Eye of the Tiger (3 page)

Nodding, he jerked open the driver door. It took three attempts to get the old pickup to start up but finally they were off to the closest grocery store.

Before he’d been moved to the farm, Zak hadn’t actually ever been in this area. It was so rural and remote that he’d never had any case that had brought him out so far. There was a small mom and pop shop about fifteen miles from where they stayed. Zak actually liked the older couple that ran the place and hoped to keep them out of harm’s way when the bust came down.

“Did you hear anything about who that might be?” Zak asked, once they were far enough away from the farm that he felt comfortable discussing their business.

“No, as soon as they gave me the shopping list, I was escorted back out,” Luca replied.

“We haven’t had a big cookout since we’ve arrived. I wonder just what’s going on,” Zak commented.

“The group’s been gearing up. I have a feeling this is going to be it,” Luca said as he turned his head toward the side window.

If he didn’t trust Luca, Zak would be concerned with the apparent excitement in his tone. He needed to figure out what Luca’s agenda was. Maybe the two of them needed to have a little heart-to-heart.
This trip to the store may be the right time to push Luca on his way of thinking.

Before he could start asking Luca more questions that he probably wouldn’t get answers to, a red and blue flash in his rear-view mirror stole his attention.

“Fuck,” he cursed at getting pulled over. Glancing down, he saw he wasn’t speeding, so why in the hell was he getting pulled over?

“What’d you do?” Luca asked while checking over his shoulder.

“I didn’t do anything,” Zak growled.

“Just pull over,” Luca advised. “It’ll be better to get this over with.”

Snarling, he put his blinker on before slowing down to stop off on the side of the road. He kept his gaze on the side mirror as a Lake Worth Sheriff deputy stepped out of his cruiser.

Zak had to manually roll down the window of the old truck and he smiled as the law approached. “Afternoon, deputy, was I speeding?”

“Please step out of the vehicle, sir,” he ordered.

“What?” Zak asked, not moving. “What did I do?”

The deputy—a human, his senses told him—placed his hand over the gun at his side. “Step out of the vehicle, slowly.”

Shit, he didn’t need this hassle. Peeking quickly at Luca, he noted the same confusion on Luca’s face. Since he really didn’t want to get shot, he carefully followed orders.

“You too,” the deputy said to Luca.

Luca was cursing under his breath, but the human probably couldn’t pick up on it like Zak. Once he stood next to the truck, the deputy pushed his shoulder. “Turn around and put your hands on the back of your neck.”

Fuming, he complied. He wished he was alone and could tell this stupid hick exactly who he’d pulled over. After he finished this mission, he was going to come back with a few of his co-workers and find out what the guy’s issue was.

The deputy patted him down before yanking his arms back and handcuffing him. Zak held in his wince as the metal pinched his flesh.

“He’s clean,” the deputy hollered to someone Zak couldn’t see.

“Thank you, Deputy Johnson,” a soft feminine voice answered. “Check the passenger please.”

When the deputy had walked away from him, Zak leaned back to see if he could spot the woman. Her sexy southern drawl was enough to have his body taking interest.

“Please turn around, Mr. Lewis.”

He startled, not realizing she’d moved behind him. Spinning around, Zak almost bit his tongue. The woman before him was beautiful. She was a good four or five inches shorter than him, so she had to tilt her head back to meet his gaze.

Curly brown hair fell in soft waves around light brown eyes and a dimpled chin. She wore black slacks with a tight gray button-down shirt. He looked her over from head to toe, knowing he was coming off obnoxious but he had to stay in character. “What can I help you with, darling?” he asked seductively.

She frowned, which caused lines in her forehead and around her eyes. “Drop the act, Mr. Lewis,” she spoke quietly but firmly. “I’m Special Agent Fox with the ATF.”

She held up a badge showing that she did indeed work for the government agency Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. If they were watching the farm, Zak had more problems than he’d thought. Any investigation the human organization was running would interfere with his entire mission.

He hadn’t sacrificed three months of his life for nothing. “Fox, huh? I’ll agree to that.”

