Lure of the Tiger (Aloha Shifters: Jewels of the Heart Book 4)
Page 22
“Lions,” Cruz muttered in distaste.
“And they were after Jody because…?” Dawn asked, showing her police officer side.
Jody traced a finger over the tablecloth, trying not to tense up all over again.
Silas stirred his coffee. “From what we’ve gathered, Vasco wasn’t originally after Jody. One of his men was hired to shoot at Jody—”
“To kill Jody,” Cruz grumbled, leaning into her side.
“—in an attempt to create publicity for the advertising campaign.” Silas shook his head wearily. “A good thing Toby has been cleared of all charges.”
“Toby?” Dawn exclaimed. “The valet? He wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
“I hope no one roughed him up,” Hunter said.
Dawn scowled. “The Maui police don’t rough people up.”
Kai grinned. “Don’t worry. I made it all up to him. I let him drive the Rolls-Royce yesterday.”
Silas jerked his head up. “You let Toby drive what?”
Kai shrugged. “Come on, Silas. Give the poor kid a break. He was thrilled. And careful,” he hurried to add, looking between Hunter and Silas. “Very careful.”
“Wait. Someone wanted to kill Jody as a publicity stunt? Who would do such a thing?” Nina asked, aghast.
Silas looked at the floor. Kai looked at Cruz, and Cruz looked at Silas.
“Moira,” Cruz said at last.
“Moira?” Tessa yelped, then covered her mouth.
Silas went still as a stone, as did everyone in the room. Jody, too, because Cruz had told her about Moira — the woman who’d broken Silas’s heart.
Jody crinkled her nose. She hated Moira as much as everyone, but all she felt for Silas was sorrow. It did explain a lot, though. His solitary lifestyle. The yearning in his eyes. She wouldn’t have thought a dragon would show flashes of vulnerability, but she’d glimpsed that side of him a few times.
“The gunman Vasco originally sent was a vampire, too,” Cruz growled, rescuing Silas from the awkward silence that ensued. “That would explain why I couldn’t pick up a scent at the resort.”
“But the attempt on Jody’s life failed, which is when Vasco came in,” Silas added wearily. “Apparently, he did some research and discovered there was mermaid blood in Jody’s father’s side of the family.”
“My stepfather, technically,” she explained to the others. “So it’s not in my blood. Poor Vasco was so disappointed.” Her voice dripped with sarcasm.
“There hasn’t been a mermaid sighting in decades, not even among shifters,” Silas said. “All the more reason for a vampire to want to—”
Cruz growled before Silas got to the suck Jody’s blood part. “The guy was sick, even for a vampire.” His eyes burned with hate.
Jody squeezed Cruz’s hand. He wasn’t just thinking of her; he was thinking of his family members murdered by Vasco for their rich tiger blood.
“He won’t be collecting any more flavors,” she reminded him. “You took care of that.”
“You, too,” Cruz whispered.
“You both did,” Kai added.
A quiet minute ticked by, and everyone grew somber. Each couple snuggled a little closer as if remembering their own trials. Cruz had filled Jody in on a few of their stories, so she knew she wasn’t the only one to have survived a nightmare. A nightmare with a happy ending, she reminded herself, happy to have Cruz’s reassuring bulk at her side.
“Both of us did it, along with this.” She pulled the sapphire necklace from under her shirt and set it on the white tablecloth.
“The Waterstone,” Tessa said in a hushed voice. “Wow.”
“Your hunch was right,” Cruz said to Silas. “A Spirit Stone.”
Silas’s pained expression said he wished he hadn’t been right.
“It scares me a little,” Jody whispered, looking at it. Even now, the stone shot all kinds of watery images into her mind. Tranquil ones, like placid, misty lakes and quietly meandering rivers, but still. Who knew when the stone might demand that she summon a tidal wave?
“All the stones are scary in a way,” Nina agreed.
“All?” Jody looked at the others. Cruz had mentioned other Spirit Stones, but she’d had so much to absorb in such a short time, she hadn’t asked for details.
