Tiger Born

by Tressie Lockwood

  The doctor glanced up from her notes. “Of course. I take my job very seriously, and I do not share any of my patients’ information without their written consent.”

  “Even from the alpha?”

  “Even stubborn, bossy Ward.”

  Deja laughed. “Thanks.”

  A short while later, Deja strolled along the street toward her apartment. She didn’t know why she still refused to move back home, although Heath had asked her to. Now that she was pregnant, she felt it complicated their relationship even more. She would have preferred him to come around and then they plan to get her pregnant, not have it happen this way. He might take responsibility for the baby, but it wouldn’t mean he was happy about it. Knowing that took some of the sunshine out of her news, and she decided not to tell him just yet. Maybe before she started showing, he would come around, and she could spring it on him. Yeah, that might work, especially since they’d planned to go back to dating. Hope rose inside her, and she headed over to Jake’s. Damn, no drinking.

  When she arrived at the bar, she discovered Jake wasn’t on duty until late evening, so she left and walked around town for a while. Heath had told her he had something to take care of with his father, so she couldn’t see him. She considered dropping by to see Coreen, but the perceptive woman might guess her secret with it being fresh in her mind. Coreen would then tell Ward, and Ward would without a doubt share the news with Heath. No, for now she would avoid the in-laws.

  She thought about her feelings concerning Heath and what he had revealed to her. At any time, he could open up his power and make her obey him. She didn’t like it, but it told her one thing—she and Heath were connected. Even if she didn’t want to believe the destined-mates stuff, she couldn’t deny the facts. The question was, could the facts be resisted? Changed? Could they break up permanently and get involved with other people? Just thinking about another man touching her made her stomach queasy, but that could be the pregnancy. She had considered it seriously with Coltrane, but would she have gone through with it? Heath’s ability moved her against her will, but he could also shut it down. How did it work on her side?

  Right now, she didn’t care to know. Turning everything over in her head made her dizzy, so she chose to take each day as it came. No psychoanalyzing, and no rushing back to live with Heath. Not yet anyway.

  The day wore on as a total snorefest. Deja sat before the TV in her apartment until late. She’d called Heath but got his voice mail and at last decided to shower and put on something sexy to go down to the bar. She might not be able to drink, but she could listen to music and maybe even dance, damn it. No matter what Heath’s abilities she would not wait by the phone for his ass to show up. Deciding two would be better than one, she called Melanie. No answer on her end either. Deja grunted. “Well, screw it. I can have fun alone. And talk to Jake.”

  She let herself out of the apartment and locked the door behind her. The street stretched out in silence, no one coming or going. “Dang small town,” she muttered and started down the steps.

  When she neared the end of the street, voices raised in argument reached her. She turned the corner and peered in the direction the noise came from. A small crowd had formed, and she wandered over to see what was up.

  A man and woman stood facing several others. “It’s a free country. We can go wherever we want,” the man shouted. Deja breathed in and picked up the unmistakable scent of humans.

  “Oh, yeah, it’s a free country, until you break the law,” another man, a shifter, answered.

  “Who’s breaking the law? I have a right to walk down the street with my girlfriend.”

  “Not in Siberia you don’t.”

  Everyone began yelling at once, and the men Ward assigned to watch over Siberia during the night attempted to break up the arguments. No one listened to them, and Deja shook her head. She felt no inclination to jump into the fray but stayed to listen since she had nothing else to do.

  “Why are you still here?” the shifter demanded. “If you’re not seeing a shifter, you should go back to where you came from.”

  Ouch. Deja winced. The words had a racist bite to them she didn’t like. Or, in this case, species-ist?

  The human woman scowled. “I have every right to be here. I moved into Siberia three years ago, and just because Larry and I didn’t work out doesn’t mean I have to leave. I gave up a good job to be with him, but as soon as he found someone better—a shifter—he dumped me. The same goes for Mike.” She looked at her boyfriend for confirmation, and he nodded.

