Tiger Read online

  Tiger planned to kick Slash’s ass the first time they were alone. The man definitely baited him by bringing up how he’d met Zandy. He tore another piece of meat off the steak and focused solely on his food. He didn’t dare look her way again.

  He forced himself to listen and respond to the conversation at the table. Zandy wasn’t mentioned again but he couldn’t get her out of his thoughts.

  * * * * *

  “The east gate? But my car…” Zandy said.

  “Was moved. At the gate you had to hand over your car keys. This is why. We secure your cars to prevent the protesters from tampering with them. The protesters have been known to spray-paint bad words on visiting cars.”

  “Oh.”

  “You live closer to the east gate. It is saving you miles to work if you use it. In the morning return to it. Your escort will be waiting there.”

  “Will that be you?”

  He shrugged. “I do not assign duties.”

  She nodded. “Oh.”

  “Tiger does.”

  Shit.

  “Tiger is head of security.”

  Double shit. She’d molested the damn head of security of the NSO at Reservation. Just bitchin’. She hated herself. She really did. She sat in the Jeep quietly mulling that information and how uncomfortable Tiger could make her life if he held a grudge. They drove to the gate and Slash parked the Jeep close to the guard shack.

  She spotted four NSO officers patrolling. Two were inside the guard shack and two more were on top of the thirty-foot walls that enclosed the entire perimeter of Reservation. They carried guns.

  “I don’t see protesters.”

  “No. You won’t here. We recently bought the land adjoining this section. We haven’t extended the walls yet but plan to. It’s private property so when they arrive we have them arrested for trespassing. Just show up at this gate in the morning. Your car is parked over there.” He pointed.

  She saw a small parking area and her car. “Thanks.”

  Slash nodded. “I’ll get your keys. Stay here.”

  Zandy climbed out of the Jeep, grabbed her purse and waited. She watched Slash laugh and talk with the two officers inside the guard shack before he accepted her keys from one of them. He returned to her and handed them over.

  “In the morning they will let you in. Park your car where it is and leave the keys in the ignition. They need your keys in case it has to be moved at some point. It’s a security measure. They will search your car and go over every inch of it as well so no one messes with your car by planting a bomb.”

  Zandy just stared at him, too stunned to speak.

  Slash smiled. “Have a nice night.” He climbed into the Jeep and backed it up. He waved and then was gone.

  Bomb? Shit. No wonder the pay is so good. I’m getting hazard pay. She walked toward her car and noticed the two men on the wall watched her closely. She climbed in and tossed her purse on the passenger seat. She started the car and backed up. The gate was opened when she drove toward it slowly. One of the officers nodded at her and she left Reservation.

  She drove about a mile through the twisting, forest-surrounded road before she spotted the black NSO Jeep parked across both lanes. She hit her brakes, frowning, wondering where the driver was and why they’d blocked the road. Her gaze darted around the woods but didn’t she see anyone. She turned off the car, waited, and hoped the driver would return soon since trees prevented her from driving around the abandoned vehicle. Long minutes passed and she decided to call out to see if the driver would hear her.

  The sound of a man yelling reached her ears the second she opened the car door and stood up. She turned in the direction of the obscene curses and bit her lip as he came closer.

  “I swear I’m just lost, goddamn it.”

  “Right,” a male voice snarled. “Sure you were.”

  “You let me go right now, you son of a bitch. How dare you put your freaky damn paws on me? Fuck you.”

  “You’re trespassing and you’re going to be arrested for it.”

  “Drop dead, asshole. Let me go.”

  Zandy saw movement about fifteen feet to her left. She was tempted to climb back inside her car and turn it around. The gate wasn’t far and she was afraid of whatever kind of scene she’d come across. The man cursing seemed pretty belligerent. A rough-looking man in his twenties stepped out of the thick tree line. His face was red from anger but his hands were behind his back. Someone taller moved behind him, forcing him forward, and recognition hit as she saw that second face.

  She froze. Tiger didn’t see her right away, too intent on controlling the man he shoved forward. The angry man tried to make a break for it but Tiger moved, grabbed him by the shoulder of his jeans jacket and hauled him back.

  “Don’t make me chase you,” Tiger growled. “You won’t make it far with your hands handcuffed behind your back.”

  “Fuck you, freak. Let me go. You got no damn right to touch or handcuff me. I’m going to sue your damn pussy ass.”

  Tiger growled viciously. “Keep it up, redneck. I can file more charges against you. You’re trespassing on NSO property with a rifle. That doesn’t bode well for you at all.”

  Tiger lifted his head and met Zandy’s eyes. He blinked at her but didn’t seem shocked to see her standing there. He pushed the man toward the Jeep. Zandy was ignored while Tiger hauled the man up and dumped him into the backseat. The man cursed loud and long, making threats of a lawsuit. Tiger yanked out another pair of handcuffs and secured the man to a metal bar with them.

  “You goddamn pussy!” the man yelled. “Let me go. You got no damn right to do this to me.”

  “Shut up,” Tiger growled. “And since you’re going to jail, I wouldn’t be yelling pussy too much. I hear your kind like to bend your males over in there. If anyone else is as stupid as you are then they might take it as you offering to be one.”

  Zandy smiled, couldn’t help it, and knew it was wrong to find that funny. Tiger finally turned and met her eyes. She saw his nostrils flare as he approached her slowly. Her heart rate increased. They were going to talk and she had no idea what to say to him.

  “Where the hell are you going? You can’t leave me here, freak. I have rights.”

  Tiger ignored the man in the Jeep. Zandy didn’t move as Tiger closed the distance between them until he paused just feet away. They just stared at each other.

  “Hey, pussy. Let me go right now, damn it!” The man fought his cuffs.

  “Hi,” Zandy breathed, deciding to speak first. She was nervous enough to feel the need to say something, anything. “How have you been?”

  His beautiful eyes narrowed slightly. “I have been well. Have you been avoiding brawls?”

  She blushed at the reminder of her unwise decision to get toasted in a bar. “Yes.”

  “You are too small to get involved with men fighting.”

  “I wasn’t exactly involved. I was sitting at a table in the far corner when it broke out. It happened so fast that I found myself trapped and they started coming my way. I had nowhere to go but up on top of the table. I would have been fine there if someone hadn’t hit it and sent me to the floor.” She studied him closely, still certain he had to be the sexiest man she’d ever seen. “Thank you for saving my life.”

  He tilted his head a little, studying her closely. “Was that why you kissed me? To thank me?”

  She knew her cheeks reddened more, embarrassed that he wanted an explanation for her behavior. “No.”

  “Then why did you? I am curious.”

  “Do you really want to know the truth?” She stalled, trying to think of a reason that wouldn’t sound foolish, but couldn’t come up with anything. The man made her brain malfunction.

  “I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t want to know that.”

  “I…” She sighed, deciding to just be honest. “I was drunk and I thought I was dying. I woke up and was sure I had. You’ll think it’s stupid and I doubt you really want to hear where my head was.”