He’ll stop at nothing to get revenge…until he meets her.

Ten years ago, tiger shifter Joseph Bennett lost everything to a human serial killer. His

only thoughts now are of revenge and death, his emotions shut down so he can stalk his prey.

Then she appears in the dead of night and changes everything. Joseph hates the changes, hates

the returning feelings, and most of all, he hates the woman who started it—even as he can’t stay

away from her. She cracks him open, and after all these years, he has no idea what monster will

emerge from his black soul. He only knows that keeping her safe matters.

Socialite Paige Williams has remained silent about her brother’s crimes for years. When

she meets Joseph, she knows she can’t keep her secrets any longer. But going after her brother

comes with huge risks, because if he catches her, she’s dead. Her only hope is the emotionless

tiger shifter whose presence sooths her battered soul and helps her find her inner strength. She

never expects to fall in love with him.

As a killer stalks them, passion ignites a fire between them, fierce and hot. And when the

flames part, they’ll either emerge whole…or dead.

DOWN WILL COME TIGER

Edited by Practical Proofing

Cover by The Killion Group

Published by T&D Publishing

All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner

whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in

critical articles and reviews.

This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the

writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously, and are not to be construed as real. Any

resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely

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work.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

For my family. Thanks to all of you. For everything.

DOWN WILL COME TIGER

Tiger Shifters 6

Kat Simons

Chapter One

The ambulance had driven away from the estate two hours ago. Joseph Bennett watched

from his perch in a tree outside the massive security walls as the vehicle left silently. He hadn’t

been close enough to catch a scent, so he wasn’t sure which of the estate’s occupants had been

inside, if any. Given the size of the staff in the mansion, it could have been anyone.

Now, hours later, he continued to study the distant lights of the main house, wondering.

He pulled in a deep breath, taking in the night scents, the green taste of the coming spring

mixing with the cold remains of winter, manicured grass and damp soil, the distant chlorine tang

from the estate’s swimming pool, the even more distant fresh water bite of the river. He released

his breath slowly, carefully.

He wasn’t sure whether to hope Bradley Williams was still inside or not.

Rather than decide, he watched the estate and waited for a sign of the human man he

wanted to kill more than he wanted anything else in the world.

He had tonight, tomorrow night, maybe the night after before Victor Romanov, his former

boss and best friend, tracked him down and forced him away from Bradley. Again.

He was tempted, not for the first time, to kill Victor and get him out of the way. He wasn’t

sure why he never went through with it. Maybe the fact that Victor’s wife Alexis might get to

him before he could get to Bradley?

It was as good an explanation as any.

As he contemplated a way to get through the various security alarms and close to the

house, a movement across the huge expanse of lawn caught his attention. The Williams didn’t

keep deer on their property and that figure was too large to be a dog. He scented the air, then

lifted his eyebrows.

Paige Williams. Oldest daughter of Carmen Williams. Stepdaughter to Duke Williams.

Half sister to Bradley Williams.

Years of stalking Bradley meant Joseph was well acquainted with who she was, at least in

general. She was a weak human, always deferring to her father, avoiding eye contact in public,

staying away from attention or notice. He’d seen the video of her attending her brother’s trial for

attempted kidnapping ten years ago—Joseph had been in confinement at the time or he’d have

gone to the courthouse in person to murder the man. Paige had looked…bland and timid.

Since then, he’d barely caught glimpses of her, as when she did leave the estate it was

usually in a limo with black windows, going to her father’s Philadelphia office where she ran a

charitable something-or-other. He’d never cared enough to find out the details. He knew, in all

the times he’d sat in this very tree, watching this estate, he’d never seen Paige Williams take a

walk through the grounds. Especially not at three in the morning.

Even from this distance, he could see she had her arms wrapped tightly around her body,

her head down. A dark hat covered her pale blond hair. Her clothes were loose and dark, too, not

really hinting at a figure, and she wasn’t wearing a coat, though it was March and still too cold

for a human to be out without one.

Interesting.

She was heading right for him, and the small pedestrian gate in the wall not far from his

tree perch. He watched her approach, her scent carried to him on the wind. His eyes narrowed.

*****

Paige Williams tightened her arms around her stomach, hugging herself against the cold

she didn’t really feel. Her body was numb even as her brain exploded with so much chaos she

couldn’t think.

She reached the pedestrian gate in the northern part of the wall near the main road without

realizing she’d walked that far. Keying in the alarm code, she pushed open the steel door and

stepped out onto the grassy shoulder lining the road, making sure the door closed behind her out

of habit more than conscious thought. Once beyond the walls of her prison, she just stood there,

staring into the dark.

What now? What did she think this would do for her?

Pulling in a deep gulp of cold air, she let the night scents and sounds wash through her as

she closed her eyes and tried with everything she had not to think.

She frowned when a slight shiver moved down her spine, an awareness of…something.

Not like the feeling she got when she knew her brother was watching her, smirking at her, or

when her stepfather was around. At those times, the hair on her nape rose and her shoulders

hunched under the ever-looming sense of threat and judgment from the men in her life.

This was different. She didn’t actually have any emotional response to the sensation, just a

vague sort of awareness of… She didn’t know how to explain it, though this wasn’t the first time

she’d felt it. If not for having experienced the sensation before, she might have wondered if it

was her mother’s ghost.

Did ghosts come back to haunt you only hours after dying?

She snorted at the idea. She couldn’t imagine her mother pulling together the psychic

strength to haunt anyone anyway.

Glancing around the quiet road, Paige wondered if maybe after all these years she really

was going crazy, if the stress of her life, of hiding in plain sight from her family, had finally

broken her. Shouldn’t she feel something about the death of her mother? Shouldn’t she hurt?

Should relief really be the only sensation coursing through her blood?

She growled at nothing and started to walk. She’d only gone a few hundred yards before

she turned back. She reached the pedestrian gate, put her hand to the alarm panel, cursed, and

stalked away again. She didn’t want to go back inside. She didn’t want to be in that house, that

prison, where her mother had died and her stepfather greeted the news with a raised brow and a

snort of disgust. Where her half brother barely paused to hear the news before shrugging and

continuing on to his wing of the house.

Paige had spent years, years, inside that mansion, playing a part, keeping everything she

felt, everything she knew buried deep in her heart where no one could see. For her mother’s sake.

Because despite everything, Carmen Williams had loved her children. Bradley didn’t

deserve it, but then their mother didn’t really know the truth about the creature she’d given birth

to, and given everything else Carmen had gone through in her sad life, Paige was grateful for

that. She’d actively worked to keep her own knowledge of Bradley away from their mother.

It was one of the very few kindnesses she’d been able to give Carmen.

Now her mother was dead.

Paige stopped where the estate wall veered away from the road and stared into the

darkness. Her mother was gone. There was no longer a reason to hide.

She’d squirrelled away resources and money, things neither her brother nor stepfather

knew about. She could just…go. Now. Leave everything behind and go.

The relief at that thought almost dropped her to her knees. She actually had to lean against

a tree skirting the road to keep from falling. No more judgmental stepfather, no more psychotic

brother. No more pretending to be as weak and malleable as her mother.

Enough. Done.

Her heart pounded hard as the chaos churning through her mind quieted and the clarity of a

possible future descended. A vision of hope she hadn’t dared consider, even as she’d planned for

it.

She was so caught up in the thought of just…going, she didn’t recognize when that

awareness of something she could never pinpoint got stronger. But her instincts had been honed

on the stone wheel of years of living as potential prey to the predatory men in her life. So she

was already turning, preparing to scream and fight and run, when she heard the very slight sound

of shoes shuffling over grass.

The scream building in her throat caught at the sight of the stranger. His features were

impossible to discern in the darkness, though she had excellent night vision, but his face seemed

full of shadows and sharp edges. He was considerably taller and wider than her. His hand were at

his sides, loose and weaponless. He wore a black hoodie and jeans, dark enough that he blended

with the background, and somewhat to her surprise, she lost sight of him once or twice even

though he didn’t move.

It was his stillness that really struck her. He didn’t even seem to be breathing.

She swallowed to wet a dry throat and considered questioning him, but she was afraid to

end the standoff, afraid if she said anything at all, it would break him out of his stillness. She was
almost positive that once this man went into motion, there would be no stopping him.

And because she’d lived in the same house with a killer for most of her life, she recognized

another one when she saw him.

He spoke, shattering the tense silence. “It’s late. You shouldn’t be out here alone.”

His voice was husky and deep, rough like he didn’t use it much, and completely

emotionless. He might as well have asked what time it was or noted that the grass was green. She

couldn’t tell if he’d intended his comment to be a warning or a threat. Or simply a statement like

the sky is blue.

She pulled herself up to her full height—which wasn’t very impressive—and tried to put

on the privileged, icy aura she adopted when all else failed. She infused prim frost into her tone,

something her stepfather had forced her to learn, when she said, “And you would be?”

He tilted his head to one side as he considered her. “Roses,” he murmured.

He said it so quietly she suspected she wasn’t supposed to hear his comment. Or maybe he

just didn’t realize he’d spoken aloud.

“Are you going to answer my question or should I call the police?” she asked, still in that

same clipped tone.

“You don’t have a phone with you.”

She blinked. He couldn’t possibly know that. She had left her cell behind on purpose, but

she was wearing loose clothing with pockets. She could easily have it.

To make her point, she reached into her pocket, pretending to grip a phone that wasn’t

there. “I will call the cops, whoever you are. I suggest you leave.”

“Who was in the ambulance?”

Again, surprise made her blink. “You’ve been watching my home? Are you a paparazzi? I

assure you, there’s no story here.”

His shoulders moved, just a little, not a threat but…a gesture she couldn’t interpret.

“Who was in the ambulance?” he asked again.

She pursed her lips. He didn’t have an obvious camera on him so he wasn’t likely someone

out for gossip. He felt too dangerous, too intense, for a paparazzo anyway. And there was that

stillness, that emotionlessness in his voice.

For some reason, the mere fact that he didn’t seem to care about this conversation much

one way or the other made her feel better. She shrugged and answered honestly. “My mother.”

“She’s sick?”

“Dead.”

His head moved just slightly, maybe a nod of acknowledgement at the news. She waited

for him to offer the expected condolences. But the silence stretched on. He didn’t say or do

anything beyond that almost nod.

She held his intense stare, easier because she couldn’t actually see his eyes, just the

shadowed area where his eyes were on his face.

“Are you sad?” he finally asked.

“Of course,” she snapped. “What a stupid question.” She realized she’d dropped her guard

and instantly put the wall back up.

But for the first time since confronting him, she saw something almost like an expression

move across his face—one corner of his mouth lifted fractionally. It might have been a smile,

though it could also just as easily have been a facial tic since in the next moment his mouth was

flat and emotionless again.

“Is your father going to come looking for you?”

“Stepfather,” she corrected almost without thought, a knee-jerk reaction to distance herself

from the man who’d raised her. “And no.” She paused. “At least, not yet.”

“Are you going somewhere?”

There was the question. Was she? Tonight? She wanted to. More than she’d ever wanted

anything in her life. But… “No.” She needed her wallet first. “At least, not yet,” she finished

with a little smile.

The stranger’s expression didn’t change. “Where are you going?”

“None of your business.”

“Will he come after you?”

She sucked in a breath, then tried to cover her reaction. “Who?”

“Your stepfather.”

She didn’t answer. She honestly wasn’t sure if he would or not.

If you report his beloved son, if you try to have Bradley arrested, he will come after you.

The voice sounded a little like her mother’s, mixing with her own. And it was right. Her

stepfather would come after her for turning Bradley in, maybe not to kill her but definitely to

stop her. He’d have her discredited, perhaps even committed—just like he’d threatened her

mother with through the years.

That was her best prospect. If her half brother got to her first, he’d kill her. And not in a

quick, painless way she was sure.

She swallowed down the panic making her heart beat painfully hard and blinked a few

times to clear away the darkness edging her vision.

She could just run away and not do the other thing she’d promised herself she’d do once

her mother was gone—not go to the cops with what she knew, not give them the limited

evidence she had. She could disappear and both her brother and stepfather would probably leave

her alone, happy to be rid of her.

She’d be free for the first time in her life.

But could she live with herself if she ignored what she knew about Bradley?

She shook off the question. None of it was this stranger’s business. “Why do you care what

I do?”

“I don’t.”

She believed him. “What are you doing here?”

He’d been here for hours if he’d seen the ambulance leave. And he wasn’t out for

scandalous pictures. For the first time, it occurred to her that she might be facing something as

scary as her brother. Oh, she’d known from the first he was dangerous, but she hadn’t felt

threatened, despite his frightening aura. She was just realizing that maybe she’d been mistaken in

that idea.

Her stepfather had drilled into her the idea that she shouldn’t go about alone; she was

worth a fortune to anyone who wanted to kidnap her. Though she personally doubted her

stepfather would bother paying a ransom for her, potential kidnappers didn’t know that. Could

this terrifyingly intense, emotionless man be here looking for a ready victim? Staking out the

house, waiting for a chance to grab her and try to make some money?

It didn’t seem logical given that she never came out in the middle of the night, and

Gladwyne was an extremely safe area. But according to her stepfather, it was possible.

“Is your brother inside?” the man asked, not answering her question.

“Why? Do you know him?”

“He murdered my sister ten years ago.”

Paige stopped breathing. For several long heartbeats, she simply couldn’t pull in any air.

He’d said it so bluntly, so matter-of-factly. So…emotionlessly.

And with absolutely no doubt whatsoever.

Still, she had to ask, “You’re sure?” Her voice was faint even to her own ears and she

realized she hadn’t taken a full breath yet. She gulped a few times, trying to get enough oxygen

to keep from passing out.

“Yes,” he said.

She nodded. She believed him. She was positive her brother had murdered many people

over the years. Ten years ago… This man’s sister must have been one of the first. At least, one of

the first human victims. There’d been any number of poor defenseless animals before that.

She closed her eyes for a single beat, knowing it was a stupid thing to do around this man

but not caring. He’d lost a sister to her psychotic brother. And she’d kept her knowledge of

Bradley’s crimes to herself all this time. Guilt rose over her and crashed onto her shoulders more

powerful than any emotion she felt from losing her mother. She was still conflicted about that.

But the guilt…oh, she felt the guilt.

“I’m so sorry,” she said, then opened her eyes and looked right at him. “I’m very, very

sorry.”

“You know he’s a killer?”

She nodded.

“Have you helped him?”

“No. At least…” She swallowed. Would he consider the fact that she’d never been strong

enough to stop Bradley helping? “No, I never helped him.”

“But you know.”

“I know.”

“Does your father?”

“Stepfather. Maybe. If he does, I’m not sure he cares.”

The man was silent for long enough that Paige wanted to fidget. She didn’t. She stood

perfectly still, her hands clasped in front of her so she wouldn’t play with her bracelet, her eyes

slightly downcast. She hated this pose—the one she’d been forced into all her life—but it seemed

necessary in that moment, a survival instinct she didn’t dare ignore.

“I’m here to kill your brother,” the man finally said. Just as emotionlessly as he’d said

everything else.

The news didn’t surprise her. What surprised her was that he’d waited ten years. “Where

have you been?”

He actually frowned at her question, more reaction than she expected. “What do you

mean?”

“You said your sister was murdered ten years ago. Why haven’t you tried to kill Bradley

before?”

“I have. My people keep stopping me.”

“Your people?” What an odd way to phrase that. Before she even had time to ponder what

he might mean, he answered her question.

“The tiger shifters.”

Chapter Two

Paige frowned and looked at him from the side of her eye, certain she must have misheard

him. Even if she’d heard him correctly, she couldn’t make sense of the words.

He didn’t clarify or take back his comment. He just stared at her.

“Tiger shifters?” she asked. “As in a mythological creature that turns into a tiger?”

He nodded.

“They aren’t real.”

He shrugged. No change of expression, no defense of his comment. Nothing. She didn’t

know what to do with this. Was he crazy?

Was she?

“Are you crazy?” she asked, realizing immediately what a ridiculous question it was. Even

if he was, he probably didn’t know it.

“No.”

To her surprise, the corner of his mouth did that little lift again, a change in expression that

was too brief to be interpreted as a specific emotion. Then his mouth flattened and she thought

maybe she’d imagined the change.

She stared at him a while longer, debating the wisdom of arguing about myth versus reality

with someone who obviously didn’t live in reality. Finally, she decided it would be a waste of

time. More important still was the question of why he’d taken so long to come after her brother if

he believed Bradley had killed his sister.

Even that was now in question. If this stranger was delusional enough to believe in tiger

shifters, he might be deluded about his sister’s death—if he even had a sister.

But knowing her brother, that part of his story was entirely possible, terrifyingly plausible.

And if that part was true, it was possible the murder had been the very thing that broke the

stranger’s mind.

Curiosity pushed her to ask, “Why have they stopped you from killing him?”

She should probably be making excuses to get back inside and away from a crazy person

rather than drawing out the conversation. But strangely, she felt less threatened here in the dark

on the shoulder of the road at three in the morning talking to a stranger who was in all likelihood

insane than she felt in her own home. She preferred her chances with the large, obviously

dangerous man she faced now over those she had with her own family.

“Killing humans is a death sentence crime among my people. Risks exposure.”

“Aren’t you exposing them now by telling me they exist?”

“You don’t believe me,” he said with a faint shrug.

“What if I did?”

He shrugged again.

“Don’t you care about exposing your…people?”

“No.”

“Why?” The silence went on so long, she accepted she wasn’t getting an answer to that,

and asked something else. “If it’s a death sentence crime, why are you here?”

“Don’t care about the death sentence, either.”

Her gut tightened at that statement, delivered in his emotionless tone. “But someone else

does? Someone doesn’t want you to risk it?”

For the first time, his gaze slid away. She waited for his answer but it never came.

“You’re still going to try killing him? Even though your people don’t want you to?”

He nodded.

“How?” She wondered if he was surprised by her reaction. That she wasn’t trying to talk

him out of it or threatening to call the police on him.

If he was, he gave no sign of it. “I’ll catch him eventually and rip his head off.” He met her

gaze again. “I was going to torture him, the way he did my sister. Now, I just want him dead.”

A shiver shook her shoulders, not at his description of the way he wanted to kill Bradley,

but at the information that his sister had been tortured.

“I understand why,” she said, “but it probably won’t make you feel any better.”

“I don’t expect it to since I don’t feel anything anymore.”

“Nothing? What’s that like?” Wouldn’t it be nice, she thought with a surprising amount of

wistfulness, to not feel the fear she lived with every day. To not feel the shame, the guilt, the

helplessness, and the frustration of hiding herself.

She’d never feel any of the good emotions either, but then she couldn’t really remember

those anymore, if she’d ever known them.

“It’s easier,” he said quietly. “Numbness is… Sometimes it’s the only thing left.”

She thought she might understand that better than he realized.

Another silence stretched between them. She was reluctant to end the strange conversation

but wasn’t sure what else to say. Once someone announced their intention to kill a member of

your family, there wasn’t much more to talk about.

For some reason, her mind went back to the earliest part of their conversation, when he’d

mumbled something… “Roses,” she said aloud.

He tilted his head, a gesture she took as a request for clarification.

“You said something about roses earlier. There aren’t any in this part of the estate.”

“Your scent,” he said. “A large part of it is made up of roses.”

“I’m not wearing perfume, and I don’t use scented soaps. You must be smelling something

else.” She should probably be wondering how he could possibly smell her from this distance—

he’d remained several yards away throughout their conversation. But she had an extremely

sensitive sense of smell, too sensitive most of the time, which was why she avoided most scented

things.

“It’s you. Everyone has a unique smell, a mix of things that combine to a very specific

scent signature.”

“And I smell like flowers?”

“Partly. Other parts are too hard to explain to a human, no real words for it. But mostly you

smell like roses.”

She rolled her eyes and muttered to herself, “Isn’t that just fucking perfect. Of course I

smell like something as delicate and fluffy as a rose.”

“Not so delicate. Roses have thorns.”

She looked at him closer. There still wasn’t any obvious emotion in his voice, but she had

a feeling she’d just received a compliment. She smiled. “Yes, they do, don’t they?”

He glanced away, lifting his head, his nostrils flaring. “It’s late. You should go back

inside.”

“First…” She took a half step closer to him, loath to let him leave for reasons she didn’t

care to examine. “Have you been here before? I mean, you were watching the house obviously.

You want revenge on Bradley. Have you watched the house before this?”

He nodded.

“Often?”

He shrugged. “Depends on your definition of often. Why?”

She thought of that awareness, that sense of something she’d felt when she’d stepped out

onto the road, that sense of something she’d experienced in the past on numerous occasions. Was

it just coincidence, that sensation and the stranger’s presence?

“What’s your name?” she asked because she didn’t know how to answer his question

without sounding as crazy as she suspected he was.

“Joseph Bennett.”

“Paige Williams. It’s nice to meet you, Joseph.”

That corner of his mouth ticked up again, fast but definite this time.

“Are you staying?” she asked.

“Your brother coming out tonight?”

“Doubt it. He’s in his lab.”

Without any change of expression, the air seemed to spark with sudden intensity and

danger, as if Joseph gave off an electrical charge—a downed wire in a storm, or lightning

cascading across an open plain.

Paige took an involuntary step back, then cursed herself for the tell. She’d spent her entire

life hiding those kinds of reactions to threat. Yet the power Joseph gave off in that moment was

infinitely more terrifying because it was so elemental, so primal. Like she was staring at Death.

It was actually on the tip of her tongue to ask if he was the spirit of Death, given her

mother’s passing mere hours ago, but she was afraid of the answer she might get.

“You need to leave now,” he said quietly.

She nodded but he was blocking the way back to the pedestrian gate. After another charged

pause, he stepped off the grassy shoulder and onto the road. She shored up her nerves, pulling in

as much of herself as she could so as not to spark his anger, and started past him.

But he stopped her with a comment so quiet, she wasn’t entirely sure she was supposed to

have heard it.

“I’m sorry I scared you.”

She faced him. They were close enough now she could see his eyes better—dark brown

and just as intense without the shadows. “You’re forgiven.”

He blinked slowly. She waited for him to do something else, but again she waited in vain.

“You know what Bradley does in his lab, don’t you?” she murmured.

“Not specifically. I have ideas.”

“He’s a chemist. Amateur.”

“There was a drug in my sister, the same one he was caught with when he was arrested.”

A fine tremor travelled down Paige’s spine. She knew about that drug. Information on it

had come out during the kidnapping trial before the syringe he’d had on him was thrown out as

inadmissible—thanks to a bribed judge and an incompetent district attorney. Apparently the drug

rendered its victims unable to move but still conscious and aware—and able to feel everything

happening to them.

She’d almost thrown up when she’d learned that last bit. She had no illusions about what

Bradley would do with a drug like that.

The woman who’d developed it had been found dead, murdered with some of her own

drug in her body. But Bradley had wiggled out of responsibility for that, too. Her stepfather had

superb lawyers and plenty of money to keep his son protected. He hadn’t been able to keep

Bradley out of jail completely—Bradley had been caught by a cop in the act of trying to kidnap a

woman from her apartment—but Duke Williams had ensured the sentence was light and all the

really damning evidence was excluded.

During the weeks of the trial, Paige had gone to court every day, played the dutiful sister,

and hoped and wished with everything she had inside that her brother would be convicted and

sentenced to a very long stint in jail.

Her hopes were unanswered.

“I’m very sorry about your sister. If there was anything I could do…” She trailed off,

knowing there was something she could do but also knowing it wasn’t enough.

She didn’t have enough actual evidence against Bradley to ensure he was convicted of the

murders she knew he’d committed. She didn’t know what he did with the bodies. A lot of what

she “knew” would be torn apart as supposition.

And her brother would definitely kill her before she could help the authorities find real

evidence.

She squeezed her eyes shut as a mixture of guilt, fear, and shame poured down over her

head. “I’m so sorry,” she murmured again.

“You want him stopped?” Joseph asked.

His deep voice wrapped around her like a breeze, leaving her feeling much warmer than

the weather should have allowed. “I do.” She opened her eyes to meet his. “I know…what he is,

what he’s done. He needs to be stopped.”

“You could let me into the estate now. I’ll kill him and it’ll be over.”

Oh, how tempting that sounded. To be done with Bradley. To know she’d never have to

worry about him turning his murderous obsession on her.

Then she could just leave, run away. Her stepfather probably wouldn’t search for her. Hell,

she could make it look like she’d been killed, too. And be free…

She’d never been so tempted by anything. Ever.

And she’d also never felt more weak, for reasons so nebulous she wasn’t sure how to

describe them—mostly disgust that she would let someone else do such a horrible thing just to

make her life easier. Yes, Joseph wanted to kill Bradley. But she’d feel like she was avoiding
responsibility if she allowed this.

Bradley’s victims would never get justice either. Some might never be found. Their

families would never know what happened to them or where they’d gone. Hell, her stepfather

might keep Bradley’s murders hidden and no one would even know he was a killer. He’d be seen

as a victim, and his loss would be mourned.

Her stomach turned.

“No one will know what he is if you do that,” she said, hesitating over her words. This man

just wanted revenge. Would he care if others knew what Bradley was? “Some of the bodies

would never be found.”

Joseph adjusted his stance, just a little, from one foot to the other. He didn’t comment but

she could tell by the slight movement he was at least considering her words.

“I have some information. It’s not enough.” She raised her hand, palm up, to forestall any

enthusiasm on his part. Though why she worried about him showing enthusiasm, she had no

idea. He showed her nothing at all. She soldiered on. “I do have some evidence, though.”

“Why haven’t you gone to the police?”

“My mother. She loved Bradley. She didn’t see him as he really was. She went through so

much…” Paige waved that off. “I just couldn’t do that to her. But she’s gone now.”

“Will you go to the cops now?”

She stared at Joseph, at this man devastated by Bradley’s cruelty. She thought of all the

others who’d died, likely in horrible ways.

And she knew it didn’t matter that she was risking her own life to do this. It was a small

price to pay for the years of silence, the years that had cost others their lives. Her efforts might

be pointless, but she had to try.

She needed to prove to herself she was as strong inside as she’d always wanted to believe.

She had to prove to herself she wasn’t really the weak, dutiful, meek, biddable dishrag her family

believed her to be.

She had to atone for her silence.

“I need to put what I have together without him knowing, but yes, I’ll go to the police.”

She narrowed her eyes, considering another option.

She could work to gather more information, find something more damning, something

even her stepfather wouldn’t be able to have thrown out of court. Doing so risked revealing

herself to her brother, but he didn’t give her much credit for being intelligent. He would hardly

suspect her.

Something like excitement tightened in her gut. She could do this. She could get justice for

his victims, for all his victims. She might even save lives. She could make amends for her

silence—at least a little. Enough to beat down the guilt. Enough to let her look at herself in the

mirror.

She nodded to herself and turned toward the pedestrian gate, so deep in thought, she didn’t

notice Joseph move until she felt his heat at her shoulder as he kept pace with her. She stopped

and faced him. Very close this time.

Too close.

She blinked, shocked to her core to feel a tremor of feminine awareness move through her.

Not fear. Not intimidation. Not anything she was used to feeling around men this obviously

dangerous. The sensation was sensual, lush. She was suddenly aware of her body in a way she’d

rarely acknowledged before, conscious of the warmth pooling in her stomach and the tingle of

her nerves everywhere their bodies came close.

She wet her lips and when he glanced at the gesture, thrill and heat moved through her. Her

breathing came faster, and with every gulp of air, she breathed him in, absorbing his scent—a

masculine, wild mix like pine and soil and… She didn’t know how to describe it exactly except

that it wasn’t like any of the expensive colognes her stepfather or brother might wear. It was too

subtle and fundamental. It was simply Joseph.

The realization that this was desire, that she was attracted to the man who’d just offered to

kill her brother, should have disgusted her. Should have at least sent her scurrying inside to

escape the feeling. Instead, she held her place and met his gaze, amazed at her own audacity.

Awed at knowing she could be this person.

“You’ll be in danger if he finds out you’re going to the police, won’t you?” Joseph broke

the fraught silence with his quiet question.

The return to their previous conversation snapped her out of her desire-addled state and she

stepped back from him, just a single step, but it was enough. “I’ll be careful.”

“It would be easier if you’d let me kill him.”

She half-smiled. “Easier, yes. But not right. Not real justice.”

He stared at her, his head angled in a way that made her think he was seeing her for the

first time.

“I’ll help you.”

“What?” She couldn’t have heard that right. “How?”

“I’ll make sure he doesn’t get to you before you can bring him down.” The space she’d put

between them suddenly vanished as Joseph moved close. “He’ll kill you if he finds out you’re

turning on him?”

“Yes,” she confirmed with a hard swallow, more aware of Joseph’s nearness than any

threat her brother might be in that moment.

“I’ll make sure he doesn’t. I’ll protect you. Help you. And when you bring him down, I’ll

watch.”

“I thought you wanted him dead.”

“I do. I’ll still kill him. But it will be…satisfying to see him ruined first. To see his face

when he realizes he’s caught, and he’s going to die without being able to wiggle out of his

crimes. I would like to see that very much. Right before I crush his skull.”

She shivered at the violence of his words, delivered in such a matter-of-fact way without

any of the anger or viciousness she’d have expected. Again, she was surprised that she wasn’t

scared of Joseph. In fact, she was worried her shiver had been from a sense of thrill, not fear.

She really was the crazy person here.

“Thank you for the offer to protect me,” she said. “But it won’t be possible. Most of what I

need is inside the house.”

“I can keep myself…inconspicuous.”

She snorted, a surprised burst of amusement. “Joseph, you will never be inconspicuous.”

That telling tick of his mouth again. She was certain that was amusement now. At least as

much amusement as he was capable of.

“I’m not going to the police right away.” She reluctantly went back to the point of their

conversation. “I want more evidence first, something that will stick. Getting it will take me days,

maybe weeks. You’re hardly going to hide in my house that entire time.” She decided to be as

frank as possible and said, “I can’t see you resisting the temptation to kill Bradley if you get

close to him.”

Joseph gave a little shrug.

“So there’s no way for you to guard me. But it’s okay. I’ve been hiding from them my

whole life. I can stomach it a little longer, for justice.” Nausea swept through her, but she forced

it down. Having a goal, a plan, would make the time she’d have to continue here bearable.

“Them?”

She blinked at his question, not sure what he was asking.

“You said you’ve been hiding from ‘them’.”

“My stepfather is not the easiest man to live with. He’s not much better than his psychotic

son. Just more controlled.”

“He abuses you?”

She thought there might be more bite in his tone when he asked, but it was so subtle she

might have also been imagining it. “Not physically. I’m…not worth it to him. My mother wasn’t

so…” She shook off those memories and sucked in a breath. “He didn’t hit me, or do anything

untoward sexually,” she said. “But he expected me to…make up for my birth by being a certain

kind of woman. And I never really lived up to his expectations, no matter what I did.”

“He abused you.” This time there was no question.

She shrugged. “It could have been much worse.”

He didn’t comment on that, but she watched his jaw tighten as he stared at her.

She glanced away. “This is a very odd night,” she said, frowning at nothing. “I’m

wondering if it’s a dream.”

“No.”

She half-smiled. “Of course you’d say that if you’re part of the dream.”

To her utter shock, he touched her cheek with the tips of his fingers, very lightly, but the

contact startled a gasp from her. She met his gaze.

“Not a dream,” he said, then dropped his hand back to his side.

Emotions she had no context for rolled through her, things she couldn’t even identify. The

confusion prevented her from doing or saying anything appropriate right then. She wasn’t even

sure what the appropriate reaction should be. Her stepfather would have expected her to step

back, maybe even slap a stranger who had the temerity to touch her without permission. At least,

that’s the reaction he’d want her to have to someone like Joseph.

Her own instincts had decidedly different ideas. She actually missed the human contact,

brief though it had been.

Except that Joseph didn’t think he was human.

She glanced back at the pedestrian gate. She could practically feel the night passing, the

approach of dawn even though it was still several hours away. If she intended to follow through

with her promise to collect evidence against her brother, she needed to go inside and make a

plan. She had to go about her days as if nothing were different, bide her time while she searched.

Everything had changed tonight. And she had to pretend she was still the same person

she’d been hours ago.

When she looked back at Joseph she sighed. “I need to go in. I have a lot to do and the

sooner I get that evidence, the faster you’ll have your revenge.”

“It’s not safe.”

“It’s never been safe,” she said with a slight smile. She turned toward the gate, then paused

and looked back at him. “Will you…be here tomorrow night?”

He nodded.

“Maybe we could talk more?”

“Yes,” he said.

There was still no emotion in his voice, nothing to indicate if he was looking forward to

seeing her again or not. But the curl of anticipation in her own stomach ignored his lack of

reaction. In all honesty, she didn’t want to know how he really felt. The fact that she would see

him again, and that she was looking forward to that meeting, made her feel better than she’d felt

in a very long time.

She turned back to the gate and blocked the alarm panel as she pressed her palm against it,

then entered the security code to open the gate and disconnect the motion sensors in the lawn

leading back to the house. They’d stay deactivated for just long enough for her to reach the side

door she’d left through, then they’d reactivate and make reaching the house without alarms going

off impossible.

When the door clicked open, she looked back at Joseph. He was standing several feet away

under a tree, watching her, his eyes shadowed again.

“Goodnight,” she murmured as she slid inside.

“Goodnight, Paige.”

She pressed a hand against the steel gate now separating them and absorbed the way he’d

said her name. Then she hurried toward the house, to pretend to be meek and biddable for just a

little while longer.

Chapter Three

Paige reentered the house through the kitchen door. Located next to the staff’s parking area

and just off the west side of the three story, multi-wing mansion, the kitchen entrance was

opposite Bradley’s rooms and the door to his basement lab in the east wing, which made it the

safest way for her to get in and out without attracting attention.

She reset the alarm, wondering if Joseph had considered following her. He probably could

have reached the house before the ground sensors reactivated, but he wouldn’t be able to enter

the house now without setting off other alarms. Her stepfather was paranoid about security and

privacy, so the systems around and inside the mansion were state-of-the-art. It was also why they

had a ten foot stone wall surrounding the property in a neighborhood with few such structures

separating estates. Even a crazy man who thought he was a tiger shifter wasn’t likely to get past

it all.

If he could have, she realized, he would have done it years ago.

She waited for her eyes to adjust to the even darker interior of the main kitchen, then

headed for the back stairs so she wouldn’t have to chance seeing her stepfather if he happened to

be up and about this late. It wasn’t likely, but she’d learned long ago not to take chances.

Given his reaction to the news that his wife had died, she doubted he was up wandering

around, deep in grief.

When she reached the second floor, she paused and listened, putting a hand to her stomach

to quiet the anxiety churning there. The stairs came out at a midway point in the main building

which separated her wing from Bradley’s. For long moments, she held perfectly still and waited

for any tale-tell sound to warn her of movement.

She didn’t hear anything, so she stepped into the corridor and turned toward her rooms. A

familiar and loathed voice stopped her.

“Pretty Paige all dressed in black,” Bradley sang softly.

She closed her eyes briefly to steel herself, then turned to face him. He’d come up the

grand staircase from the front of the house and stood silhouetted against the ambient night light

coming in from the entryway’s huge windows. His dark blond hair looked paler in this light,

almost as pale as hers, though it was cut short and neat. She couldn’t see his eyes, but that was

better. He had the kind of ice-chip blue eyes that gave her the creeps even before he spoke.

“Up so late? Poor little Paige.”

“I thought you were in your lab,” she said, with as much neutrality as she could manage.

She fisted her hands so he wouldn’t see the slight tremor.

His smile slashed a white line through his shadowed features, a predatory baring of teeth.

He strolled closer, giving the appearance of casual elegance. She knew better. He was stalking,

looking for a weakness on which to pounce.

“I was,” he said. “But some things need to cook for a while so I’m calling it a night. Where

were you this late at night? And does Dad know?”

“Our mother just passed away.”

“What’s your point?”

She swallowed any reaction. Even anger would come as a sign of weakness to him right

now. “I’m sad about it. I went for a walk in the garden.”

He moved closer. Too close. The hairs on her neck stood up and her gut clenched.

He shook his head at her excuse and tsked. “Dangerous to play outside at night, little

Paige.”

“I’m your older sister.”

“But significantly smaller than me.” He looked her over in a dismissive sweep of a gaze.

“But yes, definitely older.”

She refused to rise to the bait. “Goodnight, Bradley.”

He waved a hand over his shoulder as he turned toward his wing. “Lock your door, sis.

Bad things come out this time of night.”

Of that she was certain because one of those bad things lived under the same roof. She

thought of Joseph again. Her family might consider him a “bad thing” if they knew why he was

here.

She waited until Bradley had disappeared into the darkness of his wing, around the L bend

in the building, then she turned, making a beeline for her bedroom door. The hair on the back of

her neck prickled again, as if Bradley was still watching her. Scrambling inside, she did lock her

door, then set her forehead against the cold wood and breathed until her heartbeat slowed.

She had to get out of this house. She couldn’t live this way anymore. If she didn’t get out

soon, she was afraid she wouldn’t survive to see her fortieth birthday.

*****

Joseph sat in the tree the next night, waiting for Paige. He wasn’t even sure why he was

doing this. He should have taken advantage of the break in the security system last night to go

inside and kill Bradley. Victor would likely find him here tonight, tomorrow at the latest. He

didn’t have time to waste talking to Paige.

He’d been honest with her last night, though. He would find it very satisfying to see

Bradley destroyed publicly before he ripped his head off. It was an intellectual kind of

satisfaction, not an actual feeling, but still something more than just the basic drive for revenge.

Bradley had stripped him of everything when he’d killed Su-jin. Their mother had died not

long after Su-jin was born, and Su-jin was the only connection Joseph and his father had had left

to her. Su-jin had been a spoiled, beautiful child, and a willful, stubborn woman who’d been the

center of their world.

He remembered the frustration and love he’d felt for his sister in a vague way he couldn’t

feel anymore, but the memories still drove him.

He didn’t often think about those remembered emotions, but sitting on a tree limb, waiting

for Paige, he allowed himself to remember Su-jin in the weeks before she’d been taken from

them.

Her death broke their father well before Joseph succumbed to the destruction of his own

anger and grief. The old man had gone into the woods and never returned. Victor and Alexis had

found his body, in tiger form, a few weeks after it was clear he wasn’t coming back—apparently

he’d died of “natural causes” though Joseph never found out the specifics.

Victor had delivered the news to him while he’d been in confinement that first time,

making sure to tell him his father hadn’t suffered in the end.

As much as anything else Victor had done over the years, Joseph thought he might hate

him most for that moment.

The realization that he was thinking about those devastating months, a period of time he’d

mostly locked out of his conscious thoughts years ago, made him frown into the darkness.

What had changed?

He was still mulling over that question when he caught her scent—roses and a leafy

earthiness like summer and heat. Her natural essence was more enticing than he might have

expected, given his initial opinion of her personality. There was more to it than was obvious at

first. Like the woman herself.

She’d surprised him, as much as that was possible now. He wasn’t sure what to make of

her or his reaction to her. And he didn’t try to analyze it. He waited in the tree, watching her

cross the huge expanse of lawn until she was almost to the pedestrian gate. Then he leapt softly

to the ground and waited for her to come out.

He glanced at his watch. Three in the morning again. The night had gone faster than he

realized.

When she stepped through the gate, she looked at him immediately, without having to hunt

around. He narrowed his eyes at that. He was standing in the dark under the tree, out of the

ambient night light or any lights from the distantly scattered homes. She shouldn’t have been

able to spot him so unerringly.

She smiled a little as she joined him and Joseph felt an odd compunction to smile back,

though he wasn’t sure he even remembered how to smile.

“Hello,” she said quietly. “I wasn’t sure you’d really be here.”

“I haven’t gone far.”

“Yes,” she said with another faint smile.

“How was your day?” he asked instead of dwelling on her comment.

“Bad.” She shrugged. “My mother’s death was officially announced. There will be a lot of

formalities now. Funeral with all the appropriate people in attendance, that kind of thing.”

“You don’t want to attend?” He couldn’t quite decipher how she felt about her mother’s

death. Her scent was confused and jumbled, the tangle of emotions too complex even for his

tiger to parse out.

She started walking along the grassy shoulder flanking the estate wall, moving away from

the main gate that opened to the estate’s long driveway. He fell into step beside her. The streets

were deserted this time of night, the wealthy neighborhood as quiet as a tomb. A cold breeze

whistled past, fluttering through her hair and carrying a faint scent of the distant highway and

river. She was dressed a little more appropriately for the weather tonight, in a black wool peacoat

and jeans, but she wasn’t wearing a hat and her pale blond hair glowed in the faint moonlight.

Without looking at him, she said, “I would rather mourn my mother in private, not in front

of a dozen cameras while half the DC politicians my stepfather owns pretend to be understanding

and sympathetic. I hate the way they talk to me. And over me as if I’m some—”

She cut herself off with a hiss. He waited but she didn’t say more. So he asked, “When is

the funeral?”

“Day after tomorrow. Time for the coroner to finish the exam and all the paperwork to be

sorted.”

“How did she die?” He hadn’t asked last night, but it seemed important now for some

reason.

“Drug overdose. A long time in coming.” She shrugged. “She’s been drunk and drugged

for most of my life. I’m a little surprised she lasted this long.”

“Why?”

She glanced at him. “Why what?”

“Why was she drunk and drugged? An addict? Or more?” He wasn’t sure why he asked.

He didn’t really care.

“More,” Paige said quietly. “For as long as I can remember, she complained of…physical

pain. She said the drugs and alcohol were the only things that made life bearable. Well, that and

being pregnant. Though after Bradley, she never managed to get pregnant again.” She crossed

her arms, as if hugging herself. “My mother had a very sad life. She was extremely beautiful.

Stunning.” She glanced at him. “Did you ever see her?”

He nodded. He’d come across all the Williams at one point or another over the years.

“Then you know. She was…ethereal. Like a goddess.” She rolled her eyes. “That’s what

others have said about her to me. ‘Your mother is so beautiful, Paige. What’s it like to be the

daughter of someone so gorgeous?’ Little did they know.”

“You look a lot like her,” he said, then wondered why he had pointed out the obvious. To

his surprise, she snorted, a sound so sardonic and full of bitterness, he could practically taste the

acrid flavor.

“No need to lie to me,” she said. “I have a mirror. And even if I didn’t, everyone else in my

life has made my…deficiencies when compared to my mother’s assets very clear.” She gave him

a sideways look. “I’m surprised you of all people would bother with that kind of condescending

attempt at smoothing over my ego.”

“Why?” Not that that’s what he’d been trying to do.

“You don’t seem to care enough to offer pointless false flatteries.”

“I don’t care. I was stating a fact.” He hadn’t meant to flatter her, falsely or otherwise, or

even condescend. She really did bear a very strong resemblance to her mother. She was smaller

and thinner, her figure not so overtly lush, but her features and coloring were very similar. “Your

mother was like a diamond—flash and glitter. You’re more like a pearl. Subtler but no less

beautiful.”

She paused to stare at him. He stared back, wondering what she saw. Typically for a tiger,

he looked a lot like his Russian father, but he hadn’t looked in a mirror much over the last ten

years so he couldn’t swear to the resemblance still being there.

