by Eve Langlais
Should he wait out the fight and hope he could take on a wounded victor before it ate him? Or draw both their notice and claws trying to escape?
Could he have option number three?
The tiger didn’t like having its turf invaded and sprang first. The golden lion, with fur damp from the rain, met its leap and the bodies hit with a thud. They landed on their sides, and their feet were tangled as they clutched at each other, trying to chew off the other’s face.
The battle didn’t last very long. The tiger might have been larger, but the lion proved tricky and mean. It soon had the striped feline retreating to its den to lick its wounds.
The lion had won and would want to eat its prize.
He pushed against the ground, trying to lift himself, but sharp pain sent him lying flat, and breathing hard. He closed his eyes waiting for the tearing of claws or ripping of teeth to begin.
When nothing happened, he slitted one eye open to see the lion resting on its front paws, observing him. It even shook its head before huffing hotly on him.
Mocking the dumb human. Maybe if he played dead, it would leave him alone. He wouldn’t be playing for long given his injuries were throbbing to the point he was wavering in and out of consciousness.
Which might have been why he could have sworn he heard Nora’s voice snapping, “Stay in your corner, furball.” Then more softly. “You idiot. You shouldn’t have run.”
Chapter Eight
“That will teach you to run away from me,” was Nora’s less than sympathetic response when he finally opened his eyes two days after she’d saved him in the tiger pit. He’d almost died. As it was, he wasn’t in great shape.
“What happened?” He groaned.
At least he wasn’t crying, which surprised her, given the extent of his injuries. She’d had to take him to an underground vet, who’d eyed the human she’d brought askance.
The verdict? Body bruised all over, with at least two broken ribs and a nose that might never sit straight again. Sexy.
“You had a bad day,” she told him.
“Feels like I got hit by a truck,” he grumbled. He hissed as he moved, and she didn’t help him. Let him suffer the consequences of his foolish actions.
He managed to sit up and lean against the headboard of the bed situated in the apartment she’d managed to score them. A nicer place than the shabby hotel of before.
“Care to explain why you were trying to feed yourself to the tiger?” she asked.
“I was tossed in there by the goons who stole my key.”
“You mean the key you took from me?” she said too sweetly. It miffed her he’d managed to steal from her in the first place.
“Don’t fucking start.”
“Oh, I will fucking start because if you hadn’t been so bloody stubborn and stupid you wouldn’t have lost it and almost died.”
“Trust me, given the way I’m hurting, I’m wishing I’d left it with you.” His dark glare challenged her.
So she mocked him. “Yeah, you should have because I wouldn’t have lost it.” Yeah, she was rubbing salt in that wound. “Did you see who did this to you?”
“Pair of guys.”
“Not helpful.”
“Yeah, you know what else isn’t helpful is you giving me attitude when what I need is fucking pain relief,” he snapped.
“You wouldn’t need anything at all if you’d not snuck off on me.”
“Be glad I did, or you’d probably be in the same shape as me, or worse.”
“Doubtful.” It was never more evident how good shifter genes were than when looking at the human who was a mass of contusions that would take weeks to heal. Under normal circumstances.
She’d had to call on some Pride connections to get her hands on military-grade, top-secret salve to speed up the process. The ribs were already knitted together, although not solidly. That would take a while longer so he should avoid blows to the chest. His bruising had reached the yellow stage where it was almost gone. But the cure took a toll, sucking every ounce of energy from his body, leaving him with no body fat and muscles that would ache until he ate and rid himself of the dehydration.
“Do you have some acetaminophen? Something? Whiskey?” he asked, flexing his arm and clenching his fist as if trying to bring back circulation on a sleeping limb.
“No booze, but I do have electrolytes.” Recommended by the vet. She tossed the bottle at him, but his currently slow reflexes meant it hit him in the stomach. He grimaced, and then it hit the floor.
“Oops.” She felt bad and handed him an unmarked bottle pulled from her back pocket. “Don’t take too many, or you’ll be catching little birdies and drooling.”
He opened the jar and shook a pair of pills into his hand. He dry-swallowed them with a grimace.
She handed him the fluids. He chugged it and made an even bigger face. “The after-taste is ass.”
“The correct answer is ‘thank you for having this ready for me and for taking care of me while I was unconscious.’”
“How long was I out?”
“Two days.”
He blinked at her. “Well fuck.” He glanced at himself, the scrubs he wore, and turned red.
“I haven’t been caring for you that entire time. The vet only released you to me a few hours ago.”
“Vet?” He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I think we need to back up a bit. Let’s start with how you found me.”
“Just followed my nose.” She tapped it, knowing the truth would be the least likely thing he believed.
“More like followed my phone. I can’t believe I was so stupid as to bring it along. Good news is it’s gone now.” He leaned back and closed his eyes.
“I guess that explains why your sister keeps texting me.”
“You’ve heard from Charlie?”
“Every day, multiple times a day. Apparently, when Arik said my mission with you was hush-hush, that didn’t include her.”
