A Tiger's Treasure (Tiger Protectors Book 2)

by Terry Bolryder

“You must think it’s so pointless, don’t you?” she asked, holding on to him. “But you don’t know what it’s like. The worrying. The never knowing.”

  “Yeah,” he said. “I don’t. I’m going to do my best to help you figure this out. I just need you to promise me one thing.”

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “We’ll do our best to figure this out,” he said. “But the first priority is your safety. And no matter what we find out, your parents wouldn’t want you to put yourself in danger simply to solve a mystery.” He stroked her hair. “You wolves are so obsessed with vengeance you forget to live.”

  “As opposed to you tigers, who are so obsessed with duties you forget to live?” she teased, already done crying. He guessed she was just the type who quickly moved on from uncomfortable emotions. And got busy working.

  Just like he did.

  As he held her, he thought over his years at the precinct. He’d seen some dubious things, but he’d also been focusing on different things than other cops. Had he really missed something that corrupt?

  He’d need to go in and talk to the chief.

  “Amy?” he asked quietly, pulling her away so he could look at her.

  “Yes?”

  “I want you to put the file back. Make sure everything is in order. And shut it all away. I assume you’ve made copies.”

  She nodded.

  “Then put it away. Act like you took their attack as a warning. Act like you aren’t looking into it anymore. I’ll deal with it from here.”

  “Why?” she asked, folding her arms. “So you can step in and be the big bad protector?”

  “Because whoever’s after you won’t stop as long as they know you’re looking into the case. And I can’t talk to those in the department who trust me and focus on getting your info if I’m constantly worried you’re going to be attacked.”

  “You’ll be worried anyway, won’t you?” she asked.

  “Yes,” he said frankly. “But less. At least as long as Blake and whoever he’s with knows I’m with you, they’ll probably give you some space. Blake knows I can take him, and they weren’t planning to have to go through a tiger to get to you. So just let me deal with this in the meantime.”

  “Okay,” she said. “I’ll give you a chance to deal with it first. I haven’t been successful yet anyway in trying to get information on my own.”

  A light bulb went off in his head. “Trent,” he said. “That’s why you went out with him.”

  “Yup,” she said. “But he didn’t know anything. He hasn’t been at the department long enough.”

  “Don’t do any more of that,” Carter said, folding his arms. “You could put yourself in danger.”

  She blinked, like that hadn’t even factored in. He guessed when you had one thing more important than everything else in your life, you managed to block out a lot of stuff. Like concerns for your own safety.

  Now she had someone who would.

  Carter nodded. “I’ll talk to the chief tomorrow. Spin it the way I need to.”

  She sighed. “I’m not used to someone else handling my problems.”

  “Right, but you’re used to other people causing them,” he said.

  She nodded.

  “So let me help you with this. You’re my partner.”

  He would start by exploring every one of the shifters in the office as an option, no matter how long they’d been there. They might know something from someone else.

  The idea of solving the mystery for her sort of pleased him, as long as she didn’t get hurt over it.

  She picked up her sandwich and finished it, and when she was done, he took their plates and glasses back to the kitchen.

  Her curvy form filled his mind, and he knew one thing for certain. He wasn’t letting her out of his sight until this was over. He wouldn’t let another person lay a hand on her. At least for the next little while, he could pretend she was his mate.

  That would have to be enough to sustain him in the future.

  Deep down, his tiger growled.

  7

  Amy sat at her desk the next day, waiting while Carter talked with the chief. She didn’t know exactly what he was saying, but she wanted to.

  Instead, she played with the photos on her desk, of the crime scene where she’d been attacked the other day.

  Carter was right. Something was off, but she didn’t know exactly what.

  She looked at one of the more graphic photos of the chest. Shifter markings, like the ones that had been on her parents. But that wasn’t odd, since the attacker had been a shifter. And shifters attacked people.

  Had the police just not noticed the scratches? Had the initial investigators not known about shifters, and the other shifters just didn’t interfere? A million options swam in her brain. She itched at the thought that with Carter’s help, she might finally know about what had happened to her parents.

  But for now, she had to act casual.

  When the chief’s door opened, Carter came walking out, and Amy felt her body heat just at the sight of him. Regardless of how the day went, she could hardly wait to be back at home with him. All in all, she couldn’t believe how well things were going. Good sex, someone on her side that she could trust, a protector. And she would be closer than ever to finding out what had happened to her parents.

  And what then? She shook her head. She couldn’t even fathom it.

  If she no longer had that duty, then she had her other duty. Finding some stupid alpha wolf to mate to do what her parents had always wanted.

  Too bad her heart was already falling for Carter. He’d been so hot the other night. It was even hotter than usual to see him strutting around the office in his shirt and tie. Tall and handsome, making her think about what they’d do when they got back in the bedroom again.

  He stopped at her desk and leaned over. She grinned at him. “Not so close.”

  He smirked and stood back, folded arms. “Well, I told the chief I’d talked to you about not going into the case and that you’d decided to let it go. He took it well.”

