Once the tiger was unconscious, the team sprang into action. Upon assessment of the tiger, they learned that it had a recent gunshot wound. Anger festered in West’s chest at the thought of poachers being close by.

Even though Dr. Skobo and Charlee hadn’t really spoken since the other morning, they worked silently together for the tiger, cleaning and assessing the wound.

“It went straight through,” Charlee announced as she poured a solution on the tiger’s wounded hind leg.

West stayed perched by the tiger, petting its massive head. West’s eyes moved to Luka, and the same rage burned in his friend’s eyes.

“Do you want me to give him a shot of antibiotics?” Dr. Skobo asked as he rummaged through his bag.

“That wouldn’t be a bad idea,” Dr. Zhang commented, as he and Malena finished inserting the microchip.

The graduate students were busy documenting into the tablets that would transmit information back to the research team that stayed behind.

“We need to hurry. The tranq will be wearing off soon,” Charlee instructed as she began packing her bag back up.

West looked down at the massive orange and striped head beneath his fingers. His tiger snarled at the thought of poachers hurting this animal. Now with the new microchip, they would be able to track the tiger in real time.

The team was fast and proficient at getting everything they needed. They cleared out, and again, waited at a safe distance for the tiger to wake up. Once its massive head rose from the ground, West released his breath as he watched the tiger scamper off into the thick brush.

He walked over to Luka as the scientists celebrated another success. His tiger was close to the front and was demanding blood.

“This is getting too close,” he growled, low enough where only Luka would hear him. “It’s time we flush the poachers out. I want this over.”

“I’ll contact Drago to let him know what we found.” Luka nodded before walking away.

It was still early enough for the group, so they decided to start making the trek down the mountain in order to make get back to the normal camp.

West was not in a good mood. He kept to himself, trying to contain his anger. Just the thought of the poachers being so close had him seeing red. He knew that they couldn’t pinpoint exactly when Bubo was shot, but the wound was fresh. It had to have happened within the last day or two.

Murmurs of concern for the camp floated in the air. The conversation was about the other day when the tire was slashed. West was not going to tell the group that they’d had someone guarding the campground. Everything about Dr. Skobo kept doubt in the back of his mind. With the Russians questioning his reasons for being on the trip, he wouldn’t tell any of them the real reason he was there.

To stop the poaching.

Knowing that the point of the sanctuary was to help the endangered species, they should provide some type of security for them. The cheap cameras he had seen mounted on this trip so far were a joke. He would bet most of them didn’t even work. What was a camera to do but record what happened anyway? It was not a way to prevent poachers from walking or driving right into the national park, shoot a tiger in the head and drag its body off the property.

“Are you all right?” Charlee’s soft voice appeared at his side. He glanced down at her and felt his heart soften. He nodded and grabbed her hand, entwining their fingers together as they walked. Just her sheer presence seemed to calm down his tiger. “I can see that you’re upset about Bubo.”

“Yeah.” He blew out a breath and shifted his backpack higher on his back. “This place is supposed to be a safe place for the tigers so that they can re-populate. It pisses me off that people are so callous and want to kill an animal such as a tiger.”

She squeezed his hand, not saying a word. She didn’t need to. Just that outburst alone made him feel better. It didn’t take away that his tiger wanted to break free and maul the poachers. Instead, his tiger just paced beneath his skin, waiting for the moment he would be able to break free.

The group continued on in silence, eventually making the few hour trip down the mountain and arriving safely at the camp.

“Everything looks the same,” Dr. Zhang noted as they walked through it.

“Maybe it was just an animal that sliced the tire?” Malena suggested, looking around.

Murmurs echoed around as everyone shuffled to their tents. West looked around and saw a rustle of leaves off in the distance. It was probably Drago’s man, Gerald, disappearing back into the woods. West’s eyes met Luka’s. He nodded in the direction, and Luka’s eyes traveled over to the area and returned a nod as he made excuses and headed over, disappearing into the trees.

“I think I can just crash right now,” Charlee said, her words ending in a yawn. “I’m beat.”

“Go get some rest,” he said, pulling her close and placing a kiss on her forehead. “We leave at first light,” he announced, loud enough for the whole group to hear.

“Tomorrow, I have an idea of where we can go next,” Dr. Skobo said, approaching them. West pushed Charlee in the direction of her and Malena’s tent, hinting for her to go. He would deal with the Russian scientist. She hesitated for a moment, but she must have read the look in his eyes before walking away toward her tent. His eyes followed the sway of her bottom that peeked from beneath her large backpack.

“Where do you think we should go next?” West asked, turning back to Dr. Skobo. He didn’t hold the disdain from his voice.

