Night With a Tiger (4 page)

“Thanks, Tabitha. Please let Bethany know I’ll give her a call when Robin is ready for visitors.” Adam stepped around the sofa to sit next to Robin. Sinking down, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, drawing her close to his body.  “I told you there was nothing to worry about. Now why don’t you get some rest?”

“Do you think your clan will catch him?” Robin rubbed the leg of her jeans, her body tense under his touch.

With his finger under her chin, he titled her head to look at him. “I know we will. I’m the second to Felix, the Captain of the Guards for Tabitha, which makes me part of the Elder’s team. Unlike the other members of the clan, I know what information we have and what we’ve been doing. I have no doubt we’ll take Pierce down.
We’re closing in on him. It won’t be long.”

He paused, taking a moment to decide if he wanted to come clean about his own dark past. “I told you before that I was in a situation very similar to yours, where I had to choose to trust someone. More than ten years ago, I was on the run just like you were. There was a rogue who wiped out my family, my parents and two sisters. I wasn’t home when it happened. I had gone on a hunting trip with a family friend. When I returned, my home and family were ashes. There was nothing left of what I cherished. I was alone. Without a second thought, I followed the trail, hunting the rogue who killed my parents and my baby sisters. Back then I didn’t understand the power of shifting.”

The loss of his family still hurt like it was yesterday. He had been close to his sisters with less than two years separating them. The only real division between them was when he went through the change, accepting his beast. They didn’t get to reach their change. How he longed to be able to share that part of his life with them. “I chased that rogue from town to town until he turned the chase on me, forcing me to run. I ran, trying to put a plan together because I couldn’t leave my family’s murder go unpunished. Much like I found you in Texas, Ty found me in a hotel room. He stood by me and we took down the rogue together. We will do it again with Pierce.”

“I’m sorry.” She laid her hand on his thigh.

“Thank you. It’s why I know what you’re going through.” He wrapped his hand over hers, squeezing it gently. “Things will work out for you as it did for me.”

He was certain it wouldn’t be long before they found Pierce, which gave Adam a limited amount of time to convince Robin she belonged with him. He’d have to walk a fine line between courting her and respecting her confused emotions.

In Ty’s quarters, Adam leaned against the hard wood chair, exhaustion still seeping from his body. The coffee in his hand helped keep his mind awake. Since arriving back at the compound, sleep had come in spurts between comforting Robin with her fears and nightmares. Performing his duty to the clan by guarding his Queen had taken a backseat for the last few days. He suspected this was why he was called to Ty’s.

Ty leaned against the kitchen counter, his hands on either side of him on the granite countertop, his attention on Adam, while his Lieutenant, Raja, sat at the table. No one said anything, but it was a comfortable silence, just as if the Elders were contemplating the situation.

Setting the coffee aside, Adam decided to take control. “I know my duties lie with protecting Tabitha. I apologize for being unab
le to maintain my role the last few days…”

Ty held up his hand. “That’s not the reason we’ve called you here today. But since you brought up your position, you will have to find a balance between Robin and your duty to the clan, if you wish to remain part of Tabitha’s guards.”

“Yes sir. My devotion to the clan and to guarding Tabitha hasn’t changed.” Adam glanced from Ty to Raja before turning his attention back to Ty. “Robin has been having extreme panic attacks. I’ve been trying to help. Once Bethany visits with Robin, she might be able to help. A woman might be able to offer more comfort. She also understands what Robin is going through. The only comfort I can give her is my touch, and while it helps, it’s not a permanent solution.”

“I’ll bring Bethany over this evening.” Raja sat his coffee mug on the counter.

Adam questioned the absence of the women. “Where are Tabitha and Bethany? Is there a new threat to their safety?”

“Nothing new.” Ty shook his head. “Tabitha and Bethany were meeting with Kallie to consult the new tigress, Harmony, who stumbled upon our clan injured while you were away. She’s young, maybe twenty, and has been on her own for years. She’s been in hiding, living in the woods, mostly in her tigress form. She slipped onto a bear trap. The wound on her leg is pretty rough, and being malnourished is making her health worse. She’s not healing like she should.”

“Is her story the truth?” Adam was concerned this new tigress could be an enemy, sent to gain their trust. As one of the Elders guards, he had to be aware of everyone as a potential threat to their safety, especially with Pierce still on the loose.