After a moment, she gave him that faint smile again and moved on, shaking her head.

“You realize, Joseph, that the thing I like most about you is the fact that you don’t care

about any of this.”

That she would “like” him at all was something of a shock and left him momentarily

unable to comment.

She continued as if she didn’t notice his lapse. “Things will settle down after the funeral.

I’ll be able to do more then.”

“What’s your plan?”

A part of him, somewhere deep inside, was uncomfortable leaving her to go after evidence

against Bradley on her own. He wasn’t sure why. She was a grown woman, capable of making

her own choices. None of her efforts should have any impact on his own plans. And yet, he

hadn’t made an effort to get at Bradley in the last twenty-four hours. He’d waited for her tonight,

wondering what she’d done during the day and remembering things he’d prefer not to think

about.

“He keeps his lab locked and secured. I can’t get inside. But when he’s gone, I can slip into

his rooms in the house.”

“You think he’ll leave incriminating evidence here? In the open? Where you and his

parents live?” Bradley had several houses scattered around Pennsylvania, Maryland, and D.C.

Joseph couldn’t imagine him keeping anything here when he could hide evidence in any number

of less vulnerable locations.

She shrugged. Then rolled her eyes. “I know you’re right. But it’s a place to start. It will

take some maneuvering to search his other homes, and he might have places he goes that I don’t

know about.”

“He does.”

She stopped and looked at him. “Do you know all of his movements? Where he goes?” She

swallowed visibly and said, “Do you know where he…kills?”

“No.”

If he did, he’d have tracked Bradley there and ripped him to pieces in the place where he

killed others. He never had enough time to track down the killing places before Victor interfered

and forced him away from the hunt. He’d thought he’d come close once but realized when he

found the barn it had been abandoned for years—likely one of Bradley’s earlier retreats and no

longer a place he used to torture and murder. Even after years of disuse, the place had still stank

of blood and fear.

Paige pulled in a shaky breath and resumed walking. She didn’t seem to have a destination

in mind, just the need to move. “If I can figure out what place he uses now,” she said, “I can send

the police there. That might help provide enough evidence to actually convict him of murder this

time.”

“You disagreed with the outcome of his trial?” He could hear it in her voice.

Despite being caught with a dangerous drug while breaking and entering with intent to

kidnap, Bradley’s lawyers had run circles around the prosecution in his one and only trial. He’d

gotten a very light sentence for the kidnapping attempt, spent a few months in a minimum

security prison, and never been convicted of anything more serious. He hadn’t even been charged

with the murder of the chemist who’d helped him develop the drug because his lawyers had

ensured all that evidence was inadmissible.

Joseph always suspected the judge had been bribed as well, but he’d been locked up and

unable to do more than watch the pathetic excuse for a trial.

“I wanted him to get a harsher sentence,” she said quietly. “I hoped he’d be convicted for

that scientist’s murder. But… Well, with my stepfather’s resources…” She waved a hand in the

air in a vague circle before clenching her fist and dropping her arm to her side. “Anyway, it will

take serious evidence to convict him, to get around all our lawyers’ machinations.”

“Caught in the act didn’t work.”

“He wasn’t caught killing someone.”

“And isn’t likely to be caught killing.”

She closed her eyes briefly. “No. I’ve spent the last day thinking about what would be

enough to actually send him away for good—short of being caught with a knife and a victim.

And even then, I wouldn’t put it past him to have an excuse the lawyers could make stick. But

there has to be a way, there has to be something they can’t have dismissed.”

“Does he have a computer in his lab?”

She glanced at him. “I don’t know. There were computer files with the chemist. He might

not keep any now because of that.”

“If he’s doing more work developing drugs, he’d need records and access to current

research.”

“He’s got that through the family pharmaceutical company. He’s not allowed to work for

that company anymore—a condition of his light sentence—but I’d bet he still has access to the

records and research files through backdoors. My stepfather wouldn’t bother preventing that if it

made his son happy.”

“Why? Bradley might get arrested again.”

“Both my stepfather and Bradley believe they are too smart and are above other human

beings. They don’t consider ‘ordinary mortals’ to be a threat.”

He was quiet a moment before asking, “Why did your stepfather marry your mother?”

Though Carmen was beautiful, she was also from a less than savory background and given what

Paige said of her stepfather, it seemed an odd match. Why not just keep Carmen as a mistress?

Why would Duke Williams marry someone he obviously considered beneath him?

Paige shrugged. “She was a prize. Despite her history, despite me, there were a lot of men

after her. They all wanted to own her, to claim her as theirs. My stepfather wasn’t even the

wealthiest of them. He was just the most…convincing. Once he had her, though, and she gave

birth to his beloved son, she was less prize and more burden. Her constant complaints of pain

and her abuse of drugs left him cold.”

She stared ahead for a long moment before saying, “I think he might have believed he felt

something for her at one stage. I have vague memories of him being very kind and attentive to

her when she was pregnant with Bradley. I was young, only four and a half years old, but old

enough to understand the difference between kindness and cruelty.”

“Did you know your father?” He’d never looked into Paige’s past because it had nothing to

do with his goal of killing Bradley. He knew she wasn’t related by blood to Duke, but beyond

that, he’d never cared to research.

“He was already in jail for armed robbery and murder by the time I was two. I can’t

remember anything about him.”

“Was he married to your mother?”

“They were when I was born. During one of her drunken confessions, she admitted to me

that he’d been the love of her life, even if he was cruel and a criminal.”

“Why did she divorce him, then?”

“She didn’t. He divorced her from jail when she wouldn’t sleep with a guard to get him

better conditions inside.”

Joseph considered that in silence. Carmen truly had had a sad life. If he could feel pity, he

might have considered pitying Paige’s mother. After a few moments, he said, “Your mother

didn’t make very good decisions with her life.”

Paige laughed, and there was a great deal of irony in her tone when she said, “That, my

dear man, is an understatement.” When her laughter died, she grew more serious again. “And her

daughter has followed in her footsteps.”

She spoke quietly, so he probably wasn’t supposed to hear this last bit, but his tiger hearing

was superb. “What do you consider your bad decisions?” He was genuinely curious.

“Not turning in my murdering brother to the police would be considered a supremely bad

decision to most people. Hiding and giving in to fear. A lifetime wasted.” She snorted. “I have

more than enough bad decisions to write a book.”

He didn’t have a response to that, so he didn’t say anything.

They walked on in silence for a while, following the curve of the road away from her

house, turning a few times to take side streets. After she stumbled twice on the uneven shoulder,

they moved onto the smoothly paved road. There weren’t many cars to worry about this time of

night in this neighborhood, but even if one did come along, he’d hear it well before Paige was in

any danger.

When they’d gone a mile, he asked, “Are we going somewhere specific?”

“No. I just need the fresh air.” She glanced at him. “Do you mind?”

“No.”

She gave him a small smile again. His shoulders relaxed a little when she looked at him

that way, but he couldn’t understand why.

More silence. Then she said, “Do you really believe you can turn into a tiger?”

“I can.”

“Would you show me?”

Her request made him stop and look at her. “Why?”

She tried to meet his gaze but after a moment, hers slid away, focusing on the street behind

him while she fingered something around her left wrist, under the coat sleeve. “I don’t know. I

guess… Never mind. I don’t really care if you’re crazy or not.”

“My ability to change into a tiger wouldn’t make any difference to whether I was crazy or

not. I could be a tiger shifter and still be crazy. Or be a tiger shifter and be sane.”

She tilted her head in acknowledgement. “Or you could be insane because you believe in

tiger shifters.”

“Yes.”

She met his gaze. “I would like to know which of those things it is.”

“Why?” he asked again.

“Because…I feel more comfortable with a crazy stranger than I do in my own home. And I

would like to know what kind of crazy person I’m feeling so comfortable around.”

His mouth ticked up at one corner. “I can’t shift on the street. I might be seen.”

“You care about people seeing you?”

“I’d rather not be hunted while I still have to kill your brother.”

Her eyebrows popped upward at that and she pursed her lips. “Fair enough. I doubt anyone

would see you here at this time of night anyway, but…” She glanced up and down the dark

street. “Would you turn into a tiger for me if we had somewhere private?”

“If you like. It’s not pretty. You’ll probably find it terrifying.”

She dropped her chin to stare at him. “I live with a serial killer brother and a sociopathic

stepfather. I’m used to terrifying.”

He had to admit she had a point. “I’ll have to strip.” It was a warning. While tigers didn’t

care about nudity, most humans were squeamish about it.

Her pale cheeks turned pink. “I won’t look, I promise.”

“I don’t care if you do.”

She huffed a half-laugh. “I suppose you wouldn’t, would you?” After a moment, she

narrowed her gaze at him. “You really would show me how you turn into a tiger?”

He shrugged. “If you really want to see my tiger, I’ll show you.”

He didn’t go tiger very often these days, not for the last four years or so. Mostly because

he was so close to his animal side now, he was afraid he’d change and never go back to his

human form. He couldn’t allow that until after he’d killed Bradley. His tiger wanted revenge as

much as he did, but the tiger lived more in the moment and relied on the human half of his nature

to consider and plan for the future. What remained of Joseph’s human side was the only thing

that kept him focused enough to keep after Bradley. Once the murderer was dead, though, Joseph

wouldn’t have to worry about returning to his human form.

To satisfy Paige’s curiosity, he was willing to make the shift. It would release some of the

tension building in his muscles, a stretch he could use after so long in this form.

“Does it hurt?” she asked as she nibbled at the edge of one fingernail, before scowling at

her hand and wiping her finger on her pant leg.

“No. I was born to it.”

“Can you… If you really are a shapeshifter… Can you make someone else a tiger?”

The faint hint of hope in her voice, the genuine need in her scent seemed odd to him. So

much so that when he said, “No,” he was sorry to have to admit that truth to her.

She nodded and her shoulders slumped. “Shame. I like tigers.”

She remained quiet for a very long time. They stood there in the dark, in the center of the

deserted road, wealthy homes scattered around them. The breeze changed, bringing the scent of

cut grass and water to him. Beyond that he was aware of the trees that surrounded the

neighborhood and wound around it back to a national park less than a mile behind the Williams’

estate.

And closer, the faint essence of roses, earth, and Paige wrapped around him.

Joseph watched her as she stared at the road, surprised by his inability to look away.

She looked up and took a deep breath. “There’s a thick enough copse of trees near here,

where this road dead ends. It’s far enough from any houses that it should give us some privacy.”

He continued to watch her for another moment before saying. “This could be considered a

bad decision.”

She laughed, a lighter sound than any he’d heard from her before this. “Yes, I think this is

probably a very bad decision. But one I’d like to make because I want to and not because I’m

afraid of the alternative.”

He raised his brows and nodded, then motioned her to lead the way.

Some part of him recognized this as a delay, a diversion from his goal of killing Bradley.

And yet, even with that, he couldn’t seem to care.

Chapter Four

Paige’s hands shook as she led Joseph into the center of a thick clump of trees at the end of

the road. She was purposefully walking into an isolated area, away from view of the street or any

possible help, with a virtual stranger who claimed to be a tiger shifter and admitted to wanting to

murder a member of her family.

Most people would call this a very bad decision. Maybe even a little suicidal.

She should be terrified. She should run home and lock herself in her room and never see

this man again. She should be smarter than this.

She turned to face him when she was sure they were well hidden. Moonlight snuck through

the tree limbs, giving the area enough light that she could see him in the shadows. Not for the

first time, she was grateful for her excellent night vision. Though the copse wasn’t particularly

dense or large, the surrounding trees gave them privacy and a sense of distance from civilization,

almost as if they were someplace wild.

“Do you need anything to change?” Heat climbed into her cheeks when she said, “Besides

stripping.”

He shook his head and without a word dropped his black hoodie to the ground then pulled

his black t-shirt off.

Paige sucked in a sharp breath. He was like chiseled stone. All hard, defined, thick muscles

under lean skin. He wasn’t as pale as she was but not tan either. Dark hair lightly covered his

chest and arrowed down his abs. She was surprised at the strength of her urge to run her palms

over those muscles, to feel the texture of his skin.

When his hands went to the top button of his jeans, her gaze followed. And heat tingled

across her skin as he pushed his jeans down, revealing more muscles and strength. She clenched

her thighs against a growing, unexpected tension in her core. She stared, her lips parted as she

absorbed the full glory of Joseph’s body like she’d never seen a naked man before.

To be fair, she never had seen a man who looked this magnificent naked.

The primal, animal lust that crawled through her belly was so unexpected, so different

from anything she’d experienced before, it left her mute. She just stood there, staring, too

surprised by her own physical response to do more.

Joseph didn’t seem to notice the difference between being dressed and being naked.

Nothing in the way he held himself indicated any change in awareness. She forced her gaze to

his face, to see if he was gloating at her reaction, and she realized even his expression was the

same as it had been before he stripped. As if he couldn’t tell she was leering at his nude body.

“This will be disturbing to witness,” he said in his toneless voice.

She braced herself, straightening her shoulders. “Do it.”

He nodded. Then for a long moment nothing happened. Or maybe that was just her own

brain refusing to acknowledge what was happening…

The whole thing started with twitches. Nothing too awful. When the twitches turned to

actual parts of his body moving, breaking apart to reform, something close to horror caught her

by the throat. She couldn’t swallow, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t really think. Some self-

preservation instinct kept her focusing on his body rather than his face, but when russet, white,

and black hair sprang from his skin and rippled along his arms and torso, she swayed on her feet.

Bracing a hand against a nearby tree, she continued to stare, a part of her wondering why

she was still watching and not looking away. But somehow, that seemed more dangerous, more

horrifying. She would have enough nightmares as it was; she didn’t need to hear the sounds of

his change, the pops and crunches and wetter noises, without the accompanying view. She had a

feeling her imagination would fill in the blanks of what might be happening with even more

terrifying images than what she was actually witnessing. Because the sounds were beyond

anything she’d ever encountered—things snapping and cracking and ripping in ways that a

human body wasn’t meant to.

How could this not hurt? It was impossible. This must be agony to experience. Yet he

didn’t scream or grunt or make any sounds of pain. She steeled herself and looked up to his face.

A snout had replaced his nose and mouth, whiskers lengthening from the place that had been

cheeks, a thick ruff of hair circled his neck and head. Tufted ears rose from the side of his head,

and his eyes were larger and lighter now—golden rather than the dark, dark brown of his human

eyes.

She couldn’t even see Joseph in that face now. All she saw was the impossible. A huge

tiger dropping to all fours, its wildly beautiful features as dangerous as anything she’d ever

confronted.

Time warped around the process and she had no idea how long it took, but suddenly and

after an eternity, Paige came to herself enough to realize she was looking at a wild animal.

Powerful and large and graceful. And…

Wonderful.

She blinked a few times. Her heart pounded so fast she saw spots and worried about

passing out, but only vaguely. Because the rapid pump of her pulse had less to do with horror

and fear now and a lot more to do with fascination and awe. The chilly night did nothing to cool

her heated skin or wick away the sweat on her brow and palms. Her skin tingled with the strange

combination of sensations warring in her body.

For a long moment, she just stood there, not daring to move. Then she reached out to touch

the tiger’s fur. A ridiculously suicidal motion. But there was no part of her that cared anymore.

Wonder had replaced fear completely.

She met the tiger’s eyes and for the first time saw something of Joseph. There in the

animal’s gaze was the logic and coldness of the man. The giant cat blinked slowly but otherwise

didn’t move. He allowed her to comb her fingers gently through his ruff, holding her gaze as if

time had stopped so there was no hurry to move beyond this moment.

“Can you understand me when you’re like that?” she asked, and the sound of her own

voice startled her. It was deep and husky, both breathless and strangely seductive.

The tiger nodded his huge head once, without dislodging her touch.

“Can you talk?”

A head shake, still slow and easy enough to allow her continued contact with his fur.

“Can you…feel and think?”

This time he just stared at her, and she wondered what he was thinking. Or maybe it was

the part about feelings. In human form, he cared so little, seemed so unaffected by feelings. Did

that mean his tiger didn’t experience feelings either?

“I find it hard to believe that didn’t hurt,” she said.

She swore his shoulder lifted and dropped in a shrug but it was hard to be sure. Then he sat

and wrapped his tail around his hind legs, looking so at ease. As if changing into a tiger was

something that happened every day.

Likely it did, she realized and came close to laughing. She held in the sound, afraid it

might break the moment, but inside the ridiculousness of all this grabbed hold of her sanity and

tickled it.

“Can you change back and forth easily, or do you have to wait awhile now?”

In answer, he stepped back, finally dislodging her touch, and the whole process started in

reverse. This time she couldn’t find the horror she’d felt through the initial change. This time,

she watched closely, as if studying the strange new phenomenon.

A significant part of her felt a stab of regret that she’d never be able to do this. Wouldn’t it

be wonderful to be a tiger? To let go of all the fears and stress of her life and just run as a wild

creature, dangerous and untamable.

Free.

When the process finished this time, Joseph stood before her in his human form, still naked

and still seemingly unaware of the fact. For a long moment, they just stared at each other. She

wasn’t sure what to say, but as the silence stretched, she had to say something.

“You’re sure that doesn’t hurt?”

A very faint tick of that corner of his mouth. “Yes.”

“It wasn’t pretty.”

“I warned you.”

“Is it…nice to be a tiger?”

“Yes.” His gaze narrowed just slightly. “You were afraid but you aren’t anymore. Why?”

“How could you tell?” As far as she knew, she’d been too shocked to actually show any of

her horror or fascination.

“Your smell.”

“Your sense of smell is that good? Wow.” She settled with her back against the tree,

making an effort to keep her gaze on his face. With embarrassing clarity, she realized if he could

smell her fear, he’d probably smelled her desire, too. Thank goodness her family didn’t have that

skill. “Isn’t that annoying in cities, being able to smell everything?”

He shrugged.

“You’re a man of few words, Joseph.” She snorted.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“I am still afraid,” she admitted. “You just showed me something impossible. It makes it

hard for me to believe I’m actually awake and all this is real. Either it’s a dream, and I’ll have to

wake up and face the absence of something so remarkable, or I’m insane and have a much better

imagination than I’ve ever given myself credit for.”

“And if you’re not asleep or insane?”

“Then the world is a much more interesting place than I realized.”

“Is that good?”

“Actually, it is.” She smiled and her gaze dropped to the ground. “My world has been very

isolated and controlled. That beautiful cat you just changed into is the opposite of all that.” She

looked up. “I should probably be running home now, but I prefer this new reality to my old

world. It’s like…like there are things out here stronger than my stepfather and brother, things

they can’t control.”

Because she was watching, she saw his very telling flinch. It took her a moment to realize

what she’d said to trigger that reaction. Then she remembered his sister had been under

Bradley’s control or he wouldn’t have been able to kill her.

That raised a whole new set of questions—how on earth had her brother managed to drug

and contain a tiger shifter?—but she was afraid to bring up the topic, afraid Joseph would leave

rather than discuss it. Obviously the drug that had worked on the chemist, and countless other

human women, had worked on a tiger shifter, too.

Maybe Joseph’s sister wasn’t like him? Was it possible for brother and sister to be so

different?

Part of her hoped so because she didn’t want to be anything like her own brother.

“You said you couldn’t change me into a tiger,” she said.

“No. We’re born this way.”

“Are there… Can you have family that isn’t able to shift?” Not nearly vague enough, but at

least she’d asked without referencing his sister directly.

“Tiger shifters can only have children with other tiger shifters, and their children are

shifters.” He paused and looked away. “Except…that’s changed. Or maybe not so much changed

as we’ve rediscovered a truth we’d forgotten.”

“Meaning?”

He glanced back at her. “We’ve discovered recently that humans can mate with tigers. The

offspring can be human or shifter.”

She blinked at that. “Wow.” How wonderful would that be, to discover you could become

a tiger? She stared into the darkness, letting visions of running on four padded feet through

forests fill her mind.

She startled when Joseph moved and realized she’d gone deep into the fantasy. As he

pulled on his jeans, she made an effort to keep her gaze on the ground, but it was very tempting

to take advantage of what would be her last opportunity to see his beautiful body naked.

“Can I ask more questions?” she said to keep her errant imagination focused.

“Yes.” He pulled his t-shirt over his head then picked up the black hoodie, not bothering to

put it on despite the chilly air.

“Do you get cold?”

“Eventually. But I have a higher body temperature than a human.”

“Are there many tiger shifters?”

He shrugged. “Less than there used to be.”

“Why?”

“Biology.”

She raised her brows and waved a hand for further explanation. In response, she got that

slight lifting at the corner of his mouth again.

“Too few females are being born,” he said. “We’re on the brink of extinction.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” And she truly was. She’d only just learned such amazing beings

existed. The idea of them dying out was heartbreaking.

Joseph didn’t acknowledge her comment, one way or the other.

“You don’t care?” she asked.

“Not anymore.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t care about anything anymore.”

“You care about getting revenge,” she pointed out.

His brows lifted slightly. “Yes.”

“But getting it means you’ll die?”

“Yes.”

She glanced away. She’d prefer he didn’t die, and that was a very strange response given

they just met last night. She couldn’t even feel grief for her own mother, but she’d be…upset if

Joseph was killed?

Since she didn’t want to consider the implications of that, she went back to her questions.

“Why have female birthrates dropped?”

“We don’t know.”

“What are you doing to prevent extinction?”

He shrugged. “Other people are working on it. I don’t care.”

She snorted, a sound that made him blink. “Yes, I know.” She waved at him vaguely with

one hand then pushed away from the tree. “I could stay out here all night, but I think we should

head back.”

She didn’t want either her brother or stepfather to discover her early morning strolls. And

she definitely didn’t want them to know about Joseph.

He fell into step beside her as they moved out of the copse of trees and back to the road,

and civilization. As her feet hit the pavement, she had to fight the urge to run back into the trees

and hide. Her every instinct lately was to run away from her home and it was all she could do to

keep forcing herself back.

She glanced at Joseph from the corner of her eye. If she hadn’t met him, if she didn’t know

what had been done to his sister, she probably wouldn’t have stayed. She wanted to do the right

thing and get her brother convicted for the murders he’d committed, but she was starting to think

she wouldn’t have lasted long enough to see that goal through. The need to run was too strong.

That realization made her feel so damned weak.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

He wasn’t looking at her but she got the feeling he’d been studying her even as she studied

him.

She sighed. “I don’t want to go home. I don’t want to be there anymore.”

“Move.”

“Easier said than done. And if I leave, I’ll have a harder time finding anything on

Bradley.”

“Let me into the house and I’ll kill him. Then you can leave.”

Again he offered the thing she really wanted, deep in her soul, even though it was

cowardly and weak. She closed her eyes briefly to fight off the temptation.

“What will you do once he’s dead?” she asked. When his silence stretched with no answer,

she forced herself to look him in the eyes. “Do you even know?”

“I’ll probably go into a forest and stay.”

“Stay?”

“Go tiger and stay that way.”

“Can you do that?”

“Yes.”

It sounded both wonderful and lonely.

She’d had enough of lonely. The one thing she really wanted from a new life, free from her

family, would be actual friends. She’d spent so much time alone, though, she wasn’t sure she’d

know what to do with real friends. The thought of a family of her own was beyond any

consideration. She was thirty-nine years old, almost forty, too old really for children—though

when she was younger she’d harbored a vague hope for them. But friends…friends would be

nice.

She changed the subject. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell someone about you?” She flashed him

a small smile. “Now that I know you really are a tiger shifter and not just crazy.”

“Not completely crazy anyway,” he said.

A joke? She laughed. “We’re all a little crazy. Back to my question.”

“No one would believe you.”

“But your people are so intent on keeping this little secret that they continue stopping you

from killing my brother. That sounds like they’re worried someone will believe.”

“Humans need evidence. There’s evidence left at murder scenes. Your word wouldn’t be

enough.”

She shrugged. “True. My stepfather would just claim I was as crazy as my mother.” She

tilted her head as she made a connection she hadn’t before. “He’d have cause. My mother was

obsessed with tigers for some reason. She said every time the pain really got to her, she was

comforted by images of tigers.” She gave Joseph a narrow-eyed look. “That worries me now.”

“Why?”

“Maybe I’ve inherited her obsession and created you out of my imagination because I’m

so—” She cut off the rest but was sure he heard her loneliness in her tone. She just wasn’t ready

to admit it out loud.

“Did you have an obsession with tigers before meeting me?”

“No. But that doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen. Especially after my mother’s death.”

He shrugged. “I’m not imaginary, if that helps.”

She considered this a moment, then decided he had to be real. “If I’d created a mythical

tiger shifter, I probably would have made him a little more…personable.”

“I thought you liked me because I don’t care about anything.”

She smiled. “Got me. Maybe I would have invented someone just like you.”

She wasn’t sure she could have invented someone like Joseph, though. She’d never had

that great of an imagination.

And she’d never seen a man’s body that compared to his, so she certainly couldn’t have

imagined that part. Glancing at him, she realized she wouldn’t have created a man who looked

like him period. He was rougher around the edges than the men she knew. She’d never been

allowed around anyone this dangerous before—anyone who wasn’t related to her that was—and

all the men in her life were polished and smooth. Even the less than good-looking ones carried

themselves with class and power.

Joseph was another type of man all together.

She’d never been exposed to her biological father or his criminal cohorts. Maybe if she

had, she’d have been able to create a figment to match Joseph. Maybe.

“Well, whether you’re someone I created out of my own psychosis or not, I don’t suppose

anyone would believe me about tiger shifters being real,” she said. “So you’re safe.”

“I wouldn’t have shown you if I was worried.”

“Yes, but you don’t care if the world discovers tiger shifters, or you wouldn’t still be after

Bradley.”

He made no comment, but she hadn’t really expected one.

They strolled silently back to the pedestrian gate, Paige content just to have his company.

She didn’t want to go back inside, but it all seemed easier with Joseph beside her.

When they reached the gate, she faced him. “Thank you, again, for showing me something

so…magnificent.” She felt her cheeks heating and said, “I mean that tiger shifters are real.”

That corner of his mouth ticked again, his only reply.

She glanced at the gate and pulled in a deep breath, steeling her nerves.

“You’ll come back tomorrow night?” he asked.

“I will.” She had to work not to smile, even as her heart beat a little faster. She knew he

wanted to see her again as part of their effort to bring down Bradley. But she could pretend he

was looking forward to seeing her just because. She carried that thought with her so she could

manage another day in her prison.

Chapter Five

The next night, Paige left at her usual time to go see Joseph. She hadn’t been able to get

anywhere near Bradley’s rooms that day, despite her plan, because he never left the house. To

avoid feeling completely useless, she’d searched other areas of the mansion, places where

Bradley might hide something, but the effort was futile. She hadn’t found a thing of use.

She hoped talking with Joseph would calm her frustration and jolt her brain into seeing a

better plan.

She was so focused on thoughts of Joseph and the tingle of excitement at the prospect of

seeing him, she let her usual caution falter as she started down the back stairs to the main

kitchen. She paid for her inattention.

Bradley stepped out of the shadows on the stairs in front of her, blocking her path, his

appearance so unexpected, she gasped. The reaction made him smirk.

“What are you doing there?” she asked, putting a hand to her chest in a vain attempt to

slow her pounding heartbeat.

“Where are you going?” he countered.

She swallowed. She didn’t dare even hint that she was leaving the house tonight or he

might follow. The last thing she wanted was Bradley finding her with Joseph, mostly because

she was certain Joseph wouldn’t be able to resist trying to kill Bradley if he saw him.

She glanced past him, not meeting his gaze as she said, “I’m on my way to the kitchen

obviously.”

“What for?”

She had to work not to give him a deadpan stare as a sarcastic retort bubbled up. She

managed to moderate her tone, but just barely. “What does one usually get in a kitchen? I’m

hungry.”

“You? Snacking at this time of night?” He made a show of looking at his watch. The gold

band glittered in the dimmed light from the window just behind her. “Or should I say this time of

morning. How very unusual.”

“Don’t pretend you know my habits.”

He snorted. “Your ‘habits’ are hardly worth noticing, sis. Boring isn’t to my taste.”

Oh, how she wanted to push back, to ask what exactly was to his taste, to slap him, to do

something strong and assertive. She didn’t, because antagonizing him had never been wise, but

she wanted to badly enough that her fingers twitched.

He looked her over. “Cold?”

She scowled before realizing she was wearing her peacoat. Damn, she’d forgotten that

telling detail. Why would she wear a coat just to go to the kitchen for a snack? She pulled the

lapels closer and lifted her chin. “I’ve been chilled all day and can’t seem to shake it. Grief.”

The word was tossed at him like an accusation, but he ignored her attempt at an insult, just

smirking at her as if he thought her an idiot.

Being in his company set her teeth on edge and made her nerves jump. She had to get

away. She murmured a very soft, “Goodnight, Bradley.” Then continued downstairs.

As she moved past him, as far from him as she could get without making it obvious, he

chuckled. The sound made the hairs on the back of her neck rise.

He watched her for a few minutes after she passed, and she had to work not to react to his

stare. The sensation of it made her want to hunch her shoulders.

She was a few feet away when he said, “Don’t let Dad catch you eating this late, Paigy.

He’d be very disappointed if you gained weight. Can’t afford those extra pounds. Especially at

your age.”

She paused as his words, and all the years of judgment and other people’s expectations of

her, dropped hard onto her shoulders. Closing her eyes, she counted to ten and tried not to hear

the voice of her stepfather coldly expressing his “disappointment” in a way that always left her

feeling both weak and inadequate at the same time.

She didn’t turn to face Bradley, but she didn’t have to for him to know he’d hit his mark.

His laughter faded as he strolled up the stairs, leaving her feeling as battered as if he’d hit

her.

Forcing her spine straight, she made her way to the kitchen, in case he bothered to check.

When she was certain he had had his fun for the night and would leave her alone, she programed

the yard motion sensors to give her time to reach the gate, then very quietly left the house,

heading toward the one man who didn’t make her feel inadequate.

Joseph was waiting for her under his tree—and she had quickly come to think of that spot

as Joseph’s tree. She frowned a little when she realized he was frowning.

“What’s wrong?” she asked when she was close enough that she didn’t have to talk loudly

to be heard. She was still a little shaken by meeting her brother before coming out and she had to

work not to show Joseph her jumbled nerves. Better to focus on his concerns.

“What kind of security does Bradley have on his lab?”

“Voice and retinal scan locks as well as a code. Why?”

“In his private home?”

She shrugged. “We entertain here. I doubt he wants a random house guest stumbling into

his work space. My stepfather puts secured locks on his office doors, too.”

“With biometrics?”

“Just retinal actually, not voice, but with a constantly changing code.”

“Lot of security for a private home.”

“Lot of secrets to be kept, I guess.”

“Did your mother have access to your stepfather’s office?”

She snorted. “No. My stepfather kept my mother as far from his business as possible. Her

only job was to ‘look appropriate and beautiful and charm the investors or politicians’ according

to him. She wasn’t to think. She just had to be eye candy.”

“That was all?”

It took her several moments to catch on to his innuendo. “He didn’t pass her around, if

that’s what you’re asking. He’s too possessive of what’s his to share his beautiful wife, even for

political gain. In fact, I think that’s why he kept her and trotted her out—to make other men

realize he was powerful and not to be messed with.” She shrugged. “A male thing.”

His eyebrows rose slightly. “Not all males.”

But she heard the touch of hesitance in his voice and knew tiger shifter males were

probably not much different than human ones. “Why this line of questioning?” She started

walking along the street, choosing a new direction tonight. This way passed in front of the main

drive, but there was no one stationed in the guardhouse at the moment, so they wouldn’t be seen.

“Just wondering if I could break into the lab,” Joseph said. “It would help you, get you out

of the house quicker.”

Her heart thumped a little faster. So easy to fool herself into thinking he’d said that

because he was concerned for her rather than that he just wanted to get at Bradley sooner. She

pushed off the reaction and said, “What makes you think you could break through any security

system?” She figured if he could have, he would have gotten into their house years ago.

“I used to work in security technology. Long time ago, though.”

“You think you could fake the voice and retinal scans?” She doubted it. That sounded too

much like something out of a spy movie.

“Well outside my skill set now,” he admitted. “Was just a thought.”

“What made you think of it?”

Instead of answering, he said, “Did you go into his rooms?”

She sighed. “No. He was here the entire damned day. We’re getting ready for the circus

that will be the funeral, so the house is overrun with a full staff, and my stepfather insisted

Bradley remain close to home.”

“You, too?”

“It’s expected we do the appropriate things now.” She grimaced as she inadvertently

imitated her stepfather’s voice on the word “appropriate.”

“What’s appropriate?”

“Stick close to family, make a show of grieving, ensure the house is in perfect shape and

everything runs smoothly tomorrow.”

“Bradley have to do that, or just you?”

She was only mildly surprised he’d guessed the truth. “Just me. In between all the staff

supervision, though, I was able to search through the public parts of the house.”

“You didn’t find anything.”

“Not a fucking thing,” she said in disgust. “Not even a note about a home I don’t know

about or anything. I found a discarded receipt for a cup of coffee in the smoking room, an area

the staff hadn’t cleaned yet, but the address was just a little place near Bradley’s Philly

townhouse. He comes and goes from there all the time. Even my stepfather picks up coffee there

sometimes if he goes to Bradley’s townhouse, so the receipt could even have been his. Nothing

to follow.”

“We could break into the townhouse, see what Bradley stores there.”

She pursed her lips. “Doubt it’s anything important as that’s the place he takes…dates.”

She tried not to snarl at the word. The women her brother used as arm candy or fuck partners

were hardly what she’d call “dates”, but then what did she know. She’d only ever “dated” men

her stepfather approved of, and none of them had sparked much interest in her.

“The place near Ridley Creek State Park where the chemist’s body was buried, he took

women there, too. I think it was one of his earliest killing places, even if they couldn’t find

evidence.”

She waved that off. “My stepfather made him sell the place after the trial.”

“But any place where he takes women for pleasure could also be the place he takes them

for other things.”

“He’s got neighbors who would hear him or see something at the townhouse. The Ridley

Creek house had some privacy. Besides, I assume you’ve been to the townhouse. Wouldn’t you

know with that keen sense of smell of yours if he’d killed there?”

He was silent and she knew she’d hit the mark.

“The townhouse’s security isn’t any lighter than the security here anyway. You haven’t

gotten through this system in ten years. We won’t get into the townhouse.”

“Your stepfather changes the security here regularly. I never have enough time to crack it

before I’m stopped.”

“Speaking of being stopped,” she said. “Why hasn’t anyone come for you yet? Don’t they

realize you’re here stalking Bradley?”

She made a concerted effort not to consider the implications of his people coming to take

him away. She was getting a little too attached to his company after only a few nights.

He walked beside her for a long moment before answering. They followed the curve in the

road in a direction which took them closer to the highway and river. Though neither were visible,

she could just hear the faint noise of occasional passing cars.

“I’m not sure why Victor hasn’t come yet,” Joseph said. “But he will. Soon.”

“Who’s Victor?”

“No one.”

Well, that was a huge lie. Victor, whoever he was, must have been significant to Joseph

because Joseph had never bothered to lie to her about anything else. Why lie about this? Was

Victor someone he actually cared about? A brother or other relative? Maybe even his father? She

didn’t know anything about Joseph beyond the fact that he had a sister who’d been murdered and

he was a tiger shifter. The realization was startling when compared to how comfortable she felt

with him.

She was tempted to push him, to ask more about his personal life, for reasons she refused

to admit to herself, but she was afraid he’d leave if she did. She wasn’t ready for that. So she

returned to the earlier topic.

“Bradley uses the townhouse to entertain business associates as well as women,” she said.

“It’s most likely a dead end.”

“What will you try next?”

She pursed her lips and wrinkled her nose as she considered her options. “I still have to try

getting into his rooms, but not until after the funeral. He won’t leave the house until that

obligation is done. Beyond his rooms here…” She shrugged.

She didn’t have the skills to break into his lab any more than Joseph did, but she could

look at Bradley’s other properties, beyond the Philly townhouse. When she might be able to do

that was another question. Even after the funeral, it was going to be difficult for her to go

anywhere without her stepfather knowing about it. He always knew what she did and when.

Except for these stolen nights with Joseph.

She fingered her bracelet, running the links across her thumb as she mulled over her

options, considering how she might sneak away to investigate without her stepfather or brother

catching on. Joseph remained a quiet, strong presence beside her the entire time.

She stopped fidgeting when she realized she was contemplating risks she’d never have

considered before meeting him. How strange.

“I need to sneak into his other homes,” she said. “The isolated ones first. If he had killed in

one of those, you’d have known about it already, but maybe he’s less careful with loose pieces of

paper or notes in those houses. He might leave something behind that we can use to find even

more.”

“What evidence do you have already? You said the first night you had some.”

She sighed. “Just a handful of documents and random notes in his handwriting—stuff that

could link him to some women who’ve disappeared. There’s even a dinner receipt that ties him

to a woman who turned up dead six years ago—she was tortured and murdered, her body found

in a forest in western Pennsylvania.”

“Where did you find the receipt?”

“It was in a garbage bag a maid accidentally spilled while she was cleaning. I paused to

help her tidy the mess before my stepfather saw, spotted a receipt with Bradley’s signature, and

pocketed it. I’ve done that a lot over the years, just in case. With this particular receipt, one of

the waiters actually remembered Bradley’s date. He had a crush on Bradley and was giddy at

having met him.”

When Paige had gone to the restaurant and casually mentioned to her own waitress that her

brother had recommended the place, this waiter had abandoned his tables to talk to her. The poor

man had gone on and on about how sexy her brother was, how lucky his date was, even listing

everything the two had eaten… And Paige had had to force a smile through it all.

“A week after I found out the woman’s name,” she continued, “she was discovered dead. I

knew it was Bradley, but he was never even questioned. He’s been with a lot of women over the

years, and obviously not all of them vanished or turned up dead, so while most of what I’ve

collected could cause suspicion when taken all together, none of it is enough to even start a

proper investigation.”

She considered the most potentially useful piece of paper she’d found. “I have a note in his

handwriting with a formula on it. I looked up the components. It’s for a drug of some kind, but I

couldn’t tell from the compound what it would do. It wasn’t the same formula for the drug he

was already caught with, though, so maybe it’s nothing.” She glanced at Joseph, trying to gauge

his reaction but he showed her nothing, as usual.

“There are a few more notes with some numbers and letters, a code I’ve never been able to

decipher. For all I know, it’s calorie counts or fantasy football odds, but I’ve kept them just in

case.”

“I could look, see if they make sense to me.”

She hadn’t considered that. He’d been stalking her brother for years. He might spot

something she couldn’t. “I keep everything in a safety deposit box at a bank in Philly my

stepfather and Bradley don’t know I use—in case Bradley ever decided to break in to my safe

here. Not that he has reason to. He doesn’t think I’m very intelligent. But it seemed prudent.”

“When can you get the notes?”

“After the funeral chaos has died down and everyone gets back to their normal lives. I’ll be

expected to go into the offices in Philly in about a week, to check on the children’s charity I

head. I can get to the safety deposit box then. But like I said, none of it is enough evidence.

Circumstantial at best. Even the chemical formula can be written off as a note from his former

job at the pharmaceutical company. It’s about five years old now.”

“You’ve been collecting evidence for a long time.”

“Not enough in all that time,” she murmured.

“You’ve tried.”

She was more than a little surprised by his efforts to make her feel better about her failures.

She’d be tempted to call his supportive comment sweet if that word didn’t seem so odd when

applied to Joseph. “I need something more damning, something that will force an all-out

investigation.”

“I could hack his computers.”

“You can do that?”

“If I can’t, I can find someone who could.”

She shook her head. “He’s not likely to keep evidence on a computer system that could be

accessed from the outside. Especially not after his trial, when the chemist’s computer files were

almost used against him.”

“But we might find something that leads to more. Emails, Google searches, inquiries into

new properties, a history of specific news stories he’s followed.”

“Why haven’t you hacked him before?”

She watched his features, the subtle hardening of his jaw and tightening of his mouth, and

wondered at his reaction.

“I wasn’t looking for evidence to convict him before,” he said.

That made sense. “Still, you might have found a way to get to him quicker if you’d looked

into his computers.”

He shrugged and turned away. “I haven’t been thinking like a human,” he said, so quietly

his voice was barely audible.

She frowned and put a hand on his arm, briefly, but enough to get his attention.

He looked back at her, his expression closed and as unreadable as always. “I haven’t been

hunting him logically,” he said.

“What’s changed?” She had a feeling that whatever it was that had changed was important.

His brow creased with his frown. “I don’t know.” And he moved on.

She hurried to keep up.

“The funeral is tomorrow?” he asked after a little more silence.

“He’ll be distracted, if you want to go after his computers then.”

“I’ll see what I can do. If it proves beyond my skills, I’ll get help.”

“Who?” She had the impression Joseph had cut most everyone out of his life. Who would

he turn to for help after all these years?

“Someone I used to work with.”

“When you were in security?” She was more than a little curious about his previous life,

the people he knew and worked with before his sister’s murder. Were they all tiger shifters, too,

or humans? Was this someone he’d been close to or just an acquaintance? Male or female?

The thought of this “help” being a woman left Paige a little more annoyed than she had any

right to be.

“You’re sure this person will help you? Is…he a tiger shifter, too?” Well, that wasn’t very

subtle.

“He’s a tiger. And he’ll help when I explain.”

She heard his uncertainty, though. And it tempered her relief at knowing he wasn’t turning

to another woman.

Behind them, a car rolled quietly up the street, turning into a driveway before its headlights

reached them, someone coming home late. She blinked at the reminder that their private late

night bubble wasn’t actually private. They were out in the open, strolling around her

neighborhood where anyone could see them. If they did, they might even say something to her

stepfather.

Reality dropped onto her in a cold, heavy wave. This time with Joseph had felt separate, an

escape from her ordinary, terrifying life. It wasn’t, though, and she had to stop thinking of him as

her friend.

Or more.

“I should get back,” she murmured. “It’ll be a long day tomorrow.”

Before she could turn away, he touched the back of her hand, and the contact made her

breath catch. It was barely anything, just his fingertips against her skin, but he might as well have

had an iron grip on her wrist for all she could move in that moment. She met his gaze.

“I’m sorry you have to deal with…tomorrow. You’ll be okay?”

She wanted to smile. His words showed a concern that wasn’t evident in either his tone or

expression—those were just as emotionless as always. “I’ll get through. I won’t lie, it’ll be

horrible. But I’ve been dealing with worse, so I can survive. I always do.”

She stepped away from his light-as-air touch and forced a slight smile. “Don’t worry about

walking me back. I need to gather my thoughts and won’t be good company. Thank you.

For…everything.”

She hurried toward home, wondering at herself. She wasn’t sure where this was coming

from, but her emotions were overwhelming her and she had no idea what those emotions were at

the moment. She felt choked up and lonely and giddy and foolish and desperate and like she

might cry. But she couldn’t explain why she felt any of that.

So she swallowed it all, as she’d always done, and fast-walked to the place she lived, a

house that had never really been home.

The ache in her chest increased a little when she realized Joseph had done as she’d asked

and not followed her back.

She was halfway across the huge yard when it hit her that they hadn’t agreed to meet again

tomorrow night.

