by Thorne, Elle
Behind her, the music started cranking, definitely discouraging conversation because it was loud, and it was a sign the doors were open and guests would be arriving.
“I’d better go.” She smiled back at the stranger with the flirty eyes and smile. “Enjoy your evening.”
She turned toward her station then looked back once more and almost tripped when she saw the man was watching her derriere as she walked away.
Flames licked at her cheeks.
Chapter Seven
Last call.
It wasn’t a slow night. The club had been packed as hell. It was raging, crazy, fun, and now it was over. Callie took off her heels and sat on a barstool for a moment, massaging her sore feet. You’d think she’d be accustomed to it by now, but nope, her feet ached every night.
High heels were a bitch when you were on your feet from nine until two, even if it was only four nights a week. Again, if it weren’t for the money, she’d be history. Well, to be honest, if it weren’t for the money and Vittorio.
Speaking of—thinking of—she hadn’t seen Vittorio all night. Or the stranger. A couple more moments of massaging and she was ready to put weight back on her feet. She double-checked everything in her area then clocked out.
Time to see her favorite tiger. She slipped into the main room. It was empty; everybody had gone, and the cleaning crew would be coming next. The door leading to Sanctuary was closed. She hoped she’d make it in before they locked it. She almost sprinted toward it and pulled on the handle, jerking it backward.
Locked. This sucks.
“Miss?” One of the cleaning crew, a new guy, one she didn’t recognize. Young, tall, in a green uniform like the rest of the crew wore.
She looked at his nametag. Antonio.
“You need to go in there?” He smiled a toothy smile, eager to please.
“You have a key, Antonio?” She didn’t think the new employees had keys to this door.
“Yes.”
Or maybe they had keys and weren’t allowed to use them? Would he get into a lot of trouble if he let her in? Only if they catch me.
“Yes, do you mind letting me in?” She put on her damsel-in-distress look as best as she could, since she rarely played that card. Rarely, hell, more like never.
He sifted through the keys. He tried one. No luck.
Fumbling, he took another one, stuck it in the slot; again, no luck.
Maybe he didn’t have the right key.
Antonio’s face turned red.
Third key. No luck. Fourth key. No luck.
Damn. She was about to give up.
Callie was turning away, a “thank you” on her lips.
He put the fifth one in the slot.
One click, one pull on the handle, and she was in.
“Thank you,” she whispered to him, and pulled the door closed behind her.
The lighting was dim, like it always was after the club had closed. There was only indirect lighting provided by sconces, but it wasn’t so dim she couldn’t see.
She leaned against the door. Whew. On the other side of the door, she heard Martin, the head cleaning guy, talking to Antonio.
“What are you doing by this door? We do not go in there. Not permitted. We do not open it,” Martin said.
Yipes, would Antonio rat her out? Hopefully not, because he’d have to give himself up at the same time.
“Okay.” Antonio didn’t sound worried.
For real. Whew. This time.
She heard a click—the lock on the door being secured once again. She was locked in. No problem. She could knock on the door later and make some story up for Martin. For the hundredth time, like she always did, she wondered why the door had to be locked while the cleaners were here, and then unlocked when they left. If it wouldn’t raise eyebrows and get her caught doing exactly what she was doing now, she’d ask.
She waited a moment longer for her eyes to adjust to the lighting. Another pair of eyes glowed at her from beyond the bars. Predator eyes. If she didn’t know it was her tiger, she’d be nervous.
Sanctuary’s bars didn’t encompass the entire area. A moat provided a divider in some parts of the enclosure and glass in others, but she always went to the bars. That way the tiger could come close and she could talk to him without the barrier of a wide moat or a glass wall.
She approached the bars, tiptoeing. God, she wished he had a name. How she’d love to call to him to come out. She saw a silhouette. A huge one.
Him!
She looked again. Yes, it had to be him! No other tiger had that silhouette. Or that size. She ran to the bars and almost put her hand in. The tiger ambled her way.
