Here There Be Tigers (32 page)

“
For you maybe.” She propped herself
up on one elbow so she could face him more fully. “How am I going
to do my job now? Does this mean I have to avoid going around any
cats until the three days are up?”

“
Probably. You’ll have to make
adjustments.”

“
Why the hell is this happening
now?”

“
You might have always had an
estrous cycle, love. You were just never around any tigers to tell
you so.”

“
I would have had trouble with my
work if this had been going on all along. I even picked the IUD I
have because it limits periods, which makes my job easier. No, this
tiger estrous is new.” She titled her head to one side. “Do you
suppose it has to do with you? With us? It started the day after we
had sex for the first time.”

He shrugged. “Maybe. I have no idea. We’ll have
to ask the scientists when you’re tested. But they might not know
either. You’re brand new to us. We have no idea what to
expect.”

“
Well, they’re not going to keep me
locked up in a lab running experiments. Just so you
know.”

“
Absolutely not.”

“
So now what?” She sighed and
settled back against the pillow so she could snuggle closer to
him.

“
I’ll get you some clothes. Then
we’ll talk with the others and try to find a new hiding place.” He
kissed her forehead before saying, “I’m worried about the
Trackers.”

“
Why they’re nowhere to be seen
despite what Elizaveta’s been told?”

He nodded.

“
Alexis and Irina thought it was
strange, too.”

“
If we can’t rely on them to take
out Petrov, something else might have to be done.”

“
Meaning?”

“
Meaning we might have to take care
of him ourselves.”

“
Kill him?”

“
Not if we can avoid it. The elders
want him brought before them for his crimes. It’ll be important to
the entire community how this situation is handled. If he’s dead,
there’s no resolution, no chance for the elders to make an example
of him.”

“
If, and that’s a very big if, but
if we can catch him and turn him over to the elders, and if they
punish him severely enough, will that keep others who think like
Petrov from trying to kill me?”

Will it make it easier for you to stay with
me?
But she kept that thought to herself. He might be in love
with her—or at least think he was at the moment—but loving each
other didn’t solve their problems. She was prepared to face the
uncertain future to be with Mitch, to make her own choices about
her life, but she worried his resolve would waiver when faced with
the realities of being with a woman who was always a
target.

He didn’t speak for a long, quiet moment. Then
said, “Others will still follow Petrov’s path. The elders’
punishment will deter some. Not all.” He swallowed audibly before
he said, “You’d still be better off with a more powerful
male.”

“
Don’t start that again.”

“
I didn’t say I’d let you go to
another male. You’re mine now.”

He spoke so fiercely she had to smile. The
tension that had started to build in her stomach eased. “I’m glad
we agree on that point finally.” She pursed her lips and let her
gaze roam over his upper body, enjoying the view even as she
worried. “I guess some deterrent is better than none. But that’s
if
Petrov is brought in alive.”

“
The way he’s pursuing you, and
using humans, I doubt taking him alive will be easy.”

“
Do you think he got to the
Trackers? Killed them? Bribed them?”

“
We won’t know until it’s looked
into. We have a bigger problem right now. We need a new safe house
for you and a plan to stop Petrov. We can’t rely on the Trackers
anymore.”

“
What about Gregory and his
cult?”

“
I’ll leave them to the
elders.”

“
You don’t think they’ll follow,
too? Try to find us?”

“
I think they’ll have to start
planning for the fact that my grandmother’s going to be pissed when
she finds out they tried to kill me.”

“
Even without the elders’ power
behind her, that’ll be enough to frighten them?”

“
Yeah.”

She chuckled. “I can’t wait to meet this woman.
She reminds me of my grandmother.”

She snuggled into him, tucking her head beneath
his chin. They fit well together. Now they just had to make that
perfect fit stick.

CHAPTER
THIRTY

Mitch hated leaving Nila alone, but he, Max and
Alexis had some planning to do. Hiding Nila indefinitely wasn’t an
option. Even hiding her for another few weeks wasn’t going to work
anymore. Not with both Petrov and Gregory and his young tigers
looking for them. Something had to be done now.

By almost unanimous decision—Irina being the
dissenting voice—Victor was left to watch over Irina and Nila. The
two women were ensconced in a single room together to make Victor’s
job easier. Irina insisted she would guard Nila and Nila insisted
she could look out for Irina, but no one else wanted to take the
chance.

Once Nila was dressed and settled with Irina,
Mitch went to Alexis’ room to discuss their options.

“
You sure you want Petrov alive,”
Max said seriously. “She’ll be safer if he’s dead.”

“
But the elders want him alive.”
Mitch didn’t finish his thought, but Alexis and Max were two of his
oldest friends and they picked up the undercurrent.

“
You want the elders’ permission to
mate with Nila,” Alexis stated. “And you think they’ll give it if
you bring Petrov in alive.”

“
I don’t need their permission.
She’s made her choice and it’s me.” He scowled a little at the
defensiveness in his voice. His mood didn’t lighten when Alexis
raised her eyebrows. “I want her safe,” he said, more quietly.
“She’ll need the support of the elders since I don’t have the
status she needs.”

“
Mitch, your friends will support
you both even if the elders don’t,” Max stated. Alexis nodded her
agreement.

“
But for Nila’s sake, having their
backing—not just the support of my friends and Elizaveta’s
wrath—will be important for her to survive in our
community.”

Alexis let out a long sigh as her brow
furrowed. “Mitch, you know not all the elders…well, you do know
they don’t all agree with what Elizaveta’s been doing. There are a
few who…” She met his gaze. “There are a few who wouldn’t entirely
object to Nila no longer existing.”

