Tiger

by Kate LaMontagne

  “Okay.” Jake still pouted and looked away.

  Remi stood up, casting a glance at Tiger, who’d slept through the whole exchange. TJ grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and Tiger’s pills, then headed over to wake Tiger so he could get him to bed. “Come on Tigger. You’ve got a busy day tomorrow. Say goodnight.” TJ roused him, then pulled him up off the couch and steered him along by his elbow.

  “G’night,” Tiger mumbled as he shuffled along down the hall, rubbing at his eyes.

  After TJ got Tiger tucked in and drugged up again, he came back out to find Jake absent and Remi sitting at the breakfast bar, drinking a beer. He looked at Remi and leaned over as he picked up his keys. “You are so screwed,” he whispered and sauntered out the front door.

  “Don’t I know it.” Remi sighed, taking a long pull on the bottle.

  Chapter 11

  Tiger took the time to braid his hair before he went to sleep. He was on his side with his eyes closed, but after so many years of wearing it long he could do it without even looking. Besides it only had to be braided well enough to keep it under control overnight.

  He’d learned the hard way what would happen if he didn’t. It’d be so tangled he’d never get the knots out. It had only been cut once in his lifetime. When that bastard Harriott had finished with him, he’d cut it half off to keep as a trophy of his time with Tiger. That had been his undoing when it was discovered in his quarters after his arrest.

  Harriott claimed that Tiger begged him to take it as a lover’s keepsake, but he said he only took half of the braid because he didn’t want to destroy the beauty of his lover. Tiger nearly puked when he heard that. Harriott’s wife filed for divorce the next day.

  The very idea that Harriott thought he and Tiger were lovers was monstrous. He knew Harriott was nuts but not like that. He figured he was just playing it up once he’d been caught to get off on a psych disability. Harriott hated Tiger with a vengeance. To make matters worse, Tiger learned that he was retired with full benefits after a short stay in a psychiatric hospital. Until his hair grew back to its original length it always reminded Tiger of the whole ugly incident. He just wanted to forget about it.

  Fortunately, no one at the fort knew about it, but would it come up if he had to testify in court? It wasn’t unusual for rape victims to be victimized all over again during rape trials. It was especially bad for men because the common perception was that a man should be able to defend himself. Tiger certainly could have… if he hadn’t been drugged first and then chained up.

  Every time he looked at himself in the mirror, he wondered how many psychopaths he would have to deal with in his lifetime. Sometimes he was tempted to cut it all off, but he knew that probably wouldn’t stop the nut cases and he saw it as admitting defeat, letting the psychos and assholes win. At least Chris hadn’t cut his hair, but of course that was because he was too busy strangling Tiger with it. He might have if he hadn’t been interrupted.

  Pulling the covers aside, he looked at the tiny scars on his left pectoral. Sometimes he felt phantom pain there and rubbed at it without thinking. He really needed to break himself of that habit. Eventually TJ would pick up on it, if the doc didn’t out him first.

  Stafford obviously knew something, but how much and whether he planned on acting on it was the question burning a hole in Tiger’s gut. They weren’t terribly visible but leave it to TJ to home in on them like a laser sight.

  He guessed that the venom from the bite was enough to keep his body from healing that last little bit. Normally he didn’t scar, even without the nano-bots. He assumed it was due to his mother’s genes, like all his other enhanced abilities, but he certainly wasn’t going to bring it to anyone’s attention.

  Tomorrow he’d arrange to have Elvi’s transmitter shipped out to her and then he could start working on his plan to skip town. He’d managed to palm the pill that TJ handed him this time so if he could dodge taking the one Remi would bring him later, his body would be clear of the drugs by morning. He really did feel much better now, at least enough to feel like he could handle the trip north.

  When Remi showed up at midnight, he could tell that Tiger was in the throes of another nightmare before he even opened the door. He didn’t bother to turn on any lights this time. Cracking the door open slightly he eavesdropped on Tiger to try to pick up any references to Chris or the attack.

  This time he heard Jake’s name but nothing to provide concrete proof of a rape taking place, but the reference to Jake and the fact that the gang had threatened to rape him made it highly likely that Tiger had paid the price for interfering with their activities. It also confirmed that Tiger was suffering lingering trauma from the assault.