“She refuses to speak. She’s scared and won’t shift from her tigress form. Tabitha is going to try to speak with her using her ability to communicate by thought, as she did with Lukas when he arrived injured at her welcome home party.” Ty ran his hand through his shoulder length hair, drawing it away from his face.

“Besides Felix, are other guards with the women? Why did she need Bethany and Kallie? If the young tigress strikes out in fear, one of the women could be injured.” Adam mentally kicked himself for not performing his duties. He should be with Tabitha, to protect her from the new tigress, not sitting here with the Elders, or cuddling Robin as he had earlier.

“Felix is with her and Thomas is filling in for you temporarily. Shadow, Styx, and the twins, Drew and Jayden, of Bethany’s guards are also with them. They’re protected. I believe either Taber or Thorben accompanied Kallie, as they rarely let her go anywhere without one of them.” Ty stepped closer to the table, pulling out a chair and sitting down. “Robin is holding back. Whatever she’s hiding is causing these panic attacks, and it’s more than being frightened by shifters. She trusts you. You’re the only one close enough to find out what she’s hiding without us adding pressure.”

“I’ll do whatever you need, but Robin’s trust for me is flimsy. She is only with me because she has no one else. Give her someone else that she believes is more trustworthy, or isn’t a shifter and she’ll cling to them.” Adam hated that his words were the truth. Robin was his mate and he wanted to gain her trust, but she was like a scared child hiding in a corner, not really trusting anyone.

“You’re her mate. You’ll find a way to completely gain her trust, as I did with Bethany.” Raja gave him an encouraging smile.

Adam nodded, not completely convinced. “Has Connor found anything in Boston yet?”

Ty shook his head, disappointment clear on his face. “He’s eliminating leads. Jinx’s clan is standing by in West Virginia if we find a solid lead they can follow.”

“Do you trust his team?” Adam had begun to accept Jinx as a part of their team, but since he hadn’t met any of the West Virginia Tigers other than Jinx and Lukas, Adam wasn’t sure if they were trustworthy. Before Lukas took a position with Connor, dealing with the technical aspect of the search for Pierce, he had been Jinx’s second, helping him command the West Virginia clan.

“We’ve already sent two of our men for additional support there, but I trust Jinx’s clan.” Ty leaned forward, placing his hands on the table. “If we have solid evidence Pierce is in Boston some of us will go. Hopefully, we’ll have time to get there before he moves on. I want to be there when he goes down.”

Adam swallowed the last drink of his coffee, and pushed back his chair. He wanted to ask his Alpha if he could be a part of the take-down team, but now wasn’t the time. It would be putting the cart before the horse. He’d wait for the right time to approach that subject. “Once I find out if she’s hiding any information, I’ll let you know.”

Ty nodded. “We don’t have a lot of time. We need to find Pierce before he attacks again, and before he finds out Robin is here. The compound doesn’t need another attack.”

“I’ll try to be quick.” He turned his attention to Raja. “I’ll see you and Bethany tonight.”

Leaving Ty’s quarters, he followed Tabitha’s scent. Even knowing there were other guards with her, he needed to check on her. Since Tabitha’s arrival in Alaska, Felix and Adam had developed a bond that made them a strong team. They predicted each other’s move, giving them the best advantage to protect the Queen of the Tigers. No matter how well trained the other guards were, they just weren’t Adam. He wouldn’t risk Tabitha’s safety. She was too important to not only the clan, but to all tigers, and shifters.

There had to be a balance between his duties to the Queen, and his obligation to Robin. Other guards established the balance, so why wouldn’t he? Sitting in front of his Elders, Adam should have been concerned with his responsibilities to his clan, instead he couldn’t stop thinking about Robin. He longed for her touch, to get her to fully trust him.

Now that he was mated, he understood why so many of the guards, who went through the mating, were temporarily given leave from their duties. A guard couldn’t perform their job to the fullest if their head was always thinking about their mate. When guarding the clan, especially the Elders, a guard had to commit to them completely. It was only natural to be worried about a mate, but a guard couldn’t hinder their ability to protect the clan. Ultimately, protecting the clan as a whole would protect a mate.

Adam walked around the building to where most of the unmated clan members lived. Thomas leaned causally next to one of the doors. Adam worked with Thomas long enough to know that even if he appeared to be relaxed and at ease, he’d spring to action faster than many of the other guards. Drew and Jayden stood with their legs spread apart and arms crossed. They were alert as if expecting danger at any moment. They appeared more like bodyguards, but they were young and new to guarding the Elders.

