by Anna Lowe
Cruz did what he rarely did — namely, stop to admire his handiwork. Every member of their tight-knit unit had carved out a little corner of Koa Point for himself, and they rarely stepped foot on each other’s private turf, choosing to gather on neutral ground at the meeting house instead. It was the perfect arrangement for a group of strong-willed shifters who’d stuck together through thick and thin. Now, each occupied his own custom home, and Cruz loved his.
It was pretty amazing. What had started as a single platform where a tiger could bask at midday had gradually expanded to a wide deck that encircled a four-story-tall monkeypod tree. A spiral staircase wound to the deck from the ground-level living area, and rope bridges extended from each side, leading to a number of side platforms — like bedrooms in a house, yet nothing like a regular house. The spartan living area held a hammock and a futon. One platform was suspended high up in the canopy of the forest, completely open to the elements — the perfect place for his tiger to swish its tail and stand guard. Another rope bridge led to the covered bedroom he used to stretch out in in human form. The double mattress had been hell to haul up, and the dresser was all dinged up, but it was home. A few little touches here and there and he’d have a real tiger palace all to himself.
Home, his tiger hummed in satisfaction.
He’d never had anyone out here except the other guys — and that was rare enough.
I like having her here, his tiger said.
Cruz made a face, but it was kind of nice, watching her react to it all.
“Who built this?”
His chest puffed out a bit. “I did.”
“You?” She wasn’t incredulous so much as impressed, and Cruz couldn’t resist pointing out all the little features.
“There’s a hot plate over there, a bathroom over there…”
Jody nodded and grinned. “My dad would love this place. He made us a tree house when we were kids, but it wasn’t anything like this.”
Cruz’s tiger nodded in satisfaction. Maybe some humans aren’t crazy, after all.
When she slid into the rainbow hammock and gave herself a push to start swinging, he had to fight the inexplicable urge to ease in beside her.
“Wow. This is way better than the condo at Honokowai.”
He laughed out loud, then caught himself. What was he doing, joking around with a human he hadn’t wanted anything to do with in the first place?
You’re having a nice time, his tiger snipped. Is that so bad?
He cleared his throat and pointed around the living room. “The futon is pretty comfortable, and there are some extra towels in the bathroom.” He pointed down the lantern-lit path.
“I’ve slept in some offbeat places, but this takes the cake. Oh — wait.” She straightened in the hammock. “Where will you sleep?”
Usually, he slept in the bedroom area or on one of the other platforms suspended overhead. But he sure as hell wasn’t going to sleep there tonight.
“I’ll sleep in the meeting house. I do that all the time,” he lied.
She hurried out of the hammock. “I can’t oust you from your own home.”
Exactly. She couldn’t. He wouldn’t let humans wreck his life ever again.
But damn it, his tiger had different ideas and made him communicate as much. “Of course you can. Here, you can borrow this.” Without thinking, he took a clean T-shirt from a drawer and set it on the table so she’d have something to sleep in.
She sure can, his tiger hummed.
Even his human half swelled a little at the thought of Jody wrapped in his clothes. Her, covered with his scent.
He balled his fists and bumped his thighs a few times, trying to snap out of whatever had come over him.
“But…” she started.
He scuffed his shoe against the ground. She didn’t get it. If he stayed anywhere within sniffing, seeing, or hearing distance of her, who knew what his tiger might tempt him to do?
“It’s fine, believe me,” he said. A purr sounded, and little Keiki wound between his legs. He picked up the calico kitten and stroked her until her eyes closed with pleasure. He closed his eyes, too, soaking in the warmth and satisfaction radiating from the little fur ball. With Keiki, he could almost believe the world was full of goodness and hope.
Jody chuckled. “She purrs like a tiger.”
Cruz’s eyes snapped up. Did Jody suspect anything? But, no. The woman’s eyes stayed on the kitten, and her smile was as innocent as Keiki’s.
“Tigers don’t purr,” he pointed out.
“They’re cats, aren’t they?”
