodded. “Just you and me.”

  They shared another kiss as the Ferris wheel started moving again, carrying them back down toward the ground.

  Even when her feet hit the ground and they got off the ride, it still felt like she was in the clouds.

  They were together. It was almost all too perfect to believe.

  As they exited the ride, however, she got the odd feeling that she was being watched. She got that a lot these days, but right now, it was especially strong.

  As Dallas was opening her water bottle for her, she looked around, her eyes catching a familiar tattooed figure watching from the shadows behind one of the booths.

  He looked just as intimidating as before, but for some reason, she couldn’t make out the colors of his eyes.

  When she turned back to Dallas, his eyes were wide, his gaze questioning as he held the bottle out to her.

  “Don’t worry. Everything’s fine,” she said, shaking her head. “I just need to use the restroom.”

  He nodded understandingly, and together they made their way across the carnival.

  When Mel looked back, the tattooed man was gone.

  17

  Dallas patiently waited outside, just taking in the scenes of the fairground and the multitude of things that came with it, ready to be back with Mel as soon as she came back out.

  He was having the time of his life. More fun than he’d ever had before even in spite of himself and the fact that he never, ever went to places that were crowded with people like this.

  But being with Mel, he was starting to let go of his reservations. Just seeing her live life to the fullest made him want to come along with her. To get caught up in her sense of adventure.

  One of many things he loved about her.

  But even as families bustled nearby and couples walked hand in hand, oblivious to the world of shifters around them, there was that hint of something on the wind he’d been picking up off and on all week.

  Where was it from?

  Suddenly, he felt a presence behind him. He could feel their body heat come closer, could hear something being pulled from a pocket even as whoever it was had the ability to move so noiselessly it could only be—

  Dallas whirled around, drawing the Bowie knife he kept tucked into his jacket just as the person reached him.

  In the exact same moment, there was the subtle click of a gun’s hammer being cocked just as Dallas laid eyes on someone he’d hoped to never see again in his life.

  In unison, Dallas put the knife to the man’s neck, and the barrel of the gun in the man’s hand pressed into Dallas’s chest.

  Jasper.

  He was one of the cougar shifters who’d been at the head of his family’s organization. Though, family was a stretch given the fact that Dallas had merely been another pawn in their schemes for obtaining power as they did dirty work for both the human and shifter world, using their ability to hide as cat shifters along with merciless training and preparedness that made them some of the deadliest people Dallas knew existed.

  After all, they taught him everything he’d learned as a kid. Though, beating, torturing, and starving were poor excuses for any semblance of parenting.

  Even two decades later, Jasper’s cruel smile and sharp features were only slightly more drawn. He had blond hair, shaved short, that was starting to gray. But age didn’t make him any less deadly. In fact, he was probably worse now.

  After all, the members of the “Blackheart Assassins,” as they’d called themselves over the years, were all trained to be the perfect contract killers. Capable of infiltration, hacking, survival, and any sort of dirty deed imaginable so long as the pay was good.

  “Long time, no see, Killer.” Jasper smirked. “Or should I call you Dallas? What a stupid name.”

  Dallas growled. The name he’d had as a child being raised by mercenary murderers brought rage boiling to the surface. He grabbed Jasper by the shirt, pulling him close enough that they were face to face, weapons still poised at each other’s weakest spots.

  “Ooh, feisty. I like it. Not the same weak kid you were back then. But don’t get any ideas. One bad move and my associate who just happens to be fixing her makeup in the bathroom over there will make quick work of your little friend.” To make his point, Jasper pulled a phone from his pocket and showed the text waiting to be sent to an unknown number.

  Dallas’s eyes flew open, his tiger roaring, and it took all his self-control to not shift right there, even amongst all those people.

  But he had to do whatever would keep Mel safe. That was all that mattered right now.

  “I can smell your anger. You never were good at controlling your emotions, were you?”

  “What. Do. You. Want?” Dallas asked with a snarl.

  “I’d love to stay and chat, given that you were one of the biggest investments the Blackhearts ever made, but I’m here on work.” His grin deepened, pale-green eyes reflecting the lights of the fair around them. Cold, soulless, empty.

  And ruthless.

  The worst kind of people. The reason he’d hitchhiked across Texas just to get away from them and lived on the streets all alone before he’d been found by Harrison.

  “Anyway, you and your lady friend need to stop your search. I know what she’s here for, and I know you’ve been helping her.”

  “No.”

  “This is your only warning. Hell, I wanted to just off the both of you. But the leaders said no, something about ‘too many loose ends’ and all that bullshit. So she leaves, and you go back to whatever the fuck you’ve been wasting all that skill and talent on since you left us.”