Chapter Six

The funeral was as miserable as she’d anticipated.

The wake at the mansion after was just as terrible. She made an effort to play her part, be

exactly what her stepfather expected, but the effort to feign a deeper grief than she felt while

hiding her disgust with the lack of grief from her stepfather and brother was wearing.

In the subtly opulent great room, where their guests gathered for drinks and hors

d’oeuvres, Paige circled the room, moving from group to group, checking on their comfort,

accepting their mostly insincere condolences as if those murmured banalities were actually

appreciated. She kept her hands clasped tightly in front of her to keep from playing with her

bracelet because, according to her stepfather, “A lady never fidgets or bites her nails. Ever.”

Whenever she felt her fingers twitch toward the small gold links on her left wrist, she gripped her

fingers together tighter, ignoring the bite of nails against skin.

Her role as hostess meant she could mostly avoid her brother, one of the few mercies of the

day. Bradley spent most of the wake schmoozing with VIPs and flirting with pretty women Paige

couldn’t even name. An hour in, she watched him steal off with one of those pretty strangers—

who’d worn a short, skin-tight blue silk dress, as if this was a cocktail party and not a period of

mourning—and while Paige was happy to see him go, her stomach churned at the way he

publicly disrespected their mother by fucking some stranger at the wake.

Her rounds brought her to her stepfather several times over the course of the afternoon, and

she made an effort each time to stop and appear the dutiful daughter.

She paused at his side, again, and kept her eyes downcast as he introduced her to two

senators and their wives.

“Thank you for coming,” she said, keeping her tone quiet and meek. “You do my mother

and our family a very great honor.”

She glanced at her stepfather. He was staring down at her with a very faint frown. She

wasn’t sure what he had to frown about as she’d played her part perfectly. She thought back

quickly over her tone, her expression, wondering what she’d done to earn his displeasure. Out of

habit, she hunted his features for clues, hoping to fend off any public put downs and insults.

He was a big man, and used his height and width to intimidate men and women alike. He

carried a few extra pounds but hid it well inside impeccably tailored clothes. For the funeral, he

wore a black suit that brought out the crystal ice in his blue eyes, so like Bradley’s, and

highlighted the silver-gray color of his hair so that he looked sharp and handsome. He was in his

sixties, but beyond his hair color, it was impossible to tell his age. She suspected he only allowed

the gray because it gave him an even more imposing air than his youthful light brown hair had.

Most people considered him handsome, or so she was told, and power clung to him like a

second skin. She’d seen him intimidate corporate titans and political big wigs with casual

negligence, as if their fear and deference were his due.

His arrogance was something Bradley had inherited, though Duke Williams was

significantly more controlled than his son.

“Paige, please see to the senators’ glasses,” he murmured in his deep, cultured voice.

“They’ve been waiting for refills for ten minutes. I’m surprised you haven’t been more attentive

to the staff this afternoon.”

She swallowed against the rise of embarrassment, though she still felt her cheeks heating at

the not-so-subtle rebuke issued in front of perfect strangers.

She forced a half-smile, deferential without showing humor. “Of course.” She faced the

senators. “My apologies. I’ll see to those drinks now.”

They nodded magnanimously, murmuring variations of “no apology necessary” like good

little politicians. One of their wives had the grace to look uncomfortable with the exchange. The

other was too busy looking Duke up and down, licking her lips, while her husband pretended to

ignore her blatant lechery.

Paige left the group, making her way toward the nearest server, keeping her hands clasped

in front of her now to hide the trembling. Her stomach rolled with the same combination of

shame, embarrassment, and inadequacy she always felt around her stepfather. This was her

mother’s funeral, and rather than being allowed time and space to grieve, he shamed her in front

of strangers.

She needed out of this house.

After sending the server to attend the senators, she ducked into a corner of the room behind

a tall leafy plant. She closed her eyes briefly and forced herself to breath in and out in a slow

rhythm. She was too old for this, she scolded herself. She wasn’t this much of a ninny. She

shouldn’t be so affected by her stepfather’s casual shaming. She shouldn’t care what he thought

of her.

But it wasn’t a matter of caring what he thought, she knew. It was trying to keep him from

thinking about her much at all. Every effort she made to conform to his ideals of a polite socialite

daughter were to avoid his attention. If she did everything right, if she made no mistakes, he

ignored her. She could relax when he didn’t notice her.

Not for the first time that day, she considered just disappearing, running away from the

funeral, from her home, from this life.

Then she thought of Joseph and steeled herself to face the misery of the day.

She could get through this. When it was done, her stepfather and brother would move on to

other things and forget about her for a while. She’d be able to find what she needed to make

Bradley pay for his crimes and then she’d be free.

Or dead.

*****

After spending the better part of the morning attempting to hack into Bradley’s computer

from his own less than perfect system, Joseph sat back and accepted that he was going to have to

call for help. And that help was the one man he absolutely did not want to talk to, the one man

who might try to stop him rather than help.

He stood and stalked around his small, sparsely furnished studio apartment, arguing with

himself.

Calling attention to his actions was always a bad idea. Victor would have him thrown back

into confinement again. Joseph had only just gotten out. He usually didn’t care about his frequent

stints in the tiger shifter equivalent of jail. They felt sorry for him so they gave him a

comfortable enough cell and time to run in his tiger form if he wanted to.

This last period of confinement might have been worse—he’d aligned himself with the

wrong tiger for reasons he’d never cared to discuss—but he’d given the elders information

they’d wanted after, and Elizaveta Chernikova had ensured he got his “usual”, relatively

comfortable cell. She was the only female elder, Victor’s wife’s adopted mother, and while no

one would call Elizaveta sentimental or soft, she always argued for tolerance for Joseph. He’d

never been sure why.

The thought of going back to confinement now made him balk, though, the way it had the

very first time, when he’d been so enraged and desperate for revenge he could barely remember

those months.

He paced faster, the very idea of being locked up again making him antsy. He had things to

do, a serial killer to stop, a woman to protect.

He stopped cold when that last thought crossed through his mind.

He stared at the blank, neutral white wall as his heart thumped with something he didn’t

want to acknowledge but which felt suspiciously like…an actual feeling.

Sweat broke out along his upper lip and he swiped it away with the back of his hand.

He turned to look at his phone, a landline as he didn’t often use a cellphone—a precaution

he took to ensure that he was hard to locate. He wouldn’t be able to just ring Victor and talk to

him. Victor was mute; he could hear just fine but an accident in early childhood had left him

unable to speak. The only way to “talk” to Victor would be by text message or email since

Joseph wasn’t set up for talk-to-text on this phone.

He could always ask Alexis to talk to Victor for him, but he had a feeling she’d come after

him faster than her husband would.

Paige was in trouble and needed his help. Helping Paige might just enable him to get

revenge against Bradley, finally, after all these years. Then at least she’d be free to leave that

house. She’d be safe.

For some reason, making sure Paige was free to do as she wanted from now on seemed

vitally important to him. Important enough that he picked up the phone and called Victor’s cell

to leave a voicemail.

His message was curt and simple: “Meet me tonight. You know where.”

*****

Two hours after Bradley left the wake, when he hadn’t returned to the great room and

Paige hadn’t seen any sign of the woman he’d disappeared with, it crossed her mind to worry

about the woman. She was certain Bradley wouldn’t kill someone in this house, especially with

all these potential witnesses. And she didn’t think he’d leave the house with the woman, as that

would raise his father’s wrath.

She spent several moments trying to convince herself she was worried over nothing. Her

disgusting brother was just off having inappropriate sex. Nothing worse.

But anxiety still made her stomach tight and she found herself watching the entry into the

great room, looking out for the couple’s return.

Fifteen minutes later, and still no sign of them, she politely broke off the stilted

conversation she was having with one of her stepfather’s business associates and slipped out of

the room. Hesitating at the base of the grand staircase, she caught a passing server and asked if

she’d seen Bradley, if anyone had seen him recently. Apparently no one had, so Paige waved the

server away and headed upstairs.

She turned into Bradley’s wing with halting steps, not sure what she hoped to accomplish,

what she thought she might find. She paused to listen at each closed door. If she discovered

Bradley and his woman in the middle of sex, she was going to feel like an idiot. She was fretting

over nothing. Her brother was crazy, but far from stupid. He would not walk out of their

mother’s wake with a woman he intended to kill. At least not one he intended to kill in this

house.

Though her cheeks were hot, she still made her way through the corridor, passing door

after door. She couldn’t bring herself to open any of them—hearing her brother having sex was

one thing, seeing it would be too much. But by the time she reached the end of the long hallway,

she was reconsidering opening doors. From all outward appearances, neither Bradley nor his

current conquest were anywhere on this floor.

Standing in the middle of the corridor, she rocked from one foot to the other, running the

links of her bracelet through her fingers and debating what to do next. Her stepfather would

notice if she stayed away too long and send someone to look for her. The thought made her

stomach roll. How would she explain her behavior to him? And would he care about her excuses

or just berate her for skirting her responsibilities today?

If she didn’t find Bradley quickly, she’d have to abandon the search or risk her stepfather’s

wrath.

She glanced at the ceiling. Bradley wasn’t likely to have gone to the third floor. That was

Duke’s domain and even his beloved son didn’t go there without permission. Though it wasn’t

exactly a warm day, it was dry, so it was possible Bradley had taken the woman outside. The

estate was huge. Paige wouldn’t have time to search before someone noticed she was gone, and

she couldn’t walk around the lawns in heels anyway.

Without meaning to, she turned to face the last door in the corridor, the one that led to the

basement and Bradley’s lab.

No. He wouldn’t have gone there. Not today. Not with a fuck buddy. Outside was more

likely.

She eased closer to the door, a drop of sweat falling between her breasts, despite the

house’s pleasant temperature. She’d only have to take a quick peek, eliminate the possibility,

then she could return to the great room. Bradley and the woman might already be there and she’d

just missed them.

Pressing her lips together, Paige turned the knob slowly, then listened for noise on the

stairs. Nothing. She eased down the steps, the carpet helping to dampen the sound of her shoes.

The lure of the lab, of maybe finding something to use against Bradley, kept her moving

forward as much as her worry for the stranger. Her heart thumped a little faster as she reached

the basement.

This level was as huge as the rest of the house, but broken into sections that didn’t connect.

The basement below the main house, a huge wine cellar, and the one below the west wing, used

mostly for storage, were all independent spaces. Bradley’s lab took up the entirety of the

basement on the east side. There was only one staircase leading to this section, emerging into the

small space outside the lab’s locked door. Though there was access to this staircase on all three

levels of the mansion, only Bradley ever used it.

She contemplated the sealed lab door. It was as she’d told Joseph—protected by panels of

security measures she couldn’t get around. She eased closer, her stomach tightening with each

step. The thick door was made of steel. She wouldn’t hear anything through it. Bradley could

have the woman locked in there and she’d never know or be able to help.

Oh god, she couldn’t think of that. She couldn’t consider it. Helplessness and guilt

wrapped her in a tight grip. She touched the cool metal door, terrified of what might be hiding

inside.

Did she knock? Did she dare? No one disturbed Bradley in his lab.

She lifted her hand to knock anyway, then clenched her fist and took a step away.

“Little Paige all dressed in black.”

The sound of Bradley’s voice behind her made her screech as she swung around to face

him.

He laughed, though his eyes narrowed, his gaze moving between her and the door. “What

are you doing down here?”

“Father sent me to find you,” she said, the first excuse that leapt to mind. He could easily

find out she was lying, but in that moment, she didn’t care. She just needed to deflect his

suspicions for a few minutes, long enough to get back upstairs. “You’ve been gone for a while.”

His lips lifted in a smirk, but the expression didn’t reach his sharp, icy gaze. “So you

thought you’d find me here?”

“This is one of the most likely places for you to go. Isn’t it?” She lifted her chin and tried

to pretend her knees weren’t shaking. “I did try your rooms first.”

“You went into my rooms?” His tone was light and amused, but his shoulders tensed ever

so slightly.

“Of course I didn’t go into any of the rooms. I did call out for you.”

“Did you?” He sauntered closer.

“Where’s the woman?” She had to work not to step back as he moved close enough that

she could smell a woman’s perfume on his clothes. “The one you left the wake with.”

“Pretty little slut, wasn’t she?” He waved a hand. “Back at the party, I guess.”

“It’s not a party,” she said, not entirely able to hide the bite in her voice.

“Close enough.” He glanced behind her to the lab door, then met her gaze. “Curious about

my work, Paige?”

“No.”

He looked her over, assessing but not giving away any of his thoughts.

She held herself as still as she could, her hands clasped together, her chin up but her gaze

lowered so she wasn’t making direct eye contact with him.

“Were you trying to get inside?”

“Certainly not. I have no interest in going into a room you won’t let the staff clean. I can’t

imagine it smells very good.”

“You’ve no idea, little Paigy.”

She brushed her hands over her skirt, pressing out an imaginary wrinkle. “I’ve passed on

my message. If you’ll excuse me, I should get back.”

“Good idea.”

She walked by, flinching at how close she was to him in the narrow space.

“Dad asked where you’d gone,” he said to her back.

She paused on the first step as his words sank in. She didn’t turn to face him, but the hair

on her nape lifted and it was all she could do not to run away. With as much dignity as she could

pull together while her entire body trembled, she continued upstairs, working hard to ignore the

sound of Bradley’s chuckle.

When she reached the great room, she hunched under her stepfather’s glare, then she

spotted Bradley’s woman off to one side of the room, laughing and flirting with a very attentive

older man.

Chapter Seven

Later that night, after the last guest had left, Paige sat in her dressing room staring at her

rows of clothes without actually seeing them. She was so drained, both from “acting her part”

and from her confrontation with Bradley, she didn’t even feel like a person anymore, just a

hollow shell, a marionette with her strings cut.

When she finally blinked her surroundings into focus, she looked at the clock. Well past

midnight.

She stood slowly and stripped out of her black dress and pearls, carefully hanging the dress

where it could be dry cleaned and replacing the pearls in her jewelry drawer. She removed her

little pearl earrings and set them next to the necklace, touching the jewels and thinking of Joseph

that first night comparing her to a pearl. Then she closed the drawer carefully so it wouldn’t

make even a click. Her gold bracelet stayed on, the only piece of jewelry she wore all the time.

She’d already kicked off her heels, but now she picked up the discarded shoes and replaced

them very precisely on the shoe rack. Then she stripped off her hose, setting them aside to wash,

and headed into her bathroom to remove the mask of makeup she’d used to armor herself against

the public attention.

All the touching, the suffocating pretense, the mild disdain, and the overt pity left her

feeling dirty, like she was covered in a film of slime she’d never be able to wash away. The

confrontation with Bradley had only made it worse because she’d had to return to the wake and

pretend she wasn’t terrified of her own family, pretend she wasn’t worried her brother might kill

her, even as all the condescending condolences rained down on her.

She tried to wash it all away though, stepping into a scalding hot shower and letting water

and soap and the rough texture of her sponge scrub away the icky miasma.

She still couldn’t cry, yet she very much wanted to. She should be able to cry for her

mother on the day of her funeral, shouldn’t she? The woman who’d given birth to her, who had

in her own, rather selfish way, loved her and tried to do her best for her, was now gone. And her

only daughter couldn’t even regret the loss.

As much as anything else that had happened that day, her complete lack of feeling for her

mother’s absence left Paige disgusted and distraught.

Maybe this was just her way of grieving. She climbed out of the shower and toweled dry.

No one grieved in the exact same way. And this was the first time she’d lost someone close to

her—or as close as was possible with her mother—so maybe this was simply how her body and

mind dealt with death.

She slipped into her robe and decided to take what little comfort that thought offered. For

tonight at least, she’d fool herself into believing that lie. Then maybe she’d sleep. And maybe

she wouldn’t dream.

She considered just crawling into bed in her robe but the idea left her feeling too

vulnerable. Neither Bradley nor her stepfather ever invaded her bedroom space. She’d usually

felt pretty safe in her own rooms. But right now, tonight, after the confrontation with Bradley,

she felt vulnerable and she needed the armor of clothing, even if it was just a pair of sweats and a

t-shirt.

Even then, even as exhausted and drained as she was, she still didn’t want to go to sleep.

She glanced at the clock, saw it was almost 3 a.m., and acknowledged why she was so restless.

This was the time she’d been meeting with Joseph.

She wanted to see him again tonight. More than she cared to admit. She needed his

emotionless company to recharge her own battered feelings. Being with him was refreshing and

surprisingly easy. He made her feel better because he felt nothing at all.

The only reason she even hesitated was the knowledge that she was coming to crave his

company entirely too much. It wasn’t safe to need anyone, especially someone she knew she

couldn’t rely on and certainly shouldn’t trust. He was here for revenge, not to heal her damaged

soul. He wasn’t even human, though that was less terrifying than she knew it should be. He

didn’t care about her, and she was a little afraid she was starting to care about him.

And she wanted him. She didn’t want men like this, not with power and passion and

heat…but she wanted Joseph. In her bed, inside her, in ways she’d never even imagined before.

That made her want to crawl under the blankets and hide.

Because she was certain he didn’t want her. She was simply too battered and bruised by

her life to face his rejection.

She needed to send Bradley to jail and then run as far away from this life, these people as

she could get. She’d disappear, maybe somewhere in Eastern Europe, or the Nordic countries,

somewhere where her appearance wouldn’t attract attention or stand out. She’d blend in and

become just another woman, living a quiet life, without fear.

Maybe she’d go as far as Australia. Her stepfather would never think to look for her there.

She’d get a little flat in one of the smaller cities, and just…be.

Alone.

For the first time since her mother’s death, she felt a need to cry. So she did. She folded

herself onto her mattress and cried out the years of pent-up feelings, some of which she couldn’t

even decipher, things so complicated and tangled she wasn’t even sure which of them was

making her cry. She pressed her face into her pillow so no one passing her rooms would

overhear—though given the day, her tears would be understandable—and she wept from the

depth of her soul.

When the tears dried up and she was left hiccupping and gulping for a steady breath, she

thought she’d feel even more drained, empty beyond empty.

Instead, she felt…relieved. Relaxed.

At peace.

And she wanted to see Joseph even if seeing him was selfish and their association

ultimately doomed.

She scrubbed her hands over her face, then went to the bathroom to splash her skin with

cold water and dry away the last of her emotional breakdown.

She pulled on her cozy, oversized peacoat, a pair of hiking boots, and headed out.

The night air was cold and comforting, the scents of earth and dampness like coming rain

thick on the faint breeze. She didn’t run to the edge of the property, but her steps were light, with

none of the heaviness she’d felt the last few days.

She felt him in his usual spot even before she opened the gate and stepped out onto the

grassy shoulder.

She faced him as he stepped out of the shadows under his tree and her breath caught, a

reaction full of telling desire and relief. They hadn’t arranged to meet again tonight. But he was

still here. Even though she knew he was likely watching for her brother, he was still here, and

seeing him made her happy so she didn’t think too closely about his reasons.

He tilted his head and frowned a little as he got closer. “Your eyes are red-rimmed.”

“You can see that in the dark?” She touched her cheek, just under her eye, both self-

conscious and a little stunned. She’d been sure the night would hide any evidence of her tears.

He brushed his thumb over the spot on her cheek she’d just touched. “Puffy. You were

crying.”

“Well, I was at a funeral today,” she said dryly.

His frown relaxed, just a little. “It was bad.”

He didn’t ask, and the fact that he knew it had been a bad day without bothering to ask was

lovely. “I really hate my stepfather’s associates. And I loathe my brother.”

“Understandable. Did Bradley do something to you?”

“No…just.” She shook her head and told him about her little run-in with him in front of the

lab.

“Are you okay? Does he suspect you know about him?”

“I think he thinks I’m an idiot. I felt like one so I can’t really blame him.”

“You’re not an idiot. Would you like to walk?”

“Yes, please.”

They settled into a comfortable gate, moving aimlessly through the neighborhood,

embraced by the cold breeze and night shadows. These moments were so peaceful, Paige

wondered if she’d take 3 a.m. strolls from now on, no matter where she went after this.

“Tell me about your day,” she said after a while, wanting to hear his rough, emotionless

voice.

“I tried to get into Bradley’s computers. I couldn’t.”

She shrugged. “He would have the best firewalls and security money could buy. I’m not

entirely surprised.”

“I contacted someone for help.”

“Your former associate.”

“He used to be a friend.”

That admission made her heart thump a little harder for some reason. “Used to be?”

“He’s the one who keeps stopping me from killing Bradley.”

“Why?”

“I don’t ask anymore.”

“Because you’re his friend,” she said without any hesitance at all. “He doesn’t want you

dead.” She knew that to be true without any doubt at all. Whoever this “former friend” was, he

cared a great deal about Joseph—even if Joseph didn’t admit it, or even realize it.

“He was my best friend before Su-jin’s murder.”

The comment was offered very quietly, a breath on the breeze. And she realized that was

also the first time he’d referred to his sister by name.

Without realizing what she was about to do, she reached out and took his hand. She

expected him to pull away from her impulsive gesture. Instead, he wove his fingers with hers and

gripped her tight. She didn’t say or do anything more, but inside, part of her hummed in delight.

They walked hand-in-hand for a little longer before she broke the silence. “What did this

former friend say when you asked for help?”

“I haven’t asked yet. He’ll meet me here tonight.”

“Here? Why here?”

“This is where I am.”

She almost laughed at that self-evident answer. “You’re sure he’ll come?”

“Yes.”

After a moment, “Will he try to stop you from killing Bradley again?”

“Yes.”

“Will he help you with my plan to stop Bradley?”

A beat of silence, then, “I think he might.”

“Should we go back to the house, then? He’ll look for you there.”

“Eventually. We can walk a little more.” He glanced at her with his dark, unreadable eyes.

“You’ve had a hard day.”

“That is an understatement.” She squeezed his hand. “But not as hard as it could have

been.”

Joseph didn’t comment but his fingers flexed against her hand.

They walked in silence for a while, then Paige angled them back toward the house. Not to

go inside. She liked being out in the dark with Joseph and after the day she’d had, she’d earned

this peace. But she didn’t want him to miss this former friend—especially if that friend could

help.

As they neared the estate, Joseph relaxed his hold, his fingers slipping from hers as he

dropped his hand back to his side. She did the same without comment, but she missed the

contact.

A weird sense of awareness tingled in her gut, similar to the way she felt when she knew

where Joseph was even though she couldn’t see him. She wondered what it meant. She didn’t

usually notice that sense of Joseph when they were right next to each other and walking the

streets. But maybe because she’d been enjoying his touch so much, the loss of it made that other

sense of him increase?

At the pedestrian gate, they faced each other, and Paige wondered what to do now.

“You’re sure he’ll come tonight?” she asked, again.

“He’s already here.”

She gasped and looked around. From the shadows, a man dressed all in black stepped into

the moonlight, moving as silently as a ghost.

Chapter Eight

Paige watched the stranger warily. He wasn’t exactly what she’d been expecting. His age

was as impossible to judge as Joseph’s, but his bearing spoke of a more mature man. He had

short, dark hair and very dark eyes, a handsome face, and a fit, muscled body that wasn’t quite as

thick as Joseph’s. Like Joseph, his black clothing made him difficult to see in the dark, despite

his pale complexion.

For some reason, she’d expected an angry, blunt man, here to demand Joseph leave. The

tension between the two, the stares they exchanged were exactly the kind of thing she’d

anticipated.

What she didn’t anticipate was the man turning to her and his expression softening. He

smiled just a little and reached a hand out to her in greeting. Years of having manners drilled into

her had her reaching back to shake his hand before pausing to consider if it was a wise idea.

With his free hand, he made a gesture at Joseph.

“Victor Romanov, Paige Williams. She’s Bradley’s half sister,” Joseph said. His tone was

even more dead than usual.

“I’m sorry,” she said, realizing she’d been so busy staring, she hadn’t bothered to introduce

herself. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” The word pleasure came out more like a question than a

statement.

Victor obviously heard the hesitance and his smile widened. The grin lightened his entire

face and gave him an unexpectedly charming air. He made another hand gesture at Joseph.

Joseph didn’t respond.

She frowned when she realized the hand gestures weren’t random. He was signing. She

glanced at Joseph. “He’s deaf?”

“Mute. He hears.”

“Sorry,” she said again to Victor, as her cheeks heated. “I hope I didn’t offend you.”

He shook his head, still with that same charming smile. The look dropped away when he

looked back at Joseph. He made another series of signs, his movements smooth and fast.

To her, it didn’t appear Joseph even looked at Victor’s hands, but he responded aloud to

what Victor was saying.

“No.”

More signing.

“Where else?”

More signing.

“Surprised you weren’t here sooner.”

Signing.

Joseph shrugged, but barely.

Signing.

“I need your help.”

That earned a raised brow from Victor as he obviously asked a question.

“Yes. But I want something else now, too.”

Victor glanced at Paige as he signed more.

“We want to hack Bradley’s computer system.”

Sign.

“Evidence.”

Sign.

“Me and Paige.”

Signing.

“Yes.”

Signing.

“Not until he’s been convicted.”

Victor paused for a long moment, just staring at Joseph. Joseph stared back.

Paige couldn’t see anything in Joseph’s expression to indicate what he was thinking. The

conversation was odd to witness, like listening to one side of a phone call, even though both

parties were right in front of her.

Finally, Victor signed something that earned a slight scowl from Joseph. The reaction

might as well have been a full-blown glare given how little reaction Joseph usually showed.

Whatever Victor had just said hit a mark. And her curiosity got the better of her.

“What did he say?” she asked Joseph.

“I’m not translating for him.”

Victor gave Joseph a deadpan stare, shook his head, then pulled a small notepad and pencil

out of his back pocket and scribbled something in it before showing her the page. I said that’s

the most he’s said to me in 5 years.

Ah. Joseph’s reaction still puzzled her, though. “He told me you used to be friends.”

Did he? I’m surprised. We were.

She considered Victor a moment. He’d come to help Joseph when Joseph called, even

though he and Joseph had been estranged for years. He kept trying to keep Joseph alive by

preventing him from killing Bradley, even though it was obvious Joseph didn’t thank him for the

effort, maybe even hated him for it. She wondered if Joseph realized how strongly that spoke to

Victor’s continued concern for him.

She said to Victor, “I think you’re still his friend.”

Victor’s eyebrows popped up and he signed something to Joseph. Joseph’s mouth flattened

but he translated this time.

“He says he likes you.”

She smiled a little, at both Victor’s comment and Joseph’s obvious irritation with it. She

wasn’t sure anyone who wasn’t familiar with Joseph would have even noticed the slight change

in inflection or the tightening around his mouth, but she did. And the reaction was charming.

“Don’t worry,” she said to Joseph, “I won’t let it go to my head.” The tightening around

his mouth loosened. She forced down an answering smile and looked at Victor. “You should

have let him kill my brother, though. He’s a very bad person.”

“Told you,” Joseph said.

Victor held up his notepad for her to read. Why don’t you kill him, then?

She blinked at the note as her world flipped onto its side.

Why didn’t she? She could take care of the problem that was her brother and simply end

him. No more murders.

No justice either.

But no more murders. No more fear.

She knew it wouldn’t be any different than letting Joseph kill him. There would be no

justice, no acknowledgement that he’d been a monster, no hope of finding the bodies of his

victims, no resolution for those who had lost a loved one. But somehow, the thought of killing

Bradley, a thought that had never even occurred to her before, filled her with a fire of

satisfaction.

And in the next instant, horror.

Was she no better than her brother? Was she really the kind of person who could just cold-

bloodedly murder another living human being—even if he was evil? Did she have that in her?

Was she strong enough?

No, it wasn’t a matter of being strong. She couldn’t kill him for all the reasons she didn’t

want Joseph to kill him. But also because she was afraid that murdering Bradley would destroy

what little of her soul she had left.

She startled when she felt Joseph’s fingers against the back of her hand. He frowned a

question at her. “I’m okay. It never crossed my mind that I could kill Bradley.”

“Don’t consider it,” he said. “You’re not that kind of person.”

“You are?”

“Yes.”

Victor flipped his notepad, revealing a note for Paige but he didn’t try to hide it from

Joseph. He’s not as bad as he seems to think he is. He just won’t believe me.

Paige looked at Victor. “I believe you. But I also understand why he wants to kill Bradley.

And I don’t blame him. I also don’t think he’s a bad person for it. If I were stronger…”

“No,” Joseph said, his tone sharper than she’d ever heard it.

The reaction startled Victor too, and he looked at Joseph with a frown. He glanced down at

where Joseph still touched her hand, then glanced back at Joseph, his frown even deeper.

Joseph’s voice returned to its less emotional tone when he said, “You want to show the

world what Bradley is. You can’t do that if you kill him.” Very quietly, he said, “You’re strong

for wanting that. We’ll help.” He glanced at a still-staring Victor who nodded his agreement.

She was only a little surprised Victor had agreed to help them. “You can hack into

Bradley’s computers?”

He shrugged, then wrote a note in his pad rather than signing for Joseph to translate, and

she wondered at that.

If I can’t, I know someone who can.

“Who?” Joseph asked.

Dom.

She frowned at the single word. Was Dom a person or code or something else? Joseph only

nodded as if he understood.

Victor must have seen her confusion because he flashed her another note. Dmitry

Chernikov. Very close family friend. Excellent with technology of all kinds.

“You trust him?”

Victor nodded.

Joseph said, “Haven’t seen Dom in years.”

Victor signed something that made Joseph’s mouth flatten just barely in that shockingly

obvious scowl.

“What?” she asked.

Neither answered and despite her curiosity, she didn’t have time to ask because she could

feel the night moving on. She needed to get back inside. Instead, she said, “When can you start

and how long will it take?”

If I can’t crack it in an hour, I’ll call Dom in so we don’t waste time. Will depend on the

layers of security.

“So this could take days?”

Victor shrugged. Then he looked at Joseph and signed something.

“Told you I won’t until this part is done.”

“He asked if you’ll wait on killing Bradley?”

“Yes.”

Victor signed something that made Joseph’s mouth flatten but when she asked, neither

translated. Instead, Victor wrote, It’s a pleasure to have met you, Paige. I hope you succeed so

no one else gets hurt.

He gave Joseph a pointed look then quite literally disappeared.

Paige gasped and took a step closer to Joseph. “What just happened?”

“Showoff. He just left, but we can move very fast when we want to. Sometimes he has a

weird sense of humor.”

“He knows I know he’s a tiger shifter? Or he just wanted to startle me?”

“He knows you know about tiger shifters.”

“How?” She hadn’t picked that up in their conversation anywhere.

Joseph didn’t answer. Instead, he faced her and said, “Will you be okay if this does take a

few days?”

“I’ll have to be, won’t I? Besides, I have some checking of my own to do.”

“You should wait on that. After today, Bradley could be suspicious.”

“He’s only dangerous to me if he catches me with something incriminating.”

Which she wasn’t likely to find anyway, she acknowledged reluctantly. Just seeing the

layers of security on his lab door had been enough to deflate her hopes. She didn’t really know

how to get the evidence she needed. She didn’t want to admit that to Joseph, but his plan to get

into Bradley’s computers was a lot better and more potentially helpful than anything she’d been

able to consider.

Joseph stared at her for a long moment, then glanced back at the house. “I’ll be nearby if

you need me.”

Then he disappeared, too. She blinked at the empty road, both awed and annoyed. It must

be nice to move that fast.

As she returned to the house, she wondered again how Bradley ever managed to contain a

tiger shifter—even with drugs.

*****

Joseph found Victor in Rolling Hill Park, less than a mile behind the Williams’ estate,

leaning against a beech tree with his arms crossed over his chest. The soothing burble of nearby

Mill Creek gave the night a peaceful aura at odds with the impending conversation. Joseph

stopped a few feet from Victor, then waited for him to start.

When he did, he fell easily into sign language. Joseph refused to answer that way now,

despite being fluent, but he never could bring himself to force Victor to write notes. Joseph was

one of the very few tiger shifters who’d ever learned sign language to communicate with Victor.

Most made him communicate with them through the written word. Despite how he felt about

Victor now, Joseph had always found that attitude offensive for Victor’s sake and now couldn’t

seem to shake the habit.

“You like this woman, even though she’s related to Bradley.”

It wasn’t a question, but they hadn’t been close for a long time so the fact that Victor was

stating rather than asking irritated him. The man had no right to presume he knew anything about

Joseph anymore.

The fact that he could feel irritation wasn’t lost on him. Something had changed in the last

few days. He didn’t particularly like it.

And he decided to take that out on Victor. “I don’t like anyone anymore. And it’s none of

your fucking business. Are you going to take me in?”

“You haven’t done anything yet.”

“That never stopped you before.”

Victor winced and Joseph let the tension in his shoulders ease at Victor’s obvious sign of

discomfort.

“I won’t try to lock you up this time until you actually do something.”

“If I do something, it will be killing Bradley. Then all these years will have been a wasted

effort on your part.”

“Not wasted. I won’t stop trying to protect you from yourself, even if you resent me for the

effort.”

“Why?”

“Believe it or not, Paige was right. I’m still your friend. I don’t want to see you executed.”

“Did you talk with Elizaveta this last time?”

“I didn’t have to. You cooperated and gave them good information on Petrov.”

“I also worked with him before turning myself in.” He was curious enough about Victor’s

reaction to wait for the response. It was a long time in coming, as if Victor wasn’t sure exactly

what to say.

“Why did you work with him? Do you agree with his views on hybrids?”

“He promised me Bradley,” Joseph told him evenly. “I don’t care about hybrids. I don’t

care if our people survive or not.”

“I find that hard to believe.”

He shrugged.

“I wasn’t happy to see you working with Petrov,” Victor admitted. “I was pissed.”

That was cheering. For all the anger and hatred he’d felt for Victor in the last ten years, he

could never get the man to return the sentiment.

“You seriously considered killing me, but didn’t. And I don’t think it was the reminder that

Alexis would kill you for it. Why didn’t you pull the trigger?”

Joseph flashed back to that moment, when he and another tiger had run Victor’s car off the

road to get to the hybrid woman Victor was helping to protect. When he’d held a gun to Victor’s

temple and contemplated pulling the trigger and removing the one person who continually kept

him from taking his revenge. He’d been sorely tempted.

He wasn’t sure why he’d pulled back, though he told himself it was because of Alexis.

He’d never had a better chance to kill Victor.

Because he didn’t know how to answer the question, he said, “Good thing I didn’t or you

wouldn’t be around for me to use now.”

Victor rolled his eyes, but the corner of his mouth lifted in amusement. Joseph hadn’t

meant to be entertaining.

“What will you do if Bradley is arrested by the human police?”

“Watch his humiliation unfold. Then once he’s disgraced and outed as the murderer he is,

I’ll find a way to get near him, and I’ll rip his throat out.”

“Jail won’t be enough? He could get a death sentence, depending on where he’s tried. If

the humans kill him, you’ll get what you want and still be safe.”

Safe? Hardly. But it still amazed him that Victor cared. “His father will ensure the death

penalty is off the table.”

“He’d be locked up, though. Justice of a sort.”

“It’s not enough. Even if he got a death sentence. You can’t understand. I need to kill him.

He destroyed everything I loved.” The words actually hurt to say aloud, like sandpaper scraping

his throat, and his chest tightened sharply.

“Not everything. Some of those things you destroyed yourself.”

“And Bradley is responsible for that, too. No death, no torture, no punishment will ever be

enough for what he did to Su-jin. But killing him with my own hands will at least give her rest.”

“Joseph, she’s been at rest for years. This is about you now, not your sister.”

He looked away, refusing to even acknowledge that comment. This was about Su-jin and

always had been. Nothing else mattered. No result would ever be enough to make up for her

murder, but this was the only way he’d be able to live with himself—or go to his death with any

kind of peace.

“Find me here when you know if you can crack Bradley’s computers,” he said without

facing Victor again. “I’ll wait.”

Victor flicked a note in his face so he had to acknowledge his comment. You’re waiting

because of Paige. Why?

“She deserves the chance at justice, too.”

Before Victor could ask for an explanation—something Joseph couldn’t even give

himself—he rushed away, moving at top shifter speed to put distance between them. Victor

wouldn’t follow. Not tonight.

He knew where to find Joseph now anyway.

Chapter Nine

Paige could barely contain her anxiety the next day, knowing Victor and possibly this

Dmitry Chernikov were trying to break into Bradley’s computers. She wasn’t sure it was even

possible, but the waiting and not knowing kept her pacing her rooms: bedroom, living room,

office, personal gym, library, back through the office, into the living room, bedroom, back to the

library. She even made an effort to take a book off the shelf but couldn’t concentrate enough to

read the first paragraph.

The day after her mother’s funeral, she was “expected” to stay home and accept any

condolence visitors or phone calls. The order from her stepfather meant she couldn’t even go into

her Philadelphia office where she could get to her bank or even Bradley’s Philly townhouse if

she could assure herself he wasn’t there.

Bradley had vanished that morning without telling anyone where he was going, which was

typical and not even noticed. Her stepfather had left for a DC trip that would keep him away for

a week, which was also typical.

The absence of both men normally made her more comfortable in the house, but today she

was itching to get out and do something useful.

Not knowing where Bradley was or when he might be back didn’t help her anxiety levels.

Even if she left and went to Philly, she couldn’t be sure she wouldn’t run into him either at the

office or at his townhouse.

She stopped pacing her living room and looked at the door. She could try searching his

rooms here. She hadn’t expected to be able to do that for days, but since Bradley was gone, she

might have a chance. Most of the staff was cleaning the public parts of the house after

yesterday’s wake. No one should notice. And if no one noticed, they couldn’t accidentally let her

activities slip to Bradley. He might not think anything of her being by his lab yesterday, but he

would put things together if she was spotted in his wing today. Most of the staff members were

just as scared of him as she was—maybe more—so they wouldn’t give her away on purpose. But

they might be intimidated into revealing something.

She looked out her living room door, listening for a long moment. The only noise was a

long way off. She stepped into the hall and headed toward the main wing and the corridor that

led past the main entrance. She paused at the top of the grand staircase, listening. From the

sounds, the staff was in the kitchen or busy in the great room at the rear of the first floor.

Blowing out a slow, silent breath, she moved past the stairs and around the L corner that

took her into her brother’s wing. Slipping into a small bathroom, she peeked out a window to

check the back part of the estate. The gardeners were busy at work, preparing the huge lawns and

gardens for spring.

All signs pointed to her having privacy, but anxiety still clawed at her. She started in his

study. The space was huge and aggressively masculine: dark wood; bookshelves lining the two

side walls filled with as many globes and pseudo-sciency looking antiques as they were with

leather bound volumes; polished inlaid wood floors covered with red and green Persian rugs; the

desk, a huge mahogany thing she doubted Bradley had ever sat at, with an ergonomic chair

pushed up to it. Two giant, floor to ceiling windows flanked the desk, their thick green drapery

pulled back to flood the room with light. The place smelled of lemon polish and very faintly of

musty leather.

As she looked around, she realized this was the first time she’d actually stepped inside this

room. She’d seen this space once or twice from outside the door while it was being decorated,

because her stepfather expected her to supervise the work, but she hadn’t seen the interior since.

It was a long shot she’d find anything here, and even more unlikely that Bradley kept

anything in the desk, but she searched it anyway, moving the chair and pulling the drawers out

all the way to look for hidden compartments. Nothing interesting. There were a few pens and a

couple of legal pads in the top drawers. The large bottom drawers which were designed for files

were empty but for a bottle of brandy and two crystal glasses.

She dropped into the chair and sighed. Obviously, this was not a place where he did more

than share the occasional drink with...well, whoever he spent time with.

She let the chair spin from side to side as she studied the rest of the room from a different

angle, trying to decide where to look next. The number of books in the room was minimal and

something the designer had arranged rather than a reflection of Bradley’s taste in reading, but

maybe he used them to hide things?

That seemed more like something out of a mystery novel than real life, but she stood and

paced in front of the shelves anyway, studying titles, looking for anything that stood out.

Most of the books were literary classics, all new editions. One or two were about art, also

with relatively new leather binding, and a few more were about philosophy. None of them

looked like they’d been touched except by the house staff who dusted the shelves.

She pulled a random book down and flipped through the pages. The binding creaked, and

the scent of fresh paper and ink feathered up at her. She closed it, realized it was a copy of War and
Peace, and put it back on the shelf.

A sound from the hall made her heartbeat speed. She froze and stared at the door, breathing

in the faint lemon scent of wood cleaner as she tried not to make any noise. Moments passed,

then a vacuum cleaner came on farther down the hall.

Damn it, now she was trapped. She crept to the door and peeked out. A maid was too busy

cleaning the carpet to notice Paige, but if Paige walked out now, she’d definitely call attention to

herself. She had no excuse for being in Bradley’s study.

She eased the door closed, moved two steps back, and stared at the wood. She couldn’t

believe she was sneaking around her own house like this.

Heartbeat still hammering, she returned to the shelves for one last look, staying near the

desk. If she heard someone at the door, she could always hide under the massive desk until they

left. Unless it was Bradley.

But she didn’t want to contemplate that, so she forced her mind back to the bookshelves.

She picked up random object d’ art, not sure what she was looking for but hoping

something incriminating would jump out at her. As she scanned and hunted, she also considered

where to search next—if she dared risk it now that one of the maids was up here cleaning.

She was so focused on the next step in her plan that when she picked up the book that felt

wrong for its size, she almost didn’t notice before putting it back on the shelf without opening it.

But as she angled the book back between two others, the odd lightness of the very thick volume

registered.

The sounds of the vacuum got closer to the door. She stared at it even as she pulled the

book back out and opened it. She glanced down, not expecting to see much, then did a double

take when she realized the inside of the book was mostly hollow. The vacuum cleaner bumped

against the door, making her jump. She bit her lip to keep from screeching and edged closer to

the desk, preparing to hide.

Moments passed, and then the vacuum moved on. She released her breath very slowly and

blinked away the spots coloring her vision from her pumping adrenaline. When she was sure the

door would remain closed for a few more minutes, she eased behind Bradley’s desk, sat in his

comfortable chair, and opened the hollow book again.

Inside the cut out center of the false pages nestled a small, brown velvet bag. She ran a

finger over it, wondering at the texture. It seemed an odd thing for her brother to have bought.

He seemed more the leather type. She studied the exact position of the bag, making sure she

could replace it precisely as she’d found it, then she visually assessed all around it, making sure

she wouldn’t trigger any traps or warning signs that the bag had been found.

She felt a little silly going to such extremes, but it was better to be overly cautious where

Bradley was concerned.

When she was sure she could remove the sack without trouble, she lifted it out, and hefted

its weight in her palm. It felt like a bag full of very small stones, but lighter than the number of

stones suggested. Swallowing hard, she opened the drawstring and pulled the bag open.

For several surreal moments, she just stared at the contents without actually recognizing

what she was looking at. The first thing that pushed past her shock and disbelief was the fact that

one of the pinky toes had a toenail painted a lovely shade of lavender.

Chapter Ten

When the realization that she was holding a bag full of pinky toes reached her

consciousness, Paige dropped the sack on the desk with a barely suppressed scream. She jumped

back so fast, she almost knocked over the heavy chair and only barely prevented it from thunking

to the ground with reflexes faster than conscious thought.