  “Why’d you tell him that?” she asked.

  “Because we want everyone to think you’ve given up on it,” he said. “If anyone would know you’d been messing in case files, it would be the chief. I’m sure he goes through security video now and then.”

  She sighed and nodded. “Yeah. I guess so.”

  “What do you want to do tonight?” he asked, sitting at his desk and leaning back. His green eyes twinkled. “Besides the obvious, I mean.”

  She grinned back. “I don’t know. Just relax, I guess. Maybe watch a movie?”

  Carter frowned. “A chick flick?”

  “Hell no,” she said. “An action movie.”

  Carter shook his head. “What if I like chick flicks? I had a mother, you know.”

  She froze. She’d never heard about his parents. She was about to ask when he stood abruptly.

  “You want coffee?” he asked, looking unfazed. But there was something about his body language that looked profoundly uncomfortable.

  Why wouldn’t he tell her about his mother when he already knew about hers?

  For the first time since the parking garage, she felt he was closing her out. And she didn’t like it.

  She appreciated he was being relaxed and calm, trying to make it all feel comfortable for her, despite the fact that he was basically tied to her side until they figured out who was after her.

  But he didn’t act like it was any kind of burden. Nor did he act like nothing had happened. There was a warmth in his usually steely gaze when he looked at her, as if he had a soft spot just for her.

  She’d seen it happening all morning, and it worried her a little that he was getting attached. When this was over, after their fling, she had a duty to do. He knew that.

  And he’d made it sound like he had other things to do as well. This job, for the so-called dragons. She still wanted to know more about that as well.

  She worked for
the next few hours with Carter. He ordered in takeout and they ate at their desks while discussing another case. For a bit at least, it felt like business as usual.

  When it was time to go home, Carter sat back in his desk, running his large hands through his hair as he stretched. Amy peeked up at him, loving the play of his muscles in his shirt as he moved.

  Was this man really hers? Even just temporarily?

  He stood. “Time to head out.”

  She stood as well, grabbing her coat and shrugging into it as she waited for him to follow behind her. Her body was tingling, already super aware of the fact that they would soon be alone again. That sounded amazing.

  Carter put out his arm for her as they walked outside. Even though they were acting different, no one at the precinct seemed to be paying any particular mind.

  Everything seemed to be returning to normal.

  Carter stopped as they walked down the sidewalk toward his car, raising his head as if scenting the air. She scented as well, but didn’t smell anything.

  “What is it?” she asked. “I don’t scent anything.”

  “I don’t know,” he said. “More a feeling than anything else.” He rubbed his neck and kept them walking toward his car. “Just my instincts I guess.”

  “Well, listen to them,” she said. “What do they say?”

  “I’m not sure yet.” His full lips were pursed. She noticed for the first time that he had a light five o’clock shadow, which only defined his handsome jaw more. But there were also lines under his eyes, like he’d been squinting. Or stressed.

  “I’m sorry I got you involved in this,” she said. “You didn’t ask for it.”

  “My job is to make sure shifters don’t cause people trouble,” he said, looking at her with calm green eyes. “This is just part of that job.”

  She flinched slightly at that. Did she want it to be more personal between them? That would only make it harder when it was over.

  “I’m glad you came into my life,” he said. “This is something that needs to be made right, and I’m going to make sure it is.”

  She nodded. “Thank you.” And then she felt it too, a slight prickling on the back of her neck as they got close to the car.

  She was about to shake it off and take another step forward when Carter suddenly grabbed her by the arm and yanked her back, hard.

  She barely had time to register a sucking motion in the air before she was thrown to the ground and Carter covered her just as a huge explosion deafened everything around her. She sucked in a breath and held on to Carter, strong and silent above her, and then she heard the crackle of flames. He rolled off of her to allow both of them to look at the flaming wreckage of his car.

  Men were flooding out of the police station, running toward them.

  She felt fine, not even singed, thanks to Carter, who had some debris and smoky ashes on his coat from being on top of her.

  He ran his hands over her arms, searching her face. “Are you all right?”

  She nodded, pushing herself up to standing with his help. The last thing she wanted was to be lying down when the other men came out to see them.

  Trent’s partner Stan was staring wide-eyed at the wreck. Luckily, it was parked on the other side of the street, down a ways from the clinic and next to an abandoned lot.

  Sirens sounded as a fire truck came screaming down the street. She looked up at the situation around her in a blur as one thing came to her mind.

  Someone had been trying to kill her.

  “That’s it,” Carter said under his breath as the chief walked toward them. “After this, I’m calling the dragons.”

  Her eyes widened and her heart thumped at the thought.

  * * *

  Carter couldn’t believe someone had tried to kill them. Anger lashed through him as he listened to the chief detailing what they were going to do to investigate the situation. But Carter’s mind was already elsewhere.

  After this, he had no choice but to take Amy to his employers, the dragons.

  No one could protect her better than them, and the situation was getting more fucked up by the minute.