One by one, the other women pulled off necklaces or drew jewels from pockets. Dawn set out a glittering amethyst. Nina laid out a brilliant red ruby, her face soft with memories. Tessa added a glowing emerald to the collection and kept her hand on a lookalike pendant she wore around her neck.
“The Spirit Stones,” Silas said in the silence that ensued. “A long-lost dragon hoard with magical powers. The Lifestone. The Earthstone. The Firestone.” He pointed to each in turn. “And now, the Waterstone. In the right hands, their powers can be controlled — or at least directed toward worthy ends.”
Jody frowned at the sapphire. “I’m not so sure I did much controlling.”
Silas shook his head. “Few could direct a flood of that force, but you did.”
Tessa shot Jody a proud wink, while Dawn and Nina nodded, bolstering her mood. A lump grew in her throat as she saw the men join in, too, dipping their chins with respect for what she’d done. Her, the not-even-a-mermaid.
She looked at Cruz, who smiled, making her heart beat faster. Prouder. The Waterstone glowed, shooting a faint beam of blue light in her direction.
“In the right hands, the power of the Spirit Stones is not to be feared so much as respected,” Silas said. “But in the wrong hands…”
No one said a word. No one even shooed Keiki off the table. The kitten pranced from person to person, blissfully ignorant as each person petted her, lost in their own thoughts.
“So that’s that. It’s over,” Jody said, looking around. “Everything’s okay now, right?”
The silence in the room was resounding, and everyone looked pained.
“What?” she asked, looking from face to face. What was wrong?
No one seemed eager to be the bearer of bad news until Tessa spoke up. “There’s one more Spirit Stone.”
Silas tapped his fingers on the tabletop. “The Windstone.”
Jody tightened her grip on Cruz’s hand. Why did that not sound good?
“The Spirit Stones call to each other,” Cruz said in a low, raspy voice. “When one awakes, it calls to the others.”
“They call to shifters, too. Powerful shifters,” Kai added.
Jody clenched her fist before her fingers trembled. “Such as?”
Kai shrugged, but the gesture didn’t mask his concern. “All kinds of shifters. But dragons above all.”
Jody glanced at Silas. She’d never forget the size of his dragon’s shadow or the thunderous roar he’d emitted along with crackling flames. In human form, he seemed so controlled, so sophisticated. As a dragon, he had been terrifying.
“Good dragons?” she ventured. After all, Kai, Tessa, and Silas were all dragon shifters, and they were nice. That boded well for the species, right?
Tessa shook her head. “Bad dragons are after the Spirit Stones, too.”
“Drax,” Kai spat out the name.
Jody leaned back in her seat. Whoever Drax was, she never wanted to tangle with him.
“And now Moira,” Kai muttered. “Sorry, Silas. It has to be said. Whatever she was in the past… She’s changed.”
Silas fingered the tablecloth, rubbing one spot as if to erase a smudge. If Keiki hadn’t come over and pawed at it, too, he might have scratched a hole right through the fabric.
“Here, Keiki,” he whispered, leaning over for a ball of yarn. He threw it across the floor, watching the ball unravel.
Jody watched, too. Something about the long red strand reminded her of a dragon’s tail, and not in a good way. Then Keiki pounced, conquering it.
Kai spoke loud and clear as if hoping those other dragons, wherever they were, could hear. “If nothing else, they haven’t been cocky enough to march in here and take us on in a direct fight
. Our power has grown, Silas. They respect that.”
It was a pep talk, Jody realized, though it didn’t seem to bolster Silas much.
“Maybe,” he murmured, still intent on the tablecloth.
“Definitely,” Tessa said, backing Kai up. “We have four stones. Drax has none. The Windstone is slumbering, and you know what?”
Her defiant tone made everyone look up.
“We have a lot to celebrate,” Tessa continued. “Another stone brought to safety. A new friend and ally.” She raised her glass at Jody then smiled mischievously at Cruz. “And best of all, we can celebrate the fact that Cruz hasn’t been pacing holes into the ground or complaining about humans for an entire hour.”
Everyone laughed, and Boone added, “Amen.”
Cruz looked ready to protest, but Kai slapped him on the back, teasing him. “So whatever happened to humans being…what was it, again?”
