by Cynthia Eden
“No, Erin, you’ve got to be careful,” Zane’s hushed voice. “If somebody’s got Jude down there—”
Screw careful. He needed her.
And she damn well needed him. More than she’d realized.
I didn’t know—didn’t understand—until I saw him die.
Erin ran into the darkness.
He’d better not be dead.
Chapter 18
Dim, sputtering candles lit the basement and revealed the massacre. A trail of broken, bloody bodies littered the floor. The moaning men had claw marks all over their flesh.
But all of the bastards weren’t moaning heaps on the floor. More of the assholes were up and they were still fighting. Five, no six of them were on the tiger. They’d backed the beast up against the far wall and they were punching him, stabbing him—
Killing him.
One blade drove into his side, into the already red fur, and the tiger jerked back, a keening cry on his lips.
Erin growled.
“Oh, no, the hell they aren’t—” Zane’s snarl behind her.
No, they weren’t. She attacked, with Zane charging at the same instant.
Erin grabbed the closest asshole and spun him around.
“What the hell?” Black eyes, darker than night, colder than hell, stared down at her. Demon. They were all demons in this den. “Bitch, what do you want?”
Her claws slashed over his chest. His mouth dropped open as the blood soaked his shirt. He fell to his knees, screaming.
“I want you to get out of my way,” she gritted and shoved him to the side.
Next. She lifted her claws up, ready to fight.
But Zane grabbed the next demon and broke the jerk’s wrist when the asshole lifted his knife. Smiling, Zane punched him in the face. Blood squirted, there was a sickening squish, and then that demon went down, too.
A scream of pain ripped through the room. Erin’s gaze jerked up. The tiger had caught one demon beneath him. Claws and teeth took him out in seconds.
Another demon launched toward her. Bald head. Soulless eyes and skin too pale. And like the others, this guy was armed. He grinned at her, then whispered, “Come play…”
Like she had to be asked twice. Taking a breath, tasting blood, Erin raced forward.
But this one was fast. In a breath’s time, he’d attacked and the blade of his knife sliced down her arm. Dammit! Fiery pain burned her flesh.
The music pounded around her. Where was it coming from?
“I love to watch a woman bleed.”
Her eyes narrowed. The guy’s breath was a stale wind in her face. He towered over her, grinning and flashing yellowed teeth. Giant, oozing sores covered his face and arms. He looked like some kind of Meth head. Maybe he was.
“I’ll slice you open, carve you up!” He lunged, but, this time, she was ready. When he came at her, her claws caught him, tearing flesh and muscle, cutting to the bone. His bloodshot eyes flared wide and a choked gasp broke from his lips.
“Or maybe I’ll slice you,” she whispered and tried really, really hard not to think about what she was doing. Not killing, no, she wasn’t killing the demons. They were still alive, just out of commission.
Fight.
Save Jude.
Fight.
No, she wasn’t killing them, but if it came to that in order to save Jude, she would.
Her claws jerked free. The demon groaned, then fell.
Another demon landed on top of him. This one was a broken, bleeding mess—courtesy of a knife-wielding Zane.
So many broken bodies surrounded them. And the tiger stood poised for a final attack. His powerful body bunched as his mouth opened over his prey.
“No, no!” Erin lunged for the tiger. “Zane, don’t let him!”
Zane was already there. He grabbed the shuddering demon from the mouth of the tiger and hauled the bastard back by the scruff of his neck.
The attacking demons were done. The jerk that Zane held was the only one still conscious in the room.
Her breath caught as she looked at the tiger. So many wounds. Too many. He wouldn’t be able to hold that form much longer. No way could he—
The transformation began. Fur melted before her eyes. Bones snapped. Scrambling, slipping in the blood that pooled on the floor, she went to him and held him tight. She could feel the slow thud of his heartbeat against her. “It’s okay.” Not a lie. It would be okay. They’d gotten there in time. “You’re safe.”
