Trancing the Tiger (Chinese Zodiac Romance Series Book 1) (4 page)

To his right, the branches cracked beneath Mei’s weight as she slipped to the ground. Fang’s scent called to Tiger from inside the Gardens, faint and distant. Together, the three of them passed through the gates, following the path.

At the first fork, he jerked his head at Mei and Kassian. They broke off to the right, circling opposite him, deeper into the maze.

Dead ahead, a flock of tropical birds took flight, scurrying into the trees. Dammit. This wasn’t the direction Lucy had taken. He retraced his steps to the fork and followed behind Mei’s swinging.

Sheng almost missed the clawing of Tiger as he bolted past a thick bush, drawing to a halt at the last minute, sniffing the air.

Lucy had been here. Her scent lingered, dissipating into the night. Damn, she wasn’t here anymore. He knelt, his fingertips grazing the damp earth.

Where the hell was she?

Farther down the pathway, the crunching of gravel echoed. He rose and straightened. The ground vibrated from the footsteps of three—no, four people. Males. Heavy-footed. Their scents carried to him.

Snake.

He clamped down on Tiger before the beast surged.

Snake wasn’t alone. Fang approached too.

Sheng kept his cool, crossing his arms as the men came into view. Fang hunched between Snake’s two underlings. The three Ghee Hin members sported tattooed Chinese characters inked across the right halves of their faces. It made their association easy to identify…and avoid.

“Ah, good evening, Li. Found him wandering.” Snake jerked his head toward Fang. Rat cloaked him, hissing through protracted, razor-sharp teeth. One signal from Tiger, and Rat would sink them into its prey, puncturing muscle to snap bones like toothpicks. The oversized, feral rodent narrowed its beady, black eyes in anticipation.

“Now, you are aware this sanctuary belongs to the Ghee Hin.” Snake brushed his fingernails on his lapel. “Since we are, after all, friends, I’ve deigned to overlook this trespassing. Once.”

Snake’s spirit cloaked him. Menace and venom oozed from the serpent’s coppery gaze. Below its cobra-like flared head, its coiled body belied its true length—close to that of two school buses—and its strength. Those gold and red scales undulated like waves as the powerful muscles beneath them twitched.

“You can have him back.” Snake snapped his fingers for his cohorts to release Fang, who grimaced as he shrugged them off and straightened his leather jacket.

One subordinate shoved Fang forward. Tense as he was, Fang would have reared back to slash out at his escort if Sheng hadn’t clenched his fist, reining in Fang’s Rat.

Sheng was the leader. Their beasts were under his control.

Bowing his head in deference, Fang stomped to Sheng’s side.

“I trust you haven’t lost anyone else in here?” Another flash of Snake’s orange eyes.

The sly motherfucker hadn’t sensed Lucy, had he? Sheng met Snake’s gaze straight on, betraying nothing of Kassian and Mei. Or Lucy.

“Good. Good. I simply wished to warn you. We’re having a little game in here tonight.” Snake smirked and, with that, turned his back on Sheng and Fang.

Sheng’s gut sank. After Snake’s gang slunk out of earshot, he grated, “What the hell were you thinking?”

Chapter 3

Although her pulse raced, Lucy forced her body still, not daring to move a single muscle. The dirt she’d smothered across her face and bare arms clung damp against her skin. Never mind what on earth had compelled her to do so. As she’d darted through the Gardens, her instincts had taken over.

Hide. Mask my scent.

She’d made a false track toward the creek before doubling back to these bushes on the opposite side of the clearing.

Opposite from them.

She sank into the burrow she’d dug with her nails as a familiar figure stalked into view near the pavilion. Sheng. What the hell was he doing here? Meeting his friends?

He paused, cocking his head this way and that. Searching.

For me?

As his friends joined him, a spike of panic jolted her spine, paralyzing her. A force deep inside her recoiled, snapping the boundaries of her sanity.

