To Tempt A Tiger(12)

She turned into the cul-de-sac and parked on the street in front of her parents’ single story ranch. As she unbuckled Zoe from her seat, she kept a lookout for approaching cars. The neighborhood was extremely quiet that time of day—most of the residents were working people—and the emptiness of the street left her much more nervous than she’d ever been in this area before.

She hurried Zoe inside, trying not to convey any of her own trepidation to her daughter. Zoe thought they were on some grand adventure to the mountains. Rose didn’t want her to worry about anything but how big a snowman she’d be able to build.

Getting her dad’s Weatherby out of the gun cabinet and collecting enough ammunition for it that Rose felt sufficiently armed didn’t take long, but convincing Zoe she didn’t need any of the toys she had stored at Granny and Grandpa’s proved a little more difficult.

For reasons Rose couldn’t precisely put her finger on, her nerves jumped and instinct was pushing her to get out of the house fast. She trusted those instincts even though she had no idea what was driving them. She hadn’t been this panicked at her home when making plans to leave, even after Vlad had said his brothers were in town. But now, her every impulse screamed that she needed to get back to the car and get on the road now, before it was too late.

Unfortunately, Zoe picked that moment to remember she needed to use the bathroom and another excruciating few minutes passed as the anxiety crawling through Rose’s stomach got worse.

“Come on, baby,” she called through the bathroom door. “We want to get to the cabin before the sun sets.”

Part of her wondered if the anxiety was because of the stories Vlad had fed her, or because she sensed Zoe was on the verge of another episode. Usually after a bad one like that morning, they didn’t have to worry about the pain for days, sometimes more than a week. But after everything that had happened, Rose didn’t trust anything anymore.

Finally, Zoe was ready to go. Rose ushered her outside, the rifle case in tow, more than ready to be on the road. She was locking the front door when she heard Zoe giggle. Rose looked up to see a strange man on the walkway behind them, not ten feet away.

She swallowed her shocked gasp and forced a polite, “May I help you?” This poor guy could just be a delivery man. No reason to panic or be rude. But her instincts told her otherwise.

In fact, as she stared at him, she realized he looked sort of familiar. He had dark brown hair, light eyes, and pale skin, but something in his features reminded her of…Vlad.

“Rose Callaghan?”

She edged Zoe behind her as she faced the stranger. His gaze dropped to her daughter and something Rose couldn’t decipher, but didn’t like, moved through his expression. She adjusted her stance, preparing to drop the gun case and fight if it became necessary.

Her every instinct screamed that this man was dangerous, a threat, and she was in serious trouble. “Do I know you?”

He took a single step closer and smiled—a forced expression that never reached his eyes.

“No,” he said, almost pleasantly. “My name is Anton Dubrovsky. I believe you know my brother.”





Chapter Four



Rose forced herself to think around the unease clawing at her. If Vlad was right, this man wanted to kill her daughter because of what he thought she was. At all cost, she had to make him believe Zoe was not Vlad’s child.

Rose cursed herself for not heeding her own instincts and having the gun out. It was useless to her in the case. Hitting a supernatural being who could turn into a tiger with it wasn’t likely to slow him down. She’d thrown Vlad, so she knew her martial arts would work, but without the gun, there was only so long she could hold Anton off.

She adjusted her stance as subtly as she could, preparing to fight if she had to. For Zoe, she’d do whatever it took. Memories of Vlad’s eyes in a tiger body moved through her mind and she forced back a rush of panic. Anton chose that moment to take another step closer and his smile flattened into a hard stare. At Zoe.

This was going to go bad fast if Rose didn’t do something to distract him and throw him off. She tried bluffing. Maybe she could just get him to go away.

She forced a slight frown. “What do you want? I haven’t seen Vlad in years.”

“No point in lying to me, Rose. I can smell deception. And I can smell Vlad on you.”

The way he said that made her stomach tighten. He glanced at her then turned his full attention back to her daughter. Rose moved to further block her. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

“I know he’s been to see you. What did he tell you?”