Eye of the Tiger (13 page)

“Calm down,” Jamie whispered harshly in his ear.

Taking a deep breath, Zak called on his everlasting control. He nodded once, showing he was okay. Jamie released him and spun him around.

“Are you trying to get yourself in trouble?” Jamie barked. “The commander is only two vehicles over.”

Zak held his hands up. “All right, I’m sorry.”

“How’d you find out about this anyway?” Cody questioned from behind him.

He shifted around so he could eye both his friends. Abilene hadn’t wanted to tell him but in the end she hadn’t been able to just sneak out of his bed. Not after what they’d shared.

“I have my sources,” he replied.

Cody and Jamie exchanged looks.

“Agent Fox arrived about five minutes before you,” Jamie noted.

“Did she?” He didn’t look away or move as he stared at his friend.

“Yep, she appeared a little tired too. Maybe something kept her up all night,” Jamie added.

“It’s always hard sleeping in a hotel. I myself find it difficult to rest well in a strange place.” He remained locked in the standoff with Jamie.

“You know Cody and Aubrey were going to stop by last night to make sure you were okay but you already had a guest,” Jamie said before smirking.

Zak blew out a breath. “Oh shut up!” he grumbled.

Jamie’s laugh boomed out. “I
so
knew you were going to get freaky with the cheetah shifter.”

“You did not,” he snapped.

“He bet me before you even left the Coalition. I thought you’d at least take a couple days to settle back in but Jamie said twenty-four hours,” Cody provided.

“I hate you both,” Zak said adamantly.

“You don’t,” Cody and Jamie replied in union.

He couldn’t help it. He started to chuckle and before he knew it, he was laughing outright. Wiping tears from his eyes, he knew he was worrying his friends. Zak didn’t laugh. He was the growly loner and kept to himself. “I can’t believe you assholes bet on my sex life.”

“Ah, man, it’s only because we love you,” Jamie told him.

“Okay, enough of your antics. We need to figure out what we’re doing here,” Zak said.

Jamie sobered immediately. Zak knew they hadn’t forgotten the purpose of why they were there but in their line of work they needed these moments to distract themselves from the weight of pressure on their shoulders.

“Commander Green is calling for us,” Cody said, tapping the earpiece he wore.

“Stay here,” Jamie ordered.

“Actually, Green wants him, too.” Cody turned to Zak. “Guess he knows you’re here.”

Zak sighed, knowing he was going to receive a lecture. “Let’s go then.”

Stepping out from behind the SUV, Zak took in all the details he hadn’t noticed when he’d first arrived. Lake Worth police cars were angled in front of the bank. There were more dark unmarked large vehicles that had to belong to the FBI or ATF.

There were probably close to fifty different combined police and federal agents roaming around. Glancing up, he spotted a sniper on the roof across the street. Chills raced down his spine. If they didn’t get the three suspects out of the bank and away from hostages people were going to be killed.

Commander Green stood right in the middle of all the chaos. Beside him stood Abilene and Luca.

“I see you can’t follow directions either,” Green said as a greeting.

“I planned to stay out of the way,” he replied. “Just a quick peek at the scene.”

His boss was already shaking his head. “You two.” He pointed at Zak and Luca. “Go wait in the back of my vehicle. I’ll speak with you soon.”

Zak nodded then strolled to the SUV with Luca at his heels. He knew better than to challenge his commander when he had that frown on his face. Sliding into the back seat, Zak glanced over at his companion. He had gotten to see Luca for a few minutes the day before but Cody and Jamie had been with him.

“How are you feeling?” Zak asked him.

“I’m fine, Zak,” Luca assured him.

“I shot you,” Zak reminded him. “I’d like a better answer than you’re fine.” He sat back, crossing his arms over his chest.

“You did what I told you,” Luca said. “It worked, too.”

“We should have just taken Logan in and called for backup,” Zak argued.

“You had a chance to get in the inner circle. If we hadn’t gotten there in time for the bust, you would have had your in,” Luca told him.

“All I did was shoot you and let myself get arrested. We could have done that without the bullet!”

“But now your cover is still in place. We didn’t get Timmons. If they have to send you back in? You have already proved your loyalty,” Luca said.

