A Tiger's Destiny (Tiger Protectors Book 3) (2 page)

T
he next day
, Sofia awoke to the jarring sound of banging on her bedroom door. She forced her eyes open and noticed it was still dark outside and instinctively slumped back onto the soft down pillows beneath her.

For a moment, she drifted between sleep and awake, when the knock sounded again, louder this time.

“Boss wants you up,” a voice said from outside the door. It was one of the guards, and she’d come to familiarize each voice as it gave commands to, “Go here,” and, “Do that.”

“I’m up,” she called out across the large bedroom as loudly as she could, hoping to prevent any further barrage of bangs.

She sat up and slid her legs over the edge of the bed, eyes still closed for a moment longer, enjoying the sweet hope of more sleep, despite knowing in a minute someone would be knocking down the door if she didn’t get up.

In some ways, living at the orphanage had been better than this, because even if you had to wake up at the butt crack of dawn, at least there was routine to it all.

Living here so far had been nothing but surprises.

Sofia stood as her mind still swirled with memories of the past night’s dreams, which had prevented her from getting any real sleep at all. Memories from witnessing her parents’ murder mingled with thoughts about her life before coming here, which were punctuated by glimpses of the face that belonged to the beautiful man with blue eyes she’d met last night.

She took in a few deep breaths to clear her mind and walked to the dresser to quickly put something on. She decided on a pair of blue jeans and a light-brown sweater, since it would still be cold in the hallways of the sprawling mansion she’d called home for the past few weeks.

As she got dressed, a softer knock sounded on the door, followed by a familiar voice.

“It’s Ralston. May I come in?”

“Yes, go ahead,” she replied. Ralston was the only person in this place that seemed to actually care about her, which was surprising since he was a wolf and all the other wolves in this place acted the part.

The door opened and Ralston entered wearing the same suit and white shirt he always wore and that same subtle, wearied smile.

But instead of breakfast, this morning he had a medium-sized black suitcase in tow.

“Forgive the intrusion, miss, but your father has made plans for you that I cannot discuss here,” he said, glancing at the luggage.

“Godfather,” she corrected.

“Indeed. But suffice it to say, you may be gone for a good while. I believe I’ve packed all the necessities, but if there is anything else you would like to bring, I would suggest you get it in now. You’re leaving in five minutes.”

Five minutes? Sofia had pretty much gotten used to being followed around by a herd of bodyguards and had adjusted to her godfather’s sometimes crazy plans, but this was a little sudden.

She didn’t know if she was scared or excited right now.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“You’re being sent away, for your protection. The man you met last night has been hired to protect you. He has the rest of the details. But for now, grab your things and hurry,” he said.

Her mind began to wander back to the image of the tall, intimidating man. Striking white-blond hair, cut short, ice-blue eyes, and hard, handsome features.

But then Ralston cleared his throat and nodded her for her get moving.

Sofia wasn’t one to be very attached to things, so she had no problem with packing light.

Living in an orphanage kind of forced that upon her.

Moving quickly, she went to her nightstand and found the small, silver locket on a chain that had been given to her by her parents and put it on. Inside were pictures of her mother and father, the last existing evidence she had from them. She grabbed the book she’d been reading last night and walked over to the suitcase and stowed it in the outside pocket. It wasn’t the most exciting story in the world, but it would do for now.

Ralston noticed what she put inside the luggage. “As for reading, I’ve packed you a few other books you might like,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes.

Aside from being the only nice one around here, Ralston seemed to be the only other person that shared her love for reading as well. Before being brought here, she’d survived by consuming every book she could get her hands on. And thanks to her godfather, who insisted on at least appearing refined and educated, it meant there were a lot more options for her to choose from.

“Thanks, Ralston,” she said with a smile.

“You’re welcome, miss. And if I may be forward, I will certainly miss having you around the house. You’re the only ray of light that’s come through those doors in all the years I’ve been here,” he said, his head bowed slightly.

