Here There Be Tigers (11 page)

“
Will I be able to get a change of
clothes?”

She sounded desperate enough that he smiled.
“Sure. Have to be cheap.”

“
That’s perfect. I just need…a few
things. I’ll pay you back when I can get at my money
again.”

“
Don’t worry about it.” He checked
the traffic behind them again. The blue car was still there.
“Money’s not a problem for me, but the elders can pay me back since
I’m doing this for them. They have funds.”

“
Is there a tax the tigers pay to
the elders? Like income tax to a government? Or is it just that the
elders have their own money?”

“
Most of them have their own money.
My grandmother got very good at manipulating opportunities over the
years.”

“
Do I want to ask about the legality
of that manipulation?”

“
It’s nothing morally objectionable.
Let’s just say she’s a very clever woman and leave it at
that.”

Mitch checked behind them again to confirm the
car was still there and only realized Nila had fallen silent when
she hadn’t spoken for several blocks. He glanced over to see her
staring out the side window, her shoulders and back looking both
stiff and hunched.

“
What’s wrong?”

“
I’ve been avoiding thinking of
something, and I’m having trouble ignoring it now.”

“
Vlad?” He’d wondered when she’d
want to talk more about what she’d seen.

“
Not exactly.”

“
What then?” His gaze flicked to the
mirror as he changed lanes and prepared to enter a parking lot.
Blue car moved lanes but continued past them as they pulled in.
Frowning, he watched the car disappear up the street. When it was
out of view, he found a place to park near an exit.

“
You’re…you’re a tiger shifter
aren’t you?” Nila murmured.

At first, he wasn’t sure he’d heard her right.
He put the truck into park and faced her. “Of course I am. What did
you think?”

She shrugged and gave a soft snort. “I told
you, I was avoiding thinking about it. You never actually
said.”

“
I assumed you realized. How else
would I know what I know? And my grandmother is one of the elders.
I haven’t been trying to hide anything from you.”

“
I know,” she muttered, still
staring out the window. “I guess I’ve been hiding the knowledge
from myself.”

“
Does it bother you that I’m a
tiger?” He held himself perfectly still while he waited for her
answer. His pulse pounded as discomfort settled into his chest and
gut along with something a little like fear. Did she find him
repulsive now? She hadn’t flinched when he touched her at Max and
Irina’s, but maybe even then she wasn’t facing the truth about his
nature.

“
It’s just… I was hoping to have a
friend in the middle of all this that was, well, like
me.”

“
Nila, there is no one like
you.”

“
I mean human. Not able to do all
the shape shifting stuff.”

His jaw tightened and he had to force out the
next sentence. “Are you afraid of me?”

“
No. No. Not you. I’m just… I don’t
know. Overwhelmed seems a little mild for how I’m
feeling.”

She finally faced him and Mitch held his
breath, searching her eyes for revulsion. When he found only
confusion, relief loosened his jaw. He forced himself to suck in
some air.

“
I’m still adjusting.” She shrugged
and forced a smile. “Let’s go get our supplies.”

He nodded, afraid to say more, afraid to damage
her already fragile balance. She wasn’t disgusted by him, didn’t
find him repulsive. That was all he could ask of her right
now.

On their way back to the truck with their newly
acquired gear, Mitch spotted the blue car again, parked along the
side of the road behind a bus stop so it was hard to see. If he
hadn’t been looking, he might have missed it. As subtly as he
could, he tried to get a glimpse of the driver, but there was too
much blocking his view. He couldn’t sense a tiger. Even at this
distance, he’d be able to tell if that car was driven one of his
kind. So, who was it?

Hurrying Nila into the truck, he stowed the
bags behind the seat then climbed in on the driver’s side. He
headed out of the parking lot at a reasonable pace. The blue car
pulled out too, following at a discrete distance. Again, if he
hadn’t been looking, he might not even realize it was
there.

“
Petrov must have had Max’s place
staked out,” he said. “We’re being followed.”

“
What?” Nila resisted the impulse to
look behind them, but she still glanced in the side mirror. “Are
you sure?”

“
I am now. Damn it. I should have
known Petrov would station someone near Max’s house. I thought we
were far enough ahead of him… But he’s probably been watching Max
this whole time. Fuck.”

“
What are we going to
do?”

His gaze narrowed as he checked the traffic
around them. “Lose them before we head toward John’s
cabin.”

“
If they know about Max, do you
think they’ll know about his friend’s cabin?”

“
They’ll search Max and Irina’s
places first. Then dig into Max’s friends. And they’ll assume tiger
friends first before human friends.”

“
You’re sure?”

“
It’s what I’d do. Our human friends
generally don’t know our true natures, and we don’t like to expose
them to possible involvement in tiger politics. Too risky. If we
can lose the tail, we should be safe enough at John’s cabin for a
few days anyway.”

Nila sighed. “I feel like I’m living in
cars.”

“
Sorry about that.”

“
Don’t apologize. It’s not your
fault. If we didn’t have to run from a crazy, homicidal tiger, this
wouldn’t be an issue.”

The corner of his lips lifted in a half grin,
the expression charming and sexy all at once. Nila found herself
staring at his mouth and had to look away before she got distracted
by more fantasies of that mouth moving across her body.

She glanced into the side mirror again. “Which
car is it?”

“
The blue four door. Three cars back
and in the right lane.”

“
You’re sure? They’re putting on
their turn signal.”