No other tiger that had ever been at Sanctuary was as large as the one she was close to. It had to be him. She picked up her pace, walking quickly toward their usual meeting place, a boulder she could perch on while they talked. There was a boulder on the other side of the bars next to this one. It made the perfect visiting spot.
It wasn’t where they would talk, she corrected herself. It was where she’d talk and he’d listen. He’d listen to her talk about her classes, and her stresses, and… just anything she wanted to talk about. As if he could can stop me. She laughed inwardly. He was the only one she could share her past with. All the foster homes, everything. Except for Anna, this tiger was the only one who knew about her past.
When the tiger had almost reached the boulder, she noticed. “Something’s different about you.” She studied the large jungle cat. “What is it?”
The cat blinked at her lazily. He wasn’t even looking at her the same way he normally did. She couldn’t put her finger on it; something was different in his demeanor. He came closer, his large nose almost touching the bars. She scrutinized him.
“Your eyes.” The color was off. Very definitely off. These eyes were more of a dark color, not the blue she was used to. And now that she thought about it, his markings were different. Not anything she would have noticed if she hadn’t spent so much time with the large cat, one on one, in close proximity, with barely a couple of feet between them, even though they were separated by bars.
She backed up. “You’re not—”
A snuffling sound interrupted her, followed by a snort. A roar shook the vegetation, blasting her eardrums. The greenery in the background moved. It rustled, as though something large was disturbing it.
Even though she was separated from the enclosure and its inhabitants by large, thick metal bars, Callie backed up, against the wall next to the door. That way she could escape quickly.
She looked at the door. The damned thing was locked.
Damn.
Chapter Eight
Un-fucking-believable.
Vax roared again and rushed through Sanctuary. He leapt out of the bushes and landed with a pounce. He was right behind Rafe, still stunned his brother was here.
What the hell was Rafe doing here, and why was he so close to Callie? How long had he been here? Why was he not in Europe, where he was supposed to be?
Vax and Veila had just finished with the numbers, batched the credit cards transactions, and locked the safe. He’d hurried down to Sanctuary to see if Callie was coming to see his tiger.
The last thing he’d expected to see was his half-brother, Rafe, approaching Callie, a few feet away from her. Close enough to swipe at her through the bars. What the hell was Callie thinking, anyway? Didn’t she know it wasn’t Vax?
He roared at Callie, driving her farther back, her eyes wide, mouth dropped open. Vax then turned toward Rafe and opened a sync with him.
Why are you here?
Vax didn’t bother to hide his hostility. Rafe had been too close to Vax’s… Shit, was he going to think the word “mate?” Yeah, he guessed he was. Vax’s tiger already considered Callie his mate.
That’s a fine welcome, brother. Rafe’s tone was sarcastic and detached.
That only served to fuel Vax’s anger. He flexed his paws, driving his claws into the boulder and undergrowth. He i
nhaled, expanding his wide tiger chest. His tail flicked with agitation, slapping the tree and leaves.
You want me to welcome you? After the chaos you’ve thrown into my life in the past? Really? Vax leaned forward, ready to lunge for his brother’s throat.
Vax had left Europe and his family, as well as all the other things familiar to him, to come to America to avoid the favoritism and partiality his father showed to Rafe. Being shunned and in competition with his brother for the love of his father from a very young age had not been easy on Vax. The difficulty had been magnified when Rafe slept with Vax’s girlfriend.
No, Vax had no love for Rafe. Rafe had made sure of that when he had sex with Vax’s woman.
* * *
Callie gasped and backed away from the two tigers. Backed up—hell. She did more than just back up; she ran to the wall and flattened herself against it, the cold, hard surface far from comforting. She shook like a guitar string that had popped loose.