  Just as Remi was pushing the door open to wake Tiger and break him out of his dream, Tiger let out a piercing scream and sat bolt upright. Remi threw the door open and rushed to Tiger’s side. Dropping down on the edge of the mattress, he pulled Tiger onto his lap and wrapped his arms around him. He tucked Tiger’s head up under his chin and clasped his hip to keep him in place while he rocked him, making soothing sounds like he had with Jake when their parents died.

  Tiger was moaning and panting, eyes wide open, but still lost in whatever horror he’d been trapped in.

  “No! No! No! Not again! Not again!” He kept repeating it, clutching Remi’s shirt, tears streaking his cheeks.

  Jake appeared in the doorway, concern in his eyes as he took in the sight of Remi holding Tiger. Tiger had quieted but was still breathing heavily as he slowly withdrew from the dream.

  Remi turned his face toward Jake. “Go back to bed Jake. Everything’s okay.”

  “Are you sure? I heard a scream! What happened?” He started to reach for the light switch. With no lights, he could barely see the bed.

  “Don’t turn the lights on. Tiger just had a nightmare. Go back to bed. He’ll be okay in a little bit. Close the door on the way Jake, okay? Good night.”

  “Good night, Rem.” He backed out of the room, closing the door softly.

  Tiger was quiet. Remi could hear his quiet breaths and he almost thought he’d fallen asleep in his arms but then he shifted a little and spoke. “Guess we’re making a habit of this, huh?”

  “Seems like.” He’d stopped rocking Tiger, but he was stroking his thumb absently back and forth on Tigers thigh. His skin was soft, and his hair smelled so good and felt so silky in Remi’s fingers. Tiger shivered and Remi realized he was only dressed in a thin pair of boxers.

  “You’re freezing. Come on, slide back under the covers. I’ll stay with you till you fall asleep.” He settled Tiger on the bed and shoved a pillow against the headboard, then sat down next to Tiger and pulled the covers up over them both. Leaning back against the headboard, he draped his arm around Tigers head, resting his hand on his shoulder.

  “Damn, I forgot to give you your pill.” He started to get up, but Tiger rolled over and laid his head in his lap, curling up against his side like a cat. “No, I’m cold. Stay put. I don’t need it tonight,” he said sleepily.

  “Alright, I guess you win for tonight.” How had this happened? He suddenly realized he was now trapped in Tiger’s bed with Tiger’s head practically resting on his cock and his arm draped over Remi’s thigh.

  ‘Don’t think about it! Don’t think about it!’ Of course, he thought about it, because that’s what you do when you try not to. He started to get hard the more he tried not to think about the warm, sexy, exotic body pressed up against him. If he ended up with a full erection, he’d end up poking Tiger in the face and never be able to look him in the eye again, or TJ.

  God, he’d never live it down! Jake would be disgusted with him! He started to think of the most disgusting things he could imagine, to get himself under control. Pretty soon he started to get drowsy and nodded off.

  Remi woke up several hours later with a start, realizing that he was still in Tiger’s bed. Fortunately, Tiger had shifted in his sleep and was no longer draped across Remi but was on
his stomach on the other side of the bed. Remi slowly eased out of the bed and crept out of the bedroom, going back upstairs to his own bed and crawling under the covers with a sigh. ‘Whew! Crisis averted!’

  That morning Tiger and Remi slept late. They all decided to eat breakfast at the restaurant across from the electronics supply store and then get their shopping done. After breakfast, they split up, Jake going with Tiger to get the transmitter and browse the local shops, while Remi said he needed to make a couple of stops elsewhere.

  Tiger found what he needed and arranged to have the order, including a personal note from him, shipped directly to the address that Elvi had given him. He smiled thinking how excited she’d be when she saw the model he’d picked out. It had the highest approval rating with all the fancy features one could want. She and Richard deserved it, and it had a much longer range! He’d even be able to contact them from Aurora!