Zak knew he was right. It was the same thing that Cody had told him the day before. However, he couldn’t even imagine going under again. He didn’t know if he could. “What are you doing here anyway?” he asked, changing the subject.

“Same thing as you. I wanted to know who was inside,” Luca answered.

“Do you think it’s Robbie and his friends?” Zak lowered his voice.

“Yeah,” Luca replied. “Who else? They were always ready to do whatever was ordered—not smart enough to question anything. Whoever is pulling their strings knows they’ll take the fall.”

“There is no way anyone is going to meet their demands,” Zak said the words to Luca that he’d spoken to Cody. “What’s the endgame?”

“Abilene had an idea on that when I was speaking with her earlier,” Luca said. “What does this group want?”

“A war between the humans and shifters. For the shifters to take over,” Zak answered.

“So what happens when three shifters kill a bunch of innocent humans?”

“They get what they want. And Mike Timmons will swoop in and play hero,” Zak guessed.

“From what Logan told you, I think you’re right,” Luca agreed.

“We have an arrest warrant for Mike Timmons,” Zak stated. If Timmons showed his face, the Coalition would take him in. Zak had been ordered to kill Luca by Timmons himself.

“If he plays his cards right, he’ll have enough support that even when we do arrest him, he’ll look like the good guy. He’s got the money to pay for the best lawyers. He’ll use all the attempts from the SIP to launch himself into political power. We won’t come across well in the media,” Luca said.

Zak’s mind was spinning. All of this destruction, murder and the threats were for Mike Timmons to make his way to running the country. He’d blame the crimes on the SIP and come in and save the humans from the big bad shifters. That would only work for so long. Zak knew exactly what would happen once Timmons got what he wanted. Once Timmons was in power, his true colors would show. But it would be too late for the humans. Timmons would turn on non-shifters and eventually the war Timmons desired would transpire.

What in the hell was wrong with people these days? War. The loss of innocent lives. People who had never spoken out against the shifters would be captured, tortured or killed. It made him sick to his stomach to know what the future might hold.

“So,” Luca said into the silence they’d fallen into, “when I called Abilene this morning, she wasn’t in her hotel room.”

Zak barely managed to hold in a growl. Why was every single person he spoke to interested in his sex life? He was a grown man. He’d had many lovers throughout his lifetime. “Oh yeah?”

“You wouldn’t know where she spent the night, would you?” Luca asked directly.

“Did you ask her?” he shot back.

“I did.” Luca turned toward him, grinning. “She told me to mind my own business.”

“Sounds like good advice.”

“That’s the thing, though,” Luca told him. “Usually she has no trouble sharing details about her relationships, so it makes me wonder even more what’s going on.”

Running his hands roughly over his face, Zak knew better than to answer. But he did consider Luca a friend. “I don’t know what is going on between us. I feel a connection to her that I know she returns. But I just got out of an intense job—you know that since you were there with me—and I’m still trying to get back into my skin.”

Luca patted his shoulder. “I know. I woke up last night expecting to hear the guys downstairs drunk and smashing things. When I looked around and saw a nice hotel room, it just didn’t seem possible.”

“How long have you been doing undercover work?” Zak questioned.

“Six years for the ATF. This was my longest assignment, though. I didn’t think it would be so difficult settling back in but…”

Zak understood what Luca was having trouble explaining. Luca didn’t need to—not with Zak. “It usually takes a few days for it to hit me that I’m back,” he shared. Spending time with Abilene the night before had helped calm him.

“It’s not just me, though. Even my coyote can’t calm,” Luca whispered.

“Yeah, it would be a good idea to shift soon and let him run free. That way the bond between both your sides can strengthen.” He’d have to do the same. After long missions it was important to remind himself who and what he was. His tiger, although Zak wasn’t comfortable with that part of himself, needed to run or Zak would be closer to losing control.

“I think I’ll do that,” Luca said.

Zak would have liked to offer to run with Luca but he never shifted around someone else. “Jamie knows all the best trails. I’ll get him to make you a map.”

He had his own place to transform. It was away from the public areas and he felt safe there.

“Thanks, man.”

A loud commotion came from in front of them, and Luca jumped. Zak leaned forward to peer out of the windshield. He couldn’t see the entrance of the bank but by the way the agents in front of him were reacting, something was going on.

