“Reap…there are plenty of other women who’d take you up on your offer.” The leopard swayed on his feet and almost toppled over before continuing. “Go find Stacie. She’s in the back room doing inventory.”
Red took his foot off the man’s chest and allowed him to scurry away. It took him some effort to get off the floor but when he got his feet under him he gingerly made his way behind the bar toward the open door. A moment later, the sound of a woman’s voice asking what had happened to him drifted toward them and any doubt that the other man would try to escape out the back door was gone.
Most of the bar guests had made a discreet exit sometime during the fight, leaving only the leopard and a few who were hoping to see some action.
“Get out! The bar is closed,” the leopard hollered and when there were a couple of complaints, he added, “You know Reaper. If you want to stick around and deal with his temper once Stacie patches him up, then be my guest. He’s going to be itching for a fight and when he kicks the shit out of you, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
With those words spoken, the patrons threw money on the table and headed for the door. The youngest of the group kept looking over his shoulder, checking to be sure Reaper wasn’t coming up behind them. It appeared Reaper had made a name for himself, enough that he’d scared some of the toughest bikers right out the door, but Carran had been up against worse assholes than him.
Red grabbed a couple napkins from the bar and did the best he could to wipe the blood off his hands as he came around the tables to where Carran now stood. He guarded Brooklynn, using his body as a barrier between her and the leopard. If the drunk thought he was powerful enough to deal with Carran and Red, they’d take him down quickly, before he could lay one paw on her.
“I know who you are.”
“That makes one of us, then.” Carran raised an eyebrow in a silent question, asking the man to explain who he was.
“I’m Speck, the Alpha of the local leap. My leopards and I have heard about your Queen and we want no trouble around here.” Seemingly unsteady on his feet, he grabbed hold of a chair and used it to keep himself upright. “If we’d have known she was one of yours, we’d have stayed out of it. Reaper is a good lad, bit of a troublemaker, but nothing you should concern yourselves with.”
“A troublemaker?” Red tossed the napkins on the tabletop, clearly disgusted.
With Red’s anger thickening the air, Carran tried to get something useful from the conversation before Red was tempted to pummel Speck. “I’d say that’s more than troublemaking. He tried to kill her and if you weren’t inebriated, you’d have seen that. It takes a lot of liquor to have that result but you were ten minutes from passing out drunk when we came through the door.”
“That’s my business, not yours.”
“You’ve made it mine when you sat there watching and did nothing to save her.”
“It would have been quick…unlike what Donovick’s group has planned for her. She exposed them and put Officer Donovick in a difficult position. He’s ready to explode and if he gets his hands on her, it will be worse than anything Reaper could have done.”
Carran kept his face blank, not offering any sign that Speck gave him another tidbit of information he could use to save the woman. “He’s working with Donovick then? Seems unlikely a wolf pack would bring a human on to help them. They like the thrill of the hunt too much to give someone else the joy.”
“No.” Speck dropped onto the chair and reached into his pocket for a flask. “Stacie ran into her cousin today—Officer Donovick. He was coming out of the hospital as she was going in. Stacie is, you could say, the black wolf of the family, but she and her cousin have remained somewhat close since she distanced herself from the pack. She told Reaper and when he saw her, things got out of control. He offered to take her for a ride.”
“You mean take her to Donovick?” Carran pressed, wanting to hear him say it. “And you’d have stood by while he handed over an innocent woman to a pack of angry wolves?”
“It’s not my problem.” He took a long swig from his flask. “My leap is small and we’d stand no chance against a pack that size. In this world, you do what you have to do in order to survive.”
“Where is Donovick? Why does he want me…” Her words trailed off.
“Dead?” Speck supplied. “You filed a police report that could cost him his job, that could out his kind, and now you’re standing there wondering why he wants retribution. You deserve everything that’s coming to you.” Speck brought the flask toward his mouth but stopped before he pressed it to his lips. “Take her and get out of here before I alert the pack to your presence, too. The fun they could have with the two of you, while he takes his anger out on the woman. Now that could keep the pack off my people for a while.” He appeared to be debating whether or not to make the call.
“Go ahead. Call them. See how that works out for you.” Red went to the door, opened it, and looked out to make sure things were clear. “Let’s go.”
Carran tipped his head toward the exit, signaling her to go ahead. “Things are changing,” he told Speck. “You might want to consider whose side you’re on, otherwise you could find your leap at the mercy of others, and I can promise you, the pack will be the least of your problems.”
“That’s tiger business, not mine.” Speck tipped the flask back, finishing the last drop, and tossed it across the room. “I’ve got enough to deal with, without worrying about what’s happening with your species.”
With better things to do, Carran headed for the door, keeping the leopard in his sights. One day, the drunk would realize that if he’d spent more time dealing with shifter issues and less time with the bottle, things would have been different. Carran only hoped it wasn’t the leap that suffered.
The cool air whipped around Brooklynn as she stood in the doorway of Reaper’s, not sure if she was safer inside or outside. Reaper could have killed her if they hadn’t shown up, but what kind of danger was she in now? She wanted to turn back and ask the older man what he meant when he said he knew who they were and didn’t want any trouble. What kind of trouble? Who were they? Tigers.
