Eye of the Tiger

by Crissy Smith

  They didn’t have packs like wolves, or flocks like Cody belonged to. The felines were more separated than other species. The royal family, led by their prince, made the majority of the decisions when it came to the massive amount of different felines. When the announcement had gone out that the felines would be joining the wolves in going public, there had been a lot of grumbling down the line.

  Abilene had been with the ATF for several years by then and understood both sides of the argument. Partnered with Luca, they both had been able to use their special abilities to aid with their cases. Now that they could use their senses in the open their closing rates had increased. That had been a good thing in her opinion.

  A faint buzzing made its way to her ears. She hadn’t remembered to turn her ringer back on when she’d left the Coalition that afternoon. Sliding out from under Zak, she groped along the floor where her jeans were. Finding them at the bottom end of the bed, she pulled her cell out of her pocket.

  Her partner’s name lit up.

  “Hello?” she answered. She didn’t want to wake Zak but she couldn’t exactly whisper or Luca would wonder what was up.

  “Finally! Where are you? I tried knocking on your door!”

  Well damn. “I ran an errand. What’s up?”

  He huffed, which she heard clearly over the line.

  “There’s a problem. Otto needs you on scene at the First Security Bank downtown.”

  She stood, no longer worried about waking Zak. “Why?”

  “Seems like our friends are already making their move. They took a bank full of hostages.”

  “Shit, shit, shit!” She needed to find her clothes.

  “So you need to be at Sixteenth and West like twenty minutes ago,” Luca explained.

  She listened as Luca gave her the details before responding. “I’m on my way,” she told him before ending the call. She stuffed the phone back in her jeans before hopping around to get her foot inside her pants.

  “What is going on?” Zak asked from the bed.

  Abilene paused in pulling up her jeans. She couldn’t lie to Zak, but even though she didn’t really know him well she was certain he would take the call hard. “There’s a situation.”

  He sat up in bed. “Tell me, please.”

  She yanked up her pants before strolling over to him. He raised his hand and she grabbed it. “Three men have taken hostages in a bank. I don’t know all the details but Luca said it was related to our bust. He needs me there. Luca can’t show up since he’s still supposed to be dead.”

  “Okay,” he said. He started to climb out of bed, but she pressed on his shoulder.

  “Where are you going?”

  “With you,” he said, looking at her like she was crazy to even ask.

  “You can’t. For the same reason Luca won’t be on scene. If anyone recognizes you…”

  “Do you really think Luca is going to call you and not drive to the scene?” he asked.

  Crap. No she didn’t. Not only did she need to talk Zak into staying behind, she needed to head off Luca. “Shit!”

  Rushing around the room, she dressed as quickly as possible.

  “Which bank?” Zak questioned as he pulled on his clothes.

  “Zak, I don’t have time to fight with you. You need to stay here.”

  “I’m not arguing. If you don’t tell me, I’ll just find out anyway. Hell, I’ll follow you.”

  Blowing out a long breath, she studied the man she’d spent the night with. She didn’t doubt for a second that he would follow through with his threat. “You didn’t hear it from me.”

  “Of course not,” he agreed.

  “First Security on Sixteenth and West,” she told him. If Zak got in trouble with his boss, that was on him.

  “Was Luca able to tell you anything more?”

  Sitting on the bed, she pulled on her socks and shoes. It was good she’d worn jeans over the night before but she would have much preferred her utility pants for a job like this. She didn’t have time to go back to the hotel. “Just that local PD showed up on the scene before calling the FBI. The suspects won’t talk to either. They demanded Coalition presence.”

  “Damn,” Zak muttered.

  “Do you know who it could be?”

  “Couple of possibilities. We broke up into smaller groups several times over the last six months. Not everyone I’ve met was at the farm when we were arrested.”

  “We need to get everyone else rounded up,” she said, but was really talking to herself.

