Lure of the Tiger (Aloha Shifters: Jewels of the Heart Book 4) Page 4

“You do now,” Cruz growled.

  Jody crossed her arms and shot him a look. Like you, mister?

  The minute the thought flashed through her mind, she rejected the possibility. Cruz seemed to be the kind who was his own worst enemy, but instinct told her he wasn’t her enemy.

  “A jealous ex-lover?” Silas suggested.

  She laughed out loud. She’d indulged in a fling or two with the athletes on the men’s tour, but she would never mess around with another girl’s man. “I wish my life was that exciting.”

  “It is now.”

  She made a face. “Not that kind of exciting, I mean.”

  “So what were you doing at the Kapa’akea club?” Silas asked.

  She glanced at Cruz, boomeranging the question over to him. But his lips were firmly sealed, telling her she was the one testifying right now.

  Jody took a deep breath and explained. “Ever since I made the pro tour three years ago, I’ve had sponsorship offers. It’s all part of the scene. I’ve turned most down, but this year, a company came out of nowhere and made me an offer too good to resist.” She trailed off, wondering whether she would have been better off turning it down. But, no. Her family needed the money, and that made it worthwhile.

  “What kind of offer?” Silas asked.

  “Modeling for a new fragrance line — ‘Elements’ by Wishful Desires.” She made air quotes and scowled, making it clear that she hadn’t signed on enthusiastically. “A total of three photo shoots, then I’m free. We did the first two in California, and we’ve come to Maui for the last one. After that, I cash my check, say goodbye to the cameras, and concentrate on the next competition in the tour.”

  She wiped her hands against each other, anticipating the day she could bid farewell to jerks like Richard. For a second, she stood taller, imagining the freedom she would regain. But then her shoulders slumped. Crap. The remaining photo shoot promised to be the worst yet.

  “Who was that slimeball who talked to you on the terrace?” Cruz demanded.

  Jody didn’t have to stop and think who Cruz meant. “Richard? He’s the product manager for the photo shoot.”

  “Would he want you dead?”

  “He just hired me three weeks ago. I doubt he’d want me dead.”

  “Maybe someone wants to sabotage the campaign,” Cruz said.

  “That or get free publicity,” Silas mused.

  “You mean, by shooting the model?” A deep frown creased Cruz’s face.

  “Whoa.” Jody put her hands up. “How is shooting me good publicity?”

  “Any publicity is good publicity,” Silas said. “That’s how marketing goes.”

  A cold shiver went down her spine as she thought it over. “Richard did seem under pressure to get early buzz going. He said something about getting more press. But, killing me?” There’d been plenty of times she’d been creeped out by Richard and other members of the team, but she’d never considered she might become a target.

  “Who knew you were going to be at the club tonight?” Silas asked.

  Jody shrugged. “Who didn’t know is more like it. It’s all part of the publicity campaign. In the fine print.” She sighed.

  “You didn’t read the fine print?” Cruz’s sharp eyebrows jumped up.

  She glared at him. No, she hadn’t. Yes, it was stupid. But that was her business, not his.

  Silas tapped his fingers on the counter. “What else does the job entail?”

  “Nothing. Just the photo shoots. The last one is the day after tomorrow on a beach or under a waterfall or something. Well, it’s supposed to be the day after tomorrow. Apparently, there’s been some problem getting the props.”

  “What props?”

  Jody shifted her weight from foot to foot. Being photographed in barely there bikinis was bad enough, but the props were the worst. The photographer had just about had her humping a surfboard in one shot and blowing suggestively into a conch shell in another. He’d also tried to get her to pose topless, insisting a lei was enough cover, but she’d drawn the line there. Each time, she’d contemplated quitting. It was that demeaning, that beneath what her father had taught her about pride. But each time, she’d convinced herself that the ends justified the means.

  “The theme of the fragrance line — and the campaign — is ‘Elements,’” she explained. “Earth, air, fire, water. They told me they were recruiting fresh faces for a huge campaign. They’ve got a redhead off at a volcano somewhere doing the ‘fire’ photo shoot. The woman doing the ‘earth’ shots looks just like whatshername — that model from Eritrea. I don’t know who they have doing ‘air.’ I’m the ‘water’ model.”

