A Tiger's Bounty (11 page)

“
J
ust put
her in the bag.”

The frightening words jolted Melissa Jones out of the book she was reading.

Just who was trying to put whom in a bag?

The library was eerily dark all around her. She’d stayed late, reading, as she often did after work, because she tended to get caught up in books and because there was no one waiting at home for her.

Being assistant librarian with a key to all the books in the world was truly the perfect job.

Until a bunch of thugs had to come along and ruin it.

Her heart pounded as she plastered herself to the wall and risked a look out the side window.

A large group of the some of the biggest, meanest-looking men she’d ever seen was partially blocking the window. As she moved to the other side to get a better look, she realized there were at least a dozen. All angry, all fierce. All twice her size or more.

And they were looking down at something in the center that she couldn’t make out. Something that was whimpering in a heart-wrenching way. They’d said words like “kidnapping,” “slavery,” and “valuable.” And the growls and mewls she heard seemed to be coming from a human child—girl, she thought, though she couldn’t see properly.

Human traffickers. And even though she was woefully unequipped to take them on, she would sooner cut out her own heart than walk away without trying to stop them. No child deserved something like this. No human for that matter.

Melissa took a deep breath and considered her options.

At 5’4” with an amply curvaceous figure and no athletic ability to speak of, she knew she wasn’t the best option for a hero. But she also knew with the slow response of police in the little town, the group could be gone and untraceable by the time they arrived.

She heard another yelp from outside and felt her heart thump hard inside her.

Despite her fear, her heart hammered in approval as she walked stubbornly to the door and opened it wide, drawing the men’s attention to her instead of their prey.

“You there,” she said, trying to figure out what one would say to human traffickers. “Stop what you’re doing.”

The man closest to her straightened to full height and stared at her with glowing yellow eyes. The rest of the men followed suit. Most were wearing dingy black leather and had longish, shaggy hair and unshaven faces. Their eyes gleamed as they stepped between her and their prey, blocking her view and eyeing her with thinly veiled rage and something a little more predatory.

She clenched her hands into fists at her side and tried to stay calm, despite being hopelessly outnumbered. “I’ve called the police,” she lied. “Just get out of here.”

“Not until we take what’s ours,” the leader said. “If I were you, I’d just turn around and go straight back into that library, little lady.” He flashed a sneering grin at her, his teeth looking more like fangs. She took a hesitant half step back but then held her ground, pointing a finger at them.

“No, you need to leave her alone and move on,” she said, still hearing little yelps and growls from whatever they were hiding.

The tallest one, the one in front, cracked his neck abruptly, keeping flashing yellow eyes on her as he approached. “Oh yeah?” He advanced on her menacingly. “And what are you going to do about it if I don’t?”

She took a step back but put her fists up defensively. This was going to be stupidly easy for them, but she would die knowing she’d done the right thing. She hoped the self-defense classes she’d taken at the community center helped her put up at least a token fight.

A few men stepped out from behind the others. Damn, there were more than she’d thought. Cold fear spiraled down her spine in icy lines, but she held her ground. She heard more whimpering and held firm.

“Don’t come any closer,” she said.

The lead eyed her lazily, like he was deciding how best to dispatch her without anyone knowing. The sad truth was it would be all too easy. Melissa had practically made a career of not having any connections in this small town, and she had no family to speak of.

No one would miss her. The thought was chilling.

“You should just move along, ma’am. This ain’t none of your business,” a man with scraggly blond hair said, stepping into the light. “You should just go back into that library where you’ll be safe.”

The dark-haired leader sent the blond man a silencing glance. “It’s too late for that now. She’s seen.”

“She ain’t seen much. Just us helping taking this wolf cub back to the forest,” the blond man said, moving aside to give her a view of what they’d been threatening.

Sure enough, a little wolf cub with pale fur was sitting in the circle, trembling. It looked up at her with baleful blue eyes, eyes that begged her not to leave. She felt puzzlement move through her.

