“You didn’t say anything about bringing her,” Walker said.
“She didn’t give him a choice,” Carly said, slamming the door and fishing for a seat belt. “Is this your SUV? If anyone finds out you’re helping Tiger, they’ll be looking for it.”
“I bought it today,” Walker said. “Used, for cash. You can thank me later.”
“I’ll thank you now.” Carly leaned against Tiger. “Where are we going?”
“Away.” Walker put the SUV in gear and pulled from the dark curb where he’d halted. “There’s water in the cooler, and enough food for a couple of days. Sandwiches and chips and stuff. I figured he wouldn’t remember to pack food.”
“Tiger didn’t pack anything,” Carly said. She closed her eyes, happy for the downtime.
“I don’t need anything,” Tiger said.
His chest rumbled pleasantly, and Carly snuggled into the vibrations. He was an incredible man—an incredible Shifter. Strong and sometimes terrifying, but he’d gone inside the store to help the clerk without a second thought. Before that, he’d pulled Carly from a wrecked car, then kept bullets from hitting her. She’d come out of the incident without a scratch.
And his reward for being so amazing? People shooting at him and wanting to Collar him, cage him, test him, torture him.
Well, not on Carly’s watch. She’d find a place to keep him safe where no one could hurt him.
The cynical voice inside Carly, the one she kept silent most of the time, told her that things would not be that easy. Tiger was right about the trouble she called down upon herself for going away with him or even helping him get away. She might never see her family again.
Carly suppressed that dart of pain. She’d help Tiger, and deal with the rest of her life later.
Walker was talking to Tiger. “My commander ordered the hit on you, I figured out. To see what you’d do, and to see how well you’d heal. I told you that I got curious when I read up on the Area 51 experiments and then found a new Shifter wandering around. I reported to my lieutenant colonel, because it’s his command, and unfortunately, he got interested.”
“Why unfortunately?” Carly asked.
“Because he sees Tiger as his ticket to promotion and a way out of the Shifter Bureau attachment. If he’s found a new weapon—a person who can move with stealth and survive enemy fire—he’ll be a hero. He’s the one who wants Tiger found, imprisoned, and tested, and he wants to breed more of him.”
“Breed.” Tiger’s word held anger.
“Yep. Breed. You heard me.”
“He would take the cubs.” The rage in Tiger’s voice was fierce.
“And have people cut into your brain and maybe shoot you full of holes again to see how fast you can heal.”
“He must not touch the cubs.” Tiger pulled Carly closer, his arm as strong as iron.
“That’s why I’m driving you away,” Walker said. “I’ll face my court-martial like a man.”
Carly thought about everything Tiger had told her Walker had told him. Every single person she’d met wanted to control or use Tiger in some way—even Liam, talking about putting a real Collar on him. And now they were trusting Walker not to take them right back to his commander.
Tiger didn’t seem worried, though. And because Tiger had been right about pretty much everything since she’d met him, Carly decided she would need to trust him. Not that she had much choice right now.
Walker and Tiger fell silent as Walker navigated the dark streets out of town. Carly leaned against Tiger, worn out and worried, but warmed by Tiger and his arm around her.
* * *
Walker drove them a long way west, where Tiger had never been. When he’d come to Austin, Tiger had been flown in a private cargo plane by a man named Marlo, a friend to Shifters in the Las Vegas Shiftertown.
Flying had been an interesting experience. Tiger had seen mountains rippling below him, then flatlands neatly sectioned into fields, and precise circles of green Marlo said came from circular irrigation systems. Those had dissolved into squares of brown dust with narrow roads that ended in dots. Oil wells, Marlo had said in answer to Tiger’s questions, pumping the veins of West Texas.
This drive took them farther south and west, ever west. By the time the sun came up behind them, they were in a wide plain of nothing. Brown land with tufts of brown grasses and scrub stretched as far as Tiger could see, the green hills of Austin and the river country far behind. The sky was clear overhead, not a cloud in it, and already the temperature was climbing.
