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“Yeah. I know.” I nod over her head, hoping to everything holy she’s right.
I want like hell to believe her, but the bloodlust shine in that cat’s dark eyes right now would make any grown man piss himself.
“Stay back, guy,” I mutter, my hands frozen on the gun, the trigger scalding my finger.
She twists, forcing a smile, and releases me to turn all the way around. “It’s okay, Bruce. You know Grady. He’s a friend.”
But the monster cat doesn’t look the least bit friendly.
Bruce stiffens in this weird way that reminds me of a barn cat getting ready to chase down a mouse. Christ, if he jumps, he’ll knock us both flat before we even have a second to realize it.
Worse, he’s growling. This low, ominous thunder oozing out of him.
My lungs turn to concrete.
I don’t want to shoot him.
Not at all.
I damn sure don’t want to put him down in front of Willow, but if he doesn’t back his big orange-and-black furry ass up right the fuck now—
Another roar comes exploding out of him that shakes my bones. Even Willow gasps.
Only, it’s not aimed at us, not with the way he’s got his fierce head twisted...he’s looking past us, looking up.
I whirl, throwing Willow to the ground, just in time to crouch down and see a tall man on the metal walkway overhead firing off a shot.
A hot bullet soars through the air where our heads were a second ago, and ricochets off the side of the trailer with a booming clatter.
Scope up, focused, eyes like knives, I catch his sneaky arm in my sights and pull the trigger.
The high-pitched, girlish shriek and the dull thud of his gun hitting the metal walkway under him tells me I nailed my target.
The man staggers back and slumps against the wall, clutching his arm, dark red rapidly pouring through his starched white sleeve.
“Keep Bruce distracted,” I tell Willow. “If there’s any way to get up there, he’ll find it as soon as he smells that bastard’s blood.”
Thankfully, the hero of the hour releases another booming growl, paces a few steps back, and then sits down on his haunches and lets out a gaping yawn.
Willow turns back to me as I help her up. “How did you get here? We haven’t been here that long, have we?”
My rage renews itself as I get a good look at her eye. It’s swollen, and there’s an ugly gash on the side of her temple marring her beautiful face. The whole side of her face is swollen like she fell face-first into fire ants.
“Who did this?” I growl.
“Niles! Niles Foss. He’s...up there. I think you got him.” She looks up just as the man lets out another loud groan above, but I catch her arm. “He’s trying to transfer the money they stole from my dad. We have to stop him.”
“We will. Faulk’s outside,” I say. “Just give me a minute to find—”
“Right behind you,” Faulk says, sticking his head in the door. “And I ain’t moving till that pussycat gets penned up again. The cops are on their way. I heard a couple gunshots—got it under control?” He nods at the body by the wall with her loose heels curled out in front of her. “Shit. Who’s that?”
“Priscilla Foss,” Willow says, spitting her name like a curse.
“Is she dead?” Faulk asks, taking a tentative step inside.
“Not unless she died from a heart attack,” Willow says. “Bruce didn’t hurt her. He just pinned her against the wall. I think. More importantly, Grady shot her husband right before he put a hole through my head. We’ve got to find some way to get him down.” Pointing, she gives me a quick kiss, and then turns to the tiger. “Come on, Bruce. Everything’s wrapped up now. Time for a nap.”
The cat stands and plods toward the trailer. I’m not sure if I should move or not with the way he’s staring at me. Though his look seems more disinterested than before, the kind of oh, you again? looks he’d give me in my barn.
“He knows you’re a good guy,” Willow tells me.
“Yeah, well...” I trail off, listening to the beat of Faulk’s footsteps pounding up the metal stairs to the catwalk.
Less than a minute later, he’s got Niles Foss in custody, totally disarmed, and moaning like the pitiful bitch he is as Faulk frogmarches him down to the ground level.
The tiger lets out what sounds like a satisfied grunt as he stomps up the metal door into the trailer.
All in a day’s work, he says with the swish of his tail.
Fuck it. I grin like the madman this insanity is turning me into.
As soon as we’ve got the ramp door closed up and locked, with half a dozen deputies pouring into the building, I grab Willow and give her another, long, thorough, earth-moving kiss.