He shuddered against her and as she stroked him, her fingers skimming over his wounds. The deep cuts and slashes marked his sides, his back, his chest.
Erin swallowed. No, he’d make it. Jude would live.
“We’ve got to get him to a hospital.” Her voice was cold, she was cold.
So was he. His skin had turned to ice.
Jude’s blood poured on her, soaking her clothing.
In human form now, he seemed even weaker. She grabbed his face with her hands and forced him to look at her. “Jude? Jude, dammit—stay with me!” His blue eyes were dull. Faded, not bright like they should have been.
“No! You’re stronger than this! Fight!” A scream of fury and fear. Blood burned her nostrils. Drums pounded. Turn off the damn music. “Stay with me.” A whisper now.
Erin kissed him and tasted blood and man.
Stay with me.
His mouth didn’t move against hers. Too slack. Too cold.
“What the hell happened down here?” A sharp, furious demand.
Erin lifted her lips from Jude’s but didn’t glance back. Dee. Zane had called her again on the way to the den, told her to come. Armed.
“It was a setup,” Zane said, voice thundering. “When we got here, they were trying to slice him apart.”
They’d almost succeeded.
“Jude.” Still a whisper, but she thought she saw his eyelids flicker at the sound. “I know…I know you’re weak.” Her cheeks were damp. Blood or tears? Both? “But you’ve got to try and fight, okay? You can’t stay human.”
If he did, he’d bleed out before help arrived. She knew it. Wouldn’t lie to herself.
Her lips wanted to tremble so she pressed them together. His eyes were open, on her. Did he hear her? Did he understand?
Her fingers smoothed over his face. “Try to change back.” It was the only thing that would save him. The power of the shift. The beast could heal, the man couldn’t.
Jude wouldn’t be able to hold the tiger form long, she knew that. Probably only for a few seconds, but if he could just shift…
Some of the wounds would close. The healing powers would amp up and he’d survive.
Maybe.
No, no, he would survive.
The only reason he was still breathing now was because he’d shifted from beast to man. Every shift worked to mend his flesh. So if he could just transform one more time…
There might be a chance for him.
“Shift, Jude.” Her arms wrapped around him, held tight. “Shift!”
His heart rate kicked up but his head fell forward.
She held him tighter.
A growl built in his throat.
“Get an ambulance!” Zane ordered.
The thunder of footsteps on the stairs as Dee ran for help.
If he didn’t shift…
Soft, thick fur brushed against her skin.
Her eyes squeezed shut. Yeah, tears.
The crack of bones tormented her ears. Her hold never lessened. “Fight.”
Faster, faster—his heartbeat thudded in a double-time beat.
Her eyes opened. She saw white fur and the long, lean body of the tiger.
“Sonofabitch!” Zane’s cry. “I knew the bastard wouldn’t go down easy.”
No, not easy. Not her Jude.
He bucked against her, his body trembling. The shape of the tiger began to fade.
Be enough. Enough to let him live.
Moments passed. The tiger disappeared, leaving the broken man in his p
lace.
“Jude?”
He slowly raised his head and stared at her with confusion clouding his eyes. “Erin?”
Her smile felt like it was going to break her face. Too big. Too wide. Too—ah, hell. Erin kissed him.
And he kissed her back. Moved his lips, his tongue.
He was back.
She pulled away, just a few inches. “Don’t ever do that to me again, tiger.” Not too late. For once, finally, not too late.
His mouth hitched into a half-smile. “Trust me, not…part of my…plans.”
Her hands roved over his back. She could still feel the wounds, but they weren’t as deep. The blood flow had eased. The shift had done its job.
Jude wouldn’t die on her.
“You’re one tough asshole, shifter.” Zane whistled. “For a minute, I thought you were a corpse.”
Jude winced. He was naked, his flesh rippling as he moved. “For a…minute there, I did…too.”
So had she.
