The Tiger's Heart (9 page)

A teakettle whistled from the kitchen.
Tabitha smiled. “Adam is making us hot cocoa. I thought it would be
better for you than coffee with your medication. I always enjoyed
cocoa on cold winter nights.”

“
Thank you.” Bethany
didn’t care about cocoa—she just wanted this over. She wanted to be
alone with Raja again, to be cuddled up on a couch, or better yet
in bed, with his arms around him. She wanted to feel his body
against hers, her hands on his chest. She was drawn to him as a
heroin addict is drawn to the next needle. His touch was all she
desired. When they weren’t embraced, her gaze followed the way his
body moved, as if mapping out each section for future
exploration.

“
I asked Raja to speak
with you about your uncle. I’m assuming he did.” Tabitha’s gaze
went from Bethany to Raja, who was still standing behind
her.

“
Yes. I don’t understand
what my uncle has to do with any of this. So he was mentioned in
the video. What does that matter? Anyone could search my family
tree and find out my father had a brother.”

“
He wasn’t just
mentioned…” Ty eyed Raja. “Pierce said, ‘Tonight the family will
have to face the beast their uncle created.’ That’s the only lead
we have to go on. It might answer why this happened to
you.”

“
What would my Uncle James
have to do with any of this?”

“
I don’t know,” Tabitha
said as Adam brought in a tray with cocoa and cookies. He placed it
on the coffee table. “Thank you, Adam.” Tabitha made her way back
to the couch across from Bethany and Raja, her hand still in Ty’s,
making sure he followed her.

Tabitha scooted toward the edge of the
couch, grabbing her mug and a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie.
“Raja, will you please hand a mug to Bethany and help yourself?”
She took a sip of her cocoa with eyes closed. “Tell me about your
uncle.”

“
I don’t know much. Dad
always said Uncle James was a loner. He didn’t like to be around
people.” She took the mug from Raja and held it. The warmth felt
good in her hands.

“
Any idea why?”

“
No. I haven’t seen him
since I was a child.”

“
When I told you what I
was, you mentioned your father spoke of shifters before,” Raja said
gently, rubbing her shoulder.

“
Yeah.
He told us bedtime stories about shifters growing up. He said
shifters—well he didn’t use that exact word—existed, and one day I
would find out for myself. I never believed him until you came into
my life.” She reached up, placed her hand over his again and
squeezed gently. “How did he know?”

“
I suspect your uncle
might be a shifter.”

Bethany eyed Ty, wondering
if she heard him right.
My Uncle James a
shifter? Nah.
“I don’t think so. My father
wasn’t, and they were full-blooded brothers.”

“
If one parent is a
shifter and the other isn’t, there is a fifty-fifty chance the
first child will be. From there, the odds go down with each child.
Who is older?”

“
Uncle James.”

“
It’s possible your uncle
is a shifter and the active gene wasn’t passed to your father,”
Raja said to her before turning his attention to Ty. “I’d like to
ask Connor to search for her uncle. It’s possible he’s in
danger.”

Ty nodded. “Go ahead. There’s one more
thing we would like to discuss with Bethany before she
goes.”

“
I’ll wait. Connor can get
started once you’re done here.”

No one argued with him, but she could
feel the tension level slowly rising. Behind her, Raja went still,
and Ty started to speak.

“
We’d like to have your
family bodies sent here…”

“
You what?” Bethany
hollered. If she could have stood, she would have jumped out of her
seat with anger.

“
Please hear him out,”
Tabitha begged.

“
I thought I wasn’t a
prisoner here. I told you I wouldn’t share your secret. What more
do you want from me?”

“
We haven’t lied to you.
Ty’s suggesting this to protect you.”

She glared at Tabitha with hatred in
her eyes.

“
Bethany, hear me out.
Pierce is expecting you to return home, grief-stricken and injured.
You would be easy prey. We can’t guarantee your safety in Virginia.
We can give your family the proper ceremony here and still keep you
safe.”

Bethany sat in shock, shaking her
head. “You knew about this?” she asked Raja in a
whisper.

He moved to the side of her chair,
knelt beside her. “Tabitha briefly mentioned it. I wasn’t aware of
details. I know it’s a shock, but think about it. It would keep you
safe here with me to protect you. You’re in no condition to go up
against him,” Raja whispered.

“
What about family and
friends? How would I explain it?”

“
You could explain your
parents didn’t want a memorial service. The one here would be kept
quiet. An announcement in the papers would need to be made for your
family, and loose ends would need to be dealt with, but we can help
you,” Ty explained.

“
My family wanted to be
cremated, my parents’ ashes buried together once they passed,” her
voice full of unshed tears.

“
Whatever arrangements you
want can be arranged here. You can save your family ashes until you
find the spot you wish to bury them. We’re not doing this to punish
you for knowing our secret—we’re trying to protect you. Your
parents wouldn’t want you to die in the same way they were killed.”
Ty leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

“
I understand. This is
just all too much. I’ll need my cell phone in order for the police
to reach me. Only my family was aware I was in Alaska, and even if
they found out where I was, they would expect me to be at the
hotel, not here. I want to rest now, if that is all.”

“
I have it.” Raja patted
his pocket. “She’ll be in my quarters if there is anything else.
I’ll let you know when the call comes through.”

“
Very well. I’ll let you
know when we hear from the West Virginia’s Alpha,” Ty said as Raja
wheeled her toward the door.

Chapter Sixteen

“
Are you comfortable?”
Raja asked as he pulled the blanket up from the bottom of the
bed.

“
This is your room, isn’t
it?” She nodded.

“
Yes. The guest bed isn’t
made, and I wanted to get you comfortable.” He brushed hair away
from her face. “You need to get some sleep.”