Tiger didn’t mind. He looked from horizon to horizon, drinking it in. He loved seeing anything new, loved the amazing variety of the world.
Carly lay against his side, sleeping, her feet tucked up on the seat. The mate bond that connected them shimmered in the sunlight. Carly couldn’t see it, but Tiger knew she could feel it.
Another bond stretched between the two of them and the new life inside Carly. Tiger let out a protective growl. The Shifter Bureau could never get his cubs.
Tiger would not let his cubs—anyone’s cubs, for that matter—live through the hell he had. No cages, no needles, no shocks, no experiments. He might die trying to save them, but that didn’t matter. He would make sure his cub would live and grow up like the other cubs in Shiftertown—safe, protected, happy.
As the sun climbed, Carly woke and stretched. She gave Tiger a quick kiss on his cheek, then rummaged in the cooler Walker had brought and pulled out a bottle of water, droplets of moisture clinging to it. Carly offered it to Walker and to Tiger, who both declined, then she opened the bottle herself and drank.
Tiger watched her lips purse over the bottle’s mouth, her throat move in her swallow, her eyes close as the cool water slid over her tongue. Tiger clenched his fist and made himself only watch, not touch.
Carly waved her hand in front of her face. “I bet it’s already ninety out there. Been a while since this truck’s AC has had a tune-up, I’m guessing.”
“Probably,” Walker said. “Open the window.”
“I might. When I’m hot enough to put up with swallowing half the dust of Texas.”
Tiger hadn’t noticed the temperature, but Carly was perspiring. He’d never had to worry about another person before. If he let her stay with him, would she be cool enough where they ended up? Or warm enough? Safe enough? Comfortable? Happy? Would their cub be?
Carly rested her head on his shoulder again. “You look like you’re thinking deep thoughts.”
“I want to take care of you,” Tiger said. “Hoping I know how.”
Carly patted his arm. “Don’t you worry about that. I’m very good at taking care of myself. I’ve had a pretty good sleep, Walker. I can drive when you need a rest.”
“Thanks,” Walker said. “I’ll take you up on that in a little while.”
“I’m not tired,” Tiger said.
“Mmm.” Carly slanted a glance up at him. “You know how to drive?”
He hesitated. “Connor was teaching me.”
“I see.” Another pat, this one on his chest, and she left her hand there. “I think Walker and I should handle it.”
Tiger liked that she didn’t move her hand from over his heart. She leaned her head on his shoulder, continuing to drink the water, her tongue coming out to wipe it from her lips.
Tiger leaned to kiss her, licking the moisture from her mouth. She smiled when they broke apart, and the need inside Tiger threatened to choke him.
They drove on. Tiger checked behind them constantly, as did Walker. No cars followed, no flashing lights appeared, and no police vehicle they passed, waiting for speeders, paid them any attention. Walker drove calmly, not going too fast but also not being overly cautious, which would also attract attention. The man would make a good Shifter.
Carly insisted on stopping at a rest area where she could use the bathroom, countering the two males’ annoyed stares by saying she didn’t have outdoor plumbing and couldn’t pop behind the nearest bush. Not that there were
many out here anyway, and she had no intention of getting foot-long stickers in her privates.
Tiger hated every second she was out of his sight in the restroom. He didn’t relax until she came out, purse over her shoulder, and walked briskly again to the SUV.
Carly took over driving then, competently steering onto the freeway. Walker rode in front with her, both he and Carly wanting Tiger to stay in the back. He was too big and too conspicuous, Walker said, even if he hid his multicolored hair under the baseball cap.
“Will you really be court-martialed?” Carly asked Walker. “Are you—what’s the term—AWOL?”
“No, I had some leave coming. I won’t be AWOL for a week. But unless I can convince whoever tries me that Sheldon is a cruel bastard and endangered people’s lives, they might decide to make an example of me.”
“I’m sorry.” Carly sounded sad. “You shouldn’t have gotten dragged into this.”