“Look it up. Tigers don’t purr.”
“Well, that little one sure can purr. Is she yours?”
“Mine? No. Cats don’t like to be owned.”
Cruz knew he could be a surly son of a bitch, and that usually succeeded in keeping people at arm’s length. But Jody didn’t seem bothered. In fact, she reached out to pet Keiki as if Cruz had invited her to. And the funny thing was, he didn’t step away, as if he really had invited her to. As if he wanted this woman to come close.
Closer…
Closer…
Their hands brushed while they both petted Keiki, and Cruz found his eyelids drooping. Which was stupid, plain stupid, because there was a human invading his personal space. He couldn’t help it, though. Petting Keiki always soothed his restless soul, and petting Keiki with Jody had the same effect times ten. So there they stood, like a couple of proud parents huddled over a newborn, marveling at the tiny ears, the button nose, and miracle of a tiny heartbeat under their hands.
Cruz inhaled the sweet night air, and Jody’s scent snuck in like that of an exotic flower that had just bloomed amidst the familiar plants of home. That wild rose scent that tickled his nose. He closed his eyes and inhaled a little more.
“Sweet kitty,” Jody murmured.
See? I knew she liked me, his tiger cooed.
Usually, it took him an hour of pacing and moving from one roost to another to settle down and relax. That’s why he’d built so many different platforms radiating out from the tree house. But tonight… Tonight, he could have closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep there and then. A peaceful, dreamless sleep — the kind he hadn’t had for years.
Then a bat whooshed overhead, too close for comfort, and his eyes snapped open again.
Shit. Silas was waiting.
“Gotta go,” he said gruffly, pulling away. Not too far, though, because now that he’d caught sight of Jody’s incredibly blue eyes, they mesmerized him.
“You sure this is okay?”
No, he wasn’t sure. But he nodded anyway. “It’s fine.”
He transferred Keiki to her arms and drew reluctantly away. Then he fake-coughed a few times and forced himself to step toward the footbridge. His body ached, as if leaving her was wrong. But, shit. He couldn’t keep Silas waiting any longer.
“Gotta go. Have a good night.”
She nuzzled Keiki with her chin exactly the way he remembered his mom doing with his younger sister a long time ago. The way his mom had probably done with him back when he’d been too young to recall.
I remember, his tiger murmured. In my heart, I remember.
And for the next few seconds, warm feelings filled in the space usually occupied by anger and pain.
Jody went right on nuzzling Keiki, watching him go. “Goodnight. And thanks. For everything,” she said before breaking into a wry grin. “I think.”
Chapter Five
Cruz cursed himself all the way back to the meeting house.
First, for having brought Jody to his place. Second, for gazing into her eyes for far too long. If he hadn’t been sure she was human, he’d have bet she was a witch, because she had cast a spell over him. He’d even handed Keiki over instead of hustling the kitten away. What was up with that?
Third, he cursed himself for dallying so long because he had a dragon to deal with, and dragons didn’t like to be kept waiting.
“What took you so
long?” Silas grunted the second Cruz came into sight. His breath held a little hint of ash as it always did when his patience was stretched thin. Spitting actual fire might not be far behind, Cruz guessed.
“I came as fast as I could,” he lied. He’d stopped on the footbridge on the way back — twice — to turn toward his place and sniff the night air, teasing a little hint of Jody out of it.
Damn it, damn it, damn it. He could not — would not — fall for a human. He owed that much to the family members he’d lost.
Silas grumbled and ran a hand through his hair — a sign of the calm before the storm, Cruz knew. Any minute, the dragon shifter would unleash his ire. Silas had dealt well with all the crises they’d faced in the past months, but Cruz had rarely seen him this worked up. Silas’s eyes glowed red, and a tic twitched at the corner of his mouth. What had Jody said that flipped that switch in him? Was it the hint of a jewel? Or was it something totally unrelated, like the rumor that had been going around about pressure to develop the estate into a luxury resort? The latter was unthinkable. Who would tear down the woods of Koa Point and crowd all that open space with bungalows and a golf course? Who could contemplate destroying the peace and magic of the place? And, shit — where would Cruz and his friends go?