“
I’m not tired.” She
yawned. “Maybe if I give myself up to Pierce, he would kill me
quickly and you could trap him. Then he wouldn’t be able to kill
anyone else.”

“
Don’t even speak like
that.” He sat on the edge of the bed. “You won’t sacrifice
yourself. We will catch him.”

“
But…”

“
He wouldn’t do it
quickly.”

“
You don’t know that.” She
twirled her finger around the sheet.

“
Trust me, I know,” he
growled.

She watched him closely. “How do you
know?”

He pushed off the bed to pace the room
that seemed to be closing in around him.

“
Answer me,
Raja.”

“
There was nothing quick
about what he did to your sister,” he barked. “I don’t want to see
the same thing happen to you.”

He watched her cringe and sink deep
into the mattress. The fear reeked off her, filled the room and
grabbed his tiger’s attention. “I’m sorry, Bethany.” He moved back
to the bed and took her hand in his. “I shouldn’t have said that,
sweetie.”

“
He tortured her,” she
whispered with tears in her eyes again.

He crawled into bed next to her. “I’m
sorry, love. I won’t let anything happened to you,” he whispered,
holding her close. He kissed the top of her head.

“
My baby sister…oh poor
Jamie,” she cried as Raja held her.

* * *

Raja pressed his cell to his ear. He
slipped out of the room as Bethany lay in bed sleeping. He had to
talk to Connor.

“
Connor, could you come to
my quarters? I need to speak with you.” Raja closed the bedroom
door behind him.

When Connor agreed, he
ended the call and clipped the phone back on his jeans. He booted
up his laptop setting on the coffee table before making his way to
the kitchen for another cup of coffee.
Coffee won’t sustain me much longer. I’m going to need to get
some sleep soon if I’m going to be of any use to Bethany and the
clan.

He poured the coffee he’d turned on
earlier when they returned, knowing it would be a long night, in
his mug. The aroma gave his mind the jerk it needed but wasn’t
enough to keep his eye more than half open.

He stood, mug in hand, looking out
onto the compound. A few of the clan children were having a
snowball fight in the courtyard of main building. The fluffy white
snow flew through the air, as children dived out of the way,
laughing. Finding Bethany had made him more aware of what a
dangerous time it was for tiger shifters. He had the obligation to
protect not only the clan members but more importantly Tabitha and
now Bethany.

His senses were open to allow him to
smell the wolf, Connor, coming down the hall. He didn’t want
Connor’s knock to wake Bethany. Rest was the best thing for her,
and it gave him time to deal with Connor. If anyone could find her
uncle, it was Connor.

Coffee in hand, Raja opened the door.
“Thank you for coming. Can I offer you some coffee?”

“
No, thanks.” Connor, a
true computer geek with his light brown hair messy from running his
hand through it, his ruffled dress shirt and jeans looked as if he
slept in it, stood there looking ill at ease.

“
Come sit down,” Raja
said, moving away from the door toward the sitting area. “I have a
task for you.”

“
Whatever I can do to
help.” Connor took a seat on one of the chairs.

“
My mate, Bethany, has an
uncle. We believe he either is a key to all of this or is in
danger. We need you to locate him.”

Connor nodded. “I remember he was
mentioned in the video. I never heard Pierce mention anything about
him. Do you think he could have been the one who bit
Pierce?”

“
It’s unlikely. Rogue
shifters are normally the ones at fault. The uncle doesn’t seem
like a rogue, but my guess is he might know who did it.”

“
I understand. What
information do we have to go on?”

“
Very little,
unfortunately. Bethany hasn’t seen the man since she was a child.
Her father said he was a loner and had a cabin in North Dakota. His
name is James Thompson.”

“
I’ll get to work and let
you know when I find anything.” Connor stood.

Raja nodded, too tired to stand, his
eyes now heavier than before he had the coffee. He set the mug down
as Connor shut the door. Resting his head on the back of the couch,
he let his eyes close.

Bethany’s hotel room. When
the call comes in, I’ll have Shadow go to the hotel and get
Bethany’s things. Check out and we will make it look like she’s
going to Virginia. Maybe Pierce will fall for the trap and the West
Virginia clan can catch him.

He hit Ty’s number and told him the
plan. He could contact Lukas’s brother Jinx and start putting
things in motion.

Chapter
Seventeen

The sun shining through the curtains
woke Raja. He found himself tightly holding Bethany, his gun
digging into his side, and still in the same clothes from the day
before. Memories flooded back to him. In the middle of the night,
Bethany had cried out for her sister Jamie, tearing at his heart.
He went to her, crawled into bed and wrapped his arms around her,
trying to bring some comfort.

Gently he eased himself off as not to
disturb her.

“
Where are you going?”
Bethany asked, her voice deep with sleep, holding tightly to
him.

“
My gun…it’s digging
in.”

“
Take it off. Please stay
with me. I need you.”

“
Shh, love.” He ran his
thumb over her cheek. “I’m not going anywhere. There’s nowhere I’d
rather be than right here with you in my arms.”

He slipped his gun out of the holster,
placing it on the nightstand in easy reach. Most of the guards
carried guns even if they could shift back and forth at will. It
saved any embarrassing situations that could arise from someone
seeing a tiger roaming free, and the naked moments after they
changed back.

His hand was moving away from the gun,
when the bright pink cell phone that lay next to it rang. His
stomach sank. This most likely was the news they were dreading,
informing her of her family’s demise.

“
There’s no need for you
to do this. I can handle this for you.”
He
closed his hand around the cell; they both already knew who was
calling…the Virginia police.

Beside him, she nodded, and he hit the
talk button.