  “I won’t let that happen.” But Dallas couldn’t shake the horrifying realization that, after all these years, they’d finally found him.

  And even worse, they were after his mate.

  But they weren’t here because they wanted to be. They were here because someone had h
ired them to stop Mel. And if that was the case, then whatever organization was behind this meant serious business.

  “You need to stay out of shit that doesn’t involve you, Killer,” Jasper said, using Dallas’s old name spitefully. “What a waste, all that time and money and training. And for what? So you become a dumb fuck who chases cows around all day? You could’ve been the best of us.”

  “How did you know it was me?”

  “Puh-lease,” he said, rolling his eyes. “We have technology that can take a baby’s face and show us what they’ll look like when they’re eighty. That shit’s Easy Street. Besides, how could I forget my best, brightest pupil?”

  If by “pupil” Jasper meant “trainee he constantly pushed to the edge of death to turn into a murderer,” then yes, Dallas remembered their time together. Even as he’d tried to forget all about it.

  Dallas remained quiet, considering his options. Pound for pound, he was stronger than any other cat, any other shifter that wasn’t dragon.

  But people like this didn’t play fair. They played to win.

  “So as bad as I would like to settle the score with you, I’ve got more important shit to do right now than catch up.” He slowly pulled the gun away from Dallas’s chest, and Dallas considered gutting Jasper right there.

  Instead, he pulled back the knife and holstered it.

  “Remember, she needs to be gone, or I will be back to finish what I started.” Then he turned and waved over his shoulder, strolling into the crowd as if they hadn’t just been in a lethal standoff. “Ciao, Killer.”

  Dallas watched as Jasper disappeared, then whirled around to watch the bathroom. A tall woman wearing a black trench coat emerged, grinning evilly at Dallas. He could scent that she was a cougar as well, and she had the audacity to wink at him before she, too, was enveloped by the bustling movement of humans around them.

  Fuck.

  This was way more serious than he could have ever guessed.

  The moment Mel appeared in the doorway, he practically leaped to her side, arm wrapped around her protectively.

  “Whoa, good to see you too,” she said happily. Then her face fell as she saw what was probably obvious worry on his face. “Everything okay?”

  Dallas remained silent, looking out into the crowd. If they were out there, they would remain unseen.

  She happened to look in the direction he was, then snapped her fingers. “Oh, is it because that booth is out of funnel cakes? Bummer, right?”

  Dallas nodded. It was as good an excuse as any.

  “I saw a different booth on the other side,” he said, wanting to be gone from this place that stunk of evil and the past, both converging on him all at once.

  If the Blackhearts guild had wanted him or Mel dead, they would have attempted it already.

  Though “attempt” would be all they’d get. He’d stop them, whatever it took.

  So instead of attempting to find answers to something that only Jasper and his friends knew right now, he turned his attention back to Mel, determined to enjoy the rest of the evening with his mate.

  But even as they went in search of funnel cakes to enjoy, Dallas’s thoughts continued to haunt him in the back of his brain.

  He’d never thought the people he’d once called family would one day catch up to him. Or that they would be involved in the surprising, sudden events that could lead to the shifter world being revealed to humans.

  And at the center of it all, his mate, Mel.

  What was he going to do?

  18

  Dallas got up extra early the next morning, unable to sleep in despite the fact that it felt like heaven to lie next to Mel’s soft, curvy body.

  Mist sat low over the hotel trailer lot as Dallas reclined in a camp chair, watching the horizon, waiting for the sun to come up.

  His fingers wandered aimlessly over the chunk of wood that he’d been whittling over the last few days, but he couldn’t focus. His mind was restless, and he couldn’t stop thinking about the impromptu meeting with Jasper.

  About everything the assassin had said and what he should do about it.

  He was so deep in thought that he almost didn’t notice when Harrison emerged from the mist, sauntering into the clearing with Reno close on his heels.

  “Where’s Mel?” the dragon asked once they were close enough.

  Dallas just nodded up toward the trailer. With his sharp tiger senses, he could tell that she was sleeping, hear her soft, slow breathing as she dozed peacefully.

  Harrison nodded. “Good, can we talk? How about over by your truck?”

  Dallas nodded and got up from his chair, gesturing for them to follow him. He had a guess as to why Harrison was here, but he still couldn’t be sure.

  The surly dragon could be hard to read at times.

  Speaking of, his eyes narrowed seriously once they were a short distance from the trailer.

