Along Came a Tiger (Tiger Shifters) (3 page)

CHAPTER THREE

They were on the highway for about ten minutes before Sarah stopped brooding and focused on her surroundings. A sign for Lancaster flashed past.

What the hell?
“Where are we going?” she demanded, finally facing Daniel.

She shouldn’t have. Looking at him robbed her of reason.

Every single time.

He was a beautiful man—tall with dark brown hair and the most electric blue eyes she’d ever seen. His features were an interesting mix of his Russian father and his Bengali mother, though he bore a much stronger resemblance to his father. Tigers tended to favor the same sexed parent—daughters their mothers, sons their fathers. Daniel was no exception. There were hints of his mother, in the angles of his face and the shape of his eyes, but stood side-by-side, Daniel was every bit his father.

The combination of genes made him one of the most gorgeous men—tiger or human—she’d ever encountered, and she lost her mind every time they were anywhere near each other.

She blinked, trying to banish the breathless obsession. A side effect of her job as a genetics researcher was that she always studied people for their hereditary makeup. But Daniel was another story all together. Her study of him went well beyond a mere interest in his genes.

Her lips still tingled from Daniel’s near kiss earlier. Being with him this close to her estrous was so dangerous. Her skin felt hot and tight, her stomach danced in giddy anticipation of his touch. Ignoring his unique scent was impossible in the confines of the truck—that delicious mix of citrus and cumin and flavors with no human words.

After seven Runs, she still couldn’t get enough of him. His touch, his taste, the feel of him
…They only ever had that time during the Run—at least until she got pregnant—so the weeks in between her cycles made the anticipation stronger.

If she stopped thinking, she knew she’d never be able to keep her hands off him. Even now, with her anger and grief so near the surface, she could lose herself in Daniel.

His hug, his understanding earlier had almost broken her. When he’d pulled her close, all she’d wanted was to sink into his arms and forget the world. The feel of him, hot and hard, strong and solid, was like a balm she couldn’t resist.

Then he’d almost kissed her.

For that moment, everything had faded and her entire being focused in on his nearness, his scent, the feel of his breath hot against her lips. Her nerves strung tight with the need to have his hands on her, covering her breasts, stroking her waist, stripping off her jeans. It was all she could do not to pull him into the truck and fuck him until she couldn’t think anymore. Daniel would make her forget everything for a few hours.

But then where would they be? He’d still want to keep her from killing Bradley. She’d still be angry and grieving,
needing
revenge like she needed to breathe.

She shook off the dark thoughts to glare at him, waiting for his answer.

He kept his attention on the road as he finally said, “We’re going to a friend’s house. Somewhere safe.” He glanced at her for a second, then faced forward again. “We’ll stay there until I’m sure you won’t go after Williams again.”

“Joseph won’t stop.” More quietly, to herself, she said, “Even if I could.”

Daniel’s hearing was superb, even for a tiger, so he didn’t miss her comment. “You don’t have to do this, Sarah. Let the humans deal with him.”

“He killed one of
our
people. How can you let that go?” Fury made her fists clench and her gut tighten. Every muscle contracted with the need to tear and rip and rend Bradley Williams into little pieces. “Su-jin was my best friend,” she murmured.

“I know.”

Daniel’s voice was quiet in the truck’s dark cabin, and his soft, caring tone brought her to tears. She returned her gaze out the side window so he wouldn’t see the telltale wetness dripping over her cheeks.

She and Su-jin had been friends since childhood. Female tigers were so rare, most who lived in the same country knew each other, at least in passing. But she and Su-jin were close enough in age and had attended the same schools, so they’d had a chance to develop a deeper friendship.

They’d spent all their spare time together, were college roommates, and had traveled through Asia for a year before Sarah started graduate school. They were as close as sisters, closer maybe because Sarah didn’t fight with Su-jin nearly as often as she fought with her biological siblings.

She and Su-jin even worked for the same company—Chernikov Research Lab. Sarah was a technician in the genetics wing of the facility. Su-jin was an accountant. They spent most lunches together, gossiping about men, life, their futures, the Mate Run. They debated the benefits and drawbacks of the breeding custom that was saving their species from utter chaos, and questioned whether it was still a viable way to keep mating fair among the tigers. But both had not so secretly looked forward to the Run, the thrill of having the males compete for their attention, and the excitement of letting the man they wanted to be with catch them.

She glanced back at Daniel, as memories of him catching her started that tingling of need low in her belly again. He’d lived up to every hope she had for a mate. Daniel had been clever, cunning, and
fun
, not to mention the sexiest man she’d ever known. Finding ways to try out maneuvering him, leading him through the forest, the thrill of delight and lust when he finally did catch her, every single Run had been a perfect, exciting, erotic joy.

And Su-jin had been so happy for her.

Sarah swiped at her cheeks, not surprised when she couldn’t dry the tears with the cursory pass.

Su-jin had been close to starting her own Mate Run. These last few months, she’d been sowing her oats with human men, living a little wild before she settled down to find a tiger mate. Bradley Williams was just supposed to be one of those indulgent flings.
He was wealthy, handsome, sexy—if you didn’t look at him too closely.

Just the idea that Su-jin had found the man sexy made Sarah gag, knowing now what he really was. Even before she’d understood his true nature, Sarah had been hesitant about him. Some deep instinct whispered a warning. There was something about his scent that rubbed her wrong, though she’d never been able to pinpoint exactly what it was or why it bothered her. It wasn’t a
bad
smell. Just…not right.

Now she knew she’d picked up on something in his chemistry pointing toward his psychosis. She’d never come across anything like it before and hadn’t known enough to heed her own instincts. Especially since Su-jin wasn’t worried. She’d only seen Williams’ appeal, and the fact that her father and brother would
hate
him. That by itself made him an ideal candidate for a fling.

