Liars and Tigers (13 page)

"Go away already,"
she grumbled, gathering bones. She found the cats did well on having a couple
of 'fasting' days, where they gnawed on raw bone. Alternating that with their
meat days, it prevented bloating.

True to her promise, she did
not hand feed the tigers. However, she did place the crate next to her feet as
she sat down on a log. The giant cats rubbed against her, purring, before they
each picked up a bone and began chewing on it like a contented house dog. She
stroked their large heads soothingly, talking to them about her thought and
feelings. Little did she know, but she had an observer.

The three Bengals lifted
their heads and growled, their attention directed at the enclosure's door.
Misha looked up, startled to see the cross expression on Alex's face.

"Just what the hell do
you think you're doing? This is strictly against my orders. You were given
specific instruction not to hand feed the animals, or to be in with them unsupervised,"
he said heatedly. "Get out of there this instant."

"I didn't hand feed
them. I just put the crate on the floor and did not touch the food," Misha
stated simply, as she calmly exited the enclosure.

Alex put his hands on his
waist. "Where's your partner?"

"He agitates them so I
sent him away."

"Has Jack spoken with
you about this activity?" Alex truly looked angry now.

Misha's eyes flashed, the
honey gold flecks glittering beneath dark lashes. "Jack is well aware of
my skills and abilities and is just fine with them. Unlike you, he doesn't
constantly challenge me and my abilities!"

"So you won't mind if I
ask him, then?" Misha paled instantly, which did not go unnoticed.
"Did I catch you in another lie, Tiger?"

"There is no reason to
bother him, Alex. He'll tell you what you want to hear. He respects your
presumed authority; I do not."

"You should, little
girl. You definitely
should.
" Alex picked up the intercom. "Jack,
to the tiger pen please."

"This is utterly
ridiculous!" Misha said, turning to leave.

Alex caught her wrist.
"Just where do you think you're going?"

"Away from your
ludicrous and preposterous limited ability to reason. Good day, sir!"

"Oh, no, you don't.
Please stay so we can both hear how supportive old Jack is regarding your abilities
and skills," Alex said sarcastically.

Jack walked in with a smile,
stopping dead in his tracks when he noticed the sparks once again flying
between them. "Oh shit… what now? Did you need me, Boss?"

"Miss Misha here seems
to think you're okay with her going against my specific instructions regarding
safety. Is this true?"

"I didn't say
that!" Misha yelled.

"Hush. Jack?"

Jack frowned, his eyes d
arkening
.
"I've told her several times that if I caught her ignoring our rules, I'd
flay her hind end right off of her. Was she in there hand feeding them
again?"

"Oh no, this time
little miss smarty pants found a loop hole. She brought the bone crate in and
was petting them as they helped themselves," Alex snitched.

"What?" Jack
shouted. "I was very specific about being present when they had food
around. You promised to follow the Boss's rules!" Jack glared
incredulously at the young woman.

"You did not. You only
made me promise not to hand feed them!" Misha shouted back.

"Didn't I tell you not
to be in their pen unless you were supervised?"

"You
implied—"

"I did not imply
anything. I was very specific. You need a right good switching, girl. What is
it going to take before you see that you can get killed by these animals, and
that they won't think twice about it?"

"I never agreed to that
second part."

"Misha? You are aware
that everything that occurs in these dens is on film. I can go back and find
the section that includes the conversation, and then we can see exactly what
you agreed to. Should I do that?"

"You
are a total buttwad, Alex." Misha's eyes darted to Jack's frown. "So
are you, Jack. I can't believe you are siding with him."

"I
am siding with you, little girl. You have risked yourself one time too many.
You can't trust that these cats won't tear you to pieces. If you think that I
would turn my head and pretend you are warm and cozy in that den, you're dead
wrong," Jack sputtered.

"This
is total and absolute bullshit," Misha spouted.

"Maybe,
but both of us care enough for you to tell you 'no'. Do you think we would
ignore this?" Alex asked calmly. When Misha crossed her arms and turned
her back to him, he tsked. "I thought we had an understanding between us,
Mish. I am so disappointed in you."

"I'll
handle this, Boss. It happened on my watch," Jack offered, his face red
with fury.

"You're
too angry. No, Misha and I are working on accountability and truthfulness, and
this falls under our agreement. Misha, go gather the animals and wait in the
truck. We're going home right now."

"But,
Alex, you don't understand!"

"I'm
not in the habit of repeating myself. And to think I was actually thinking of
considering you as a handler. Damn it, Mish. Don't you realize what you do to
our trust when you pull foolish crap like this?"

"No,
Alex, please! I promise I won't do it again!" Tears welled in the woman's
eyes.

"Go
do as you're told."

With a stomp of her foot,
Misha left the offices, muttering something about Rodin having both of them for
lunch one day, then added an additional retort that if zombies ever chased
them, she would trip them both up.

***

The men were silent for a
moment after Misha slammed the door behind her. Jack shook his head and turned
to Alex. "You know she's right. I have no doubt about her safety in there.
If anyone can keep those animals calm, it's her."

"Yeah, I know. But her
lack of consideration for how anyone else feels about her safety is disturbing.
And you were right, you can't rely on these animals being this way with her all
the time. It only takes one."

"We can't limit her
gifts. She will only become resentful. You shouldn't have threatened the
handler position."

"It was the only
leverage I had to get her to see how serious I am. How am I going to marry such
a stubborn and disobedient woman? She will send me to an early grave with
worry."

