Tigress for Two (3 page)

“Now that everyone has had their coffee and the fog is lifting from your brains, we can begin.” Ty waved a hand for everyone to be seated. “Regardless of our attempts, Victor has been uncooperative. He keeps repeating
the end will be coming for you. Long live Bratva
. We know who Bratva is, but the members, besides Victor Senior, are unknown. Connor and Lukas are heading the intelligence team, so if anyone can find the information it’s them.” Ty turned to Connor. “Do you have anything to report at this time?”

“Only that the Bratva is very dangerous. They control all Russian shifters, no matter the species. If you don’t conform to their ways, they’ll send a message by killing someone you love. If all else fails, they won’t hesitate to kill to maintain order. Humans and shifters live in fear of their organization. The Russian citizens only know them as a terrorist group. They don’t realize the Bratva are shifters. Humans are collateral damage to them. They could care less if any humans were injured or killed because of their actions.” Connor placed a picture on the main screen. “This is Victor Senior. The information I gathered leads me to determine his animal has taken over and there’s nothing left to the person who once was.”

“There must be something we can do…to save the Russian shifters?” Bethany stared at Raja.

“Do
you
want to go to Russia?” Adam lowered is head. “I apologize. I spoke out of line. I only mean that it’s unlikely anyone would volunteer to go, and if the Russian shifters are under Bratva’s control already, there’s little we can do.”

“No, we can do something,” Raja said. “Taking Victor Senior out of his position of power might be enough to halt the organization and free the shifters under its control.”

“And how do you plan to do this?” Taber stepped forward.

“A trap. How else?” Raja raised an eyebrow. “You know the kitty within all of us loves to draw people in. We’ll dangle a string and he’ll come running, that string being his son.”

“You want to bring him to the states? Isn’t that what we’ve been trying to avoid, why we took Victor down before Victor Senior could arrive?” Adam frowned.

Ty stood at the head of the table. “We don’t want him here, and he’d realize it’s a trap. Nevertheless, with any luck we’ll be able to find out more of his plans. We have too much to deal with already. The Russian shifters need to free themselves from his hold if they’re going to survive. We’ll keep a close tab on
Bratva and if his followers become a problem for us, they’ll be dealt with.”

“What’s this trap that will help take Victor Senior out of his position within Bratva?” Marcus, Raja’s brother-in-law, asked.

“We’ll send him a video like Pierce sent us when he kidnapped Bethany.”

Taber noticed Raja didn’t mention the other video, the one where Pierce killed Bethany’s family. Everyone in the room was probably already thinking about it. The sadness around Bethany’s eyes and frown engraved on her forehead were clear indications where her thoughts laid.

Ty continued. “Let Victor Senior know we have his son, and if he wants him back, he’ll have to come for him. If he comes, which is doubtful, there’s our chance. We’ll offer him a deal, his son’s life in exchange for information
and
that he step down from his current position.”

“After all this, we’re going to let Victor live?” Marcus leaned forward, placing his hands on the table, his energy vibrating off the table. Marcus was the only other mated male in the room besides the Elders, and he wasn’t just thinking of the clan, but also of his wife Tora, Raja’s sister.

“No, Victor is too much of a threat to us, other shifters, and humans. He’s a rogue and he’ll die, no matter the outcome with Victor Senior. Like I said, it’s just a string we’re dangling, playing our cards to win.” Ty stalked the room like a caged tiger. “Back to Victor, Tabitha has a way to get him to release any information he might be withholding.”

Tabitha placed her coffee mug on the table, her gaze sweeping across the room. “Everyone who sits before me knows of the book that will help guide me in uniting the tiger shifters. It has let me know about the healer, Galan who has recently joined our clan, and many other things. The book has provided us a way to gather what we need.” She pulled a small vial from her pocket, holding it between her thumb and forefinger. “This will give us everything we need.”

“How?” Adam leaned forward, his attention on the bottle in her hand. “If you’re supposed to make him drink it, that’s going to be difficult, he hasn’t touched anything we’ve offered him.”

“He doesn’t drink it. I do.” She sat the vial on the table.

“I’m not sure this is a good idea.” Taber’s voice broke the silence. “We can’t risk you, Tabitha.”

“I already had that argument with her.” Ty leaned against the wall looking from his mate to Taber. “It gets worse,” Ty said. “Go ahead, Tabby, tell them everything.”

“Once I drink the liquid, I’ll be able to see everything Victor won’t tell us. I’ll have full access to his mind, his memories, everything.” She lifted her coffee cup, taking a sip before she continued. “I will have the information we need.”

“How?” Felix, the Captain of Tabitha’s Guards spoke up.

“With a touch…”

“There has to be another way!” Taber cut off Tabitha’s explanation, glancing from Tabitha to her mate, Ty.

Tabitha nodded, acknowledging Taber’s concern for her safety. “We’re running out of time. The longer Victor’s here the more danger for everyone. We need to worry about everyone’s safety not just mine. He’s restrained…”

“My Queen, this is too much danger. He broke free from his chain only hours ago.” Felix turned to Ty. “How can you support this?”

