Page 40 of Tiger Born

Well, this was a fun night.

“Can I have a drink?” she asked.

“We have straight whiskey or straight whiskey,” Marsden enlightened her.

“I meant a bottled water.”

“We don’t have bottled water.”

She pointed to the fridge. “What’s in there?”

“Steaks defrosting to feed that asshole,” Dame explained. “We have water in the jugs over there,” he said, gesturing to the side wall. “Room temperature okay for you?”

“Okay, I don’t want to be high maintenance, but sometimes lukewarm water makes me gag a little.”

Marsden turned an unamused gaze upon her. “I’m about to let him out of his cage and spare us all another story like that one.”

Dame growled, Stellan stood and gripped the bars and tried to shake the cage and offered to pay Marsden a hundred thousand dollars if he would let him out, and Marsden made his way over to a table by the fridge that housed what looked like three bottles of whiskey and little shot glasses in the shapes of bullets.

“Have you never had a woman in here?” she asked seriously.

“No,” Dame answered.

“Oh. Well, I guess that’s a good thing.”

“He’s had lots of women in here,” Stellan said. “He’s fucked them all in here. One over there, and one over there,” he said, pointing to different places. “He doesn’t love you. He just craves you. We don’t pair up. We destroy. He’s going to destroy you. He’s going to make you watch him fuck other women in here.”

Dame grabbed a long red rod and walked nonchalantly over to the cage, and Stellan backed away in a rush. He aimed the end of it at his caged brother and pushed a button that created an electric current on the end. “Cut it out. Here is your last warning. You don’t get to talk to her like that.” He shook his head. “Quit.”

“Then let me out.”

“If I let you out right now, I will kill you,” Dame yelled.

His voice echoed through the barn, and Marsden and Stellan both froze and wore matching surprised looks.

“I’m going to go ahead and guess that there was some truth in his voice,” Misty said softly.

“Dude, are you good?” Marsden asked.

“No. This is last ditch effort time. Stellan has been asking me to put him down when the tiger isn’t there.”

“What?” Stellan demanded in that guttural, terrifying voice.

“When you aren’t taking over his mind, and he has clarity, he wants me to put him the fuck down!” Dame barked out.

“Bro, that’s not an option,” Mars said as he walked over and handed Misty a shot of whiskey. “We haven’t even discussed that—”

“Why would I discuss it with you, Mars? You’ve been here for all of like…five minutes. You’re fresh. I’m freaking exhausted.”

“If you try to put me down, I’ll put you down first,” Stellan promised.

“Hey, hey,” Mars said, holding his hands out. “This is too much.”

“Too much truth?” Dame asked. “Here’s more.” He gestured to Misty. “She is mine.”

“No, she’s my Rabbit.”

“I’m not saying she’s my Rabbit, Stellan. She’s mine.”