Su-jin had been born well after her parents thought they wouldn’t be able to have any more children—before Su-jin her mother had only managed to conceive once. Su-jin wasn’t a strong tigress either, a weakness she inherited from her late mother. Because of that, her striking resemblance to her mother, and the fact that she’d been born so many years after Joseph, her father and Joseph had coddled and over-protected her to the point that she was desperate for a rebellion.

Sarah took a long, slow, deep breath to choke back a painful sob. Su-jin’s innocent need to rebel had gotten her killed. So wrong. So unfair!

And it was all Sarah’s fault.

If she hadn’t pointed out Williams at the bar, if she
had
admitted Williams gave her the willies, maybe her best friend would still be alive.

Daniel reached out and stroked her shoulder. She shook off his touch. Her skin was too sensitive from a combination of pain and anger, and the fact that her estrous was only a few days away. She couldn’t stand his gentleness right now. It made her want to scream.

“Sarah.”

His voice brushed her pain. She trembled in the wake of it. “Stop! No understanding. No ‘Sarah’. Not now. I need to kill him so badly I can barely think around it, and that’s not going away any time soon. You’re wasting both our time with this
…intervention.” She knew her outburst sounded harsh. She pressed her palms against her eyes in a vain attempt to stop the tears still streaming over her cheeks. “Joseph will get to him, even if I don’t. Williams is a dead man. Why bother stopping us?”

“Because it will mean a death sentence for you both, damn it!”

His roar echoed in the confines of the truck and startled Sarah so much she jumped. At least it was better than the damned gentle understanding.

She glanced at him. Highway lights flashed in the cab and she saw his knuckles were white, the steering wheel flexing under his grip. He still faced the road, but his expression was dark and hard, his jaw tight.

“Do you think I don’t get it?” he said through clenched teeth. “I want him dead, too. We
all
do. Su-jin was one of us and that should never have happened to her.”

“Then why are you stopping us?” she hissed. She knew the law. They all did. Kill a human, especially in tiger form, and it was an automatic death sentence. “There have been exceptions in the past. I’m a female. They won’t execute me.”

“But Joseph won’t be so lucky.”

“There are extenuating circumstances,” she insisted. Her tears had dried and she faced him fully, earnest now. If she could convince him, he might even help her. She picked the most recent example of an exception to the death sentence. “Ivan Chernikov wasn’t executed.”

“He’s the youngest son of quite possibly the most powerful of all the elders. Elizaveta made a bargain for his life that still affects her grandsons more than twenty years later. No cheap bargain. No one will do that for Joseph. And even if they let you live, they will keep you confined for the rest of your life. They don’t have a choice. You know better than most that with modern forensics we can’t afford to take chances or make anymore exceptions.”

She wanted to argue, but the stubborn set of his jaw clearly told her she wasn’t going to change his mind now. She would though. Or she’d get away from him and finish what she’d started. If she did it before Joseph got to Williams, at least no one would be executed. She’d take full blame and deal with the consequences of a life sentence in her people’s version of jail.

First, though, she had to figure out how to get away from Daniel. Or convince him to help her.

As a seeming change of subject, she said, “I heard the fight in the woods—at least I heard Joseph. Who did you bring to stop him?”

His silence told her what she had already guessed.

“Victor will end up helping Joseph kill Williams, you know. They’re best friends, as close as I am
…was…with Su-jin. Joseph will talk Victor around to letting him kill the bastard.”

Daniel shook his head. “Victor doesn’t want Joseph put to death.” He glanced at her again. “If the roles were reversed, would you let Su-jin do something that earned her a death sentence?”

She faced out the front window, unable to look him in the eye or answer his question. He grunted his satisfaction, knowing what she would do even if she didn’t want to admit it aloud.

There was no way she’d allow her best friend to sacrifice herself. But Sarah wasn’t going to let her death go unavenged either. Victor might keep Joseph away, and maybe that was for the best. Daniel was right. No one would be able to stop Joseph’s execution if he did kill Williams. If Sarah acted alone, no one else but Williams had to die.

If she wasn’t in so much pain over Su-jin’s death, she’d have thought of that earlier. Her friend wouldn’t thank Sarah for getting her brother killed.

Yes. She had to do this on her own. No backup. Not even Daniel. Because if he helped, he’d suffer the same fate as Joseph.

The thought of Daniel being put to death hurt as much as Su-jin’s murder.

Sarah crossed her arms over her chest so Daniel wouldn’t see her hands tremble. Though anger and rage pumped through her blood, and revenge was a tangible thing she wanted to grab, spending the hour and a half she had with Williams had robbed her of some of her confidence.

He was insane. A real life psychopath. Su-jin was stronger and faster than a human, but Williams had managed to contain, torture, and kill her. Was Sarah strong enough, fast enough, and angry enough to kill him on her own?

Oh, she was angry enough. No doubt of that. Fury rode her hard and demanded blood. Her tiger roared almost constantly in her head. Containing her animal side was difficult this close to her estrous. She wasn’t sure her lifetime of self-control would hold out against her need to destroy.

But the logical part of her—the scientist, the reasonable thinker—wasn’t as confident her tiger self could overcome Williams’ twisted mind.

She didn’t even know
how
he’d managed to contain Su-jin. That one missing fact worried her, now that she was thinking more clearly. It wasn’t enough to stop Sarah, but it did give her pause.

“Have they…” She swallowed hard because she didn’t want to think about this too closely, but she had to know. “Have our doctors performed an autopsy? Did they find out what he did to
…to control her?”