Alaskan Tigers Box Set 3 Read online

  “To deal with what we came to town for.” Carran was forced to stop at a red light and glanced at her in the rearview mirror. “We’re going to find the man you witnessed shifting.”

  “What are you going to do to him? He has a warrant out for his arrest. If you know where he is, you need to call the police.” She wanted to be the one to take him down. How would taking him into custody get me my life back? Could I really expose shifters? Earlier that night, she knew the answer would have been yes, but in that very moment she wasn’t convinced. That would be like damning a whole species for the crimes of one.

  Dad, what would you do? She didn’t even need him to be there to tell her, because every ounce of her knew he would’ve protected the shifters’ secret. He believed people could improve themselves, could change. He always said if someone tried hard enough, they could put their bad ways behind them. All they had to do was reach down and pull themselves up by their bootstraps.

  “She should team up with Quinn.” Red chuckled. “The two of them seem to have the same views.”

  “Who’s he?” She grabbed hold of the edge of the seat to keep from being pushed backward as Carran pressed his foot to the pedal the moment the light changed. “Damn it, Carran, slow down.”

  He ignored her complaint and as they reached the outskirts of the city, he continued to accelerate. “Quinn is with the United States Marshal Services, and he’s eager for the day that shifters can be thrown in jail cells.”

  “Until his coworkers find out that he’s deceived them all.” Red turned in his seat enough to glance back at her. “He’s a black panther, living the life of a human, and rarely giving in to his beast. One day that will work against him.”

  She wasn’t sure what to say. How many shifters were law enforcers? Was there any risk of them turning against their fellow officers? One day their secret was bound to be exposed, and then what? Would their species be divided? Humans against shifters? She wanted to believe they were better than that, and that they’d be able to respect their differences. In her heart she knew shifters would be seen as the enemy.

  Carran and Red had come to her aid when she needed it, which made her want to believe that good people of any species would always be there to lend a helping hand. Donovick was supposed to be one of the good guys and he’d turned his back on her. He chose his own species over her and now, because she threatened to expose him, he wanted her dead. They were partners. He should have come to her and told her the truth. Instead he did nothing while she was attacked. What if the lion had killed her? Would Donovick have done nothing?

  Donovick…he’s a wolf. No matter how many times it ran through her thoughts, she still couldn’t wrap her brain around it. I better get used to it before he finds me.

  The lights of the SUV were off as Carran killed the engine. At the far end of the street a single house stood, while all the others had been demolished. This was the last one that stood in the way of a strip mall and was set to be knocked down the following week. To most, it looked innocent enough, except Carran knew the man they had come after was waiting inside. He was on the verge of leaving his life behind and giving in to his beast. If it wasn’t already too late, they would only have one chance to stop him.

  As if knowing Carran needed a moment with Brooklynn, Red stepped out of the SUV without being asked. Alone with her, he took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the scent of…his mate. Those two words made his tiger excited and anxious. She was a strong, independent woman and while she had been willing to trust him so far, it wouldn’t last. He’d have to tell her everything and hope she could see him for more than the animal within him.

  “You’re not going to call the police, are you?” Staring straight ahead toward the house, she seemed resigned to whatever would happen.

  “No.” He turned in his seat to look back at her. “Your police can’t help him, but we can.”

  “He has a warrant out for his arrest.”

  “He’s a lion shifter on the verge of going rogue.” If things went as he hoped inside, he needed her to keep quiet about involving law enforcement when they returned. She didn’t understand what a delicate situation they were embarking on. If he’d been able to leave her somewhere else while they dealt with this, he would have. With Donovick out for blood, she wasn’t safe alone.

  “Rogue?”

  Needing to feel her touch, he laid his hand over hers and was pleasantly surprised when she didn’t pull away from him. Caressing his thumb over the curves of her fingers, his tiger urged him to climb into the backseat with her, but with the mission ahead of him, he resisted the urge. “A shifter has their animal living within them. While we’re human most of the time, our animal is always a part of us. Just like when we shift, our human side is there. We can’t speak in our animal form, but we still think like a human.”