Mitch sat back in his chair, feeling like he’d
just taken a punch to the ribs. “Why hasn’t my grandmother told me
this? She said to stay away from the elders’ compound until she
said otherwise. She didn’t say the elders were the ones we had to
worry about.”

“
She probably didn’t expect you to
fall in love with Nila,” Max said.

Alexis rolled her eyes. “Or maybe that’s
exactly what she expected. You never know with her. She’s sneaky
that way. You heard the story of how she was already waiting in
Vegas for Victor and me when we went there to get
married?”

Max laughed.

“
How would me falling in love with
Nila help her cause?” Mitch said to keep them on point. He was
still trying to process the idea that some of the elders wanted
Nila dead.

Was that why the Trackers hadn’t caught Petrov?
He’d assumed Petrov was responsible for that, but what if someone
even more powerful was actually protecting Petrov? Mitch should
have guessed something like this when Elizaveta warned him to avoid
the elders’ compound in West Virginia.

Since Petrov killed his mate—or so they all
assumed—the entire council wanted him brought before them for
punishment. But maybe not before Petrov got to Nila.

Mitch’s thoughts whirled in crazy circles. He
dropped his head into his palms. What the hell were they going to
do if one or more of the elders wanted her dead? If one went after
her?

And he’d thought Petrov was a dangerous
enemy.

“
Mitch, if you and Nila mate,
Elizaveta can probably put more weight behind protecting her. Nila
would be family then.”

“
Elizaveta’s not allowed to do
anything for me and my brothers—”

“
She can still assert her not
insignificant power to protecting Nila. The punishment against you
boys doesn’t pass on to your mates or children. Elizaveta is good
with loopholes, and she made sure that one was in place. She wasn’t
just thinking about her family line continuing when she insisted
you boys be allowed to take part in the Mate Run.”

Mitch sat back, startled. He’d assumed his
status would pass on to his wife and children—which was one of the
reasons he’d never tried hard to get a tiger mate. Did his brothers
know if they married their wives and children would be protected by
Elizaveta’s full elder power?

“
In fact,” Alexis added, “I’d be
willing to bet Elizaveta already has a plan in place to bring Nila
safely into the community without having to worry about her mate’s
status.”

“
She might be on to something,” Max
said. “You know your grandmother. Her plans are always several
layers deep and as convoluted as a Russian novel.”

“
Why the hell wouldn’t she tell me,
though?”

Alexis snorted. “Right. What was she going to
say? ‘Sweetie, I need you to protect this woman and also seduce her
so she’ll marry you.
Spasiba
’.”

Her imitation of his grandmother, right down to
the Russian “thank you”, was so exact Mitch cracked a smile. But
his humor didn’t last long. “She took a huge risk, if that was part
of her plan.”

“
I’m sure she had other options in
place,” Alexis said. “But I wouldn’t put it past her to have this
as one possible outcome. You are the most charming of the infamous
Chernikov brothers.”

Mitch laughed and rolled his eyes.

“
So, how does that change what we
do?” Max asked.

“
It means I care less if we kill
Petrov. And it means we can’t trust any of the other elders, the
Trackers, or most of the tiger community for that
matter.”

“
Killing Petrov isn’t going to
endear you to some,” Alexis warned.

“
He killed his mate,” Max growled.
“There’s not a single male in our population who will forgive
that.”

“
Except no one’s been able to prove
it or the elders would have brought him in weeks ago,” Mitch said.
“He has other tiger males working with him. What of them? None of
them seem to care that he killed Anaya?”

Max snarled. “A few may not understand the
severity of his crime. But most will and most will be good with his
death.”

“
We’re forgetting the fact that a
lot of the community will see Nila as hope, too,” Alexis said. “As
a possible way out of the biological mess we’re in. Elizaveta’s
research isn’t universally approved, but it hasn’t been derided by
everyone either. In fact, she’s had a lot of supporters over the
years.”

Mitch shrugged. “It only takes a few like
Petrov, though, and if some of them are elders…”

“
I think you’re underestimating the
desperation of our males,” Alexis said. “Gregory and his pack are a
good example of just how desperate they’re getting. We need an
answer to the crisis soon. And Nila will help with that answer.
Even if she can’t produce tiger children, she came from a tiger
female. If we can figure out how that worked, how the process can
be duplicated, we can find a way to survive.”

Mitch knew Alexis was right. He’d thought as
much himself frequently over the last week. “What about Gregory?
What do we do about him? We can’t go after Petrov and the young
tigers at the same time.”

“
Gregory is a coward. He’ll back off
and bide his time,” Max said, his lip curled. “If he has the balls
to face us again, I’ll kill him.”

“
Not a bad idea,” Alexis said, ever
the pragmatic. “One less thing to worry about.”

“
You think he’ll back off? You’re
sure we can leave him to the elders?” Mitch’s faith in the elders
had fallen apart in the last half hour. Outside of his family and
close friends, he didn’t know who to trust anymore.

All he knew was that he loved Nila. He wasn’t
even sure how that had happened in so short a period of time—how
he’d gone from lust to possessive need to a place where his world
wouldn’t be right without her in it. But there it was. Her safety
and happiness were the only things that mattered to him anymore.
The elders be damned.

“
Gregory’s group is a challenge to
the elders,” Alexis said. “They won’t let that go. They might not
be unified against Petrov, but I can safely say it’s to their
benefit to take care of this possible uprising of young
males.”

“
They’re already on it,” Max
confirmed. “I don’t know what they’re doing exactly, but I know for
certain they’ve been taking steps since I first told them about
Gregory.”