“I’ll be right back,” Zak whispered.

“Your boss told us to stay here.”

Zak ignored the reminder, slipping out of the door. He couldn’t see Cody, Jamie or Abilene. Darting behind a SWAT van, he could see his Commander speaking with several men in suits.

Commander Green waved back toward the vehicle that Zak was supposed to be in.

The taller of the suits looked in that direction. He was a big guy, at least six foot three with reddish blond hair. The shorter guy next to him looked so much like Luca that Zak had to squint to make sure he was seeing correctly.

When the Luca lookalike angled more in his direction Zak was certain the guy was related to his friend.
This may be an interesting addition to the events.
He’d have to wait to see, though. His mission was to reach his friends. He wasn’t going to just sit in a car while they put their lives in danger. He stayed hidden as well as he could to avoid drawing attention. The last thing he wanted was someone to think he looked suspicious.

Spotting Cody and Jamie to the left, he inched forward. Both men had shotguns in their hands. Abilene was by their side, speaking into a radio. Over their shoulders the glass door of the bank was in clear view.

One of the armed men stood in front of the glass door with the barrel of his gun pointed into the side of a young hostage. The woman was probably in her early twenties and was crying.

Zak knew who was holding the terrified girl. He whistled.

Cody’s headed snapped up as he spotted Zak. Cody narrowed his eyes at him. Zak waved him over. Shaking his head, Cody flicked his wrist, telling Zak to get back.

Hands on his hips, Zak took a step closer. He knew Cody wouldn’t let him leave himself out in the open. With a growl that Zak could hear from several feet away, Cody stomped over.

“What!” Cody snapped.

“I know who that is,” Zak informed him.

“What?”

“Yeah, his name is Scott and he hangs out with two other guys—Robbie, who is usually the ringleader of this trio, and Bud. I don’t know Bud’s real name.”

“What do you suggest?”

“They are puppets—always have been—and whoever is pulling their strings doesn’t care about them,” Zak said.

“I can work with that.” Cody grinned. “I have an idea.”

Zak slapped his back. “Good.”

“Get into hiding before the commander see you,” Cody ordered.

“Sure,” Zak agreed.

He waited until Cody had walked off before waving Abilene to him. She walked behind a group of agents loading up their own weapons, taking the long way around to him. Zak appreciated her being careful.

“How are you holding up?” he asked when she reached him.

“Okay, I guess.”

“There is no good ending to this unless Cody can talk them out,” Zak said.

“Do you think it’s possible?”

He really wished he could assure her. “If anyone can, it’s Cody. But I just don’t know.”

“There’s a mom inside with her twin four-year-old girls,” Abilene told him.

“Fuck.” He hated to hear that. Of course anyone in the bank was in danger but Zak had a soft spot for kids.

“Yeah, from my angle I can see one of our perps and he is pointing his weapon on the girls.”

“If SWAT goes in, there’s a good chance no one is coming out alive.”

“I know.” She reached for his hand. “We’ll do everything we can. Cody sent some of his team to shift and do a fly-by.”

“Ryder is good at that,” Zak confirmed. He’d worked with Cody’s team numerous times.

While Cody, Jamie and Zak had all joined the Coalition at the same time, their expertise separated them in what they did. Cody’s background in homicide had him leading a team of agents for investigations. Jamie had worked missing persons before, and he’d had two partners. Zak had several support staff that worked with him. Calvin was actually his partner. Because of Zak’s ability to get in and out of places, he worked with several different teams.

Cody’s group worked so smoothly together that they were getting more and more high-profile cases.

“That’s what Jamie said. I hope they’re as good as everyone thinks.”

“They are,” Zak assured her. “Uh, are they giving you a hard time or anything?”

“You mean since they know we slept together?”

“Yeah.” He couldn’t believe he was embarrassed. If they’d had more time this morning, he would have woken up and showed her how he took control. He had a feeling she would have approved. He also made one hell of an omelet.

“They don’t mean anything by it,” he told her.

“Zak.” Her hand still gripped his and she squeezed. “I like your friends. I even met Cody’s mate yesterday. They are not going to scare me off.”