  “Earth, air, fire, water…” Silas’s face went pale.

  “I know, it’s corny,” she admitted. “Richard keeps coming up with things for me to be photographed with. He even wanted me to swim with dolphins, but the photographer said no way.”

  “So what’s the prop?” Cruz churned the air with his hand to hurry her up.

  She shrugged. “A jewel of some kind.”

  The men exchanged stunned glances. “What kind of jewel?” Cruz grunted.

  “A sapphire.” She paused in the sudden silence, wondering why Cruz took a step back. “Blue, like water. You get it?”

  The clock ticked loudly, and an unbearably silent minute went by.

  “Um, hello?” Jody said at last. “What’s the big deal? It’s just a piece of jewelry, right?”

  Cruz looked at her like she’d just sprouted three heads. “Maybe,” he muttered then looked at Silas. “Maybe not.”

  Chapter Four

  Holy shit. Cruz looked at Silas, shooting the words straight into his mind the way strongly bonded shifters could. Tell me this isn’t happening.

  Silas didn’t say a word.

  Jody tilted her head. “Is something wrong?”

  Normally, Silas was the quick-thinking one, but since he was uncharacteristically dumbstruck, Cruz did his best to cover up.

  “Other than someone trying to kill an innocent woman, you mean?”

  A second later, he cursed at himself. Where the hell did the innocent part come from?

  Look at how clear those blue eyes are, his tiger said. She’s innocent, sure as we’re guilty of too many sins.

  Which led him back to wondering who wanted her dead — and who had fed him false information — all over again.

  Whoever it was, we’ll find out and exact our revenge, his inner tiger growled. Right after we get Jody settled in for the night.

  Whoa. Wait a minute. What the hell was the beast talking about?

  “Listen, you’ve had a rough couple of hours,” he found himself saying. “How about we call it a night?”

  The woman crossed her arms, widened her stance, and tilted her chin up. “Call it a night?”

  God, he wished she wouldn’t do that perky-California-girl-meets-Amazon-warrior thing. Vulnerable yet feisty. Unsure yet tenaciously holding her ground. Every time she trained her sky-blue eyes on him, little bolts of lightning ran through his veins, and his tiger got all kinds of crazy ideas.

  I like her. I want her, his tiger murmured. She’s my m—

  He cut off the impossible thought before it got any further and nodded to her. “You’re safe here.”

  Her crossed arms tightened over her chest. “Safe from whom? You?”

  Cruz couldn’t decide how to respond other than I hope you’re safe from me, but I’m not really sure because my tiger is thinking all kinds of crazy things.

  Silas finally got his shit together and spoke. “Safe from everyone. Give us a day or two to investigate, and we’ll get to the bottom of this.”

  She looked from one to the other. “What are you guys, detectives or something?”

  “Something,” Silas said.

  Now her hands were on her hips. And dang, that was incredibly alluring, too. “We, who, are getting to the bottom of this?”

  She’d make an awesome tiger, his inner beast hummed.

 
If he could have cuffed the animal upside the head, he would have. Jody wasn’t a shifter. She was a human, which meant he had to stay on his toes. Humans were irrational. Unpredictable. In a word, dangerous. Humans had turned his world upside down by murdering his family in a bloody massacre. The trip of a lifetime his parents had been so excited about — visiting distant relatives in India and exploring remote jungles where Bengal tigers still roamed free — had turned into a deadly ambush that had never been fully explained. According to his sources, the villagers living near the scene of the crime had vehemently denied wrongdoing — of course. As rural, superstitious types, they’d tried pushing the blame to a whole muddled list of supernaturals. Vampires had done it, some villagers reported. Lion shifters, others said. Which was ridiculous — lion shifters didn’t tangle with tigers and vice versa, and neither mixed with vampires. Those villagers were cowards who lied through their teeth. Typical humans, in other words.

  Not all humans are liars, his tiger growled. Like this one. She’s scared shitless, but she’s brave.

  Silas, meanwhile, had turned on a piercing look that could make the toughest opponent hem and haw.