  “I don’t understand. What does that have to do with a rogue?”

  “Right now, you think we’re just a bunch of animals—”

  “I don’t.” She cut him off before he could finish. “Maybe I did at first when the lion charged at me, but now…I don’t know. You seem human, but so did he before he…”

  He watched as she reached up with the hand that wasn’t under his and touched the back of her head. The thick scent of blood and antiseptic drifted through the interior as her fingers made contact with the bandage. “Have you ever lost someone you loved so much that it felt like you couldn’t get through the day without them? The grief tearing at your heart, making your chest tight, each breath a struggle…” The tears in her eyes answered his question before she spoke.

  “My father.” The words were barely a whisper. “He was a police officer and was killed in the line of duty.”

  “I’m sorry.” He squeezed her hand. “That’s what Ambrose is going through. Humans believe in true love, whereas shifters have a mate. We know there’s a mate out there for us and we wait to find them. It keeps us going through everything else, but when you lose them, no words can explain what that feels like. Some don’t survive the loss and others go rogue.”

  “Is that what’s happening to him? Is Ambrose a rogue?”

  “Unless we can help him, yes. The loss of his mate has frayed his control over his beast. If the connection severs completely, he’ll be a rogue and there will be nothing we can do for him. In order to keep people safe, he would have to be put down.” Time was running short and sitting with her might help her understand more about his species, but it was doing nothing to help Ambrose. When he parked, he’d made sure they stayed downwind, so they could come up on the house without alerting him. But wasting time would only give Ambrose more of a chance to learn they were there.

  “Brooklynn, I need you to stay down and keep the doors locked until I get back. It shouldn’t take long.”

  “There’s more to this than you’re telling me.” She tipped her head toward the side window. “This place is deserted, yet you’re warning me to stay hidden. I’m a cop. I know how to handle myself and I can be good backup. Let me help.”

  “No.” He growled as the thought of letting his mate go up against a possible rogue enraged his tiger. “We might already be too late to help him and if that’s the case, you’d be in danger.”

  “Are there multiple subjects in the house?”

  “He’s alone.” His beast paced uneasily at the thought of leaving her there when Donovick was still a threat. Even knowing it was better than taking her with him to a possible rogue situation failed to ease his anxiety. “Keep your gun handy and I’ll be back soon.”

  She was silent for a moment before nodding. “Be safe.”

  “Brooklynn…” He paused and waited for her to look at him. “Let me eliminate any thought you might have of following us. It’s not going to work.”

  “Why not? You’re about to do that very thing.”

  “It’s nearly impossible to sneak up on a shifter. We catch your scent and can sense you there. The only advantage you have is if you stay downwind of t
hem. You won’t have that advantage.”

  “Then Ambrose will know you’re coming for him?” Her voice quivered as the fear rose within her.

  “No. We’ll be downwind, so he won’t catch our scent. But we’re here on a mission. We know what might be waiting inside for us, and we’ll be ready. We’ll be watching our surroundings. While we’re focused on taking Ambrose down without a struggle, we’ll also have to stay alert to outside threats. We’d know you were there. So don’t do anything stupid. You might get yourself killed if you follow us, or get someone else hurt. We might be too late to save him, so I need you to stay here, out of danger, and let me do what I came here to do.” Forcing her hand upward, he intertwined their fingers. “You have my word. I will come back to you.”

  With that, he forced himself to let go of her hand and get out of the SUV. They wouldn’t normally go on a mission with only two people, but with their backup not even in the air yet, they couldn’t wait. Knowing Ambrose’s location and having the opportunity to take him down before he could do any further harm might not happen again. They had to do it now or risk him going true rogue.

  Before he could shut the door, she called to him. “Carran, if you come back—”

  “When,” he corrected.

