White Tiger (A Shifter's Unbound Novel)

by Jennifer Ashley

  No, he looked damn good in it. The coat hugged broad shoulders, the collar and tie framed his square face, the slacks skimmed athletic legs. He looked like a corporate pinup guy, like the billionaires on the covers of romances her sister devoured.

  Addie imagined him coming home after a hard day’s work, loosening his tie, slinging down his coat, unbuttoning his shirt, giving her a promising look from his green eyes . . .

  She nearly swallowed her tongue. Once she regained control of it, she realized he was speaking.

  “I’m Ms. Price’s attorney.” Kendrick produced a business card from his pocket and set it on the table in front of Alvarez. “I’m advising her to answer no more questions and requesting that you release her if you have not brought formal charges. She is an unfortunate victim here, not a perpetrator.”

  Well, that at least was true. Addie pressed her mouth closed and tried to look like an unfortunate victim.

  Alvarez studied Addie for a time. He didn’t want to let her go, she saw. He wanted to charge her for maybe being an accessory to the shootout, maybe for robbery. But Bo could not have reported five thousand dollars missing, because he never kept that kind of money in the diner. Five hundred possibly, but never five grand.

  Alvarez had no evidence. Hickson had searched Addie’s car, finding nothing but her change of clothes and her purse. No weapons, ammunition, a phone with calls to a boyfriend to come and open fire on the diner. Addie’s call log showed her sister, a few girlfriends, and that was it. Addie, since her bad breakup a while back, didn’t have much of a social life.

  Alvarez scowled at Kendrick, then he hid his disappointment and nodded at Hickson. “Stay close to home, Ms. Price, in case I need to speak to you again.”

  Kendrick closed his hands around his folder and waited. Addie, after a heartbeat or two, sprang to her feet. “Right. Thank you.” She nodded at Alvarez and Hickson with as much dignity as she could and followed Kendrick out.

  Addie managed to keep her mouth shut all the way down the white-tiled halls of the courthouse and sheriff’s department. At the door, her purse and clothes were returned, but not, she noticed, the money. She could protest about that, but then they might come up with a charge to keep her there.

  She took up her stuff and jogged along beside Kendrick, out into the cool darkness of the Texas night.

  The courthouse in Loneview, the county seat, was typical old-style, sitting in a square, surrounded by quiet streets of an aging Texas town. Kendrick headed around the corner in a long stride, and Addie trotted to keep up with him, her purse flopping against her hip.

  Kendrick reached a motorcycle parked around the corner of the next block, hidden behind a convenience store. He dropped the leather folder into one of the saddlebags and loosened and pulled off his tie.

  “Can you ride?” he asked her.

  Addie dragged her gaze from the open buttons at his throat and fixed it on the large Harley. “A motorcycle? I don’t know. I never have.”

  “Time to learn.” Kendrick mounted the bike and handed her a helmet. He pried the purse from Addie’s shoulder as she stood there, tucked it into the saddlebag, and patted the seat behind him.

  Addie settled the helmet with shaking fingers and tried to swing her leg over the bike’s seat. She kicked the seat with her clunky shoe, her toe bouncing off, and ended up hopping on her other foot, trying to regain her balance.

  Kendrick, for the first time since she’d met him, twitched his lips into the ghost of a smile. He grabbed her leg, pushed it over the bike, and helped get her butt on the seat. Addie settled herself, the imprint of his hand warm on her skin.

  “Where are the boys?” she said to him as he started the bike. “Are they all right?”

  “Yes.” Kendrick’s body moved as he balanced the throbbing motorcycle. “Put your feet on the footholds and hang on to me.”

  Addie’s feet slipped off twice before she figured out how to plant them onto the metal bars. She grabbed Kendrick around the waist as he lifted his feet and guided them out of the small parking lot, holding on tighter as he glided around a corner.

  Kendrick headed away from the courthouse, using streets that would take them out of town the fastest. Addie expected him to turn around and head for the 10, but Kendrick took the road south, out to open country.

  Wind, speed, and the roar of the motor prevented Addie from asking him questions, like Why did you come back for me?