  “Come on,” he said, taking advantage of the moment the chief was talking to someone else to take Amy by the arm and lead her away from the group. He was lucky the chief didn’t know he was a shifter. Right now, he would just think Carter the silly human was keeping Amy from sticking her nose anywhere, and that would suit him just fine.

  “Where are we going?” she hissed as they hurried away from the scene.

  “Safe house,” he said. “You’ll see.” He pulled out his phone and dialed a number by memory once they were safely down the street from the crowd.

  “Shouldn’t we wait and see what they’re going to do about the bomb?” she asked.

  “No,” he said. “This just stepped up a notch. And do you really expect the men back there to protect us?” He shook his head. “Someone had the balls to do this right outside the precinct. I can’t trust anyone there. I thought I would have time to figure this out more slowly, but apparently not.”

  “Gotcha,” she said, rubbing her hands over her arms.

  Carter typed a quick message to the number he’d entered and then slid the phone in his pocket. “Come on,” he said, looking around to make sure no one was following her before pulling her toward the large abandoned lot. When they got over the fence, he started running, dragging her with him.

  “Carter, what are we doing?” she asked, shielding her head as they ran forward under a murky gray sky. Thunder sounded overhead.

  “I should have done this when we were attacked by a tiger, but I thought I could handle things. But if they just tried to blow us up, then this is way over my head. I’m an enforcer, straight from the dragons, and if someone has the balls to try and do that to me just to get to you, they’re desperate. And they might be close to us.” He looked back at her. “I can’t let anything happen to you.” He ran forward, jerking her along, and she felt her legs growing shaky as they pressed through the tall grass.

  Luckily, they’d gone far enough down the road that no one was looking at them.

  If someone at the precinct was responsible, the last thing they’d want to do was look suspicious by being all over Carter and Amy.

  When she stumbled, he picked her up and swung her into his arms without skipping a beat. When a siren sounded, coming down the street past them, he crouched, staying low in the brown grass. “Shh,” he said, though he was already quiet.

  “So now what?” she asked.

  “Now we wait,” he said.

  “For what?” she asked, but he put a hand up to silence her with one calloused finger on her lips. Even now, with him singed from the explosion, danger all around him, he saw her reaction to his touch, felt it resounding within him.

  There was something special between them. Something that couldn’t be broken during an explosion.

  He removed his finger as she looked up at him with dark, quiet eyes.

  She pressed her lips together and made an effort to relax, though he could feel his own heart beating in his chest and was sure hers was racing as well. He gathered her close.

  “You saved my life,” she whispered. “Thank you.”

  “I nearly put you in danger,” he said, shaking his head. “Thank me when we both get out of this alive.”

  “Why now?” she asked, shaking her head. “Why do they want us dead now? It makes no sense. I’ve been after this for ten years. Then you’re suddenly involved and everything just explodes. Literally.”

  “I don’t understand it either,” he said in low, quiet voice. “Something very odd is going on. I’m not sure it’s only about you anymore. Maybe it has to do with Blake.”

  “Maybe,” she said. “What are we waiting for?”

  Carter sensed it before he saw it, a change in the air, a coldness of shifting winds, and looked up to see a shimmering, transparent shape landing in the distance. He pointed and began to run again with her in his
arms, staying low in the grass. “That.”

  “What the hell is that?” she said, speaking just a little too loud so he had to shush her.

  “That,” he said, “is a dragon.”

  He heard her gasp but didn’t have time to explain any further because they needed to get out of here immediately. Their ride was here.

  * * *

  Amy gulped.

  Whatever was in front of them, it was huge. She was aware of it more in her senses, the trepidation of having something incredible filling the space, living and breathing. A slight warmth as she approached, as if something large was breathing into the cold air.

  “Carter, is it safe?” she asked.

  “As long as you aren’t an outlaw, next to a dragon is the safest place to be,” he said, setting her down as he approached the object in front of them.

  The air shimmered, and she caught the hint of scales, pearlescent and silver, just for an instant. A flash of eyes and teeth, just barely perceptible, as fast as a passing breeze.

  “What the…?”

  “Stand with the girl in front of you,” a low voice commanded.

  Carter did as asked, pulling her in against his tight chest.

  “Hold on tight,” the voice growled. Then she heard the flap of wings and felt something hard and scaly wrap around their waists, holding them tight together as they were lifted in the air. As she looked at the ground disappearing beneath them, she felt a little like they were tandem skydiving but going in the reverse direction.

  The air was colder as they moved higher, and when they got up into the clouds, the dragon around them became visible. She gasped as she saw another pull up alongside him. Bright red, just barely visible as they flew through the thick cloud cover.

  They were majestic animals, the size of a bus, but they were lean and long, with graceful necks and huge, magnificent wings.

  “There are two of them,” she said.

  “They work in pairs,” he said. “For protection.”

  “I thought you said they were the top of the food chain,” she said quietly.

  “All the more reason we’re a target for mobs,” the dragon carrying them said. “I’m Perry, by the way. Silver dragon at your service.”