Breathing hard, afraid she might throw up, she set the chair down and took another few

steps away from the desk. She couldn’t take her eyes off the bag, even when she heard the

vacuum passing outside the door again. If anyone walked in now, they’d find her on the verge of

passing out, staring at a little velvet bag full of human toes.

Oh god, oh god, oh god, oh god. What was she going to do? If she took the bag, Bradley

might notice. But this was actual evidence. This was a smoking gun, a bloody knife in the hand,

a very clear sign that all was not normal with her brother.

She glanced back at the shelves. Was this the only bag full of disgusting little surprises?

Did he have other things stored around this room, in other parts of the house? Places in the open

so he could smirk at the unsuspecting people he brought here who had no idea they were in a

room with a serial killer’s trophies?

If she took this bag now, she’d surely give herself away. If she left it, she risked Bradley

moving it before she could take it to the cops.

She could take it to the police today, but would it be enough? How could Bradley explain

having a bag full of human pinky toes?

With a sick certainty, she was sure he could explain it in some grossly logical way that her

stepfather would then assure got Bradley off. She couldn’t be sure there would be any actual

forensics to tie the toes to murder victims or missing persons. Bradley likely found a way to

destroy that kind of evidence before putting his tokens here. She wasn’t sure how that was

possible, but if anyone could do it, her sick brother would know a way.

She pressed her hands to her stomach as the taste of bile in her mouth pushed her closer to

throwing up. What should she do? She wasn’t even sure she could force herself to touch the bag

again, nonetheless actually taking the thing out of here. She’d have to hide it on her person to get

back to her room, or to leave with it. She’d have to take one of the cars she rarely drove and go

directly to the police.

She looked at the shelves again. What if there was more there? More in other places in the

house? Maybe some of it would contain just the bit of forensics to convict Bradley. And if she

tipped her hand now, he’d know and destroy all the other possible evidence.

Panting from panic and fear, she moved closer to the bag. Her stomach rolled and her

throat muscles tightened, making her gag. Oh god oh god.

Carefully, touching as little of the bag as possible, she angled the opening toward the

sunlight spilling in from the windows behind her. Yep, a bag full of small toes.

She ground her teeth together and tried not to smell anything. There was remarkably little

smell coming from the bag, just a very subtle scent of old meat, must, and a very faint tang of

chemicals. Even that faint hint of flesh was enough to make her gag again, though.

She pulled the drawstrings closed, hiding the horrific booty from view, then she forced

herself to replace the bag in the hollow book, exactly the way she’d found it. Which meant

pressing at the little lumps she now knew were human body parts. She was panting so hard she

was on the verge of hyperventilating when she finally closed the book.

Blinking away the darkness edging her vision, she shook herself hard to remove the

creepy-crawly sensation moving over her skin. She took the volume back to its spot on the shelf

as the silence from outside the door sunk in. The vacuuming had stopped. Which meant she had

no idea where the maid was now.

Despite her shaking hands and an overriding urge to run away, she replaced the book as

carefully as she’d arranged the bag. On trembling legs, she crept to the door, and peeked into the

hall. She heard the maid bumping around in a bathroom two doors down.

She eased into the hall, closed the study door with a near silent click, and went to the

bathroom to find the maid.

“Beth,” she said, attracting the maid’s attention. When the small, dark-haired woman

smiled hesitantly up at her, she said, “I don’t mean to disrupt your work, but I need a new

garbage bag for my bathroom, and I heard your vacuum as I was on my way downstairs. I don’t

suppose you have any on you?”

The maid frowned a little, but dipped a nod and handed her a folded, lightly scented liner

for her little bathroom trashcan. There was a similar one here, so it was a good bet the maid had

one with her.

Paige put on an obviously forced smiled and sniffled a little before saying, “I’m afraid I

filled mine with tissues.”

The maid’s expression instantly shifted to understanding. “Of course, miss. Your mother

will be truly missed. We all loved her.”

Which was true. The staff had adored her drug-addled, alcoholic mother because Carmen

was nothing if not charming—and excessively generous with bonuses and gifts. Something her

husband had approved because it ensured a loyal, discrete staff and a very low turnover rate. This

offset the sometimes abusive behavior of Bradley and was therefore worth the expense.

“Thank you,” Paige said through another only partially put on sniffle. She raised the plastic

liner and it crinkled in her still shaking hand. “Thank you. Excuse me.”

She hurried back to her side of the house, hoping she’d provided herself with enough of an

excuse for wandering around that no one would think anything of it. A grieving daughter should

be allowed some odd behavior—like going to an upstairs maid for a garbage bag rather than

ringing down and having one brought up. Most of the staff would likely never think enough

about this incident to mention it.

That gave her time to consider and plan.

She shut herself back in her bedroom, locking the door because she was still so unnerved.

Then she filled her mostly empty bathroom garbage can with crumpled tissues before carefully

inserting the new liner and filling the can halfway with more tissues. She left the used bag just

outside her bedroom door and sealed herself inside again. She was so anxious, she even locked

the inner door that led from her bedroom to her living room.

All the while, she ran through her options, trying to beat back panic and the renewed urge

to run away, this time for a whole new reason. Behind all her panic and worry, behind her fear

and disgust, the most dominant thought was that she needed to see Joseph. She had to tell him

about this. Together they’d figure out what to do.

She had to see Joseph.

*****

Paige tried to wait for her usual time to leave the house but remaining in her bedroom was

driving her crazy. Knowing she was in the same house as body parts, trophies from Bradley’s

murders, made her skin itch and her knees shake. She wanted to shower but was afraid to in case

Bradley came home. Now that she was certain beyond a shadow of a doubt that he killed women,

the idea of being in the shower in a home he could just enter at will left her feeling entirely too

vulnerable.

How would she ever sleep here again? Once she left, she wasn’t even sure she’d be able to

come back. Even locked in her bedroom, staying in the same house with her brother now seemed

impossible.

At midnight, she gave up the pretense of waiting and headed down to the main kitchen in

such a hurry that she forgot to pull on her coat.

She was so intent on leaving, she almost forgot to turn off the alarm when she reached the

kitchen door. Her fingers shook as she started to key in the code—only to realize the outside

alarm was already off. What the…?

The thought barely started when the door opened and Bradley stepped into the doorway,

blocking her escape.

She jumped and a gasp escaped before she could stop herself.

“Well, well…” Bradley said, his mouth turned up at one side. “Come down for another late

night snack?” He glanced at the alarm panel and raised his brows. “Or are you leaving?”

“I missed dinner,” she said, putting a hand to her stomach. “Then I over ate. I need some

fresh air. If you’ll excuse me.” She didn’t want to get within touching distance of him, but she

wanted out of the house and away from him so badly she could barely think.

He looked her over. “No coat?”

“I didn’t come down intending to go outside.” She glanced past him. “It’s not that cold out.

You aren’t wearing a coat.”

“I haven’t been waiting long.”

“Waiting?”

“Why did you skip dinner?”

She put on her only defense, her instinctive fallback persona—meek, eyes downcast,

quiet—and said, “I was sleeping.”

“All afternoon.”

“Grief does that.”

“Grief, huh?” He nodded, his mouth pursed.

“Are you going to stand in the doorway all night?” she asked in a perfectly reasonable

tone. She hoped the slight shaking she heard in her own voice wasn’t obvious.

He shrugged. Then without warning he stepped close and took her chin in his fingers, tight,

forcing her face up so she had to meet his gaze. His touch made her skin crawl and it was all she

could do not to slap his hand away. Terror tightened in her belly. Did he know what she’d found?

Did he realize she knew he was a killer?

“You look like shit, sis,” he said, his voice quiet and too intense for his words. “Don’t let

Dad see you like this. You know what he’ll say.”

“Let me go, Bradley.” She swallowed hard. “Unless you want me to throw up on you. I

really did eat too much. If I don’t get some air, I will not be able to keep the food down.”

She wasn’t lying about throwing up. Having his hand on her skin made her stomach churn

and she was afraid she really would barf any minute.

His gaze narrowed and he stepped even closer, his chest bumping against hers as he

loomed over her. She clenched her hands into fists at her side to keep from pushing him away,

though every part of her wanted to, and she pressed her lips together hard, not pretending at a

gag. He finally dropped his hold and shifted to one side, out of range if she did lose what little

was in her stomach.

“Throw up outside,” he said. “Better to get all that food back out anyway. You can’t afford

to gain weight.” He sauntered around her as if nothing had happened.

Before she could make her escape, though, he said, “Oh, Paige?”

She half-turned to look at him.

“Be careful. It’s dark out there.”

She rushed away without waiting to see if he left the kitchen, closing the door behind her.

Everything in her screamed to get to the pedestrian gate, to get to Joseph, but what if Bradley

watched…or followed?

At the alarm panel just outside the door, she deactivated a wider section of ground sensors

than she normally did and for a longer amount of time. Then she stood against the wall next to

the door and waited.

The waiting was torturous. She ran her bracelet back and forth over her fingers and

counted slowly to five hundred. Everything remained quiet, so she pushed away from the wall

and made an effort to stroll casually across the lawn. She couldn’t stop herself from heading

right to the pedestrian gate, but she made the effort not to run there, to pretend she was just

walking—in case Bradley was watching.

When she reached the scant cover of trees near the fence, she looked back up at the house.

Everything looked as it always did, most of the windows dark, no hint that anyone was even

awake.

The need to get out finally overwhelmed her caution.

She located Joseph by feel well before she saw him, and without thought launched into his

arms. He held her, his arms solid and warm and secure as his earthy, masculine scent filled her

head. For a heartbeat, she was safe, enveloped by his much larger, stronger body.

An instant later, she realized what an absurd thing she’d just done.

She pushed away as quickly as she’d hugged him, feeling like a ridiculous fool. “I’m so

sorry. That was presumptuous. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“What’s wrong? What’s happened?”

He ignored both her impetuous hug and her apology. She wasn’t sure how to feel about

that so she didn’t think about it and told him about her discovery.

“There could be more of those bundles, too,” she said. “I have no way of knowing, and I

was too terrified to keep looking.” She sucked in few shallow breaths. “I knew, this whole time, I

knew, but I never expected…”

“What did you expect?”

She waved her hands in the air and started pacing back and forth in front of him, her

movements cushioned by the soft grass. “I don’t know, okay. I thought when I went looking for

evidence I’d find house deeds that linked to a killing place. Or maybe some notes on a future or

past victim. I did not expect to find fucking pinky toes in a fucking sack!”

Joseph watched her stalk back and forth without comment as her voice got higher and

higher with each comment. When she finished, he stepped into her path, took her by the

shoulders and made her look him in the face.

“Will Bradley suspect you’ve found this bag?”

She frowned. “I put it back exactly as I found it. He’d have no reason to suspect.”

“You’ve been in contact with him tonight, though, and you’re very upset. Could he tell?”

Her heartbeat was thumping so hard it was difficult to think straight so what struck her first

wasn’t the actual question he’d asked. “How can you tell I’ve been in contact with him?”

“His scent is all over you.”

There was something so dark and deadly in Joseph’s otherwise emotionless tone, Paige

shivered. The shiver wasn’t from fear. “He came in the kitchen door just as I was leaving. I told

him I missed dinner, then ate too much and had to go out for fresh air.”

“Did he believe you?”

“I think so because I wasn’t lying about feeling like I might throw up.”

“If he finds out what you’ve discovered, you’re dead.”

She shivered again. “What did Victor find?”

To her utter surprise, Joseph actually glared. A real, honest to god, full-on frowning glare,

with his mouth and forehead and eyes all involved. She blinked a few times. His expression was

more than a little disconcerting.

After a frightening moment of that frown, he said, “He had to call in Dom. Dom got past

one layer of security only to get slammed down by another. Good work, apparently.”

“Not Bradley. He’s smart, but he’s never been that good with computers. He’d have hired

someone. Probably the best.”

“Dom is better. He says he’ll be through by tomorrow morning.”

“Will that alert Bradley?”

“Maybe. Depends.”

“You think Bradley will notice?”

“Not right away if he didn’t set up the system. The earliest he’ll figure it out is after Dom’s

in.”

“So we have tonight.” She glanced back at the estate wall, envisioning the house beyond.

Bradley being home made getting into his study particularly tricky. She didn’t have an

excuse for being there. And after their run-in, he’d suspect something for sure if she went into

his wing.

So how to get back to his study tonight?

And when the hell had she decided to go back?

“I have to,” she said aloud but to herself. “We need physical evidence even if the computer

reveals something. And if he knows his computers have been hacked, even if there’s nothing

there, he might be paranoid enough to move the…bag.” She swallowed bile, almost choking on

the taste. Skipping dinner, and lunch she realized, hadn’t helped her nausea.

“You’re talking about going back in?” Joseph gripped her upper arm, forcing her to look at

him again.

The sensation of his hand on her startled her back to her surroundings. “It’s the only way.

We need physical evidence. I shouldn’t have run away and left the bag there. I panicked.”

“You don’t know what we’ll find on the computers. Might be enough for a search warrant.

If the cops find the bag, it’ll be more effective.”

“Without the bag, my stepfather will never allow a search of his home, or any of Bradley’s.

Not without something more than what a hack finds on a computer. He’ll ensure that gets tossed,

the same as he did the syringe Bradley brought to the kidnapping. Or he’ll bribe the judge not to

issue the warrant. Or he’ll call in favors, or do any number of things to keep damning evidence

against his precious son from being useful.”

She watched Joseph’s face closely, half hoping for and half dreading another show of

emotion.

In his presence, she felt braver than she’d felt not half an hour ago. Part of her wasn’t sure

how to feel about that—taking her bravery from someone else seemed like a weakness somehow

and she was trying to stop being such a weak person.

But maybe it was just that he settled her, got her out of her panic enough to face what she

had to do? She was still learning how to be strong and he helped her with that. Nothing wrong

with a little help, was there?

If she was weak, she’d leave now and pretend she never saw those toes. But she wasn’t

going to, despite what her instincts urged. She was going to go back into that house and retrieve

that sack. She was going to hold back the urge to throw up and do what had to be done.

Because she was determined to be a better person from now on. When this was all done,

she would prove to herself she wasn’t the woman everyone thought she was. She’d prove she

was better.

She stopped herself before she followed those thoughts farther, but there was more there

and it had to do with Joseph and she couldn’t bring herself to even consider what her emotions

were dancing around. She couldn’t think of those things. Not now. Maybe not for a long time.

Joseph disrupted her desperate attempts to avoid certain thoughts by saying, “You can’t go

back in there, not alone.”

“I have to. It’s the only way.”

“No.”

“Joseph, we need the evidence. It will be enough to override my stepfather’s influence. He

won’t be able to keep the police out. And they might find more. I have no idea what’s in that

house. But the authorities won’t get in without something condemning. Handed to them by

someone as obviously innocent as me.” Without meaning to, she snarled the word innocent. As if

it was an insult rather than a compliment. Though the image worked in her favor in this

circumstance, she still hated that people saw her that way.

Joseph surprised her by hauling her closer, putting his face in hers. “You aren’t going back

in there alone. I’m going with you.”

“You can’t. You’ll never be able to resist killing him.”

“I said I won’t yet. I won’t. But you can’t be in there alone with him.”

She started to shake her head but his hand tightened and she stopped mid-protest.

“If I have to sneak in behind you, I will.”

“The alarms…”

“Are the reason it will be better if I go in with you.”

She swallowed hard. This was a bad idea. Such a bad idea.

Such a wonderfully reassuring idea, even if it was a terrible one.

“Fine.” She paused as his heat soaked into her. It was too cold to be outside without a coat,

but with Joseph so near, she barely noticed the chill. She wanted to lean into him again, pressing

her whole body to him to absorb his strength. “Just, please, don’t kill him. Yet.”

His lips twitched when she said yet, the twitch that told her he was amused.

Joseph’s version of a smile filled her with more warmth and longing than any smile she’d

ever seen.

Reluctantly, she eased away from him and looked back at the gate. “He’s awake and might

be watching for me. Even if he isn’t suspicious, he’s mean and might not be done picking on

me.”

“If you disconnect the alarms, I can get us to the house faster than a human can see. Inside,

I can keep from being seen.”

“What if he sneaks up on us? He’s good at that.”

“I’ll smell him well before he gets near us.”

“Can you really move fast enough to keep him from seeing?”

“Yes.”

She thought of last night, the way he and Victor had seemed to disappear before her eyes.

Could he do that while holding her? Her heartbeat pounded hard enough to make her breathing

rough and uneven. Some of it was fear. Some of it was exhilaration.

Some of it was Joseph.

“Okay. Let’s go in.”

Chapter Eleven

Paige disabled the security system with shaking hands. She reentered the estate first, then

waited with barely contained anxiety for Joseph to follow her. The gate closed quietly behind

him.

In the shadows under the fence, with a clumping of trees mostly blocking them from the

house, she had to really focus to see him. He blended in with his surroundings so well it was

eerie. She could still feel him, though, even without seeing him, and for some reason that

reassured her. He had walked through the gate and hadn’t abandoned her to her own false

bravery.

She knew she should feel silly depending on him to maintain her sense of strength, but in

those dark moments, all she felt was relief.

“Ready?” he asked, his voice quiet.

She nodded, then realized he might be having as much trouble seeing her as she was him

so she opened her mouth to speak. Before any sound came out, he swept her up into his arms and

she gasped. Oh. He held her like she weighed nothing at all. A little feminine shiver traveled up

her spine. She liked the feel of Joseph carrying her just a little too much.

“This will be disorienting for you. You might want to close your eyes.”

He didn’t even bother to wait for a nod this time. His muscles bunched against her, and

then all her brain had time to register was a jerk of motion.

They reached the house before she even had a chance to catch her breath. So fast, she

hadn’t had time to close her eyes and they watered from the speed of passing air. A slight

queasiness like motion sickness was the only other indication they’d changed locations. One

instant they were by the gate. The next he was putting her on her feet next to the kitchen door.

“How did you know to come here?” she asked, her voice so breathless from the speed she

wasn’t sure he’d hear her.

“Scent,” he said. “I could smell your trail between the wall and the house.”

“That’s strange,” she said.

His lips twitched. “Stranger than how fast we got here?”

“No. But I’m still processing that. Thinking about your sense of smell is easier on my brain

right now.”

The corner of his mouth ticked up in another show of honest-to-god emotion—this time

humor. The expression flattened out a moment later, but lasted long enough this time that there

was no denying it.

Joseph was starting to show some emotion.

Rather than ponder the implications, she opened the door, let him in, reset the alarms, then

faced the empty kitchen. They both stood still as she listened for any hint that their presence had

been noticed.

Joseph leaned close to her ear and whispered, “No one is nearby. I can’t hear any breathing

or catch anyone’s scent.”

“You can hear breathing?” she whispered back, though why they were whispering when no

one was around, she wasn’t sure.

“I can hear your heart beating when I’m this close to you.”

That comment started her heart beating even harder. She struggled for several long

moments not to lean back into him so she could feel his hands on her again. Then she said, “This

way.”

They made it to the second floor without attracting any attention. At this time of night, the

only staff still inside the house was the housekeeper. Their driver had a small apartment above

the garage. The butler and cook were married and shared a little house at the east side of the

estate. The grounds keeper’s house was nearer the back of the estate—and he usually drank

himself to sleep so he wasn’t likely to be about this time of night.

But Bradley was inside, somewhere, and that knowledge kept Paige on edge as they

stepped onto the second floor landing.

She turned toward Bradley’s wing hesitantly. She hoped he was in his lab in the basement

and she could get in and out of his study without having to use Joseph’s skills.

Before she crossed the open gallery above the main entrance at the head of the grand

staircase, though, Joseph put a hand on her shoulder and motioned her to a door. It was a closet

so she shook her head and hurried him around the corner to her bedroom door.

They slipped inside just as she heard footsteps on the marble stairs. She closed the door as

quietly as she could, then stepped back a few feet trying not to let her shaking limbs drop her to

the carpet.

She waited for a long moment, but nothing happened. When she faced Joseph, she frowned

a question.

“Whoever it was moved in the opposite direction,” he said.

She nodded and let out a long breath. “It wasn’t necessarily Bradley. My stepfather is in

DC, but we do have a housekeeper.”

As she stared at Joseph, it struck her that this was the first time she’d ever had a man in her

bedroom—at least one who wasn’t related to her in some way.

Her stepfather never moved past the doorway. Even when she was a little girl and a part of

her had hoped he’d be a real father, coming in with her mother to kiss her goodnight, he hadn’t.

He’d watched their bedtime routine, then left with her mother, giving Paige a very perfunctory

goodnight as he closed the door.

And while she rarely went to Bradley’s side of the house on purpose, he occasionally came

to her side to harass or pester her. That habit hadn’t changed much even after they’d grown up,

but he didn’t actually come into her bedroom now.

Beyond that, no man had ever stood this close to her bed. She didn’t even bring men to this

house often, and when she did, it was only for large gatherings. Then, she only brought men she

knew her stepfather would view as acceptable—politically advantageous, wealthy, easy for Duke

to manipulate. Men she never cared for but knew wouldn’t draw her stepfather’s wrath or her

brother’s attention.

Joseph Bennett was none of these things. He was the opposite of every man she’d ever

even known. A flash of him standing naked under the cover of trees, just before he showed her

his tiger, had her swallowing hard. No, he was not the kind of man she would have ever brought

into this house before.

Her stepfather might view this as some kind of rebellion—dating a bad boy. She was much

too old for such childish behaviors. He’d probably berate her, though, and do that thing he did

with words that left her feeling like a disappointing child despite her age.

And that was nothing to what Bradley would say.

Still, it felt…good to have Joseph here. Like he should be in her room. That reaction was

enough to keep her quiet a moment longer, just staring at him. He stood near the linen closet just

outside her bathroom, still and patient. Not awkward or uncomfortable but not relaxed either.

Just there. Waiting.

On her, she supposed, to decide when they should move out again.

She was about to say something about how long they should wait, when she heard a noise

in the hall. She motioned Joseph toward the linen closet, but before she could finish the gesture,

he was already gone.

A sharp knock on the door was her only warning before the heavy wood swung open.

“Still up late, I see, sis?”

She bit back both her snarl of disgust and her knee-jerk fear as she faced Bradley, berating

herself silently for not locking the damned door.

“What do you need?” she asked, hoping her tone didn’t give away her breathlessness or

rapidly pounding heartbeat.

“Just passing and thought I heard you come back upstairs. Did you manage to keep any

food down?”

“Why do you care?” she surprised herself by saying. The words were too sharp, too

aggressive. They’d only draw him out, like a hunting predator eager to play with his prey.

“I don’t,” he admitted with that smirking smile of his.

He frowned a little and glanced toward her linen closet, so she quickly said, “If that’s all, I

am tired.”

“After sleeping all day?” But he was distracted, still staring at the closet. Then his eyes

narrowed. “You have someone here? You?”

Panic sent her pulse racing. How the hell could he tell? “What are you talking about?” She

frowned and pretended to be confused and annoyed, but she could tell he wasn’t buying her act.

His mouth lifted in a smarmy smirk and he raised his hands, palms out. “Hey, who am I to

judge? Frankly, I never thought you had it in you. Man or woman?”

“What?”

He shrugged. “Guess it doesn’t matter. You want to fuck someone the night after your

mother’s funeral, so be it. Can’t blame you. I could use a good fuck, too.”

She wanted to scream as anger she’d never allowed out before overrode her fear. “You

fucked someone on the day of her funeral. She was your mother, too. Don’t you even care that

she just died?”

He shrugged. “That drugged-out whore was hardly what a reasonable person would call a

mother. She should have been dead years ago.” He snorted.

Paige clenched her hands into fists. She was surprised at how hard she had to work to keep

from launching herself at him and ripping his face off. Especially knowing what she knew about

him now. How could he dare to disparage the woman who gave birth to him? How could he dare

judge her or Paige when he was so depraved and sick?

“I can’t believe you would speak of your own mother that way,” she said through clenched

teeth.

But she could believe it. All too easily. She was disgusted by it as much as she was

disgusted by him. How was it possible that this…thing before her had any sort of blood

relationship to her? What did that say about her?

Her stomach churned and she actually thought she might throw up for real if he didn’t

leave. All thoughts of sneaking to his study evaporated as disgust overwhelmed her. “Get out.”

He laughed. “Stop acting like you care. What the fuck did she ever do for you?”

“Gave birth to me.” Without noticing, she fingered the gold links around her wrist,

fidgeting with the only thing that connected her to her mother’s family.

“Yeah, after getting pregnant by an incompetent thief.”

“She gave birth to you, too,” she ground out through clenched teeth and forced her hands

to her sides.

Rather than leaving, he sauntered farther into the room. “About the only worthwhile thing

she ever did. If she hadn’t had big tits, I doubt father would have looked at her twice. Not that he

should have kept her this long.”

Her vision darkened around the edges. She wasn’t sure if she was going to pass out or fly

into a rage. Either seemed the height of folly around her psychotic brother. She held herself

perfectly still so neither would happen. “Get out.”

“So sentimental.” Glancing at the closet again, his smirk grew. “And not as different from

your whore mother as we all thought. Now I get the late night ‘snack’ runs to the kitchen.” He

slid his hands into the pockets of his pressed slacks and rocked back on his heels. “I’d ask to

watch, but I can’t imagine anything you’d do in bed would be particularly exciting.”

She was about to order him out again, when without warning, he jumped to the closet door

and threw it open. She didn’t even have time to protest or shout a warning. She couldn’t even

gasp. Panic grabbed her tight around the throat, and she took one step toward the closet. But to

her surprise, Joseph wasn’t there. It was a walk-in but a small one with narrow shelves lining all

three walls floor-to-ceiling. There wasn’t anything to hide behind—not even enough space

behind the door.

Where had he gone?

Bradley stepped inside the closet, frowning as he searched behind the door and up and

down the shelves.

She found her voice. “Bradley, what are you doing?” she asked calmly, though her voice

was loud to her own ears. “Do you need a towel?”

He came out, his frown deep, his gaze narrowed at her. “I could swear…”

She raised her brows, attempting a mild inquiry while keeping her hands clenched tight so

he wouldn’t see them shake. She looked around him into the closet. Nope, no Joseph. Relief was

as sharp as confusion.

Bradley did a slow circle, taking in her room. “Huh.”

“If you’re done assessing my room, would you mind leaving? I really would like to go to

sleep now.”

His gaze still narrowed and his lips pursed, he said, “You’re just full of surprises, aren’t

you, Paigy?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure you don’t.” He waved over his shoulder as he turned his back on her and headed out.

“Have fun, sis.”

He didn’t bother closing the door behind him. She held still and breathed slowly for a

count of twenty before closing and locking her door.

When she faced the room again, Joseph was standing a few feet away. She hadn’t heard

anything and his sudden appearance made her jump. She snarled at her own reaction and put a

hand over her heart. “How do you do that? Where did you go? I thought you were in the closet.”

His gaze was dark, and the aura of danger surrounding him made her already pounding

pulse tick up another notch. She realized in that moment how very close he’d been to the man he

wanted to kill. And yet he’d stayed hidden.

“You didn’t attack him,” she said, a little too obviously.

“You want me to wait. I said I would.”

“Still. That must have been very difficult to resist.”

“You wanted to kill him, too. You didn’t.”

“Because I’m not sure I can.” She thought about his speed and strength and knew very well

Joseph could rip Bradley’s head off without much effort. “How could you tell?”

“Scent.”

“You have an amazing nose,” she commented. “How come he didn’t see you?”

“Closet is narrow enough I could brace against the ceiling over the door.”

She blinked a few times. “Like a ninja?”

His mouth ticked up at one corner, his only comment.

She sat on the edge of her bed as her knees shook from the adrenaline of the day, all hitting

her on an empty stomach. She ducked her head and closed her eyes briefly. “I thought I was

going to have a heart attack when he opened that door. I thought for sure he’d see you and you’d

kill him.” She looked up. “We’ll need to wait before we go to his study.”

Joseph nodded.

“Are you okay? Being so near him like this?”

“Are you? What he said about your mother…”

She waved away his concern. “It shouldn’t have surprised or bothered me as much as it

did.”

“He could tell I was in the closet.”

“Yes, but how?”

He shrugged. “Did I make a noise?”

“I didn’t hear anything. I felt you there, but…” She trailed off when his gaze sharpened in

a way that would have been hard to describe to someone who didn’t know him.

“You felt me?”

“I have from the first. I just kind of know where you are without having to see you.”

He looked away and a very small frown turned his mouth down.

When he looked at her again, the frown was gone, but there was a different kind of

intensity in his body, like he was coiled and ready to jump on something. “You said from the

first—meaning the first night we met?”

“Actually, what I felt that night, I’ve felt before. You’ve been to the house, stalking

Bradley before. I think I could feel you then, too. But I didn’t know what I was sensing.”

“Is your stepfather—” He broke off and shook his head. “No. I’ve been near enough to

him. I’d have known…” He started pacing the length of her room, talking quietly to himself, his

movements across the carpet silent. “Except we can’t sense them. Couldn’t feel Nila. Maybe…

But no, Duke isn’t a blood relative to you both. Would have to be…”

He paused to look at her. “Does Bradley ever show heightened senses? Like an ability to

see well in the dark or hear things better than most people?”

“He can see much too well in the dark. And he has a way of sneaking up on me that always

made me think he could hear me coming even when I was being quiet.”

“How about your vision?”

“I’ve always had excellent night vision, I guess.”

“Your hearing? Sense of smell?”

She shrugged. “Very good, but nothing unusual as far as I know.”

“But you can sense me, even when you can’t see me?”

She frowned and started to rise but her knees were still wobbly so she stayed on her bed.

“What’s going on? Is there a problem with my sensing you?”

“Your mother. Were her senses heightened?”

“I doubt it, but it would have been hard to tell with all her drug use and complaints of

pain.” She sighed. “If she could see or hear particularly well, I’m not sure even she would have
noticed.”

“The pain.” Suddenly, he stood a foot away from her, staring down at her. “What kind of

pain was it? Did it come cyclically?”

“I don’t know. I guess. Why?”

“You said she was obsessed with tigers?”

“Joseph, what’s wrong? What are you thinking?”

“Not sure. Have to ask Victor. I only heard rumors in confinement, but…”

When he didn’t finish, she stood up, took his face in her hands and made him meet her

gaze. “What? Rumors of what?”

He blinked. As close to a show of surprise as she’d ever seen.

“I might be wrong,” he said. “I don’t want to confuse the situation if I am. I’ll explain

when I know more. But knowing Bradley can sense me now is…significant.”

“And makes what we want to do tonight much more difficult,” she said, only just then

realizing it. “You’ll have to stay here. If you’re with me, he might notice something. I have to go

alone.”

“No.”

“Don’t argue with me about this. You know I’m right.”

“Maybe. But I’m not leaving you alone while he’s here.”

She dropped her chin back and raised her brows. “Were you planning on spending the

night? Moving in, maybe?”

Either her comment or her tone must have surprised him because he blinked again. Then he

took a step closer.

Her heartbeat sped. Nothing to do with fear now. He was close enough that she could feel

his breath on her temple and something inside her tightened in anticipation.

The moment stretched out for too long. Her nerves jumped as part of her wanted to shy

away from the intensity. And part of her wanted to launch into his arms again. She dropped her

hold on his face, but he didn’t move back, and neither did she.

“I’m going with you to the study,” he said, breaking the tense silence. “I can scent for other

trophies. I can protect you if he catches you there.”

“And who will protect you? You’ll kill him.”

“Only if he tries to hurt you.”

She sucked in a deep breath. The movement brought her chest so close to his that she could

almost feel him through her shirt. Too much was happening. So many questions she still had, and

so many emotions assaulted her system in one day, she had no way to process everything. She

wanted to fall into Joseph and kiss him, but she was afraid. Afraid of what it would mean. Afraid

he’d reject her. Afraid she’d lose the part of her she was just discovering.

That fear put her into motion. She dropped her gaze and moved around him to the

bathroom. “I’ll be right back. Make yourself comfortable. We can’t leave until Bradley’s asleep,

so we have a few hours to kill.”

She didn’t look back as she closed the bathroom door. She knew if she looked into his eyes

just then, she’d throw all caution and fear to the wind. This wasn’t the time or place for that.

Especially not the time. Her only defense was distance.

And maybe a few splashes of cold water on her heated cheeks.

Joseph stared at the bathroom door as she closed it. Something was changing. Too much

and too fast. He didn’t like it. And he didn’t know how to stop it.

He should leave. He was as much a predator as Bradley, as dangerous to Paige as her

maniac brother. Now that he knew Bradley could sense him, he endangered her even more by

staying.

The fact that Bradley could sense him wasn’t just his own problem. It might mean Bradley

was more than they’d always thought. Joseph would know if he was a shifter, or any other type

of otherworldly creature for that matter—by Bradley’s scent or his presence. But all Joseph got

was the scent of human, and no awareness of Bradley.

Until very recently, that wouldn’t have made sense. But the discovery of human-tiger

shifter hybrids had changed what made sense. He hadn’t been able to sense Nila—a hybrid who

couldn’t shape shift. But he’d learned later through rumors that she could sense tiger shifters.

He’d been in confinement when the little girl, Zoe, was brought to the elders’ compound—she

was a hybrid who could shape shift. From the hushed, sometimes conflicting rumors, it seemed

she could sense tiger shifters too, though they still couldn’t sense her as one of their own.

Carmen Williams was the only blood tie between Paige and Bradley. She wasn’t a full

tiger shifter, or his people would have known since female tigers were so rare that every single

one of them was accounted for. But the pain Carmen had complained of… The rumors he’d

heard said the hybrid girl had been in pain too before learning to shift.

His head spun with the possibility. He was working off third and fourth hand information,

heard while he was in tiger jail, so it was impossible to be sure, but…

Could Carmen have been a hybrid? Maybe even one who could have shifted if she’d

known it was possible?

Even through the fog that blocked his emotions, he recognized the horror of that

possibility—that she’d been in pain her entire life, fighting off something her body expected to

do naturally.

Was that even possible? How could anyone survive that?

He had complete control over his ability to shift, and could stay in one form or the other as

long as he liked, though he did start to get a little achy if he didn’t shift every so often. The

sensation was like stiff muscles that needed to be used, not actual pain, though. And at his age,

with an entire lifetime of shifting under his belt, he didn’t need to change forms as much as he

had when he was a cub.

He’d stayed almost exclusively in his human form for the last four years because of how

close he was to going tiger permanently. He shifted for very brief periods to stretch out, but

otherwise, he’d managed being mostly in human form with no physical pain at all.

But someone who didn’t know it was possible, who had fought off shifts her entire

life…someone who thought she was human and didn’t even know shapeshifters existed…

He didn’t have enough information to make these connections. He needed to find out

more.

But if it was true, if Carmen was a human-tiger shifter hybrid, then Bradley Williams had

just become a whole new problem. He wasn’t just a human who’d killed a tiger shifter. If his

mother was a hybrid, he could be considered one as well. Which changed his status under shifter law.

Maybe…

It changed Paige’s status, too.

He took a step toward the bathroom, some instinct he couldn’t even describe urging him to

protect her from… He wasn’t sure what. From his people. From what it might mean for her to be

the daughter of a hybrid.

Memories of Nila stilled him. Something like guilt tried to poke at him, but he ruthlessly

forced down the sensation before he could really feel it.

He didn’t want to feel it. He didn’t want to feel anything at all.

Paige walked out in that moment as he was struggling with things he had no way to

explain. He held himself still, surprised at how difficult it was to keep his distance from her, and

waited for her to re-start the conversation.

He wouldn’t tell her about the possibility of her mother being a hybrid yet. He didn’t know

enough. He was guessing based on rumors. Her and her half brother’s ability to sense him could

be something else entirely. Her mother’s supposed pain could have been just an addict’s excuse

for her addiction.

But the coincidences were hard to dismiss.

“You can sit down, if you like,” Paige said into the silence.

Her comment was so different from anything they’d been discussing and all the things he’d

been thinking that it took him a moment to make sense of what she’d said.

“I’m fine,” he said, almost automatically. Then he glanced around the room he’d barely

looked at since entering. She did have a couple of chairs set up near a window, like a small

reading area. He supposed he could sit there if it made her more comfortable.

He was acutely aware of her edginess. Not exactly discomfort, he thought, but something

about having him in her room made her jumpy. Her scent carried a hint of emotion he didn’t

want to study or interpret. But he couldn’t ignore his tiger’s soft growl of recognition.

Desire. Heat. Promise.

He hadn’t felt desire any more than he’d felt any other emotion for the last ten years. He

didn’t want to feel it now either. But his tiger wasn’t as unaffected as Joseph wanted to be.

To avoid those thoughts, he crossed to the chairs and took a seat. It was a little small for

him, designed to be comfortable for Paige’s much smaller frame, but at least it felt sturdy enough

to accommodate his weight.

Once he was seated, Paige’s shoulders relaxed and she let out a small breath. The show of

relief made his mouth tick at one corner.

She settled onto the edge of her bed again, leaving enough distance between them to keep

his tiger quiet.

“Feeling better?” he asked.

“No.” But she smiled a little when she said it. “I still don’t want you to come with me to

the study, but I don’t think I can force myself to go alone. That means we’ll have to wait until at

least three or four in the morning.” She glanced at the digital clock on her nightstand. “I doubt

he’ll pester me again tonight, since even though he didn’t see you, he still thinks…” She trailed

off and swallowed visibly.

He noticed the color in her cheeks and the fact that she wouldn’t look at him, but tried not

to think about what that meant. Her brother assumed she’d brought a lover here, that she’d be in

bed with someone for the rest of the night.

A tug of instinct made his tiger growl. Joseph ignored the reaction.

“He’s sick and mean,” he said instead. “You’re sure he won’t come back to…bother you if

he thinks you have someone in your bed?”

Her cheeks turned a deeper shade of red. “It’s never come up before, so I don’t know for

sure.” She shrugged. “But from his comments, he doesn’t view my sex life as anything

interesting enough to interrupt. Where’s the fun in it for him?”

“You don’t bring men here.” He stated rather than asked. Even if he couldn’t smell a lack

of other men in her room, he’d have known from her reaction and Bradley’s snide comments. He

couldn’t help but wonder where she did take men she wanted to have sex with. Even the fleeting

thought brought his tiger closer to the surface for some reason, so he pushed the idea away.

She let out a sad little sigh. “I’ve never dared before. It’s…too complicated with my

stepfather.”

“Why?”

She shook her head. “Hard to explain. It’s just easier not to bother.”

“You said he didn’t abuse you like that.” The idea that her stepfather might have abused

her sexually made his ears ring and for a moment the room darkened as his tiger clawed to get

out.

“He didn’t. But I was expected to…be a certain kind of woman. Not the kind who brought

a man home to her bed unless she was married to him. He’s a very controlling man, and to him

image is everything. Especially the image his stepdaughter portrays to the world.”

“Why especially with you?”

“Because of who my father was, who my mother was before marrying him. Bradley wasn’t

entirely wrong. My stepfather probably wouldn’t have noticed my mother if her figure hadn’t

been so voluptuous. He wanted to possess her and show her off like a trophy. But her

background wasn’t a secret. She’d been poor and the wife of a convicted murderer and thief. He

didn’t want any of that background to leak out and ‘show’ itself in my behavior. I’ve spent my

entire life being told I have to ‘overcome’ my genes and prove I’m worthy of this home and

family. That I’m not allowed to embarrass my stepfather because he’s deigned to give me a roof

and a respectable name.” She raised her hands in a kind of resignation. “He was probably right.”

Joseph frowned. “Why would you say that?”

“It’s very hard for me to be the person he expects. It probably wouldn’t be so much of a

struggle if I wasn’t… If I’d been born into this kind of life rather than taken into it.”

“You think you’re unworthy? Even knowing what Bradley is?”

“Not exactly. Not unworthy. Just…I don’t belong.”

“That should be a relief now.”

She smiled, a big grin that stopped his breath and made his chest tighten.

“Actually,” she said, looking quite pleased with the idea, “it is. It’s a very good thing not to

belong to these people.” Her smile dropped away, her expression turning thoughtful.

He wanted to ask what she was thinking but didn’t. He was too busy trying to ignore the

feeling in his chest and gut, the way his tiger preened at having made her smile.

“Anyway.” She waved a hand. “None of that matters at the moment. What matters is that

Bradley is most likely done with me tonight. If we give him a few more hours to fall asleep, I

think we can make it to his study and back without drawing his attention.”

She shuffled a little, as if suddenly uncomfortable. “What should we do until then?”

He didn’t move or change expressions, but his head swirled a little with thoughts he

refused to acknowledge, ideas that made his tiger stretch with approval. “You can sleep if you’re

tired. I’ll wake you at three.”

“And you’ll just sit there? Doing nothing?”

“I spend a lot of time like that.”

She tilted her head to one side, studying him. The move made her pale hair drip over one

shoulder in soft waves.

“It’s not my place, but…” She frowned a little and bit her bottom lip, fidgeting with a

small gold bracelet on her left wrist. He’d noticed that nervous gesture a few times.

“But?” he asked.

“Nothing. Never mind.” She glanced at her pillow.

“You can ask.”

“No. I can’t. I can’t understand what you’ve been through so it’s not my place to question

how you’ve reacted to it.”

“You want to know why I don’t move on? Why I keep throwing myself at revenge and a

death sentence from my people?”

“Not exactly…because I do understand that.”

“Tell Victor that.”

She flashed him a half-smile. “I take it he’s asked why you don’t move on?”

“Not in so many words.”

But it was in Victor’s scent every time they were together. A mix of pity and sympathy

that made Joseph nauseous. A kind of understanding coupled with frustration at Joseph’s refusal

to give up on taking his revenge. The smell was a little like sweetened lemons, something that

should have been pleasant but wasn’t because Joseph didn’t want to acknowledge it. He wanted

Victor to leave him the fuck alone so he could do what he had to do for his sister. For his father.

Again he caught a nudge of sensation, a bite of things he’d refused to feel for years.

“There’s nowhere to move on to,” he said into the silence.

“You’re not dead yet. There’s always someplace better to be.” Very quietly, she said, “I

have to believe that.”

He was tempted to ask why and because it was temptation rather than disinterested

curiosity, he didn’t ask the question. Paige had done enough damage to his disinterest as it was.

“Try to sleep,” he said instead. “You’ve had a difficult day and things aren’t getting better

soon.”

She acknowledged that with a grimace and a slight nod. Without further comment, she

crossed to the door and turned off the overhead light. She’d left the bathroom light on so the

room wasn’t completely dark, but there was a level of intimacy and privacy now.

He’d always been more comfortable in the dark. He could ignore a lot of sins in the dark.

She stretched out on her bed, above the covers, and curled onto her side, facing him. For a

long time, she lay there silently, and he remained in his seat watching her. He wasn’t sure what

he was waiting for, or what he expected, but his tiger was content for the first time in recent

memory and Joseph wasn’t inclined to do anything that might rock that balance.

Chapter Twelve

Two hours passed in silence, but Paige couldn’t sleep. After a while, she did close her

eyes, the better to savor the peace and security she felt having Joseph watching over her.

She knew she should consider all the things he’d said tonight—and the things he hadn’t

said. Especially when it came to his reaction to her and Bradley’s ability to sense him. There was

more to that, something she knew instinctively was vitally important to her future.

