Top Gun Tiger (Protection, Inc. Book 7)

by Zoe Chant

  Her pregnancy was starting to show, but she’d found a stylish black maternity dress, then taken a pair of scissors to the hem. It hung in artistic rags and tatters about her curvy hips, accentuating leggings the same bubblegum pink as the arm warmers.

  “Show them your new trick, Leo,” said Grace. “Revert fur!”

  Catmeleon’s wings stayed hot pink, but his fur returned to its former glossy black.

  “Good kitty,” said Grace, petting him. “Now we match.”

  None of them worried any more that their pets would be spotted by outsiders; they’d found that all the magical pets had the ability to become invisible, like mythic shifters could, and had trained them to do so in public. Snowy didn’t need that training, but Ethan had to teach him not to create snow or ice in public. Justin had first trained Trio to heel, so he didn’t seem to have a leash sticking out into thin air.

  “I feel bad for Ellie and Hal,” Catalina said. “They’re the only ones who didn’t get a magical pet.”

  “They have two beautiful babies,” Rafa pointed out. “That’s plenty!”

  “Still…”

  Then Hal and Ellie, the last to arrive, came into the backyard. Ellie was carrying Elliot, while Hal cradled Haley in one arm and something else in the other. Haley was crying, and Hal was jiggling her and crooning.

  “Aww, Haley, don’t cry—” Catalina began, then peered at the other thing Hal was holding, half-hidden in the folds of his overcoat so all that could be seen was some brown fur. “Hey! What’s that?”

  “We found it curled up at the foot of our bed this morning,” Ellie said.

  “A flying kitten!” exclaimed Destiny. Sky landed on her shoulder, flapping her bluebird wings to keep her balance as she too craned to get a look.

  “Nope,” rumbled Hal. “Thank God. I’ve seen the havoc those things wreak. If I had twin babies and one of those things flapping around all day, I’d have a nervous breakdown.”

  “You would not,” said Ellie. “All the same, I’m just as happy this little guy doesn’t have wings.”

  “Or an excitable disposition,” Hal added.

  He turned his arm so everyone could see the creature he was holding. It was a fat little thing, as round as it was tall, a fuzzy brown creature like a living teddy bear with a fluffy squirrel’s tail. It blinked yellow owl eyes at everyone, then clambered across Hal’s chest, pulling itself along with oversized blunt claws like a sloth, until it could cuddle up with Haley. She immediately stopped crying and began to coo.

  “It’s a natural babysitter,” said Hal with relief.

  “More like a living lovie,” said Destiny. “What is it?”

  “An owl-bear-sloth-squirrel,” suggested Grace. “An owbesloque?”

  “Yes, my mother told about owbesloques,” Rafa said. When everyone stared at him, he began to laugh. “I’m kidding. I have no idea what it is.”

  “Nor have I,” said Lucas.

  “What’s its name?” Journey asked.

  “Bob,” said Hal.

  “Bob?” Raluca’s accent made it sound like a very strange and exotic name indeed.

  Ellie shrugged. “We both thought it looked like a Bob.”

  Hal’s phone rang in his coat pocket. Elliot instantly began to cry. The owbesloque clambered over to cuddle him, whereupon Haley started wailing. The phone continued to ring.

  Hal looked out at his team. “Help.”

  They sprang into action. Ethan scooped up Haley and held her so Bob could snuggle them both, Catalina pulled up a comfortable chair for Ellie to sit in, and Destiny fished the phone out of Hal’s pocket and answered it. “Protection, Inc., how may I help you?”

  “Destiny,” Hal said. “That’s my personal line.”

  She recognized the voice at the other end of the phone as Roland’s. “Destiny? Is Hal there?”

  Doing her best to keep a straight face, she passed the phone to Hal. “It’s for you.”

  “Yes?” Hal, juggling the phone as he lifted Ellie’s feet to prop them on a stool he’d pulled up, hit the speakerphone button.

  Roland’s voice came through loud and clear. “I hope the family’s doing we—over there! By the lamp!”

  There was a crash and cursing in the background. Ellie playfully covered Haley’s ears. Nick, completely serious, glanced at her and then covered Elliot’s.

