Here There Be Tigers (22 page)

She considered the way he’d protected her
today, the way he was still protecting her and had been since
they’d met. Strong and independent as she was, it still gave her a
little feminine thrill to have such a powerful man guarding her
back. There was so much about him she admired, so much she
liked
, even without the phenomenal sex.

Nila sighed and looked back at the lake. While
she might not be
in
love with Mitch yet, she was definitely
falling.

“
You going to call your father?” he
asked, breaking into her thoughts.

Before she could answer, though, a deep voice
rolled down to them from the top level of the porch.

“
Hello. May I join you? I’m
Gregory.”

Mitch stared up at the man standing above them.
His every instinct shuddered at the vulnerable position he and Nila
were in, but he tried not letting it show. Instead, he studied the
newcomer. The man was young, strong, with short-cropped brown hair
and dark eyes.

There was something strange about him, too.
Gregory descended the steps, approaching them slowly and openly to
avoid any appearance of threat. Mitch pulled in a deep breath.
Something wasn’t quite right about Gregory’s scent
signature.

The young man held out his hand to Mitch, his
grip firm but not aggressive. “I’m very glad to meet you. Any male
who protects an unattached female the way you have is a worthy man
to call friend. I hope my associates have been making you
comfortable and at home.”

“
Everything’s been fine. Thanks.”
Mitch tried pinpointing what was wrong with the young man’s scent
but couldn’t place it. Something was just…off.

Gregory turned to Nila and smiled. “Nila De
Luca. It’s a great pleasure to meet you. I’m very glad you’ve
chosen to take refuge here with us.”

Mitch watched Nila’s expression closely. She
gave the young tiger a tight, closed lip smile and quickly pulled
her hand away from his friendly handshake.

“
Are you enjoying the scenery?”
Gregory asked her, gesturing toward the lake.

“
It’s lovely here. How long have you
all had this place?”

Mitch wanted to hug her for that question. From
her, the curiosity would seem harmless. But knowing just how long
all these males had been collected here was important.

“
I’ve owned the cabin for a couple
of months. We’re still getting to know the place
ourselves.”

“
Well, it’s beautiful,” Nila said.
“If I had a home like this, I’d want to spend the entire summer
here. Do you live far?”

“
This is actually my primary home
now.”

“
Lucky you.”

A hum of unease curled through Mitch’s blood,
adding to his already edgy state. They had to get out of here.
Soon.

Gregory continued exchanging small talk with
Nila, leaving Mitch to study his scent. A tang of unpleasantness
that he couldn’t find human words for wove through it, like the
sharp bite of sour chemicals coating a piece of overripe fruit. The
combination left a bad taste in Mitch’s mouth.

Their situation just kept getting worse. Maybe
he should take Nila and run tonight, hide in the wilderness where
no other tiger could get to her. The need to get her away from
Gregory was almost overwhelming, and without thought he moved
closer to her so their arms touched. The contact with her calmed
some of his unease, but he still wanted to scoop her up and take
off into the trees.

Gregory finally turned back to Mitch and said,
“You made a call. I hope there isn’t a problem.”

“
No problem. Just needed to check in
with my grandmother to arrange a ride out of the area and let her
know about Petrov. The Trackers should reach him soon.”

“
You’re welcome to stay as long as
you like. Or we can arrange something once Petrov is taken care
of.” Gregory’s head tilted very slightly to one side. “I heard the
elders had sent Trackers after him. Who’s your
grandmother?”

“
Elizaveta Chernikova.”

“
The female elder? I didn’t realize.
You must be…Mikhail? Or Dmitry? You’re too young to be
Nikolai.”

“
Mikhail.” He didn’t bother giving
Gregory his more commonly used and preferred nickname. Best this
cub remembered exactly who Mitch’s grandmother was, even if his own
status wasn’t all that impressive. Most of the tigers were, if not
in awe of the elders, then at least respectful of their authority
and cautious of their wrath. And Elizaveta’s wrath was the stuff of
legend. If Mitch was lucky, Gregory was too young to realize that
wrath couldn’t protect her grandsons.

“
It’s a pleasure to meet one of the
infamous Chernikov brothers,” Gregory said with a slight bow of his
head.

So much for luck, Mitch thought. The “infamous
Chernikov brothers” tale almost always included the fact that their
grandmother wasn’t able to protect them.

“
Mikhail,” Gregory continued, his
tone thoughtful. “You’re close with Maxim Rudikov and Irina Gorban,
aren’t you?”

There was a sharp tension in the question that
made Mitch narrow his eyes. “I’ve been friends with Maxim since we
were kids. You know them?”

“
We’re acquainted.” Gregory forced a
tight-lipped smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Well, I’ve taken up
enough of your time. I’m sure you two are still discussing a lot.
Make yourselves comfortable here. You’re welcome to stay as long as
you like.”

He held Mitch’s gaze for a moment. The sour
chemical smell seemed to intensify. Mitch swallowed an instinctive
growl of warning, even as he moved to stand just in front of Nila,
protecting her from whatever was wrong with the young
male.

When Gregory faced her again, his smile took on
a more genuine air. “Please, consider this your home. We’ll do
whatever it takes to make sure you’re content and safe
here.”

Mitch watched him stalk slowly back up to the
house, waiting until he was sure the young tiger had gone inside
before looking away.

“
What the hell was all that about?”
Nila murmured as soon as he faced her again.

“
There’s something wrong him. I’m
not sure what. His scent is off.”