  “I already started making a list of those that we need to go after. Jamie’s team is trying to locate them. If anyone can find them, it will be Jamie.” Zak grabbed his wallet and phone off his dresser.

  “Give me a couple minutes head start before you leave,” she requested, preceding him out of the bedroom door.

  “Hey!” He captured her arm.

  Turning, she looked up.

  “I like the fact that you’re headed right to a scene without showering,” he said, his voice dropping low and sexy.

  Abilene hadn’t even considered it. A thrill had her smiling. “Yeah?”

  “You’ll still smell like me. All the other shifters will know you’re mine.”

  The declaration—and that was what the statement had been—was unexpected but exciting. The buzz of pleasure had her rising to her toes to take his mouth in a rough kiss. He clutched her waist, pulling her closer. When they broke apart they were both panting.

  “I want more than your sweet mouth,” he told her.

  “If you don’t get yourself in trouble today, I’ll let you have more.”

  He nodded. “I guess I’d better behave then.”

  “You do that.” She patted his chest before darting out of the door to the stairs.

  She exited the house, going straight to the car. Starting the engine, she took off like a bat out of hell. Halfway to downtown, she pulled out her cell. She punched in Luca’s contact then waited for him to answer.

  Luca’s voicemail came on instead.

  “Son of a bitch!” Zak had been right. There was no way that Luca wouldn’t show up. Why in the hell hadn’t Otto called her directly?

  Glancing down at her cell, she saw she had two missed calls. Damn, she hadn’t heard the phone until Luca’s call. That was what she deserved for forgetting to take it off vibrate.

  She was going to hear about that later.

  Pressing her foot down, she sped up to take off a few precious extra minutes from her drive.

  Chapter Ten

  “What in the hell is going on?” Zak asked, as he joined Cody behind one the large SUVs that belonged to the Coalition.

  Cody narrowed his eyes at Zak before he answered. “Three armed men took an entire bank full of people hostage. They purposely set off the alarm and refused to talk to the police or FBI. They’ll only speak with us,” Cody informed him.

  “Why us?” he asked as he tried to peek around the vehicle.

  Cody grabbed his shirt and dragged him back from view. “Are you crazy? You’re not even supposed to be here! You’re supposed to be locked up, remember!”

  “Okay, okay.” Zak knocked his friend’s hand off him. “Now answer the question. Why us?” He knew that Cody didn’t want to tell him but Zak was also sure Cody wouldn’t bullshit him either.

  “They gave their demands to Commander Green,” Cody told him.

  “What demands?”

  “They want the release of all the men we arrested yesterday. If we give in, they’ll turn themselves in to us and confess to bank robbery,” Cody said.

  “Shit!” Zak exclaimed. “They have to know that we’d never do that, especially not for three people we know nothing about.”

  “They expect us to do it to get the hostages released. Commander Green is pretty sure they will start executing their captives soon,” Cody replied quietly.

  “Ugh!” Zak punched the metal tailgate. This was just what they needed. Some whacked out group of shifters adding even mo
re trouble. Every time the shifters made a move like this against humans, they were hurting every one of the other innocent shifters.

  Strong arms wrapped around his chest before he was lifted off the ground. Jamie’s scent floated to him before he had a chance to panic.

  “Calm down,” Jamie whispered harshly in his ear.

  Taking a deep breath, Zak called on his everlasting control. He nodded once, showing he was okay. Jamie released him and spun him around.

  “Are you trying to get yourself in trouble?” Jamie barked. “The commander is only two vehicles over.”

  Zak held his hands up. “All right, I’m sorry.”

  “How’d you find out about this anyway?” Cody questioned from behind him.

  He shifted around so he could eye both his friends. Abilene hadn’t wanted to tell him but in the end she hadn’t been able to just sneak out of his bed. Not after what they’d shared.

  “I have my sources,” he replied.

  Cody and Jamie exchanged looks.

  “Agent Fox arrived about five minutes before you,” Jamie noted.

  “Did she?” He didn’t look away or move as he stared at his friend.

