Chapter Four
Holy shit. Cruz looked at Silas, shooting the words straight into his mind the way strongly bonded shifters could. Tell me this isn’t happening.
Silas didn’t say a word.
Jody tilted her head. “Is something wrong?”
Normally, Silas was the quick-thinking one, but since he was uncharacteristically dumbstruck, Cruz did his best to cover up.
“Other than someone trying to kill an innocent woman, you mean?”
A second later, he cursed at himself. Where the hell did the innocent part come from?
Look at how clear those blue eyes are, his tiger said. She’s innocent, sure as we’re guilty of too many sins.
Which led him back to wondering who wanted her dead — and who had fed him false information — all over again.
Whoever it was, we’ll find out and exact our revenge, his inner tiger growled. Right after we get Jody settled in for the night.
Whoa. Wait a minute. What the hell was the beast talking about?
“Listen, you’ve had a rough couple of hours,” he found himself saying. “How about we call it a night?”
The woman crossed her arms, widened her stance, and tilted her chin up. “Call it a night?”
God, he wished she wouldn’t do that perky-California-girl-meets-Amazon-warrior thing. Vulnerable yet feisty. Unsure yet tenaciously holding her ground. Every time she trained her sky-blue eyes on him, little bolts of lightning ran through his veins, and his tiger got all kinds of crazy ideas.
I like her. I want her, his tiger murmured. She’s my m—
He cut off the impossible thought before it got any further and nodded to her. “You’re safe here.”
Her crossed arms tightened over her chest. “Safe from whom? You?”
Cruz couldn’t decide how to respond other than I hope you’re safe from me, but I’m not really sure because my tiger is thinking all kinds of crazy things.
Silas finally got his shit together and spoke. “Safe from everyone. Give us a day or two to investigate, and we’ll get to the bottom of this.”
She looked from one to the other. “What are you guys, detectives or something?”
“Something,” Silas said.
Now her hands were on her hips. And dang, that was incredibly alluring, too. “We, who, are getting to the bottom of this?”
She’d make an awesome tiger, his inner beast hummed.
If he could have cuffed the animal upside the head, he would have. Jody wasn’t a shifter. She was a human, which meant he had to stay on his toes. Humans were irrational. Unpredictable. In a word, dangerous. Humans had turned his world upside down by murdering his family in a bloody massacre. The trip of a lifetime his parents had been so excited about — visiting distant relatives in India and exploring remote jungles where Bengal tigers still roamed free — had turned into a deadly ambush that had never been fully explained. According to his sources, the villagers living near the scene of the crime had vehemently denied wrongdoing — of course. As rural, superstitious types, they’d tried pushing the blame to a whole muddled list of supernaturals. Vampires had done it, some villagers reported. Lion shifters, others said. Which was ridiculous — lion shifters didn’t tangle with tigers and vice versa, and neither mixed with vampires. Those villagers were cowards who lied through their teeth. Typical humans, in other words.
Not all humans are liars, his tiger growled. Like this one. She’s scared shitless, but she’s brave.
Silas, meanwhile, had turned on a piercing look that could make the toughest opponent hem and haw.
“We — as in Cruz and I — will get to the bottom of this.”
Jody didn’t blink. Which only went to prove how crazy she was, even for a human.
“All three of us will get to the bottom of this.” She jabbed her finger at each of them to make it clear she was insisting, not suggesting, and even Silas was taken aback.
Too bad Tessa — or Nina or Dawn — wasn’t around. Any of the women of Koa Point could have helped ease this woman’s fears. But Tessa and Kai, the dragon shifters, were over on the Big Island, using the cover of active volcanoes to practice spitting fire. Boone and Nina, the wolf pair, were in New Jersey, clearing out the modest house Nina had just sold. Bear shifters Dawn and Hunter, meanwhile, were enjoying their honeymoon in Alaska. Which meant it was just Cruz and Silas left at home, and hell. Neither one of them was the soft and fuzzy type.
I can be soft and fuzzy, his tiger insisted.
As if on cue, Keiki rubbed against his leg.
Cruz cleared his throat. “How about we figure out the details in the morning?” Going off a vague memory, he did his best to speak in a cheery voice. But, damn. He hadn’t done cheery in years. Hadn’t felt the need to bother, as a matter of fact.
Still, it worked, because Jody gave him and Silas one last don’t-fuck-with-me look then nodded. “All right.”
