by Paige Tyler
“We caught up with him just as the EMTs put the old man in an ambulance,” Tate added. “He waited with the kids so they wouldn’t be scared.”
“He told us he used to be a Ranger,” Declan said. “Just got out of the military after doing three tours in Iraq and two more in Afghanistan.”
“Which explains why he was able to stay one step ahead of you,” Landon said.
Declan opened his mouth to say more, but closed it again when John came out of the interrogation room. Ivy was hoping for a report, but instead her boss told Tate and his team he wanted them in the conference room for debriefing.
“What about Tanner?” Zarina asked.
John stopped. “Mr. Howe won’t be going anywhere for a while.”
“He didn’t kill those hikers.”
“Maybe not,” John agreed. “But I think even you’ll admit it’s a little dangerous to let someone like him roam the streets. Until we evaluate how volatile he is, he’s staying here.”
Zarina folded her arms. “Then so am I.”
John regarded her in silence. “I had a feeling you’d say that. We can always use a good doctor at the DCO.”
Kendra watched John walk away. “When Dick finds out we have a hybrid here, he’s going to have doctors poking and prodding him until they figure out how to create their own.”
“Can they figure out how to make new hybrids by studying him?” Landon asked Zarina.
She shook her head. “Just because you can look at a Picasso doesn’t mean you can paint one. Besides, I’ll make sure I’m involved in whatever testing the doctors do. I’ll know if they’re getting close and I’ll do whatever I have to do to sabotage it. Even with Tanner’s DNA, the DCO could work for years and never get anywhere. Klaus and Renard are the much bigger threat. With Ivy’s DNA, they could be well on their way to already creating the perfect hybrid.”
Ivy’s stomach knotted. “And if the DCO ever captures one of my clones, they’re going to put two and two together and figure out what really happened at that lodge.”
“Hey.” Landon took her hand in his. Even that small public display of affection was dangerous in the DCO offices, but she didn’t pull away. “We’ll deal with that if—and when—it happens. When Klaus and Renard surface, the DCO will know about it. When they do, we’ll make sure we’re the ones John sends to bring them in.”
How did Landon always know what to say? She gave his hand a grateful squeeze. “You’re right. There’s nothing we can do right now. For all we know, Klaus and Renard might not even get my DNA to work.”
***
He and Ivy hung around the DCO just long enough to hear the outcome of the interrogation with Tanner—where he backed up Zarina’s story—then went to Ivy’s apartment. Once inside, he set their Chinese takeout on the counter and pulled her into his arms for a long, thorough kiss that had him considering the idea of having dessert before dinner. But then he saw the worried frown creasing Ivy’s brow. Clearly, dessert was going to have to wait.
“Hey.” He smoothed her hair back from her face. “You okay?”
“Just worried about what those scientists are going to do with my DNA.”
He kissed her again, then gently cradled her face in his hands. “I’m worried, too, but whatever it is, we’ll deal with it together.”
She smiled. “Together. I like the sound of that.”
“Me, too. More than I ever imagined.” He searched her face. “What do you think about making this together-thing a bit more official?”
“Official how?” Ivy’s brow puckered in confusion, then her eyes went wide. “Oh! You mean…?”
“Yeah. I mean I think we should get married. We’ll be able to stand up to anything the DCO throws at us if we know what we have between us is rock solid.”
Ivy looked like he’d hit her with an axe handle.
He stepped back, ran his hand through his hair. “It isn’t anything you have to answer right away. Just think about it.”
“I don’t have to think about it.”
“You don’t?”
She smiled. “The answer is yes.”
He stared. “Really?”
“Yes. Really.”
What had Angelo said, that he was the luckiest guy on earth? He was the luckiest guy in the whole universe. “I’m going to do this proposal thing right. Buy a ring, get down on one knee—”
She put a finger to his lips, shushing him. “Your proposal was perfect. Although, it might be a good idea to get a ring before we tell my parents. Dad’ll shoot you if I show up without one on my finger.”
He chuckled and kissed her again. “Deal.”
Epilogue
Somewhere South of Khorugh, Tajikistan
Minka Pajari’s breath came fast and hard as she stared up at the ceiling above her head. She didn’t know how long she’d been lying there strapped down to the cold, metal table, or what the two foreign men who’d kidnapped her wanted with her. It didn’t matter that they hadn’t raped and killed her yet. They would. It was the only reason men abducted women in her part of the world. But then why did they keep poking her with needles and taking blood?