From the group she’d fled earlier, one man stepped forward. He inclined his head, and his eyes gleamed…orange. The color and the menace glinting from them didn’t blast the air from her lungs. Her recognition of him did.

Snake.

Every bone in her body screamed that this man,
he
was the one to fear. Why? She frowned, certain she’d never met him. As she blinked, the sci-fi effect of his glowing eyes disappeared.
Must have imagined it.

Sheng and the snake-eyed man exchanged words, too low for her to detect. The two flanking men shoved the middle man toward Sheng. Perhaps they weren’t so friendly.

The leader and his two companions slithered off.
Continuing their search for me?

Sheng and the man remained in the clearing, joined by two others who drifted out of the forest like an image from a painting—they’d blended so well.

A perfectly mastered animalistic control settled over Sheng. With precise movements, he rotated in a circle, his brows slashed in determination as he examined every inch of the clearing.

For me.

She slapped her hand over her mouth to muffle the sounds of her breaths. The snake-man hadn’t caught her. Would Sheng?

After several minutes, he shook his head at his friends. Demonstrating feral grace, he stepped into the center of the clearing. “Lucy, if you value your life, come forward.”

Her brows shot up at his commanding declaration. She hadn’t survived this long by placing her trust in the wrong people.

The tall, slender woman brushed past him. “Try a little civility, Li.”

He scowled at the young woman’s chiding, but didn’t argue with her.

“Lucy, I’m Mei. I know you’re frightened, but some very bad people are about to swarm this place and we’d really rather not be here when they do. I imagine you wouldn’t either.” She offered her hand. As much of a white flag as Lucy was ever going to get. “Please. We won’t hurt you.”

Lucy’s nose twitched and her gaze fixed on those dangling fingers. The girl seemed trustworthy enough. The three men with her, not so much.

What if the warning rang true? How long could she hide? The air emitted the warmth of day, but not for long. The thin camisole and skirt she wore wouldn’t protect her against the cool night. She chewed her bottom lip. The moment she abandoned this burrow or made any movement, they’d discern her location.

Mei glanced back at the others, shrugging.

Their actions didn’t appear hostile. Didn’t mean she trusted them. If she bolted, she might be able to outrun them. She’d won first place in every track and field event she’d participated in, until her parents had pulled her out, declaring she’d be better off focusing on her studies.

Each night after that, she’d snuck out, sprinting through the empty streets. Even as an adult.

Until the quarantine.

She suppressed a shudder.
Here goes nothing.

Soundlessly, she rose and took one step back. All four heads jerked in her direction. She sucked in a breath and bolted out of the thicket, heading for the main entrance because she hadn’t spotted any others on her map.

Pounding footsteps tracked hers. She pumped her arms and legs faster across the grass clearing, nearly taking flight as she vaulted across the narrow creek. The tangle of jungle trees parted and the entrance came into view straight ahead. Lungs burning, she raced toward the gate.

Toward freedom and survival.

A roar thundered right behind her, spooking her into veering left. A blur soared above her head, pounced off the massive tree trunk beside the gate, and tackled her.

Her back smacked the ground, but a hand cushioned her head. Two heavy weights seized her wrists and suspended them beside her head while another clamped around her waist.

Her eyelids flew open.

Pale blue-gray eyes glinted at her. She gasped and struggled against the tight bindings.

“Lucy.” A warm breath near her ear rasped her name. “Don’t be afraid.”

She froze, recognizing the timbre as Sheng’s. Those were his strong, calloused hands gripping her wrists. His thighs wrapped around her waist, pinning her to the ground.

And that was most definitely his stiffening arousal jutting into her abdomen.

Desire sparked into her core. The danger of the night. The intensity of this sexy stranger. She’d all but lost her senses. Especially since Sheng’s eyes were black. Right?

“Lucy.” He purred her name again, his cheek caressing hers in long, soft strokes. His grip eased and he drew back, his expression unreadable as he stared at her with those glowing blue-gray eyes. Freaky. “You shouldn’t have run.” After issuing his admonishment, he hauled her to her feet beside him and released her.