Dr. Skobo produced a map and motioned for West to follow him over to one of the Land Rovers.

“This area of the sanctuary is known to be a hot spot for tiger sightings.” He pointed to an area Northeast of where they were currently. It would take a few hours for them to get there.

“How do we know that?” West asked, studying the map more in-depth.

“From the cameras that are posted. They get multiple snapshots of different tigers in the area. There’s a large watering hole in the area that is an attraction for all animals. It’s a good place for them to hunt too, so it has a lot of action. I think that would be the best area to go next.”

West nodded his head, silently agreeing with the scientist. If they wanted to be able to tag as many tigers as possible, it only made sense to go to a location that would attract them.

“Good plan,” West said, his eyes catching Luka emerging from the woods. “Excuse me.” He walked away toward his friend.

“We got a problem,” Luka murmured, keeping his voice down as Dr. Skobo walked past them toward his private tent.

“What is it?” West asked as they moved toward where their tents were positioned.

“Gerald said that right before we came, a man came from the other side of the woods and placed a tracker on one of the Land Rovers.”

West released a curse. “Are we sure it’s a tracker?”

“Yes. He already checked it out and that’s why he was just dashing back into he woods as we were arriving. He didn’t get a chance to take it off. He’ll do it tonight while everyone’s asleep.”

West shook his head. “No, leave them. This will be the best way for us to flush out the poachers, or whoever the fuck this is.”

Luka growled low, his eyes flashing amber for a brief moment before transitioning back to his normal color. “They better show their faces.”

“Don’t worry. Our animals will be able to have fun with them when they show their faces.”

West would have to say that Dr. Skobo was correct in his recommendation of them traveling to the Northeast region of the national park. With the park being over three hundred thousand acres, that meant they would have a lot of miles to cover. The watering hole had certainly paid off. In the past few days, they had inserted a microchip into two more tigers.

The team was in high spirits with the tigers that they had been able to study and gather data on. Charlee had all but moved into West’s tent. He at first thought that she would be a little hesitant since she was around her colleagues, but she informed him everyone on was grown and could mind their own damn business. Everyone in the group seemed to accept it as well. Even Dr. Skobo quit making snide remarks. The Russian scientist even kept his mouth shut and did his job.

“We may have to go back to the main campground sooner than we thought,” Charlee said, coming to sit next to West.

“Why is that?” he asked, turning to her.

“We’re going to run out of tranquilizers soon,” she offered, tucking an offending strand of hair behind her ear. “I guess it’s a good thing that we’re finding tigers so quickly. I have enough for a few more, but we’ll need more if we keep finding them like we are.”

He nodded his head. A few more days and he hoped that the traps they were setting up around the area would pan out. Nighttime was falling upon them, and they’d had a hard day. With being near a watering hole, there was an increased number of wild animals, not just tigers. Other animals that would be deemed just as dangerous.

They had to be on high alert to ensure that no animals wandered into their campground.

“I’m sure everyone would appreciate getting a real shower and food,” West said with a chuckle, looking around the grounds as everyone settled in.

“Yes,” she groaned, rotating her neck. “I would kill right now for a hot shower, fluffy white towels, and a big soft robe to wrap around me.”

Her words brought a vision to his mind. He imagined her fresh from a hot shower, her skin still moist and rosy from the heat of the water. He imagined taking her into his arms and removing the towel—

He coughed and shook his head to erase the fantasy from his mind. He couldn’t wait to get back to the States. What he had told her the other day was the truth. He wanted them to carry on at home. He didn’t want this to be a quick fling in the jungle.

A loud curse filled the air, grabbing West’s attention. Alf came storming out of his tent, frantically running his hands through his hair.

West jumped up and rushed over. He could feel Charlee behind him as they approached the still cursing and pissed off graduate student.

“What’s going on?” West snapped, getting Alf’s attention.

“It’s missing!” Alf cried out.

“What’s missing?” Charlee asked, a concerned look on her face.

“All of my handwritten notes. My notebooks that I was pulling together for my dissertation.”

“Calm down and think. Did you take it with you today?” Malena questioned, coming to stand next to Charlee. The entire group surrounded them, curious as to what was going on.

“No, I haven’t been taking these with me when we go out since we got here. I’ve been leaving it here in my tent since we’ve been taking the tablets.”

“It has to be somewhere,” Charlee said. “Has anyone seen them?” She turned to the group.

West’s tiger stood at attention. No one here would have any reason to steal a graduate student’s notes. They were all members of the research team, and would no doubt have their own records and notes.

His eyes met Luka’s while a few of the team helped Alf search. It seems as if their stalkers had made their first move.

Let the games begin.