  “Just because we’re not with shifters doesn’t mean this isn’t home,” the boyfriend reaffirmed.

  “No,” the shifter argued, “it means you have no need to be loyal about keeping our secret. I say kick them out.” He turned to the guard, whose name Deja didn’t know, but she recognized his face.

  The guard held up his hands. “As it is, all of you are breaking the law. You need to get moving and go back to your homes or wherever it is you were headed. As for you, pal, until Ward says the humans have to go, they stay.”

  The shifter’s eyes changed to that of the cat’s, and he curled clawed fingers into his palms. Deja easily picked up the hatred he felt for those not like him. “Maybe it’s time he does say! Trust me, there is zero loyalty in them or any of the other humans.” With those last words, the man turned on his heel and marched away. In short work, the guards dispersed the crowd, everyone disappearing into the night.

  Last to leave, Deja caught the eye of the guard who’d confronted the shifter, and he gave her a stern look. “You shouldn’t be out here alone, Deja.”

  “So you know who I am? Well, I think I can take care of myself. Don’t worry about it.”

  He didn’t appear convinced. “You saw how it’s getting now. A woman alone, even if it’s you—maybe especially because it’s you—should watch herself.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I’ll keep that in mind. Good night.” Despite his further protests, she strolled on down the street, but the scene she had just witnessed disturbed her. Were the humans being picked on now? She needed to talk to Melanie and see if she was okay. More than likely she was. Carter was close to Ward, and no one wanted to cross him. Just as she had been recognized, she hoped Melanie was too, and respected.

  Deja arrived at the bar and walked inside to see Jake behind the counter. She waved and smiled at him, and he returned the greeting. She climbed up on a stool. “Hey, it looks kind of dead in here. What’s up?”

  Jake shrugged. “Tension between the natives.”

  “Don’t I know it. There was almost a fight out on the street before I got here.”

  His brows went up. “Anybody I know?”

  “Don’t you know everybody?”

  He laughed. “I guess so.”

  She held up her hand when he was about to pour a drink of her usual. “I’m laying off for a while.” When he cast her a curious glance, she rushed to explain with an excuse. “I feel like I’ve been letting everything hit me too hard and using alcohol to make me feel better. Just trying a new approach.”

  “I understand that. So is work going any better?”

  Deja sighed and leaned an elbow on the bar. “Poot work. Aren’t you going to ask me about how the mission went? Or did someone already fill you in?”

  “I noticed Tina hasn’t been in.”

  That news took her by surprise. Jake waited for her to comment. Maybe finding her cousin, who she seemed to love like a brother, had shaken Tina more than Deja suspected. She hated feeling sorry for the woman, but she did.

  “We went after her cousin, but we found him already dead. No sign of his foster parents. Spiderweb was all over the place.”

  “Damn,” Jake commented. “How’d Heath take it?”

  “Perceptive as always, Jake.” What worried Deja more was that she hadn’t seen her lover all day and hadn’t heard from him. Was the mission getting him down more than he let on? Was he avoiding her, or did Ward really have a job for him
like he’d told her? Heath had evaded giving details, which pissed her off. They should be able to share everything that went on in each other’s lives. “Heath lost it for a little while and attacked Joe.”

  Jake’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding?”

  “No.” She went on to tell him all that had happened on the mission, Jake asking questions throughout. Somehow sharing with him about all the mess helped her to feel better. Between him serving the occasional patron who wandered in, she spent the evening just shooting the breeze, and before long she glanced at her cell phone to find it was late into the night. “Damn, I didn’t realize it was so late.”

  Heath hadn’t called or texted. She stood up.

  “I should get going.”

  “Hey, hold on. If you can wait just twenty more minutes, I’ll walk you home.”

  She smirked. “I will be safer going on my own than you coming back here alone.” He had no reason to leave the bar as a door in the back led to the second floor where he lived.

  “I wouldn’t feel right,” he insisted. “It’s after one.”