The slight accent he carried was British. Made sense, as Malaysia had once been a colony of Britain. He’d likely learned English from a British instructor.

“Is she okay?” Mei rushed to their side. The girl’s hands probed Lucy’s body before she squeezed her.

Lucy choked in the tight embrace. Mei released her grasp. “Sorry. I’m just so glad you’re here.” The sprite clucked her tongue at Sheng. “You shouldn’t have chased her like that.”

One corner of his mouth curved. “She ran.”

As though that was just cause for tackling her like a pro football player and almost ravishing her. Lucy brushed aside the spark of attraction. He was clearly into something heavy, perhaps illegal, which she wanted no part of. She inched backward.

“Lucy.” His voice growled low in warning, but she detected a note of provocation. A shiver coursed through her.

“Oh, you must be freezing!” Mei shrugged out of her jacket and slipped it across Lucy’s shoulders. “Come on.”

The doe-eyed girl snagged Lucy’s arm to lead her toward the entrance, but Sheng stopped her with a jerk of his head. “I’ll take her to the drop-off. Meet us there.”

Mei didn’t question him. Her chocolate-hued ponytail bobbed in acquiescence, and the three others disappeared into the forest.

Lucy gulped down her apprehension as they left her alone with Sheng, who moments ago had held her beneath his body as if ready to devour her. Now, he seemed eager to get rid of her.

Sheng’s antisocial greeting at the airport—and hostile introduction on the terrace—slammed into her brain. “You’re out of your mind if you think I’ll go anywhere with you.”

He tilted his head. “I’m sorry if I frightened y—”

“You didn’t scare me. You
growled
at me.”

His lips quirked. “I’m sorry. It wasn’t directed at you. I promise, if you come with me to the drop-off, I won’t hurt you.”

If he hadn’t growled at
her
, then who the hell had his hostility been aimed at? She combed her fingers through the ends of her hair, debating trusting him. “Drop-off?” She perched her other hand on her hip. Did he intend to ship her back to America?

“Trust me.” He winked. “You’re going to want to come along.” He strolled through the gate ahead of her as if there wasn’t a doubt in his mind she would follow.

***

Sheng grappled for control that seemed as fleeting as his sanity. Lucy was off-limits. He’d reminded himself a thousand times tonight. Yet when Tiger had pinned her to the ground, Sheng would have taken her. Right then, right there.

If not for the intrusion of his friends.

Worse, she’d melted right into him the moment she’d realized his identity.

She trusted him and didn’t even fucking know why. Once he got her somewhere safe, he’d enlighten her with the logic fueling her instincts.

Tiger puffed out in supreme satisfaction. He almost hadn’t caught her; she was so swift. If not for the inclined tree trunk providing a bounding point, he might have missed.

Sheng’s shoulders tensed, on alert for more of Snake’s “friends.” Penang Hill—behind them—served as the boundary between the Hai San and Ghee Hin territories. The Gardens were the gateway to the Ghee Hin
Kongsi’s
residence in the Batu Feringghi—the stretch of posh beaches on the north coast of the island. He had to get Lucy out of here before Snake caught sight of her and realized what she was.

Where she might have argued with him, she simply obeyed. Her light footsteps padded behind him. That blind obedience concerned him more than her bolting. She shouldn’t trust a stranger with such ease, certainly not one who looked like him.

He raked his hands through his hair to stop from lashing out at her…or drawing her into his arms and shielding her. He wasn’t sure which instinct would win.

Even more reason to hold his tongue.

He straddled his motorcycle, unclasped the helmet, and offered it to her.

She approached him, her golden eyes wide and wary. Great. Now she chose to be cautious. “Who were those men?”

“You wanna stay and find out?”

Her nose twitched. “Do you work for my uncle? Are you my bodyguard? Where are you taking me?”

“Get on.” He dismissed her questions and waved the helmet. No time for this, not here.

Her hands trembled as she accepted it and secured the strap around her chin. Without questioning him again, she slipped onto the bike behind him.