  As he and Jake headed off to the next shop, he felt like they were being watched. Looking around casually, Tiger didn’t see anything that stood out, but he kept his eyes peeled, constantly checking their surroundings. They bought a few things at the shop and before they headed back outside Tiger shifted Dragon Slayer off his shoulder and into his left hand, thumbing the blade loose in the saya.

  Tiger was cautious passing alleys. Several times as they passed entrances, he thought he caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye, but there was nothing there when he turned to look. As they shopped, he practically turned Jake into a pack mule. Jake was okay with it, most of the purchases were his anyway, but Tiger pretended his back hurt so he could keep his hands free.

  In one particularly large store he thought he spotted Chris among the crowd, but when he disappeared Tiger couldn’t follow. He didn’t dare leave Jake alone. Jake was just as much a target as Tiger. At that point, Tiger decided to call a halt to the shopping trip. Using his aching back as an excuse, he called Remi and asked to be picked up at the store instead of meeting at the restaurant.

  Remi showed up quickly, concerned that they had allowed Tiger to overextend himself.

  “Are you okay?” Remi asked, anxiously?

  “Yes, yes I’m fine. Sorry to cut things short. I’m just tired and my back is flaring up. I’m so out of shape. It’s probably time for me to get serious about working out again,” Tiger lied.

  Remi loaded everything in the back of the truck while Jake got in and Tiger stood scanning the area. He thought he saw a head with black hair duck back into an alley and took a few steps in that direction, stopping when he heard Remi call from the driver’s side “Tiger? Everything okay?” He nodded and got into the truck, looking out the window towards the alley. Remi glanced curiously at Tiger and the alley, then turned the truck towards home.

  When they got home, Remi made Tiger and Jake go sit by the pool with some cold drinks while he brought everything in from the truck, chuckling at how much they’d managed to buy in such a short time. Jake was a marathon shopper. He could win medals if it ever became a recognized sport.

  When he was done, he called TJ. “Hey, we’re back” he said when TJ picked up. “Can you bring it over now? I’m fixing lunch.”

  He’d just finished putting out sandwiches and sides when TJ showed up. Letting him in, Remi looked at his empty hands. “Well, where is it?”

  TJ unzipped his jacket a little and looked down. “He fell asleep on the ride over.”

  Remi peeked in and smiled. “Zip up” he ordered.

  “Bossy much?” TJ whispered.

  Remi opened the patio door and called out, “Lunch is ready guys.”

  “Yes! I’m starving!” Jake yelled. Rushing through the door he spotted TJ leaning casually against the breakfast bar. “Oh! TJ’s here! Hi, TJ!” He ran over to hug TJ, but TJ put a hand up and whispered, “You don’t want to do that.”

  “Why not?” Jake whispered back. He looked around. “Why are we whispering?”

  TJ unzipped his jacket halfway and whispered “Reach in.”

  “Is this some kinda dirty joke?” Jake asked suspiciously, his eyes narrowing.

  “No, just stick your hand in” TJ whispered, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing.

  Jake looked skeptical but he figured Remi wouldn’t let TJ do anything too outrageous, so he carefully stuck his hand down into TJ’s jacket and felt something warm and furry. Snatching his hand back in alarm, he looked at TJ’s grinning face, then peeked down into the bottom of the jacket. A pair of reflective rose-colored eyes looked up at him as a mouth full of sharp little teeth opened wide in a yawn. “Meow?”

  TJ slid the zipper down a bit more and a little black head popped out and looked around. Eyes wide, Jake opened his mouth but before he could shriek, TJ held a finger up to his lips and Jake clapped his hands over his mouth.

  “It’s a kitten!” he whisper-squealed. “Can I hold it?”

  Laughing now, TJ pulled the kitten out and handed it to Jake. It was all black, except for pink paws and a pink spot on its chest, and glowing pink eyes. “It’s a boy and he needs a good home, if you want him. He needs a name though. Tiberius is always an excellent choice for a male cat.” He tossed the suggestion out casually as he took his jacket off and hung it over the back of a chair.

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” Remi chimed in. “Then we’d always have to specify whether we’re talking about Tiberius the cat or Tiberius the fool.”

  TJ glared and stuck his tongue out at Remi.