The pinched look on her face wasn’t unexpected. Normally Zak would have been respectful to another in law enforcement even if she was going to fuck up his investigation, but his cover wouldn’t.

Taking a step forward, she pointed at him. He caught a whiff of an unexpected scent as she moved closer. This wasn’t just any agent. No, this was a feline shifter like him.

“I have some questions, Mr. Lewis, and it would be best if you answered.”

Since she was so hostile toward him, Zak doubted that she knew he was with the Coalition. Any check she would have done on him would have just given her what his cover had been set up as.

“I’m not talking to an agent,” he said in his most offended tone. “How do you know who I am anyway?”

“I know more than you think. You all really believe you’re hidden out on that property? We’re closing in and this is your only chance to help yourself. If you cooperate, I may get you out of some serious charges. If you don’t, you’ll find yourself behind bars for a very long time.”

Why this agent’s threat was turning him on Zak didn’t know, but damn his cock hardened to press against the seam of his zipper.

“So what do you say, Mr. Lewis?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Zak replied with a shrug. “I’m just hired on as a contractor to work on repairs.”

She didn’t believe him. That much was obvious, but if she had enough to arrest him, he’d already be in the back of the cop car.

“Does it feel good to prey on those weaker than you?” she taunted. Taking a sniff, she backed up slightly. “Powerful cat. Lion?”

“Tiger,” he told her.
Shit
. He hadn’t meant to give her that. His shifter status was something he didn’t discuss with anyone, including his best friends.

“Hmm, that’s rare. Is that why you think you’re better than humans?”

Even though his cover was being one of the idiots that he hung around with, it pissed him off that she was challenging him this way. He managed to swallow back his snarl but didn’t manage to contain his glare. The growl that escaped surprised him.

Obviously startled by the sound, she froze. His hands were still cuffed behind his back but he leaned forward enough to not be heard by Luca or the deputy standing close by.

“If we were alone, I would make you roll over and bare your stomach to me,” he told her.

She shivered, but her scent changed from fear to being laced with arousal.

Surprised, Zak backed off. He didn’t realize how much he’d let his cat come to the surface until he noticed his vision had grown sharper. He had to take several deep breaths but little by little he regained his control.

Embarrassed by his loss of restraint, he dropped his head.

“Wow,” she murmured. “That’s some power. You’ll probably need it in prison.”

He remained silent, not letting her words affect him this time.
Fuck
. He was known for keeping his shit together. He’d lost it in front of a federal agent, to make matters worse.

Agent Fox strolled away from him, giving Zak the chance to lean back against the truck. He thumped his head a couple of times at his stupidity. He wasn’t even sure why he’d reacted like that. In the years he’d been in law enforcement, he’d never acted that way. Five minutes in Agent Fox’s presence and it was like he was a pre-teen shifter with no control over himself.

He could hear the agent speaking to Luca quietly but couldn’t make out the words. She must not have gotten any more from Luca since after only a few minutes, she was at the back of the truck.

“Release them, deputy,” she ordered.

Zak turned his head to watch her fine ass flex and shake as she stomped back to the deputy’s cruiser. The deputy released them with quick and efficient moves, never uttering a word. Zak glanced over the back of the truck to meet Luca’s gaze. Luca shook his head as he reached for the door handle.

“Let’s go,” Luca said. “We still have the shopping to do.”

He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to think about the upcoming barbeque or who might be staying at the farm with the scent of Agent Fox still in the air. Zak took a deep breath and hoped that Luca didn’t notice his erection, which refused to go soft.

* * * *

“Who are you?” Abilene Fox asked out loud, even though she was alone at her desk. She clicked another link, trying for more accurate information on Zak Lewis than had been provided for her from the main office.

The computer wasn’t finding anything new. She was using every program she had access to and still couldn’t find anything new on Zak Lewis. Something had to be there, she could feel it in her gut. Zak Lewis was more than he appeared.

The power alone that she’d felt earlier was enough to be wary of him. She’d tried to maintain control and come off strong, but it had been close. Her inner cheetah had wanted to let him mount her so they could lose themselves in passion.