  There wasn’t much traffic out here, and Kendrick sped up, leaning into the wind. This part of Texas was flat, dry, spreading out under endless sky. Stars unfurled in a multitude above them, glittering against the black of nothingness.

  Addie wrapped her arms more firmly around Kendrick, the power of him vibrating against her. She moved with him, the two of them one as cool air flowed around them and the land rolled on forever.

  I love this, Addie realized. No wonder bikers are so obsessed with the road.

  The freedom of riding, being part of the land instead of shut away from it, was exhilarating. Riding at this speed, holding on to a hard-bodied man who’d just rescued her, the wide world spinning under her, made Addie laugh out loud. The danger of it simply made it more exciting.

  They rode ever southward, until Addie started to wonder if they were heading into Mexico. Alvarez had asked her not to go far—Mexico could be considered far.

  But for the moment, Addie didn’t care. She was now without a job, and she had no ties except to her sister, no obligations. No money either, but that didn’t seem to matter right now.

  She was almost disappointed when Kendrick slowed in another small town and made for a motel a little way from the highway.

  Seeing Robbie and the little guys inside the room after Robbie unlocked the door and peered out cautiously, made up for the disappointment, however. Brett and Zane cried out in delight and rushed Addie, throwing their arms around her legs. Robbie gave her a calmer but no less exuberant hug.

  “Addie!” Brett yelled. “Did you bring pie?”

  “No, sweetie, sorry,” Addie said.

  Kendrick closed the door and locked it, then dropped the folder onto the bed and sent the suit coat and tie after it.

  Addie disentangled herself from the cubs, watching as Kendrick unbuttoned the shirt’s collar, just as she’d imagined him doing. His eyes took her in, his hair mussed from the ride. His hand went to another of the shirt buttons, and another.

  Just when Addie thought, breathlessly, that he’d pull open the shirt and let her gaze at his firm, well-muscled chest she’d seen in naked glory at the diner, he turned from her and headed for the bathroom.

  To hide her regret, she picked up the leather-bound folder he’d dropped, and opened it. Inside she found a yellow legal pad, brand new and unused, and the pockets of the folder empty. The folder too was new, probably purchased at an office supply store on Kendrick’s way to Loneview.

  Glancing at the closed bathroom door, Addie dipped her hand into his coat pocket. She found three cards, also new, possibly printed off at the same office store. Miles Standing, Attorney at Law, Standing, Standing, and Davis.

  She was staring at the card, mystified, when Kendrick came out. He’d changed back to jeans and a black T-shirt, looking like he always did when he came into the diner. Addie wasn’t sure which she preferred—bad-boy biker or well-dressed attorney.

  Addie held up the card. “Who is—?”

  “No one,” Kendrick said. “It’s a name I use sometimes when I have to deal with humans.”

  His clear eyes scrutinized her, taking in her waitress dress, which was limp and tired now, the ugly shoes she wore to keep her feet from getting too sore. She flushed, knowing she looked like crap but not sure what to do about it.

  Addie studied Kendrick in return. The white streaks in his hair were more prominent now that it was messy from the wind. The T-shirt hugged every muscle, wh
ich he hadn’t hidden at all when he’d fought at the diner. His neck remained bare, no Collar in sight.

  “All right, next question,” Addie said, her tongue finally loosening. “Why did you come rescue me?”

  Kendrick’s stare didn’t waver. “Because you were innocent. And because you didn’t betray me.”

  “Yes, I am, and no, I didn’t. Wait—how do you know I didn’t tell anyone about you? Can you read minds? That would be embarrassing.”

  “I’m Shifter.”

  Addie waited but Kendrick seemed to think the two words were an explanation.

  “What does that have to do with anything?” she finally asked.

  Kendrick’s voice was a low and pleasing rumble. “If you’d told them I was Shifter, Shifter Bureau and every law enforcement agency from Austin to the border would be hunting me right now. There’d be news reports telling people to call in any sight of me or any unusual Shifter activity at all. That’s how I know.”

