by Jane Jamison
She believed him. Nonetheless, she checked the others and saw that they hadn’t shown any contradictory reactions when he’d given his word. If anyone knew whether to trust them or not, it had to be their friends and neighbors.
“It’ll take time to retrieve your car anyway.” Marrick’s dark eyes lightened with bits of amber. “Besides, after the night you’ve had, you need a good rest. Please. The children, hell, we need your help.”
“If you like, Lisa, I’ll come along and help you get settled. I can swing by the clothing store really fast and grab a few things while you and the kids get washed up.” Lena studied her, obviously trying to guess her sizes. “By the time you’ve gotten cleaned up, I’ll have food on the table. How’s that sound?”
This is insane.
First, she’d found two kids and their dead mother. Now she was being asked to join their uncle and his friend on their ranch? And to take care of kids she’d known for less than twenty-four hours?
Don’t be stupid. Say no. Get your car fixed and get the hell out of town.
“Where am I anyway? What’s the name of this town?” Was she stalling? Trying not to give an answer?
“You’re in Twisted,” answered Craig.
“I’ve never heard of it.”
Marrick’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Not many have. But it’s a nice place with good people. So? Will you help us? Will you help the kids?”
He was playing the kid card big time. After having suffered through Richard playing his stupid games, covering his tracks while cheating on her with Cassie, she couldn’t be dumb enough to stay with men she didn’t know. Hadn’t she learned not to be naïve yet?
She opened her mouth fully intending to tell them no. “Okay. But only for the night.” Her answer surprised her as much as it did them.
At least she’d earned the first genuinely happy smile she’d seen from Marrick. Craig’s smile widened, too.
“Okay, then. Let’s get you and kids to the ranch.” Craig motioned for her to follow them as he and Marrick started walking toward a red F-150 Ford pickup.
She paused then let out a breath. What the hell had she done? But she’d given her word and she’d keep it. Bending over, she took Teag and Kitty by the hand. “Come on, kids.”
* * * *
Craig leaned against the wall and watched as Lisa and Lena took charge. The women were from two generations and as different as any human and weretiger, but they shared a natural affinity in handling the children.
The hours stretched from one to several by the time he and Marrick had gotten the kids settled into their home. After giving the place a quick look, Lisa had gotten the kids into the bath first then into a couple of Marrick’s huge T-shirts to sleep in.
Lena took over in the kitchen. It wasn’t long before Teag and Kitty were at the table and chowing down. Before Lena’s arrival, Lisa had helped herself to their closets and found a pair of shorts as well as a man’s white shirt to put on. Both dwarfed her, but it only made her look even more irresistible.
“Seriously, Lena, I appreciate all the clothes, but I’m only staying the one night.”
Craig hid his smile. Lisa could protest all she wanted, but once Lena landed on an idea, it was set in stone.
“Then take them with you as a thank you for all you’ve done for the children.” Lena spooned more soup into Lisa’s bowl. “And eat up. You’re skin and bones.”
The skin and bones comment sounded funny coming from the thin older woman. Craig suspected Lena was trying to make Lisa feel more at home.
“How are they doing?” Marrick closed the front door behind him.
“Take a look for yourself.” Craig nodded at the scene in the kitchen. “I think Teag’s about to fall asleep face down in his soup.”
“If they weren’t shifter kids, they wouldn’t have made it through the night.” Marrick kept his voice low so Lisa wouldn’t hear him.
“True enough.” Craig’s gaze slipped over to the pretty brunette. “She’s human, but she’s got her own kind of strength. What she’s done, keeping the kids with her and bringing them into town, is nothing short of remarkable.”
“Are you sure? She’s the one?”
His friend knew the answer. He just needed to hear it again. Saying it out loud would help him believe it, too. “Yeah. She’s the one I sensed earlier and I’m feeling it again, only a hell of a lot stronger. I just wish we’d gone looking for her.”
“Yeah. I agree. Maybe we would’ve seen Donna before…” Marrick cast his sights down at the floor.
He had to keep his friend from dwelling on his sister. “She has some kind of a connection with the kids, too.” Craig had never heard of such a thing, but when it came down to the mysterious instinctual link between mates, who knew what else was possible?
“Could be that they’re sticking to her because she’s the one who found them.”
He doubted Marrick meant what he’d said. Maybe it was simply too much to believe in for one day. “Could be. Although I’d like to think they came together for a reason. That she was on that road so she’d be there to help them.”
“I guess anything’s possible.”
Craig had his own grief to deal with but Marrick’s had to be worse. Although he’d always thought of Donna as his sister, too, Marrick had the added guilt that came from not having protected her.
The silence that followed was telling.
“We need to get moving. I don’t want Donna out there another night…” Marrick shook his head then pulled his body straight, his expression determined. “It had to be John.”
“Yeah. No doubt. Don’t worry, man. We’ll find him and make him pay.”
“Damn straight we will.” Marrick’s dark eyes flared with amber. “I get first shot at him, understood?”
“Agreed.”
Marrick turned toward the door. “Let’s find my sister and bring her home.”