He fell silent for a long moment, his gaze
flicking back and forth from traffic in front of them to the rear
view mirror and the cars behind them. She watched what she could
from the side mirror. The blue car did turn, but Mitch continued to
study the traffic.

Finally, he said, “Must have realized I spotted
them. They’ve traded cars. Now it’s the gray sedan.”

“
How can you be sure?”

“
There’s a tiger in the
sedan.”

“
Two things. One, you can tell that
at a distance? And two, there weren’t tigers in the first
car?”

“
Yes, I can tell at this distance. I
can sense my own kind at distances greater than most tigers—which
is why my grandmother sent me to help you. And no, there weren’t
any tigers in the blue car. I warned you Petrov had connections in
the human world as well as among tigers. Didn’t think he’d go this
far…”

“
He must be desperate.”

“
He’s insane is what he
is.”

“
Since he wants to kill me, I tend
to agree, but why specifically do you say that?”

“
He killed his mate. That’s a pretty
good indicator of insanity in the tiger world. If you’re lucky
enough to get a mate in the Run, you should treasure her. All
females are precious. Killing one is just… The Run was instituted
to stop that kind of thing. Most males consider killing a female
beyond repugnant, despicable.”

“
Got that impression from Max. But
people kill without being insane. You even told me tiger males used
to kill females. It might be repugnant to most, but it doesn’t make
Petrov crazy.”

“
If he’s utilizing humans this way,
risking exposure like this, he’s not in his right, logical mind.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t diminish how clever and resourceful he
is.”

He muttered something under his breath, but
Nila managed to catch a few words and gasped. “You think he’ll kill
the humans when he’s done?”

Mitch shot her a sharp look. “You heard
that?”

“
I have excellent
hearing.”

He raised his brows. “Guess your mother’s genes
are showing.” Then he glanced behind them again.

“
The guy at the airport…was he a
tiger or one of Petrov’s humans?”

“
Tiger.”

“
Why didn’t he know you were one at
first? Or can’t all tigers sense other tigers?”

“
We can all sense each other, some
better than others. Petrov’s man was distracted and not expecting
me. There were a few other tigers at the airport—other
associates—so he probably thought he was sensing one of
them.”

“
Wait, there were
others?”

He nodded. “I assume backup.”

“
Sonofabitch,” she breathed, a
tingle of panic for what might have happened crawling over her
skin. “Can you guys sense humans like you sense tigers?”

“
No. Only works with other tiger
shifters. We have to pick up humans the old fashion way—through
scent, sight, and hearing.”

She glanced behind them again. “Grey car’s
still there. What are we going to do? We can’t go to the cabin with
them following.”

“
I know the Baltimore streets pretty
well. I spend a lot of time down here with Max when I’m not
traveling. But if they’re using humans, then they’ve likely got
locals who’ll know the streets better than me. I need to get
somewhere where I know the terrain better.”

“
We need a new car. They’ll have
this license plate number now.”

“
Probably have Max and Irina’s cars,
too.” He checked the mirrors again, then changed lanes.

As far as Nila could tell, he was just driving
around town, testing their followers.

“
Don’t suppose you have any friends
in town?” he asked, without sounding too hopeful.

“
Wouldn’t Petrov already know about
them if I did?”

“
Are you saying you do?”

She shrugged. “Acquaintances. I’ve done work at
the Maryland Zoo.”

“
There aren’t any tigers in the
zoo.”

She chuckled. “I work with all the big cats,
not just tigers. And I get called in by the resident vets of zoos a
lot to help when there are issues beyond general care. Like the
leopard in Texas.”

She saw him flinch at the reminder, but
otherwise he ignored it.

“
You don’t really stay in one place
for long, do you?” he asked.

“
Nope. Closest thing I have to a
permanent home is a room in my grandmother’s house.”

“
Would these acquaintances from the
zoo help you if you needed it?”

“
Bill would. He’s the head vet
there, and we got to know each other pretty well when we were
working together.”

“
How well?”

The sudden growl in his words made her glance
at him. He stared straight ahead, but his jaw was tight and his
hands clenched the steering wheel enough to turn his knuckles
white.

“
Pretty well,” she said, frowning.
“Let me see if I still have his number in my phone.”

“
When did you last see
him?”

“
Year, year and half
ago.”

“
You’re sure he’s still
here?”

“
No. But we need help Petrov isn’t
likely to know about, right? It won’t hurt to try. Ah, here’s his
number.”

She glanced at Mitch again to see his hands had
relaxed, but his jaw was still clenched. She rang Bill’s number on
the new disposable cell they'd picked up, and waited for an answer,
wondering how well connected Petrov really was? If he’d researched
her past, he’d know she worked in Baltimore. Would he think to
stake out the zoo’s personnel in case she went to someone there?
Did he even have the resources for that?

When Bill answered, he was both surprised and
pleased to hear from her, which made the conversation much easier.
“I know I’m asking a lot without being able to explain much, Bill.
I’m really sorry about this. But if there’s any way you can help,
I’d really appreciate it.”

“
My old Jeep is pretty beat up, but
it runs like a charm so you’re welcome to borrow it.”

“
Thank you so much. I don’t know how
to pay you back.”

“
Don’t worry about it, honey. For
you, anything.”

She grinned, double checked his home address
and disconnected with another round of thanks.

“
What did he say?” Mitch asked, his
voice clipped and hard.

She frowned at his tone. “We can borrow his
Jeep.” She gave him directions.

“
This is his house?”

“
Uh huh. He’s not on duty
today.”