  His gaze was unnerving but Addie continued to meet it. “Well, you didn’t do the shooting. You were shot at. You killed that guy in self-defense. But there’s no body, no evidence that you hurt anyone or he hurt you. I don’t think anyone would have believed me when I said you stuck a sword into a man and he disintegrated.” She ran out of breath, rubbing her hands over her arms. “They took your money—the deputies did. I’m so sorry.”

  Kendrick shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.”

  Addie’s eyes widened. “Seriously? Five thousand dollars is gone like a puff of dust and it doesn’t matter?”

  “Getting you away from them matters.” Warmth entered Kendrick’s gaze. “You’re a very strong woman to resist speaking of me and my cubs under interrogation. Most humans would have given me up.”

  Addie went on rubbing her arms. “I didn’t feel strong. I just didn’t want the kids pulled in by the cops or you arrested. I bet if you were imprisoned, the kids wouldn’t go into foster care, unless there’s some Shifter equivalent—not that I’d want them in foster care at all. I didn’t want to see Robbie and Zane and Brett hurt, so I kept quiet.”

  Kendrick gave her a nod that was almost a bow. “And for that, I thank you.”

  Addie looked him over again. “Are you always so formal?”

  Kendrick gave her another nod, a sparkle lighting his eyes. “Yes.”

  Addie became aware that other eyes were on them, two pairs of bright green ones and one steadfast gray.

  “Dad,” Zane said in his small but surprisingly strong voice. “Addie is going to be our new mom, isn’t she?”

  Addie turned to him in surprise. Zane was looking up at her, so much eagerness in his expression that it broke her heart.

  “Zane,” Kendrick said, admonishing.

  Addie held up her hand, her heart beating faster. “No, wait. This is interesting. Has there been discussion on the topic?”

  “No.” Kendrick’s brows came down, and the word was abrupt. “The cubs, they’re . . . missing their mother.”

  Who wasn’t around anymore, Addie took it. “What happened to her?”

  “Dead.” Again Kendrick’s word was abrupt, devoid of emotion.

  “I’m sorry.” Addie felt bad for prying but she was coming to understand that with Kendrick, information had to be dragged out of him a piece at a time. “What about Robbie?”

  “His parents were killed. They left him to me.”

  “I’m sorry, Robbie,” Addie said, turning to him. “I lost my mom and dad too. My sister took care of me from the time I was fourteen.”

  Robbie only looked at her. She read sorrow in him, sorrow he tried to hide while he dealt with it. It was wrong for kids to lose their parents, their anchors in the world, too soon.

  All of them, Zane, Brett, Robbie, and Kendrick, had sadness in their eyes. Too much of it. Addie wanted to do something to see the kids laughing and happy, if only for a few moments.

  “So, now what?” Addie lifted the purse she’d dropped to a chair and rummaged through it. “I should call my sister and let her know I’m all right—”

  A large hand clamped over her cell phone and firmly took it from her. “No.”

  Addie reached for it. “She’ll be worried about me. I was arrested—well, almost arrested.”

  “Addison.” Kendrick held the phone away from her. “I can’t let them track a call here.”

  “I understand that. But I’m going to have to call someone, somehow. You’ve kind of stranded me out here.”

  “I know.” Kendrick remained in place, the phone in his hand. He stood rigidly, his eyes holding a darkness but also the tiniest hope. “Addison, I don’t have anywhere to take you where you’ll be safe. Not right now.”

  A lump lodged in Addie’s throat. She hadn’t really thought he’d brought her here so he could sweep her into his arms, shower her with more wads of cash, do a striptease for her . . . The tingle in her heart swelled to scorching.

  “I was thinking about heading to New Orleans,” she said. “You could always buy me a bus ticket.”

  Kendrick’s brows slammed together again. “Bus. Alone and vulnerable, prey to any human who looks at you and wants you.”

