Cambria slipped into her room and looked around at the mess she’d left earlier. Dirty clothes were strewn about and her wet towel had colored the wooden floor beneath it as it dried. The wood would recover and eventually return to its natural color, but she frowned at the dark spot on the floor regardless. If she was going to convince a shifter that she was lover material, she was going to have to learn to keep house better.
She moved about the room, straightening everything and putting away what she’d left out. It only took her a few minutes, and the room already looked much better. Maybe she wasn’t that far out of her league after all.
Someone knocked on the door, but Cambria didn’t have to look to know it was Tom again. He knocked the same way every time, and the now familiar sound had started setting off the butterflies in her stomach long before the sight of him would.
She opened the door, surprised when he pushed his way inside, albeit gently. His smile was so radiant, and she could smell the fresh, minty scent that said that Tom had already brushed his teeth after eating dinner.
He closed and locked the door behind him, smiling at Cambria again and pulling a chair out from under her desk in the corner. Rather than sit in it as it was meant to be used, he flipped it around. He rested his elbows on the straight back of the chair and laid his head on his arms. His expression was slightly dreaming, tearing down all of Cambria’s defenses.
“So, what did Laskin want?” His voice was soft, almost shy.
“He just wanted to talk to me about training and stuff.” Cambria mentally slapped herself in the head. Stuff? That was really eloquent.
“Was there anything else?”
“No. We talk sometimes, but Laskin raised me, so it’s mostly about how I need to pull my weight around here so no one thinks I’m getting special treatment.”
Tom smiled, his blue eyes twinkling merrily.
“You deserve special treatment. At least I think you do.”
She was taken aback by his tone. Was she reading him right? Maybe he was just trying to be nice. Cambria didn’t know, but she kept talking anyway, hoping to distract him and buy herself a little time to figure out her next move.
“Thank you. What I need is to pass that test so everyone can see I’m not a burden.” Her voice caught and she got flustered, angry at the emotion that was creeping its way into the conversation. She hadn’t meant to let her emotions get the best of her, and she was embarrassed at being caught being decidedly female.
“Maybe I can help you,” he offered, and she could tell he was being genuine.
“That would be nice, but you have so much on your plate already.”
“It doesn’t matter. This fight isn’t about me, it’s about the greater good. If I can’t spend my free-time helping a fellow freedom fighter then what good am I?”
His words rang true and Cambria felt herself falling even more for him. Tom was handsome, smart and passionate about the cause. Where most of the men seemed like they were only interested in the guns and the potential for violence that came with the battle, Tom was dedicated to the movement to put shifters back where they belonged.
He believed wholeheartedly that the only place shifters belonged was serving the needs of the human race or six feet under. He made no apologies for his beliefs and he had an endless amount of ammunition to back up his claims. He fought his battle with words, choosing guns as a last resort.
Cambria found this to be tremendously sexy.
“What part are you struggling with?”
“The assault rifle. I always miss the target, or I fumble and I drop a piece while I’m putting it together and run out of time. I’m good at everything else, but the rifle gets me in the end.”
“That’s easily fixed. You just need to practice doing it over and over again until the gun feels like a part of you when you hold it in your hands. I can help you with that tonight if you want.”
“Are you sure? It’s late.”
“Of course I’m sure. Then you can take the test again, and this time I know you’ll pass.”
His smile was contagious, and Cambria found herself beaming in return. She was going to pass this next time. She felt sure of it for the first time ever.
She pulled out her personal rifle, which was unloaded. Taking it apart, she laid it out on the bed in much the same way that Gary typically did.
She knelt beside the low bed, assembling it and disassembling it over and over again until she felt comfortable. Tom timed each assembly, making sure to note when she went to slow, or when she was rushing, which caused her to drop pieces and fumble.
Tom moved close, kneeling beside her and leaning against her to make her nervous. More than once, his elbow brushed her breast, causing her to lose her train of thought and make stupid mistakes. Tom chided her for it, pointing out that, because she was a woman, she had more to prove than most.
If she couldn’t put a gun together because someone brushed up against her, she was weak and was no good to them anyway.
She focused, angry at herself for letting her emotions get in the way of her success.
This time, when Tom brushed against her, she kept her focus. He encouraged her, calling out her time when she completely the assembly before making her do it again.
Over and over, Tom did his level best to distract her. When she was able to push through the assembly when he roughly grabbed her breast and squeezed it painfully, he declared her ready for anything.
He kissed her on the cheek while she knelt there, unloaded gun in hand sitting in front of her bed. She didn’t move, and she didn’t react when his hand slid down her back and over her ass. He boldly slipped his hand between her legs and stroked her roughly through her khakis before standing up and walking out the door.
He didn’t say a word, didn’t even stop at the door to smile at her before he walked out. He just left her there, confused, lost, and panting like a dog in heat.
