“Oh, Carolline, he is and neither of you want to acknowledge it. I am kind of surprised though, since he’s been married before and has children.”
“Children someone was trying to take,” she reminded him. “How about you concentrate on that mystery and not whether or not Devon and I are mates. Because we aren’t,” she added on hastily. She didn’t know if she said it for his benefit or her tigon’s. Now that Devon had left the room, her beast prowled inside. She was disturbed and agitated. It was rather disconcerting.
Ben quickly sobered. “You’re right. Do you think you can give me a description of the guy who got away?”
Carolline closed her eyes and tried to form a picture in her mind. The only thing staring back at her was dark, soulless eyes. Her brain snagged on his flesh ripping and the pungent scent of his blood. A new image raced across her mind. Something completely unexpected. “He was a bear, Ben. Maybe the one Mrs. Timmons keeps spotting. He was big. Burly. Able to take a massive amount of pain. I can’t picture anything else.”
“Shit,” he cursed. Ben moved to the side of the bed. Leaning down, he kissed her on the forehead. “Okay, sweetheart. Get some rest. I have a feeling your world is about to get very busy.
Chapter 11
Devon passed the Sheriff on his way out of Carolline’s room. Deep inside, he was glad to see the other man leave. They had been too familiar with each other for his taste. Well, his tiger’s taste. The creature balked at their ease with one another, insisting on staking a claim on the woman he hardly knew. It had taken sheer strength of will to hold it back. To stop the tiger from breaching the surface and showing its face.
It was a feeling he wasn’t used to, and he refused to look too closely at why it happened. Refused to acknowledge the bitter taste of jealousy coating his mouth.
“You better treat her right,” the large man warned lightly as he passed without pausing.
Hand on Carolline’s door, Devon stopped and turned. He couldn’t be sure, but it sounded like a veiled threat from the giant law enforcement officer. “Excuse me?”
The sheriff pivoted, facing him with a wry smile curving up a corner of his mouth. “Carolline. She deserves some good in her life, so you better treat her right.”
Devon folded his arms across his chest, adopting a defensive posture. He didn’t appreciate what the man insinuated. He would never treat a woman poorly to begin with, even so, he and Carolline had no future. There was no reason for any threats. Sure, he was attracted to her. Sure, there was some damn pull deep within to be with her that was slowly eating him up inside. It didn’t mean they would be together. The protective urge coursing through him had to do with making sure the woman who’d saved his children would recover. End of story. “Why would I be doing anything with her?”
The Sheriff tipped his head to the side, leveling a look at Devon that probably had most people breaking within seconds. Devon wouldn’t. He didn’t bow down to anyone. He hadn’t in a long time.
“You know, I heard you were a brilliant doctor, in tune with your patients and the human body; although, I have to say, you aren’t acting very bright right now.”
Devon ground his teeth together. A wave of Blood Legacy rolled out of him. A small blast to ensure the other man knew who he was dealing with. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Sheriff, but you might want to watch what you say about me.”
The Sheriff chuckled low and easy. He hooked his thumbs into his belt loops, completely unperturbed. “Your inherent power has no effect on me doctor. My jaglion blood doesn’t react. It’s what makes me an excellent Sheriff. As for what I’m talking about, you know damn well. Carolline is my friend, and I’m very protective of her. She and I have a long history, and I won’t see you ignore or mistreat her. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a man to interrogate, and you have a mate and children to see to. I’ll drop by later to give you an update on the prisoner.” He turned and strode away, dismissing Devon and any rebuttal he’d had on his tongue.
Devon clenched his jaw shut to keep from yelling at the man’s retreating back. He didn’t have a mate. She was dead!
Devon pushed the door open a crack and was stopped in his tracks. The familiar scents of antiseptic and disinfectant permeated the air. Rushing out along with them was another scent that tugged at him. One he’d gotten a whiff of a couple of times before, imprinting on his memory, much to his despair. The deep earthy musk of amber carrying a hint of sweet myrrh. It roused his tiger beyond all comprehension.