  “When you come back, I want to know the truth about what happens when we touch. Otherwise, I’ll go back to my apartment and I’ll take my chances with Donovick.”

  Try it, mate, and you’ll find your handcuffs being used on you. He suppressed a growl as he shut the door. The idea of using her handcuffs had his shaft hardening. He imagined her naked, handcuffed to his bed in Alaska while he took his time exploring her body. Soon…

  Chapter Five

  Crouched next to the bush, Carran pulled his gun from its holster and eyed the back door of the abandoned house. It was now or never. Damn, he wished they had more backup. Hours had passed since they were notified of the lion’s unfortunate circumstances. He could already be rogue, and they wouldn’t know until they made their way inside.

  “I left you alone so you could tell her.” Red crouched next to him, his gun in hand, his gaze scanning the area.

  Instead of getting into it, Carran ignored the comment. “Let’s do this.” With no way to avoid the window and still stay downwind, he darted toward the house and kicked in the door before the first sounds of movement echoed through the stillness of the night. “Ambrose, let’s not do anything stupid.”

  The lion roared, letting Carran know he was near the front of the house, most likely in the living room. That knowledge had him moving forward instead of trying to talk to him first. If Ambrose made it out the front door before Carran could stop him, he could get to Brooklynn, and there was no way he’d allow that.

  “We’re too late,” Red said.

  “We have to try. That’s our mission, so you’re either coming or you can stay out of my way,” he snapped, moving forward. Everything about the situation had his tiger on edge. As if his beast could sense something was going to happen, but his human side couldn’t understand it. All he knew was he had to get this done so he could get back to Brooklynn. His mate was unprotected and that made his tiger anxious.

  With his gun pointed in front of him, Carran turned the corner to where Ambrose waited. Due to the growls, Carran had expected Ambrose to be in lion form, but a man stood near the window, watching them. Carran trained his gun on the center of his chest, directly over the heart, hoping that Red would take aim at his head.

  “What do you want?” Ambrose growled.

  “We’re here to help.”

  “Bullshit.” Ambrose kicked the bottle of water that was sitting on the floor aside, spilling the contents across the stained rug. “You’re here to take me to jail. I can smell that cop all over you. She wants to take me down…but she doesn’t understand…she doesn’t know what I am. I can’t go to jail.”

  “Ambrose. We’re not with the police. We’re here to help.”

  “Don’t lie to me.” The magick poured off Ambrose as he fought not to shift, making the air thick.

  “You smell her on me, but not because I’m working with her.” Carran lowered his weapon, but didn’t holster it. “Tabitha, of the Alaskan Tigers, sent me. You know who we are, so you should believe me when I say we want to help you.”

  “I’m a lion.”

  “Who was mated to a tiger.”

  Ambrose’s need to shift traveled through the room like a wave. It would have sent a lesser shifter into transition, but Carran kept his tiger at bay. Red seemed to struggle a little, his gun trembling for a moment before he settled himself. Carran needed his help, but more than that he needed to make sure Ambrose didn’t shift. Things were precarious enough, and it was doubtful they’d be able to save the lion if he gave in to his beast now. “Think of your daughter. She’s lost so much. Don’t make her lose you, too.”

  “How? I can’t stop this. I don’t have control.” Ambrose dropped to his knees. “Kyra…you have to help my baby girl. She’s lost her mother already. Save my girl.”

  “We already are helping her, but she needs her dad.” Carran slid his gun back into his holster and pulled his cell phone off his belt. He opened his text messages and found the video from Taber, before stepping closer and holding it out to Ambrose. “A team was sent and we’ve got her. She’s safe now.”

  “Kyra…”

  “Think about her and you can keep your beast back.” Carran kept his phone held out in front of Ambrose, remaining standing in case the lion gained control. He’d be able to get the upper hand quickly, but that would mean Ambrose’s death. “Fight for your little girl.”

  “Shea…” Grief and agony coated the single word.