“Doesn’t matter. I believe in doing what I think is right.” Walker shrugged bulky shoulders. “I’ve had a good run.”
“You can’t be much older than I am.”
“You grow up fast doing what I do.”
As Tiger listened, a recently learned emotion welled up inside him, one he’d never experienced in the research lab. Tiger had felt something like it for Iona when he finally realized she meant to release him from the research building and let him go, and again for Liam for taking him in and giving him a home. He felt it also for Connor for trying to teach Tiger how to live in the world. Now for Walker for helping at a cost to himself.
Tiger had a word now to put to the feeling: gratitude.
“Take this exit,” Walker told Carly as a green sign loomed up. “No more easy freeway.”
Carly smoothly steered off the road and followed Walker’s instructions to turn left onto the empty, narrow road at the end of the ramp. This road, a little rougher, no shoulder beyond the white stripe at its edge, stretched straight and long southward, going as far as Tiger could see.
They were still on this road as the sun moved slowly westward, but they’d left behind flatlands for small mountain ridges that hugged the horizon and made the road bend around them. Carly had switched with Walker again, but she remained in the front, her sunglasses on against the glare.
She looked as neat and edible as she had when Tiger had first met her—she standing on the side of the road in pristine white, one hand holding her cell phone, fingers of the other splayed on her shapely hip.
Some instinct buried inside him had told Tiger that she was his mate. No other.
And Tiger had been right. No woman not a mate of the heart would be so determined to help him, so ready to endanger herself to help him get away.
Tiger wouldn’t let her endanger herself much longer.
The afternoon grew hot, then hotter. Walker turned off on another road that led into rocky hills and canyons. The road became dirt, the SUV shaking over ruts and washboard grading.
After about an hour or so on this road, traveling at a crawl, Walker pulled over. There was nothing out here except heated sky and rock, with trees and scrub clinging to the sides of the canyons. No other cars, no buildings, nothing.
“Carly, how good are you at reading maps?” Walker asked.
“Pretty good,” Carly said. “I go on road trips with my sisters. They talk instead of watching the road, and they never pay attention to their GPS, if they even turn it on. So I navigate. Put it another way, I yell at them to not miss the turn.”
“No GPS service in this truck,” Walker said. “And it’s best if you don’t turn on your cell phone. If you can read a map, I’ll show you. If not, I’ll just tell you.”
“No trouble about my cell phone. It’s broken.” She shot a look at Tiger. “Show me the map.”
Tiger waited while Walker spread out a map on the seat and pointed out the roads she needed to take to lead her back to the freeway and on to El Paso. She’d cross the border there and take more back roads to where she could pick up Tiger.
“And you’ll be . . . ?” Carly asked him.
“With Tiger.”
“Oh,” she said. “Good.” Carly glanced over the seat again at Tiger. “Someone to take care of you.”
Tiger wasn’t sure having Walker come along was the best idea. He knew he’d end up taking care of Walker, not the other way around.
Tiger opened the back door and stepped out of the SUV. He flexed his cramped muscles—he didn’t like being confined for long stretches of time.
He sniffed the air, smelling nothing but grasses, wind, earth. No pollution, no scent of humans touching the breeze. Clean, fresh, beautiful. A wild place, which called to his heart. He wanted to shift and run, never stop running.
He heard Carly leave the SUV, her sneakers crunching on the gravel of the road. Tiger went around the vehicle to her, catching her before she made it to him.
Her eyes were luminous in the sunlight, which burned her hair with golden highlights. “See you soon,” Carly said softly.
Tiger pushed her against the side of the SUV, his body hemming hers in. He put his fingers under her chin, turning her face to his.
“Mate of my heart,” he said. “You always will be. No matter what.”
Carly’s eyes shone with tears. “Remember when I said I thought I was falling in love with you? Well, I think I have. All the way.”
Tiger slid his arm behind her back and pulled her against him, the length of her body along his. He studied her, memorizing her face, her green eyes with the silver gray flecks.
He kissed her, a light touch of lips, fixing her taste in his mind. Always Carly. Always mine.