  “Fine, but hurry up. I’m tired, and now I’m getting hungry. A fried bologna-and-cheese sandwich has my name on it back at my apartment.”

  Jake grinned. “Sounds delicious.”

  Deja shook her head laughing, but she didn’t mind at all. Jake occupied her mind so she didn’t have to spend too much time worrying about Heath. He was a good friend, one she valued, and she would tell him that. In her head, Jake, being human, was no less important than all the shifters.

  They strolled along the street talking. A breeze stirred Deja’s hair, and she thought she saw Jake staring, but when she turned her head, he looked the other way. “You have something to say?” she asked, amused.

  Red tinged his cheeks. Not for the first time she wondered about his single status. Since he was stuck in Siberia, he should find a girlfriend. Maybe Tina. She burst out laughing at the thought.

  “What’s so funny?”

  She grinned. “Oh, nothing much. I was wondering why you haven’t found a girlfriend yet. Then I thought maybe I should hook you up. What about Tina?”

  The croaked “What?” made her laugh harder.

  “Only kidding, but you are in Siberia, and you can’t just go out and bring someone in here like the others do, can you? I hate to think of you all alone. You’re young, and you’re not a bad-looking guy.”

  “Gee, thanks.”

  They stopped at the bottom of the stairs in front of her apartment. “I’m probably going to skip the bologna. Sleepiness hit me all of a sudden. Thanks for walking me home, Jake, and be careful going back. Oh, I wanted to tell you something.”

  He stepped closer, the tension in him drawing his shoulders up tight. He’d stuffed his hands into his pants pockets. A lingering scent of alcohol clung to his clothes, and it turned her stomach. She was glad of the Texas breeze stirring, but as warm as it was, it didn’t do much to make her feel better.

  “Let me say something first,” he muttered.

  She nodded.

  He stared at the ground. “I think you’re a really great person.”

  “I feel the same way.”

  He jerked his gaze to hers. “You do?”

  “Of course.”

  Deja never saw it coming, but the next thing she knew, he was leaning in to kiss her. She gasped and brought her hands up to push him back but not before his lips—too moist and way too soft—touched hers. Her stomach somersaulted even more. The next instant, she caught a whiff of Heath, a harsh growl broke the silence of the night, a window shattered, and Jake cried out in pain.

  “Heath! What did you do?” she shouted.

  She ran over to Jake, who lay unconscious on the ground with broken glass from the car window all around him.

  “Don’t touch him,” Heath growled, and she heard the tiger in his scratchy tone.

  She rounded on him. “Someone has to. You could have broken his back or given him a concussion. We have to call Dr. Adams.”

  Heath paced. Deja picked up running steps not far away, and something told her one of the guards was on the way. Damn his jealous ass!

  “Help me get him up,” she demanded.

  “Why should I? He’s human.”

  She stared at her lover. “No, you did not just say that to me. Heath Hunter, help me get Jake into my apartment or take your ass out of here and never speak to me again.” He didn’t move. “I mean it!”

  Heath sneered, but he thrust her aside and picked Jake up like a sack of potatoes to toss over his shoulder. She moaned but hurried ahead of him up the steps to unlock the door. They got Jake in and lying on the couch just as the guard appeared. “What’s going on here?” he demanded.

  Heath stepped onto the front steps and glared down at the man. “Excuse me?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry, Heath. I didn’t realize that was you. I…uh, can you tell me how this window got broken? We’ve had a lot of disturbances lately, and Ward wants us to report on everything.”

  “I’ll take care of it,” Heath assured him.

  “But—”

  “Good night.” Heath slammed the door in his face.

  “What the hell has gotten into you, Heath?” Deja demanded. “Oh, never mind. I have to check on Jake, and I’m calling the doctor.”

  “He’s fine. Why did you let him kiss you?”

  She rolled her eyes and sat on the coffee table near Jake. She wanted to check his pulse and feel his forehead but hesitated to make contact with the stupid beast hovering over her. “I didn’t let him kiss me.”