“
I could have told you that. There’s
something a little, I don’t know, desperate in his eyes. A little
feral maybe? I couldn’t pinpoint it either, but he gave me the
creeps. This whole house gives me the creeps. And what was all that
undertone when he mentioned your friendship with Max and
Irina?”

“
I’m guessing he knows them and for
some reason doesn’t like them. Which means he isn’t inclined to
like me either. But now that he knows who I am, I’m hoping he’ll be
cautious about me.”

She nibbled her bottom lip a moment. Then she
frowned up at him. “You said your grandmother can’t protect you, so
why would he be cautious?”

He flinched inwardly at her comment. He’d hated
telling her the story of his father’s crimes. He hated talking
about the whole situation, especially since his own knowledge of it
came from other people.

But another part of him was relieved. She
understood his position now. She would have to accept he wouldn’t
make a good mate.

That thought tightened a knot in his chest and
his tiger growled in protest. He wanted to be a good mate for her.
He wanted her to consider him.

His conscience wouldn’t allow him to encourage
her, though, despite what had happened last night. He gave in to
his own weakness. He’d suffer for it later, when she went to
another man, but he could be strong now and make sure she was
safe.

“
All that fighting my brothers and I
had to do made us formidable,” he finally said. “We ended up with a
reputation that’s made our adult lives a little easier. A
little.”

“
So you think they won’t want to
start a fight with you because you’ll kick their asses?”

“
Exactly.”

When she smiled, Mitch wanted to puff up his
chest with pride. The reaction made him feel like a fool but what
the hell. He wanted to impress her. His tiger wanted her to know
how strong he was—even if that strength wasn’t the kind she
needed.

Her smile fell away when she asked, “These
young men, knowing who you are, they won’t consider you a…contender
for me, will they?”

“
No one will. I can’t command the
necessary influence to keep you safe long term.”

She tilted her head to one side. “And they
think they can? Who are they?”

“
All the unmated males will still
try courting you, Nila, even if they aren’t powerful enough. You
need to choose someone strong, though, because of those who think
the way Petrov does.”

She shook her head and faced the lake.
“Stupid.”

“
What?”

“
This. Whole. Thing. I am not a
commodity, and I am not choosing a husband or whatever based on
power.”

“
Then you and your family will be in
danger for the rest of your lives. And you will always be on the
run.”

“
No.”

She said it so matter-of-factly, he didn’t
actually know how to respond. “Nila, you can’t avoid the situation.
It is what it is.”

“
I don’t give a fuck, any more than
I give a fuck about your status. I’m not running for the rest of my
life, and I’m not going to choose a life partner just because of
his power base. I’m just not. I don’t know how to get out of it,
but this cannot be the state of my life.”

What could he say to that? He didn’t have any
answers. He hated that he couldn’t fix this mess for her. Hated
more than anything that he couldn’t wave his hand and make her
world right again. He’d give up a lot to do that for
her.

He gestured back toward the house. “We have
other things to worry about at the moment.”

She followed his gaze. “I do not want to go
back into that house.”

Her voice was so low he barely heard her. He
gave in to his weakness again, just a little, and squeezed her
hand. The brief touch sent a wave of possessiveness through him. He
ignored the sensation and said, “Why don’t you call your father?
You’ll feel better.”

He moved off a few feet to give her a little
privacy but stayed near enough to reach her in a few
strides.

The problem of Gregory and the other young
males gnawed at him.

He absolutely did not want to take Nila back
into that house.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO

Since they were in agreement about the house,
they stalled and stayed outside as long as they could. They took a
walk down to the dock once Nila finished talking with her father.
She was aware of the house behind them, looming and watching. She
never could see the men near the windows, but she felt them
staring, waiting, following her movements.

“
We’d be safer disappearing into the
trees,” she said when they stood at the very edge of the dock. The
water lapped gently at the wood pilings, a cool, tempting retreat
from the day’s heat. The sun beat down on them, but clouds piled up
along the distant hills.

“
They’d be able to track us. And so
would Petrov. I’m sure he’s sent someone to find us while others
watch John’s cabin.”

“
And the elders’ Trackers? Where the
hell are they?”

“
Circling in on Petrov as we
speak.”

“
So shouldn’t he be
running?”

“
He’s too determined. And he’s too
close to our location.”

“
But he won’t attempt to get at us
here? Out here on this dock?”

“
Not with all those males back their
watching your every move.”

She shivered. His words echoed her thoughts.
“They are watching us, aren’t they?”

“
Of course.”

Without consciously deciding to, she took a
step closer to Mitch, near enough to feel his body heat and soak up
a little of his strength. She couldn’t remember ever feeling so
vulnerable. She hated it. Hell, even having a gun pressed into her
back hadn’t made her feel this exposed.

She wanted to wrap her arms around Mitch and
hide in the security of him. She was standing close enough. All
she’d have to do is turn a little to her right and raise her
arms.

She didn’t. “I hate this,” she said aloud. “I
hate being hunted and stalked and
watched
.”

“
I know,” he murmured. “I’m
sorry.”

“
Why? You haven’t done anything but
help me.”

“
I just mean, I don’t like that you
have to go through all this either.”

“
I resent that my choices are being
determined by things that have nothing to do with me,” she hissed
as the anger found root and grew with each word. “I am really
pissed off that people I didn’t even know existed until a week ago
think they can kill me just for being born. I hate that others have
decided I’m some sort of prize to be won. And I refuse to be a
martyr or a messiah to the tiger shifters. I want my life
back.”