  “She wouldn’t want to see you like this.” Carran took another step forward, holding the phone in front of Ambrose’s face, and as he did so, he dragged his finger across the button, pushing play. “Focus on Kyra.”

  “Daddy!” The little girl’s voice streamed from the phone’s speakers, cracking with emotion as she wailed for her father. “I…want…my…Daddy!”

  Carran had watched the video earlier and he knew that if he could see the screen, he’d see the little girl in Taber’s arms. Terror had her eyes wide and her body shook from the sobs, tears rolling down her pink cheeks. Taber held her, trying to ease her panic, and assured her the mean bears weren’t there to hurt her.

  “We’re trying to find your daddy,” Taber was telling her. “Until we can find him, we’re going to take you somewhere safe.”

  “Daddy…” Kyra’s sobs were cut off by the end of the video.

  “Your daughter is safe and she needs you. If you can gain control over your beast, we can take you to her.”

  Ambrose leaned forward and Carran stepped back. He thought they were winning, but there was no certainty when dealing with situations like this. Normally, no one had time to save someone from turning rogue. The beast within simply took over. This time they were given time to find him because Ambrose fought it. He didn’t want to lose himself to his lion, because doing that would cost him nearly as much as the price of losing his mate. As a rogue, he’d be a danger to Kyra, and that alone might have been the reason he now had a chance.

  “If you ever want to see your little girl again, don’t make any sudden movements.” Red stepped farther into the room and came to stand a step to the side of Carran. With his gun in hand, he was ready for Ambrose’s next move. “You need to pull your beast back and shove him down inside you. The longer you fight him for control, the harder it will be.”

  Carran gave Red a sideways glance. While it was truthful, Red should have kept his mouth shut. If Ambrose didn’t have enough control over his lion, his beast would see it as a challenge and everything Carran had been working toward would be for nothing. It also made him realize Red’s level of inexperience and spontaneity. Sometimes that helped a situation, but on a mission like this, it was a wildcard. The young tiger needed more field time if he was going to play backup on mission
s with the Alaskan Tigers.

  “You’ll take me to her?” Ambrose tipped his head to look up at Carran.

  Carran nodded, watching the man before him. The lion eyes that had been looking back at him since he came into the room were receding. “If you have control over your lion, there’s nothing more I’d like than to reunite you with your little girl.”

  “Then what? Shea’s clan turned their back on us and my pride…” He dragged his hand through his whiskey brown hair, pulling the curls away from his face. “What do I have to offer Kyra?”

  “Love, security, protection. She’s lost her mother, she’s been abandoned by everyone she’s ever known, and now she finds herself surrounded by new tigers and bears. She’s scared and wants her father.” Carran’s chest tightened because he knew what Kyra was going through. She had a chance, one he hadn’t had, and it was his job to give that to her.

  “I didn’t abandon my daughter by choice. They forced me out, and that—”

  “Was the final piece that frayed your control over your beast,” Carran supplied.

  “I didn’t know they were going to push her out and I knew if I tried for her, I’d be more harm than good. I couldn’t even control my lion. How could I help my daughter?” He slammed his hand down on the floor, sending dust rising from the carpet. “My Kyra could have been killed. Sending any young child out into the world by herself is asking for something horrible to happen. With her being a lone female shifter…she could have been caught by the hunters, rogues, or a clan looking to add females to their ranks.”

  “But she wasn’t. She’s safe now,” Carran reminded him, shoving away the memories that rose within him…but not before he recalled the one person he’d failed. “Please…Carran! Help me…”

  The hairs on the back of Brooklynn’s neck rose, alerting her to something. Outside the SUV, all she could see was darkness, but she learned long ago to trust her instincts. Something was wrong, even if she wasn’t sure what it was yet. Keeping low, she leaned forward to get a better look out the front window. The changes around her were small alerts. The barking dog from a couple blocks over was suddenly silent. Stillness. Like the world just stopped. Not even the leaves blew.