  “Come clean, son,” he said. “Is she your mate?”

  Reno just watched from the side, folding his arms as he leaned against one of the truck doors.

  Dallas paused, wondering what to say. Harrison had always been the closest thing he had to a father, and everyone at Dragonclaw was his family. They deserved the truth.

  He nodded slowly. “I think so.”

  “Why don’t you mate her, then?” the dragon demanded, holding out a hand. “Tell her everything and see what she says?”

  “I’m a tiger,” Dallas retorted. “I’m not a normal shifter, and she still wants her story. My job was to protect Dragonclaw. If she finds out, it puts everyone in danger.”

  Harrison looked unfazed. “And? So what?”

  Dallas blinked in confusion. All of that seemed like a pretty big deal to him.

  “Look, son,” Harrison said. “If she’s your mate and it was fated for you to meet her and she’s the one that makes your tiger at peace, even in this unlikely situation, then you won’t be able to fight it.”

  “You don’t have to either. I’m sure she’ll let the story go when she finds out how much it means to you. I’ve seen the way she looks at you. Besides, each of the dragons’ mates found out the guys were dragons, and they were okay with it,” Reno chimed in.

  “Exactly,” Harrison said, looking satisfied.

  Dallas paused, feeling uncertain. What Reno had said was true, but none of the dragon mates had ever been a reporter trying to uncover shifters.

  It wasn’t the same thing.

  Harrison took off his hat and ran a hand through his dark hair, releasing a sigh. Then he put it back on.

  “I’ll be honest with you, Dallas,” he said, his voice kinder than usual. “You’re the best man I’ve ever known. You’ve been like a son to me, and I’ve raised you as such, and now it’s time for me to tell you to start your own story. I’m grateful for your help, grateful to have you by my side. But you can’t let the things you’re uncertain about keep you from what’s really important.”

  “But—”

  “If it means more trouble for Dragonclaw, so be it.” Harrison shrugged. “We’ll handle it together, as a crew, like we always have. Not even basilisks or swamp dragons could stop us.”

  Reno nodded at the trailer. “And this won’t either. All of us at the ranch support you in this, and we one hundred percent have your back.”

  “He’s right,” Harrison added. Then he leaned over and smacked Reno on the back. “And we’ll have your back if your mate comes along too, Reno.”

  Reno was silent at that.

  Dallas took a deep breath, reassurance flooding through his body now that he knew that those closest to him were in support of his mate, in support of him finding the one he wanted.

  “Thank you,” Dallas said. “Speaking of trouble, the Blackheart Assassins are back.”

  “What?” Reno asked, his eyes flaring with recognition. “I’ve heard of them, more than heard of them actually. I know of a few wolf clans that did business with them. They were one of the most dangerous groups of cat shifte
rs around, focusing primarily on experimentation and assassination.” He shook his head.

  “Think it has something to do with the basilisk sightings?” Harrison asked.

  “It could,” Reno replied thoughtfully. “Hard to say. The question, then, is: What the hell is a clan of cougar mercenaries doing out here?”

  Dallas’s thoughts exactly. He knew he could take them on, but part of him wondered if there wasn’t something bigger at play here. It seemed odd for them to come out just for him, and the way Jasper had talked about being out here for a “job” was suspicious. If the Blackhearts had a backer, that made things much more complicated.

  Harrison frowned. “Experimentation. In all my years, I’ve heard a thing or two about making shifters. I know tigers are created using dragon blood. So Dallas is part dragon like Beck, Clancy, and I.” He nodded at Dallas. “All the more reason that you’re part of our family.”

  “I just want her safe,” Dallas said.

  Reno smiled. “Spoken like a true mate.”

  “Indeed,” Harrison added, eyeing Dallas with pride. “We’ll be here to help however we can, even if it means taking on a clan of mercenary, murdering cougars.”

  Dallas nodded, grateful once again for Harrison and Reno and his whole family. They’d always been there for him, and they were here for him now, when he needed them most.

  “Things will turn out okay, but in the meantime,” the dragon added, nodding toward the trailer, “go enjoy time with your mate. The more, the better.”

  “Got it, Boss.”

  Harrison laughed. “Call me Harrison, son. Keep us posted.” With that, he waved and turned to disappear back into the mist.

  Reno smiled and gave Dallas a thumbs-up before he turned and followed Harrison.

  Feeling much more reassured, Dallas took a deep breath and headed back over to the trailer and stepped in.

  Thankfully, Mel was still asleep. He smiled at the way her curly hair was all soft and messy, covering half of her face as she slept, completely peaceful.