  “That’s what it looked like to me.”

  “Well, maybe you need your eyes checked.”

  She put a hand out to touch Jake, but Heath caught it in the air. “I don’t want him here, Deja.”

  “He’s my friend, damn it! There’s nothing between us.”

  “Tell him that,” he roared back.

  “Ugh, you’re impossible.” She pulled out her cell phone and dialed the doctor. Voice mail came on, and she left a message. “What happened today that’s gotten you like this, Heath? I didn’t hear from you all day, and I called several times. I didn’t even get a text.”

  The expression on his face told her something went on. She breathed in deep. The same way Heath should know she had nothing going on with Jake, she knew he hadn’t been with Tina. She cut him some slack only because he’d walked up at the wrong time. The attitude, though, wore on her already frazzled nerves. For a moment, she wondered if he could tell she carried his baby but then decided even if he could, he was so distracted, he would never recognize it for what it was.

  “Go home. I’ll call you when I’m done.”

  He frowned. “I’m not leaving you with him.”

  “Do you really think he can take advantage of me?”

  Heath said nothing.

  “You can either trust me, or forget about us even dating. If I was going to see Jake like that, I’d tell you to your face. Besides, there’s something you’re not telling me, so there’s already a problem of trust between us, Heath. Or am I imagining things?”

  She stared at him, daring him in silence to lie to her. He sighed. Running fingers through his hair, he looked away, but not before she saw the haunted look in his eyes. Her stomach knotted with her worrying about him. This was definitely not the time to come clean about the baby.

  “There’s something I had to deal with today.” He glanced at Jake lying still on the couch. “I won’t talk in front of him.”

  “He’s out cold.”

  “Later, Deja.” Heath stalked over to her, grabbed her around the waist, and dragged her into his chest. He planted a hungry kiss on her lips, and she felt his cock go hard. Before things got out of hand, he released her. She missed his strong embrace and wanted nothing more than to ask him to stay or to go home with him. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

  She saw him to the door and watched him walk down the street with his head bowed and his hands stuffed in his
pockets. What could have given him that look? Something he’d done and regretted? A decision he’d made? She wished she could run after him, but she had to look after Jake for now. The mystery would have to wait until tomorrow.

  She turned back to Jake and dialed the doctor again. This time she answered, and Deja arranged for Dr. Adams to come to her house to take a look at her friend. She didn’t fall into bed until almost four in the morning, and she didn’t crawl out of it until almost noon. The smell of bacon frying woke her, and she ran to the bathroom to hurl up the contents of an empty stomach. Smelling grease was the last thing she needed.

  She threw on a robe and padded barefoot out to the living room. Jake stood at the stove wearing nothing but jeans. His chest and feet were bare, the bandage Dr. Adams had put on him still wrapped around his head.

  “Jake, what are you doing?”

  He turned, grinning. Too thin, nothing like Heath’s big chest. She focused on his face before he got ideas about her interest.

  “I’m cooking you breakfast for taking care of me last night.” He held up a plate of pancakes and dropped two slices of bacon onto it. Her stomach roiled again, but she forced a smile.

  “That’s really sweet of you, but technically, I wasn’t the one who looked after you. Plus, if Heath comes and sees you dressed like that, he’ll finish the job he started last night.”

  The blood drained out of Jake’s face. “I didn’t know what hit me. I thought…”

  She raised her eyebrows. “I’m sorry, but, yes, it was Heath, and he didn’t want to leave you here with me alone, but I made him go home. You shouldn’t push it. I let you stay because Dr. Adams said I should let you get some rest without moving you. You were a bit delirious after she gave you the pain meds.”

  He walked over to the counter and set the plate down, then came over to her. She flinched when he laid his hands on her shoulders, thinking he might be setting up a repeat. “I want to be honest with you.”

  “You should—”

  “Let me say it,” he begged.

  She fell silent.