Carolline.
What the fuck? The Sheriff had been hinting that Carolline was his mate. The same thing he’d gotten from Jack. Yet, it couldn’t be possible. His mate was dead. Killed in a head-on collision. Just as he’d wanted to scream at the Sheriff, he screamed internally to himself. He didn’t have a mate, not anymore.
He took a steadying breath through his mouth, aware that breathing through his nose would only drag more of the enticing scent in. Once he felt more in control, Devon eased inside, closing the door carefully behind him. If she were asleep, he didn’t want to wake her. And if she were awake, shit, he didn’t even want to think about what he’d say. What he felt for her couldn’t be what the Sheriff said. She couldn’t be his mate. He’d had one and lost her.
And the more you have to tell yourself that, the less you’re beginning to believe it, that damned inner voice taunted.
He didn’t make it any further into the room. Spinning on his heel, he yanked the door open and made his escape, allowing it to close on its own as he rushed to the nurses’ station. Instructions were left to be called when Carolline’s newest x-rays were completed and viewable. He would have the files sent to him at home. Check them there to ensure she was healing and then assign her to another doctor.
He needed to be home. With his children. Taking care of their needs. He’d spent too much time worrying about a woman who wasn’t his responsibility.
Twenty minutes later, he found himself back in his SUV and headed home. Racing through town, he let out a relieved breath when he pulled into his driveway. The worries of the day lifted from his shoulders, even as an unknown restlessness inundated him.
As much as he wished it were possible, he couldn’t keep his mind off Carolline…alone in the hospital room nursing injuries she’d obtained defending his children. Did she have someone to sit by her side? Was there anyone, a boyfriend or sometime lover, that needed to be called? Did her family know she’d been injured, and were they racing to be with her?
He didn’t know the answer to any of the questions bombarding him, and sitting in his vehicle wouldn’t help figure them out. In fact, he needed to push them aside completely. All his concentration should be on his children and ensuring they were okay.
Climbing out of the SUV, he made his way to the house. Unlocking the front door, he was greeted by a Sheriff’s Deputy, followed by his father.
“I wondered if you were coming home, Devon. Your family needs you.”
“I know. I wanted to make sure Carolline was comfortable before I left,” he said, forcing an unaffected as possible tone into his voice.
Devon accompanied his father into the lush sunken living room. Marcus, Tabitha, and Sebastian rushed him, crowding around him. They all latched onto him in one way or another. Sinking to the floor, he hugged his kids tightly, as the enormity of the day’s events cascaded over him. He could have lost them. Two strangers came into his town and attempted to kidnap them.
He didn’t realize he was crying until Tabitha wiped a tear from his face. “It’s okay, Papa. The pretty tiger saved us.”
“I know, baby,” he whispered, dropping a kiss on her head.
“Cookie,” Sebastian piped up, producing one from his tiny fist. He offered up the slightly mushy and crushed treat.
Without thinking twice, Devon opened his mouth and let the boy stuff it in. He chewed and swallowed quickly. “Thank you, buddy. I’m much better now.”
Sebastian nodded, satisfied by his father’s a
cceptance of the treat. “I get more.” He turned and scampered off to the kitchen.
“Sebby, not without help. Have Nana or Pop-Pop help you get them down,” Devon called out. Since he didn’t see his mother, Devon could only assume she was in the kitchen and heard his instructions to his son.
“I’ll go help,” Tabitha stated, a twinkle in her eye. If he knew his daughter, she’d be helping herself to some cookies as well. They both looked like they were over the attack. Like water off a duck’s back, the resiliency of children never ceased to amaze him.
Devon turned his attention to his oldest. “How are you doing, Marcus?”
Marcus shrugged, then flung himself on the couch. He slunk down like a heavy weight was on his shoulders.
Devon looked to his dad. Lips thinned and brows furrowed, his father looked as concerned as Devon felt. Getting up off the floor, Devon took a seat next to his too-serious son.
“Do you want to talk about it? Tell me what happened?”
