Page 46 of Tempting the Tiger
I let out a guttural yell, my hands clenching around the wheel. How dare they attack my dragon? And how dare Far Out Freight put him in this situation in the first place?
I’m barely paying attention to the road as Kit talks to me, the background sounds changing as they leave the office to head to the airport with the rest of the pack, which is why it takes me far too long to realise I’m being followed.
“Kit, we’ve got a new problem. I’ve got a tail.”
“I assume you don’t mean you’ve suddenly developed the ability to partially shift.”
“Not today.”
“Bringing up traffic cameras in your location now. Follow my directions.”
Fuck, we could really do without this delay. My tiger growls, furious with whoever is trying to keep us from rescuing our dragon.
I follow the directions Kit gives, which quickly prove I’m not imagining things because this isn’t a sensible route to anywhere. The unmarked white van following me was keeping a couple of other vehicles between us, but those have gone and now it’s just me and the van on a quiet stretch of road near the back of the airport.
“We’re two minutes from you. Ethan says don’t head to the airport car park yet in case we can maintain your cover.”
“Copy th—” I swear as the van suddenly accelerates and rams the back of my car, the old metal crunching as I try to keep from fishtailing off the road. They ram the rear left corner, sending me into a spin that I could correct given more time or a better vehicle, but instead I’m shaken violently when I hit something solid, metal screeching and airbags deploying.
I manage to unfasten my seatbelt just as my door is ripped open. I’m dragged out but fight back, struggling against the three strangers who look human but smell distinctly like fae.
“Quick, get him in the van before anyone comes,” one of them yells as I elbow his friend in the stomach.
“Let me go! Help! They’re dragging me away! Help!” I yell in my Dhiren accent, because although my pack will be here any minute, even now I want to maintain my cover.
My tiger disagrees with my methods, ready to shift and bite them for daring to lay hands on us, but that’s not an option in a place where humans could pass by. Instead I kick and thrash, careful not to show too much skill and give away my Special Forces background. Far better that they see me get rescued than I save myself.
“Who is he yelling to?” Another of the fae asks, a grimace flashing on her face when I kick her kneecap.
Just as they get me concerningly close to the open side door ofthe van, a Soldati Security SUV rounds the distant corner of the road, a second right behind it, both travelling at insane speeds.
“You called the fucking task force?” One of the fae snarls at me, then punches me in the face. All three drop me on the ground and rush to climb in the front doors of their van.
My head is ringing, my lip bleeding. “Saw you following me, you dickheads!” I yell at them as I stagger to my feet.
The fae speed off without looking back, and one of our SUVs chases after them as the other screeches to a stop next to me. Ethan, Jet, and Kit jump out and rush over to me.
“Are you okay?” Kit asks.
“I’m fine, but Bryn isn’t. We need to get to him.” I dab my bleeding lip. It’s tender, but it’ll heal quickly enough. We can’t let this distract us any more than it already has.
“I’m going to fucking murder those bastards,” Jet snarls, his fists clenched.
“Get in line,” Ethan growls, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and steering me to the SUV. “I saw that punch, Raj. How bad is your head?”
I debate saying I’m fine again, but it’s probably best I tell them the truth given the flight we have ahead of us. “About as bad as the time we drank that entire bottle of shifter-strength tequila in Mexico.”
Fae may look similar to earth species, but they have an underlying strength that makes them a nightmare to fight hand-to-hand, and I wouldn’t risk shifting in public like this. As much as I don’t want to admit it even to myself, if my pack hadn’t been close by there’s a chance I might have ended up in that van on the way to who-knows-where, even if I’d brought my full training to the fight. As it is, I only have a pounding headache.
“I will murder them dead,” Jet mutters.
“I’ll track them down for you once we’re back,” Kit says to Jet, patting the jaguar’s shoulder before turning to me. “Skye, Cal,and Ayo are going to chase them off for now then meet us at the plane.”
“I’m sure they’ll ditch the van,” I say. I can’t believe they tried to kidnap me in broad daylight.
“Please, you know better than to think a little thing like that will stop me,” Kit says.
Fair point.