Dee’s shoes pounded down the stairs. “Help’s coming, just tell him to hold on—”
Erin glanced back at her in time to see the human stumble to a stop. Dee blinked twice, then smiled. “Shifter.”
If he hadn’t been, he would be dead.
Swallowing, Erin tried to ease back.
“Erin—wait, you’re hurt!”
Yeah, but he didn’t need to worry about her. The scratch she had was nothing compared to the wounds still on his body. “I’ll be okay.”
“Can’t you shift to heal?” Zane asked. The demon he’d hauled away lay bound near his feet. Good thing Zane carried his own cuffs—Other proof cuffs she’d glimpsed in the car. They were made out of some kind of special titanium. “You’re losing a lot of blood.”
She’d lost more blood than she would have liked, but her wound had already started to heal.
Jude caught her arm. Lifted it, turned it for better inspection. “You don’t…have to shift.” He sounded stronger. Good.
She shook her head. No, for her, the healing didn’t depend on the shift. A lucky thing, because otherwise, she’d be very easy prey.
His gaze rose to hers. “I saw…what you did.”
“I couldn’t let them kill you.” Her voice was rough and scratchy. She didn’t want to think about what she’d done to those men. No, demons, not men. Not human.
“You’re not…weak.” His eyes widened and he sucked in a sharp breath. “You’re the…next step, aren’t you? Evolution of the whole damn…species. Why shift when you’ve got all the power…in human form…”
Her brow furrowed. Next step? The guy must still be weak. She wasn’t anything special. Far from it.
“Donovan!” The door at the top of the stairs banged open. Voices shouted in the background, but Antonio’s voice was clear as he demanded. “Donovan, dammit, you down there?”
“Help’s arrived,” Dee murmured.
“The cops? Hell.” Zane shook his head. “You called them, Dee? Them?”
“I called 911,” she told him as Antonio flew down the stairs. It sounded like a dozen men were behind him. “Told them we had an officer down.”
“He’s not an officer,” Zane said, rubbing a hand over his face and then staring at the demons littering the floor. “I fucking hate dens.”
“Yeah, well, Jude’s also not human, but I didn’t tell them that, either.”
“Donovan!” Antonio leapt over the last few steps. “What the hell happened here?”
Jude pushed up, staggering a bit as he rose to his feet. Erin wrapped her arms around him as she tried to steady him as much as possible.
“Ambush,” Zane explained succinctly. “Who would’ve thought these drugged out assholes could even manage something like this?” Disgust was rich in his voice. No, not just disgust, almost…hatred.
“That…one.” Jude lifted his hand and pointed to the bound demon. “He’s not using.”
“Aw, Christ, man, you’re naked!” Antonio spun around. “You trying to make me go blind or something?”
There was a line of cops behind him. Men and women. A few EMTs were sprinkled in the bunch. Erin moved quickly, putting herself between Jude and the crowd. Not that Jude probably gave a rat’s butt about his modesty, but she did.
“What happened to his clothes?” one of the officers called out.
Antonio’s hands went to his hips. “This is a crack house—who knows what the drug heads were doing? Maybe they cut ’em off, thinking he was holding out on them.”
The man was fast on his feet, and his explanation sounded like a good cover story to her. Especially since Jude’s clothes were lying in a mangled pile to the right. “Dee,” she called softly, trying to catch the other woman’s attention. Dee worked with Jude. Did that mean she knew about his policy of keeping backup clothing in his vehicle?
“On it,” the woman said immediately and headed back for the stairs. “Uh, Tony, not to tell you how to handle your shit, but with all this Other stuff going on down here, don’t you think you’d better clear the scene?”
He gave a grim nod then ordered, “Bishop and Peters—get over there and see what kind of damage the assholes did to Donovan. The rest of you—upstairs. Make sure the scene is secured. None of these pricks will be leaving the area until I’m done with them.”
Dee brushed by him.
Antonio snagged her arm. “Next time, could you let me know what I’m walking into?”
