Undercover tiger, p.8
Undercover Tiger, page 8
My chest tightened at the reminder. “The treatment isn’t real. The people here are. I wish that we would be able to help them.”
She tucked her chin to her chest. “Yeah it’s not right what’s happening to them. They came here, hoping for a cure, and instead they’re probably going to get turned into a monster.”
The floorboards creaked as I wheeled toward her. “We’re here to stop that from happening. I don’t want Ricardo to hurt anyone. These people have already been through enough.”
I studied her for a long minute. She let her hands fall to her side and her chin was still against her chest. I reached out and curled my fingers around her dainty wrist. “How are you? You seemed tense this morning.”
She gripped my hand and put the other on her stomach. Her head snapped up, and she met my gaze. “I don’t like feeling like I’m not in control of a situation. There is too much going on here that we don’t even know.”
I exhaled through my nose. “I can understand that. There are a lot of variables and a lot of people that could get caught in the crosshairs if things go south.”
She let go of my hand and stomped to the couch. She sank down into the cushions before flopping back, so she was staring up at the ceiling. “I don’t feel like I can fully focus on this case and worry about us being mates at the same time. But I also feel like us being mates...” she trailed off and covered her face with both hands. “I just don’t know.“
I swallowed the lump back down in my throat as I wheeled to the couch. My tiger encouraged me to talk to her, to reach out and comfort her, but I didn’t know what the right call was here. I didn’t want to fluster her further.
“I can do my best to try to explain the whole process to you.”
She sat up and blinked rapidly like she was trying to contain her tears. “You know what the worst thing is? If my mother finds out that I am mated to a tiger shifter, she’s going to blow yet another gasket. It will give her one more thing to belittle me about.”
I frowned, keeping my eyes on her. She stood up and marched to the kitchen. She yanked on one of the cabinet doors so hard I was surprised she didn’t pull it off. The cup she pulled out got the same brutal treatment as she slammed it down on the counter.
She turned back to me, her eyes rimmed red. A single tear trickled down her cheek. “Nothing I do is ever good enough for them. It’s bad enough that they don’t think I should be here. They think I’m going to fail, and then on top of it, I’m supposed to tell them that I’m falling for a tiger.”
My jaw worked as I tried to figure out what I was supposed to say. I scrubbed a hand over my face and closed my eyes.
“Emmalyn, I’m sorry that you feel that way. Is there anything that I can do to help?”
The question seemed dumb to my own ears. It was kind of my fault that my tiger had chosen her, and I was already helping her with the case.
Emmalyn put her hand over her necklace and fiddled with the cross. She licked her lips and then ran her thumbs underneath her eyes, wiping away her tears. “Johanna was the perfect child to them. She did everything right. I only seem to screw stuff up.”
I shook my head. “I don’t think that’s true. You’re an extremely passionate person putting the good of other people ahead of yourself. You seem to be a powerful witch.”
I held up my bracelet so she could see it. “The second I put this on I don’t even know how to describe it, but something changed.”
She dropped her necklace and let her hand fall back to her side. “I just feel like this weight is pressing against me and the odds just keep stacking up and stacking up and I’ll never be able to overcome it.”
I rolled toward her and took her hand in mine. “You don’t have to do this alone, Emmalyn. I’m here to help you.”
She rolled her eyes but didn’t pull her hand away. “You’re just saying that because you are my mate.”
I shook my head. “I’m saying that because I want to help you. Yeah, we are mates, but we haven’t completed the bond, and we don’t have to. I don’t want to cause you any more grief.”
My tiger roared. I gritted my teeth. My tiger and I both knew the consequences if Emmalyn rejected me.
If it means her happiness, then we have to let her go. I reminded him.
He let out a long meow, but let it go for now.
Emmalyn tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear as she sniffled. “That’s not necessarily what I’m saying.”
So, what was she saying? I pushed the thought away.
“I understand. This is a lot, and you probably didn’t come to this case expecting for this to happen between us.”
She laughed out loud. “Definitely not. That doesn’t mean that I don’t want to get to know you, Cole. You do seem like a nice guy.”
My tiger puffed out his chest. I might’ve puffed my own chest out a little too. “We should get to know each other a little more now that we’re doing more in-depth therapy sessions, anyway.”
Emmalynn gave me a tight lip smile. “You’re right. Let me find something to whip up for lunch and we can have a whole discussion about everything.”
My heart skipped a beat. She wasn’t flat out rejecting me. She wasn’t exactly accepting me, either. I met and held her gaze. I wasn’t sure if she knew much about shifters. But I knew enough to know that Emmalyn was the only woman I would ever truly love. If she rejected me, I’d be forced to live a life of solitude.
Chapter ten
Emmalyn
I flipped our grilled cheese onto the plates and pulled the fries out of the air fryer, dividing them between our plates.
I set one plate in front of Cole, and the other in the spot where my chair was before pulling it out and taking a seat. I picked up a fry but didn’t put it in my mouth. “So, you worked home construction? Did you enjoy that, or did you just kind of fall into it?”