“Good,” Silas said, though he didn’t sound happy at all. “Cruz will set you up in the tree house.”
If Jody’s eyes grew wide, Cruz’s just about popped out of his head.
“The tree house?” they both blurted at the same time.
The tree house was his place. His refuge. No one stayed there but him. No one!
Where else are we going to put her? Silas demanded.
Cruz cursed. The obvious choice — the guesthouse — still hadn’t been repaired after damage sustained in a recent storm.
She can stay here in the akule hale, he tried.
Silas gave a curt shake of his head. Seriously — you’re going to make her bunk out in the meeting house?
Well, Cruz sure as hell didn’t want her bunking out at his place.
How about she stays at your place? he shot back at Silas.
The dragon shifter’s eyes blazed. I’m not the one who brought her here. Besides, you and I have to talk and make some calls. So get moving, already.
“I’m sure you’ll be very comfortable at the tree house, Miss Monroe,” Silas said, dismissing them with a gesture toward the woods.
Silas rarely played his alpha-of-the-pack card, but when he did, no one dared question him. Not even Cruz, who had no choice but to lead Jody out of the meeting house and down the path toward his place.
You think she’ll like it? his tiger asked all too eagerly.
God, he hoped not.
One night and she’s out of here, Cruz told his tiger, walking faster.
Of course, he had been within a twitched muscle of killing her earlier that evening. The least he could do was put her up for one night.
“So, a tree house, huh?”
He shrugged. “You’ll see.”
It was hard to describe the rambling place tucked all the way back in the thickest woods at Koa Point. So he walked in silence, leaving the talking to her. And talk she did. Typical human.
“How big is this estate? It’s got, what — ten fancy cars? And a helicopter?” She pointed to the rotors showing above the treetops, reflecting the moonlight. “Who owns this property? And wow — you get to live here?”
Cruz looked straight ahead. In truth, he had no idea who owned Koa Point. All he knew was that Silas had arranged the caretaking deal for their band of five shifters. The timing had been fortuitous; they’d all just earned honorable discharges and needed a place to settle down to transition to civilian life after years in the military. Only Silas knew the owner’s identity, and he’d made it clear the owner wanted no questions asked. As long as the owner didn’t visit — whoever it was had never come to Maui the entire time Cruz had lived at Koa Point — what did it matter? Cruz and his buddies took care of security on the sprawling estate and kept themselves busy with private investigative and bodyguarding work on the side.
“Who else lives here?” Jody asked.
Cruz wondered what she’d say if he told her the truth. A whole troop of shifters. Two dragons, a wolf, a bear, and a tiger, to be exact. Then he corrected himself, because it wasn’t just the guys living there any more. With Kai, Boone, and Hunter mated, their numbers had swelled to eight.
A change for the better, his tiger nodded. With Tessa, Nina, and Dawn around, things are…well…
Cruz struggled for the word, too. Nicer? More peaceful? Better balanced? It was hard to explain, but the newcomers had all contributed to making the place feel more like a…a…
Home, his tiger filled in. A community.
Which was funny, because he’d never really thought Koa Point lacked anything before destiny had brought his friends’ mates to their sides.
Destiny, his tiger hummed.
Jody stopped in her tracks at the first sight of a footbridge arching gracefully over the stream. “Wow. I mean… It’s beautiful.” She waved at the red and gold lanterns hanging overhead, lighting the way through the dark night.
Most evenings, Cruz didn’t bother turning on the lights, preferring to stalk home in tiger form. But tonight, the light from the lanterns seemed softer, more welcoming than ever. A double-edged sword, he realized, because this wasn’t about welcoming anyone into his private space.
Except part of him wanted Jody there. He wanted her to like it. Keeping people away meant he never got to share his most special place with anyone. Maybe it was time to change that.
“I love it,” she gushed as a pair of myna birds fluttered overhead.
Jody’s comment ought to have set off warning bells in his mind, but all he felt was a burst of pride. Tigers were hoarders at heart, and while he didn’t collect junk, he had enjoyed bringing together little treasures to mark the place as his. Would Jody notice the details he’d put into the wooden handrails of the bridge? Would she spot the decorations on the Chinese lamps strung overhead?
“Wow, it’s all carved,” she murmured, running her hand over the rails. Her bracelets jangled, the only man-made sound in an otherwise peaceful night. “And, oh! Is that a tiger on that lamp?”
