The Tiger's Heart (16 page)

“
What does he
want?”

“
He only said he has some
information he’s sure you would want.”

He stared out the
window.
Chris was a good guard until his
betrayal.

“
Fine. Inform Ty of the
situation. Let him know I’ll be there to speak with him after I
find out what Chris wants. I’ll need a few minutes with Tora and
Bethany and then I’ll meet you in the conference room.”

Shadow left the office. “Styx, wait
here,” Raja said before following Shadow out of the
office.

“
I’m sorry for the
interruption. Something has come up. Styx is in your office; he’s
one Bethany’s guards. I need to deal with this now. Bethany, after
you finish your dessert and wish to leave, he can escort you back
to our quarters. I hope to be back before then but if not, he’ll
stay with you until I’m home.” He laid his hand on Bethany’s
shoulder, gently rubbing it.

“
Styx?” Tora glared at
him, her eyes fiery with anger. “What are you thinking?”

“
He is a great warrior.”
Raja nodded, still rubbing Bethany’s shoulder.

“
He’s ruthless,” she
roared at him. “You’re trusting him with your mate…your future
children.”

“
I know they would be in
good hands. He’ll protect them at all cost.”

“
Who else did you assign
to her guard?” Tora demanded.

“
The twins Drew and
Jayden, and Milo.” He kissed her forehead. “I don’t have time to
debate this with you right now. Styx is a great warrior and I trust
him to keep her safe. She’s my mate—I wouldn’t put her in
jeopardy.”

“
Bethany will be staying
here until you return.” Tora slammed the dishrag down on the
counter.

“
I can make my own
decisions. If this man has Raja’s trust then he has mine as well.”
She gave Raja’s hand a squeeze. “Check our quarters first. I need
to put my leg up. It’s starting to throb a little. Go, my love.
I’ll be fine.”

“
I’ll be back soon. I love
you,” he said, kissing her again. He turned his head toward the
office. “Styx.”

After the introductions, Raja slipped
quietly out. He hated to leave Bethany to deal with Tora’s anger
over Styx as a guard, but he had little choice.

* * *

“
Five minutes and I’ll
have you connected,” Connor called out when Raja came into the
conference room.

“
Ty said just deal with it
and then swing by his quarters.” Shadow handed him a printout.
“Connor traced the number. That’s the location. I contact Jinx and
he has a team on the way.”

“
Jinx in West Virginia is
the closest clan to Georgia?”

“
It shouldn’t be
surprising there are no tiger clans in the South. The heat is not
something most of us enjoy.”

“
Probably why he chose
Georgia. Still no idea what Chris wants?”

Shadow shook her head.

“
Raja, you’re almost
connected.” Connor vacated the chair, allowing Raja to sit in front
of the laptop.

Moments later Chris’s face filled the
screen. “Thank you for taking the time to speak with me,
Raja.”

“
What is it you want,
Chris?” Raja watched the screen with a lack of enthusiasm. He
didn’t care to be there dealing with Chris. His betrayal was still
a deep cut through the clan.

“
First I should apologize
for what happened…”

“
You mean for your
betrayal?” The outrage was raw in Raja’s voice.

“
Yes, my betrayal. If I
had any choice…”

“
Chris, you had a choice.
You chose the wrong option. Now get to the point of this
call.”

“
I couldn’t risk my
sister. They had her and would kill her if I didn’t assist them.
You have a sister, so you have to understand.” Chris leaned closer
to the camera. “I hope the news I bring you might start building
the bridge to forgiveness, that this news might take my name off
your bounty list.”

“
What’s the
news?”

“
Pierce’s trusted advisor,
Victor, will be in San Francisco at the end of the week. He’s
meeting with a high-ranking Russian tiger. If anyone knows where
Pierce is or what his next move is, it will be Victor.”

“
What do you want in
exchange for this information? As we know you’re not giving it
freely.” Raja sat in the chair unmoving while his brain was running
down the facts he knew of Victor, which were few.

“
I would ask that you call
off your hunters.”

“
You were a worthy
addition to the Alaskan Tigers before your treachery. Nevertheless,
you were not worth sending a team after. If you have hunters on
your trail, they’re not ours.” With that he turned off the
communication.

“
Find out everything you
can about Victor, report to me the minute you find anything
interesting. If I don’t hear from you, we’ll have a conference at
ten o’clock tomorrow morning,” he directed Connor, his thumb and
forefinger rubbing the arch of his nose. “This could all be a
setup.”

As Raja stood from the chair, Shadow
moved toward the door. “Shadow, get back to your evening off. They
might be few and far between if things continue on this path. I’ll
speak with Ty and then I’ll find Bethany, and we’ll be retiring for
the night. You won’t be needed unless something
happens.”

“
Thank you.” She nodded,
following him out of the conference room. She made the left, as he
turned right toward Ty’s quarters.

* * *

“
Aww, Raja please sit. Can
I get you anything to drink? Coffee perhaps?”

“
Thank you, Tabitha, but
no. I just need a moment of Ty’s time please.” Raja yawned. His
eyes felt grainy from lack of sleep.

“
He’ll be right out. He
was meeting with Felix in his office.”

Tabitha was curled up on the large
black sofa, the red throw pillows used to prop herself up, and a
romance novel carefully laid aside to keep the page. Looking around
the room, he could see the small changes, the female changes,
making the place feel warmer. The red throw pillows, new curtains
with brighter prints, everything brought a female touch.

“
Sorry to keep you
waiting. Felix and I were going over the changes in the guard
schedules now that you have taken Drew and Jayden from the grounds
guards, not to mention Styx and Milo.” Ty stepped out of his office
followed by Felix.

“
If it is inconvenient, I
can make other arrangements.”