CHAPTER THREE
Cambria awoke the next morning ready to face the day. She was going to take the test again, but when she headed to the training field, Gary was nowhere to be found. In his place, Tom was already running recruits through the paces and scrutinizing their every move. None of these recruits were anywhere near ready to test, so Tom was both observing and instructing as they went.
When he saw Cambria walking towards them, he motioned to her to hurry up. She jogged over to him, excited to see his face so early in the morning. His warm smile sent shivers down her spine.
He turned towards the course, laughing as one of the younger guys tried unsuccessfully to scale the vertical wall. Cambria kept her face blank, but she too was trying not to laugh. This particular recruit was a loudmouth, constantly boasting about his prowess both on and off the battle field. It was obvious from his lackluster performance that he was all talk.
“Recruits, fall in!” Tom yelled, indicating that they should leave the course immediately. When he turned and smiled at her, Cambria got a sinking feeling in her stomach.
Tom paced back and forth in front of the single line of recruits. This was the largest group yet, with ten members recruited from one area at once. Cambria was pleased with the progress the movement was making, and she could only guess that it would continue to get better with time. More and more people would see the light and want to help return things to the way they once were.
“As you know, you have just one short month of practice on this course before you’re expected to take the challenge test. Those of you who are already proficient on the course,” he looked pointedly at the graceless loudmouth, who turned beet-red and stared down at the toe of his boot, “can take the test any time between now and then. But you must finish the course at the end of the month. Those that don’t will be put on kitchen duty indefinitely until you can complete the course. I that clear recruits?”
“Sir, yes Sir!” they yelled in unison.
“Now Cambria here, is going to show you how it’s done.”
Cambria stood complete
ly still, the words taking a moment to sink in. Did he really just put her on the spot like that?
Tom stepped in close, “You can do this. I think the thing you were missing with Gary was the pressure. I know you’re going to pass with flying colors this time. I’ve watched you run this course time and time again, even in the pouring rain. Take your time, breathe, and just do it!”
Without another word, he walked away to climb on the perch in the middle of the field.
Cambria stretched her legs out, cursing Tom under her breath and trying to remain calm. She wasn’t warmed up yet and she wasn’t prepared to test in front of so many. What if she failed?
She pushed the thought back and walked to the start line, mentally preparing herself for the task at hand and clearing her mind of all other thoughts. She was going to pass this time. Everyone was watching, waiting for her to fail.
She nodded her head that she was ready and Tom fired the starter pistol. Cambria took off, running through the tires arranged on the ground with ease and heading for the next obstacle. She was focused, thinking only of the next, immediate obstacle in her path.
When she vaulted over the wall and her feet hit the ground, she knew that this was her fastest time and cleanest round so far. But she was almost to the final obstacle. She pushed thoughts of the rifle challenge out of her head and ran through the water hazard.
Coming up on the final challenge, Cambria took a moment to breathe before starting. The world around her dropped away, so that it was just her, the rifled and her target in the distance. She put the rifle together, jamming the magazine in and stretching out on her belly.
She lined up the sights, careful to keep her trigger finger still while she waited for the scope to line to. She checked the wind speed and adjusted accordingly. Taking a deep breath, she pulled the trigger on the exhale, the motion smooth and unhurried. The bullet hit dead-center, tearing a large hole in the chest of the paper target stapled to a thin, wooden board.
She disassembled the gun and laid it back on its station neatly before running to the finish line. Bent double, she slowly caught her breath, the raucous applause from the young recruits drowning out the sound of her pounding heart in her ears.
Tom climbed down from the perch and ran to her. He showed her the stopwatch and Cambria was floored. Not only had she completed the course with ample time to spare, but she’d beaten the previous record for fastest time.
Turning towards the men gathered, Tom smiled. “Anyone else want to show us how it is done, or do the rest of you weaklings think you might need a lot more work?”
No one answered him. Instead they all went towards the course, each man working even harder on the task than before. A girl had just made them all look foolish in under five minutes. If they were going to prove they were worthy, they had a lot of work to do.
Tom left the group to walk Cambria towards the mess hall before stopping her just around the corner of the building. She was muddy and sweaty, still breathing hard but beaming with pride at her accomplishment. She was ahead of him, and he grabbed her hand to stop her.
She turned towards him and he shoved her almost violently against the wall, kissing her hungrily and running his hands down her shoulders and over her pert breasts. His tongue dipped and dived into her mouth, and Cambria was overwhelmed by the heat of him, of his body pressed so forcefully against hers. She kissed him back, tentatively, trying to forget that they were standing in the open and in full view of anyone who passed by.
Tom broke the kiss off, his hands lingering on her breasts for a moment before he turned abruptly and walked away. She was still leaning against the wall, using the solid building to hold her up as her legs shook beneath her. She watched him walk away, struck by the way his body moved as he did. Everything about him oozed sexy, and Cambria was overcome by the thought of their bodies, locked in love-making.
He looked back at her over his shoulder and winked at her. Her heart raced inside her chest, waiting for him to look back again, but he didn’t. He jogged easily back towards the course and his job for the morning.