She strained in the dimness and the cover of the trees half-hiding the two tigers to get a better look, hesitant to lean forward, but wondering what the hell was going on. Was the other tiger going to do her harm? Was her tiger protecting her? Surely not. She didn’t want to believe that could be the case. How could it? Hers was a wild tiger, as far as she knew.
Her tiger bared his teeth, a deep rumble emanating from him. His chest expanded, and a snarl rose from deep in his chest. The other tiger stared at her tiger.
Then both went silent. Totally silent, staring at one another. They were frozen, their eyes flashing, not a single motion from their bodies, not even breathing. Did that mean they were preparing to attack each other? She didn’t want her tiger hurt, though a part of her was certain he would win. Was this new large tiger the reason her tiger bore those new scars? Didn’t the caregivers know the other tiger was hurting her tiger?
Her hands wouldn’t stop shaking. She gripped her bag tighter, but the sweat made her hold on the leather straps iffy. Oh, shit. It was slipping—
She dropped her bag. It landed on the concrete with a thud.
Both tigers snapped their heads in her direction simultaneously, two pairs of eyes, one dark blue, one a lighter blue. Both pairs focused on her with an intensity that made her even more nervous.
Callie knelt to pick up her bag, moving slowly. She’d have to get out of there. The two fighting tigers would draw the kind of attention that would get her in trouble. Or would they?
Maybe it would be better if she was caught in this forbidden area. The cleaning crew could distract the fighting tigers until they could be separated. As her thoughts flew to her tiger’s wellbeing, she decided that might be a good idea after all, because if he were hurt… No, she didn’t want to think of that.
She should call for help. Yes, run for help.
The two large tigers turned back toward each other, silent, deadly.
Then she heard it. In the silence, a pant, a low growl and another snorting sound. It didn’t come from the direction of the two tigers. Callie held her breath and willed herself to be still.
This did not bode well.
She turned her head slowly, looking to see what was making the noise.
Another white tiger.
Oh, shit!
This white tiger wasn’t in the tiger enclosure. It was in the viewing area, on the same side of the bars as Callie. Her heart beat so hard she was sure it was trying to break out of its flesh-and-bone prison.
Callie gasped and bit back a scream. She had no plan, no exit, and no safety.
Great, just great.
This new tiger was a bit smaller. Female? Callie wondered, but not for long.
The two big male tigers turned to look at Callie. Then their large heads swiveled toward the female tiger.
The female snarled at Callie, her golden-brown eyes eerie against her white-and-black striped fur.
Callie held her bag in front of her then fought the urge to burst into hysterical laughter at the pathetic effort. As if her bag would stop a tiger attack.
Chapter Nine
Vax froze. He turned to stare at the white tiger on the other side of the enclosure.
Natalya. Fucking Natalya. Rage took over where fury at Rafe’s appearance had left off. Vax’s fur stood on end, his muscles bunched up, flexing and tightening. The urge to attack Natalya was overwhelming.
He broke off his syncing with Rafe. Needing to talk to Natalya privately, he synced up with her, a growl erupting in his chest.
Leave her alone, Natalya.
Natalya snarled out loud and within their sync. Doubly loud, the sound reverberated in Vax’s mind. His senses felt Callie suck air in, her pulse racing. He narrowed his eyes at Natalya’s tiger. You will not do this.
Natalya’s eyes glowed, her lips curled. This human is an interloper, and she wants what’s mine. She ran her claws over the concrete walkway, a menacing sound.
Callie clutched her bag tighter, her knuckles white, the tendons in her hands pronounced.
Vax turned his scrutiny back on Natalya. I am not yours.
You cannot be serious. You cannot let a human… What about the code? The Tiero code? Even in tiger form, her voice took on the same tone she’d taken when she was a little girl, making him wonder what he’d ever found cute about her.
Vax growled. Tiero code is Tiero business. You are not a Tiero.
Rafe took a step, then another, silently walking away toward the cave leading to the exit from Sanctuary. By design, they couldn’t leave Sanctuary in tiger form. The exit was too small for a tiger.