“
No, it’s fine. We have
promoted two boys from the training class for grounds duty and will
be testing some of the guards to move into the positions Milo and
Styx left. Keeping Bethany safe is priority as well. Now, what did
Chris contact you for?”

“
Victor will be in San
Francisco at the end of the week.” Raja leaned forward, his elbows
resting on his knees.

“
It could be a
setup.”

“
I thought of that as
well. But he asked for us to remove the hunters we had on
him.”

“
We didn’t send hunters
after him.” Ty took as seat next to his mate, pulling her feet into
his lap as she lay with her romance novel in hand.

“
I’m aware of that. I
believe they’re Pierce’s. If someone betrays someone for you, it
would be hard to trust them. If he has any sense, he would realize
the need to exterminate him. I have Connor working on finding out
everything on Victor.” Raja rubbed the arch of his nose. “Chris
honestly believed the hunters were ours, never expecting Pierce. He
exchanged the information for the safety of himself and his sister.
He hasn’t changed—he’s selfish. He only contacted us to get the
hunters off his ass. He’s still probably thinking if the
information is correct then we’ll take the hunters off
him.”

“
Even if the information
is good I want him taken out. He’s too dangerous to keep alive. He
betrayed us once, he’ll do it again if the chance is given. Our
mates are much too valuable to risk it.” Ty rubbed his hand lazily
over Tabitha’s leg.

Raja nodded. “I told Connor to be at
the conference room at ten o’clock. Just the key people for this
meeting, since Chris still has friends among the clan. I doubt
anyone else will betray us. Still I don’t want to give them the
opportunity. Just Felix, Marcus, Thomas, Adam, Connor, Shadow,
Styx, and us and our mates.”

Ty nodded. “Let Lance and Spencer know
they’re on standby until further notice. I want them ready to leave
at a moment’s notice. They’ll be the ones we send to deal with
Chris.”

Chapter
Twenty-Six

Raja opened the door to his quarters
to find Styx standing close, looking as uncomfortable and on
guard.

“
While here you may make
yourself at home, as long as you are ready to spring to action if
the situation calls for it. You don’t have to stand by the door at
all times,” Raja said, closing the door behind him.

“
That’s what I told him.”
Bethany sat on the couch, her knee propped up on
pillows.

“
Styx, I appreciate you
bringing her back here. I hope my sister didn’t give you too much
trouble.”

Styx’s shake of his head was met with
Bethany’s laugh, lightening the mood throughout the room. “Don’t
lie to him.” She laughed again. Finally getting control over
herself, she added. “Tora’s very special and I like her, but she
has a stubborn streak. It wasn’t until Marcus stepped in that she
backed down.”

“
Then I apologize for her
actions. Tora has heard rumors from the battlefield. It has left
her a little cautious.” He laughed, remembering Bethany saying that
she backed down to Marcus. “Marcus is a smart man. He knows better
than to question my decisions. Tora, however, likes to press her
luck. You think she is bad now, she was a handful before she mated.
She’s always been one to speak her mind and didn’t care how much
trouble that got her in.”

“
I’ll understand if you
wish to override Shadow’s decision for me as Bethany’s guard.” He
stood there with sadness in his eyes, making it obvious that he
wanted to remain her guard.

“
No. I trust you to keep
Bethany safe.”

“
Very well.” He moved
away. “If that is all I’ll retired to my cabin.”

“
Be at the conference room
at ten o’clock tomorrow morning,” Raja told him, moving toward the
woman who meant the world to him. The desire to feel her hands on
his body again driving him to the brink.

“
Very well. If you need
me, I’ll keep my ear piece in.” Styx slipped out the door, leaving
them alone.

“
What
happened?”

“
Into bed.” He lifted his
mate from the couch as if she weighed nothing. She wrapped her arms
around his neck, snuggling her head into his chest.

“
You’re tired. I can
walk.”

“
I know you can, but I
want to feel you against me.” He nudged the door open with his
foot, laid her on the bed and slipped off his shoes and his gun
holster before crawling in next to her.

“
You’re still dressed.”
She rolled to cuddle into his body.

“
I don’t care. Undress
later.” His eyes fluttered as his head hit the pillow. “Chris
contacted us tonight. I had to take care of it.”

“
Who’s Chris?”

“
He…betrayed…” He fell
asleep, leaving her with unanswered questions.

* * *

She lay their wondering
what happened, when she caught sight of his phone still clipped to
his pants. She gently unclipped it and found Ty’s cell number. She
texted him, hoping Tabitha was still awake.
Tabitha, it’s Bethany. Who’s Chris? Raja fell asleep before I
got the whole story.

Moments later the cell
phone vibrated in her hand.
He betrayed us
to Pierce. Tried to trade me for his sister.

She laid there holding the
cell in her hands for what seemed like ages, when it vibrated
again.
Said he has info about a member of
Pierce’s gang. Geek Connor is on it. We’ll know more tomorrow.
Sleep. You both need it.

* * *

“
What’s this?” Raja asked
Bethany sometime in the middle of the night. Her hand was still
clenched around the cell phone.

“
Umm.”

“
Who did you
call?”

“
No one.” She dropped the
phone to the comforter as if it burned her.

“
You’re not a prisoner
here, Bethany. If you want to call someone, you can as long as
you’re careful not to give our location away.” He grabbed the phone
before rolling over to place it on the nightstand.

“
I didn’t call anyone. I
texted Tabitha.” She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth,
biting it.

“
Tabitha doesn’t have a
cell phone. We ordered a new untraceable cell for her, but it
hasn’t arrived yet. Our cells are custom-ordered to make them
harder to trace. Which reminds me that I’ll have to order you one
as well.”

“
Ty’s cell phone. Check if
you don’t believe me.”