The swirling Chinese design was all claws and fangs. A subtle warning to potential trespassers — not that any dared explore Koa Point.
“Oh, there’s a dragon, too. And a bear…” Jody oohed and aahed over each lantern.
In truth, the designs were Cruz’s subtle homage to his shifter brothers — the men who’d become his second family after all they’d endured in their active duty days. They’d become family, and it felt fitting to acknowledge that in some way.
Crickets chirped from all around. Mynas chattered, and the stream gurgled under the bridge. On the whole, West Maui was relatively dry, but the mountains caught the trade wind clouds and kept the stream gushing, so his private corner of paradise was lush and green. His own private jungle. And, shit. It was being invaded by a human.
She’s not invading, his tiger pointed out. We invited her.
Damn. Why the hell had he done that?
Because she has to be comfortable, and we have to keep her safe.
Which was a load of crap, Cruz knew, because what greater danger was there to her than him?
Jody’s throat bobbed. “You swear you’re not taking me somewhere to kill me?”
A shot of regret went through him. How could he even have considered killing someone as free of evil as her?
He shook his head. “I swear I’ll never hurt you. Never.” His voice grew raspy as he uttered the words, and inside, his tiger went one step further.
I swear I’ll protect you to the end of my days.
Her eyes searched his, and she relaxed slightly. Most humans relied far too heavily on the spoken word, but Jody appeared to judge physical cues the way a shifter might.
She lifted her hand toward his, suddenly quiet. The space between them crackled, and he leaned closer. When Jody’s eyes shone brighter, his pulse skipped. His palms grew sweaty, and his heart thumped. Inside, his tiger lashed his tail from side to side and hummed happily.
Christ, what was wrong with him?
“It’s so peaceful,” Jody said, breaking her gaze from his to look around while she continued down the path.
His tiger nodded with satisfaction at her hushed tone. See? Not all humans are loud and bothersome.
Cruz decided to withhold judgment for a little while.
You do that. Because she is our destined mate. Ours!
Someone could have hit Cruz over the head with a brick and he would have been less shocked. He didn’t want or need a mate.
Want. Need, his tiger insisted with a low, throaty growl.
Jody stopped in her tracks, clapped, and choked out, “Oh my God.”
“Nice, huh?” his tiger made him say.
“Nice? It’s amazing,” she said, looking up and around as his tree house took shape in the dim light.
Cruz did what he rarely did — namely, stop to admire his handiwork. Every member of their tight-knit unit had carved out a little corner of Koa Point for himself, and they rarely stepped foot on each other’s private turf, choosing to gather on neutral ground at the meeting house instead. It was the perfect arrangement for a group of strong-willed shifters who’d stuck together through thick and thin. Now, each occupied his own custom home, and Cruz loved his.
It was pretty amazing. What had started as a single platform where a tiger could bask at midday had gradually expanded to a wide deck that encircled a four-story-tall monkeypod tree. A spiral staircase wound to the deck from the ground-level living area, and rope bridges extended from each side, leading to a number of side platforms — like bedrooms in a house, yet nothing like a regular house. The spartan living area held a hammock and a futon. One platform was suspended high up in the canopy of the forest, completely open to the elements — the perfect place for his tiger to swish its tail and stand guard. Another rope bridge led to the covered bedroom he used to stretch out in in human form. The double mattress had been hell to haul up, and the dresser was all dinged up, but it was home. A few little touches here and there and he’d have a real tiger palace all to himself.
Home, his tiger hummed in satisfaction.
He’d never had anyone out here except the other guys — and that was rare enough.
I like having her here, his tiger said.
Cruz made a face, but it was kind of nice, watching her react to it all.
“Who built this?”
His chest puffed out a bit. “I did.”
“You?” She wasn’t incredulous so much as impressed, and Cruz couldn’t resist pointing out all the little features.
“There’s a hot plate over there, a bathroom over there…”
Jody nodded and grinned. “My dad would love this place. He made us a tree house when we were kids, but it wasn’t anything like this.”
Cruz’s tiger nodded in satisfaction. Maybe some humans aren’t crazy, after all.
When she slid into the rainbow hammock and gave herself a push to start swinging, he had to fight the inexplicable urge to ease in beside her.
“Wow. This is way better than the condo at Honokowai.”
He laughed out loud, then caught himself. What was he doing, joking around with a human he hadn’t wanted anything to do with in the first place?
You’re having a nice time, his tiger snipped. Is that so bad?