Cambria turned, intent on getting out of her filthy clothes and getting something to eat for breakfast. In her haste to get the morning over with, she’d forgotten all about food. But now, she was suddenly starving.
She went into the main cabin, taking her muddy boots off before entering and heading straight for her room. Low murmurs of conversation floated down the hall from the open office door and Cambria stopped abruptly. The door was opened wide enough that whoever was inside would see her pass by, and it sounded like the conversation was private. She was about to turn around and go back out the door when she heard Gary say something that caught her attention.
“Did you get the last of those fools?”
“Yes. Aldrich is dead. He died the same as the others, alone and poisoned. The poison is untraceable, in and out of the body quickly. The coroner will list him as dying of old age like the other elders.”
“Good riddance, filthy beasts.”
“Yes. When he’s found I expect the tenuous hold he had on the human politicians to end immediately. It won’t be long before shifters are being rounded up by the thousands and shot in the streets. Once they realize their place in the world and bow down before the humans, things will get easier for them.”
“But many will fight it to the death,” Gary sounded concerned.
“Let them. The fewer there are the better. And now that they’re barred from mating with human women, their numbers will dwindle even further.”
“What about Sable and his shifter-loving bride?” Gary nearly snarled when he talked about the woman, and Cambria couldn’t help but wonder about her.
What would lead a human woman to breed with a shifter? she wondered. But she knew there was no answer to that. So many had been brainwashed to think that shifters were good, kind people; as normal as any other human walking on the street. But Cambria knew that couldn’t be further from the truth, and she was looking forward to the day when the world opened its eyes to the plague that was the shifter population.
“We’ll flush them out whatever way we can. If we can kill Egan and the little brat too, that would be even better. Every day their bastard child is allowed to live, it gets stronger and more dangerous.”
“They could be breeding again right now,” Gary offered.
“Exactly. We can’t have women like Olivia bringing filthy mixed brats into this world. Better to kill the breeder and her spawn.”
“But how will we find them?”
“Brave Sable left Olivia’s friend Grace here to deal with the fallout. She’s been subjected to vandalism and attacks simply for being the friend of a woman who ran off with shifters. I’m sure it won’t take much convincing to get her to sell out her friend.”
“And if she won’t?”
“Then we’ll kidnap her and force her to call her friend for help. She can do it willingly or under duress, it makes no difference to me. I don’t think she’ll protect them. Not after they left her here to fend for herself.”
Gary laughed and Cambria’s blood ran cold at the sound. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. How was kidnapping and torturing a human going to help the cause? Weren’t they doing this to protect humans?
The men continued talking, but Cambria had heard enough. She didn’t know what she could do about it, but she couldn’t listen to them speak anymore.
She had her hand on the door handle when she heard someone step into the hall behind her.
“Cambria, come here please.”
Still facing the door, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She’d been caught, so pretending she hadn’t heard them was no longer an option. She wanted to run, but Laskin deserved better than that after all he’d done for her.
She turned, but didn’t bother to plaster a fake smile on her face in hopes of smoothing the situation over. Laskin was able to read her like a book, always had been.
Laskin dismissed Gary, who turne
d red when Laskin asked him for privacy and to close the door behind him. As Laskin’s first in command, he felt that he was beyond the rules of others, but Laskin had always had a soft-spot for Cambria.
Cambria sat down, laying her muddy boots on the floor beside the chair. She crossed her legs and rested her hands on her lap, waiting for Laskin to make the first move. She was visibly upset by what she heard, and Laskin appeared to realize that.
Laskin smiled at her, his expression soft.
“How much did you hear?”
“Enough to wonder why we need to hurt humans to further our cause. I thought we were saving humans. How are we any better than they are if we go around kidnapping and torturing the very people that we’re trying to save?” She didn’t bother to hide her thoughts. She had never had to with Laskin, which was a refreshing change from the home she’d grown up in.
Laskin might not take her opinion into consideration, but he didn’t beat her for having an opinion like her father had.
He waited patiently for her to finish, his face blank and maddeningly indifferent to her impassioned plea for the human woman. She knew before he started that she wasn’t going to change his mind.
“Sometimes, when a cause is so great and so just, we have to look at the big picture, Cambria. Is it worth the life of this one woman for hundreds or even thousands more to die?”
“No. But we don’t have to hurt her.”
“Of course we don’t. It’s up to her how it goes, but I can tell you that shifters are masters at brainwashing those around them. This woman fully supports the relationship of her friend with a shifter. She even rejoiced at the birth of a child, a shifter mix that will be able to easily walk among the humans completely undetected.”
“But it’s a child.”
“Cambria, you cannot let your heart get in the way of your head. That child is going to grow up to be an adult. To destroy the world we’re working so hard to save. That woman can give birth to a new child twice a year. It won’t take any time for them to build an army of their own from the safety of their hideout. And then what will we do?”
Running With The Tiger Page 3