“Will do.” Craig turned toward the women and the kids. “We’re going to—”
As terrible as he felt, the sizzle he felt when Lisa’s gaze met his sent a rush of excitement through him. He had to force himself to remember what he’d planned on saying. “We’ll be back as soon as we can, but it might be late. Make yourself at home, Lisa. Anything you need or want is yours.”
“Can you find my car? I mean, after?”
“Yeah. We’ll get someone to fix your tire then bring it here.”
“Okay.”
He and Marrick had waited for her arrival for so long. They’d talked about how it would be, but they never would’ve dreamt she’d come into their lives the way she had. Still, she’d arrived and that alone would get them through the rest of the day. He lifted his hand in farewell, and then turned and left.
Following the directions Lisa had given them, it didn’t take long for them to find the ditch. Craig’s heart went out to Marrick. Every step that brought them closer to his dead sister was like walking a mile through hell. At last, they stood at the edge of the hole where Donna’s body lay partially hidden by branches.
“Damn him to hell and back.”
He turned to Marrick. “Let me take care of her. You don’t have to see this.”
“Yeah, I do. I need to know what that bastard did to her.” Marrick jumped into the hole and started pulling the debris off his sister.
Craig got beside him, determined to do whatever he could to help his friend. Even with their inner tigers giving them added strength and courage, taking care of Donna’s body would be nothing short of torture. He tugged on the branches, exposing her face.
Aw, shit.
She’d been beaten. Old bruises mixed with recent ones on her face. He reached down and closed her eyes, hoping to spare Marrick from having to see her glassy eyed stare.
Marrick stepped back and fell against the wall of the hole. “I’m going to rip his throat out. I swear with everything I am, he’s going to pay for what he did.”
“And I’ll help you do it.” Craig kept pul
ling off the branches. If it was the last thing he ever did, he’d find justice for his grieving friend.
* * * *
Lifeless eyes stared up at Lisa, beseeching her to help.
I can’t. There’s nothing I can do for you.
The sounds of crying turned her toward the two small children huddled in the corner of the hole. The girl’s gaze met hers, pleading and filled with terror.
“Help her. Please. Help our mommy.”
I’m sorry. It’s too late.
“Then save us. Please.”
Yes.
She moved toward the children. She wasn’t sure how, but she’d help them.
The girl looked up toward the top of the ditch, her eyes widening. In the next moment, someone, something reached down and grabbed the girl.
No!
Lisa reached for her, but it was as though the child had vanished into thin air. Where had she gone? What had taken her?
The boy tried to run toward her. His scream split the air as the terror in the night took him, too.
No. Don’t do it. Don’t look up.
Although knowing that this time she would see something awful, she slowly lifted her gaze toward the edge of the hole.
Hate-filled amber eyes met hers. A low growl reverberated on the air.
No! Stay away from me!
Lisa woke up, sitting straight up in bed.
Where am I?
She searched the room, able to see only by the bright moonlight sifting through the gauzy drapes.
I’m in the ranch home.
Home? No. Not my home.
House. Yes. House. It’s not my home.
She’d gone to bed as soon as Teag and Kitty had fallen asleep. Lena had promised to stay until Marrick and Craig came back. Had they returned?
Her heart still pounded as images of the nightmare slowly faded away. She had no doubt it had been brought on by the events of the past day, but that still didn’t make it easier to put it aside.
The moon hung outside her window, casting shadows over her room. She lay back down, hoping to find sleep again, but knew it wouldn’t come. Her heart might not be pounding as hard as it had been, but relaxing enough to fall asleep again wouldn’t happen.
She threw back the comforter and padded on bare feet to the window. The latest drought had hit the land hard, but she still found it awe-inspiring. Even a city girl could appreciate the beauty of the Texas landscape.
Leaning against the window frame, she studied the scene. A pasture spread out before her going as far as she could see. Trees dotted the area surrounding what she would’ve called the backyard. An older grill rested on a cement slab along with a picnic table, but what really caught her eye was her car parked toward the other side of the house. The men had kept their promise to retrieve her car and fix the flat.
I can leave in the morning. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand. Four a.m. I can leave today.
She paused, staring at the brightly lit numbers. After everything she’d been through, shouldn’t she be happy at the idea of going home? Yet, she wasn’t. What did she have to look forward to? A job she hated, a scumbag of an ex-boyfriend, and a traitorous girlfriend. If she had the cash to do so, she’d pack up and get a fresh start in a whole new city.
Yeah. If only I had the money to make the move.
A flash of white caught her attention before it disappeared into one of the groups of bushes. She leaned closer to the window, pressing her hands against the glass.
What was that?
A cottontail?
But no. Whatever she’d seen was much bigger.
Maybe it was the white tail of a deer.
Still not big enough.
She frowned. What other kinds of animals had white on them? She assumed lots, but how many were so big?
Another quick glimpse of white came and went, but this time she caught a glimmer of black on top of the white. She squinted, determined to make out the animal.
Several minutes passed. She was about to give up when she saw another, bigger area of white and black.
It has stripes. Like a zebra.
Do donkeys ever have stripes? Or horses?
Her breath caught in her throat when the next large piece of white became visible between bushes. Whatever it was had stopped.