  “We — as in Cruz and I — will get to the bottom of this.”

  Jody didn’t blink. Which only went to prove how crazy she was, even for a human.

  “All three of us will get to the bottom of this.” She jabbed her finger at each of them to make it clear she was insisting, not suggesting, and even Silas was taken aback.

  Too bad Tessa — or Nina or Dawn — wasn’t around. Any of the women of Koa Point could have helped ease this woman’s fears. But Tessa and Kai, the dragon shifters, were over on the Big Island, using the cover of active volcanoes to practice spitting fire. Boone and Nina, the wolf pair, were in New Jersey, clearing out the modest house Nina had just sold. Bear shifters Dawn and Hunter, meanwhile, were enjoying their honeymoon in Alaska. Which meant it was just Cruz and Silas left at home, and hell. Neither one of them was the soft and fuzzy type.

  I can be soft and fuzzy, his tiger insisted.

  As if on cue, Keiki rubbed against his leg.

  Cruz cleared his throat. “How about we figure out the details in the morning?” Going off a vague memory, he did his best to speak in a cheery voice. But, damn. He hadn’t done cheery in years. Hadn’t felt the need to bother, as a matter of fact.

  Still, it worked, because Jody gave him and Silas one last don’t-fuck-with-me look then nodded. “All right.”

  “Good,” Silas said, though he didn’t sound happy at all. “Cruz will set you up in the tree house.”

  If Jody’s eyes grew wide, Cruz’s just about popped out of his head.

  “The tree house?” they both blurted at the same time.

  The tree house was his place. His refuge. No one stayed there but him. No one!

  Where else are we going to put her? Silas demanded.

  Cruz cursed. The obvious choice — the guesthouse — still hadn’t been repaired after damage sustained in a recent storm.

  She can stay here in the akule hale, he tried.

  Silas gave a curt shake of his head. Seriously — you’re going to make her bunk out in the meeting house?

  Well, Cruz sure as hell didn’t want her bunking out at his place.

  How about she stays at your place? he shot back at Silas.

  The dragon shifter’s eyes blazed. I’m not the one who brought her here. Besides, you and I have to talk and make some calls. So get moving, already.

  “I’m sure you’ll be very comfortable at the tree house, Miss Monroe,” Silas said, dismissing them with a gesture toward the woods.

  Silas rarely played his alpha-of-the-pack card, but when he did, no one dared question him. Not even Cruz, who had no choice but to lead Jody out of the meeting house and down the path toward his place.

  You think she’ll like it? his tiger asked all too eagerly.

  God, he hoped not.

  One night and she’s out of here, Cruz told his tiger, walking faster.

  Of course, he had been within a twitched muscle of killing her earlier that evening. The least he could do was put her up for one night.

  “So, a tree house, huh?”

  He shrugged. “You’ll see.”

  It was hard to describe the rambling place tucked all the way back in the thickest woods at Koa Point. So he walked in silence, leaving the talking to her. And talk she did. Typical human.

  “How big is this estate? It’s got, what — ten fancy cars? And a helicopter?” She pointed to the rotors showing above the treetops, reflecting the moonlight. “Who owns this property? And wow — you get to live here?”

  Cruz looked straight ahead. In truth, he had no idea who owned Koa Point. All he knew was that Silas had arranged the caretaking deal for their band of five shifters. The timing had been fortuitous; they’d all just earned honorable discharges and needed a place to settle down to transition to civilian life after years in the military. Only Silas knew the owner’s identity, and he’d made it clear the owner wanted no questions asked. As long as the owner didn’t visit — whoever it was had never come to Maui the entire time Cruz had lived at Koa Point — what did it matter? Cruz and his buddies took care of security on the sprawling estate and kept themselves busy with private investigative and bodyguarding work on the side.

  “Who else lives here?” Jody asked.

  Cruz wondered what she’d say if he told her the truth. A whole troop of shifters. Two dragons, a wolf, a bear, and a tiger, to be exact. Then he corrected himself, because it wasn’t just the guys living there any more. With Kai, Boone, and Hunter mated, their numbers had swelled to eight.