Shifters—she knew what kind of trouble they brought. She had already been tossed across an alley and was on the verge of losing everything, all because she had the bad luck to run into one. Getting involved with more would only bring her more trouble. She wanted to get one on film so she could prove she was sane. She wasn’t about to mingle with two; it would be more than she could handle.
Without giving it a second thought, she inhaled deeply and took off in a full out run. She’d already witnessed the lion was quicker, and unless she got a head start she’d never escape. Outrunning them wasn’t an option. She just needed to get farther away so she could hide somewhere. It was too far to her apartment and the only places that were open at this time of night were other bars. After her last experience, she wasn’t in any hurry to rush into another bar full of bikers and drunk assholes.
At the corner she slowed a little to look both ways to make sure there weren’t any cars, and that was all he needed. A hand grabbed her above her elbow, the grasp tight without being too firm. He pulled her backward and pressed her against the building and instead of it being the man who’d held the door, it was Carran. His hair fell down around him like a curtain and she couldn’t see much of his face, except for his eyes. She tried to determine the vibrant color of his eyes, but every time she decided they were blue, she thought she saw a greenish tint. Aquamarine might’ve been too pale in comparison to the beauty they actually held. They seemed to sparkle at her, transfixing her until his words shook her back to reality.
“Stay very still.”
“Why? Are you going…” She wasn’t sure what she wanted to say. Fear rose within her, tightening her throat and cutting off her words. Was he going to kill her? She tried to dismiss the fear. He wouldn’t have just saved her only to kill her. Would he? Maybe her attempt at escape made his animal angry and he was abo
ut to shift. Damn it! Why did I leave my camera in the car? What am I thinking? I’d be dead before I could use it.
“Quiet.” He pressed his body along the front of her. “There’s a wolf down the block. I don’t know if it’s one from the Donovick pack, but we don’t need to draw attention.”
She started to turn her head to look but he reached up, curling his hand along the side of her neck, his thumb brushing against her cheek, electricity sizzling through the touch. “Ah…” Part of her wanted to arch into him to feel the heat coursing through his body, while another part screamed for her to attempt escape.
His body stiffened until every muscle was taut and even though he was just as close, he was no longer pressing against her. Something changed, but she wasn’t sure what. He slid his hand over her lips, silencing her before she had a chance to ask. Each second seemed to tick slower than the last, her patience slipping. The heat from their touch was fueling her rage. Who did he think he was? He couldn’t just press her up against the wall and clamp his hand over her mouth to shut her up.
“Let’s go.” He took his hand from her mouth and stepped back.
“Go? What makes you think I’ll go anywhere with you?” She kept her voice low as she glanced down the street to where he’d said a wolf had been lurking.
“Don’t worry, he’s gone.”
She turned back to him to find that he was still watching her, completely ignoring her questions. “Gone?”
“Yes, and so should we before anyone else comes along.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you.” She wiped her sweaty palms on the thighs of her jeans.
“Right now, I’m the only one standing between you and an unpleasant death. So if you want to live, you’re coming with me.” An SUV pulled up to the curb behind him and without even looking, he added, “It’s only Red. Now, are you ready?”
“I want to go home.” Her words held the sadness that had replaced her earlier rage. In less than a day, her whole world turned upside down and everything was slipping from her grasp. Now all she wanted to do was go home and grieve for her loss. Right then, she didn’t care about catching a shifter on tape or proving she wasn’t insane. She just wanted the nightmare to be over.
Chapter Four
Brooklynn stared out the window of the SUV, looking out at the city she had grown to love. If she’d been in her apartment, she would’ve had a better view, but it didn’t matter anymore. Things had gone from bad to disastrous and with every new turn, it seemed this whole mess would keep her from ever reclaiming her old life. It had gotten to the point she wasn’t sure she was even going to make it out alive. Her strength and willingness to fight had diminished, leaving her hollow.
It wasn’t until she was in the SUV and the man with long black and gray hair was driving that she realized she’d never asked his name. Carran…Carran and Red. Those were her saviors and now captors. For over an hour, Carran drove around the city, heading nowhere in particular as far as she could tell, while he questioned her about what she’d witnessed, the lion shifter, and why she’d chosen Reaper’s. He asked the same question multiple times, but phrased differently. As a police officer she knew the tactics. He was trying to trip her up and see if she was lying. Everything she said was the truth.
Finally, while Red pumped gas, she had an opportunity to turn the tables on Carran and ask him the question that had been weighing on her mind since their touch. “Carran…” She couldn’t bring herself to look at him. “When we…uh…when you…touched me…” She stumbled over her words, not sure how to say it.
“When I touched you, what?”
How could he not know? She turned to look at him and found him staring at her, his face void of expression. Was she the only one who could feel it? Maybe she was losing her mind after all. No, she refused to believe that. She had witnessed the man shift into a lion and she felt the electricity and the heat when Carran touched her. No matter what everyone else thought, she wasn’t nuts. “The…sizzling heat. Damn it, tell me you felt it, too!”