In many ways, Ralston had been more of a father to her in these past weeks than any other man she’d known for years. She felt a twinge of sadness deep inside, but it was interrupted when a party of guards walked into the room.

“You’re needed downstairs,” the lead instructed.

“Thank you for everything,” she said to Ralston.

She was about to join the men (she had quickly learned it was better to just obey than question everything that was asked of her) when Ralston turned.

“Oh, and one more thing. That man from last night. He’s an odd one, but I get the feeling you can trust him,” he said, rolling the luggage over. One man came forward to grab it, and then they began walking out of the room and into the hall. All Sofia had time for was a quick wave, and then Ralston disappeared behind the heavy wooden doors of her room as she followed the guards down the hall and toward the stairs.

As they reached the basement, which to Sofia’s recollection led to the wine storehouse and a variety of other rooms she hadn’t been told about, they approached a heavy steel door with two men in front of it.

Her godfather and the man from last night.

He was even taller than she remembered.

As they came close, her godfather waved away the guards, and they headed back down the hallway they’d just come from, leaving just the three of them.

“My daughter, I’m going to miss you,” her godfather said, coming forward and embracing her in a hug. It felt cold, but Sofia also knew she had a problem trusting people, so despite his best intentions, Sofia didn’t really know what to make of it.

Once he was done, he motioned to the man at his side.

“Kel here is going to see to your safety for the next little while. Think of it as a vacation. At least you’ll only have one bodyguard. Isn’t that nice?” he asked, turning to the steel door behind them and pulling out a string of keys to unlock a large padlock that hung from it.

As he did so, Sofia could feel light-blue eyes on her, and she looked back at the man with the curious name. Now that the awkwardness of being brought in like some debutante last night had dissipated a bit, she got a good look at her new protector.

Firstly, he was tall. Really tall. Probably higher than six and a half feet. He had short, blond hair that was spiked up on the top and closely shorn on the sides. His muscular jaw gave way to a strong chin and high, refined cheekbones. His brows were only slightly darker than his hair, and he had piercing blue eyes, like a summer sky or sparkling zircon stones.

And that same scent from last night, too. She hadn’t known he was a cat until her godfather had said he was a tiger, but that made sense based on his size and the feral, intensely controlled aura that seemed to radiate off him. She had heard of tigers but never seen one. But the fragrance was delicious, exotic, and luxurious, like an expensive cologne that made her think of spices from far-off places and waters from the purest mountain spring.

After a moment, Sofia realized her breath had caught in her throat under the man’s gaze, so she swallowed down whatever it was she was feeling and composed herself.

“Nice to meet you again,” she said.

“Likewise,” he replied, his voice deep and masculine.

“There we are,” her godfather said as the lock clicked and he swung the steel door open. Behind it was a small garage, surrounded by concrete and no discernible exit. There was one car, a black SUV with windows tinted so dark she could barely see inside.

While she was looking into the curious little secret garage, Kel appeared from behind her, towing the small suitcase that held her belongings and startling Sofia. How had he gotten back there without her noticing?

“Everything you need is in there. I had my best men customize this vehicle a few months ago, and for the past two weeks, Ralston has been outfitting it with any additional supplies you might need.”

“And the things I requested?” Kel asked as he made his way to the vehicle.

“Already there. In the glove box, there’s a burner phone that only Ralston and I have the number to, and it has my number on it in case of emergency,” he said. “But I don’t anticipate you needing to use it.”

With that, Kel clicked a button on a key ring, and the car unlocked. He opened one of the rear passenger doors and plopped the suitcase in with several other bags in the back, closed it, and got into the front seat.

“I guess this is good-bye, for now,” Sofia said to her doting godfather, who seemed to be experiencing a mixture of emotions.

“Yes. But you’ll be back soon. Don’t worry. And then everything will be perfect,” he said with a grin as she walked over to the car, not wanting another hug.