Marcus sighed heavily before looking at him. “The nanny left to go talk to some guy. She’d been on her phone all morning.” He rolled his eyes before a frown marred his face. “Soon after, those two guys came up to us. I was pushing Sebby on the swing and Tabitha was picking flowers. They said they would hurt you if we didn’t go with them. Tabitha got scared and started to cry. That’s when the tiger jumped on them. We ran away. I tried to protect them, dad. I swear I did.”
Devon wrapped his arm around his son’s shoulders and squeezed. “You did good, Marcus. I’m so proud of you. You protected your brother and sister like any good big brother would.”
It had been lucky as hell that Devon had been heading toward the meadow. He’d planned on surprising the kids and taking them out for breakfast. When they came tearing around the corner of the path, screaming and crying, Devon’s heart stopped. Marcus had been able to tell them something was wrong right before they heard the roar for help rent the air. Jack flagged down the passing Sheriff’s car while he made a mad dash for the playground.
“Is the funny-looking tiger okay?” Marcus asked nervously.
Devon’s brows scrunched up. “She’s a tigon. Her name is Carolline Greene.” It should be Andersen. His tiger chuffed in agreement. The instant the thought crossed his mind, he shook his head. Marcus took it to mean something completely different.
His eyes rounded and his face turned white. “They killed her?”
Devon blinked a couple of times and focused back on Marcus. “No!” He said sharply before tempering his voice. “No, she’s hurt, but she’ll be okay. That’s why it took so long for me to come home. I wanted to make sure she was settled in her room at the hospital.”
Marcus visibly relaxed. His shoulders dropped and all traces of fear evaporated. “We should bring her some cookies or something to thank her.”
His kids seemed to have a one-track mind, and their resiliency completely awed him. “Cookies would be good. How about you head into the kitchen with Nana and see if there are any left.”
“Okay.” Marcus stood and hesitated a minute. He threw himself at Devon and hung on for dear life. “I was scared, Dad,” he murmured against Devon’s neck.
Wrapping his arms around his son, Devon squeezed him hard, pouring all the love he felt into it. “It’ll all be okay. The Sheriff and I will figure out what’s going on. You’ll always be protected.”
Marcus pushed away, surreptitiously wiping away a tear that escaped. “Love you,” he said before dashing out of the room.
“Love you too,” he called out.
After a couple of minutes, his dad spoke. “Those kids have been through a lot the last couple years.”
“I know.” And it killed him. He didn’t understand why someone would want to take them. Did someone hate him enough to want to punish him? Was someone after him because he’d married a human who refused changing? Were the Purists out to start up more shit?
“What the hell is going on? Why would someone want to take my grand-babies?” His dad grumped, voicing the thoughts running through Devon’s head.
“I have no idea, dad. I’m sure as hell going to find out, one way or another. I’m not leaving this to the Sheriff to figure out by himself. He’s getting my help whether he wants it or not.”
His dad nodded in agreement. “We’ll be here for you, son. You know that, right?”
“Of course. You’ve always been there for me.”
“And we always will be,” his dad said firmly. “We’ll figure this out together.”
Devon looked into the steely gaze of his father. Determination shone through his dark brown eyes. It was comforting to see and to know. Having his father on his side helping him out would be an advantage. Especially if it ended up being someone in the shifter community.
The one thing Devon wouldn’t be talking to his dad about was the nagging thoughts about Carolline. He tried pushing what his tiger strived to tell him to the back of his mind until they could solve the mystery behind the attempted kidnapping, but he felt like he was failing miserably. She was in the back of his mind, wavering in and out. The balls it took for her to take down the two men. The disregard of what could have happened to her. What did happen to her. Even her last thought before passing out was about the kids.
Which is where all his focus should be. Not one ounce of it should be spared for the woman who’d saved his children, and had his protective instincts rearing its head.
Chapter 12
Ben had been so very wrong about her life becoming suddenly more hectic. If anything, it slowed to a grinding halt, and she felt like she was going insane. Sitting around counting ceiling tiles lost its appeal an hour after she finished doing it the first time—the day after she’d been admitted.