  A change for the better, his tiger nodded. With Tessa, Nina, and Dawn around, things are…well…

  Cruz struggled for the word, too. Nicer? More peaceful? Better balanced? It was hard to explain, but the newcomers had all contributed to making the place feel more like a…a…

  Home, his tiger filled in. A community.

  Which was funny, because he’d never really thought Koa Point lacked anything before destiny had brought his friends’ mates to their sides.

  Destiny, his tiger hummed.

  Jody stopped in her tracks at the first sight of a footbridge arching gracefully over the stream. “Wow. I mean… It’s beautiful.” She waved at the red and gold lanterns hanging overhead, lighting the way through the dark night.

  Most evenings, Cruz didn’t bother turning on the lights, preferring to stalk home in tiger form. But tonight, the light from the lanterns seemed softer, more welcoming than ever. A double-edged sword, he realized, because this wasn’t about welcoming anyone into his private space.

  Except part of him wanted Jody there. He wanted her to like it. Keeping people away meant he never got to share his most special place with anyone. Maybe it was time to change that.

  “I love it,” she gushed as a pair of myna birds fluttered overhead.

  Jody’s comment ought to have set off warning bells in his mind, but all he felt was a burst of pride. Tigers were hoarders at heart, and while he didn’t collect junk, he had enjoyed bringing together little treasures to mark the place as his. Would Jody notice the details he’d put into the wooden handrails of the bridge? Would she spot the decorations on the Chinese lamps strung overhead?

  “Wow, it’s all carved,” she murmured, running her hand over the rails. Her bracelets jangled, the only man-made sound in an otherwise peaceful night. “And, oh! Is that a tiger on that lamp?”

  The swirling Chinese design was all claws and fangs. A subtle warning to potential trespassers — not that any dared explore Koa Point.

  “Oh, there’s a dragon, too. And a bear…” Jody oohed and aahed over each lantern.

  In truth, the designs were Cruz’s subtle homage to his shifter brothers — the men who’d become his second family after all they’d endured in their active duty days. They’d become family, and it felt fitting to acknowledge that in some way.

  Crickets chirped from all
around. Mynas chattered, and the stream gurgled under the bridge. On the whole, West Maui was relatively dry, but the mountains caught the trade wind clouds and kept the stream gushing, so his private corner of paradise was lush and green. His own private jungle. And, shit. It was being invaded by a human.

  She’s not invading, his tiger pointed out. We invited her.

  Damn. Why the hell had he done that?

  Because she has to be comfortable, and we have to keep her safe.

  Which was a load of crap, Cruz knew, because what greater danger was there to her than him?

  Jody’s throat bobbed. “You swear you’re not taking me somewhere to kill me?”

  A shot of regret went through him. How could he even have considered killing someone as free of evil as her?

  He shook his head. “I swear I’ll never hurt you. Never.” His voice grew raspy as he uttered the words, and inside, his tiger went one step further.

  I swear I’ll protect you to the end of my days.

  Her eyes searched his, and she relaxed slightly. Most humans relied far too heavily on the spoken word, but Jody appeared to judge physical cues the way a shifter might.

  She lifted her hand toward his, suddenly quiet. The space between them crackled, and he leaned closer. When Jody’s eyes shone brighter, his pulse skipped. His palms grew sweaty, and his heart thumped. Inside, his tiger lashed his tail from side to side and hummed happily.

  Christ, what was wrong with him?

  “It’s so peaceful,” Jody said, breaking her gaze from his to look around while she continued down the path.

  His tiger nodded with satisfaction at her hushed tone. See? Not all humans are loud and bothersome.

  Cruz decided to withhold judgment for a little while.

  You do that. Because she is our destined mate. Ours!

  Someone could have hit Cruz over the head with a brick and he would have been less shocked. He didn’t want or need a mate.

  Want. Need, his tiger insisted with a low, throaty growl.

  Jody stopped in her tracks, clapped, and choked out, “Oh my God.”

  “Nice, huh?” his tiger made him say.

  “Nice? It’s amazing,” she said, looking up and around as his tree house took shape in the dim light.