“I heard a girl… I was sure…”

The blond man’s face tightened and he moved in front of the tiny cub, folding his arms. He was lankier than his leader, but all of them were obscenely tall, at least a few inches over six feet, and built as well. There was something animal in their gazes. Were they some kind of motorcycle gang or something?

“Are you sure there’s not a girl back there? I was sure I heard a human voice…”

“Shut up!” the leader said, making a slashing motion with his hand as he came closer. “This has nothing to do with you.” He closed the distance between them in a motion too fast to be human, grabbing her by the front of her shirt and hoisting her up so her toes were barely grazing the cement. Then he took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he scented her, and when his eyes opened, he was leering down at her.

“We’ll take her as well,” he said.

She struggled to break free. His eyes glowed with pure evil, the kind that made her insides twist into tight, painful coils.

So maybe she’d made a miscalculation by putting her life on the line for a wolf rather than a human, but either way, nothing small and helpless deserved to be at the mercy of this horrible man.

The man scented her once more and then tossed her to a subordinate, who caught her against his body and leered, his hands wrapping around her waist as she struggled. The leader approached her as she was held, helpless and still, forced to look at him.

He grabbed her chin and looked into her eyes. “I’ll mate with you first. When we’re done, you’ll be screaming for mercy. Begging for someone to come save you, to be as stupid as you’ve just been tonight.”

She gritted her teeth together, unwilling to give him the satisfaction of knowing she was scared shitless.

“I don’t know about the begging part, fucker, but if you don’t take your hands off her, in about three seconds, you’re going to be the one screaming for mercy,” a deep voice boomed toward them.

Melissa tried to see her rescuer but couldn’t turn enough in her captor’s arms.

“I happen to agree,” another deep voice said, cutting into the silence of the night.

“Release the girl,” the first voice said, equally deep but with a different, smoother tone.

Both voices had a rich, reassuring quality that resonated deep within her and bespoke strength and power. Just what she and the tiny wolf cub needed right at this moment.

The man holding her loosened his grip slightly as his attention was turned toward his leader.

The leader walked forward, scenting the air slowly. Then his eyes flew open and his whole body tensed up, ready for battle.

“Dragons,” he growled. He waved at her captor. “Let the woman go. We’ll need all hands.”

Thrown to the side, she landed painfully on the pavement as the whole group turned to the men who had spoken. She still couldn’t see them, so she crawled to the side, onto the grass, hoping to catch a glimpse of her rescuers.

When she saw them, her heart simultaneously leapt and fell. Leapt because they were the most beautiful, intimidating men she’d ever seen. Fell because there were only two of them.

They were taller than the men around them but with a clean, elegant refinement that set them apart from their brutish opponents.

The one in front seemed to be in charge. He had tanned skin and golden hair that shone in the light from the streetlamps. He was the shorter of the two, though still tall at a few inches over six feet, and had a face that reminded her of a movie star, sharp and gorgeous and completely unique.

But almost too beautiful. He seemed to almost glow. Still, his nearly feminine face was offset by the feral gleam in his green eyes and the muscles all over his tall, lean body.

The man beside him stepped forward with folded arms. This one was the opposite of his partner, with dark hair, a forbidding height of around 6’5”, and a dark expression that bespoke ill for whoever crossed him. His face was classically handsome, with square jaw and chiseled features. But there was a calm coldness in his bearing that complimented the feline menace of his partner.

Despite the horrible situation, she could feel her body respond to her perusal of them. The most gorgeous men she’d ever seen, and she had to meet them just before dying.

Just her luck.

If she had her way, she’d give anything for just one night, just one look from either of them—and in her wildest fantasies, the two of them together. The thought took her breath away.

Then the golden one turned to her sharply, as if he could read her thoughts, and she swore she saw a sparkle of mirth in his gorgeous green eyes. Nevertheless, his gaze hit her straight in her core.

The dark-haired one kept his hands in his pockets as he walked forward. He was wearing a suit without the jacket, and the cuffs of his white shirt were rolled up, baring powerful forearms.