  “Yep, she appeared a little tired too. Maybe something kept her up all night,” Jamie added.

  “It’s always hard sleeping in a hotel. I myself find it difficult to rest well in a strange place.” He remained locked in the standoff with Jamie.

  “You know Cody and Aubrey were going to stop by last night to make sure you were okay but you already had a guest,” Jamie said before smirking.

  Zak blew out a breath. “Oh shut up!” he grumbled.

  Jamie’s laugh boomed out. “I so knew you were going to get freaky with the cheetah shifter.”

  “You did not,” he snapped.

  “He bet me before you even left the Coalition. I thought you’d at least take a couple days to settle back in but Jamie said twenty-four hours,” Cody provided.

  “I hate you both,” Zak said adamantly.

  “You don’t,” Cody and Jamie replied in union.

  He couldn’t help it. He started to chuckle and before he knew it, he was laughing outright. Wiping tears from his eyes, he knew he was worrying his friends. Zak didn’t laugh. He was the growly loner and kept to himself. “I can’t believe you assholes bet on my sex life.”

  “Ah, man, it’s only because we love you,” Jamie told him.

  “Okay, enough of your antics. We need to figure out what we’re doing here,” Zak said.

  Jamie sobered immediately. Zak knew they hadn’t forgotten the purpose of why they were there but in their line of work they needed these moments to distract themselves from the weight of pressure on their shoulders.

  “Commander Green is calling for us,” Cody said, tapping the earpiece he wore.

  “Stay here,” Jamie ordered.

  “Actually, Green wants him, too.” Cody turned to Zak. “Guess he knows you’re here.”

  Zak sighed, knowing he was going to receive a lecture. “Let’s go then.”

  Stepping out from behind the SUV, Zak took in all the details he hadn’t noticed when he’d first arrived. Lake Worth police cars were angled in front of the bank. There were more dark unmarked large vehicles that had to belong to the FBI or ATF.

  There were probably close to fifty different combined police and federal agents roaming around. Glancing up, he spotted a sniper on the roof across the street. Chills raced down his spine. If they didn’t get the three suspects out of the bank and away from hostages people were going to be killed.

  Commander Green stood right in the middle of all the chaos. Beside him stood Abilene and Luca.

  “I see you can’t follow directions either,” Green said as a greeting.

  “I planned to stay out of the way,” he replied. “Just a quick peek at the scene.”

  His boss was already shaking his head. “You two.” He pointed at Zak and Luca. “Go wait in the back of my vehicle. I’ll speak with you soon.”

  Zak nodded then strolled to the SUV with Luca at his heels. He knew better than to challenge his commander when he had that frown on his face. Sliding into the back seat, Zak glanced over at his companion. He had gotten to see Luca for a few minutes the day before but Cody and Jamie had been with him.

  “How are you feeling?” Zak asked him.

  “I’m fine, Zak,” Luca assured him.

  “I shot you,” Zak reminded him. “I’d like a better answer than you’re fine.” He sat back, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “You did what I told you,” Luca said. “It worked, too.”

  “We should have just taken Logan in and called for backup,” Zak argued.

  “You had a chance to get in the inner circle. If we hadn’t gotten there in time for the bust, you would have had your in,” Luca told him.

  “All I did was shoot you and let myself get arrested. We could have done that without the bullet!”

  “But now your cover is still in place. We didn’t get Timmons. If they have to send you back in? You have already proved your loyalty,” Luca said.

  Zak knew he was right. It was the same thing that Cody had told him the day before. However, he couldn’t even imagine going under again. He didn’t know if he could. “What are you doing here anyway?” he asked, changing the subject.

  “Same thing as you. I wanted to know who was inside,” Luca answered.

  “Do you think it’s Robbie and his friends?” Zak lowered his voice.

  “Yeah,” Luca replied. “Who else? They were always ready to do whatever was ordered—not smart enough to question anything. Whoever is pulling their strings knows they’ll take the fall.”