But instead of focusing on that, or questioning him further, she found her thoughts turning

instead to that dark night in the woods when he’d shown her his shift. More specifically, she

found herself remembering how beautiful he’d been naked, how every sculpted ridge and hollow

of his body had flamed something hot and edgy in her. Having him in her room, so close to her

bed, when it was dark and safe and private…

Need settled deep in her core. She pressed her thighs together to contain the desire, to try

and ease the tension. It didn’t work. Her imagination flowed with more images of Joseph naked,

this time reaching for her, pulling her into his arms. She imagined the feel of his chest hair

rubbing against her naked breasts and had to bite her cheek to keep from groaning aloud. Her

breathing deepened and sped as the fantasies built, as she imagined his hands on her skin,

moving across her stomach, up her back, cupping her breasts, smoothing over her hips, settling

between her legs, fingering her heat.

Her skin tingled and the urge to rub herself to orgasm had her clenching the duvet. She

might have been more embarrassed by that reaction if it wasn’t dark, if the day hadn’t been so

emotionally draining. But feeling something as pure and good as sexual desire was so much

easier and more welcome than anything else she’d experienced that day, she didn’t think to stop

the fantasies.

Until she heard a very slight noise from across the room.

Her eyes flew open. Joseph was still in the chair, watching her, his expression neutral, his

eyes shadowed and impossible to read. He didn’t look like he’d moved at all, but she was sure

she’d heard something.

Then she remembered. “Joseph? How good is your sense of smell, really?”

“Very good.”

His voice sounded harsher and more gravelly than usual. Rather than kill her lust, it only

made her desire spike hotter.

“You were able to trace the path I took from the house to the gate.”

He nodded.

“You…can smell things like fear or…” Or lust? she thought.

“Yes.”

She swallowed. She didn’t have to ask to know he’d picked up on her desire. She could

practically smell the musky odor of it herself, and she didn’t have a tiger’s nose. The darkness

would hide the color in her cheeks, she knew, but for some reason her embarrassment was milder

than she would have expected. Not because it was dark and not because he didn’t really know

what she’d been thinking.

Because it was Joseph.

She wanted him to know. Frightening and impossible as it was, she wanted him to know

all this lust and need was for him. He did this to her. He made her fantasize and dream. She was

wet and achy and tingling all over because of him.

Would he do anything about it? Or would he just ignore it? Did he feel any of this for her

in return? The husky edge to his voice belied his indifference, but would he acknowledge the

chemistry between them or dismiss it?

And, in the end, which reaction did she really want?

Before Paige could push the issue, he said, “It’s three. We should try to reach the study

now.”

She blinked a few times to clear the fog of lust from her mind. “Right. I’ll be right back.”

She hurried to the bathroom to splash water on her face again, forcing her mind back to reality

and the dangerous task they had ahead of them.

She preferred the fantasies.

Remembering the bag of pinky toes made her swallow hard and killed off the last of her

lust.

When she came back into her room, she pulled her shirt a little straighter and motioned

him toward the hall.

He stopped her with a hand on her arm before she could open the door. His gaze was

distant when she looked up at him. After a moment, he nodded to himself, then looked down at

her.

“No one is near. It’ll be easier if I carry you and we get there quickly.”

The idea of having his hands on her again, right now when she was feeling very

vulnerable, was both comforting and excruciating. But the faster they did this, the better. “On

this level, past the stairs, around the bend, fourth door on the right.”

He picked her up without another word, one arm cradling her back, the other under her

knees. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and for one brief instant, their gazes locked. Then

he was out the door and down the hall, standing at the door to the study. It happened so fast, it

reminded Paige of teleportation—like they hadn’t actually moved across the floor to get here but

had gone from one location to the other instantly, in a poof of magic.

Joseph set her down, opened the door, and they both edged inside silently. Once he’d

closed the door, Paige pressed a hand to her stomach and concentrated on slowing her breathing.

Because she was afraid to speak, she simply led the way to the place on the bookshelf

where the hollowed out book remained and pointed to it. He frowned a little and reached for the

book, but as his fingers neared the spine, she remembered fingerprints.

She stilled him with a hand on his forearm. His muscles tensed under her touch.

Close to his ear, so sound wouldn’t carry, she murmured her concern about leaving his

prints on the evidence. Then she pulled out the book herself and brought it to the desk. It was all

she could do not to drop the damned thing. She had to force herself not to think about what she

was carrying.

Settling the book on the ink blotter in the middle of the desk, she stared at it for several

moments before she could force herself to open it. She gripped the very bottom corner of the

cover with two fingers and flung the top open quickly. The pages of the book fluttered in an arch

before settling to reveal a perfectly normal interior.

No hollowed out section. No bag. No toes.

“What the…?” she breathed before remembering she needed to keep as quiet as possible.

She double checked the spine, making sure she had the right book, then went back to the

bookshelf. Was there more than one volume?

“It was here, damn it.” She ran her fingers over the books on the shelves above and below

the original book’s location. “No. This isn’t right. It was here. I swear. I didn’t imagine it. I’m

not crazy.”

She had to force the sound of her stepfather’s voice out of her head. Words she didn’t want

to think about. But what if he was right? What if she was crazy, like her mother? What if she’d

really imagined finding that little bag?

Joseph stopped her frantic searching as she moved to an adjacent shelf. “You’re not crazy.”

She paused to stare up at him. “It was here. I swear.”

“I believe you.”

Relief made her lightheaded. Someone believed her. Maybe she really wasn’t crazy.

He edged her away from the bookshelves, then stepped close to the lines of books, setting

his face almost against the spines without actually touching anything. She watched for a moment

before she realized what he was doing—scenting for the evidence.

As he moved methodically along the shelves, she stood in the center of the room and

turned in a circle, looking over everything, hunting for changes from that afternoon.

Bradley must have found out she’d been here somehow. He must have been more

suspicious of her than she thought. Or maybe he’d moved the toes because she had someone in

her room. Or maybe he just moved his trophies regularly and this was normal behavior.

She had no idea what to think and was beyond angry with herself for letting their one

chance at connecting Bradley directly to something sinister go because she’d been too worried

and scared to act in the moment.

She opened her mouth to apologize to Joseph for dragging him in here, risking his life and

soul on this fool’s errand, but he raised a hand for her silence. He hadn’t even looked at her

before making the gesture, which left her wondering what kind of sound she’d made to let him

know she was about to speak.

After another few minutes, he crossed to her, pulled her close and set his lips to her ear.

She was so startled by his nearness and touch, it never occurred to her to speak or move.

“I can smell very faint traces of something that was once living meat.”

She swallowed hard.

“Not just in that spot where you thought the book was, but all over the shelves. Stronger in

several locations.”

“Does that mean there are more trophy bags, or that he’s been moving that one bag all

around the room?”

“Can’t be sure. I need you to pull another book down. Can you face it? If not, I will and

wipe my prints off when I’m done.”

“You’ll wipe his away, too.”

“I’m willing to take the risk.”

She pressed her lips together to hold back a whimper. “I’ll do it.”

He held her a moment longer, pulling back to stare into her eyes. She nodded her

willingness, and he let her go. The loss of contact made her bravado dip, but she forced herself to

follow him to the shelves. The book he pointed to was another innocuous looking leather bound

tome with a title in Latin. She had enough knowledge of the language to interpret it as something

to do with agriculture but that was the best she could do.

She blew out a breath and, with shaking hands, pulled the book off the shelf and carried it

to the table. Another couple of panting breaths, and she flung open the cover. This time, the

hollowed out inside was a relief. The sight of another little bag tucked into the hole made her

knees wobble, but at least they’d found something. It wasn’t the same bag. This one was paler,

though she couldn’t decipher exactly what the color was in the dark, and it was made of pressed

silk rather than velvet.

“It’s a different one,” she murmured to Joseph before reaching for it.

She didn’t want to see what was inside, and yet she couldn’t stop herself from opening the

drawstring and pulling the top open. She did make an effort not to touch the bag itself, so she

wouldn’t feel its contents directly, but she angled the opening toward the ambient night light

spilling in from the windows, squinting to see into the dark interior.

Before she could get a clear look, she heard Joseph’s sharply indrawn breath. She looked at

the door first, worried they’d been discovered, then glanced up at him. He was staring at the bag,

his gaze intent, his body so still he could have been a statue.

“What is it?” she whispered. “What’s wrong?”

He snatched the bag from her hand, pulling the strings closed to seal it, then pulled her

toward he door.

“Wait. We have to put the book back.” She tried to pull him to a stop.

“We have to leave. Now.”

Those words were her only warning. In the next instant, he’d picked her up and ran from

the study, moving so fast the walls blurred.

Chapter Thirteen

They were in the kitchen before she recognized that he intended to leave the house and not

just return to her rooms. He was reaching for the door, slow enough that she could register what

he was doing, when she realized he’d trigger the alarms.

“Wait!” She hissed the warning, wiggling in his arms until he set her on her feet. He

started to protest but she waved him to silence and turned off the alarm.

Before she could say anything more, he lifted her into his arms again and raced away from

the house, reaching the pedestrian gate in a flash. He didn’t set her down this time, only held her

close enough to the alarm panel for her to enter the code to unlock the door. Once through, he

didn’t wait for her to reset the lock before he was running again.

The movement was so fast and so disorienting, she pressed her face against his neck, her

eyes closed, and worked hard not to throw up. She had no idea what was in that bag they’d just

run off with, but it must be more than a few pinky toes.

When he finally stopped moving and slowed to a walk, she blinked and looked around.

They were several miles away from the estate, approaching a grocery store parking lot not too far

from the highway.

“What’s going on?” she asked, her voice husky from shock.

He didn’t answer, only put her on her feet, then walked her to a non-descript, older car and

opened the doors by manually putting a key into the lock. She was so used to her family’s

vehicles with all the automation, the gesture of turning a key in a lock gave her pause. He

motioned her into the car, closing the door behind her before going around to the driver’s side.

They were on the highway before he spoke. “You can’t go back there now.”

“I need to. Everything I own, my wallet, keys, everything is there.”

“Bradley will know you’ve found something now.”

“Why did you run? Why did you take it without putting the book back?”

“It’s a finger.”

She closed her eyes briefly, trying not to imagine it. “We knew it would be something

disgusting. I don’t understand.”

“It’s a tiger shifter finger.”

She stared at the side of his face for a long time, sure she’d heard him wrong. She opened

her mouth to say so, then closed it again. He couldn’t be right. That didn’t make sense. But…

But Bradley had killed Joseph’s sister. She was a tiger shifter. Was it her finger?

Oh god. What if it was his sister’s finger?

“Was it…?” She tried to force out the question but couldn’t make her lips form the word.

He glanced at her and seemed to realize what she was asking because he shook his head.

“No, it’s not Su-jin’s.”

She released a breath and collapsed back against the seat. A part of her wondered if

Bradley had kept a trophy from Joseph’s sister, but she wasn’t about to discuss that possibility—

even if they were both thinking it.

“It’s a female tiger shifter’s, though. I have to contact Victor right away.”

“Why?”

“It’s fresh.”

She squeezed her eyes closed again, hard enough that tears leaked out the sides. “How

fresh?”

“Two, three weeks. At most.”

“Oh god.”

“You were right.”

She blinked her eyes open and frowned at him. “About what?”

“If I’d killed him, we wouldn’t have known about this.”

“If you’d killed him ten years ago, this wouldn’t have happened.”

He flashed her an unreadable look, before focusing on the road again. “He’s managed to

get to another female tiger. The elders were supposed to have prevented that. It was their

argument against having Bradley killed. He would never again endanger a tiger—especially not a

female—so he was the humans’ problem. But…”

“But?”

“But this makes him ours again. Even more so than…”

“You keep trailing off. What aren’t you telling me?”

He shook his head and fell silent.

“Joseph?” The sharp warning in her tone surprised her. She’d been through so much in the

last few days, so much in the last twenty-four hours, she wasn’t even sure who she was anymore,

but she knew her patience was very limited.

“I have to check some things first,” he said.

“This has to do with the fact that he can sense you, doesn’t it? That I can?”

“Yes. And that’s all I’m saying until I know more.”

“You’re pissing me off with that excuse.”

Though he didn’t face her, his mouth ticked up at the corner and stayed that way long

enough for her to know he was amused.

When he still didn’t explain, she decided to worry about the immediate problem. “Where

are we going?”

“My place first. I have to contact my people.”

“First? Then what?”

He glanced at her. “Then it’ll depend on what they say, how they want to handle this.”

“You’re going to let them?”

“Depends.”

“We could go to the police now. That finger is fresh enough that maybe not all the

evidence is gone or tainted by time.”

“It’s a tiger’s. We can’t let the police get any forensic evidence of our existence.”

“I thought you didn’t care about that. You were intent on killing Bradley even if it meant

your people were discovered by humans.”

He didn’t comment, but his fingers tightened around the steering wheel.

She considered pressing him on his change of heart, but she knew she’d be poking an open

wound. And she had enough of her own guilt in that moment to choke on. If she’d gone to the

police years ago, maybe that bag of toes wouldn’t have been there. If she’d come forward with

what she suspected even a few months ago, the anonymous tiger shifter female wouldn’t have

died. She wasn’t in any position to question Joseph.

“We don’t have anything we can bring to the authorities, then. And now we can’t go back

and look. Bradley will know we’ve found him out.”

“Maybe. He might think it’s a member of the staff.”

“I’m the one missing. He’ll know it’s me.”

“The evidence you have already?”

“I need my keys and ID to get at it, which I don’t have at the moment. But nothing’s

changed with that. It’s still not enough to get the police involved.”

Nothing had changed with this discovery except for their certainty—and the fact that

Bradley had gotten to another tiger shifter. Beyond that, they were in the exact same position as

they’d been in from the start.

Knowing without a doubt that Bradley was still killing made her even more desperate to

stop him. But how would they do that now that they’d tipped their hand?

“I need to talk to my people,” Joseph said. “We’ll figure something out. There’s still the

computers. Might be something there.”

“But as soon as Bradley sees that book on the desk, he’ll likely shut down or erase

everything incriminating.”

She wanted to cry and scream and beat her hands against something hard. Instead, she

fidgeted with her bracelet, sliding the links back and forth over her thumb, and stared at the

passing road. They were heading toward Philly, which surprised her, but she had to control her

emotions before she could even think about where they were going.

“I’m sorry.”

His quiet comment brought her out of her haze. “Sorry for what?”

“For endangering your chances of having Bradley’s crimes made public.”

She waved that away. “It was always a long shot. It’ll just be a little harder now that I can’t

go home.”

Even as the words left her mouth, the reality of them hit her like a wall. She couldn’t go

back to that house now. Not alone. She might never be able to go back again.

Everything she had, all the money, the secret house, the plans she’d made for her escape,

all of that was beyond her reach now. She had no way to get at her hidden money without her

wallet. Her stepfather or Bradley would go hunting up all her secrets now too, and likely find

them. Every contingency plan she’d put in place had been predicated on the fact that her family

wouldn’t bother hunting for her. Now, there was no way they could let her just disappear.

She was out in the wide world, on her own, with no resources, no support, no plan, and a

serial killer brother who would be coming after her.

“What am I going to do?”

“I’ll help you.”

Joseph’s offer made her realize she’d spoken aloud.

“You can’t help me now. I’m…” She let out a half-laugh that held no humor. “I’m finally

free. For what it’s worth. And for however long it lasts.” She shook her head. “I don’t even have

anywhere to go.”

“You’ll stay with me.”

“I can’t.” She wasn’t sure why she was pushing away his offer of help. She needed it. But

somehow accepting his guilt-induced assistance felt as weak as staying in that house for all these

years.

Then she remembered he didn’t feel guilt. At least he claimed not to.

“I didn’t pull you from that house to abandon you,” he said.

His tone was still neutral and outwardly emotionless, but she heard the difference now.

There was more in his tone. Maybe something only she could detect, but still different and more.

“Once Bradley is stopped,” he continued, “you’ll be able to do as you please. You’ll have

help getting back on your feet. Until then, I intend to protect you.”

And then what, she thought. Once Bradley was stopped—whatever that meant now—

would Joseph still disappear from her life? Would he follow through with his plan to go tiger

permanently?

She glanced at the side of his face, studying the strong lines of his jaw, the sharp angle of

his nose. In a few short hours, everything had changed, more irrevocably even than after her

mother had died. She had no idea how to feel about this new reality, or what her future would

hold. She was adrift.

And the only sign of solid ground was the man sitting next to her. But was he really solid

enough to depend on, or was he the quicksand that would finally drag her under?

*****

Joseph’s small studio apartment was a monthly rental in a not-so-good part of southern

Philadelphia. The building was gray and in need of repairs, several of the windows were covered

with wood, the lobby was dirty and worn, the stairs narrow and steep but safer looking than the

elevator with the flickering lights. The whole place smelled of pee and sweat. She wrinkled her

nose and wondered how someone with Joseph’s sense of smell could stand it here.

He led her wordlessly up three floors to his door, then let her into the small space without

ceremony.

The studio itself was clean and neat, with a fresh, masculine scent, but it was nearly empty.

A very small partial kitchen took up a corner on one side of the single room, and a couple of

doors indicated the place had some storage space and a bathroom. Against the wall opposite the

kitchen was a single bed and a small desk with a dated computer system on it. At the foot of the

neatly made bed was a soft-sided suitcase, unzipped but closed.

The windows were bare, but the outside was crusted with enough dirt to mute the predawn

light, leaving the interior as dark as it would have been at midnight. Between the two windows

was a small Formica-topped table that had seen better days, flanked by two straight-backed hard-

looking chairs. The wood floors were clean but scuffed, and the place needed a few rugs to warm

it up.

In all, the studio looked like a temporary living space, not the kind of place someone

looked forward to returning to. Not a home.

Since the only places to sit were the table and the bed, Paige crossed to the table, glancing

out the window before sitting. The sidewalk and neighboring buildings were quiet, only a few

lights on in windows and one or two people moving around on the street.

“It’s…quiet,” she said.

He stood in the middle of the small space, a few feet from where she sat, looking somehow

at ease and edgy at the same time. “It’s cheap. And I can pay for it in cash.”

“Have you lived here long?” She glanced around but there was no sign of mementos or

anything personal. The only things that looked like they hadn’t come with the apartment were the

suitcase and the computer.

“Since I got out of confinement a few weeks ago.”

“Where did you live before?”

“Another place like this. Different location. Same basic apartment.”

“Why?”

“No point in setting up someplace permanent when I’m just going to end up in

confinement again.”

“What happens if you don’t go back to confinement?”

“I always do.”

“But…this time you might not.”

He stared at her without answering.

So she answered for him. “Are you still going to disappear into your tiger?”

He glanced toward the kitchen. “I don’t have much to offer, but I can make coffee.”

She sighed. “Coffee would be nice.”

He took the satchel with the finger in it and put it into his freezer. She turned away. She

hadn’t even noticed him carrying it, but that was probably for the best. Looking at the thing

made her want to throw up, and her stomach was empty and churning enough without the added

help.

She didn’t face the kitchen again until she heard the sink turn on. He was washing his

hands. For some reason, that made her relax. Maybe she wasn’t the only one upset by their

finding. Joseph had reacted to the discovery, and was obviously disturbed even more by the fact

that they’d found a trophy from a tiger shifter. Washing his hands could just be a courtesy to her

disgust, but she thought maybe he didn’t like holding that bag with a finger in it any more than

she would have.

He made coffee in an old, white coffee machine, going through the motions efficiently.

It took her a few moments to realize he hadn’t turned any lights on yet. She knew he could

see well in the dark, and she liked the sense of privacy the darkness gave them, but she wondered

if he even noticed that the lights were off.

While the coffee brewed, he went to the computer and turned it on. “Takes time to warm

up,” he said.

“Why do we need the computer?”

“Email. Victor can hear me on a phone but can’t respond. I’m not set up for it. And I don’t

have a cellphone.”

“Is email safe?”

“It’s just to get him here quickly.”

“Is that how you always communicate with him?”

“No.”

Without clarifying, he returned to the kitchen and pulled two mugs from one of the

overhead cabinets.

He joined her at the table with both steaming cups. “No milk. Sorry.”

“I don’t take it,” she lied. She had a sweet-tooth and liked milky-sweet coffee, but she

wasn’t going to make him feel like a bad host. She had half a mind to tease him about milk and

cats but was too emotionally exhausted to think of a funny comment. “So now what?”

He glanced at the humming computer. “I get Victor here and we talk.” He tilted his head a

little as he studied her. “You have circles under your eyes.” He nodded to the bed. “It’s clean.

Sleep. It’ll take Victor time to get here even after he gets the message.”

“You need to sleep, too.” The bed was only big enough for one of them, at least to actually

sleep in it, and she thought it best not to consider what else they might do there.

“I’m fine.”

“You sleep during the day?”

“I’m fine.”

“That’s not an answer.” She sipped her coffee. “Probably I shouldn’t bother with this if

I’m going to sleep, but I have a feeling the caffeine won’t matter.” She wasn’t sure she’d be able

to sleep even if she wasn’t drinking the coffee. Exhaustion weighed heavily on her, but she

suspected her fear and disgust were stronger.

She glanced down into the cup with a little nostalgic smile. “In college, I drank so much

coffee during exams it started to have the opposite effect on me and would put me to sleep.”

“Where did you go?”

“Bryn Mawr.” She rolled her eyes. “It was a great college, but it wasn’t my first choice. I

would have gone across the country, just to get away from my family. It was the place my

stepfather insisted on. ‘A respectable college for a woman of substance,’ he called it. I never

even moved out of the house. The driver took me in and out every day.”

“What was your major?”

“Sociology. Again, one of the few things I was ‘allowed’ to take. My stepfather has very

specific ideas about women. If you haven’t guessed.”

“What would you have studied?”

No one had asked her that before. Not even the college counselors asked what she wanted

to learn. “I’m not sure. I thought, at the time, I would have preferred a science of some kind.

Maybe physics. I was always good at math.”

“Me, too.”

She smiled a little. The mundane conversation was helping to settle her nerves, as much as

the hot mug in her hands. “Thank you. I needed to think about something else for a few

minutes.”

He lifted his cup in a gentle salute, took a sip, then set it down and went to the computer.

She continued to drink her coffee as he sent his email. When he was done, he turned the

computer off.

“What if Victor wants to email you back?”

“This can’t be discussed in email.”

“But…”

“Can you sleep?”

“No.”

He stood over her, his fingers brushing her temple. “Lay down anyway. At least rest.”

“And you?”

“I’ll be here.”

She wanted to turn her face into his hand and kiss his palm for the reassurance that

statement gave her. God, her emotions were all over the place tonight. One moment she was glad

to have him nearby, drawing strength from him, the next she was turning away from his offers of

help and support.

Whether she could sleep or not, she needed to close her eyes and try, very hard, not to

think.

Chapter Fourteen

Paige came awake without realizing she’d actually fallen asleep. The sound of Joseph

quietly talking brought her back to her surroundings. She blinked open her eyes as she inhaled

deeply, soaking up the comforting scent of his sheets surrounding her.

He sat at the table, facing her direction but not looking at her. He was talking to another

man sitting across from him. She assumed it was Victor until she heard the stranger speak.

She remained still as she listened to the newcomer’s voice. He and Joseph were quiet

enough that even in the small apartment she couldn’t decipher their words well. She picked up a

few. The stranger mentioned Su-jin and another woman’s name. Joseph said something about

Bradley.

As she listened, she was sure the newcomer said something about drugs and missing girls,

but she couldn’t make sense of the scattering of words.

Before she could let them know she was awake, Joseph looked over at her, catching her in

his intense, dark gaze. He nodded to the man sitting across from him without looking at him,

then came to squat by the bed.

“You slept. Do you feel better?”

“Ha. No.” She sat up. “But I’m ready for introductions.”

At her not-so-subtle hint, he rose and gestured toward the man now facing them. “Paige

Williams, Daniel Borowski.”

“Pleasure to meet you in person, Paige,” Daniel said.

“In person?”

He glanced at Joseph before saying, “It’s been a while so I suppose it’s no surprise you

don’t remember me.”

At that, her memory did come flooding back. “Oh. Oh, yes. It was your fiancée Bradley

tried to kidnap. You were at the trial. I’m sorry, I didn’t realize. I was a little…out of it then.”

“Of course.”

Joseph reached a hand out to her, helping her stand. “I’ll get you some coffee. We have a

lot to discuss.”

Her knees wobbled a little as she stood, a combination of lingering exhaustion—despite

the nap—and being in the presence of someone her brother had tried to hurt. She wasn’t sure

what to say to this man as guilt tightened her gut. Joseph motioned her to the seat across from

Daniel, then went to the small kitchen.

Paige sat uncomfortably, her hands folded in her lap, her eyes downcast.

“How are you?” Daniel said into the awkward silence. “Since your mother died?”

“Fine. Well, not so fine, but I imagine Joseph has told you most of that.” She forced herself

to look up and meet his blue-eyed gaze. She expected some sort of condemnation, disgust,

something to indicate this man held her as accountable as she felt for Bradley’s continued ability

to walk free.

All she saw was kind understanding, and a touch of sadness. She blinked away the burning

in her eyes and said, “How is your…I suppose wife?”

“Great. We have a houseful of kids now.” He smiled when he said it. “Three boys and a

girl. The girl is the youngest, so she’s spoiled rotten. And a female so…even more spoiled

rotten.” He chuckled.

She forced a smile. “I’m glad everything worked out.”

“I’m sorry we couldn’t send your brother to jail longer. We tried.”

“I know. I was sorry he didn’t go away for good.”

Daniel nodded as Joseph set a mug on the table in front of her. The fact that Daniel didn’t

seem to hold her accountable for her brother, that he understood she wanted Bradley in jail as

much as he did, helped her hold the mug with hands that only barely shook.

“Tell her,” Joseph said without preamble.

His tone was as monotone and emotionless as always, which comforted Paige immensely.

Daniel glanced at Joseph, who stood next to Paige’s seat, then back at her. “Has Joseph

mentioned our…problems?”

“Which ones?”

He smiled. “The fact that our female birth rates are very low and we’re on the verge of

extinction?”

“Mentioned it, yes.”

“Every female tiger shifter is extremely valuable to us as a species. Our community is still

shaken by Su-jin’s loss. She was my wife’s best friend.”

“I’m so sorry,” Paige whispered.

He waved away her apology. “You don’t need to feel guilty about crimes you didn’t

commit, Paige.”

She looked up at Joseph, wondering if that comment was as much for him as her, then she

turned back to Daniel, motioning for him to continue.

“After Su-jin, some things changed. The females started getting self-defense training from

one of our top teachers. Alexis Tarasova was my mentor when I became a Tracker…sort of a

tiger cop. And she’s one of the best we’ve ever had.”

“Victor’s wife,” Joseph added.

Fascinated despite herself, Paige leaned forward, resting her arms on the table.

“So right now, our females—few though they are—are capable of defending themselves

against most physical attacks—including attacks from other tiger shifters. Most of the males

don’t even know the females are being trained.”

“Why?”

“The element of surprise.” He grinned. “If a male is stupid enough to attack a female, a

very dangerous and potentially deadly thing to do anyway, well he’ll get the ass-kicking he

deserves.”

She smiled a little at that. Would Victor’s wife be willing to give her some self-defense

lessons? She might only train shifters, but Paige would love to learn how to feel less vulnerable.

The ability to do a little ass-kicking herself sounded really nice.

If she managed to survive her psychotic brother, she’d put “look into self-defense classes”

on her list of things to do with her life.

“Given all this,” Daniel continued, “the recent disappearance of three of our females has

caused an extreme amount of worry in our community. As you might imagine.”

“Disappearances?”

“Because the females are so rare, we keep pretty close track of them. Someone always

knows where they are, for the most part. They might disappear for a week when in their own

territory, but even then we know generally where they are. If a female has fallen off the radar, Alexis
will make contact and ensure they’re safe. Usually, they’ve just gotten tired of the

attention and gone tiger for a bit, or snuck off to break a rule or two.”

He pressed his lips together, and Paige got the feeling he was resisting a smile.

“Anyway, it never takes long before we know where they are, or that they’re safe. But in

the last three weeks, we’ve lost track of three different females and we can’t find any trace of

them.” He exchanged a look with Joseph again before saying, “Until now.”

She thought of that finger in the freezer in its pale silk satchel and closed her eyes tight.

Though she hadn’t actually seen the finger, it didn’t stop her imagination from conjuring images

that made bile rise in her throat.

“You think Bradley has killed all three of the missing tigers?” she asked with her eyes still

closed.

“It’s possible. There are other possibilities, but it’s obvious he got to at least one.”

She forced down her guilt. This wasn’t about her and she refused to give in to her weak

impulses. She opened her eyes and faced Daniel. “How can he hold your kind? Even with that

drug he developed. Joseph…he’s so fast. And you can turn into tigers.”

“We’ve been studying the original drug used on Su-jin. You know what it did?”

She nodded, but tried very hard not to think about it. The idea of being immobilized but

still able to feel everything…and then being at the mercy of her psychotic brother… She

shivered despite herself.

“He had to use a lot of that original formula to contain Su-jin, but she wasn’t a particularly

strong tiger.”

She felt Joseph tense, the first and only reaction he’d had to the conversation so far, and

she looked up at him. His expression hadn’t changed, but she got a strange feeling of unease

from him.

“She was a lot like our mother,” he said quietly. “All tigers are stronger than humans, but

like humans, some are more powerful than others. Some have stronger immune systems and

better health. Some…are like Su-jin.”

She wanted to hold his hand and comfort him for some reason, even though he showed no

obvious signs of distress.

“We think Bradley has updated the formula in the last ten years,” Daniel said, pulling her

attention back to him. “Because all three of the missing tigresses are strong and healthy, too

powerful to succumb fully to the original formula. At least for long. If he tried to contain them

with that, he’d have had to use so much he’d kill them well before he could torture them.”

She took the little gold links of her bracelet in hand and rubbed them back and forth over

her thumb. “You’ve only talked about the female tigers so far. Does it work on males?”

Daniel shrugged. “The original couldn’t hold a full grown male tiger for longer than a few

minutes—we had a volunteer help in that experiment.”

He was quick to point out they’d used a volunteer, and she was grateful. She didn’t want to

think of the tigers being as ruthless and brutal as her family, even if they were.

“But if he can hold a strong tigress now,” Daniel continued, “it’s possible he can hold a

male tiger for longer, too. We don’t know how he’s changed the original formula.”

“He would have wanted it to have the same effect, though,” Joseph said. “So it will still

keep his victims motionless but able to feel.”

Her stomach clenched so tight, the coffee felt like acid in her gut. She’d known all along

her brother was working on drugs in his lab, drugs she was sure he used on his victims. She

wasn’t entirely surprised to hear he’d likely been working on that original drug to improve it.

The fact that he did that work in the basement of her home was just too horrifying to think about.

“We’ve kept Bradley under surveillance since Su-jin’s murder,” Daniel said.

“I just learned that,” Joseph commented. “They didn’t see fit to tell me before.”

“You were in no state to hear it,” Daniel returned. “At any rate, we’ve known he’s

continued his development of the drug. And all our females have been warned to avoid him.”

“So how did he get to this one?”

“We don’t know.”

He didn’t meet her gaze, though the avoidance was subtle as he lifted his own glass of

water for a drink to hide it. But she noticed. And realized it meant he wasn’t telling her

everything. Was he hiding something from her because of who she was?

Or was he hiding something from Joseph?

She reached back for Joseph’s hand, squeezing tight when their fingers linked.

“We’ll have to run forensic tests on the evidence you and Joseph found,” Daniel continued.

“But we’re sure we’ll find more of the drug. Probably a more advanced version.”

“If he has the other two females…?” She let her sentence trail off because she couldn’t

bring herself to even imagine what they might be going through.

“The fact that he’s killed another female makes him a much bigger problem for us now,”

Daniel said. “Despite our laws about killing humans, we can’t allow Bradley to kill any more of

our people.”

“What will you do?”

“We can’t do much until we find out if he’s got the other females,” he admitted with a

slight frown.

At that comment, Joseph’s grip on her fingers clenched hard before relaxing. The very

brief show of strength made her wince.

“Sorry,” he said, as if he realized he’d hurt her.

“Don’t be,” she said. “If the other females aren’t with Bradley…or if they’re already dead,

then what?” she asked Daniel.

“If the females are alive, we’ll rescue them.”

“We who?”

“The Trackers.”

“Tiger shifter police,” Joseph said, repeating Daniel’s earlier description of his job, before

she could ask.

“And if they’re not alive?” she said.

“We’ll recover their remains and take measures to eliminate the threat.”

“Are you going to kill him or not?” she demanded.

“If we kill him, your father—”

“Stepfather,” Joseph corrected.

“Stepfather will ensure every possible test is done and somewhere in all those tests, we’ll

be found out. We can’t afford human attention when our people are on the brink of extinction.”

“So I’ve heard. Can you afford to leave a serial killer alive who knows your

vulnerabilities?”

“No.”

He said that so matter-of-factly, her rising anger wavered.

“What will you do?”

He glanced at Joseph again. Then met her gaze. “You found evidence of other kills. You

want his crimes made public?”

“Yes. Very much so. It would be better to have him outed than martyred in death. But I

also don’t want him free anymore. And frankly, knowing he’s going to come after me, I’d rather

he was dead now.”

“You could kill him.”

Daniel’s comment echoed Victor’s when she’d first met him. “I’m not a killer,” she said,

with more disappointment in that statement than there should have been. She certainly didn’t

want to become anything like her brother and she was afraid any kind of murder would damage

her soul.

But if she couldn’t kill him herself, how could she demand the act from others?

“It’s better if he’s caught,” she said after a moment. “I’ve always known that. It’s still the

best way. I’m just scared.”

“I understand.” He was silent for a moment, then said, “Before Sarah—my wife—and I

were married, she went after Bradley to kill him. And I had to stop her. But there was a part of

me that didn’t want to stop her, a part of me that wanted him dead and no longer a threat. If he

was a tiger shifter, I would have gone after him myself and executed him. You’re not amoral

because you want to see a serial killer eliminated.”

She puffed out a sound that wasn’t quite a laugh. “How will you stop him, then, if not

killing him?”

“I have a friend on the Philadelphia police force. He was the cop that arrested your brother

on the kidnapping charges.”

“I remember him.”

“He’s been keeping track of Bradley all these years, too. Unfortunately, he’s got a lot of

other things to do and can’t dedicate all his time to your brother, but he’s made an effort to keep

tabs on him, for what good it’s done. Bradley ensures there’s no reason for the police to question

him, and they can’t do legal searches on his properties or computer systems without probable

cause.”

“I know. That’s why I haven’t gone to them yet.” She paused. “Well, one of the reasons. I

don’t have anything that my stepfather couldn’t have had dismissed in a trial. We thought we

might finally have something with the…the other evidence I found yesterday.”

“The fact that you found trophies means he’s got more. There is physical evidence out

there that can stop him. We just need the police to find it.”

“But how? It’s looking impossible.”

She didn’t want to admit that out loud, but the part of her that always wanted to run and

hide was getting desperate and pushing her harder. Her brother would know she suspected him

now. There was no way to avoid it. But she still didn’t have anything to take to the police, which

meant she was a dead woman if Bradley found her.

“I won’t let him hurt you,” Joseph said as if reading her thoughts.

She glanced back at him. “How did you know what I was thinking?”

“Your scent.”

She wasn’t sure whether to be pleased or annoyed by the fact that he could interpret her

emotions based on her scent. It made her feel both vulnerable and secure, and all of that was too

complicated to face right then.

“Why are you here instead of Victor?” she asked Daniel because she needed to think about

something else.

“Victor is still working with Dom to hack Bradley’s computers. They got through first

thing this morning only to get tossed out again as a whole new wall went up.”

“Bradley must have put his hacker on that when he realized I’d discovered evidence.”

“Victor sent me to talk to Joseph because I have a vested interest in seeing Bradley brought

to justice.”

“Because of your wife?”

He nodded.

“Okay. All this is well and good, but it still doesn’t actually solve any of our problems.

You brought up your police friend but said he can’t help without evidence. Why mention him,

then?”

Daniel smiled a little. “He’s got a vested interest in seeing Bradley brought to justice, too.

He wasn’t happy the man only served a few months for attempted kidnapping. Detective Kelly—

Pete—has a very keen sense of right and wrong, and the fact that Bradley mostly got off bugs

him. After I leave here, I’m going to talk to him, let him know there are…things afoot. I’m going

to leave his number with you and I want you to call him instantly if you need the police.”

“What can he do for me that you or Joseph can’t?”

“He can shoot Bradley if he comes after you,” Daniel said bluntly.

“Well, it would be nice to have someone around who can kill him.” The sarcasm in her

voice was thick and directed as much at herself as them. “But I doubt Bradley will give me a

chance to call the police when he comes for me.”

Joseph moved just a little, settling closer to her in a way that felt very protective.

“There’s one more thing,” he said.

She glanced up at him. “What more could there be?” Her head was already spinning from

this conversation. She hardly knew what to make of it, much less how any of this helped them

stop a crazy man who was apparently continuing to kill both tiger shifters as well as ordinary

human women.

He held her gaze, his brows lowered, giving him a brooding expression.

“What’s wrong? What is it?”

“I have some suspicions about your mother that…that might make Bradley more our

problem than we thought.”

“I got that impression last night but you wouldn’t explain.”

“I had to check a few facts, confirm my suspicions. The pain your mother was in during

her life…” He stopped and glanced away. “Did you ever know your grandparents? Your

mother’s parents?”

She grew very aware of her little bracelet but would have to let go of Joseph’s hand to

touch it and didn’t want to lose the contact. “My grandmother died before I was born and my

mother never knew her own father. Her status as a bastard was one of the many things my

stepfather held over us, something we had to live down.” She didn’t allow her resentment to

change the tone of her voice because Daniel was there, but she was certain Joseph recognized it.

She lifted her arm a little to show the bracelet. “This is all I have of my grandmother. My mother

said it was the only good thing she ever got from her mom and gave it to me as a kind of

talisman when I was six.”

“Did she know anything about her biological father?”

“Only that he was a fling her mother, my grandmother, never really got over. Why? What

does this have to do with anything?”

“I think your grandfather was a tiger shifter.”

Chapter Fifteen

Paige held herself very still as his words sank in. Years of practice and training ensured she

kept her expression and emotions in check as well. “Please explain,” she said in her quietest,

most neutral voice.

Joseph shifted from one foot to the other. “I don’t think your mother was exaggerating the

pain she went through during her life, or making it up to excuse her drug abuse. We’ve recently

discovered that humans and tiger shifters can have children together—something we thought was

impossible before.”

“Has something changed to make it possible?”

“No,” Daniel answered. “It’s just that because we thought it was impossible, we never

stopped to look for hybrids.”

“But a little girl was recently brought to our people,” Joseph took up the story. “Her father

is a tiger shifter and her mother is human. The little girl can shift into a tiger. The only other

hybrid we knew of before that was a human who couldn’t shift. The little girl experienced a lot

of pain before she learned to let her tiger out. She didn’t know it was possible and so fought it.”

Paige sucked in a breath. “Are you telling me…my mother was a shapeshifter and didn’t

know it? That her obsession with tigers was more than just a weird quirk? That her pain was

real?”

Joseph didn’t say anything, but he squeezed her hand, a gesture that made her realize she

was shaking.

“If she was… If you’re right and she was a shapeshifter, why didn’t she just turn into a

tiger?”

“The better question is how she survived so long,” Joseph said. “She shouldn’t have. It’s

possible her tiger was weak and the drugs and alcohol kept it at bay.”

She closed her eyes and bowed her head forward, a whole new sympathy for her mother

swamping her. All these years a part of her had blamed Carmen for her drug abuse, her distance

and neglect. Paige shook her head. One more thing for her to feel guilty about.

“So, if this is true,” she said without looking up, “what does that make me and Bradley?”

“Technically, if we can confirm your mother’s status, it makes you both hybrids under our

laws.”

“And it complicates how Bradley can be dealt with,” Daniel said.

“Complicates how?”

“The elders, our governing body, are still working out how to fit hybrids into our laws,” he

said. “But if you’re the children of a hybrid, it means you qualify as hybrids and can have

protections under our laws. It means…you could have children with a tiger shifter.”

That brought her head up so fast she saw spots. “Children? Impossible. I’m too old.”

“Not for a tiger shifter,” Daniel said.

“But I’m not a shifter.” And yet she might have been. So close to something so freeing…

Then she realized her brother could also have inherited the ability to shift and a shiver raced up

her spine. “Bradley isn’t either. He would have taken great pleasure in terrifying me with that

particular skill.”

“My wife has been working on hybrid genetics for years. With the new information they

have from the hybrids they’ve found, it looks like it can go either way. But if a hybrid breeds

with a human, chances are they’ll have a human child. If a hybrid breeds with a shifter…the

chances of a shifter child go up.”

“You sound like you’re talking about breeding horses,” she commented with only half her

mind on what she was saying. The rest was spinning with this new bit of information.

“That’s the reason you and Bradley can both sense me,” Joseph said. “It seems the hybrids

are aware of tiger shifters the same way tiger shifters are aware of each other.”

“But?”

“But we can’t sense you. We can’t tell you’re hybrid, or the child of a hybrid. Whether you

can shift or not.”

“You make that sound important.”

“It is,” he said. “It means Bradley can track our kind, know who we are when he finds us,

but we can’t pick him out as anything but a human.”

“Explains a lot,” Daniel commented under his breath.

“I doubt he knows what a tiger shifter is, exactly,” Joseph went on. “Su-jin wasn’t given a

chance to shift.”

His muscles clenched and relaxed in an almost imperceptible flinch. She tightened her grip

on him, grateful they’d been holding hands throughout this conversation. She wasn’t sure she

could have faced all this without that reassuring touch.

“We don’t know if his most recent victim could have shifted,” Joseph said, “but I doubt it.”

“Why?”

“He would have taken a different kind of trophy.”

“Gross.” She shuddered.

“Whether he knows why we’re different or not, he knows we’re different and that makes

him extremely dangerous to our people.”

“Obviously. Is that how he got to this latest woman?”

“Maybe,” Daniel said.

Again there was a note to his voice that made her think he wasn’t telling her everything.

She’d ask Joseph later, though. Right now, she needed to know how this changed things. “Can

you kill Bradley now? Is he subject to your laws?”

“It’s complicated because of his father,” Daniel said. “Because we’re still arguing over

what role the hybrids will have in our community.”

“Basically, you still can’t kill him,” she said. “If you could, you would have mentioned this

loophole earlier.” She rubbed a hand over her sleep-mussed hair. She should probably be

embarrassed about her appearance—her stepfather would be appalled that she was allowing

others to see her looking this way—but she didn’t have the energy for vanity.

“No. But…having him brought to justice publicly is maybe not such a good idea either.”

“What?” She rose when Daniel said that, staring at him as if he’d lost his mind. “You’re

just going to ignore him and let him continue killing?”

“No. We’ll work harder to protect our own from him. And if he does get caught and

brought to trial for his crimes, we won’t interfere.”

“But?”

“But it’ll be better if he’s dead.”

“Said that ten years ago,” Joseph muttered darkly.