She’d worked at the small U.S. military camp on the other side of the mountain for several years and had become good enough with the language that they occasionally paid her to be a translator. But the two men used strange English words she didn’t know, and she couldn’t make sense of the things they were saying.
Minka bit back a cry as one of the men suddenly loomed over her, another needle in his hand. Only this time, the vial wasn’t empty. It was filled with a red liquid that looked suspiciously like blood.
She yanked desperately at the bindings around her wrists, but the leather straps held her fast no matter how hard she pulled, and she winced as the man jabbed the needle into her arm and injected her with the liquid.
“This might hurt a bit,” he said in his guttural accent. “But it will make you better.”
She opened her mouth to tell him she wasn’t sick and that she didn’t need to get better, but the words wouldn’t come out. Her throat was locked tight.
Then the pain struck, and it felt worse than anything she’d ever felt in her life. She was on fire; she had to be on fire. When she looked, though, she didn’t see any flames. But maybe that was because her vision went dim.
She squeezed her eyes shut, praying for relief from the unbelievable agony. But she only convulsed and quivered more violently on the table.
Then the pain receded. She ached all over, though. And there was something wrong with her eyes, too. She couldn’t see right.
The man smoothed her long, dark hair back from her face. “There, there, girl. I told you we’d make you better, and we did. Look.”
He held something over her face, and it took her a moment to realize it was a mirror. Minka tried to focus on the reflection, but it was hard in the darkened room, especially with her eyes not working right.
Then something appeared in the mirror. She stared at her reflection in confusion. It was her face, but it was different. Her eyes were not their usual cinnamon brown, but glowed green. And the small, white teeth at the corners of her mouth had been replaced with long, needle-sharp fangs.
She moved her mouth, sure she was wrong, but the image in the mirror moved, too. The man had injected her with something to make her look like this. Something that had turned her into a monster.
Minka screamed, and once she started, she couldn’t stop.
Acknowledgments
My husband and I came up with the idea for the X-Ops series at the Lori Foster Get Together in 2012. I’d wanted to write a book I could make the jump from small press to New York with, and the idea for a romance pairing a shifter with a military guy had been dancing around in my head for a while. I wasn’t quite sure what kind of adventure the hero and heroine were going to have, bu
t I knew whatever it was, it was going to be exciting, action-packed, and sexy. So, we went to P. F. Chang’s (our favorite restaurant!) and batted ideas back and forth over spicy chicken until we came up with our feline shifter heroine and Special Forces hero working for a super-secret government organization to keep the world safe.
I know I already thanked my hubby in the dedication, but I want to thank him again. I also want to also thank authors Kate Douglas, Monette Michaels, and Cynthia Eden for reading Her Perfect Mate and loving it; my agent, Bob Mecoy, for believing in me and encouraging me and being there when I need to talk; my editor Leah Hultenschmidt for loving this series as much as I do and bringing it to Sourcebooks; editorial assistant and my go-to person at Sourcebooks whenever I need something, Cat Clyne; and all the other amazing people at Sourcebooks, including Todd, Beth, Rachel, and their crazy-talented art department. I’m still drooling over this cover!
And a thank you to my creative writing teacher in high school, Sharon Griffin, for encouraging me to follow my passion.
I also want to give a big thank you to the men, women, and working dogs serving in our military, as well as their families.
And because I could never leave my readers out, a huge thank you to everyone who has read my books and Snoopy danced right along with me with every new release. That includes the fantastic girls on my Street Team. You rock!
Hope you enjoy Her Perfect Mate and look forward to reading the other books in the series as much as I look forward to sharing them with you.
Happy Reading!
P.S.
Oh, and for those of you wondering about the hero’s friend Angelo, yes, his character was inspired by the same Angelo so many of you knew. For those of you who didn’t know Angelo, he was a friend of ours who was tragically and senselessly murdered in 2012. He was thrilled when I told him he inspired the SF soldier in X-Ops and I would have loved for him to have read the book. You’ll see Angelo in other books in the series, and yes, he gets his own happily ever after in an equally romantic, kick-butt, action-packed story.
About the Author
Paige Tyler is the USA Today bestselling author of sexy, romantic suspense and paranormal romance. She and her very own military hero (also known as her husband!) live on the beautiful Florida coast with their adorable fur baby (also known as their dog!). Paige graduated with a degree in education but decided to pursue her passion and write books about hunky alpha males and the kick-butt heroines who fall in love with them.
Visit Paige at her website at www.paigetylertheauthor.com. She’s also on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