“Unpredictable,” Tessa filled in immediately.
Cruz aimed a finger at Jody. “She is unpredictable.”
“Hey!” she protested.
“What about irrational?” Boone joked.
The dawn of a smile played over Cruz’s lips, but Jody saw him fight it away. “She is irrational.”
She snorted. “Says the man who lives in a tree house.”
“What about dangerous? I seem to remember something about that.” Kai laughed.
“Have you seen her surf? She is dangerous.”
“Am not,” Jody laughed, looping an arm across his shoulders.
Cruz caught her free hand and looked at her with sparkling eyes. “You’re all of those things — and more. That’s why I love you.”
Tessa sighed. Kai grinned from ear to ear, and Nina sniffled. Well, Jody thought that’s who it was, but she wasn’t sure, not with her vision focused on Cruz. The outside world was fading away again, leaving everything a blur except her and him.
She nodded to herself. It was easy to get caught up in scary thoughts. But the truth was that life was beautiful. Love was beautiful.
“I believe,” she whispered to no one in particular.
Cruz seemed to know exactly what she meant because he murmured, too. “I believe.” Then he snapped back to attention and looked around with chagrin. A moment later, he was on his feet and pulling her with him.
“You believe what?” Boone asked.
“I believe my mate and I have… What was it? Pressing business,” Cruz announced, heading for the trail to his place.
Jody’s neck tingled, and her cheeks flushed as a dozen steamy scenarios flashed through her mind.
“Thanks for the pancakes,” she called over her shoulder, barely remembering to be polite to her new, um — friends? Neighbors? Family? Yes, family sounded good. Then she dashed off with her man. “They were delicious.”
“I’ll show you delicious,” Cruz growled, breaking into a trot.
She giggled as they turned the corner, and by the time they made it to the footbridge, she’d undone the top button of her blouse, thinking ahead. She thought back, too, over everything that had happened since that crazy night at the golf club. Cruz had gone from potential enemy to ally, bodyguard, and lover.
Mate, a voice grumbled in her mind. A feline voice, throaty yet feminine at the same time.
Wow. It was really happening. Someday, she’d be able to shift like Cruz did. But right now… She was all human, full of human desires.
She stopped Cruz with a firm tug, wrapped him in a surprise hug, and covered his lips with hers. Suddenly, she was insatiable with more than just human desires.
“Tiger desires,” Cruz mumbled, reading her mind. He ran one hand up the inside of her shirt and the other down her rear.
She pressed her body against his, trying to touch him everywhere at once. “Watch out, mister. When I get this tiger thing down pat, I’ll be coming at you with my own mating bite.” She nipped his neck.
“I’ll watch out, then.” He chuckled.
“You’d better believe it.”
“That, I do.” He grew serious and cupped her face in both hands. “I believe, my mate.”
Epilogue
Silas looked around the meeting house. Not long after Cruz and Jody made their hasty exit, all the other couples did, too. A little more subtly, perhaps, but all more or less along the same lines of, If you’ll excuse me, I really have to go shag the amazing mate I adore.
The sea breeze toyed with a napkin on the table, and the clock ticked as he stared off into the distance. An eternity later, it ticked again. Hell — if a minute was that long, how would he ever drag himself through all the years remaining to the end of his life?
He slid a heel across the woven mat floor, watching the shadows of the palms outside. Sunshine flooded the world everywhere but the place he inhabited. There was one exception, though — Keiki. She jumped, scampered, and pounced, chasing the ball of yarn across the floor like a mortal enemy, eviscerating it with tiny claws.
Silas curled his fingers and looked at his nails. In dragon form, they would extend to huge claws. Claws he would love to sink into Drax, the dragon lord who’d stolen everything from him. Everything. A long list unrolled in his mind.
Family treasures.
Personal treasures.
Moira, his inner dragon added, mentally spitting a plume of fire.
His heart ached just thinking about her. He didn’t want to believe his ex-fiancée was at the heart of the recent attacks. But then again, he hadn’t wanted to believe she would leave him, and leave him she had. For Drax.