  “Midnight.” Jake held the kitten up and scratched under his chin. “His name is Midnight.”

  “The rest of the stuff is out in my truck.”

  “Stuff? There’s more?” Jake’s eyes got big and he started for the door.

  “We can bring it in after lunch,” TJ said, looking pointedly at Remi. Remi coughed, looking a little nervous. “Do you really like him Jake?”

  “Are you kidding?! Jake clutched Midnight to his chest, looking a little panicked. “You don’t mind, do you… if I keep him?” His lip trembled a little.

  Remi reached out, pulling him in and planting a noisy smooch against his forehead. “No, Jacob, I picked him out especially for you. That’s where I was while you and Tiger were shopping. I had Kirk take him home temporarily so we could surprise you. I wanted you to have someone here to keep you company when I’m not around.”

  Jake teared up a little. “Thank you, Remi.” He leaned his head against Remi’s shoulder. “I’m sorry I was such a brat the other night.”

  “It’s okay, brat” Remi teased. “I’m glad you spoke up. We just need to communicate better from now on. We’ll work something out down the road. You’re the most precious person in my life and I want you to be happy, understood?”

  “Okay” Jake murmured. “Thank you too TJ.”

  True to form, TJ broke through the emotional moment with “All right, if we’re through with the hearts and flowers, can we eat now? I’m starving!”

  Tiger, who had sidled up to TJ during the conversation, poked him in the ribs.

  Grabbing the food and drinks, they headed out to the back yard, settling onto the plush couch and chairs clustered around a low table. Midnight wandered around while they ate, sniffing every plant in the lush garden and chasing after lizards and birds.

  While they gossiped and joked around, Tiger seemed unusually reticent. Realizing that they had cut their shopping short because Tiger had been hurting, Remi went back inside and came back out with Tiger’s meds and a bottle of water.

  Tiger grimaced but swallowed the pills. He couldn’t very well refuse them after using his physical condition as an excuse to get Jake home. He was looking a little peaked, but it wasn’t from pain.

  Once Jake found out Remi had practically bought out the pet store, getting Midnight every imaginable necessity (bed, toys, litter box, kitty condo, brush, food, treats, etcetera, etcetera), Jake was occupied for the rest of the afternoon, setting up the perfect kitty habitat in his room. Tiger took the opportunity to speak up abou
t the events of the morning.

  “Now that Jake’s out of earshot, I need to let you know that we were followed this morning. I tried to play it casual so Jake wouldn’t freak out, but I know we were being tailed on the street and I’m pretty sure I saw Chris in the last store we were in” he said.

  “What! Are you sure you’re not just spooked because of the attack?” Remi asked. “Everything we’ve seen so far seems to indicate that those rats have left Aurora or gone deep into hiding. You expect me to believe that this Chris is stalking you in broad daylight? Why didn’t you go after him if you were sure it was him? I know your back was hurting but…. is it the nightmares?”

  TJ opened his mouth to respond but Tiger threw a hand up to silence him. Standing up and crossing his arms over his chest, Tiger narrowed his eyes at Remi and let him have it.

  “My back is fine. I used that as an excuse to get Jake out of there without spooking him or tipping Chris off that I’d spotted him. Let’s get one thing straight right now. I’m here because I needed rest and quiet, not because I’m weak or afraid. Don’t let my appearance fool you into thinking of me as a woman.”

  “I could kill Chris ten different ways in a heartbeat and never break a sweat, even in my current condition. Chris is a two-bit punk. I’m UCAR. I’ve been trained by assassins. I kill monsters. I am a skilled tracker and I know when I’m being followed.”

  “I didn’t follow Chris because I didn’t want to take a chance that Jake might be a target too. I only saw Chris but that doesn’t mean he didn’t have some of his guys around to back him up.”

  “You’d better start thinking about how to protect Jake because I’m not going to be here much longer. Oh, and by the way, Chris isn’t all that happy with you either.”

  “I may not be cleared to go back to work yet but I’m not going to sit on my ass and imitate a sitting-duck! You’d better find that psycho before I do if you want to take him alive! And another thing, you can flush those damn pills down the toilet because all they do is slow me down! Thank you for your hospitality!!”