“Give us the cub,” he said, pinning ice-cold blue eyes on the wolfish men in front of her. “And I’ll make sure my partner makes this quick for you.”

“Ha,” the leader of the thugs said. “Mercy from a dragon? Like hell. We’ve heard of your kind. Never thought our operations would be enough to warrant your attention.”

The golden-haired man stepped forward, pushing back the sleeves of the sweater he wore. “You thought wrong. Trafficking is one of the forbidden acts. But you knew that.” A menacing rage seemed to emanate from the beautiful man, and she felt a shiver of dread course through her.

His dark-haired companion put a hand on his forearm as if to stop him, and the golden-haired man flicked his gaze to him with a hiss. “What is it, Draven?”

Draven, the dark-haired one, gestured in her direction, sending her heart pounding into her stomach. “What do you want to do with her? We can’t use fire…”

“I know,” the golden one said, rolling his shoulders and cracking his neck back and forth with little popping sounds, seemingly excited by the violence ahead. “Did you see her step in before? I think she’s perfect.”

“Oh no,” Draven said, putting a hand up to his forehead. “You’ve got to be kidding, Ran.”

“She’s a dragon-heart,” his companion said, giving her another appraising glance. “I’m sure of it.”

Draven shook his head. “You were wrong last time, Ran.”

“I’m not this time,” Ran replied.

She cocked her head. What an odd name. Ran flicked his gaze to her in annoyance, and once again, she had the extremely uncomfortable feeling he could read her mind.

But that was impossible.

The leader of the thugs let out a low, fearsome growl. “If you could shut up, we’re waiting for you here. Despite the stories about dragons, which are no doubt inflated by myth, I’m sure even two dragons can’t possibly take all Fang’s crew at once. We’ve become one of the most powerful clans. Surely you knew that when you were sent.”

Ran flashed them a wicked, feline grin that sent heat shooting down to her toes. He was too beautiful to be real, with the kind of honed body one only saw in sculptures or magazines. “Perhaps that could be true if you’d pulled a different pair. But unluckily for you, you got the black dragon called on your ass.” He shook his head. “Too bad.”

A hushed whisper went through the thugs. She could feel the tension building in the air. All eyes turned to Draven, the black-haired companion standing just behind Ran.

Was he the black dragon? He was certainly intimidating. And by dragon, did they mean some sort of rival gang? Was that his gang name, because of his intimidating height and huge frame? What was it about the black dragon that seemed to inspire such dread?

The so-called black dragon merely waited, arms folded over his chest, seemingly content to let his partner do the talking for him.

“The black dragon?” the blond thug said, rubbing his chin. “Maybe we ought to sit this one out.” He looked nervously at his leader.

“Shut up,” the taller wolf hissed. “Coward.”

Draven spoke up. “Give us the girl—”

“And the woman,” Ran cut in.

Draven sighed. “And the woman, since Ran seems stuck on it…” He sent his friend a glare that was patently ignored. “And we’ll consider handing you over to your tribunal.”

The lead wolf shook his head with a dark laugh. “I’d sooner take my chances here.”

Ran stepped forward, suddenly ice cold, his expression fierce but almost gleeful. “I was hoping you’d say that.” Then he turned to Draven, gesturing to Melissa with his head. “Take care of the human.”

Draven nodded, shoving his way into the crowd and grabbing the little wolf, then making his way to her. He slung her over his shoulder as if she weighed nothing and took her around the side of the building, out of sight.

“Stay with her,” he said. Then she felt a warm glow around her, from some inexplicable source, and Draven was gone, leaving the little wolf cub in her arms. It was trembling, either from fear or anger, and she brought her arms around it, trying to provide comfort as it shivered against her.

“It’ll be all right,” she said, still feeling dazed by the whole situation.

Draven disappeared out of sight and there was silence for a moment. Then shouts rang out and the roar of fire filled the air. She could see it rising all around the library, more fire than she’d ever thought possible, and there was something off about it, something that seemed extra terrifying and took her breath away.