He popped a fry in his mouth. “It’s a business that my dad started. We used to go along with him when we were younger to help out. It’s a large part of how he taught us. We were homeschooled. He got the mathematical stuff and Mom got the reading and writing stuff.”
He shoved a few more fries in his mouth. “I don’t know if I’d have had other options or if I would’ve done something else. It’s how I grew up. I do enjoy it, though watching someone’s house go from sometimes something hideous to something truly amazing and magazine worthy is a nice feeling.”
I picked the crust off my grilled cheese and set it off to the side. “It wasn’t really a choice for me to be a PPS agent. My parents wouldn’t have accepted it if I wasn’t.”
Cole took a step of his water. “You felt like you had to do it to please your parents. Their opinion matters to you.”
It wasn’t a question it was a statement. It was the truth. “I’ve spent a really long time trying to live up to my parents’ expectation. Mostly my mothers.”
It was a lost cause.
“What exactly is it that they want from you?” Cole asked as he took a bite of his grilled cheese. A string of cheese oozed out and he bit at it.
I threw my hands up in the air and laughed. “If I knew I would tell you. I just know that everything I do ends up not being right, and I’m constantly ridiculed for it.”
His brows knit together as his frown deepened. “For what it’s worth, I think you do a fantastic job.”
I rolled my eyes as I chuckled. “You say that now. We haven’t known each other for very long.”
Cole took a couple of bites of his grilled cheese and washed it down with more water before he answered, “Maybe not. But I don’t feel like a parent should make you feel that way, either.”
My breath hitched and emotion clogged my throat. “Thanks. It doesn’t mean that I hate that I can’t live up to the expectations. Johanna was the favorite. It was painfully obvious. I just want them to look at me with the look once.”
And yes, they did have a look of pure admiration. I swear their eyes shone. I swallowed the lump in my throat.
He plopped the rest of his sandwich in his mouth. “If you weren’t trying to get your parent’s approval, what would you have done? Would you have still been an agent? Or something else?”
I blinked and mashed my lips together as I considered how to answer him. “It’s not that I hate being an agent.”
He reached across and took my hand. “I know you don’t hate it, but if you could do something else, what would it be?”
I bit my lip and played with the discarded crust on my plate with my free hand. “Honestly, I’m not sure.”
He squeezed my hand. “You don’t have to know the answer to everything right away. But I think you should think about it, because at some point, I think you’re going to realize that you’ll never be able to please your parents. I just think you should be happy, regardless.”
I thought that way so many times, but it was nice to hear someone else say it. It didn’t make it any easier. What child didn’t want to have their parent’s approval?
We sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes as we both ate our grilled cheese and fries. I was the one to break it. “I didn’t get the chance to meet your sister, Scarlett. I know she’s human. How exactly did all that come out?”
Cole chuckled as he leaned back in his chair. “My parents didn’t have very many friends. Scarlett‘s parents actually own the property next to us, and even though they were human, they befriended them and actually grew quite close. Her parents never knew we were tiger shifters. But they didn’t have any other family, so when they passed, they had it in the will asking us to care for Scarlett.”
He took a bite of his fry and then washed it down with some water. “My parents loved her like a daughter already. And they couldn’t turn her away. But we knew that she couldn’t stay with us if she didn’t know our secret, so my brothers and I planned a time and we shifted in front of her into our tigers.”
Emmalyn and I both laughed out loud at that.
He picked up another fry and ate it. “Once she saw us as tigers. She couldn’t really deny it anymore. It’s not something you can explain away.”
I laughed and covered my mouth. “I imagine not. She’s cool with everything now?”
She was mated to a lion shifter, so I would assume so, but it didn’t hurt to ask.
Cole shrugged. “Yeah it took her a few weeks to get over the weirdness of it, but she came around fast. I think it helped that she already knew us and loved us like family. I couldn’t imagine telling a human that didn’t already know my family about us.”
His brows dipped down into a scowl as he frowned, the lightness leaving his face. “I imagine they might react the same way the hunters had. Shoot first and ask questions later.”
I pressed my lips together and shook my head. “I can’t speak for everyone, but those hunters seem like real jerks. They shot you when you were a tiger, Cole. They didn’t know that you were a shifter. They thought they were killing an exotic animal for sport. That’s not the same thing.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I suppose you are right.”
I pursed my lips. “You defended them the other night, you know? Humans,” I reminded him.
He brushed his hands off on his pant legs as he finished the last bite of his grilled cheese. “Yeah, I did. I guess I’m a little all over the place, huh?”
I grinned. “I guess we both are.”
“At least I’m in good company.”
The chair scraped against the hardwood as I stood up. I grabbed my plate and then Cole’s taking it to the sink. “So, what type of home remodels do you enjoy the most?”
“Oh man,” he started with a laugh. He rubbed his jaw. “I guess I don’t have a particular room, but probably the ones where the clients are easy going and they aren’t afraid to be bold. You know, different from the trends.”
I flipped on the water and rinsed the plates. “I can see that. I’ve been in so many places with that white subway tile it’s insane.”