  “There is no way anyone is going to meet their demands,” Zak said the words to Luca that he’d spoken to Cody. “What’s the endgame?”

  “Abilene had an idea on that when I was speaking with her earlier,” Luca said. “What does this group want?”

  “A war between the humans and shifters. For the shifters to take over,” Zak answered.

  “So what happens when three shifters kill a bunch of innocent humans?”

  “They get what they want. And Mike Timmons will swoop in and play hero,” Zak guessed.

  “From what Logan told you, I think you’re right,” Luca agreed.

  “We have an arrest warrant for Mike Timmons,” Zak stated. If Timmons showed his face, the Coalition would take him in. Zak had been ordered to kill Luca by Timmons himself.

  “If he plays his cards right, he’ll have enough support that even when we do arrest him, he’ll look like the good guy. He’s got the money to pay for the best lawyers. He’ll use all the attempts from the SIP to launch himself into political power. We won’t come across well in the media,” Luca said.

  Zak’s mind was spinning. All of this destruction, murder and the threats were for Mike Timmons to make his way to running the country. He’d blame the crimes on the SIP and come in and save the humans from the big bad shifters. That would only work for so long. Zak knew exactly what would happen once Timmons got what he wanted. Once Timmons was in power, his true colors would show. But it would be too late for the humans. Timmons would turn on non-shifters and eventually the war Timmons desired would transpire.

  What in the hell was wrong with people these days? War. The loss of innocent lives. People who had never spoken out against the shifters would be captured, tortured or killed. It made him sick to his stomach to know what the future might hold.

  “So,” Luca said into the silence they’d fallen into, “when I called Abilene this morning, she wasn’t in her hotel room.”

  Zak barely managed to hold in a growl. Why was every single person he spoke to interested in his sex life? He was a grown man. He’d had many lovers throughout his lifetime. “Oh yeah?”

  “You wouldn’t know where she spent the night, would you?” Luca asked directly.

  “Did you ask her?” he shot back.

  “I did.” Luca turned toward him, grinning. “
She told me to mind my own business.”

  “Sounds like good advice.”

  “That’s the thing, though,” Luca told him. “Usually she has no trouble sharing details about her relationships, so it makes me wonder even more what’s going on.”

  Running his hands roughly over his face, Zak knew better than to answer. But he did consider Luca a friend. “I don’t know what is going on between us. I feel a connection to her that I know she returns. But I just got out of an intense job—you know that since you were there with me—and I’m still trying to get back into my skin.”

  Luca patted his shoulder. “I know. I woke up last night expecting to hear the guys downstairs drunk and smashing things. When I looked around and saw a nice hotel room, it just didn’t seem possible.”

  “How long have you been doing undercover work?” Zak questioned.

  “Six years for the ATF. This was my longest assignment, though. I didn’t think it would be so difficult settling back in but…”

  Zak understood what Luca was having trouble explaining. Luca didn’t need to—not with Zak. “It usually takes a few days for it to hit me that I’m back,” he shared. Spending time with Abilene the night before had helped calm him.

  “It’s not just me, though. Even my coyote can’t calm,” Luca whispered.

  “Yeah, it would be a good idea to shift soon and let him run free. That way the bond between both your sides can strengthen.” He’d have to do the same. After long missions it was important to remind himself who and what he was. His tiger, although Zak wasn’t comfortable with that part of himself, needed to run or Zak would be closer to losing control.

  “I think I’ll do that,” Luca said.

  Zak would have liked to offer to run with Luca but he never shifted around someone else. “Jamie knows all the best trails. I’ll get him to make you a map.”

  He had his own place to transform. It was away from the public areas and he felt safe there.

  “Thanks, man.”

  A loud commotion came from in front of them, and Luca jumped. Zak leaned forward to peer out of the windshield. He couldn’t see the entrance of the bank but by the way the agents in front of him were reacting, something was going on.