  “The twins and Ellie are great,” Hal assured Roland. “What’s going on?”

  Roland raised his voice to be heard over the commotion. “Have you seen any odd little creatures like the flying kittens and so forth in the cages at Apex?”

  There was another crash and more swearing, then Merlin’s eager voice saying, “Whatever it is, I want it!”

  Hal somehow managed to keep a straight face as he replied, “Yes, actually. Have you?”

  “Possibly,” Roland replied. “We just had a… creature of some sort… get into the office, which Carter says is impossible with the security system he installed.”

  “Carter’s with you?” Hal inquired.

  “Well…” Roland lowered his voice. “He said he was just going to install a security system and then leave. He’s still here, though.”

  Carter’s annoyed retort came through loud and clear. “Because I obviously need to fix it! Then I’m leaving!”

  Roland and Hal both ignored this. Hal asked, “Well, what does the creature look like?”

  “I’m not sure,” Roland said. “It moves too fast to get a good look at it. Whatever it is, it’s flittering around the office knocking things over.”

  More crashes. More swearing.

  “That sounds like Pete,” Hal said.

  “Yes, Pete decided to join us on the condition that—”

  “Roland!” Pete yelled. “Not while you’re on speakerphone!”

  Undisturbed, Roland said, “And of course we were very happy to have him.”

  In the momentary silence, Ransom’s voice sounded clearly. “It seems attracted to bright lights. If we turn off the lights, then hold a flashlight in front of an open window, it might fly out.”

  “Ransom too?” Hal inquired.

  Ransom replied himself. “On a very temporary basis.”

  “And we’re happy to have him, too,” said Roland. “On any basis. Hmm.”

  “What?” asked Hal.

  “It’s gone now,” Roland replied. “Ransom’s trick worked.”

  Merlin’s irritated voice rose in the background. “I said I’d take it!”

  “It’s not like you didn’t have plenty of chances to catch it,” Pete retorted. “Next time bring a butterfly net to the office. Or maybe I should bring one, for you!”

  Hal spoke louder, to be heard over the arguing. “Got a name for your team yet? Or do you want to be Protection, Inc: The Other Office?”

  Roland chuckled. “I was thinking of Protection, Inc: Defenders.”

  “Good name,” said Hal. To his team and their mates, he said, “Want to wish them luck?”

  Everyone called out their congratulations and good luck wishes. Catalina’s voice rose above the rest. “Hope you get a flying kitten, Merlin! Hope you get two!”

  Hal put his phone back in his pocket and went to put his arm around Ellie. By then Ethan was holding Elliot, who was asleep and drooling on his shirt, and Destiny was holding Haley, who watched the party with a surprisingly intent expression in her hazel eyes.

  Lucas, elegant in his tailored suit and gold chains, took a hasty step back to avoid getting splashed with the bottle of barbecue sauce Nick was brandishing at Rafa, while Rafa used his longer arms to reach around Nick and douse the chicken wings with his preferred sauce. Journey and Raluca were sharing a plate of traditional Brandusan pastries that Journey had baked. As Journey gestured expansively with an apricot tart in her hand, Doina dove from the air and snatched it from her fingers.

  Shane and Justin were talking quietly, with Shadow lying in wait on Shane’s shoulder and Trio dozing at Justin’s feet. Behind their backs, Fiona was s
tealthily setting up a small robot dog, though Destiny suspected that Catalina and Grace’s snickers had probably given the game away.

  “Take a good look, Haley,” Destiny said. “It’s your family.”

  Elliot woke up, but didn’t cry. Instead, he too gazed out at them all with the same intent look in his sea-colored eyes.

  “And yours,” Ethan said to the baby boy. Without changing his solemn expression, Elliot blew a bubble.

  “Okay, jarhead,” Destiny said. “Now I want twins too. So they better run in the family.”

  “I’ll do my best,” Ethan promised.

  Yes, purred her tiger. We will have a fine pair of cubs nine months from now.

  Do you know something I don’t? Destiny asked, excited and hopeful. They’d been trying, but she hadn’t expected it to be this soon.