“Wasn’t time for that.” One shoulder lifted, fell. “I thought he was dying.” She glanced back at Jude. “He was dying, and I needed the cavalry to get its ass here as fast as possible.” Then she jumped up the steps, hurrying her way to the top, right behind the line of retreating cops.
The EMTs moved toward Jude.
“No, no, I’ll be okay. I don’t need—”
“Stitch him up and then get the hell out of here,” Antonio ordered.
The guy in the front, the one with the name tag reading John Bishop, gulped. “We—we’re gonna need to take him to a hospital.”
“No hospital,” Jude’s growl.
“You heard the man,” Antonio said.
“He could have internal bleeding. Severe blood loss. He could have—”
“Get some thread and get a needle.” Antonio glowered at him. “Stitch up any wound bigger than your hand, and don’t worry about anything else.”
Good advice. The cop obviously knew his Other business. Jude’s internal wounds would already be healing and his body would be compensating for any blood loss. White tigers were amazing healers. If the stories were true, they were almost the fastest of the shifters when it came to wound repair.
The wounds on the surface would take the longest time to heal. Shifters recovered from the inside, out. Mother Nature’s way of taking care of her priorities. Priorities like the heart and lungs and all the internal organs.
“You’re a hell of a fighter, Erin.” His voice was a soft rumble.
The EMTs went to work on him.
She forced a smile and stepped back, knowing she was in the way. “So are you.” If he hadn’t fought so hard, for so long, they never would have made it to him in time.
His gaze bored into hers. Not dull anymore. So very blue.
Jude. He was back. She could almost see the strength pouring into him.
“You had one of the…dreams, didn’t you?”
Erin forced a nod. She’d never forget that vision. Until the day she died, Erin would always remember what it was like to see Jude murdered before her.
She took another step back.
“You weren’t too…late this time.”
No, not this time.
Jude didn’t even wince when Bishop drove a two-inch needle into his shoulder. Probably not necessary, not like he could get an infection, but—
“Thanks for…saving my ass, sweetheart.”
Her lips trembled into a smile. “You’re welcome.” And she slipped in the blood and fell on her ass.
Come nightfal
l, the demons would be making his delivery.
A bound and beaten tiger shifter—all ready for the kill.
He smiled as he stared into the swamp. Thick trees, lazy moss, muddy water.
When he was finished, he’d toss the body out here and let the alligators take care of Donovan. What was left of him.
The body would never be found. No evidence, no crime.
It’d be for the best that way. The shifter had too many friends. Too many hunters on his side.
Yes, it would be far better for the world if the bastard just vanished, and he would make certain that was exactly what the shifter did.
Erin would be all alone then. She’d think her lover had abandoned her.
All lost and alone—what would she do? Turn to me. He’d take her, of course, but not until she’d paid for bringing the tiger into their lives.
A little pain would be good for their relationship.
An alligator cruised past him, never slowing, never glancing his way.
“Dinner’s coming,” he whispered.
The woman was amazing—and she’d seriously saved his ass.
The EMTs were done. Done jerking on him. Done driving their needles into his flesh.
They’d stitched him up. A good thing because he needed the stitches. Until the healing was finished, the stitches would keep the wounds from worsening. When the skin mended, the stitches would fall away, and he wouldn’t have to worry about leaving a trail of blood behind him when he hunted.
Because, hell, yeah, he was going hunting.
Dee tossed him a pair of jeans. His backup clothes. Jude jerked them on, managing not to wince at the pull from his injuries. Nudity didn’t bother him a bit, but there were humans around, and they expected certain things.
Like clothing.
“Good job,” Tony told the EMTs.
“He needs to be in a hospital.” From Bishop, the chatty one. The other guy hadn’t said a word the whole time he worked. When he’d first strode from the stairs, Jude had seen the way the fellow eyed the demons on the floor. Too much knowledge had been in his stare.
The guy knew they were in a den, the demon equivalent of a crack house, and he wanted out.