  “Paranoid, much,” Addie said, folding her arms. She felt suddenly cold, though the small room was warm, the AC faulty. “What do you suggest? I’m in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere with no transportation. Sure, I’ll just walk out onto a lonely back Texas highway and hitch a ride. Nothing can possibly go wrong with that.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  Kendrick couldn’t move. Addison stood like a sharp blade of grass, or maybe a strong young tree, ready to face the world and not be broken by it. Fragile and not knowing she was.

  Human women couldn’t defend themselves like Shifter women could. A female Shifter could kick a male Shifter’s ass, and everyone knew it. Human males over the centuries had subjugated their females until their women believed themselves weak.

  Addison was human, and vulnerable. The thought of her wandering in the dark, open to every person driving by, made him furious. “You won’t have to walk away alone,” Kendrick said, his voice edged. “I’ll take you somewhere safe.”

  “And then where will you go?” Addison looked pointedly at the boys’ bags Robbie had readied and lined up, waiting to be loaded onto the motorcycle in case they had to go. Which they did now.

  “Far from here.”

  Addison met his eyes without fear. Humans weren’t supposed to be able to do that. Kendrick was an alpha, a Guardian, and few were his equal. Most Shifters dropped their gazes or looked away to avoid his stare.

  Addison simply looked at him, unimpressed. Her blue eyes caught him, and he saw in them a spark of lightness that his life had forgotten.

  He’d known her only a brief time, and they’d barely spoken, but Kendrick knew that if he said good-bye to her tonight, he’d grieve. He should send her away from him, safe and free, but the very selfish part of him, the one he’d never been able to indulge, wanted her close. Wanted her where he could put out his hand and touch her.

  “You mean you’ll never tell me,” Addison was saying in her cheerful voice. “You won’t get in touch or let me know how the kids are doing or come into whatever diner I work in next for a slice of pie.”

  Kendrick cleared his throat. “It has to be so.”

  Addison took a step forward. “Why does it?” She drew a breath then blurted out the next words. “Take me with you, Kendrick. Wherever it is you’re going. You need someone to look after your kids . . . I mean, your cubs. Right? If you’re going to be fighting people, you need someone to take care of them. And I need a job. So . . . how about it?”

  Kendrick stopped. “So you want to, what? Be my cubs’ nanny?”

  “Sure, why not? You can pay me a little salary, I’ll look after them, and you keep the cops from putting me in jail. You owe me,
since they suspected me of robbing the place because of your overzealous generosity.”

  She was serious. Addison stood there, quivering with optimism, and with worry that he’d walk away from her, like he should.

  “You have no idea what you’re offering,” he said, voice hard. “No idea of the danger.”

  “Probably not. But people shot at you, Kendrick. I won’t sleep easy thinking that your kids—cubs—are in that kind of situation again. I want to know they’re safe.”

  She didn’t mention it, but it was also Kendrick’s fault she was now jobless. If Kendrick had kept himself away from the diner and not given in to the temptation of seeing her, she’d be happy and well, at home with her sister, anticipating another day waiting tables.

  Again, his anger stirred. Addison was watching him, eyes wide, still wearing the ugly salmon pink one-piece dress that hung shapelessly on her body. The dress was supposed to hide her—though nothing could ever truly hide her beauty.

  She should be in lovely clothes that complemented her curving body, with jewels on her wrists and at her throat. A man should be taking her out in a luxurious car, showing her off to the world. But no, she was in a dingy motel room, with a man who had the money to give her everything, and didn’t dare.

  Kendrick hardened his voice. “Addison, if you came with us, it would be the end of your life as you know it.”

  “Oh, yes?” Addison put one hand on her hip. “The end of my low-paying waitress jobs? Hoping I don’t get stiffed on tips too many times, working late into the night, with maybe one day off a week if it’s not too busy? The end of that life? Yeah, ’cause that would suck.”

  “I meant being with your sister, her children, your friends.”

  Addison’s gaze flickered but her lips firmed. “My friends all grew up, got married, and had kids. They remember to invite poor Addie over once in a while and they try to fix me up with friends who either turn out to be total losers or interested in someone else. My sister is divorced, devoted to her kids, and making ends meet. She lets me live with her because she feels sorry for me. I almost got married once but it didn’t work out.”