What was Rafe thinking? Was he going to shift and go out there in human form?
God. A spike of ice drove through Vax’s body at the thought of Callie seeing Rafe shift. He didn’t want her to learn about him this way.
Natalya took a threatening step toward Callie, growling. Her vehement eyes drilled holes into his mate.
Rafe, in his human skin, stepped out from the exit, staying around the corner, out of Callie’s sight. He spoke to Natalya. “Go. Or you’ll face the wrath of two.” Rafe’s voice was low, only audible to Vax and Natalya.
Vax was relieved Callie couldn’t see what was going on. The shifting thing would be too much. It would send her away. This was not how he wanted to break to her that he was a shifter. He watched the scene unfold. To save Callie now would be up to Rafe because, in the time it would take Vax to shift and get out of Sanctuary and into the viewing area, Natalya could kill her.
Natalya’s tiger stared at Rafe, unmoving. Would she listen? At this point, there was only one thing Vax could do. Actually, there were two, but shifting in front of Callie wasn’t something he was willing to consider an option.
If Natalya tried to harm Callie, he’d kill her. There was no doubt of that. He’d start an international war between alliances and tribes if Callie was hurt.
He’d have to go with option two. Vax crouched low, tensed, and then leapt over the moat, landing in front of Natalya.
Callie screamed, a bloodcurdling sound that reverberated in his heart.
Go, Natalya, now. Vax raised his body to his full tiger height, his muscles taut, chest wide, the tendons in his neck tight.
No. She broke the sync with him, essentially shutting him out.
Vax stood in a triangle composed of Callie, Natalya, and him. Rafe was still behind the wall. If Natalya leapt for Callie, he’d intercept her and break her neck with a powerful bite from his jaws. Vax roared, the sound echoing off the walls. He was ready to kill her if she hurt Callie.
“Go now.” Again, Rafe’s voice was a whisper inaudible to human ears.
Natalya turned swiftly and took a long leap toward Rafe. With one backward glance at Callie, Vax followed Natalya, going through the hidden door. Staying close to the wall and out of sight, he listened for Callie to leave the enclosure.
* * *
Callie was confused. How had her tiger gone over the moat? When they had hired her, they’d said the tigers couldn’t get out. Firs
t the female was loose, then Callie’s tiger.
The tigress had turned, looked over her shoulder, then swerved, pulled a one-eighty, and, with one smooth jump, leapt out of sight.
Callie hadn’t known if she should make a run for the door or if she should be still. She had no idea where the tigress had gone when she disappeared around the corner. Then her tiger had followed the tigress around the corner, and Callie was alone. Stunned, she stared at the area where the tigers had been.
Twenty seconds later, long, grueling, forever-feeling seconds, Callie said “screw it” and took off for the door. She stopped in front of it, almost slamming into it in her haste, then jerked on the handle.
Locked.
Dammit.
Hell, no. She wasn’t going to die in here. She pounded on the door with her fists. She’d rather be caught and fired for being in here than be eaten by that very pissed-off tigress.
Sounds came from the other side of the door, then keys jingled, and the latch turned.
Martin opened the door.
“Callie, what are you doing in here?”
“Let me out. Let’s go.” Shit, she couldn’t tell him a tiger was free.
“Okay, okay.” He gave her a look like she’d lost it.
“I—Can you just close the door, please?” She pulled the door from his grasp and slammed it. “They’re loose,” she gasped.
Her knees were weak. Was there really a tiger in there that was loose? This night had been far too surreal.
* * *
Natalya walked to Vax, with Rafe following her. He held his hand up for them to be quiet.
Vax heard Callie tell Martin there was a loose tiger. Shit. Hopefully, Martin would think she was wrong, drunk, or something.
He gave Natalya a hard look, ignoring Rafe for the moment. “What are you doing?” He clenched his hand into a white-knuckled fist.
“She does not belong.” Natalya stomped her foot.