Cole shrugged. “It’s cheap and looks clean and sleek.”
I pursed my lips as I shut off the water and loaded our dishes into the dishwasher. “True.”
“Do you have a place?”
I exhaled loudly as I shut the dishwasher and turned to lean against the counter. “I have an apartment. Sort of. I’m not there very much. I’m always on the go for one case or another. I’m not sure why I bother paying for a place, honestly. It’s just a place for my furniture to live. And my plants. I pay someone to water them twice a week, so at least they don’t die.”
“So why do you have it, then?”
I rolled my eyes and tilted my head back so I was staring up at the ceiling. “My mom. She said it’s good to have roots someplace.”
Cole shook his head. “Seems kind of silly if you aren’t there. And a waste of money. Do you at least like the place?”
“No.” My answer was immediate. I let out a breathy laugh. “It’s cold and sterile. Honestly, most of the furnishes are things my mom picked out.”
He made a noise in the back of his throat. “She seems...controlling.”
I chewed on my bottom lip. Yeah, the more we talked about it the more I realized that he was probably right. My relationship with my mother was extremely unhealthy. I didn’t know how to fix it, though, and I knew my mother. She was never going to change. Dad went along with whatever she had to say.
I shook my head and blew out a breath. “Do you want to go for a walk? There looked like some gardens down by the therapy building that had herbs growing in them. I’m kind of interested in what is growing there.”
“Let’s go. Do you think Ricardo is growing something he shouldn’t?”
“No,” I said quickly. “Well, I mean, maybe. It’s always possible. Herbs can be used for good and bad things. I guess I was just more curious overall. I’m really into the whole herb growing stuff.”
I waggled my fingers. “Witch. I can’t help it.”
I offered him a small smile.
He pushed back from the table and started toward the door. “Do you grow any of your own?”
My smile faltered. “Sort of. The person that waters my plants helps pick them so they can dry. I do have a little corner in a shop back home where I sell my jewelry and natural remedies from my garden. I also sell tea. They are quite popular and a lot of people use my sage for spells.”
“Spells?” he asked, his brow quirking up.
I licked my lips. “Witches aren’t exactly a secret. There are wiccans all over the place. Most people aren’t true witches, but they do love buying our things, and my healing herbs do have a lot of benefits. And Sage is used in a lot of things.”
I chewed on my lower lip harder, but it didn’t stop my smile from growing. “My mother also hates people who pretend to be witches.”
“And you don’t?”
I tipped my head from side to side as I considered my answer. “No. So long as it doesn’t harm anyone. And most of the time it doesn’t. If anything, them practicing natural remedies does good things for them.”
Cole waited for me by the door as I pushed in my chair and wiped off the kitchen table. “Why does it bother your mom, if you don’t mind me asking?”
I set the washrag in the sink and wiped my hands on my pants. “My mom wants everything to be pure. She doesn’t want the witches’ blood lines to be tainted in any way.”
“What do you think?”
I considered my answer as I strolled over to him. “I’m beginning to think that trying to make my mom happy is a lost cause and that I should follow my own heart.”
I came to a stop next to him and stared at the wall for a long moment. “I think there is genuine beauty in imperfections and at the end of the day if drinking lavender, chamomile tea you picked up from a wiccan store makes you feel better than good for you.”
A weight I didn’t know I’d been carrying lifted from my chest and I breathed easier. I went to the door, reaching out for the knob when it turned on its own.
I stepped back just before it swung open. Julian was on the other side, and a middle-aged woman stood next to him.
Julian looked between Cole and me before ushering the woman in. “Guys, this is Trudy Bidwell. She’s the reporter I was telling you about.”
My heart stopped as my eyes widened. Why was she here?
Trudy reached out and took my hand. “It’s nice to meet you. Julian has told me a bit about the two of you.”
I shot Julian an accusatory stare. We hadn’t decided one way or another what we were doing with her. Looks like now he hadn’t given us a choice.
Julian had the good sense to at least look guilty as he darted his gaze to the floor. “I ran into her while I was in town. She was going to question the locals. She says she has some information that we need to hear. Apparently, there have been some complaints since this resort opened.”
He paused, his gaze drifting to Trudy who inclined her head. He grimaced and looked down at the floor. “There has been a rash of murders on the island that somehow are being swept under the rug. They started a few weeks after the resort began taking in clients.”
I shifted my attention to Trudy as Julian’s words sank in. A rash of murders at the same time the resort opened. That wasn’t a coincidence, but why was this the first time we were hearing of them? Both the PPS and SPS had done their homework before assigning agents here. There was no mention. This changed everything.
Was it Ricardo doing the killing or were his vampires running rampant on the town, feeding as needed? Newly turned vampires were known for their insatiable hunger.
I didn’t think this case could get more complicated, but it just had. We had to stop the killers before they struck again.
Chapter eleven
Cole
Why would he bring her here?
I stared at Trudy and Julian, trying to process what was happening. This had to be a delusion. He wouldn’t bring a civilian into the cabin, and he definitely wouldn’t tell her we were special agents.