The very thought infuriated him, so he pushed it out of his mind — for now. Right now, Silas was in a rare state, and Cruz wished Nina or Tessa were around. Each of them knew how to settle Silas down with a quiet comment or a steaming cup of tea. Cruz glanced at the coffee machine. Somehow, he doubted that would work tonight.
Sure enough, Silas whirled and showed the points of his teeth. “What the hell were you doing at the Kapa’akea club, anyway?”
Cruz shifted his weight from foot to foot. A good question. What exactly had led him there? He traced a crooked line through the memories that had seemed so logical at the time. But now, he wasn’t sure. It all started with his informant. He scowled deeply. “Remember McGraugh?”
Silas nodded.
Cruz, Silas, and the other shifters of Koa Point had been in Special Forces together. McGraugh was an eagle shifter working for Navy Intelligence they’d collaborated with a few times. McGraugh had recently left the service, settled on the mainland, and went into private investigating, much like Cruz and his buddies.
“McGraugh tipped me off that the person who killed my family would be there.”
Silas arched an eyebrow. “You said you’d made your peace with that.”
Cruz glared at the ground. He would never make peace with the fact that he hadn’t been with his family to offer protection or that he had never managed to pin down their killer.
“You said you weren’t going to chase ghosts any more,” Silas continued.
Cruz ground his teeth. He’d promised not to eliminate the entire human race, but given the opportunity to kill the actual murderer who had slipped away, he couldn’t resist.
Jody isn’t the killer, his tiger pointed out.
He snarled under his breath. “McGraugh’s intel has always been good.”
Not this time, it wasn’t, his tiger insisted.
“So what happened?” Silas demanded.
Cruz took a deep breath and related the events of the evening. How he’d taken up position and waited for the cues he’d been told to look for. How Jody had appeared on the terrace, and how he’d seen the waiter hand her the drink. And then… He ended up trailing off at that point in the story, because he wasn’t sure how to explain the instincts that had taken over at that point.
“What made you hold back?” Silas asked, studying him closely. Too closely.
Damned if Cruz knew. His tiger had just refused.
How could I let you kill our mate? the beast growled.
Cruz frowned at the floor. If destiny sent him a human as his fated mate, it was just fucking with him. He wouldn’t fall for that.
He rushed ahead in the story — spotting the second shooter, watching Jody retreat indoors, and rushing over to drag her to safety before the sniper could get a clear shot.
Silas made a face when he finished. “I don’t like it.”
Cruz snorted. What was to like?
Silas went on before Cruz could get a word in. “I think we’re right to keep her here, though. As long as it takes to get to the bottom of all this.”
Something lurched in Cruz’s chest — one section skipping for joy while another sank in despair. He needed to get Jody away — far away — before she wooed his tiger with crazy notions of love and destined mates.
“I thought you didn’t want to get involved,” he protested. “She is human, after all.”
“We need Miss Monroe if we’re going to find out more about that sapphire. If it’s a Spirit Stone—”
Cruz bared his teeth. “You mean, use an innocent woman as bait? Come on, man. That could put her right back in the cross hairs.”
“You’re the one who was aiming the cross hairs at her, correct?”
A low blow, but Cruz deserved it. Thank goodness he hadn’t pulled a trigger. But when he found the guy who did…
Silas made a sharp gesture, bringing Cruz’s gaze back to his. “You need to stay focused. That sniper was probably a hired gun — and not a very professional one, at that. We need to uncover who set it all up. And in the meantime, Miss Monroe is safer with us than on her own.”
Cruz had to give him that. He steeled his nerves, trying to reason things out. “The question is, who would want to kill her?”
“No, the question is who would want to frame you?”
“Me?”
“This whole situation smells like a setup.”
His gut tightened. “Are you saying McGraugh turned on us?”