Without saying a word, he reached over the armrest and let his fingers caress over the top of her hand. His touch was feather soft, barely making contact, but the current sparked to life between them, bringing the heat. “This?” His voice barely rose above a whisper as his fingers continued to trace circles around her knuckles.
“Yes.” The word came out breathier than she wanted it to, forcing her to take a deep breath. “What is it?”
“Think of it as a sign.”
“A sign? What kind of sign?”
Before he could answer, his phone rang and he withdrew his hand, grabbing the cell that he’d tossed into the middle divider between them. “I’ve got to take this.” He brought it to his ear. “Ty…” He opened his door and stepped out.
“Don’t worry, I’ll wait.” She let out a deep sigh, not sure if he’d heard her. Her frustration was growing but he wasn’t completely to blame. They had been driving around for over an hour, obviously looking for someone, but when she asked they seemed to avoid her questions. Were they looking for Donovick? If so, what were they planning to do when they found him? Eventually she’d have to face her patrol partner, but she needed to have a plan.
If Donovick really wanted her dead, she wasn’t sure how she’d handle it. They had been partners for nine months and she thought he’d had her back. Now it seemed to change. What would his wife think? If he was charged and convicted of murder, he’d be in prison, leaving his three-year-old son to grow up without a father.
Wolf pack…
She remembered that phrase coming up in conversation over and over as Carran and an old man at the bar spoke. Before the lion shifted, he’d told Donovick they were the same. It was coming together. Donovick was a shifter.
The driver’s side door opened and she turned, expecting to see Carran climbing back in. Instead, she found Red holding the door open. His brows knitted together and confusion filled his gaze as he watched her.
“You okay?” he finally asked.
“Umm…yeah?” Startled, her answer came out more like a question.
“Shifters can feel emotions. Feelings like rage and terror make the air so thick it can be difficult to breathe. Depending on the species, fear might bring the beast closer to the surface.” He paused as if he’d said too much. “While you’re composed, the jumble of different emotions raging within you are clear in your scent. Rage, fear, anxiety, resentment, confusion, and grief toss within you and from one moment to the next a different one has control.”
“I don’t understand why you’re telling me this. Your kind must live by some rules, otherwise the rest of the population would have found out about shifters by now and my police report wouldn’t have put my life in jeopardy.” She met his gaze. “Or are you going to kill me?” If they were going to kill her, she wanted them to look her in the eye when they did it. She wasn’t sure if either of them had a conscience or morals, but if they did, she wanted them to live with the knowledge that they’d killed an innocent person. She had meant no harm to them.
“Our existence is kept quiet not for your safety, but for ours. We’re no danger to the human population, but they’re a danger to us.”
“Huh?” How could humans be a danger to shifters? All they had to do was shift into their animal and they’d outweigh any human. They were faster, and had claws and teeth that could tear someone apart in moments. How could shifters be victims if their existence was known?
“We’re immune to sickness and diseases,” Red said. “Do you believe doctors wouldn’t want to study us to see if they could duplicate that? That hunters won’t see us as their next target? We aren’t invincible, but we’re harder to kill. Due to that, don’t you think the government will try to use us to fight their battles? Or when they can’t use us to kill, don’t you think they’d seek to eliminate us?”
Each question hollowed her heart a little further. Humanity…they were supposed to be a collective group, but with his words she knew h
umans would never consider them part of that group. Shifters could change from human form to their animal at will, and that would be enough to create a divide between them that would make swimming across the Pacific Ocean seem like a short swim. Wars broke out for lesser things and she didn’t doubt that would happen if humans learned about shifters tomorrow. What have I done?
“Seeing things in a different light?” Red leaned against the door frame. “I wonder if it was my words or—”
“Get in,” Carran hollered, jogging across the parking lot. He reached the SUV before Red climbed into the backseat. “Brooklynn, I need you to climb in the back. Red, you take the passenger seat.”
Brooklynn stared at him a moment before she grabbed hold of the door handle and started to pull it back toward her. If he thought putting distance between them would stop him from answering her question, he would soon receive a newsflash. Carran had asked her to trust him, and she did, but there was only so long she’d be willing to follow him blindly. Until I figure another way out of this mess.
“No, you need to climb over the seat.”
“Why?” Without removing her hand from the door, she glanced back at him.
“We can’t afford to take the chance someone will see you.” He nodded to Red, who walked around the back of the SUV. “Please…”
“I’ve been sitting here all this time and now it matters?” She let out a huff, but let go of the handle and climbed over the seat and into the back as Red came alongside her door. “I think it’s time you take me home.”
“Right now, Red and I have to deal with something. I need you to promise me that you’ll stay in the SUV.” Carran slid behind the wheel, started the engine, and as Red pulled his door shut Carran gunned it out of the gas station. “While we’re gone, you need to keep the doors locked and stay hidden. We shouldn’t be long.”
“Where are we going?” She stayed in the middle of the backseat, rocking sideways as Carran raced through the deserted city streets.
Alaskan Tigers Box Set 3 Page 3