“Ten years ago we didn’t know he might be a hybrid’s son,” Daniel said, his tone calm.

Paige released Joseph’s hand and stalked away from both men before spinning to face

them. “What does this mean? You can’t kill him, you don’t want him convicted publicly by a

human court, but you want him stopped—and dead.”

Joseph faced her without comment.

Daniel sighed. “I realize this isn’t what you were hoping for.”

“I hardly knew what to hope for,” she said. “I do know that he needs to be brought to

justice because he’s not just killing tiger shifters. He’s slaughtering human women. A lot of

them. Nothing’s changed with that.”

“One thing has,” Joseph said. “We can bring our full resources to uncovering all his secrets

now. The elders won’t stop it.”

“And then what?”

“We’ll turn him over to the police,” Daniel said.

“But you just said…”

“Lot of accidents happen in jail,” Joseph said very quietly.

She blinked at them both. “You’ll…you’ll have him killed after he’s arrested?”

“Does that bother you?” Joseph asked, seeming as interested in her answer as Joseph ever

seemed in anything.

Her knee-jerk reaction was to say yes because that was the reaction moral, civilized people

were supposed to have. But she realized it didn’t bother her. She wanted Bradley brought to

justice but more than anything, she wanted him unable to hurt anyone else. She thought of that

bag full of pinky toes, all the women who had died at his hands. How could she be bothered by

his death when she knew it would stop the killing?

Avoiding the moral questions all together, she said, “What do we do now?”

“Dom and Victor will continue working on his computers,” Daniel said. “I’ll send Trackers

out to hunt for the other two tiger females, as well as any other possible victims. And I’ll contact

Pete, make sure he knows to watch out for you.”

“And me? What do I do?”

“Avoid Bradley and stay alive,” Joseph said.

“What will you do?” she asked him.

“Protect you.”

Something in his tone made her blink. She realized Daniel heard it too because he frowned

at Joseph.

“What about your revenge?” she asked quietly.

“I’ll get it before this is done.”

“Will you be allowed to kill him?”

“No. But he’ll be dead.”

“Will that be enough?”

He blinked once. “Yes.”

She glanced at Daniel again to see his eyebrows raised high as he continued to stare at

Joseph. Joseph ignored him.

Silence filled the little apartment for several long minutes before Daniel cleared his throat.

“I have to go set things in motion. I’ll be in touch.” To Joseph, he said, “Sarah would like to see

you when all this is done.”

“Does she know why I was in confinement this last time?”

“She does. She wants to see you anyway. If you think you can face…”

Joseph nodded once but didn’t look away from Paige to acknowledge Daniel’s request.

Once Daniel was gone, silence descended again. For several long moments, Paige just

stared at Joseph and he stared back, not even blinking. In those moments, she could see his tiger

in his dark eyes, that magnificent animal he’d shown her only a few nights ago.

Had it been just a few nights? It felt like she’d known him for years.

“You haven’t slept yet,” she finally said. “You should rest.”

“I napped before Daniel arrived?”

“Where? On the floor? That couldn’t have been comfortable.”

“I shifted.”

“Oh.” And she’d missed it. For some reason, that made her sad. “Can you go very long

without shifting?”

“As long as I need to. In either direction.”

She nodded, then glanced out the window. The sky was bright now, but the apartment was

still dim as the grime on the windows filtered and muted the sunshine.

“Bradley will find us here, won’t he?”

“No reason he should. He doesn’t know who I am. And as I said, I pay in cash. My own

people couldn’t have found me here if I hadn’t given them the location.”

“How long, though? It’s not exactly enough space for two people.”

His gaze flicked to the small bed, a very subtle glance, but the fact that he was considering

their sleeping arrangements had her heartbeat pounding.

“I’ll find us someplace more comfortable tomorrow. For now, you’re safe here.”

“My stepfather will be looking for me today. He’ll make my ‘disappearance’ public.”

“Even if his son tells him not to?”

“Why would he? Bradley will probably encourage the search so he can find me and kill

me.”

“Your stepfather wouldn’t object to his son killing his daughter?”

The very slight, almost imperceptible bite in Joseph’s voice sent a series of tingles

cascading over her skin. “Only in that it might get Bradley into trouble.”

“Why will he look for you if he cares so little?”

“Because I’m potentially dangerous to Bradley now. If I’d snuck away that first night we

met, he wouldn’t have bothered looking for me. At least, I don’t think he would have. But any

threat to his heir apparent, and my stepfather will use all his resources to ensure the threat is

eliminated.”

“Bastard,” Joseph muttered under his breath.

She startled at the show of anger, even if no one else would have recognized the intensity

of it. “I’ve known from the beginning where I figured into the family. I’m not hurt by my

stepfather’s priorities.” Not anymore. There had been a time… But not anymore.

“You need food,” he said suddenly.

The change of subject made her head spin and she reacted automatically without thought.

“I’m fine.” She wasn’t. Her stomach was hollow from being empty so long. But she wasn’t sure

she could eat after the conversation they’d just had.

“When was the last time you ate?”

She had to really think about that. “Yesterday morning, I think.”

“You need food. I’ll be back. Rest. You’re safe here.”

He left so fast she didn’t see him move. Her only clue was the click of the door lock

behind her.

Chapter Sixteen

Paige tried to rest while Joseph was gone. The four hours of sleep she’d managed that

morning hadn’t been near enough to overcome her exhaustion. But she couldn’t close her eyes

for long, knowing her brother was out there somewhere. Every time she heard a noise in the

hallway, she popped up to watch the door.

Finally, she gave up trying and made more coffee, then settled herself at the table to look

out a window and watch the street. The sound of a key in the lock surprised her out of a dazed

study of a fire hydrant.

She spun to face the door, her mug in her hand. She knew it was Joseph. She sensed him.

The idea that she could do that because her grandfather might have actually been a tiger shifter

still stunned her. She struggled with the whole concept, mainly because she resented being so

close to something that magnificent with no hope of ever actually being a tiger shifter. Her

mother could have been, likely was, and if she’d only known, she might have changed into

something stronger, a person Paige could have looked up to rather than pitied.

She was sighing when Joseph walked in carrying bags emitting the heavenly smell of

Chinese food.

“How did you know?” she asked, rising to meet him and nodding at the bag. “Chinese is

my favorite.”

He didn’t react in an obvious way, in any way that another person might have noticed, but

she saw the slight hesitance, the faint head movement that spoke of surprise.

“I didn’t know,” he said, putting the bags on the small kitchen counter. “Just hoped it

would be okay.”

She smiled. “Well, it was a very good choice.”

“Easier to find than Korean food, too.”

“True. But why Korean?”

“My mother was Korean. She died not long after Su-jin was born but I was raised on her

home cooking.”

“You don’t look even remotely Korean.” Though she should have assumed he had some

Asian blood since his sister’s name was Su-jin. She really hadn’t stopped to think about it.

“Father was Russian. In tiger shifters, sons tend to look like their fathers, daughters like

their mothers.” He paused with his back still to her. “Su-jin looked a lot like my mother. Almost

a twin.”

Paige closed her eyes briefly. “That must have made her loss even worse, like losing your

mother again.”

His shoulders dropped just a little, as if her words allowed him to release some tension. “It

was,” he said.

“How old were you when your mother died?”

“Sixteen.”

“I’m very sorry.”

“Do you want chopsticks or a fork?” he asked, ignoring her condolences.

Since she didn’t blame him for not wanting her sympathy, she let the subject drop.

“Chopsticks. Thanks.”

He brought enough take-out boxes of food to the table to feed seven people, then set out

some plates and the chopsticks.

“I got a little of everything so you’d have a choice,” he said.

“We’re never going to be able to eat even a third of this. I hope you like leftovers.”

“I could eat everything and still eat again tonight.”

She snorted a laugh. “How is that possible?”

“Shifters eat a lot. High metabolism.”

“Lucky.”

His mouth twitched in what she now thought of as his smile. She smiled back.

He motioned for her to sit and they fell silent for several minutes as Paige immersed

herself in her sweet and sour pork and fried rice. She was starving now that the food was in front

of her and she was halfway through the meal before she realized she’d been ignoring him in

favor of shoveling food into her mouth. Her stepfather would be appalled.

“Sorry,” she said with a grimace. “Guess I was pretty hungry.”

“It’s good?”

“Delicious.”

“Then don’t apologize. You’re too thin. You need to eat more.”

“My stepfather keeps telling me to eat less so I don’t get fat.”

“Your stepfather is an asshole.”

She dipped her head in acknowledgement. “Yes, he is.”

Joseph responded by putting two more egg rolls on her plate.

She laughed. “Thanks. This is nice. I needed this.”

“The food? Yes.”

“Okay, yes, but I meant the normalcy. Something ordinary and not involving…gross serial

killer stuff and…well, anything else that’s happened in the last day.”

“Does it bother you to be related to the tiger shifters by blood?”

Leave it to Joseph to cut right to the “anything else” she’d been referring to. “What bothers

me is that I still can’t ever be a tiger shifter. That it was in my mother’s grasp and she just never
knew. That I was this close to being…more.”

“You’re plenty as you are.”

She met his gaze. He held hers for a beat before returning to his food. She took the

opportunity to make sure he was eating enough and realized he’d cleaned out more than half the

food without her even noticing. He really could eat a lot.

When most of the food was gone and she insisted she’d pop if she ate any more, they

cleaned the table, putting away what little remained of the food and washing the few dishes

they’d used. The simple gestures were as comforting for Paige as the meal. She never did any of

these things. There was a staff around to do dishes and tidy the table. Even in college, because

she’d lived at home, she never did any of the household chores. Engaging in domestic activities

with Joseph was nice and made her feel more like a strong adult than anything else she’d done so

far.

Silly that something as simple as washing dishes could help her feel free.

When they finished, he asked if she wanted more coffee, but her stomach churned at the

idea so they settled on tea instead.

“Now what?” she asked as they returned to the table with their mugs of earthy scented

green tea.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean we’re not really just going to hide here and let other people take care of my

brother, are we?”

“No.” His mouth twitched a little. “But you were right about your stepfather looking for

you. Your face is all over the news this afternoon.”

“Damn it. He’ll lead Bradley right to me.” She gripped her mug harder to keep from

panicking. “What if I call him and tell him to stop looking. I’ve just…run off with a man.”

Joseph’s eyebrows rose, just a little, but it was a shocking reaction to her comment. “Will

he believe you?”

“Maybe. Technically, it’s the truth.”

“Will he call off the search?”

She sighed, her shoulders sagging as she realized her idea was a stupid one. “No. He’ll

want to see me to be sure I’m not being held against my will.”

“He does care about you then?”

“Not at all. If I’m being held by someone, eventually they’ll want money. That’s the way

Duke thinks. And he won’t want a possible ransom hanging over his head, something he’d have

to deal with at a more inconvenient time.”

She sat back in her chair. “There’s also the fact that he’s made my disappearance public. It

would be an embarrassment to call it off now without a good explanation. Me running off with a

man isn’t an acceptable public excuse.” She smiled. “Plus, I’m almost forty years old. I’m much

too old for rebelliously running away with a man—at least as far as the public is concerned. That

would make matters worse.”

“Do you want to call him anyway? Tell him you’re fine.”

“It was a bad idea,” she said. “If I call, Bradley might be able to find us, even if Duke does

call off the search. Wish I’d thought to bring my wallet, though.”

“We can still go to the human police if you want. They’ll protect you while you give them

the stuff you do have against Bradley.”

“They won’t be able to protect me for long.” She reached into her pants’ pocket for the

card Daniel had given her with his cop friend’s number. “At least we know one person we can

trust, if needs be.”

She set the card and her mug on the table and ran her hands through her hair. “May I use

your shower? I’m feeling a little grungy.”

He stood and motioned her toward the bathroom. At the door, he gestured to clean towels.

“Help yourself to whatever you need.”

“Thanks.” She stood in the doorway for a long moment looking up at him. “I know this

whole situation is a mess, and not what you were hoping for. But thank you. For everything.”

Impulsively, because she was feeling needy and brave all at once, she rose on her toes and

kissed him on the cheek. Then she closed the door and locked it, afraid to see his reaction to her

kiss.

Joseph stared at the closed door for a heartbeat before returning to the table. He took the

seat on the side where he could watch the bathroom and told himself he was just preparing in

case she needed him for anything.

His cheek burned from her brief contact. Her lips had been soft, and when she got that

close, the faint scent of roses wafted from her skin to fill his head.

His chest hurt. He didn’t want to analyze it, but the longer he was in Paige’s company, the

worse the pain got. He wanted to write it off as something purely physical, an ailment he could

fix by visiting a doctor. But he knew a doctor couldn’t help him now.

And he hated it. He hated the tightness in his chest. He hated the change happening.

He hated that he didn’t know how to stop it.

He listened to the shower turn on, the water flow. He made a concerted effort not visualize

her in there, not to think about what she was doing. It didn’t help the tension tightening his gut.

He realized he’d cracked the already battered table when he heard the snap of breaking Formica.

He moved his hand without looking at the damage.

This was wrong. It had to be wrong.

Su-jin would approve.

The thought came unbidden, from some deep part of his soul he hadn’t looked at in so

long, he didn’t think it was actually there anymore. He stood to pace because not moving was

making his skin itch.

When he heard the water shut off, he paused to stare at the door again. Nothing happened

for a few moments so he went back to pacing. It occurred to him that she didn’t have any clean

clothes and for a mad instant he thought to offer her something of his. Then he thought of his

scent being on her skin, of her wrapped in one of his shirts, and the tension in his stomach wound

tighter, nearly doubling him over.

He swallowed it all back, but the damage was done. He was breaking open, falling apart.

He had no idea what would emerge, what creature would erupt from the depths of blackness

inside him.

For the first time in ten years, he felt an emotion.

The emotion was fear.

*****

Paige took her time after the shower drying off, getting dressed again, finger-combing her

hair. Trying to settle herself. The bathroom, like the rest of the apartment, was anonymous and

serviceable without being particularly nice. But it smelled like Joseph. His shampoo and soap,

both barely scented, still filled the damp foggy air with that subtle fragrance she associated with

him.

And now her skin was covered in those scents. She was both comforted and edgy being so

overwhelmed by him.

Before leaving, she paused at the door to listen. She heard the faint sound of his pacing and

wondered what had him so restless. She didn’t dare hope it was the very thing that kept her

impatient to see him. She wanted him to want her, and yet she wasn’t sure what that would look

like with him.

When she stepped out into the main room, she got her first glimpse of what a desperate

Joseph looked like.

His hair was mussed, as if he’d run his hands through it several times. His face was set in

serious lines, creases on his brow, his mouth turned down, his jaw clenched. His muscles

bunched as he continued to pace without looking at her.

“Thanks,” she offered into the strange atmosphere. “I needed that.”

He grunted but still didn’t look at her.

Brooding? He was brooding? Joseph wasn’t the brooding type. He didn’t care enough

about anything to brood. Except that he obviously did because there was no denying this version

of male discomfort and pouting.

She almost smiled at the idea of telling him to stop pouting, just to see what he would do.

But given his mood, she didn’t think tempting his temper was wise.

“Shall I make some more tea?” she asked, heading for the kitchen without waiting for his

answer. She needed to do something with her hands.

“Don’t make me out to be a hero,” he snapped, his voice deep and snarly. “I’m not one.

Don’t pretend otherwise.”

She froze with her back to him at his seemingly out of the blue statement. His sharp tone

sent two conflicting knee-jerk reactions through her. One, to dip her head and apologize meekly

as she’d spent her life doing—even if she didn’t know what she was apologizing for. The second

urge was to whirl on him and angrily put him in his place.

Neither was the right reaction.

She held still as she thought through his comment, and more importantly the shear emotion

in his voice. Then she turned to face him, her movements slow and careful.

“You came into my home last night to protect me from my psychotic brother, the very man

you want to kill, and yet you didn’t touch him despite having the opportunity. When we

discovered something truly horrifying, you whisked me out of the house with you. You could

have left me behind to cover up our discovery. You didn’t.”

“That doesn’t make me noble.”

He was snarling at her, his brows low, his mouth tight. This wasn’t a Joseph she’d seen

before and she wasn’t sure how to feel about this change. But she did know she wasn’t going to

back down from this conversation.

“It doesn’t make you a bad guy, either,” she said quietly. “More than last night, you’ve

kept me company, demanded nothing from me, in a time when I am extremely vulnerable. You

could have used me—”

“I was. Am. To get to your brother.”

“Liar. You could have killed him last night, consideration for me be damned. You didn’t.”

“I want—” He cut himself off and snarled at the floor, not looking at her.

She took a step closer. “You gave me a safe place when I needed one most. Not last night.

I mean our walks in the dark. You gave me a chance to grieve and release some of my fear. As

far as I’m concerned, that was pretty damned heroic. And you’re not going to make me believe

otherwise.”

He growled at her and stalked to within a foot, close enough that he could have reached out

and grabbed her. He kept his arms at his sides but his hands were fisted as he glared. The sharp

spike of his emotions sent a wave of heat through her—though of anger or fear or something else

entirely, she couldn’t tell.

“I stood by and watched as a woman was almost raped and killed,” he said, low and

dangerous. “A human whose life meant less to me than my revenge. I thought, I’m not

participating, I’m not guilty. This has nothing to do with me. But I stood by and watched. I didn’t

try to stop it. That makes me the very opposite of heroic.”

Paige’s hands shook but she didn’t back down. “Who was she?”

“What the hell does it matter? I didn’t do anything to help her. I’m nothing noble and

haven’t been for ten years. I’ve failed my sister, my father, the memory of my mother. I’ve been

dead inside for years so I wouldn’t have to feel that failure. But now, now because of you, I feel
again.”

He started pacing, each step graceful and dangerous. In his movements, she saw his tiger

more clearly than she usually did.

“I don’t want to feel guilty about not helping Nila,” he said. “I don’t want to feel how I’ve

failed my family and friends. I don’t want to face what I’ve become. I don’t want to feel period.”

He whirled to face her. “I’ve become the very thing I’m trying to destroy. And until you, I was able to
ignore that. You’ve cracked me open and I hate it.”

Her temper snapped. She was not going to be blamed for his faults. She had more than

enough of her own to deal with. “You don’t want to feel? I want to run away and hide. I don’t

want to feel the guilt of having stayed silent while I knew my half brother was out killing

women. I don’t want the guilt of knowing I could have stopped a serial killer and didn’t. I stood

by and kept quiet. And oh, I had some excellent excuses, but they don’t amount to shit when

compared to the lives of the women he’s killed. I have to live with that guilt. I don’t want it

either, but there it is.”

She stalked closer to him, her anger overriding any fear she might have had of this Joseph

she barely recognized. “I want to run away and forget all this. I want to bury my head in the sand

and pretend it has nothing to do with me, leave it all here and go somewhere safe. But you know

what?” She poked him in the chest. “That makes me weak, and scared, and every goddamn thing

they made me! I don’t like who I am now either. I don’t like what they’ve turned me into. I can’t look
at the woman I see in the mirror without feeling my own guilt.”

Angry tears burned her eyes, but she was too caught up in her tirade to notice. “But I’m

going to change. I’m doing what I need to do, even though it’s scary, even though it could get me

killed. Because I am sick to death of being this person I don’t like and carrying her guilt around.

I can’t fix the past, but I sure as hell don’t have to live this way going forward. I want to be me,

the real me, not this doll they created.”

She flicked her hand at him. “You don’t like feeling the guilt? Tough. It’s yours to feel.

You don’t like what you’ve become, you don’t like who you are? Then step up and change.”

She started to walk away, but he grabbed her by the shoulders, pulled her close, held her

gaze for a heartbeat, and then his mouth crashed down against hers. Hard. With more passion

and power than she’d ever felt from anyone. Ever.

He lifted his mouth long enough to say, “You make me feel more than my guilt. Too

damned much. More than I’ve felt in ten years. I hate you for that.” Then his lips claimed hers

again, rough and demanding and exquisite.

If this was his hate, she’d take it. She’d take every hot, hard, passionate, raw, honest ounce

of it. She needed it. Because this was what she wanted to be and feel. This was someone she

could live with and look at in the mirror. Not a doormat. Not a doll. A passionate woman who

could take a man’s hate-kiss and give as good as she got. And like it.

She pushed him against a wall, and kissed back because if felt good…and freeing. God, so

freeing. She gave him all her guilt because he deserved it. And she took all his because she

deserved it. And somewhere in all that heat, she knew they’d destroy the guilt and come out

clean on the other side. Renewed. Ready to rebuild the lives they’d wrecked and left for carrion.

Ready to be the people they should have been years ago.

She kissed him hard, her fingers twisted in his hair to hold him in place, and let everything

she had left of her previous self go, all that fear and timidity and panic. She didn’t know who

she’d be when all this was said and done. But she’d be herself. She’d be the person she should

have been all along.

And damned if she wasn’t going to drag him along with her into this redemption.

Almost without her realizing it, the kiss changed. The hard, angry, battering pressure

softened. Still so much heat, but now it was languid and lush. Seductive.

She groaned into his mouth and pressed her body tight to his, her breasts flattening against

the solid wall of his chest, and his hands clenched tighter at her waist. She heard her shirt rip, but
what was torn clothing to this wash of sensation and freedom. She risked taking her hands from

his head and slid them to his shoulders, then down his biceps, caressing thick muscles she’d

never thought to feel like this.

His t-shirt wasn’t even much of a barrier to her hands, but she wanted more heat, more

skin. She eased back, as much as his embrace allowed, and tugged at his shirt until he released

her long enough to remove it. She had her hands on him before the shirt hit the floor.

His skin was hot, his muscles tense and solid and real. When she stroked her hands down

to his abdomen, he groaned and the sound of his need filled her with satisfaction. She’d always

been passive in bed, allowing her few lovers to take the lead. With Joseph, she couldn’t have

remained a passive fuck-doll even if she’d wanted to be. She needed to feel and taste too much

for patience. She snapped open the buttons on his jeans without taking her fingers far from the

heat beneath. When she brushed her fingers more firmly over his cock, he trembled in her arms.

Every reaction, every groan and hiss and muttered curse emboldened her to take more. She

dropped to her knees to push his jeans and underwear off. Then she took him in her mouth,

enjoying this act more than she ever thought to.

“Paige.”

Her name was a harsh, gravelly moan that sent a shiver of pleasure down her spine. She

looked up at him while she sucked him, meeting his dark gaze, and smiled as she licked his very

tip. She didn’t stop until she felt him trembling and the hand he’d woven into her hair clenched

so tight it hurt. Then she rose and kissed him hard, tangling her tongue with his as she backed to

his bed.

When the mattress bumped against her legs, she spun him around and pushed him down,

following him onto the bed in a sprawl that made her chuckle even as she captured his mouth

again. He wrapped her in a tight embrace, one hand cupping the back of her head, the other

squeezing her ass. She was still fully dressed and having her pants between his hand and her skin

was irritating. Before she could rise and undress, though, she heard the material at her waist rip.

She blinked down at him.

“Sorry,” he said without looking the least bit sorry.

She was awed by the sight of him. His dark eyes sparkled with life. His mouth was parted

and relaxed in a way she’d never seen before. Passion and heat and desperation, all there in his

expression. No longer any anger, just need. So much need.

She wiggled out of her torn pants as she kissed him again. Getting undressed while

sprawled on top of him was clumsy and awkward and she didn’t care because this was Joseph

and nothing mattered but being with him. She lifted to pull her shirt and bra off. Before she could

return to their kiss, though, he stilled her with his hands on her waist. He stared at her body, now

completely naked as she straddled his hips. Some lingering part of her old self wanted to cover

up or look away. But she refused to be that woman anymore. Not now and not with him.

Instead, she watched his reaction to her body, the way his fingers clenched against her

waist and his breathing sped the longer he stared. She wasn’t a particularly curvy woman like her

mother. Her breasts were small, her frame thin and straight, her skin very pale. But Joseph made

her feel lush and feminine. Alive and whole.

“Beautiful,” he said, his voice harsher than it had been the first night they met. “Perfect.”

She ran her hands up his chest, savoring the rough texture of hair against smooth skin. As

she lowered herself closer to him, his hands shifted to her breasts, cupping them both as he

pinched her nipples gently. Her thighs clenched against his hips.

“You like that?”

“Yes.”

“What else do you like? Tell me what you want me to do to you.”

Oh god, everything. She wanted him to do everything to her. “I want your mouth on me.”

“Where?”

She shivered. “My breasts. My pussy.” Saying these things out loud, using words she

would never use was both strange and empowering. She would not be embarrassed with him.

Not with him.

He pinched her nipples hard then rose up to take one into his mouth. His lips were soft and

hot, demanding as he sucked hard enough to make her gasp. She gripped his head with one hand

and his shoulder with the other as pleasure knifed through her. Wetness seeped between her legs

and with each pull of his mouth she felt a tug of tension in her core. He brushed one hand over

her thigh before moving between her legs, tunneling through her curls to her pulsing clit. He

barely touched her and she jerked in reaction.

Afraid he’d take her response as fear or retreat, she gripped his wrist and held him in place.

A heartbeat passed and then he moved his finger again, spreading her wetness to her clit before

very gently stroking her. His touch was so light and soft it was maddening and she clenched his

wrist tighter.

“More,” she said. “Harder.”

“Yes,” he growled.

In the next moment, she found herself on her back and Joseph between her legs. He licked

her heat in a long, slow stroke while holding her gaze, the moment so intimate and hot, she

started to pant. The feel of his tongue on her was perfection. Her stomach tightened as he licked

again, still slow and deliberate, moving deeper.

“Is this what you want?” he said.

His breath was hot against her dampness and as seductive as his tongue on her. “Yes. Yes,”

she said, demanding he please her, not asking, not begging.

He smiled, subtle and slow, but a real smile. She blinked at that show of pleasure, stunned

by how gorgeous he looked in that moment. He didn’t give her time to savor his expression,

though, because his mouth moved over her again and this time he didn’t hold back.

She closed her eyes tight, bringing all her focus and attention to the feel of his tongue on

her. He licked her hard and sure until her body tightened beyond anything she’d experienced

before. She’d had orgasms, but they’d always been brief pops of sensation, a sudden burst of

pleasure that lasted a heartbeat, maybe two before she returned to herself. He didn’t allow any

such perfunctory pleasure. He pushed her right to the edge of release then eased back, letting her

body calm just enough that he could wind her even higher. Each time he brought her to the edge

without letting her go over, her tension increased, her muscles clenched harder.

She could barely breathe, certainly couldn’t think, every ounce of her focused on her core

and the relentless pleasure he gave her. Until finally, finally he didn’t back off when she

trembled on the edge. He pushed harder and harder and she came apart with a silent scream,

flying away into a place of mindless ecstasy.

It took much more than a few heartbeats for her to return to herself. She was still

remembering how to control her own limbs when she felt him move, settling between her thighs,

his cock bumping against her entrance. She adjusted a little, then wrapped her legs around his

hips, gripped his thick cock with her hand and eased him inside. She hadn’t been with a man in

several years, and she’d never been with anyone of his girth, but she was more than ready for

him. The friction of his entrance left her groaning as her body wound up with more pleasure.

“You feel so good,” she murmured into his temple.

“Paige.” He moaned her name and his hips bucked.

She gasped, clenching at his shoulders and back as he rocked into her, steady and even but

hard enough to make her breasts bounce with the movement. She’d never felt so hot and needy

and free all at once. She didn’t hold anything inside or bite back her responses. She let him know

with every moan and panted “Yes” just how much she wanted him, how much she needed him.

And when he cursed and pounded into her harder, she tightened around him, pushing him

back the way he’d pushed her, drawing out both their pleasures until he came apart in her arms.

He settled his head on her breasts as they both panted in the aftermath. She stroked her

hands over his back, cradling him close with her body, amazed at the way he trembled against

her. He held her tight, as if he couldn’t bring himself to release her, and that made her smile into

his hair as she kissed the top of his head.

For a long time, they remained like this, no words necessary. She didn’t want to talk or

break the spell of a perfect moment. She wanted to stay just like this for hours.

He rolled to the side and she wiggled around so they could lay comfortably with her back

to his front, then he pulled up his blanket to cocoon them in a warm embrace. She relaxed against

him, savoring the heavy feel of his arm over her waist, the light almost unconscious way he

stroked her breast, and allowed herself to drift off to sleep, knowing he’d be there when she

woke.

Joseph took longer to fall asleep, too overwhelmed by what had happened. He could feel

again, everything—his guilt, his pain, his loss…and his desperate need and longing for Paige. He

couldn’t even remember what sex had been like for him before her, and he didn’t care. Being

with her was a revelation, a release beyond a simple orgasm. He pressed his lips to the back of

her shoulder as a fear he hadn’t known before joined all the other new emotions assaulting him.

A fierce protective instinct overrode all his guilt and pain. But the fear of losing her, the

thought that he might not be able to keep her alive and safe… The very idea filled him with

heart-pounding terror and reflexively he tightened his hold on her.

She grunted in her sleep, wiggling back into him as if she couldn’t get close enough. When

she settled again, she released a soft sigh of contentment. He swallowed hard at how important

that sound was to him now.

All the emotions were so raw and new, he was an exposed nerve with no way to process

the sensations battering him. Too much. It was too much for him to take. So much he wanted to

shut down again, cut himself off from that human part of himself he’d worked to forget. No one

could take all this and survive it.

But as he caressed her soft skin, filled his head with her delicious rose and earth scent,

absorbed her heat, and savored the sound of her content, sleepy breathing, he knew he couldn’t

shut his emotions off anymore. There was no going back. She’d wrecked him, torn him open and

left him drowning in the wash of too much feeling.

He was dangerous this way. Maybe more deadly than he’d been just a few weeks ago when

he couldn’t feel. He stared at nothing and thought about Bradley, the man who’d tortured and

killed his only sister. The man who would kill the woman Joseph held in his arms if he was given

the chance.

Joseph blew out a breath. Nothing was simple now. Even revenge would have

consequences beyond just risking exposure for his people.

The fact that he was more concerned with Paige’s life than the exposure of the tiger

shifters didn’t entirely surprise him. What surprised him was how his concern for her changed

his feelings toward Bradley.

Before, he’d wanted Bradley dead to pay for what he’d done to Su-jin.

Now…now he wanted Bradley dead to keep him away from Paige.

Nothing had ever seemed more important. Yet she still wanted Bradley exposed to the

world for his crimes. She wanted to ensure all his victims and their families got justice and

peace. Joseph owed that to everyone he’d hurt in the name of revenge. He owed it to Paige.

He realized he’d do anything she asked of him, even if it meant giving up hope of seeing

Bradley dead. And he’d also protect her with his dying breath.

In all that confused and conflicting need, the only thing Joseph knew for sure was that he

had a new center, a reason to go on and rejoin the world.

Victor would never let him live this down.

Chapter Seventeen

Paige woke to the sound of a phone ringing. Groggy and disoriented, she took longer to sit

up and glare in the direction of the noise than Joseph took to actually answer the landline.

She blinked to clear away the sleep clogging her brain and tried to focus on his

conversation.

“Yes. Still here. No. What did you find?”

It took her several moments to realize that she wasn’t hearing any emotion in his voice as

he spoke quietly with whomever had called. He sounded like the Joseph she’d met the night her

mother died, not the man who’d made passionate love to her a few hours ago.

She pulled the blanket up a little, covering herself, as worry nagged at her. What now?

Would he go back to not feeling or caring? Was what happened between them an anomaly he’d

ignore so that he could shut himself off from the world again?

And, more importantly, what did she want now? Did she want the emotionless man whose

distance and apathy had saved her, or the desperate, angry, passionate man who’d made love to

her?

As she watched him stare at the floor, listening to the person on the other end of the line,

she realized she wanted a little of both. How ridiculous was that? She couldn’t have both

worlds—an emotionless Joseph most of the time, only giving in to his feelings when she wanted

him to fuck her.

Ah, she was so very messed up. She knew she wanted to make love to him again. She

knew she wanted to see him smile and watch the heat in his eyes just before he kissed her.

She knew she felt more for him than she should, feelings she didn’t want to analyze too

closely.

Everything was different now. Everything had changed. She’d changed. And she wasn’t

sure how to go forward, but she was positive all of this was better than going back.

For now, that would be enough.

“Yes. Okay.” He looked up at her in that moment, catching her gaze, and Paige felt the

look all the way to her bones. Yet his voice remained neutral and dead as he finished his call.

“Fine. Let me know.” He returned the phone to its cradle and stared at it a moment before

returning to the bed.

“Who was that?” she asked, not sure how to act around him now.

He stood over her a moment, just staring down at her, then he crawled back under the

blanket and pulled her close. She smiled a little into his chest as they settled onto the pillow.

“That was Dom Chernikov. He got into Bradley’s system for about five minutes before

another wall came down and booted him out. Despite his best efforts, he thinks Bradley’s got his

hacker destroying whatever data was there, and he doesn’t have a way to get back in to stop it.”

“Damn. So we won’t get anything that way either.”

“He got two addresses we didn’t know about. It’s something.”

She looked up at him, her brows raised. “Where are they?”

“One’s in Virginia—the tigers are looking into that one. The other’s in Maryland, not too

far outside Baltimore.”

“He’s at least kept things in this part of the country.”

“The Maryland property is just land according to Dom. There doesn’t seem to be any

evidence of a house or structure there.”

“Meaning?”

“It’s low priority for the tigers.”

“Bradley could have easily built something there without leaving evidence. He could have

bribed contractors and planning officials.”

“Dom did a satellite search and couldn’t see anything.”

“He can do that?” She sat up a little higher, surprised the tiger shifters had those kinds of

resources.

Joseph’s mouth ticked up at one corner, his almost smile. “Nothing sophisticated. He just

used Google Earth.”

“Ah.” She smiled shyly and laid back down. “My stepfather would have used his

connections to get a military satellite to look for a structure. I guess I just jump to the most

extreme conclusions now.”

“Understandable.”

He stroked a hand down her spine, a gentle caress that made her hum in pleasure.

She savored the caress a moment before saying, “Since it doesn’t seem to have a structure,

does that mean your people won’t search the land.”

“They will eventually. But they’re concentrating their efforts elsewhere first.”

“We should go look at that plot. He could have something…some evidence buried there.

The land is in his name? That might get the police involved.”

“Didn’t help much when they found a body near his house outside Ridley Creek.”

“Because it was in the park on public lands, not on his land. Easy for my stepfather to have

that dismissed. Especially when he bribed the judge.”

Joseph’s hand stilled for just a moment before he continued to caress her spine. “I

suspected he’d done that.”

She sighed as she considered their situation. “I’ve failed completely, haven’t I?” she

murmured without looking at him. “Either your people will kill Bradley or arrange to have him

killed and probably never allow his crimes to become public…so people don’t look at him too

closely. He’ll pay, in a way, but he’ll die the golden boy. People will mourn his passing without

ever knowing what he was.”

“Is it really so important that people know? He’ll be dead. No more women will be hurt.”

“You’ve wanted him dead from the beginning. Of course you don’t care.”

He lifted her chin, forcing her to face him. His expression was gentler than she expected.

“I do care, because it’s important to you.”

“Do you?”

“Yes. I hate that I care.”

She smiled a little at that.

“But I do. I understand why you want him exposed. I just wanted to rip him apart but

somehow that seems too easy now, too simple a death for the crimes he’s committed. I want him

to suffer more than that for what he’s done.” He shrugged and frowned a little. “If I have to live

with my guilt, he should at least be made to feel some humiliation.”

“He might not, you know,” she said gently, touching Joseph’s cheek with her fingertips,

his stubble rough and enticing. “He couldn’t do what he does if he was capable of feeling

remorse or guilt or any other normal emotion. Even if he’s exposed, he might never feel anything

but smug and contemptuous.”

“Then why bother?”

“Because I hate the idea of the world not seeing him as he is. It’s…it’s not fair that he

should be allowed to bask in the glow of public approval when he’s a monster.”

“Some would say I’m a monster, too,” Joseph murmured.

“Yes, well, that’s a different story and has nothing to do with you as a person. Humans

think shapeshifters are monsters, thanks to popular lore. They also think they’re sexy heroes,

thanks to romance novels.”

“I wasn’t talking about my shifter nature.”

“Joseph.” She kissed his brow. “We all have regrets. But you aren’t anything like Bradley.

You don’t take pleasure in torture and death. You don’t stalk innocent prey.”

“Nila…” He cut himself off and looked away.

“Who was she?”

“A human, as I said. But she was a hybrid—tiger shifter mother, human father. And I

aligned with a shifter who wanted her dead just for existing. He promised me Bradley in

exchange for my help.” He waved that away. “He was a fanatic. And his promises amounted to

nothing in the end. Nila survived. But that doesn’t change my participation.”

“No. It doesn’t. And nothing I do now will change the fact that I kept silent all those

years.” She shook her head. “There’s nothing we can do about our past. No way to fix what

we’ve done. We just have to go forward.”

He met her gaze, his expression thoughtful and…expressive for him. Though his tone had

been neutral and dead on the phone, he wasn’t dead or emotionless now. In fact, she could hear

his guilt and pain too clearly and it made her ache.

“If that shifter who tried to kill Nila was still alive,” he said, “he’d probably come after

you, too.”

She raised her brows. “Why? Because of my mother?”

“Because it’s possible your mother passed on enough of her hybrid genes to you to enable

you to have children with a shifter. He considered that an insult to our kind.”

She shook her head. “I’m too old to have children, so it’s not an issue. I’d be more worried

about Bradley passing on his crazy genes.”

“You’re not old. Human women older than you still have children.”

“I just don’t see it as an option anymore.”

“Did you ever want them?” he asked.

“Maybe,” she sighed. “At one point. I suppose I did. But more because those children

would come with a husband and the husband and children would require me to live away from

my stepfather.”

“Now?”

“I gave up on the idea of children a long time ago. I’d be afraid to have them now anyway.

With Bradley…” She studied him as he stared at the ceiling. “How about you? Did you ever

want kids?”

“Most of our males do.”

“That isn’t an answer.”

His mouth ticked into a smile. “When I was younger, I participated in Mate Runs.” When

she frowned, he explained. “Because of the extinction issue and the low number of females to

males, our governing body instituted a sort of standardized contest for males to win females. The

Mate Run. Anyway, the only way to get a tiger mate is to earn her during the Run, and then to

get her pregnant. Once pregnant, the female can choose to stay with that male and marry, or she

can move on to the next male.”

“How many move on and how many marry?”

He shrugged. “I haven’t paid attention in a long time. When I did, the majority got married

but some females chose to get new mates for each child.”

“So you wanted to get married and have kids, then. That’s why you took part in this Run.”

“It’s just what we males do. Before Su-jin’s death, I suppose I wanted a mate and children.

But given the numbers my chances were always slim, so I was counting on being an uncle more

than a father.”

“And Bradley took that from you, too.”

He didn’t comment, but she felt the weight of his loss. Her half brother had damaged so

very much in his life.

Joseph cupped her cheek. “Don’t think about it. It’s in the past. Remember?”

She smiled a little. “Fine.” Feeling both comfortable and brave, she reached up and kissed

him. “So now what? We wait around for your people? Or do we go to the Maryland property and

see if we can find evidence?”

“We go to Maryland,” he said as if that was self-evident.

She smiled. “Good. I can’t sit around waiting for others to stop him. Even if I do the

pointless stuff, at least it’s…something.”

“Something. But first…” He pulled her close and kissed her.

She settled into the languid, deliciously thorough caress of his lips, the dance of his tongue

with hers. There was no anger left in this kiss, no resentment or pain. Just exploration and heat.

She fell into the sensation like a homecoming.

Joseph could barely remember a time before his need for revenge. He barely remembered

wanting to be tender with a woman, wanting to savor one. But in that moment, he wanted

nothing more than to savor Paige for hours. She was the sweetest, most delicious delicacy he

could remember. Everything about her tasted of heat and want, all of it for him.

Her need had crept up on him, pushing him past walls he’d thought unbreakable, and he

was both angry and relieved, and so grateful now because she was in his arms.

Her hands slid up over his chest, and he closed his eyes to savor the contact. Human

contact had been so rare for so long, it almost hurt to have her hands on him, but it never crossed

his mind to stop her. The edge of pain made it real—not some figment of his imagination born

from scenting her desire. He had no idea what would happen in the future, and frankly in that

moment, his tiger didn’t care. All he wanted was to skim his hands over her soft, soft skin and

taste every inch of her.

The small single bed made their petting and exploration a little awkward. Paige chuckled

more than once as they had to readjust to get to new places. Her husky laughter did as much to

him as her lust, sending pangs of heat to his heart as well as his cock. Though when she

combined that sexy laugh with a tight grip around his cock, the heat settled most solidly there.

As she stroked him, he nipped and sucked at her breasts until her nipples were hard little

peaks in his mouth. She gasped and moaned under him and her grip tightened. Heat and want

tingled along his spine. He nuzzled her neck and rocked into her hand, amazed at just how

wonderful her touch felt. Had any woman done this to him before? He suspected not. Just Paige.

He kissed his way down her body, his sudden need to taste her overriding his need to keep

her hand on his cock. She opened to him without hesitation and her fingers went into his hair to

hold tight as he licked along her slit. Her soft sounds of encouragement called to him stronger

than the forest, which might have surprised him if he weren’t so completely preoccupied.

He licked deeper, finding the little bud of her clit. She lifted off the mattress with a groan

and her grip tightened painfully. He grinned and returned to savoring her, licking until she

writhed beneath him, trusting him to take her where she wanted to go.

More than anything else she’d done to him, her trust tore him to shreds, breaking him so

far apart he had no choice but to be the man she deserved. He couldn’t even resent that anymore.

Couldn’t regret it either. He wanted her trust. He wanted her everything.

When he felt her trembling, close to her climax, he gripped her hips and pushed her hard

until she shattered with a barely suppressed scream.

He could remain just here, savoring her musky, rose-flavored scent and the rich taste of her

for the rest of his life. But his cock demanded more and she was already pulling him up, bringing

his face to hers for a kiss that seared his withered soul.

He slid into her heat as if he belonged there. The friction of her tight channel as she

clenched around him, pulling him deeper, made his head spin. He stroked into her in a hard, even

rhythm that made the bed squeak. He rose onto his hands so he could watch her body take his,

watch the way a flush of color moved over her pale skin, the way her breasts bounced, the way

she bit her bottom lip. Seeing his cock sliding in and out of her highlighted everything he felt

with those strokes, bringing him to the edge too fast.

Balancing on one hand, he slipped his other down her stomach, settling his thumb against

her clit with just enough pressure to send her into another orgasm. He felt the shivering clench of

her climax all the way to his toes and it sent him into his own, ripping through him with shocking

strength. He clenched his eyes tight to ride the sensation, before collapsing onto her in a wash of

satisfaction so complete he couldn’t remember ever feeling this way in his entire life.

After only a few ragged breaths, though, he remembered his weight and rolled to his side,

bringing her with him so he could still hold her without crushing her smaller frame.

It was only in that moment that he paused to consider that she was human, not a tiger

shifter. He probably should have been gentler with her. Her human body couldn’t take a full

shifter’s strength and wouldn’t heal as fast as a shifter’s would.

She snuggled her head beneath his chin, humming her own contentment, and he stopped

worrying about how rough he was. His Paige could take him.