Tiger kissed her again, this kiss deepening. Carly made a noise in her throat as her body fitted itself inside the curve of his.
Her body was soft where he was firm, rounded where Tiger was flat with muscle. He loved every part of her. The memory of Carly’s warmth would wrap him when he was cold, the thought of her kiss would feed him when he was hungry.
He pressed her back into the warm metal of the SUV, wanting to climb inside her and never come out. Mating frenzy. Here and now.
Tiger kissed her, and Carly kissed him back. His mouth moved on hers, their tongues tangling. The soft sounds Carly made had his cock growing harder, every moment with her making him want to have her one more time.
Walker cleared his throat on the other side of the SUV.
Tiger eased away from Carly, his heart pounding, his temperature soaring, the beast in him angry. He didn’t trust himself to speak as he took one step back and forced his hands to slide from her sides.
Carly looked up at him, her eyes moist, then she reached out and brushed a finger across his burning cheek. “I’ll see you, Tiger. In about five or so hours. Depending on how long it takes me to cross. And then we’ll have time.”
Time. Yes.
In the cage, he’d had nothing but time. Wasted time. Now Tiger wanted to hang on to every bit of time—with her.
“We’ll fix this,” Carly said. “All right?”
Yes, Tiger would fix it. He had to. The thought of being without Carly was tearing him apart.
He took another step back. Carly swallowed and looked away, walking quickly around the back of the SUV to the drivers’ side. Tiger followed her, Walker stepping aside so that Tiger could help Carly into the SUV and close its door.
“Be careful,” she told him through the open window. “I want to see you again.”
Tiger didn’t answer. He leaned in through the window and kissed her again.
Touching her face one last time, Tiger stepped back, waiting while she started up the SUV, then watched her turn it around and head back down the washboard road.
Walker buckled his utility belt around him. “You all right?”
Tiger kept his eyes on the SUV, watching the lights flare as Carly slowed to go down a wash. A line of dust in Carly’s wake spiraled into the solid-blue sky.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Tiger’s
chest felt hollow, as though someone had kicked him repeatedly. He needed Carly with him every second—every moment away from her was one too long.
“Tiger?” Walker said.
“Fine.” Tiger made himself turn away. “We should go.” Better get there and meet up with her again as quickly as he could.
“Follow me, and don’t deviate,” Walker said. “We’re going into a dangerous area—drug runners and coyotes use it. Coyotes meaning the guys who run people across the border in exchange for their life savings, not the mangy animals that howl.”
Tiger had heard of these coyotes, and the drug runners who shot those who got in their way. But they were the least of his worries. In fact, he’d make sure that they needed to worry about him.
He paused for a moment to remove his clothes while Walker discreetly looked the other way. Once undressed, Tiger packed his clothes into a waterproof belt pack Walker had brought for him, handed it to Walker, and shifted to his tiger.
The world changed. Scents and sound rushed at him, the beast gleeful to be in open country, far from the confinement of Shiftertown. Tiger stretched, shaking himself out.
Walker had gone wide-eyed, his scent betraying his startled wariness at watching Tiger’s change. Then Walker swallowed his misgivings, came to Tiger, and hooked the belt with Tiger’s clothes around his middle.
The appendage felt a little strange, but Tiger would have to get used to it. He raised his head, sniffed the wind, and followed Walker down the hill, slinking into the shadows of the rocky hills.
* * *
Carly breathed a sigh of relief when the SUV hit pavement. The jarring and rattling stopped, and the ride became smooth.
She didn’t pass many cars as she turned onto the highway, heading back up toward the I-10. Even if she didn’t have a map, the chances of getting lost out here were minimal. There were only a few paved roads that went anywhere.
The distance gave her time to think. Too much time. She knew she had the option of turning right at the 10 instead of left, and heading back to Austin. The Shifters would pry out of her that she’d driven Tiger this far, but then they’d go after him themselves, or alert the Shifter Bureau. They’d leave her alone, not needing her anymore.