  Ethan nudged her and whispered, “Hey, my tiger just said—”

  “Mine too,” Destiny whispered back. “Do you think they really do know?”

  Her tiger purred, Wait and see.

  A note from Zoe Chant

  Thank you for reading Top Gun Tiger! I hope you enjoyed it. This is the final book in this series. But it’s not the end of the story. A new team of shifters is starting up. Look for their adventures in Protection, Inc: Defenders, coming soon!

  Who would you like to star in the first Protection, Inc: Defenders book? What magical pets are you dying to read about? Let me know in email or on my Facebook page!

  If you’d like to be emailed when I release my next book, please click here to be added to my mailing list. You can also visit my webpage, or follow me on Facebook or Twitter. You are also invited to join my VIP Readers Group on Facebook.

  Please consider reviewing Top Gun Tiger, even if you only write a line or two. I appreciate all reviews.

  If you enjoy Protection, Inc, I also write the Werewolf Marines series under the pen name of Lia Silver. Both series have hot romances, exciting action, emotional healing, brave heroines who stand up for their men, and strong heroes who protect their mates with their lives.

  Page down to read a special sneak preview of Bodyguard Bear.

  The cover of Top Gun Tiger was designed by Augusta Scarlett.

  Did you like Destiny’s story about the Indian king Shivaji and his escape in the fruit baskets? It’s a true story! If you want to read more of his amazing adventures, like the time he captured a fort with the help of trained lizards, look up Shivaji Bhosle. (Yes, I’m a history nerd too.)

  Also by Zoe Chant

  Bodyguard Bear

  Defender Dragon

  Protector Panther

  Warrior Wolf

  Leader Lion

  Soldier Snow Leopard

  Top Gun Tiger

  Protection, Inc. Collection 1

  Protection, Inc. Collection 2

  … and many more!

  See Zoe Chant’s complete list of books here!

  Special Preview: Bodyguard Bear

  (Protection, Inc. # 1)

  Ellie McNeil was not having the best night of her life.

  It was 3:49 AM, and she felt every second of the sleep she hadn’t gotten. Her eyes burned, her feet hurt, her head throbbed, and her muscles ached with weariness.

  Remind me why I volunteered for the overnight shift, again? Ellie asked herself. Oh, right. Because I really, really need the money.

  And also, she had to admit, because sometimes there was nothing more exciting than being the paramedic on call in the middle of the night.

  This wasn’t one of those times.

  Ellie and her partner, Catalina Mendez, had taken call after call since their shift had begun at midnight, speeding out in the ambulance with sirens screaming. And not a single call had been for an actual emergency. In between calls, Ellie and Catalina debated over which was more ridiculous, the drunken frat boy who thought his sleeping roommate was dead because he’d stopped snoring or the elderly man who thought he had a fever because he’d forgotten to turn off his electric blanket.

  As the ambulance sped through increasingly sketchy neighborhoods, Ellie decided that it wouldn’t hurt to close her eyes. Just for a second…

  Catalina brought the ambulance to a stop with a screech of brakes, nearly flinging Ellie into the dashboard.

  “Wakey, wakey!” Catalina sang out, her voice bright with sadistic cheer. She was a night owl by nature, and volunteered for overnight shifts because she actually preferred them.

  “I was not asleep,” Ellie retorted. “I was just… resting my eyes.”

  “That’s what sleep is,” Catalina pointed out. “Up and at ’em, Ellie. Just two more hours till we can go home and cuddle up with... Uh, cuddle up.”

  Ellie repressed a sigh as she grabbed her medical bag. At 6:00 AM, Catalina got to go home and cuddle up with her cats. Ellie had nothing to cuddle with but her pillow.

  One year, eight months, and two weeks since I last had sex, Ellie thought glumly. Not that she was counting.

  It could easily be another year— or two, or five, or ten— till she found a man willing to put up with a woman who spent half her nights saving lives away from home. Catalina made do with short-term flings, but Ellie didn’t want to settle for anything less than a committed relationship. Which meant that she’d settled on nothing at all.

  When Ellie scrambled out of the ambulance, the icy night air chilled her lungs and face, shocking her to full awareness. She forgot about her weariness and lack of romantic prospects, and focused on her job.