It had been five days since the incident in the meadow. She wasn’t completely healed, but didn’t give a damn. She was feeling restless and uncomfortable. The insane need to move around itched along her nerve endings. Irritatingly so, and thanks to a now overprotective staff, she couldn’t. Every move had been watched. The concern for her injuries, and their lack of healing, worrying her new young doctor more and more each day. She wasn’t sure she’d be able to stand the furrowed brows and whispered confused words much longer. She needed out of the hospital bed. And that’s exactly what she was doing. She needed to get back to her life, and back to the way things were before. Well, as back to normal as she could get seeing as how every time she took a breath, it felt like someone was standing on her chest.
Being a damn hybrid sucked ass sometimes. At least for her it did. Smaller than a lion or tiger, she was at a disadvantage in a fight. More fragile than the typical shifter, it would take her forever to heal. Shunned and disliked by some because of what she was, she had very few friends back East or in Garden. There was no one rushing to visit her or sit by her side. Her only saving graces were Ben, when he stopped in and interrogated her, and Jessie, who stopped by once after hearing about what had happened.
And I’m depressing myself even more. Stop, Carolline. You know nothing good comes from wallowing in misery.
Shuffling around the hospital room, Carolline collected the few things Ben had dropped off for her and stuffed them back into the bag. Thank the Goddesses they’d had a past relationship. He didn’t even blink an eye when she asked him to bring her a small rolling bag with a couple changes of clothes, including underwear, and her hygiene bag. He’d even grabbed some of the files from her office so she could work while laid up. She’d made good progress, and took copious amounts of notes on current and upcoming patients. At least something positive had come from her unfortunate run in with the would-be kidnappers.
Snatching up the rolling bag, she gingerly made her way to the door. She hit the handicap push button and let the door slowly swing open before stepping through. A not so quick stop at the nurses’ desk, where she signed herself out, against medical advice, and she was in the elevator headed up to the fifth floor to her office. She wanted to drop off the files and
see if anything new had cropped up while she’d been away.
She hadn’t seen Devon since Sunday, her first day in the hospital. Thanks to the one nurse who didn’t like her, she’d learned he had signed her over to one of the Residents, and basically washed his hands of her. Not that she was surprised by his actions; yet, every day she unwittingly expected him to show back up. It never happened, of course. Her tigon chuffed in distress; yet, there wasn’t anything to be done about it. The funny feelings she’d experienced around him must have been one-sided, and a result of their strange and abrupt interactions.
The slight ache in her chest had her stopping outside her office door. It may have been centered near her heart, but she told herself it was the still-mending broken ribs. It took the edge off the blow of being rejected.
Taking a slow, steady breath, she pushed open the door to find her office ransacked. “Shit,” she mumbled, dread filling her stomach. Could her week get any worse? She groaned at the mess of the room. She’d have to clean it up; even so, the thought of bending over or moving made her want to throw up.
Jessie popped her head out of her door, surprise gleaming from her eyes. “What are you doing here?”
Carolline snorted, then winced. She clearly shouldn’t have made the sound. “I work here,” she said dully.
Jessie rolled her eyes. “I know that, but shouldn’t you be in bed…in your hospital room?”
“I won’t get better any faster there than I will here or at home.” Carolline looked back into her office. Her shoulders slouched in defeat as she did. “Someone tossed my office.”
“What?” Jessie walked over to stand next to her. “Holy shit! When did that happen?”
“No clue. Ben didn’t say anything about it, so it had to be sometime after he brought me my work on Monday.” Carolline found she couldn’t move from her spot. Her feet a pair of lead weights, anchoring her to the spot. Exhaustion filled her from head-to-toe. Maybe she should have just gone home. Then she wouldn’t have to stand around and deal with this mess. She knew someone would need to check out her office before she stepped through the door and, with the way her luck was running, it would take forever for that to happen.
Finding More (Tiger Nip Book 3) Page 7