His Paige.

The phrase was so…odd. She was his. His tiger had no doubt. But he’d given up the idea

of having a mate so long ago, this seemed beyond a dream, like the moment belonged to

someone else.

Drowsiness swept through him as he felt her breathing even. They could leave for

Maryland later, or better yet tomorrow. Right now, he didn’t want to do anything but hold her,

naked and warm and so soft, while they dozed.

He wasn’t sure falling asleep was a good idea. What if he woke up and this was all gone,

she was gone? As if sensing his unease in her sleep, she gripped him tighter and wrapped a leg

up over his, hugging him with her entire body.

He smiled, just a little, as he let himself drift off, reassured she’d stay with him a little bit

longer.

*****

Joseph woke feeling… Feeling, period. Too much for him to sort out still. He could barely

remember the names to give all the emotions swamping his system.

He pulled Paige just a little closer, an unnecessary action given the single bed barely held

them both. They’d moved around as they slept until they lay with her back to his front, on their

sides facing the kitchen, with the wall at his back as a kind of brace to keep them both in the bed.

His sheets and pillow smelled of her now—roses, a very faint spice like vanilla, and those

elusive earthy elements to a person’s scent that he could never describe accurately. Mixed with

that, the scents of sex and coffee and Chinese food left him feeling very sated and comfortable.

For the first time in ten years, he wasn’t in a hurry to find Bradley. He was actually content

to let others hunt the bastard and take him down.

More than any other change, that one bothered him. Was he dishonoring his sister, his

parents by leaving a murderer to others?

His arm tightened around Paige’s waist as he considered that he’d already dishonored them

with his actions over the last ten years. He knew, deep down, Su-jin wouldn’t have wanted him

to live the way he had, become the monster he had. As he pulled in another deep breath and

filled his head with Paige’s scent, he knew his sister would have preferred this for him—a

woman he could hold and cherish; the possibility of a life.

A life. A future. All things he’d forgotten to want. Even the long shot hope of children

hadn’t occurred to him for so long, he couldn’t actually remember the last time he’d thought of

the biological imperative that pushed most other tiger males to try for a tiger mate.

He settled his hand over Paige’s stomach. She wasn’t a hybrid like Nila or the little girl,

Zoe, but he was certain in that instinctive part of him that knew things even when he didn’t know

why that Paige’s mother had been a hybrid. Which meant it was entirely possible Paige would be

able to have children with a tiger mate.

An unexpected growl rumbled through his chest. Paige shifted a little, mumbling a sleepy

protest. He quieted his tiger as he caressed Paige back to a deeper sleep. What the hell was that?

He examined his tiger’s reaction to the thought of Paige with a tiger mate, and realized with no

little surprise he’d experienced jealousy. The woman in his arms was his now. No one else could
have her—not human or tiger.

Or psychotic brother.

He wondered if that was why he didn’t want to go after Bradley anymore. Because it might

put Paige in danger. The thought of her in any danger at all left him trembling on the edge of

violent anger—different from the anger he’d lived with after Su-jin’s murder, but just as

powerful. He wanted to hide Paige away somewhere safe, guard her, watch over her, feed her

and make love to her, and let the rest of the world take care of Bradley Williams. Now that the

man had killed another shifter female, the tigers couldn’t ignore him. He was too dangerous.

They’d have to do something about him, even if it meant hiring a human assassin to kill him.

A long forgotten conversation with Victor came back to him then, something he’d put out

of his mind because he’d been too intent on inflicting his revenge with his own hands, or claws

as the case may be.

During his first stint in confinement, when he could barely speak coherently and kept

flipping between his tiger and human forms because his anger blinded him to anything rational,

Victor had come to his cage to try and talk to him. Joseph had been too upset to sign, but he

watched Victor’s hands and responded aloud in enough grunts to let the man who had been his

best friend know he understood.

Now, as he looked back on that conversation, he wasn’t sure if he really had understood

Victor. His friend had been offering him a way for revenge, a way that wouldn’t have to

endanger the tigers but would give Joseph what he wanted.

If he remembered correctly, this conversation happened after the results of the kidnapping

trial, when Bradley had gotten a slap on the wrist and a very short jail sentence. Victor had come

to Joseph and offered to hire a human assassin. He promised to route the money in a way that

couldn’t be traced to the tigers—even with Duke Williams’ resources—and since the assassin

was human, they wouldn’t technically be breaking tiger law.

It was semantics. If the elders found out, they’d consider it a breach of the law and have

Victor executed. Joseph wasn’t sure if he knew that then, but he recognized it now. No matter

how careful Victor was, someone would eventually find out, and because the elders hadn’t

wanted Bradley killed at that point, Victor would have been held accountable. Over the last

twenty years, even hiring someone to kill a human was considered as risky to the tigers as one of

their own committing the crime in person.

If the elders wanted a human who was likely the offspring of a hybrid killed now, well,

that was another story—a legal complication he was happy to leave to them as he really didn’t

give a shit beyond still wanting Bradley dead.

At the time Victor made his offer, though, it was an option that was as dangerous to him as

Joseph’s plan to simply rip Bradley apart. And Victor was married, to a former Tracker of all

people, and had three children. Joseph couldn’t for the life of him remember if he’d thought

about any of that at the time. He did know he refused Victor’s help with a violent, barely human-
sounding growl of insistence that nothing would satisfy him but Bradley’s blood covering his

claws.

That was the last Victor had said of hiring a human assassin. On the next visit, he’d had to

tell Joseph that Joseph’s father had been found dead in the woods, and that was the last even

half-rational conversation they’d had—until this week.

Second only to the attack on Nila that he hadn’t stopped, the destruction of his friendship

with Victor was the thing he regretted most. A week ago, he’d still been thinking about killing

Victor to get him out of the way. Now, the thought of what had happened between them, the way

Victor had continued to act as a friend even when Joseph was no longer worth the trouble, made

his throat tight.

He held onto Paige’s words as regrets assaulted him. He couldn’t fix the past or take back

his mistakes. He had to move on.

And he would move on with Paige.

If she’d have him.

She was used to wealth and prosperity. True her family life was a disaster, but she’d never

wanted for anything financially. Joseph lived off his moderate inheritance by being frugal and

occasionally working odd jobs that required muscle but no specific skill set. He hadn’t been

logical enough to do work that might require him to think, but he was as strong as three humans

and that kind of strength was useful. The years of doing little but pursuing revenge and spending

frequent bouts of time in confinement meant he didn’t have much to his name. He couldn’t even

return to his old job—not that he’d be trusted with security work ever again—because he hadn’t

kept up with changing technology.

He couldn’t support her, not even a little at the moment, and she was used to a higher

caliber of living than just hand to mouth.

Asking her to give up all the comforts of wealth for a life of rebuilding from poverty didn’t

seem like much of a kindness to a woman who’d already been through so much.

She mumbled something he couldn’t hear in her sleep and rolled to face him, wrapping

herself around him and pressing her face to his chest, all without actually waking up. The feel of

her breath against his skin was a heaven he hadn’t known he’d been missing. After so many cold,

bleak years, could he really give this up just because he didn’t have any money yet?

No. He couldn’t. She was his. He’d figure something out. He’d make sure she was taken

care of, no matter what. Sometime in the last twenty-four hours, his tiger had claimed her and

there was no going back.

He held her tight, a precious gift he didn’t deserve, and started to make plans for the future.

First things first, he had to ensure neither Bradley nor Duke Williams ever got near her

again.

As carefully as he could manage, he untangled himself from her and got out of bed. She

protested in a sleepy grunt but didn’t wake up.

He went to the phone and rang Daniel.

“Where’s Bradley now?” he asked when the Tracker answered.

“Nice to talk to you too, Joseph.”

He waited silently for an answer to his question.

Daniel sighed. “We have Trackers watching him, but he seems to know where they are and

he keeps losing them. He really can sense tigers.”

“Apparently.”

“I’ve contacted Pete and he’s taken it upon himself to keep an eye on Bradley, too, but he

can’t watch twenty-four-seven without sleep. We’re considering whether we can trust any other

humans or not. We don’t want to involve the police officially yet.”

He didn’t have to explain why. They didn’t have anything to offer the police that didn’t

risk exposing the tigers. They were dancing a dangerous waltz as it was by including Daniel’s

cop friend in the mix. “Someone’s gone to the West Virginia location Dom discovered?”

“Yes. No tigers. No evidence Bradley’s even been there before. From what we can tell

through other searches, he bought the property through intermediaries but hasn’t actually seen

it.”

“It’s an option for the future. He’ll have a lot of those. I never could find more than a

handful of them.”

“Probably for the best,” Daniel said without the censure Joseph might have expected.

“Have you searched the Maryland property yet, the one that looked like just land?”

“A Tracker in the area went in. Nothing there either.”

“Paige wanted to check that location herself.”

“No need. There’s no structures, no buried bodies the Tracker could locate, nothing to

indicate Bradley’s been there either.”

“Have you found anything else useful?”

“Not enough. The Williams are still in an uproar over Paige’s disappearance so most of

Bradley’s public properties are surrounded by reporters, waiting for a comment from the ‘golden

boy’ on his beloved sister.”

Joseph snorted in disgust.

Daniel was silent for just long enough that Joseph realized he’d done something to surprise

the man.

“You’re…feeling better now?” Daniel asked.

“Meaning?”

“You sound different.”

“What do the elders intend to do with Bradley?”

“Kill him.”

That sent Joseph’s brows up. He’d suspected as much but the blunt confirmation still came

as something of a surprise. “Human hired help? Or one of ours?”

“Not sure yet. They’re still debating.”

Joseph could practically hear Daniel’s eye roll.

“But as soon as we’re sure he doesn’t have the other two missing females, they intend to

kill him. He’s too dangerous to us.”

Joseph didn’t comment. He’d made his position on this topic clear to Daniel already.

“The elders are hesitant to kill Bradley while there’s so much media attention, though. It

might be better for Paige to go back—”

“No.” He didn’t need Daniel to finish to know what he meant. But the elders couldn’t

guarantee Bradley would be executed before he had a chance to hurt Paige. They might not even

care, despite her pedigree, since many of the anti-hybrid tigers would point to her half brother as

proof that her genes were defective and shouldn’t be allowed into their community. Joseph didn’t

give a fuck about defective genes. He wasn’t about to take chances with Paige’s life, even if it

meant forcing the elders to move quicker against Bradley.

“If she stays hidden and her stepfather continues the media blitz, it could be some time

before the elders can have Bradley eliminated.”

“She’ll be killed if she goes back. She’s not going back.”

“I’m not going to argue the point with you. I don’t want her near them either. Just letting

you know what the elders are arguing over.”

“Thanks. Anything I can do to help—besides put Paige in danger?”

“I’ll call if something comes up. Stay out of Chestnut Hill. Bradley showed up at his

townhouse there. Most of the places we’ve picked him up are in the city.”

“Least your cop friend won’t have to leave his jurisdiction.”

“For now.” He paused. Then, “Sarah was glad to hear about Paige. She thinks Su-jin would

approve.”

Joseph hung up without commenting, but given he’d had the same thought just a few

minutes ago, the words echoed in his head for a long time after he disconnected.

He stared at the floor as pain rose in a breath-stealing wave to wash over him, pulsing in

his blood and bones. Grief he hadn’t allowed himself to feel in almost ten years. He let it in now,

taking the ache and bitter anger as his due.

He really missed his baby sister.

Chapter Eighteen

To Paige’s delight, when she woke, groggy but content, sometime around 10 p.m. and

asked to use Joseph’s shower again, he asked if he could join her. She pulled him to the

bathroom without any hesitance or shyness at all.

She’d never been comfortable moving around her own bedroom naked. Being undressed

had made her feel vulnerable and exposed. In Joseph’s little studio apartment in a rundown part

of Philly, with the lights out, grunge covered windows blocking out the night beyond, and

darkness engulfing them, she felt safe and free…even sexy. What did she need with clothes here

when she’d just be in a hurry to take them off again?

He snugged up behind her as she turned on the shower, caressing her breasts as she

checked the water heat. The attention left her legs wobbly.

“This is going to defeat the purpose of a shower, Joseph,” she murmured, leaning back into

him.

“Not my purpose.”

His hot breath against her ear made her thighs clench.

They eased under the stream as soon as it was warm enough, but when Paige tried to turn

in his arms, he held her shoulders and kept her facing the wall. He ran his hands down her arms,

then lifted them to brace her hands on the tiles.

“Don’t move,” he murmured.

She tried to stay still, but she couldn’t help turning her head to watch him as he lifted a bar

of soap from the hanging tray under the spray. Her heartbeat thumped a solid beat while she

watched him lather his hands. Then he applied all those lovely soap bubbles to her breasts. He

caressed and tugged at her nipples, kneading her breasts until she moaned.

He moved his hands down her stomach, skimming over her skin in long strokes, down to

her hips and over her ass. She leaned her head against the cool tiles, as heat rushed through her

everywhere else. When he soaped over her ass cheeks and down between her thighs, she

trembled. He washed her thoroughly, lavishing such care and attention on every inch of her

body, she could barely stand by the time he let her reach back to take his cock in her hand. The

water and soap added a delicious slickness to his solid length. She smiled when he pressed his

forehead against her shoulder and groaned.

“Was this what you wanted?” she asked, leaning back into him.

“Yes.” He belied his answer by taking her wrist and moving her hand away from him. “But

I want this more.” He pulled her hips back and gently pressed her shoulders forward at the same

time, then he rubbed his hardness over ass cheeks, before slipping between her thighs and

pushing into her heat.

She dropped her head back and bit her lip. The position made her channel tighter and the

friction of him moving into her was exquisite.

He held her hips as he pumped into her with long, hard strokes that left her breathless. She

pressed her palms into the tiles to keep from falling, until the tension in her core wound so tight

she thought she might go mad. Then she reached down and fingered her clit, adding just enough

pressure to send her careening into her orgasm. He groaned out his own climax only a moment

later.

When he relaxed his grip, her knees shook and she almost fell. He caught her in his arms

and pulled her back against his chest, cradling her in a tender hug. She wrapped her arms around

his and let him support both their weight for a long moment.

“I don’t think I’ve had this many orgasms in so short a period of time in my entire life,”

she said with a half laugh.

“That sounds like a challenge.”

“It does?”

“Mmm. I think I need to ensure you have more orgasms with me than you’ve had in your

entire life, period.”

“You realize that’s a significant number of orgasms. My entire life is a long period of

time.”

“And I’m looking forward to every minute of topping that number.”

“Oh my.”

She turned in his arms and kissed him, taking his delicious taste into her and memorizing

it, hoping with every ounce of her being they’d have the opportunity to follow through on that

promise.

*****

As they dried off, Joseph told her about his conversation with Daniel.

“So I guess we don’t need to drive to Maryland after all.” She sighed. She knew it was a

long shot, but a part of her had hoped they’d find something there, she’d find something she

could hand the police. She still felt useless and guilty, leaving the hunt for evidence to others.

But she wasn’t a cop or even a private investigator. She’d made a hash of looking for

evidence already. She wasn’t sure why she thought driving to Maryland would make any

difference.

“My people want Bradley dead,” Joseph said. “They intend to kill him.”

“Before he’s exposed?” A strange mix of relief and disappointment tightened in her gut.

“Depends on if they find anything they can risk handing over to human authorities.”

When she frowned at the floor, he lifted her chin so she had to look at him. “You knew this

was heading in this direction when we realized your mother was a hybrid. I know why you’re not

happy about it, and if I could change things to satisfy you and the tigers, I would. But he’ll be

dead.”

She knew the world would be a little safer once Bradley was gone. But all her plans for her

own redemption were slipping away now. Nothing she’d done had helped. Her disappearance

was actually hindering things because the media was involved now. She wasn’t going to be the

one to stop her brother.

And she didn’t like being useless, having failed. She’d spent her entire life being a useless

failure. Nothing she’d tried to do had fixed that.

Maybe she wasn’t anything more than her family had made her. Maybe she wasn’t

stronger, or smarter, or braver than they’d insisted.

Maybe she really was the meek and biddable woman they’d created, with no way of being

anything else, no matter what she did.

The thought brought tears to her eyes, unexpected and embarrassing because she couldn’t

hide them before Joseph noticed. His own eyes widened in a kind of panic that might have made

her laugh if she’d had the energy. Seeing him react at all was enough to amuse her, even as the

tears leaked down her cheeks.

He pulled her close and tucked her head under his chin. “It’ll be okay,” he promised. “He

won’t hurt you. The world will know, one way or another, what he is. And he’ll be dead.”

He sounded so fierce she couldn’t help but smile a little against his shoulder. “I’ve been

trying to change, to be strong. I guess I’m not.”

“You’re the strongest person I know,” he said seriously.

She snorted. “Right.”

“You are,” he insisted fiercely, tightening his hold. “You survived. You survived a

psychotic brother, a drug addled mother, an abusive stepfather. You’re still alive and reasonably

sane. That makes you incredibly strong.”

“‘Reasonably sane’?” She laughed.

To her utter surprise, Joseph chuckled, a sound like rumbling thunder, distant and gravelly,

but powerful nonetheless. She pulled back to look at him, awed by the rusty sound of his

amusement.

He cupped her cheek, still half-smiling. “If you were completely sane, I doubt you’d be

standing here with me right now.”

“I’m not so sure about that. But either way, I’m grateful to be here.”

“Not nearly as grateful as I am to have you here.”

“You remember how I said I liked the fact that you didn’t care about anything? That it was

the thing I liked best about you?”

He nodded.

“I’ve changed my mind. The thing I like best about you now is the sound of your laugh.”

He raised his brows and tugged her hips closer. “Just my laugh?”

She grinned. “Well, I like other things about this more emotional you, too.”

“That’s a relief.”

She laughed again and realized he’d somehow managed to turn her disappointment with

herself to a contented pleasure just to be in his arms. How had he done that?

And how could she ever live without him now that she’d found him?

*****

They woke the next morning to discover Joseph was out of coffee and down to his last two

tea bags. “I’ll run out and get a few supplies,” he said. “We’ll make a new plan after I get back.

Since we’re not going to Maryland now, we need to find somewhere outside Philly to lay low

while my people take care of Bradley.”

He could barely believe how easy it was to finally give up his revenge and leave the details

to others. He still wasn’t sure it was the right thing to do, but keeping Paige safe and away from

her half brother seemed more important to his tiger now than ripping Bradley to pieces. Since he

still functioned more on instinct than human logic, and his every instinct said he needed to

protect her at all costs, he pushed away his guilt at not exacting revenge in person.

He’d have time to wallow in guilt and learn how to live with it after Paige’s life was no

longer in danger.

“Lock the door behind me and don’t answer it for anyone,” he said as he headed out.

“Even Daniel or Victor.”

“That’s a bit extreme.”

“I’m having a hard time convincing my tiger to leave you again,” he admitted. “Leaving

for Chinese food yesterday was a struggle.”

“I could go with you?”

“Getting restless staying inside?”

“A little.” Her cheeks turned a lovely shade of pink at the admission. “I spent so many

years locked up in my stepfather’s home that it’s hard to stay…confined when I’m finally free.”

Joseph smiled—a sensation that still felt odd and awkward after all this time. “We’ll leave

tonight then, no matter what. But I don’t want you on the streets of Philly while your picture is

flashing all over TV and social media. Especially now with this reward your stepfather’s

offered.”

She sighed.

Daniel had called first thing that morning to warn them that Duke was offering a half

million dollar reward for information on Paige. They both knew she couldn’t hide anywhere in

Philly now without someone spotting her and calling in her location in hopes of getting that kind

of money. Even getting to his car to leave the city was going to be chancy, but he’d find a way.

He was good at camouflage, especially in the dark.

“I’ll be back in fifteen minutes,” he said, giving her a gentle kiss. He was tempted to linger

over the kiss longer, but she wanted coffee and the urge to see to her comfort was as strong as his

need to make love to her again. “Make that ten. I’ll hurry.”

She was smiling as she locked the door behind him.

He hurried to the small shop two blocks away, making an effort to keep his movements

within the human range of fast. His tiger was restless and wanted to move at full shifter speed to

get back to Paige as soon as possible. But it was full daylight on a weekday morning. The

working-class people in this neighborhood were awake and on their way to jobs and errands,

many of them moving as quickly as he was to get to where they were going. He didn’t dare draw

attention to himself by acting any differently than his neighbors.

Fortunately, this was the kind of area where people didn’t expect you to know your

neighbors or pass more than a mild comment on the weather when at the checkout. He was able

to get into the shop and out again in five minutes, and would have been quicker but for the three

people also buying breakfast foods and coffee ahead of him.

He was on the street, turning back toward his apartment when an instinctive warning shot

up his spine. He moved out of the foot traffic, putting his back to the store wall, and studied his

surroundings with all his shifter senses open. In the city, he usually dialed down his hearing so

the sounds of traffic and construction nearby wouldn’t deafen him. But now, he let everything in,

all the scents and sounds, watching every movement, hunting for the anomaly that had sent his

survival instincts into full alert.

The sensation of being watched, of being hunted was strong enough that he nearly growled

aloud. He must have made some threatening sound without realizing it, because several people

passing him looked up with startled expressions then moved away quickly. Not the best way to

remain unnoticed, he thought, but since someone had already apparently noticed him, he didn’t

care if he scared a few human pedestrians.

Despite his acute shifter senses, he couldn’t pinpoint the source of danger. He just knew,

with every ounce of instinct in him, that there was danger out there stalking him.

And he had no intention of leading that threat back to Paige.

He searched one last time, studying the street in both directions, then moved down one of

the cross streets, heading perpendicular to his apartment building. Ignoring the way the humans

on the street dove out of his path, he smiled when he was sure the source of danger followed

him. He couldn’t explain how he knew he was being hunted, only that he was sure there was a

predator behind him.

Now he just had to find a nice isolated place far enough from Paige to ensure she was safe.

Then he’d call his stalker out into the open. The longer he walked, the more attention he turned

toward that sensation of being hunted, the more confident he was that the hunter was Bradley. He

couldn’t sense him the way he might another tiger, so he knew it wasn’t one of his own people.

But the person behind him was a skilled human hunter, not giving himself away with common

mistakes. The only one with this kind of skill who was also likely to trigger Joseph’s instincts

was the serial killer he’d been after for ten years.

If it was Bradley, he thought, with a deep sense of satisfaction, they’d finally have their

long overdue confrontation.

And Joseph would enjoy it.

*****

Paige paced the small studio, growing more agitated and worried as the minutes passed.

Joseph had been gone for over a half an hour. Given how reluctant he was to leave, she knew the

delay wasn’t just a matter of his having to go to a different store for coffee. He’d have come back

first to warn her.

Something was wrong. Something had delayed him or…

She didn’t want to consider the or.

But she did anyway. Her worst fear—that Bradley had somehow found them—taunted her,

twisting in her gut until she thought she might throw up.

What if her crazy brother had managed to find them, against all reason and logic? What if

he’d gotten to Joseph and disabled him…or killed him.

Oh, god. She couldn’t even consider that or she’d lose her mind.

No, Joseph was still alive. She was sure she’d know if he wasn’t. Somehow, she’d know.

Just like she knew he was in trouble right now, while she hid in his apartment doing

nothing to help.

She had to help. She had to do something. What? What? What to do?

Rubbing the links of her bracelet back and forth over her thumb, she tried to think

logically. Because Joseph had ripped her clothes, she was wearing a pair of his sweats, rolled up

so she didn’t trip, a huge dark t-shirt, and an equally huge black sweatshirt. She had to bunch up

a lot of material from the sleeve just to reach the bracelet, but the nervous gesture was reassuring

and helped her focus. Wearing his clothes, being surrounded by his scent, helped calm her a

little, too.

She could call Daniel’s cop friend. He could send out an alert, have all the police looking

out for Joseph…

But what if that backfired on them? What if her stepfather somehow found out through the

police he had in his pocket? Or worse what if Bradley hadn’t found them yet and he used the

police search to find Joseph himself? She could lead danger and death right to Joseph if she did

the wrong thing in her panic.

She should call Daniel. His number had to be around here somewhere. Or maybe send an

email to Victor? Maybe both.

She went to the phone first, hunting around for a note or something with a number on it,

then checked the phone itself for clues. It was really old and very basic, without caller i.d. or that
button on it to call back the last caller. Who didn’t have caller i.d. on their phones in this day and
age?

When she couldn’t remember the process to get the last caller’s number—wasn’t there a

number to dial?—she went to Joseph’s computer and turned it on. Email wasn’t the best option,

but maybe he had a list of contacts.

While she waited for the old machine to run through all its startup procedures, she hunted

up the cop’s card. It only had his number on it, no way for her to also contact Daniel or any of

the other tiger shifters. Since the computer took ages to get going, she did a more thorough

search through Joseph’s drawers, cupboards, and even his suitcase, hunting for any scrap of

paper that might contain a tiger’s contact information on it.

Damn it, why didn’t he write down numbers?

As she searched, still not finding anything helpful, her panic increased. Something was

very wrong. She was sure of it. He was in danger. He needed her help.

She was on the verge of screaming to release some of the fear threatening to boil over,

when she stumbled across an unexpected find high up in one of the kitchen cabinets. A metal box

with a key in the lock, too high up for her to reach. She pulled over one of the chairs and climbed

up to retrieve the box. When she turned the key and opened the metal lid, she was shocked to see

a substantial looking handgun inside. She didn’t know much about guns, but she knew enough

from her stepfather and brother—both hunters—to recognize the spare magazines next to the

unloaded weapon. She checked them, both full of large looking bullets, then checked the gun

itself to make sure it was empty.

Putting the weapon back into the box, she carried the whole thing to the computer, which

was finally purring and ready to use. First things first, she checked for contact lists and phone

numbers. Nothing. Damn it.

Once the email program opened, she hunted up the email address he’d used to contact

Victor and sent a brief, vague note:

“This is Paige. I need help. Could you have Daniel call me? I’m still in the same place.”

She had no idea if this email could lead her stepfather or brother to her, but she didn’t want

to take any chances by being too specific. She just hoped Victor read the urgency in the message

and acted quickly.

After she hit send, she did an internet search for specifications and user information on the

gun she’d found. She wasn’t sure if it belonged to Joseph or was something left behind by a

previous tenant. In this neighborhood, it could be either. But she didn’t care. It was a weapon she

could use against her brother, or any other threat for that matter. She just needed to know how to

use it without accidentally shooting herself in the process.

By the time she’d found the model and ensured she knew how to load, unload, and fire the

weapon safely, there was a new email in the inbox. She opened it: “Daniel is on his way to you

now. Don’t leave until he gets there. You’ll know it’s him when he’s outside the door?”

She smiled a little as she realized she would. At least, she wouldn’t answer the door for

anyone she couldn’t sense the way she sensed Joseph.

She answered Victor’s email. Then she went back to studying the gun, practicing loading

it, clearing the chamber after she unloaded it. She counted the spare bullets in the magazines and

practiced reloading them, just in case. While the gun was empty, she practice firing, getting a

feel for the trigger. The video she’d found demonstrating this model’s use had shown a moderate

kickback when it was fired. That made her nervous. She’d never fired a gun before and had no

idea how she’d handle the kickback. But she’d rather have this than no weapon at all.

Her gut was so tight with worry by the time she heard a knock on the door, her hands were

shaking. No word from Joseph and almost two hours had passed since he’d left.

She loaded the gun and kept it at her side as she edged close to the door, attempting to feel

the person on the other side. When she couldn’t sense a tiger shifter, another surge of adrenaline-

fueled panic shot through her and she raised the gun with trembling hands. As silently as she

could, she eased up to the door to look through the peephole.

No one was there. Heartbeat thumping, she searched the hall as best she could, but there

were areas right next to the door that she couldn’t see through the peephole, places where a

clever man might hide and ambush her.

She backed away from the door, holding the gun as steady as possible, not breathing as she

listened for any sounds from the hall.

She risked a look at the microwave clock. Where was Daniel? She could use a little tiger

shifter help right now.

Long minutes ticked by as nothing happened. Her eyes started to water from staring at the

door and her arms were too tired to hold the gun up anymore. She relaxed her stance a little,

keeping the gun in one hand at her side, her finger resting carefully along the barrel instead of

the trigger so she didn’t accidently shoot herself in the foot if something startled her. Hesitating a bit
longer, she worked up the courage to ease close to the door again. With every step, she

expected another knock, or something hard to hit the door. Nothing happened.

By the time she reached the door she was panting with both fear and adrenaline, the urge to

run and hide as strong as ever. She forced herself to look through the peephole again. No one

obvious stood outside. She moved around, trying to see as much of the surroundings as possible.

The corridor looked empty.

So queasy and tense she wanted to scream, she made herself click the lock, working to do

it silently. Then before she could chicken out, she swung the door open, pointing the gun around

the hall. Lucky for her, the corridor was completely empty because she was certain she would

have shot someone—even an innocent bystander—if there’d been anyone there. She swallowed

hard and leaned forward, putting her hands on her knees, blinking back the spots crowding her

vision.

As her vision cleared, the package on the ground just outside the door came into focus. A

plain box wrapped in brown paper with her name written in black ink across the top. She

recognized the handwriting immediately.

Her heart hammered so hard her head spun. She checked the hall again, holding the gun

out, listening for any hint of noise, as she edged the box inside with her foot. When no one

jumped out at her, she closed the door and locked it.

Afraid she’d pass out if she couldn’t slow her heartbeat, she stared at the package,

expecting it to jump up and bite her even though that was a ridiculous thought. But this was from

Bradley and with him, anything seemed possible.

How the hell had he found them? Where was Joseph?

Tears leaked down her cheeks as she knelt. Very carefully, she laid the gun on the wooden

floor next to her knee, then she tore off the paper to reveal a small orange gift box with a painted

on pink ribbon. Everything in her screamed to run away, but she knew Joseph was in trouble.

She couldn’t ignore this.

She lifted the lid, some still-rational part of her brain thinking how easy it was to open.

Inside, nestled on a bed of white cotton, was a single finger, still fresh enough that the blood

congealed around it.

Chapter Nineteen

Paige listed to one side as all the blood rushed from her head and darkness clouded her

vision.

Some instinct she didn’t recognize kept her from passing out, but just barely as she caught

herself with one hand on the floor. The change of position brought the top of the lid into view,

and she saw the note taped to the inside.

“Come and get him.” And an address.

Very slowly she moved back from the box, pinching her nose so she wouldn’t gag on the

smell of dying flesh and the metallic tang of blood. She took the gun with her as she moved to

the kitchen. Scribbling the address onto a paper napkin, she slipped the napkin into the pocket of

Joseph’s oversized sweats.

Panic had somehow turned into crystal clear instinct. She wouldn’t have called it actual

thought, but her body moved with purpose, and she knew exactly what she had to do without

having to worry about the plan.

Snatching up the second loaded magazine, she put it in her other pocket, then let the sleeve

of Joseph’s sweatshirt fall down over her hand, covering the gun. She gave the box a wide birth

as she left, leaving the door closed but unlocked so Daniel would find the box and the address

when he finally arrived.

She didn’t have time to wait for him, not if Bradley was already removing body parts. She

had to save Joseph, no matter what.

*****

Getting to the address without any money proved less difficult than Paige would have

assumed. A stranger was willing to drive her. She’d had to point her gun at him when he pulled

over and leered at her, looking for payment for the ride, but outside of that little drama, her trip

went without incident.

She was certain the man recognized her, even when he picked her up, and she knew he’d

go to her stepfather for the reward. She didn’t particularly care. In fact, part of her hoped her

stepfather sent the cops after her when he heard she had a gun.

But cops showing up would complicate things, and push Bradley into a corner that might

get both her and Joseph killed.

If Joseph was still alive.

She forced the thought down, falling back on the instincts that had taken over when she

saw his finger in the gift box. She couldn’t afford to think with her logical mind right now

because her logical mind was terrified, hiding in a corner of her head and whimpering. All she

had was the urge driving her forward, the deep knowledge that Joseph was in trouble and needed

her help.

The address turned out to be a large warehouse in a row of warehouses. Many of the

surrounding buildings were plastered with graffiti, and most of the large loading doors had been

tagged, too. The parking lot paving was cracked and covered with weeds. Three broken grocery

carts were piled up against a streetlamp in one corner of the lot, and garbage rolled past in the

gentle breeze.

A few cars were parked at the opposite end of the lot, but no people moved around the

area. The stream running alongside the building was silent, but she could just hear the Septa train

passing nearby and the clanking of cranes and trucks a few blocks away. She expected more

traffic noise, more people and cars period, but the immediate area was surprisingly quiet. She

wrinkled her nose at the less than pleasant scent of gasoline, heated concrete, and pee.

As she eased up to the small door on the ground level next to the loading bay, she wasn’t

entirely surprised to realize the building belonged to one of her stepfather’s corporations—an

import-export business she knew the name of but that was all. She wasn’t privy to her

stepfather’s business dealings as it wasn’t the “place of a woman to concern herself with men’s

work”. She rolled her eyes at the thought.

Putting her back to the concrete block wall beside the door, she searched the area. Still no

one around even though it was the middle of the afternoon. She reached for the door handle

while keeping her attention on her surroundings, half expecting an ambush.

The handle turned easily in her hand.

Taking a long, slow breath, tightening her grip on the gun in her other hand, still concealed

by her oversized sleeve, she edged inside. The interior of the warehouse was dark and empty.

The concrete floor was painted a nice neutral blue, and looked very clean for a warehouse floor.

The walls were lined with something that muted outside sounds. Rows of florescent lights

overhead were off, but high windows gave enough light for her to see most of the space. It

wasn’t as large a room as she might have expected, but it easily took up the equivalent of half a

city block.

She remained by the door, leaving it slightly open so if the Cavalry did arrive, they’d know

which door to use. She wasn’t entirely sure which Cavalry she was hoping for—human cops or

tiger shifters. Either one brought difficulties. But given how fast the tigers could move, she was

leaning toward them, hoping their speed would prevent Bradley from getting away.

When she was sure the main area was empty, she started across the bare floor toward the

single door at the back. Presumably a space for offices. She knew that was her destination. She

could sense a tiger beyond that door and knew without a doubt it was Joseph.

Her ears rang in the silence as she moved slowly to prevent noise while at the same time

straining to hear everything around her. The warehouse was cool and comfortable, but by the

time she reached the door, sweat dripped down her back and between her breasts. As she reached

for the doorknob, a sing-songy voice made her freeze.

“Pretty Paige all dressed in red, come rescue your boyfriend or else he’s dead.”

She snarled at the door even as fear shot a rush of panic through her. She flexed her hand,

fisting and relaxing it, then opened the door.

“I’m wearing black,” she said as she entered the room. “And that was the stupidest creepy

rhyme ever.”

She spotted Bradley immediately, standing in the middle of the room facing the door,

dressed in hospital scrubs covered by a white lab coat, his arms crossed over his chest so she

couldn’t see his hands.

He laughed at her comment. “Black doesn’t rhyme with dead though.”

She ignored his taunt when she spotted Joseph. She sucked in a sharp breath. He was laid

out on a silver table that looked like something from an operating room, or a morgue. He’d been

stripped naked, and thick leather straps crossed over his body, holding him down. Though, as she

stared, she realized he wasn’t moving and knew with growing horror that Bradley had drugged

him. She should have known. How else would the crazy bastard keep Joseph contained?

She forced herself to look at the hand she could see, but he seemed to have all his fingers.

And somewhat to her surprise, she didn’t see any other wounds.

“We were waiting for you,” Bradley said as if reading her thoughts.

She flicked a glance at him, never really letting him out of her peripheral vision, but she

ignored his comment to focus on Joseph. “Can you hear me? Are you hurt?”

“He can hear. He can’t talk. Poor boyfriend. Should have stayed away from little Paigy.”

“You are really, truly insane, Bradley,” she said still without looking directly at him.

“What do you want from us? We were just trying to elope.”

He snorted. “Oh Paigy, Paigy, Paigy. Don’t lie. You suck at it. I know he’s different. I can

feel it. He’s like that first one I killed all those years ago, like the two bastards who got me sent to
jail. What are they? Do you know? I’ve never been able to figure it out.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He shook his head. “Liar, liar pants on fire.” He looked her over. “Wearing his clothes I

presume. Not a great look for you, sis. Makes you look like a boy. Not that you’ve got much of a

figure anyway, but still. You must do the best with what you have.”

“You talk too much.”

He laughed. “I know. It’s so hard to resist gloating. But really, I want to know, what is he?

What are they? They’re different. Stronger. Oh god, Paige, the kill! She took so long to die and fought
all the way. I’ve never experienced that kind of rush before. It was perfect. And over too

soon. I didn’t know how rare she was, or I would have made things last longer. Her bitch friend

would have been the same, though. She was like that first one.”

Paige swallowed the bile rising in her throat and tried to block out most of what Bradley

was saying so she could focus on Joseph. He was still breathing, but his chest movements were

slow and infrequent.

“You’re going to kill him before you can play,” she said, her voice as level as she could

manage. Still some of the quivering she felt must have leaked out because Bradley grinned.

“I am this close to perfecting the drug—too strong, they stop breathing before I’m ready;

too weak, and I can’t hold someone like him. Ordinary women, sure, but not like this one, or that

first one. That was the problem that first time. The drug worked, but never long enough. I had to

keep shooting her up. And then I couldn’t find another one to test my newest versions on.”

He started pacing toward her and Paige edged along the wall, circling to keep as much

space between them as the room allowed.

“You know, at first I thought it was because she was a chink. Some weird strength those

Chinese bastards have when near death. Her friend was a chink too, so I thought that was the

secret to a deliciously long torture session. But the boyfriend, oh, I should say husband now, he

was white. And he feels the same as the two women. So it’s something else.”

“She wasn’t Chinese,” Paige said absently. “The woman you killed was part Korean.”

That made Bradley stop circling. “You knew her?”

“No.”

“Then how…?” He glanced at Joseph, his eyes narrowed. “Something to do with him? Did

he know her? An ex-girlfriend maybe?”

“No,” she repeated. Did it matter if Bradley knew who Joseph was or was it better to keep

his relationship to Su-jin secret? She wasn’t sure so she kept as much of her knowledge as she

could to herself. The less her crazy half brother knew, the better. She shouldn’t have given him

as much as she had.

When Bradley started moving again, so did she, edging closer to Joseph with every step.

She suspected Bradley was doing this on purpose, putting her where he wanted her. But she

didn’t care yet. She needed to make sure Joseph was okay, and that meant getting closer.

“Why the ties if he’s drugged?” she asked to divert Bradley from her slip about Su-jin’s

heritage.

“This one is really strong. Stronger than any of the others. He fought the drug longer than I

expected.” Bradley winked. “Not taking any chances now.” He held up his hand, showing her the

syringe he carried that she hadn’t noticed before. “Another precaution.”

“For him or me?”

He laughed. “You aren’t any danger to me, Paigy. I’m your little brother. You’d never hurt

me.”

“Why am I here?”

“I wanted you to watch. It’s so hard not to have one’s work admired and appreciated. Do

you know what I’ve done? What I’ve accomplished? And because of Dad, I have to keep it all

quiet and hidden.”

“Actually, if you didn’t keep all this quiet and hidden, you’d have been in jail with a death

sentence hanging over you a long time ago.”

He waved that away. “I wasn’t talking about being that public. Besides, I’m too clever to

be caught. But it’s impossible to do this kind of work and have it ignored. It just feels so wrong.”

“The ‘work’ is wrong, Bradley. You’re wrong.”

“I’m simply superior, sis. It takes a genius to recognize another one, and I’m afraid you

aren’t even close to being smart enough for that.” His eyes narrowed. “But you found my little

trophies. And that day when I caught you by my lab, you weren’t just on one of Dad’s errands

were you? So you’re not the idiot I thought. Which means you’ll appreciate this, Paige. You’ll

understand what I’ve done.” He glanced at Joseph. “Maybe more than most since I still think you

know what he is, why he’s different. Perhaps if I play with him long enough, I can get you to tell

me?”

“I’m not going to watch you torture him, Bradley. You picked the wrong person to show

off to.”

“I don’t think so. I think I’ve picked just the right person. You see, I’m almost ready. If

this works, I can finally kill Dad and move on to the really good kills. Like those bastards that

accused me of kidnapping. I can’t wait to kill them.” He smirked. “That’s how I found you. Did

you wonder?”

“Hadn’t thought about it yet.” She reached Joseph’s side. His head didn’t move at all, but

as she glanced down at him, she saw him blink, slowly and deliberately. When she looked closer,

she saw his hand, the one opposite Bradley, twitch.

She tried not to react outwardly, but her heart started to pound hard at that slight gesture. If

she could keep Bradley distracted just long enough, maybe Joseph would be able to overcome

the drug and get free. She had a feeling these straps, thick as they were, would be no match for

an enraged Joseph—and she had no doubt he was enraged.

She ran her thumb along his hand, realizing he still had all five fingers, and said, “Who’s

finger was in that box? You knew I’d assume it was Joseph’s but obviously it’s not.”

“A homeless guy.” Bradley shrugged. “He happened to see me take the big guy down, and

I don’t leave witnesses.”

“Out of curiosity,” she said, forcing her voice to remain calm, “why didn’t you cut off

Joseph’s finger?”

“I want to savor torturing him. I wasn’t going to waste my fun on something as utilitarian

as a present to you. I have plans for each of his body parts.”

Her stomach heaved. “If not for the homeless guy, how would you have gotten me here?”

“I’m sure a message about your lover boy would have been enough. But the finger was

such a delicious bonus, wasn’t it? A little cliché, I’ll admit. But I couldn’t resist. Especially since it
was a finger you stole from me when you ran away.”

She narrowed her eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I ran away to elope with

Joseph.”

“Still a bad liar, sis. Please, just don’t. That finger belonged to another one like him. Oh,

god, she was fun to kill. Much better than the first one. I knew to savor her this time. Took the

better part of a week with her. Still didn’t have the drug quite right, though, but closer this time.”

“How did you even find her?” Paige had to clench her free hand into a fist so tight her nails

cut into her skin to keep from screaming.

She could barely believe a man she’d lived with her whole life could talk about torture and

killing so casually and with such glee. She swallowed down her disgust, knowing if she showed

too much of it, he’d gloat even more. But she needed him to talk about something besides the

actual killing if she was going to keep this up long enough for Joseph to shake off the effects of

the drug.

“Now, you see?” Bradley answered her question. “That’s been the trouble for the last ten

years. Besides that couple, who I couldn’t kill because Dad insisted I stay away from them—” he

snorted, “—I haven’t been able to find anyone like them since that first bitch. I thought maybe

they were rare and I’d wasted my one chance at true enjoyment. Ah, but then, one of them found

me.”

Paige straightened just a little. One of the tigers sought out Bradley on purpose?

“I see that caught your attention. Well, I won’t go into the details. Let’s just say he was a

kindred spirit in some ways—not in the most important ways, but anyway—he wanted my drug.

I traded him the drug for the woman. And it was worth the price. She was…amazing.”

Paige had to work not to close her eyes in disgust at the look of euphoria on Bradley’s

face.

“I’ve been considering finding him again and getting another, but then your boyfriend

showed up, and I thought he’d make a fine test case. I’m almost positive I’ve got the drug perfect

this time. It just needs testing.”