“Felix, I understand your concern,” Ty responded. “It’s your duty to protect her, but the guardians of the book wouldn’t put her in danger if there was another way. They wouldn’t give us a guide to the information if it meant her death.” Ty pushed away from the wall and walked toward Tabitha. “I’m not happy about this anymore than the rest of you. Tabitha is my mate, and more than anyone, I want her safe, but there’s no alternative. The room will be full of guards, and Galan and Bethany will be standing by to heal in case anyone is injured.” He touched his mate’s shoulder. “Like Tabby said, the longer he’s here the more danger the clan is in. We need to eliminate one threat so we can focus on Pierce. The longer we wait to take the gang of rogues down, the harder it will become.”

Chapter Four

Taber stopped by command central for another stack of intelligence that needed to be reviewed before making his way back to Raja’s quarters. Catching Kallie’s scent at command central, invaded his head with visions of her. The memory made his shaft hard.
Damn fate for mating me with a tigress.

Angry at his dumb fate luck, he had to blow off steam. He promised the beast within him a shift as soon as he read through the files. He’d let the bear free to roam in the icy stream running through the back of the compound, and if he was lucky he’d find dinner. In his bear form maybe Kallie wouldn’t be so ever present in his mind.

“Hey, Taber.” Raja pointed to a chair as Taber entered Raja’s quarters. “We’re about to get started, and we’d like you to join us.”

Taber grew apprehensive. Why would Raja want him to sit in on the meeting when both sets of their guards were standing outside Raja’s quarters? Taber knew Raja never acted without a reason, so he nodded, tossing the files on the coffee table and pulled a chair out at the kitchen table where the Elders sat. Taber glanced to Ty and Tabitha who were hand in hand at the end of the table. Taber still didn’t like the idea of Tabitha risking her life to gather information from Victor. It wasn’t a woman’s place to confront danger head on. Women were precious and needed to be protected if their species was to continue, especially for the tiger shifters. Without Tabitha, they would simply cease to exist.

“What’s on your mind, Taber?” Bethany asked when he continued to stare at Tabitha, his lips curved into a frown and the muscles in his shoulders tense with concern.

He shook his head, lowering his bulky frame onto the chair. “Nothing. This vial, how do you know it’s safe?”

Tabitha released Ty’s hand and placed hers on the book before her. It sprang open. “This book has been my guide since Ty came to Pennsylvania and found me in Pittsburgh. It’s been the reason behind everything we’ve accomplished so far. Without it I wouldn’t have thought to create the core group with Felix, Marcus, Thomas, and now Shadow. They’re going to be key elements to our success. This book brought us our healer, Galan. Without him we might never have known about Bethany’s ability to heal.”

“Okay, but…”

“Let me finish, Taber, and I promise you’ll soon understand.” Tabitha paused a moment, waiting for his silence. “This book has been passed down from generation to generation in my family. There was a whole section hidden, lying in wait until it found me. Every time I need answers it’s there, guiding me on the path I need to take to unite the tiger shifters. This newest development is just one of many. I have no fear this vial will do anything more or less than what it says and I’ll come to no harm. It’s our only option, and we’re running out of time.”

“I don’t think it’s worth the risk. Couldn’t one of us take it instead? That way, you’re safe. I could take it…” Taber reached for the bottle, only to have Tabitha’s hand tightly clench around it.

“As her mate, don’t you think I would have offered the same if it was a possibility?” Anger flared in Ty’s eyes.

Taber retracted his hand as if bitten. “I meant no disrespect. I only wish to keep you both safe.”

“We don’t have time for this.” Tabitha stared at the vial in her hand. “Only I can do it.”

“Tabitha will do this for us, and we need to figure out how to keep her safe.” Raja placed a tray on the table and began pouring the coffee. “After Victor broke his chains this morning, we doubled them, but we don’t know if they will hold him. There’s no way we can surround him since Tabitha will have to touch him. Where does that leave us? Packing the room full of guards armed to the max?”

“Only a few guards. If things get out of control, I don’t want anyone hit by friendly fire. We can have more forces waiting in the other room with Bethany and Galan.” Ty slid his arm around Tabitha’s shoulders, pulling her to his body. “Felix, Adam, Taber, Raja, and I will escort Tabitha. Shadow and Styx will protect Bethany so if there’s chaos I want them to get her out of there.”

Raja leaned back, grabbing his coffee cup. “Felix and Ty will get Tabitha to safety if things go wrong. We’ve already decided to put Victor down in a humane way. There’s a tranquilizer gun loaded with the correct dose to stop his heart. Taber, you’ll be in charge of that. I’d rather take him down with my bare hands.” His voice was low, but in a room full of shifters, everyone heard him. Bethany, the only non-shifter, wrapped her hand around Raja’s, squeezing it lightly. He brought her knuckles to his lips and kissed them softly. “Don’t worry love, we’ll protect you.”

Taber watched the display of emotion with an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. His gaze wandered to the left to find Ty and Tabitha embracing as well. He understood that shifters preferred to touch their mates, to put them at ease, but their intimate moment of affection made him feel very alone.