  “Review call,” she said automatically.

  Equally automatically, Catalina recited, “Male, age eighteen, awoke disoriented and combative. Call placed by mother.”

  “Bet you a pizza he snuck out and partied too hard,” Ellie suggested.

  Catalina elbowed her in the ribs. “I’m not taking your sucker bets.”

  The apartment building faced an alley too narrow for the ambulance to park in. They left the ambulance parked on the wider street that the alley intersected, and walked down the dark, garbage-strewn alley toward the apartment belonging to the disoriented, combative male and his mom.

  Ellie’s smile vanished as they hurried up the stairs. She and Catalina might privately joke about their jobs— they had to have a sense of humor, or they’d lose their minds— but once they were in the presence of their patients, the paramedics were completely focused on doing the best they could for them. Even if the boy was just drunk or high, Ellie and Catalina would examine him, make sure he was all right, and reassure his worried mother.

  The woman who opened the door was tiny and white-haired, ninety if she was a day. “Oh, thank God you’re here! My poor baby Ricky!”

  Ellie frowned in confusion as she followed the woman, who seemed way too old to have an eighteen-year-old son. Maybe the 911 operator had misheard ‘grandmother’ as ‘mother.’

  The woman pointed dramatically. “Here he is!”

  Ellie bit down on her lower lip to stop herself from bursting out laughing.

  Ricky was a fat, fluffy, contented-looking Angora cat. He blinked up and yawned at them from his perch on the back of the sofa.

  “Ricky is a cat,” Catalina said, her voice quivering slightly.

  “He’s my baby,” the woman corrected them. “I woke up and went to get a drink of water, and I reached out to pet him as I passed by. He always purrs when I pet him, but tonight he meowed and twitched his head like he was going to bite me. My poor baby!”

  “I think you just startled him,” Ellie said soothingly.

  The woman shot her a doubtful look. “I guess that could be it. He does look better now, don’t you, baby? But better safe than sorry! Aren’t you going to examine him, just to be sure?”

  Fighting to keep a straight face, Ellie said, “Catalina, why don’t you do the exam? I’ll just go out and radio the hospital with our estimated time of return.”

  As Ellie walked past her partner, Catalina whispered, “You owe me a pizza.”

  “Come on, you love cats,
” Ellie whispered back, and made her escape.

  Once she was safely out the door, she gave in to laughter. Poor baby Ricky, the world’s most pampered cat!

  Ellie was still smiling as she walked down the stairs. It was calls like these that reminded her of why she loved being a paramedic, despite the crazy hours and the lonely nights at home. Whatever else you could say about the job, it was never boring.

  She entered the alley. Blinking down the dark strip of asphalt, lined with garbage cans and buildings with darkened windows, Ellie tried to remember which end of the alley led to the street where they’d left the ambulance. One dented trash can looked vaguely familiar. Yawning, she turned right.

  The alley stretched on for longer than she remembered walking when they’d first come to the apartment. The only light was from distant street lights, and everything was dim and shadowy. The still air smelled strongly of mold, oil, and rotting garbage. There was no sound but the occasional rumble of a car driving by several streets away.

  Uneasy, Ellie wondered if she’d gone the wrong way. Then she came to a dead end at a brick wall. It was a T-shaped intersection, with even darker and narrower alleys leading to the left and right.

  Definitely the wrong way, she thought. She turned around to go back.

  “Are you sure he’s dead?” The voice came from the alley to her left. The speaker was a man with a low voice.

  Ellie froze in her tracks. Obviously, someone was in desperate need of medical help. Normally she’d have run forward to offer her assistance. But the speaker’s tone chilled her blood. She felt certain that he wanted someone to be dead.

  “I’m pretty sure, Mr. Nagle,” said a different man, sounding slightly nervous. “I shot him three times.”

  Ellie knew that the best thing for her to do was to walk away quietly and call the police. But she hadn’t become a paramedic because she liked to play it safe. She stepped behind a dumpster, careful to place her feet away from anything that might snap or squish or crunch. Her heart pounding, she cautiously peered out into the alley. Though the light was dim, her eyes had adjusted to it. She could see perfectly.