She wanted to say something more, to keep him talking, but her brain was shutting down

as revulsion and horror rolled through her gut. The person she was before Joseph, before her

mother died, wanted to curl up in the corner and cry. Somewhere, that person still existed, but

Paige refused to give in to her yet. Not here, not when Joseph needed her to be the person she

wanted to be.

Forcing down another choking rise of bile, she went back to one of Bradley’s earlier

comments, something she was sure wouldn’t be as difficult to hear. “You said you intend to kill

your father. I don’t understand that.”

“He’s been holding me back for years.”

“He loves you. He’s protected you. You’re his blood, his golden child.”

“Paige. He doesn’t love anyone. You of all people should know that.” He shrugged. “He’s

in my way, has been for a long time now. I tolerate it because his resources are helpful. Like that

lovely hunt for you? Wasn’t that handy. A great way to keep everyone distracted while I found

you.” His eyes narrowed and he took a few steps closer to the table. “You never asked me how I

did that? Don’t you want to know? Come on, you must be curious?”

“You followed Daniel,” she said with her own shrug. “I’m not an idiot. If you’ve kept

track of him and his wife all these years, and you know Joseph was like them, they would be the

first people you went to looking for me.”

“Ah, but it wasn’t that easy.” He wagged his eyebrows. “Every time I got anywhere near

them, they seemed to know. They got edgy and…aware. Once, when I tried to put a GPS tracker

on the man’s car, he sniffed it out immediately.” He shook his head. “No, they haven’t been easy

prey. So I had to be smarter.”

She wanted to roll her eyes but didn’t.

“I can tell you’re curious how I’ve kept track of them.”

“Not really.”

“I hired people to watch them. Different people, mostly through my contacts from my jail

stint. Always for short periods of time, so no one caught on. For years. I had to be really careful

and clever—if good ol’ Dad found out, he’d have cut off my funds. All that lovely money has

made my research much easier. But I knew one day I’d kill those bastards, and I didn’t want

them to get away. They had to be watched.” He actually giggled when he said, “I already had

someone following them when you went missing. Wasn’t that very convenient?”

She did roll her eyes this time.

He narrowed his gaze, tilting his head a little as he considered her. “But you still figured

out I found you through them. I’m impressed.” He sounded genuine, which surprised her. “I

would never have believed you’d put all that together. I should have been keeping a closer eye

on you all these years, sis.”

“Maybe. But I’m glad you weren’t. You creep the hell out of me.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “Ah, Paige. If you weren’t such a wet mop, I bet I

could like you.” He glanced at Joseph and grinned. “Though I suspect there are depths to you

yet, aren’t there? Does Dad know about him?” He nodded at Joseph.

“Of course not.”

Because Bradley was watching Joseph so intently, she started edging away from him. If he

was going to break out of Bradley’s drug, he needed to do so before Bradley used that syringe in

his hand, which meant she had to keep Bradley from noticing Joseph was starting to move.

Before she got too far, though, she noticed the sprout of hair along Joseph’s forearm, a russet and

white wash of fur that raced over his skin before disappearing.

His tiger was fighting to come out. Given how close Joseph had been to his primal self for

the last ten years, she wondered if his tiger might be a little bit stronger than most.

“You know you can’t kill your father,” she said to keep Bradley watching her. “You won’t

survive without him.”

“You’re the one who won’t survive without a caretaker, sis. Poor little Paigy, no more

mommy to watch over you. Not that she was any good at that anyway. But she did ensure you

had a rich stepdaddy who didn’t bother to fuck you. That’s some good parenting there.”

She curled her lip in a snarl, and Bradley snorted.

“Don’t worry, big sis. I’m here for you. I’ll take care of you now.”

“Are you trying to make me throw up?”

“Don’t do that. You’ll mess up my nice clean operating room. I want the first stains to be

his blood. Then you can throw up all you want.”

“You are vile, Bradley.”

“And just think, we’re related. You’ve got my blood in your veins.”

“I disowned all biological relationship to you a long time ago.”

“Is that why you were hovering around my lab? Why you went into my study? Looking for

something to turn over to the cops?”

“What?” The leap seemed completely out of the blue and startled her enough that she

stopped moving.

“If you can figure out how I found you, considering how much smarter I am than you, it is

not a stretch to assume I know exactly what you were doing. You found one bag of trophies,

right? And then the finger you stole.” He tsked at her. “I’ll be wanting that back. Every time I

look at that finger, I remember the glory of that victim. What did you do with my prize?”

“Nothing. I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Didn’t turn it over to the cops? Couldn’t have or they’d be pestering me. So where did it

go? To Daniel? Ah, that’s it. You gave it to him. But why? Who is he? Who are they?”

She was sure she was going to slip up soon. Bradley, for all his insanity, was smart, and he

kept circling her back to things she didn’t want to talk about, hunting for the truth she didn’t

want him to have.

“I still don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He shook his head, for all the world looking like an exasperated father. “What am I going

to do with you? Such a disappointment.” He sighed. “Ah, well. I guess we’ll just start the torture

now.”

Without any warning, he turned back to Joseph and injected the syringe into his arm.

Joseph’s twitching muscles stilled.

No!

Now what? She fingered the gun she still held, covered by a sleeve so big it kept the

weapon well disguised. She couldn’t let Bradley hurt Joseph. She couldn’t.

Fear made her breathing come faster as Bradley went to a tray she hadn’t noticed and

started selecting scalpels. If she shot her brother and missed, he’d slice her up too, maybe take

the gun away and use it to further Joseph’s torture. She would likely only get one chance, maybe

only a single shot. And she’d never even fired a gun before.

All the things that could go wrong rushed through her mind as she started toward Bradley.

This might not work, she still might fail, but she wasn’t going to stand by and watch him cut

Joseph.

When she was within a few feet, Bradley turned, smirking at her. “What are you going to

do, sis?” He waved one of the scalpels. “No one’s coming to help. That Daniel fellow and his

wife are currently being distracted by the guy I had following them. Leading them on a wild

goose chase. The cops won’t find the dead hobo or his finger for ages, and even the schmuck

who drove you here won’t get to Dad and the cops in time to save either of you.” He winked

again. “We’ll be moving on soon. This is just where we’ll get started. So what are you going to

do?”

She pulled up her sleeve with one hand and pointed the gun at him with the other, aiming

for his chest, far enough away that he couldn’t reach out and grab it easily.

He laughed, which didn’t really surprise her. “You aren’t going to shoot me. Oh, you want

to. I can see that. But you are not strong enough.”

Behind her, she heard metal scrape across the concrete, just a little. Bradley frowned,

looking past her to the table.

And Paige fired.

Chapter Twenty

At the sound of a gun going off, Joseph jerked against the drug and his bonds. His tiger

roared so loud in his head it was all he could hear or feel for long moments. He couldn’t move

his head yet, but the angrier his tiger got, the more scared for his mate, the harder he struggled

against the drugs. He could move his arms and was able to jerk the table again. But he couldn’t

muster enough control of his body to break free yet.

In the next instant, he heard something metallic clatter to the cement floor, the sound of

cursing, a shuffling struggle, and then Paige screamed.

That broke his tiger out completely. What Joseph considered his human half—a part of

him he’d ignored for the last ten years—stepped back and let the tiger take over completely. This

time, though, he didn’t block the pain and fear and anger. He roared, the sound echoing in the

open space. Though partial shifts weren’t something his people could normally do, Joseph

allowed his hands to turn to claws without going completely tiger, then used those claws to slice

through his leather bindings. The tight straps fell away like cotton.

He rolled into a crouch on the table, just long enough to take in the scene. Paige was lying

on one side of the room, cradling her arm and struggling to get back to her feet. Bradley

stumbled on a damaged leg toward the dropped gun, which was closer to Paige.

Joseph launched across the room in one bound, appearing in front of Paige before Bradley

could have seen him move. His growl brought the man’s full attention to him and Bradley’s eyes

widened comically. He froze for one moment, then lunged toward the gun again. Joseph beat him

to it, landing in a crouch that put him eye to eye with Bradley.

His voice low and full of malice, he growled, “You want to know what we are? You want

to see what you’ve awakened? Take a good look.”

And he let his tiger out.

If he hadn’t still been fighting off the effects of the drug, the push of his anger would have

allowed him to change in moments. As it was, the change was slower and uglier than normal.

But Joseph didn’t care because he saw the terror fill Bradley’s blue eyes, watched with predatory

satisfaction as Bradley stumbled backward, despite his wounded leg, his mouth opening and

closing silently.

As the change moved to his face, Joseph let loose another ear shattering roar as his nose

elongated and thickened, his mouth shifted and his teeth lengthened.

Bradley screamed. He screamed loud and long as the final changes swept over Joseph.

Joseph dropped onto four feet, shook out his fur, and licked his lips. He felt strong now.

And hungry.

He stalked toward his prey, this worthless animal not even good enough to eat, this thing

he’d wanted to tear apart for too long. The tiger saw meat, quivering, scared meat waiting to be

ripped to pieces.

From behind him, he heard Paige’s voice, the sound actually calming his tiger just enough

that he followed her shouted request to stop. He didn’t take his eyes off Bradley, but he was

aware of his mate moving around, shuffling over the ground. She was injured, he remembered.

He needed to kill this threat to her quickly so he could get her help.

“I’ve got the gun now, Joseph,” she said. “Are you okay?”

He grunted, a noise that was really a low growl. Bradley trembled.

“What the hell is that? How is that possible? What are you?”

The prey’s litany continued, full of questions Joseph barely noticed. The human part of his

mind—very far in the background now—took note of the scramble of words and was pleased

with them.

“You’ve messed with the wrong people, Bradley,” Paige said. “This is over. You’re done.”

“No. No. This isn’t possible. It’s not real.”

“I’m sure that’s what your victims all thought too when confronted with you.”

His mate sounded tired. She needed to be somewhere comfortable so she could rest. He

half turned, not taking his attention completely off the prey but wanting to see how she was.

She leaned against a wall, holding a gun in one hand, her other arm cradled against her

stomach. He could smell her pain and fear, the scents drew him, even stronger than his need to

slaughter his quarry. It was no longer a threat, so Joseph turned his full attention toward his

injured mate, stalking slowly toward her so she wouldn’t be distracted as she watched the prey.

When her eyes widened and her gun came up, he recognized it as a warning. All the

warning he needed.

He swirled toward the threat, felt a painful thunk of something hard hit his hip, but didn’t

slow down. Blood splattered out of his quarry’s chest in the same instant as the sound of

gunshots erupted in the sealed room. Then the prey’s head was in his jaws. It screamed for one

instant before Joseph crushed its skull.

He shook the creature a few times to make sure it was dead, then dropped it and faced his

mate again. As he stepped toward her, one of his back legs refused to work right and he stumbled

sideways. She said his name, took a step toward him, and the door behind her slammed open as a

man Joseph didn’t recognize flew inside holding a gun out. He was shouting something Joseph

couldn’t decipher, swinging his weapon between the dead thing and Joseph.

Before Joseph could react to this new threat, Paige threw herself in front of him. “No!

Please, don’t shoot. He’s not dangerous.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? Ma’am, that’s a tiger. A wild animal. With blood on his

mouth. Please move aside.”

“No. He’s not dangerous.”

Joseph growled, belying her statement.

She shushed him in a way that made him lower his head in contrition, though he also

preened at the strength of his mate. He didn’t, however, take his eyes off the new threat, a human

male still holding a gun.

“My name is Paige Williams,” she said, holding her uninjured hand up with the gun in it

and then very carefully setting the weapon on the floor before standing again. “The dead person

in the corner was my half brother Bradley. He kidnapped me and brought me here to torture and

kill me. He’s a serial killer.”

The human with the gun straightened his stance, lowering his gun just slightly. “Are you

injured? What’s happened?”

“I think I need the police first.”

“Sorry.” He lowered the gun fully so it pointed at the ground, but he didn’t put the weapon

away. “I guess you didn’t hear my announcement coming in. I am the police, Ms. Williams. My

name is Detective Peter Kelly. I believe Daniel mentioned me.”

As if saying his name called him, Daniel came tearing through the door, stumbling to a

stop just behind Pete. He blinked several times at Joseph, then looked at Paige with wide eyes.

Joseph smelled his panic and wondered at it.

“Bradley was testing his drugs and torture on animals as well as humans,” she said to the

police officer. “This poor tiger was already here when Bradley brought me in.” She looked at

Daniel. “Have you found Joseph? Bradley threatened to kill him. Is he okay?”

Daniel held his mate’s gaze for a long moment, their stare intent, and Joseph could smell

the deception in her story. Again he wondered at it, but so long as she was safe, he didn’t care

enough to let his human half decipher it.

Daniel nodded slowly and said, “Yes, we found him. He’s okay?”

Joseph heard the question in the other tiger’s voice, though he wasn’t sure anyone but his

mate was supposed to have heard it that way.

Paige let loose a long sigh and nodded. “The tiger was shot. Bradley had…two guns. I got

one away, but I’m not experienced. I shot him in the knee and he kept coming. There was a

struggle.”

The human looked at the tiger. “I think this story might require more comfortable

surroundings. Let me call animal control to take care of him, then we’ll all head over to the

police station for statements.” He looked at Paige again, then amended, “Ms. Williams I can see

you need a hospital first. We’ll worry about statements after a doctor’s seen to your arm. Are you

injured anywhere else?”

“No, I’m fine. My shoulder hit the wall hard, so it hurts, but I don’t think it’s broken or

anything. Just bruised and sore.”

Joseph growled at the verbal reminder that his mate was in pain. Pete’s gun came up just a

little.

Daniel put a hand on his arm. “I’ll take care of the tiger, Pete. Don’t worry about it. Got a

friend used to handling this kind of thing.”

“In animal control.”

“Works with animals all the time.”

“He’ll need a doctor, too,” Paige said, easing back to kneel beside him. Joseph let out a

soft sound, a tiger purr. She brushed her hands over his ruff, the gesture reassuring and settling.

Daniel hurried forward, ignoring Pete’s hiss of warning. He knelt beside Joseph. Joseph

bared his teeth as warning to the other male not to get too close to his mate.

Daniel smiled a little. “Don’t worry, big guy. I won’t hurt either one of you. You know

that.”

Joseph allowed his front shoulders to relax.

Daniel looked at Joseph’s wound without touching him, then pulled out a phone and

started pressing buttons. Joseph lost interest and returned to focusing on his mate. Even his

injury was a barely acknowledged inconvenience compared to the warmth and contentment of

having his mate’s hand on him. He settled comfortably onto his stomach and nudged Paige with

his head so she’d keep her fingers in his fur, then he relaxed and waited.

*****

“My friend will be here soon,” Daniel said. To Paige, he added, “Victor has a van that will

take the tiger comfortably.” He frowned at the wound.

Paige clenched her fingers in Joseph’s fur. “What’s wrong? His wound. It’s serious. Will

he be okay?”

“He’ll be fine. We’ll make sure the wound is taken care of.” He nodded to it subtly and

said, “It’ll be healed in no time.”

Despite the fact that seeing Joseph’s blood made spots dance in her vision and pushed her

too close to passing out, she looked down and realized the wound wasn’t bleeding anymore.

Joseph was healing already. “The bullet is still in there,” she said.

“Yes. We’ll need a…vet.” His frown deepened, and he texted Victor again.

Some minutes passed while the police officer continued to hold his gun relaxed but ready

against his thigh, and Daniel continued to send text messages on his phone. Paige kept her hand

on Joseph, worried he’d go after the cop if she didn’t keep him calm. He seemed relaxed under

her palm, but every time the police officer shifted positions, Joseph’s muscles rippled.

From his position at the door, Detective Kelly said, “Backup is coming now. Finally.”

Daniel snorted at the man’s sarcasm. Paige heard the sirens approaching then, but she

couldn’t relax fully until they got Joseph out of here and safe.

She half expected Detective Kelly to question her further. There was a dead body not far

away, a very large wild animal in the room, a table with the straps torn but no obvious cage to

have held the tiger, and two different guns on the ground.

Her breath had stopped when she’d seen Bradley pull a gun from inside his white lab coat.

One moment he was a quivery mess of terror, the next he was aiming a gun at Joseph. She’d

acted without thinking, firing at Bradley’s chest. Her aim was better this time, and she hit him

exactly where she’d intended, the punch of the bullet knocking him backward as blood splattered

from the hole it made. But she hadn’t been fast enough to keep him from firing his own weapon.

Then Joseph attacked and she’d had to close her eyes when he’d crushed Bradley’s head between

his powerful jaws.

She was more grateful than was sisterly to have Bradley dead, but watching his head

explode was beyond her ability to tolerate.

Forcing down a hard swallow, she continued to stroke her fingers through Joseph’s soft fur

as the room filled with police.

A paramedic eased up to her, careful to stay on the far side of the tiger, and had a look at

her arm.

“Not dislocated,” the young woman confirmed. “Not feeling any breaks.”

Paige hissed a little at the examination. “It’s fine. I just need an aspirin.”

“I’ll put it in a sling just to be safe. They’ll x-ray it at the hospital.”

Joseph’s muscles tightened under her touch and Paige said, “I’ll have to make sure the

tiger is looked after first. The hospital will have to wait.”

The medic frowned, glanced at the tiger, and then shrugged. “Your choice.” She did a few

more checks, including making sure Paige didn’t have a concussion, then carefully settled her

arm into a sling.

Moving her arm ached, but the sling’s support took the edge off and helped Paige’s

muscles fully relax.

The woman offered Paige some pain medication. “You should still come into the hospital

to have that shoulder x-rayed and make sure nothing was more seriously damaged, but you’ll be

okay for a little longer if you want to…stay with your friend there.”

Paige glanced down at Joseph. “I’m staying with him.”

“Fair enough.” The medic moved off.

The room was full of chatter at that point, but Paige ignored it until Daniel said, “Victor.

Over here.”

She looked up to see Victor approaching, his eyes wide when he saw Joseph. He started to

sign something, scowled, and pulled a notebook out of his pocket.

Daniel read the note then said, “Yes. Apparently, Paige’s brother was using animals for his

experiments as well.”

Victor held Daniel’s gaze as he nodded in understanding. Then he put a very gentle hand

on Joseph’s head. Joseph lifted his lips a little in a silent snarl.

“Hush,” she told him. “Victor is here to help you, stubborn…thing,” she corrected before

calling him a man. She’d set up as plausible a story as she could manage on the spot to explain a

tiger, but they had to get Joseph away from all these humans so he could change back. And she

was still very worried about the bullet in his hip.

Victor grinned at her comment and nodded at Joseph. Then he stood and motioned Joseph

to stand. The tiger did, but he didn’t put any weight on his back leg. Victor frowned, seemed to

realize people were watching, and made a show of putting a collar and leash on Joseph. Joseph

did more grumbling at the collar but didn’t refuse it.

“Pretty easy going animal,” Detective Kelly commented from a few feet away.

Paige hadn’t even noticed him approaching. “He’s been through a lot,” she told him,

sharply, feeling very protective of Joseph in that moment.

The detective didn’t say more as they led Joseph from the room, moving slowly to

accommodate his hip. He limped a little but not as much as she would have expected. The other

humans in the room hurried out of the way, backing against the walls and murmuring as the large

cat passed. Paige stayed at his side, her hand still buried in his fur because it seemed important

for Joseph that they maintain the physical contact. She wasn’t sure why. It just felt right.

When they stepped outside, she blinked against the bright light, a little surprised the sun

was still up. The faceoff with Bradley felt like it lasted hours, and the wait for Victor seemed

even longer. She’d expected to walk out into a cold, dark night, lit up by cameras and emergency

vehicles. The sunshine made the flickering red and blue lights and the flash of cameras going off

a lot easier to take, though, so she was grateful for the small mercy of daylight.

Victor’s van was backed up close to the small door next to the loading bay and was

surrounded by police cars and ambulances. As they helped Joseph into the back of the van, she

heard the sound of her stepfather’s booming voice over the crowds.

“Take me to my son. This minute. Do you know who I am?”

She shook her head, wondering if the others noticed he wasn’t asking for her, the

supposedly missing and beloved daughter. She left her stepfather to the police and turned her

attention to Joseph. When they started to close the van doors, he growled and stuck his head back

out as if he’d jump down again.

She took his ruff in her hand and said, very quietly, “I have to go with the police, give my

statement.” He grunted and leaned forward, trying to push past her and out of the van. “No. You

have to see a doctor. I can’t take a tiger with me to the police station,” she whispered. “I’ll take

care of everything. I promise. Get that wound taken care of and I’ll see you soon.”

He hesitated another long moment and she worried he wouldn’t leave.

Even quieter, barely making any sound at all, she said, “Joseph, please. I need to protect

you. I need to give the police my statement.”

With a snarly grunt, he eased back, lying down on the pillows Victor had padded the back

of the van with. She couldn’t exactly read his expression when he was a tiger, but she could have

sworn he was pouting a little. That more than anything else helped release her anxiety.

“I’ll see you soon,” she mouthed as Daniel closed the door.

Daniel glanced past her to where Detective Kelly hovered, waiting for her. “Stick with

him,” Daniel told her quietly. “Pete’ll look after you. I’ll come to the station as soon as I can.”

“Where are you taking him?” She nodded at the van.

“Somewhere safe. I’ll take you to him when you’re finished with the cops. I promise.”

“You’re sure his wound will be okay?”

“Positive. I have a little personal experience with this kind of injury. It hurts, but heals

quickly once the bullet is out. He’ll be fine.”

She nodded as a rush of emotion burned through her. “Take care of him. Please.”

“I will.”

She stood where she was, watching the van drive off, then she joined Detective Kelly,

ready to do what it took to protect the man she loved.

Chapter Twenty-One

Detective Kelly kept Paige at the precinct for hours, going over and over her statement

from a myriad of angles. Her stepfather had apparently spent a great deal of time trying to

convince everyone Bradley couldn’t possibly have been a killer, that he was just an innocent

victim in all this, and it was somehow Paige’s fault. So Paige had been forced to retell her story

to what seemed like a never ending series of officials, cops, even the police commissioner.

By the time she finished, everyone was praising her bravery and sympathizing with her

years of living with a serial killer. The sling she’d kept on throughout the interviews and her

ragged appearance worked in her favor too, a clear reminder that she’d been through a very

harrowing day.

She promised to give them what little she had in her safety deposit box but was assured

that the evidence following the kidnapping was more than enough to give them what they needed

for a search warrant. Once they exercised that warrant on Bradley’s lab and rooms at the

mansion, they’d have all the physical evidence they needed to set this case aside as a serial killer

being taken down by one of his own victims. Hopefully, they’d even be able to close some

missing person cases.

And Duke Williams couldn’t stop it now because his son had finally gone too far.

She saw her stepfather at the police station in passing as she was led to one room and he

was taken from another. He didn’t even look at her. She supposed that was as telling to the cops

as anything she had to say and earned her a bit more sympathy.

She’d never been so grateful for her reputation as an innocent, mild dishrag. Why would

such a good girl lie about something so horrific?

It helped that most of the cops in Detective Kelly’s precinct had always suspected Bradley

of being evil, and they were all happy he’d finally been taken care of—even if he’d been taken

care of by a tiger.

In the end, she was just grateful to be done with it all and eager to get back to Joseph. In a

few days, she’d return to her former home, collect her things, and leave for good. To where, she

wasn’t sure, but she very much hoped Joseph would be with her as they figured out how to go on

now.

As promised, Daniel met her at the precinct. He passed a few words with Detective Kelly,

then led her out to his car. They were on the road before he told her they were going to the home

he shared with his wife.

“How’s Joseph?”

“The vet took out the bullet, and he’s all healed up. Pretty restless waiting for you,

though.”

“He’s back in his human form.”

Daniel frowned a little. “Wasn’t when I left. But Nila told him not to change immediately

so…”

She heard the worry in his voice as he trailed off and his worries only increased her own.

Because of that, it took her several moments to recognize the name he’d just used. “Nila?

Not…not the Nila from…”

“The very one,” Daniel said. “She’s a big cat vet, an expert in her field, and an excellent

cover for that story you told the cops. She’s even arranged to have a big cat sanctuary pretend to

take the ‘tiger’. No one will think to look beyond that or investigate the tiger further.”

“She was okay working on Joseph.”

Daniel snorted a half-laugh. “Better than her mate was. We could barely keep Mitch out of

the room.”

She wondered how Joseph had felt, facing Nila again, having her operate on him, and she

was sorry she hadn’t been there to support him. “Your elders… They won’t punish Joseph for

Bradley, will they? Technically, I could have been the one to kill him. I shot him in the chest

before Joseph attacked him. And the cops have no reason to think that tiger was anything other

than a perfectly normal animal anyway. Your people aren’t in danger.”

Daniel was quiet a moment, then said, “He should be fine, but he’ll still have to face them.

There was blood left behind at the scene from his wound. We’ll have to make that disappear,

along with any other physical samples they collected from the tiger—hair, saliva.”

“You can do that?”

“We have many times before.”

She frowned a little and said, “I don’t suppose you could make the gun I used disappear,

too? My prints will be on the bullets in the magazine.” She lifted the spare one out of her pocket,

where Joseph’s huge clothes had kept it hidden from the police all evening. She hadn’t had time

to get rid of it, so she left it and hoped they wouldn’t notice. Everyone felt so sorry for her, no

one checked her for weapons. She was the victim after all.

Her links to the gun were the one really big hole in her story, though. If the authorities did

forensic tests, it would be obvious she didn’t just take it off Bradley in a struggle.

Daniel glanced at the magazine and nodded. “That can be arranged. A lot of the evidence

on this case will get…misplaced or lost after the authorities are convinced of Bradley’s guilt,

once things settle out but before too many tests are run.”

“Does that help Joseph with the elders or make things more complicated?”

“It won’t hurt. But because they wanted Bradley dead anyway and you’ve given them an

excellent cover, Joseph should be okay.”

“Would it help if I talked to them?”

He glanced at her. “It would. You sure you want to do that?”

“For Joseph, of course.”

As they made their way through the Philadelphia traffic, her brain looped back through the

long afternoon. She kept seeing Bradley pointing a gun at Joseph and imagining all the ways that

could have ended differently. She had a feeling those fears would find their way into her

nightmares for years to come.

She made an effort to turn her thoughts to pleasanter things—like seeing Joseph again—

but something Bradley had said jumped forward and she realized she hadn’t warned the tigers.

“I almost forgot.” She faced Daniel. “Bradley said a tiger shifter found him, came to him

for some of his drug. That’s how he got to the female tiger. This other shifter handed her over.”

Daniel’s hand flexed against the steering wheel. He glanced at her, his frown fierce. “A

tiger shifter gave Bradley access to one of our females?”

“And got some of Bradley’s drug in exchange.”

“Fuck.”

“Do you know who it might have been?”

He didn’t answer, but his eyes narrowed dangerously and he growled. She leaned back a

little, not exactly afraid of him in that moment, because she was too damned tired, but she was

leery of his anger.

He must have realized because he shook his head and apologized. “Thank you for letting

me know. I’ll make sure this is taken care of.”

“You do know who it is, don’t you?”

“I have some suspicions. But it needs to be investigated. The Trackers will take care of it.”

She nodded, and they fell silent for the rest of the drive.

*****

Daniel pulled into the driveway of a cozy, two story house in a nice Philly suburb. It was

late enough and dark enough now, Paige couldn’t really make out many details of the house, but

it looked warm and welcoming. The way a home was supposed to be.

A woman opened the door for them before they reached it. She was a pretty, small woman

with shoulder length black hair and beautiful brown eyes. Paige recognized her instantly as the

woman Bradley had tried to kidnap—Daniel’s wife Dr. Sarah Chin.

Sarah was frowning as she greeted her husband, but smiled when she was introduced to

Paige. Despite being emotionally drained, she still felt very awkward around this woman Bradley

had tried to kidnap, a woman he’d been talking about killing only a few hours ago. But Sarah

showed no signs of disgust or unease with Paige as she let Paige into her home.

Sarah glanced at the ceiling and frowned again as she closed the front door. Paige looked

between her and Daniel, who was also scowling up at the second floor.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, their strange expressions sending her instincts into overdrive.

“Uhm, I’m not sure,” Sarah said. “Joseph hasn’t shifted back yet. He’s been pacing the

guest bedroom, waiting for you to return, but he’s still in his tiger form even though he could

have shifted ages ago. Maybe it’s nothing. Maybe he’s just been waiting to change until after you

got here. But…” She paused at the base of the stairs leading to the second floor, her brow

creased.

And Paige knew exactly what she was worried about. Joseph had said himself he’d go tiger

and stay that way once Bradley was gone. A little bubble of panic settled into her stomach.

“We tigers walk a delicate line between our human and animal sides,” Sarah said quietly.

“Usually, those two parts of our being are in balance and coexist easily. But sometimes, the

animal grows a lot stronger than the human and…takes over.”

Paige knew Joseph’s tiger had been close to the surface for years, that he hadn’t lived in

balance for a long time. But she’d hoped, after today, given the way he was with her…

They couldn’t have survived her psycho brother only for her to lose him to his tiger.

“It’s good you’re here,” Sarah said. “And that he found you in the first place.” She

squeezed Paige’s uninjured shoulder, then led her to the guest room while Daniel remained at the

foot of the stairs.

As soon as Paige walked in, the tiger stopped pacing and turned toward her. He lifted his

lip in a warning snarl at Sarah before bumping his big head against Paige’s waist.

She patted him and tried not to telegraph her concern, but knew it was useless. She was

sure he could smell it.

“You okay?” she asked as Sarah left, closing the door behind them.

He grunted and nudged her again.

“I’m fine. Everything went well. I got a lot of sympathetic support and comments on how

strong I was. It was a little ironic, actually.” She glanced around for a place to sit then settled on the
bed as the only comfortable place.

Joseph jumped up next to her, his huge body making the bed groan dangerously.

“You might want to return to your human shape so we don’t break this,” she said.

He lay down next to her, his head resting near her hip, and didn’t acknowledge her

comment.

“Joseph, I need you to shift back so we can talk.”

He still didn’t move, just looked up at her with his big golden brown eyes, almost as if he

didn’t understand her.

She tried again. “Listen, I can’t tell what you’re thinking or feeling from your scent, and

we have a few more things to discuss.” When he didn’t do more than blink, she frowned. “Does

this mean…you’re going to stay tiger?”

He stared.

Tears pricked her eyes, hot and burning. “Please don’t. I’d like more time with you.”

He put a huge paw on her thigh, and she half-laughed to avoid crying.

“I can’t keep a tiger with me all the time. It would draw too much attention to you. You

need to go human again, Joseph.”

He just sat there, without even a twitch to indicate that he might change. Panic licked over

her nerves, panic and pain. She pressed her lips together and looked away from him, holding her

eyes wide so tears wouldn’t leak out.

“You’ve helped me find myself,” she said quietly. “I will always be grateful for that. But I

thought…I thought we had more than that. I hoped for some time after all this was done to… I

don’t know, to get to know you now. For you to know me now. I don’t know.”

She closed her eyes and forced the tears away. It was just mental exhaustion, she told

herself. But it was more and she knew it. It was heartbreak. She used to wonder what this would

feel like.

Careful what you ask for, Paige, she thought bitterly.

“I’m in love with you, Joseph,” she said, still not looking at him. “First time for me, but

I’m too old to confuse the emotion. I’m in love with you, and I’d hoped we’d have a chance at a

future. I’m sorry that we can’t.” She blinked fast, before facing him, sniffling a little as she tried to
force a smile. “I’m very grateful to have known you. Honored. And I hope, no matter what,

you’ll be happy.”

When she started to rise, he put his paw on her lap again.

“No. I can’t stay. If you need to remain like this, you’ll need a safer place soon. I’ll take

care of me.” She cupped her hand around his jaw, burying her fingers in his fur one last time.

“You’re a magnificent tiger. You know that?”

She left the room before she could change her mind, pulling the door almost closed

without sealing it so he could get out when he was ready.

She followed the sound of voices to the kitchen and was met by the worried looks of

Victor, Daniel, and Sarah. Victor gestured upstairs at the same time as Sarah asked, “Is he

shifting?”

“No, he’s not. I don’t think he will. I wanted to see if there was anything else I could do for

him. I can still talk to your elders, if you think it’ll help.”

Victor’s frown deepened and he pulled out his notebook, scribbling fiercely.

Sarah put a hand on Paige’s shoulder. “Are you leaving him?”

“No. He’s left me if he won’t shift back. We can’t have a relationship like this.” She tried

for a casual shrug but knew she wasn’t fooling anyone here. “If you wouldn’t mind, I do want to

know where he settles.” Since she could live anywhere now, maybe she’d be able to find a place

to live nearby so she could check on him every now and then. She couldn’t bring herself to let

him go entirely. But she couldn’t keep him like this either.

She pulled in a deep breath. “Anyway, I still don’t want him punished for killing Bradley,

so I’ll meet with the elders.”

Sarah and Daniel exchanged a look.

Daniel said, “Alexis just texted Victor. She says the elders are prepared to make an

exception in this particular case because of the extenuating circumstances and, frankly, because

you’ve given the human authorities such a good excuse for a tiger killing Bradley.”

Paige let out a long breath. “Good. That’s something at least.”

Sarah said, “The elders will still want to meet you.”

“That’s fine. I won’t be able to relax until they tell me in person that Joseph is safe.”

“They’re a pain in the ass,” a deep voice said from behind her.

The familiar, gravelly sound made her smile even as tears rolled messily over her cheeks.

She turned slowly to face him.

“You sure you want to talk to them?” Joseph said. “They argue like no one you’ve ever

seen.”

“I can take it if you can.”

He nodded, holding her gaze as his mouth twitched in that faint, beloved smile.

From the corner of her eye, Paige saw Victor tear a sheet out of his notebook, ball it up and

toss it into the trash.

Chapter Twenty-Two

The meeting with the elders went exactly as they’d all warned her—eight very opinionated

and argumentative shifters talking over each other in an effort to be the most dominant voice.

They reminded Paige a little of her stepfather with some of his political associates.

In the end, Joseph was absolved of his “crime” and she was thanked for ensuring a female

killer was “brought to justice”. After that, more arguments ensued regarding her status as the

offspring of a hybrid and whether she would have children with a tiger or not. They debated her

“defective” genes because she was related to Bradley, argued over who she’d be “allowed” to

mate with, and generally got so involved in yelling at each other, they seemed to forget she and

Joseph were there.

Since she had no intention of letting anyone control her life ever again, and she really had

no interest in what they had to say about her “status” among the shifters, she took Joseph by the

hand and left the huge, formal meeting room, ignoring the stunned silence that followed their

exit.

By the time they reached the guest wing of the elders’ compound, Joseph was actually

grinning. “I’m not sure anyone has ever walked away from them like that before. I wonder if

they’ve started talking again yet.”

“I don’t care. So long as you’re okay, they can argue to their hearts content. It has nothing

to do with me.”

“They think it does.”

“They can think all they like. I intend to do what I want from now on, everyone else be

damned.”

“I hope what you want to do involves me in some way.”

“Oh, it does.” She grinned back and waggled her eyebrows.

He pulled her close, wrapping her in his arms and settling a gentle but heated kiss on her

mouth. She pressed closer, so eager to get to their room she could barely wait. She only broke

away from his kiss to hurry him along.

Once inside the relative privacy of the small room they’d been given, she let all the tension

of…well, her entire life fall away. Here, now, finally, she was able to relax fully. No family

haunting her actions, no one to live up to but herself. And only one thing she wanted to do—get

Joseph naked. Fast.

They stumbled to the bed, awkward and laughing by the time they hit the mattress. God,

she loved the sound of his gravelly laugh. She couldn’t strip him fast enough, get her hands on

him soon enough. As soon as they were naked, she took full advantage, kissing him everywhere,

stroking his back, his stomach, his legs, his cock, memorizing each plane of his magnificent

body and savoring her right to enjoy him so freely. When he trembled under her touch, she

rejoiced. His every groan and growl was a triumph she reveled in.

He explored in kind, his hands and mouth doing such magnificent things to her, she

wondered how she’d ever lived without him. When he licked into her heat, she nearly came off

the mattress. And when he replaced his mouth with his thick, hard cock, she felt whole. She

didn’t try to hold off her orgasm, knowing now she’d have more time with him, more moments

like this. Instead, she went headlong into her climax and dragged him with her. He moaned her

name as he settled over her and she hugged him close, the moment too perfect to do more.

He rolled onto his side, still keeping her in his arms, then cupped her cheek in one hand. “I

haven’t said this yet, and it needs to be said. Thank you.”

“For what? The elders? Of course. I couldn’t let them blame you for Bradley’s death. That

was self-defense.”

“No. I don’t mean that, although it only proves how brave you are.”

She smiled at that, finally starting to believe she might be, somewhere deep inside. “Are

you thanking me for the sex, then? Because that’s sweet but not necessary considering how much

fun it was for me.”

He chuckled in that rusty way of his. “Good. And I am grateful for this, too. But what I

meant was thank you for bringing me back from the brink. For restoring my balance. My tiger’s

been in charge for a long time, and that saved me for a while, but I’m grateful to be…returning

to myself.”

“I’m looking forward to getting to see this side of you. So far, I’ve liked everything about

you.” She squeezed a little closer and rubbed her hand over his ass.

His mouth twitched. “I don’t have a lot of money. I haven’t had any steady work since my

sister’s death. I can’t go back to my old job—the elders would never trust me to work on their

security team and I’m too behind the technology now anyway. But Victor suggested I could get

up to speed on modern tech work with Dom Chernikov’s help and go to work with him. It won’t

be much at the start, but eventually, I’ll make a decent living.”

“Okay. I think finding work you like sounds great. I’ve been considering going back to

college. Maybe studying physics, see if I’d be any good at it.”

He nodded, his brow creasing. “If you want to, I’ll find a way to get the money for that…”

“Wait.” She tightened her hand on his butt to get his attention. “What are you talking

about?”

He blinked a few times, then said, “I want to give you everything you want, Paige.

Anything you want or need. If you want to go back to school, I’ll find a way to get the money.”

“I have the money. Plenty of it.”

“But…your stepfather won’t continue to support you.”

“No.” She snorted. “Of course not. But I’ve saved a lot of money in my own name and

kept it out of his reach so I could leave and live on my own. Remember? I don’t need you to take

care of me financially. In fact…” She tilted her head and smiled. “I can take care of you. I think I

might like that, actually.”

“You already take care of me. I still intend to work.”

“Whatever you like. After all these years of being reliant on my stepfather’s money,

though, I’m really looking forward to relying on myself more. I’d like to get a real job, too. And

a house that’s not full of staff.”

“I can promise that,” he said with a sardonic twist of his mouth.

She laughed. “I want to know I can take care of myself.”

He nodded, but something moved through his expression, subtle as always but she’d made

a study of him and knew he was upset.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, hugging him to reassure herself as much as him.

“It’s just… You’re my mate. My tiger won’t have it any other way. I want to marry you

and have a life with you. But if you need time on your own, to be alone, I’ll try to give you that.

My tiger is already arguing against this idea, and he’s still a pretty strong part of my nature,

but…”

She put a hand on his mouth to stop him. For a solid minute, she stared at him not even

blinking. Then, “You want to marry me?”

“Yes. I love you.”

“Joseph. You haven’t actually mentioned that before now.” She was so charmed by his

look of confusion, she kissed him. “I want to marry you, too,” she said against his mouth. “I’ve

been alone my entire life, even when under my stepfather’s thumb. I’ve had more than enough of

that.” She nudged closer, stroking her hands up his back, savoring his shiver of reaction. “I don’t

need anything but you. I love you.”

Without any change in expression, he nodded, but then he kissed her and she tasted all his

passion, all his love. In that kiss he promised her a future she was very much looking forward to.

For the first time in her life, she was excited about the next day. Because she finally felt like the

woman she’d always wanted to be, in the arms of the man she loved.

Epilogue

Paige found her stepfather in his study, his back to the door, an empty decanter of whisky

on the desk. Joseph stayed with her, his strength helping to fortify her own.

She hadn’t seen Duke since that evening at the police station. When he spun in his chair to

glare at her, she gasped. He was a mess, unshaven, his shirt rumbled, his usually piercing eyes

red-rimmed, his gray hair standing up at odd angles, highlighting a bald spot she’d never noticed

before.

For several moments, she just stared at the man who’d once been such a dominant force in

her life.

Finally, she said what she’d come here to say. “I’ve finished packing up my things. I don’t

imagine we’ll see each other again, so I wanted to say goodbye.”

He snarled. “You did this.” His voice was harsh, as if he’d overused it. “You’re to blame.”

“Tell yourself that if you like.” His anger didn’t touch her anymore, and the realization

allowed her to pity him. “I’m not sure how you can blame me for your son being a psychopath,

but your blame doesn’t affect me, so feel free.”

“You framed him. You…trailer trash! I took you in, gave you a home, a life. You weren’t

abused or molested like you might have been with one of your slut mother’s other boyfriends.

All I asked was that you not let me down. And this is how you repay me?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know what to say to you, Duke. You’ve never seen Bradley

for what he was so I won’t try to change your mind. But he got what he deserved and the world

is now a safer place. Good luck.”

She walked out with Joseph still at her back. The sound of glass shattering against the

study wall behind her barely made her flinch.

The closer she got to the front door, the freer she felt. When they stepped out into the early

spring light, sunshine glittering on the immaculate stone terrace and paved drive, Paige took a

deep breath, let it out slowly, and smiled.

“You okay?” Joseph asked, putting a hand on the small of her back.

She turned into his arms and kissed him. “I’m free.”

He brushed her hair aside, his mouth twitching up in one of his still rare but very real

smiles. “So am I.”

They left the mansion and drove away into their future—a life of new possibilities,

forgiveness, and love.

Thank You

Thank you very much for reading DOWN WILL COME TIGER. I hope you enjoyed Paige

and Joseph’s redemption and love story!

If, like my wonderful editor Jena, you wanted Paige to be able to go tiger, I sympathize. I

did too, and I’m sorry she couldn’t. But that did sparked an interesting idea that will show up in

later books, so be sure to keep reading the series.

The Tiger Shifters world continues to get complicated, and I hope you’re enjoying the

journey as much as I am. If you’d like to know who that tiger is that made the deal with Bradley,

look out for Tiger Shifters #7, coming soon!

The best way to keep informed on new releases is to sign up for my

newsletter

or visit my

website.

Thanks again for reading!

Books By Kat Simons

The Tiger Shifters Series

1 -

2 -

3 -

4 -

5 -

6 - Down Will Come Tiger

Tiger Shifters Series Vol 1 (Tiger Shifters Box Set, Books 1 – 3)

Look For Tiger Shifters #7 Coming Soon in 2016

About The Author

Kat Simons earned her Ph.D in animal behavior, working with animals as diverse as dolphins

and deer. She brought her experience and knowledge of biology to her paranormal romance

fiction, where she delights in taking nature and turning it on its ear. After traveling the world, she now
lives in New York City with her family. Kat is a stay-at-home mom and a full time writer.

For more on Kat and her books:

Website

: http://www.katsimons.com

Faceboo

k: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kat-Simons/1430791730466744

Newsletter

: http://eepurl.com/OxQQL

Document Outline

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Epilogue

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Document Outline