"Leverage? What the
hell are you saying, boy? Blackmailing her will bite you in the ass," Jack
said.

"I'm just gathering
more bait. I'll have
a ring around her
finger by the end of the year, if not
sooner, if I have anything to say about it. She's smart and she knows exactly
what I'm doing."

"How do you know
that?"

"I heard her
complaining to the cat Friday night when it was time for bed. I was coming to
say goodnight and heard her talking." Alex winked.

"Dude, eavesdropping is
not cool."

"Neither is a sixty-year-old
man calling me 'dude'. I love listening to her talk to the cat; she does it all
the time and doesn't even consider that I might be listening in. She is so
uninhibited in expressing herself, and the innocence is so sweet. But Friday
night, after I reddened her backside, she was angry and out for blood. She is
planning on baiting me so that
she
can win this hunt, not me."

"Should I ask if that
is a good thing?"

"It is a very good
thing. I am just sick over her lack of self-control. It's like she needs to
challenge everything that comes her way to prove she has value."

"I think you hit the
nail on the head. Until now, no one has done anything about it because we have
all been so amazed by her abilities. I was the one who found her after she had
been mauled that first time," Jack sighed, sitting down. "She
justified it later by saying the tigress was unaware of how her claws would rip
human flesh. It was a miracle that they didn't kill her, especially after
tasting blood. The wounds were bad and she went septic."

"How bad?"

"Ten days in the
hospital bad. I'm just terrified that it will happen again, and that the next
time she won't be so lucky."

 
"Let's see if we can retrain her
mind to believe the truth about herself. She is aware of her flaws, and openly
admitted that she didn't like them. She promised to be accountable to me."

"Why the hell are you
putting yourself through this torture, Boss?"

"Because I love her.
Just as much as you do, old man. You know it too."

"She's like a daughter
to me," Jack grumbled.

Alex patted his shoulder.
"She needs you to tell her that. She needs a dad. Especially after her
future fiancé lights a fire to her tail."

"Regarding that, she
was promised a switching…"

"Trust me, Jack. She's
gonna get one. And more," Alex sighed, standing to leave. "Words
don't seem to make a difference, but a good spanking might. Wish me luck."

***

Alex
opened the truck door, paused to survey his passengers, and then slid into the
driver's seat without a word. He saw Misha fidgeting nervously, holding Rodin
next to her chest as she stared out the window. The ride home was silent, with
the only exchange consisting of a little 'ow' when Rodin nipped her fingers.
Alex pulled into his driveway, parked the truck and turned to look sternly at
Misha.

"Go
put Rodin in his crate and then march your little bottom up to my room. I want
you to find a corner and stick your nose in it until I come for you. Do not
argue with me. I am livid right now and need to calm down."

"Alex,
it really was not that big of a deal. I know what I'm doing." She sounded
sulky.

"You
think you know everything, don't you?" Alex glared at her. "For God's
sake, Misha, don't you see how your pride affects Jack and me? Have you
considered, for just one minute, that if those animals kill you, Rodin has no
choice except to go to the zoo? Yeah, they would be good to him, but not as
good as you are. What is it going to take to get you to believe that people
actually love you and are afraid to lose you?"

Misha
blinked back tears as her lower lip trembled. "Don't make me cry."

"Don't
make you cry? Damn it girl, you need to cry. According to Jack, you cried one
time in all the years he's known you. And the only time you've cried in front
of me was when you told me the truth about your life and I blistered your
backside for throwing that damn clock at me. Stop bottling up this emotion and
let it out. You know this is a safe place. Why are you denying yourself?"

"Crying
makes me look weak."

"No,
dear, not crying makes you look weak. I see right through you, and you know
it."

"I
hate it, too."

"Too
bad. It is time for a change. Do as I said."

Alex
hid his surprise when Misha leaned over and kissed his cheek. She left the
vehicle, Rodin at her heels, and looked back once before going into the large
house.

"You
guys have got it so much easier than us humans," Alex said to Kena and the
puppies as he released them from their crate. Kena leaned against him and
together they watched the pups roll together in the grass, grabbing each
other's tails and ears and yipping out puppy barks. Kena whined and pushed her
huge muzzle into Alex's palm. "You're a smart girl. You know daddy doesn't
want to do this, huh? Playing is one thing, but real discipline is another.
Let's go find a switch."

With
Kena and the puppies following his every step, Alex retrieved some pruning
shears from the shed and headed in the direction of the seasonal stream that
crossed the edge of the property. Willow trees grew there in abundance, and he
soon had a small bundle of proper switches tucked in his hand. He was surprised
about how heavy his heart felt. Never before had he experienced actual sadness
when facing a disciplinary session, and he had been practicing the domestic
discipline lifestyle since he started dating. Except with Carla.
Maybe that was what went wrong in our
marriage?
He did not take his place as head of the household, purely
because it was just too much effort to wrestle it from her.

Alex
trudged into the house and up the long staircase toward his room. He paused
before opening the wide, white door and stepped inside, closing it decisively behind
him. He was genuinely surprised to see that Misha had actually obeyed him, and
was standing in a far corner with her nose to the wall. A shiver of joy
traveled through him. Maybe there was some hope after all.

"Misha,
come here, please."

Silently
the woman turned, her face streaked with tears. Her eyes were red-rimmed, and
her nose pink, suggesting that she had been crying for a while. Alex reached
for a tissue and dabbed it across her face as she stood between his knees.