He cleared his throat and pointed around the living room. “The futon is pretty comfortable, and there are some extra towels in the bathroom.” He pointed down the lantern-lit path.
“I’ve slept in some offbeat places, but this takes the cake. Oh — wait.” She straightened in the hammock. “Where will you sleep?”
Usually, he slept in the bedroom area or on one of the other platforms suspended overhead. But he sure as hell wasn’t going to sleep there tonight.
“I’ll sleep in the meeting house. I do that all the time,” he lied.
She hurried out of the hammock. “I can’t oust you from your own home.”
Exactly. She couldn’t. He wouldn’t let humans wreck his life ever again.
But damn it, his tiger had different ideas and made him communicate as much. “Of course you can. Here, you can borrow this.” Without thinking, he took a clean T-shirt from a drawer and set it on the table so she’d have something to sleep in.
She sure can, his tiger hummed.
Even his human half swelled a little at the thought of Jody wrapped in his clothes. Her, covered with his scent.
He balled his fists and bumped his thighs a few times, trying to snap out of whatever had come over him.
“But…” she started.
He scuffed his boot against the ground. She didn’t get it. If he stayed anywhere within sniffing, seeing, or hearing distance of her, who knew what his tiger might tempt him to do?
“It’s fine, believe me,” he said. A purr sounded, and little Keiki wound between his legs. He picked up the calico kitten and stroked her until her eyes closed with pleasure. He closed his eyes, too, soaking in the warmth and satisfaction radiating from the little fur ball. With Keiki, he could almost believe the world was full of goodness and hope.
Jody chuckled. “She purrs like a tiger.”
Cruz’s eyes snapped up. Did Jody suspect anything? But, no. The woman’s eyes stayed on the kitten, and her smile was as innocent as Keiki’s.
“Tigers don’t purr,” he pointed out.
“They’re cats, aren’t they?”
“Look it up. Tigers don’t purr.”
“Well, that little one sure can purr. Is she yours?”
“Mine? No. Cats don’t like to be owned.”
Cruz knew he could be a surly son of a bitch, and that usually succeeded in keeping people at arm’s length. But Jody didn’t seem bothered. In fact, she reached out to pet Keiki as if Cruz had invited her to. And the funny thing was, he didn’t step away, as if he really had invited her to. As if he wanted this woman to come close.
Closer…
Closer…
Their hands brushed while they both petted Keiki, and Cruz found his eyelids drooping. Which was stupid, plain stupid, because there was a human invading his personal space. He couldn’t help it, though. Petting Keiki always soothed his restless soul, and petting Keiki with Jody had the same effect times ten. So there they stood, like a couple of proud parents huddled over a newborn, marveling at the tiny ears, the button nose, and miracle of a tiny heartbeat under their hands.
Cruz inhaled the sweet night air, and Jody’s scent snuck in like that of an exotic flower that had just bloomed amidst the familiar plants of home. That wild rose scent that tickled his nose. He closed his eyes and inhaled a little more.
“Sweet kitty,” Jody murmured.
See? I knew she liked me, his tiger cooed.
Usually, it took him an hour of pacing and moving from one roost to another to settle down and relax. That’s why he’d built so many different platforms radiating out from the tree house. But tonight… Tonight, he could have closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep there and then. A peaceful, dreamless sleep — the kind he hadn’t had for years.
Then a bat whooshed overhead, too close for comfort, and his eyes snapped open again.
Shit. Silas was waiting.
“Gotta go,” he said gruffly, pulling away. Not too far, though, because now that he’d caught sight of Jody’s incredibly blue eyes, they mesmerized him.
“You sure this is okay?”
No, he wasn’t sure. But he nodded anyway. “It’s fine.”
He transferred Keiki to her arms and drew reluctantly away. Then he fake-coughed a few times and forced himself to step toward the footbridge. His body ached, as if leaving her was wrong. But, shit. He couldn’t keep Silas waiting any longer.
“Gotta go. Have a good night.”
She nuzzled Keiki with her chin exactly the way he remembered his mom doing with his younger sister a long time ago. The way his mom had probably done with him back when he’d been too young to recall.
I remember, his tiger murmured. In my heart, I remember.
And for the next few seconds, warm feelings filled in the space usually occupied by anger and pain.
Jody went right on nuzzling Keiki, watching him go. “Goodnight. And thanks. For everything,” she said before breaking into a wry grin. “I think.”