“Who is Arik?”
“No one.” She blamed fatigue for her loose tongue. Two days of watching and worrying as the medically induced coma kept him in a state where the rapid healing wouldn’t make him scream murder.
“Am I to understand you don’t know my sister?”
“I do now. Speaking of whom, she’d love to hear from you.” She handed him her phone, and he looked horrified.
“You idiot. Did you not hear what I said about being tracked via my phone? Get rid of it before they trace it to you. To me.”
She snorted. “Not all of us were stupid enough to bring along an unsecured cellular device. For a criminal, you’re not very criminally.”
“Says the lady with black market tech in her hand.”
“Is that jealousy I hear because my toys are better than yours?”
“Your bedside manner sucks,” was his sulky reply.
“Don’t make me get you some cheese for that whine.”
“I’m allowed to complain. I almost died. By the way, how did you get me out of the tiger pen before those cats ate me?”
“Not easily. You’re a heavy dude.”
He snorted then winced. “As if you carried me out.”
“You calling me a wimp?”
“I’m saying I outweigh you by at least forty or fifty pounds.”
“And? It’s all in the technique. Or is your arguing more because your chauvinistic ass can’t handle a woman saved you?”
He made a moue of annoyance. “I’m injured. Must you turn all feminist on me?”
“Don’t be a caveman and I won’t have to. You could be a little more grateful considering I saved your ass.”
“Thank you. I was in a bad spot.”
“Not sure how much worse it could have gotten. It’s a miracle you’re alive.”
“Would you believe a lion saved me?” Again, he tried to laugh, only to gasp in pain.
“You mean a lioness?” she couldn’t help but huff indignantly. “Males have giant fluffy manes and are lazy as fuck. A male l
ion would have let you be eaten.”
“Whatever. Boy kitty. Girl. Doesn’t matter. It stopped that tiger from eating me.”
Her fur bristled at the dismissive tone. “Maybe you should be a little more appreciative.” A part of her wanted to press the point, wanted him to recognize she’d saved him at her own peril. She’d had no choice but to shift to save him from the tiger in the zoo. Then she’d shifted again to get him out of there. At the time, he’d been passed out and hadn’t seen her. He hadn’t made the correlation.
Yet. But if she wasn’t careful, he would discover her secret, and then she’d have no choice.
Claim him. Her feline’s suggestion was at odds with the prescribed death sentence for humans who knew too much.
“Guess now that the key is gone, you’ll be taking off,” he said, the pain pills having obviously kicked in as he swung his legs over the side of the bed.
“Is that what you’re doing? Going home?”
“What else would I do?”
“I’m surprised you’re giving up that easily.” Disappointed too. She’d not taken him for a quitter.
“There is nothing easy about it. But without the key, there is no quest,” was his angry retort.
“Wait, we are on a quest?” That sounded way better than the job she’d been handed so far.
“We were. Without the key, we’re stuck.”
“Says you. Way I see it we have two choices. Go after the people with the key and get it back, or get to the treasure before them.”
“There is no we.” He grunted as he stood and wavered on his feet.
“It’s either we or me, and if it’s just me, you should know you’ll spend that duration locked in this room. You decide.” She arched a brow.
“And they call me the felon.”
She smiled. “Is that a yes?”
“How is it you’re blackmailing me but I don’t hate you?”
“Because I’m cute.” She grinned sassily at him.
“Sometimes. You’re mostly persistent.”
“Very. But I’ll have you know I make a most excellent partner. Just ask Zach.”
“Your boyfriend.”
“Nope.” She stepped close enough she had to look up to keep his gaze. “That was just an act. I am single. Available. And my favorite position is on my hands and knees.” True. And a shocking admission. She almost blushed. But then she caught his reaction.
He sucked in a breath, swayed, and almost toppled.
She put a hand on his chest. “Careful, Montgomery.”
“What happened to Peter?”
“Depends. Are we partners?”
“You keep wanting us to be equals, and yet I’m the one who knows where we need to go next.”
“And I’m the one with the connections to get us there. I just need to know where so I can arrange transportation.”
“First off, there will be no arranging of anything because it’s too easy for those goons to track if they’re still watching me. And second, I’m not sure.”
“Liar. You came to Europe for a reason.”
“More like a hunch based on a riddle that I’m probably misinterpreting.”
“You’re referring to the story in that children’s fairy tale book.”
He eyed her sharply. “Have you seen it?”
“No, but I was briefed on it.” AKA, Zach flipped quickly through the book retrieved in Peter’s apartment so she could get the gist of the story via the images. “Basically, monster meets girl, goes on quest, uses a key to open some kind of chest. And they live happily ever after.”
“In a nutshell, yes.”
“We’re going to find that treasure.”
“Maybe. Keep in mind, even if it ever existed, it’s probably long gone.”
“Are you really going to play that game? You think it’s real and that it’s still there.”