Wrapping herself in her professional role, she’d gone on the attack in order not to give in to her primal needs. Probably a good thing she’d restrained her desire. Coldness had shown in Zak’s gaze a few times, sending trails of fear down her spine. Who knew what she was getting into with this investigation? It had seemed they were finally getting somewhere with their inside man until he’d stopped checking in at the appointed times.

Abilene had followed her partner to the farm that the group had purchased, hoping to find out what was going on. Instead, she just had more questions, and Zak Lewis was one of the bigger ones. Luca believed that Zak was on their side, even though he couldn’t tell her why. With Luca’s check-ins coming less frequently, she’d been ordered to make contact by any means necessary. The government didn’t like it when their agents disappeared.

She’d ordered Luca to get away to seek her out or there was a chance that he’d be pulled. Luca hadn’t been happy but had said that he’d do his best.

Abilene trusted her partner.

As Luca had been telling her for months that Zak wasn’t involved in the planning against humans and had his own agenda for helping Luca out, she’d made her move to approach Luca when he was with Zak.

Now she was even more suspicious. The file was just pissing her off.

“You’re still here?”

Glancing up to spot one of the deputies, she couldn’t help but smile. Jenny Green was a friend from her high school days, and Abilene was happy to reconnect while on assignment.

Logging off from the computer, she looked up. “I was just heading out. I wanted to do a little more research but my brain is fried.”

Resting her hip against Abilene’s desk, Jenny frowned. “You’ve been putting in a lot of time. You haven’t found anything?”

“No, I wish I knew for certain that my partner was safe. I just can’t get over the feeling that we don’t know what these people are capable of.”

“You said your partner’s been inside a while, right?”

“Yeah, he’s not getting close enough, though,” Abilene admitted. Luca’s involvement was strictly need-to-know. The deputies that she was working with didn’t even have his name, just that she had an inside man.

“I’ll keep my eye out and let you know if I hear anything,” Jenny told her. “I’ve got patrol. I’ll see you later.”

“Bye.” Abilene waved to Jenny, distracted in gathering her belongings. Swinging the strap of her leather messenger bag over her shoulder, she headed toward the door.

With determined strides, she strolled out of the department heading for her vehicle. The parking lot wasn’t very well lit but Abilene had no trouble seeing with her shifter vision. Halfway to her beat-up old Jeep, she stopped.

An itch between her shoulders started slowly until she was certain someone was in the parking lot with her. Turning in a slow circle, she surveyed the darkened area around her.

Only a few vehicles remained so it should have been simple enough to spot anyone hanging around. Instead Abilene could only feel herself being watched.

Thoughts of Zak Lewis floated through her mind. Stiffening, she had to wonder if it were possible. She took a long, deep breath, concentrating on the smells around her.

A freshly mowed lawn, fireplace, the creek about a mile away drifted up along with the scents of the others that worked at the department. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary.

But Abilene knew better than to depend on aroma alone.

“I know you’re there,” she called out.

“Of course you do,” Luca stated, stepping out of the shadows. “I trained you myself.”

Relaxing, she grinned at her partner. “You got away.”

“Zak is covering for me, but I don’t have long.”

“What can you tell me?” She wanted to get Luca back before anyone missed him. Her partner’s safety came before everything else.

“There’s a big party tonight for some unknown guest. I got the license plate of the car that’s parked up front.” Luca handed her a small, folded piece of paper.

“I’ll get on this right away,” she promised.

“I’ll try to get to the bar in the next couple of nights.”

“Okay, let me find out who this is and I’ll drop by tonight. If I don’t see you, I can go back tomorrow.”

Luca nodded. “What did you think about Zak?”

How could she tell her partner that she didn’t see the same thing he did? “I’m not sure he’s the guy you think he is.”

“He comes across as tough, but I’m pretty sure he’s the one that got those teenagers out a couple months ago.”

“What’s his angle?” she asked, pressing her concern. If Zak was the person responsible for rescuing the younger shifters, she’d have to give him credit for putting himself in danger. But why would someone who willingly joined the small terrorist faction do that?