Silas pursed his lips. “I’d rather believe someone gave him false information.”
“Who, then?”
They both went silent for a while.
“We need to find the waiter who served her the drink,” Silas said at last. “Find out who set the bait.”
Cruz felt his face heat. “Are you saying someone baited me with the prospect of revenge?”
“That wasn’t the only bait,” Silas added with a grim look.
Cruz tilted his head in a question.
“Her. Jody,” Silas said. “She’s bait, too.”
“Whoa. What?” Cruz gulped away the fury that rose out of nowhere. “Why Jody? Who would be interested in her?”
Silas’s eyebrows hit a deeper curve. “You. You like her.”
Cruz’s heart pounded away, breaking up his protest. “I… I…” Of course, he didn’t like her. No way was he interested. Not in the least.
Silas arched one thin eyebrow that said, Sure. Right.
Inside, his tiger hummed. I do like her. A lot.
Cruz cast around for a better theory — one that didn’t involve him and a human he couldn’t possibly be attracted to. “Bullshit. It’s more likely someone is trying to sabotage the promotional campaign Jody mentioned. What did she call it? Elements?”
The color drained out of Silas’s face as he gazed off into the distance.
Cruz tilted his head at the dragon shifter. “What? It’s just an ad campaign.”
Silas shook his head and murmured so low, Cruz could barely hear. “Moira.”
Cruz froze. “Moira?” The she-dragon who had broken Silas’s heart? “What does she have to do with this?”
Silas scowled. “I’m not sure. But that was one of the ideas she used to talk about trying someday — a fragrance line based on an ‘Elements’ theme.”
Heavy lines marked Silas’s face, and the tic at his cheek twitched away. Whatever had happened between Silas and the she-dragon had occurred before Cruz met Silas. All Cruz really knew was to steer away from the subject if he wanted to avoid sustaining third-degree burns. That, and he knew Moira had twisted Silas’s heart before dumping him for another man in the most callous way. Kai had explained as much, though even he didn’t know much more than that.
Moira is superf
icial, self-centered, and manipulative, Kai had once said. The woman is poison. Silas is better off without her.
Cruz thought about it. Most men were better off without the women they imagined to be their mates.
Not most men. Just some men. Look at Boone. Nina is perfect for him, his tiger pointed out. The same way Dawn is perfect for Hunter and Tessa is perfect for Kai. They’ve never been so happy or balanced.
Happy. Balanced. Cruz chewed the words over. Just because there were a few couples who really were made in heaven didn’t mean destiny favored everyone. His friends were far and away the exceptions, damn it. He, for one, wasn’t about to get goo-goo eyed about a woman.
So why did you have to blink so much when we left Jody? his tiger asked. The smartass.
“If Moira is involved in this…” Silas murmured, lost in his own thoughts.
“Elements is a pretty common theme,” Cruz pointed out.
Silas stared into the night. “She used to talk about it exactly the way Jody described. Setting up photo shoots in different locations. Getting models with different looks to represent each element.” He looked twenty years older as he shifted his weight from foot to foot. “And what Jody said about the campaign not getting enough press — Moira loves being the center of attention. She’d do anything for it. And on top of all that, this mention of a sapphire…”
“You think it could be a Spirit Stone?”
Silas’s lips pinched into a thin line at the mention of the long-lost gems with magic powers. “Valuable jewels don’t just happen to come along. It could well be that the other Spirit Stones are calling to it.” He looked up at the hillside where his house stood. Somewhere in the rocky cliff behind the house was the location of his dragon hoard — or so Cruz guessed. Dragons loved treasures, and though most of Silas’s inheritance had been stolen by a dragon lord named Drax, Cruz figured the shifter had to have a few treasure chests of glittering gems and gold around somewhere. That, and the three Spirit Stones — an emerald, a ruby, and an amethyst — he often locked away on behalf of the women of Koa Point. Tessa, Nina, and Dawn had each put their life on the line to obtain those stones.