Drax, who rubbed salt in his wounds at every turn. Drax, who seemed intent on dominating the shifter world. Drax—
He cut off the thought. Drax didn’t deserve to take up so much of Silas’s time or his tightly wound emotions. Neither did Moira. They were the losers; he was the winner — the one living at Koa Point with a group of men and women he respected and admired. A joyous group, especially lately, what with love blossoming all around. He was happy for them. Truly. His friends deserved their happiness — even grouchy Cruz, who had found an amazing woman to make him see the sunny side of life. Bit by bit, each of his brothers-in-arms had inched his way over to a quieter, more meaningful life.
Everyone except him.
Keiki purred and butted against his legs until he picked up the yarn and wound it in. She attacked it as he went, throwing her furry body this way and that, honing her fighting skills.
“Skills I hope you never have to use, little one,” he whispered, tossing the yarn again.
She scampered after it, rolling head over heels in her own private battle.
He smiled — a little, at least. That kitten had the heart of a dragon. A pity she wasn’t a shifter.
The sound of the dishwasher hummed in the background. Thanks to everyone’s combined efforts, the place was neat, tidy, and ready for the next communal meal. He really had no reason to hang around now that the meeting was over, but he had no urge to head home. The house he lived in — the owner’s place, high on a bluff — was huge and airy. In some ways, the perfect dragon’s lair. In others, a prison of his own making. Solitary confinement for a dragon who’d been rejected by the woman he loved.
We didn’t love her, his dragon said firmly. Not truly.
If that was the case, why did it hurt to breathe when he thought about Moira? Why did all his dreams revolve around what might have been?
We never loved her, his dragon insisted. We just thought we did.
He snorted at the beast’s pride. Love was all in the head anyway.
Love is in the heart, and hers is made of stone. It always was. His inner dragon stretched his wings and lashed his tail.
Keiki trotted back and jumped into his lap, purring until he petted her the way she liked best. Ever since her two closest buddies, Cruz and Hunter, had partnered up with their respective mates, Keiki had sought out his company more and more. As if it was her mission to bring a little cheer to grouchy, scarred bachelors like himself.
He frowned as he petted her soft fur. Koa Point might be Keiki’s realm for now, but it might not be for long. The rumors about developing the property weren’t just rumors, and he wasn’t sure he had the power to ward off the threat.
Keiki swatted playfully at his sleeve as if to belabor the point the others made from time to time. Who’s the owner of the estate? Is it you? Who has the power here?
In truth, it was a long story, and a complicated one. And once he got to the end — if he ever reached the point where he had to reveal it all — everyone’s jaws would drop. But he wasn’t ready to share that yet. Not until he knew more about encroaching threats from the outside world. The danger wasn’t imminent, and the others might as well enjoy their well-deserved downtime before the proverbial shit hit the fan.
As for him, he’d remain watchful. Vigilant. And above all, unemotional. He’d be the one they could all count on when push came to shove. A good unit relied on its leader, and a leader couldn’t afford to become distracted by petty details like love.
“Hey,” a voice pulled him from his thoughts. It was Tessa, sweeping back into the meeting house.
He forced the frown from his face. He really didn’t want a lecture about how much he needed to relax.
“Hey,” he murmured back.
“I forgot this,” she said, touching the Lifestone. She laughed. “I know, I know. It’s not something I ought to forget. But sometimes…”
Her cheeks turned pink, and it was easy to guess the words she had swallowed. Sometimes, you get so lost in the lure of your dragon that everything else fades to background noise.
The phone rang — definitely not background noise — and Silas shot a glance at it, annoyed. He’d already had a long talk with Ella, their informant, and wrapped up all the loose threads surrounding the Waterstone. Or so he thought. Had Ella found another morsel of information or another startling surprise? Or was it the developer, calling yet again to try to sweet-talk Silas into a deal he would never support?
“Do you want me to get that?” Tessa asked.
No, he didn’t. He wanted the outside world to leave him alone for a little while. Just long enough to get his head — and heart — in the right place so he could carry on without showing the strain. Well — he knew Tessa saw through the chinks in his armor, but if he could pretend they didn’t exist, she could pretend, too.