And then it turned to face her. She sucked in a hard breath.
What the hell?
A wide face filled with black stripes on white fur had gleaming amber eyes. The animal met her gaze.
She’d never seen one in real life, but she’d seen enough on television to know what it was. As crazy as it seemed, she was staring at a white tiger.
Where would a white tiger come from?
She stared harder, willing her eyesight to be better. If only she had a pair of binoculars…
“Marrick.”
Startled, it took her a minute to realize that Craig’s whisper came from below her. He had to be standing on the back deck.
Was Marrick in the yard? Did Craig see the tiger?
She had to warn them without scaring off the tiger. If the animal didn’t stay, they’d never believe her.
She whirled around and raced to the bedroom door. Her pulse kept rhythm with the sound of her footsteps as she hurried down the stairs to the first floor. She dashed through the living room and into the kitchen. Skidding to a stop, she put her hand on the door leading to the backyard.
Quiet. Don’t frighten the animal away. Or startle Craig.
As if either one of the strong beasts could ever be afraid of her.
Taking care to do it as quietly as possible, she tugged the door open and slipped outside. The slight breeze brought goose bumps to her legs and arms.
“Is everything all right?” Craig sat on a long bench pushed up against the wall.
She glanced around, praying the tiger wouldn’t catch them by surprise. “Did you see it?”
He jerked his gaze toward the bushes where she’d seen the tiger. “Did I see what?”
She was so stunned by his blatant lie that her mouth fell open. “You did, didn’t you?”
“What are you talking about?”
Why was he lying? “The white tiger. Don’t tell me you didn’t see it. You gave yourself away when you glanced in the right direction.”
“Hey, what’s going on?”
She let out a small yelp then checked the bushes to see if Marrick coming out the door had spurred the tiger into action, but she couldn’t see anything. Had it already run off? Pointing toward the bushes, she watched carefully as she told them what she suspected they already knew.
“There’s a white tiger in the bushes.”
She studied their carefully controlled expressions.
“A white tiger? You mean like those in Africa?” asked Marrick.
“I’m not sure, but aren’t they in Asia?”
Marrick shrugged. “The only ones I’ve ever seen were in Las Vegas.”
Why are they ignoring what I said? And how the hell did Marrick come from inside the house? She would’ve sworn Marrick had been in the yard when Craig had whispered to him. He could’ve snuck around to the front of the house, but why would he go the long way around?
“You saw it.” She pointed at Craig. “I don’t know why you’re pretending like you didn’t, but you are.”
Craig plastered on the most sincere expression she’d ever seen. And the fakest one, too. “Lisa, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Are you telling us there’s a big animal in the bushes?” He stood, joining Marrick at the end of the deck, acting as though they were trying their best to see what she’d seen.
“I don’t see anything, babe.”
“I know you saw it, Craig.”
“I’m sorry, but I didn’t. Could it have been a coyote? Maybe a wolf?”
He was placating her while Marrick stood by and stared into the darkness.
“I know the difference between a coyote, a wolf, and a huge white tiger. This thing was three, four, m
aybe even five times the size of large wolf. I saw its face and I saw its eyes. It had big, glowing amber eyes.”
They regarded her, their faces solemn, as though they were trying to figure out if she was delusional. She ground her teeth together. “Fine. Don’t admit it.”
“Lisa, you’ve had one hell of a hard day. Maybe you need to get more rest.” Marrick’s dark eyes scanned her body and, for the first time, his demeanor changed.
She heated under his scrutiny. Just as she was sure that Craig had seen the tiger, she was sure Marrick wanted her. Her body came alive even more than before, her mouth watering as the space between her legs grew wet, too. The wild sizzle she’d felt before burned through her. She grew hot even as the breeze continued to chill her.
“Did you find her?” She’d needed to change the subject, but as soon as the words were out, she wished she’d kept quiet.
Marrick looked as though she’d kneed him in the groin. “Yeah, we did.”
How could she stay angry at him when he was going through so much pain? “Again, I’m so sorry for not being able to do more.”
“You did everything anyone could’ve done.” Craig laid his hand on Marrick’s arm. “We’re both in debt to you. If you hadn’t come along when you did, who knows what might’ve happened to the kids.”
She hadn’t wanted to think about that. “Did you find her husband?” Or should she have called him a killer?
Domestic violence wasn’t anything new to her. She’d had a friend who’d suffered through two years of an awful marriage and had finally gotten a divorce after she’d ended up in the hospital with a broken jaw. Lisa only wished Marrick’s sister could’ve gotten out before the awful end.
“Not yet, but we will.” Marrick turned back toward the pasture.
“There are others looking for him,” added Craig.
“What’s going to happen to him once they find him?” She wouldn’t have asked anyone else. They’d have the man arrested and sent to jail. Yet something about their situation seemed different. More volatile as though the usual laws didn’t apply.
Marrick pivoted to face her. His eyes sparkled with amber highlights. “I’ll kill him.”
Stunned, she looked to Craig for an answer. It had to be Marrick’s pain and fury fueling his vehemence, but Craig didn’t say anything. Instead, he nodded, agreeing.