It’s not like she was ungrateful for having been found and brought from conditions of squalor to opulence such as this. She just had a hard time accepting it as readily as her godfather seemed to expect her to. It was going to take time.

And a week or two away from it all couldn’t hurt.

She got into the passenger side, quickly noting the soft leather of the interior.

Then she became keenly aware of the fact that she was all alone in the car with only one other person. Her heart skipped a beat, but it wasn’t from fear.

For the first time in a long time, she could sense the jaguar inside her close to the surface.

And it was purring.

A
s Kel got
into the car, he surveyed the layout of the vehicle and quickly adjusted the seat. Thankfully, the car was fairly spacious. Otherwise, he could look forward to a long drive with his head pressed into the ceiling.

Then Sofia had gotten into the car and his thoughts took an altogether different direction.

From the second she settled in and closed the door, her scent bewitched his senses. Something about her was so different yet somehow so familiar that it distracted him. And in his peripheral, he could make out her curves beneath a smooth knitted sweater and soft thighs encased in jeans. Her hair was put back in a loose ponytail, and errant strands stuck out in wayward curls around her face.

Damn, there was something about this girl.

He had to get his head together and focus on the mission at hand. That much was certain.

He pressed a button on the key ring to the car and a trap door lowered from the ceiling, allowing light to pour into the small garage as it created a ramp for the car to go up.

Fancy.

He put the vehicle in gear and drove forward into the sunlight. Above ground was a quiet drive that snaked away from the property.

Probably an escape route in case of emergency.

Once they left the property, Kel made his way to the interstate and headed north.

They had a long way to go.

Once they reached the highway, Sofia turned around and reached into her bag, producing a worn-looking book and finding her place, which had been marked by a blank sheet of paper.

Kel defaulted to silence in every situation, but he got the feeling since it was going to be just the two of them, it would be better to get to know his client a little more. Perhaps try to break the ice a bit.

That and he couldn’t shake a niggling curiosity to know more about this gorgeous woman that apparently half the underworld was after.

“So… big fan of reading?” he asked, feeling awkward as he spoke. Kel was never one to ask the questions. People asked
him
questions.

And he ignored them. Usually.

“Yes. And?” Sofia said, not turning from her book to look at him, seemingly intentionally so. She just turned another page.

“Just trying to clear the air a bit, seeing as you got forced into this,” Kel said, trying to sound inviting, but not sure he was coming across right.

Kel had been personal bodyguard to a
lot
of people over the years, including women and cat shifters. He knew how to be professional, how to deflect a woman’s advances or dodge questions that got too intimate. But he’d never dealt with someone being colder to him than he was to them.

“As far as we’re concerned, you’re just one of my godfather’s cronies. So don’t be surprised when I don’t jump for joy every time your mouth opens,” she said, closing her book and looking up at him defiantly.

He turned to look at her, but as their eyes met, he didn’t find disdain. It was something else.

“Ouch. Gotta love the warm welcome. Chip on the shoulder, perhaps?” he asked, raising an eyebrow and looking over at the rebellious kitty of unknown kind and origin. But as soon as he looked down at her, she turned away from him again, opening the book back up and putting it up to hide her face.

Was she attracted to him?

Sofia responded to him by mumbling something unintelligible from behind the cover of the book.

That only further sparked Kel’s curiosity.

But the best approach with this one was probably going to be taking things slow and easy. He got the distinct impression whenever he saw her that she had been through some stuff in her life, starting with the fact that her parents had been killed. And when someone goes through a lot of crap, they can develop a hard outer shell.

Kel knew that from experience.

“I apologize,” he said placatingly, trying to soften his tone. “It’s just habit. When I’m protecting a client, I like to try to get to know them a little bit.”

That was a lie, though only partially. He could go a year guarding someone and know all their habits and routines and personality quirks without ever having exchanged a single word with them. So in a way, he got to know his clients almost better than they knew themselves, but by observation alone.