“Hey, Adam, what are you doing here? Ty said you were taking a few days off.” Thomas stood straight.

“I had some stuff to deal with, but wanted to check on Felix and Tabitha.” Adam didn’t have the same easiness with Thomas as he did with Felix, but they were still partners from time to time. He didn’t want to explain his situation with Robin to Thomas. If Ty wanted Thomas to know Robin was here then he would have told the guard.

“They’re inside,” Drew said, as if Felix and Tabitha’s whereabouts weren’t obvious.

Adam nodded and moved pass them to the door. Stepping inside, he heard a growl erupt from the tigress lying next to the bed. He went into protection mode, reaching for the firearm strapped to his hip.

“Don’t shoot. She’s just terrified.” Tabitha turned to face Adam, doing the one thing you never did when a dangerous predator eyed you like dinner, she turned her back on the animal.

Felix automatically stepped between the Queen and the tigress, blocking the tigress if she decided to attack.

“Tabitha, what the hell are you thinking?” Adam wanted to rush to his charge, but he didn’t want to spook the tigress any more than she already was. He placed his hands on Tabitha’s arms and spun her around to the tigress. “You know better than to turn your back on a possible threat.”

Nodding, she glanced across at Adam. “I wasn’t thinking.”

“Even with guards around you, you can’t take risks like that. It’s dangerous.” He was glad this situation didn’t get out of control because of her mistake. She meant too much to the future of shifters for her to be careless.

“What are you doing here?”

“My job.” Adam needed to make sure something like this didn’t happen again. He looked around the small studio. Bethany and Kallie stood off to the side, Shadow and Styx protecting Bethany, as Adam should have been doing for Tabitha with Felix. Thorben stood next to his mate, Kallie. Thorben and Taber were part of the Kodiak Bears out of Nome before mating with Kallie and becoming honorary Alaskan Tigers. “Have you gained anything more from this tigress?”

“Very little. Her fears have taken over her thoughts. I know she can hear me in her head because she responds to me with her eyes, but I think the connection frightens her even more.” Tabitha kept her attention on the tigress, her shoulders rigid as if heeding Adam’s warning to never let down her guard.

“Did you get any negative readings from her?”

“No, Harmony is just scared. I’ve gathered she’s been on her own most of her life.” Tabitha tried to take a step closer to the tigress, only to be stopped by Felix.

“You’re close enough,” Felix told her without removing his stare from the tigress.

“Guards always make my job harder.” She knelt, going eye level with Harmony, also making the duty of protecting her more difficult for the guards if something happened. Unnerving, but part of their job, they couldn’t keep Tabitha sheltered so much it hindered her duties to the clan and the rest of the tigers.

“Harmony, I know you’re scared, but you’re safe here. No one is going to hurt you. We need to know where you were injured, if it was truly a hunter’s trap or one set up for our kind. If we’re going to protect you, we need to know if someone is after you.” After a few minutes of silence, Tabitha finally stood. “It’s no use, there are too many people. All of the men here are scaring her even more. If I’m going to get anything from her then you guys need to leave.”

“Not happening Tabitha, you know the rules,” Ty said from the back of the room, causing everyone to turn.

Adam had been so immersed in what was happening he wasn’t paying attention to the door as a bodyguard should, even though the guards outside would have kept anyone out that meant harm. Drew and Jayden were young, and eager to prove themselves.

Harmony growled. Tigers rarely retreat when frightened. Being predators, they’d fight to the death. Harmony would run if there were an opening. The studio apartment they had put her in left very little room for her in tigress form. She could only cower or fight. Right now she chose to cower, but that could change in an instant.

“Harmony, it’s okay. Ty’s the Alpha here and my mate. He means you no harm. Actually Ty and Raja, our
Lieutenant, are the ones who found you stumbling around the woods.” Tabitha beckoned her mate to stand next to her. Snuggling into his body, she glanced up at him. “This isn’t working, Ty.”

“Compromise,” Ty whispered, loud enough that Adam heard. “Kallie, Tabitha thought having an additional female, that wasn’t an Elder, would help, but it’s not working. If you and Thorben could leave.”

“Tabitha, if you need me, you know where I am. Good luck.” Kallie quietly made an exit with Thorben at her side.

Adam waited beside Tabitha, waiting for Ty to dismiss him. He wanted to stay, to do his duty, but he also knew Ty expected him to get to the bottom of whatever Robin was hiding.