“I think this might be a wild goose chase. I mean think of it, a hidden treasure that can be found by following clues in a children’s story?”
“But you believe it.”
He shrugged. “I do, and yet it’s crazy. I’m crazy. Like legit nut job. Just got out of a padded room a few weeks ago.”
“Just because they called you insane doesn’t make it true. Maybe they just didn’t understand you.”
That brought a choked chuckle from him. “Oh, they understood me all right. That was the whole problem.”
“Why were you there?” The medical reports were in Russian and only had a summary paragraph in English that said he was convinced he was being hunted by an old lady and her tiger. The doctors claimed he’d suffered a psychotic break with reality.
But she saw it as a clue. Peter had seen something. And she was going to find out what.
If he stopped being stubborn.
“I was put there because they found me naked in the woods eating grubs.”
“Raw, or did you cook them first to make them into crunchy protein bites?”
“This isn’t fucking funny. My life isn’t a joke.”
“I was being serious. Personally, I like them cooked with a hint of salt and chili powder. The best are grasshoppers. The big kind. Very flavorful.”
“There is something seriously wrong with you, Nora.”
“Because I’m not caught up in the usual Western hang-ups when it comes to my sources of protein? Bugs are meat of a different kind.”
“That’s just wrong and just another reason why you and I should part ways.”
He was trying to blow her off again so he could find the treasure by himself. Enough. Time he realized he wasn’t the one calling the shots. “Since you’re so desperate for me to leave, good luck getting anywhere. You have no identification. No money. Not even any pants.” She glanced at his groin then back at him as she said, “Although you do have the goods to make a few bucks turning tricks.”
His face turned red. “I’ll call my sister.”
“Go right ahead. Call her. Tell her where you are. Even better, maybe I will and tell her to come save you herself.”
“You wouldn’t dare!” he growled.
“You’re right, I wouldn’t, but you will because, without me, you’re stuck. Have fun.” She rose and made as if to leave.
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t go.”
“Why?”
He glared at her. “You know why.”
She smirked. “Say it, Peter. Say you need me.”
“I. Need. You.” Spoken through gritted teeth, and yet her inner feline practically purred.
“Was that so hard?” Her gaze dropped, and the more she stared, the more she noticed not all parts of him hurt. “I see that it is. Hard,” she purred.
His embarrassment had him flushing, but he recovered enough to say, “Since you’re good at fixing stuff, feel free to fix it.”
“Maybe I will.” She winked. “You and I are going to have a grand adventure.”
“If we survive. Even though my enemies got their hands on the key, if they find out I’m alive, they might come after me.”
“Yay.” She clapped her hands. “I love a challenge. Don’t you?”
He eyed her and shook his head. “There is something seriously wrong with you.”
“I prefer to think of it as seriously right. Now, let’s discuss this supposed treasure. According to my briefing, the story claims it’s some kind of magical spell to turn a monster into a human. Sounds fascinating.”
He snorted. “And obviously not true. That kind of magic doesn’t exist.”
She arched a brow. “If you don’t believe, then why are you chasing after it?”
“For the same reason archeologists look for tombs and mummies.”
“Gold!”
He shook his head. “Wrong again. The true value will be in its history. The age of it. The fact it’s unique. I have buyers who will pay big bucks to get their hands on whatever it is just to claim they own it.”
“You’re just going
to sell whatever we find to the highest bidder?”
“What else would I do with it?”
What else indeed… “What if I told you I knew someone who would pay you enough you could retire richly for life.”
“I’d say, how much?”
She quoted a ridiculous number that in the grand scheme of the Pride’s finances wasn’t all that much.
His eyes widened. “That would work if you’re not shitting me.”
“How about I give you a third now, as a measure of good faith. Then the rest when you help us find it.”
“What if we can’t or it’s gone?”
“You still keep that third.”
He thought about it for a moment. Then nodded. “Deal.”
“Awesome. I guess the next step is arranging a flight. Where to, partner?”
“Only once I see the money.”
He wouldn’t budge on that point. Meaning, she had to bring him a disposable phone with data access, which he could use to verify she’d indeed deposited the money into his account. Only then did he show her the encrypted images of the book stored in the cloud Melly still couldn’t access.
Nora scrolled through the images, unable to read the text but able to follow along looking at the pictures. It helped that he gave her an abbreviated version of the tale.
By the time they finished the story, which he’d had translated in pieces that he meshed together, she found herself pensive.
Also slightly shocked. It took her a moment to say, “The story in your book is slightly different than the one I heard about.”
“Because there are several versions in circulation.”
Which made her wonder which one was true, because, in Peter’s copy, instead of the questing monster being turned into a man, the tsarina became a beast.
Chapter Nine
“There are two versions of the story?” Nora blinked in surprise.
“Yeah.” Actually, more than two, according to his research.
“How is it you know about them? How did you even come across the book at all?”
“By accident.” At her inquiring gaze, Peter explained. “I learned about it because of a job.” He launched into the tale, because after all, why not?