Tiger Bound (21 page)

After some time, he said to the doctor, “I’d like you to give me a prescription for pain pills for her, and something to ease the nausea, whatever else you think is necessary, but we
are
leaving.”

When the doctor agreed and left the room, Heath sat down on the bed and pulled her onto his lap. He tucked her head against his shoulder and rubbed her back. She clung to him, breathing in his scent, loving him with every bit of her soul.

“I’m sorry, Deja. I promised you we could stay awhile, and now I’m breaking that promise. I wanted so much for you to just be happy, and I realize it’s impossible because of what they did you to. No, I have no right to think of it as what
they
did and not take the blame for my part.”

She struggled up from his embrace to look at him. “What do you mean your part?”

“We’ll talk about it later. For now, we have to get moving. I don’t know how the hospital transports blood to a larger city and how long after that before we’re revealed. We don’t know Spiderweb will find out, but we can’t take the chance.”

“I know.”

She would have walked, but Heath refused to put her down. He carried her and the prescriptions out of the small hospital, ignoring the staff member following with a wheelchair. Deja remembered the wild dash they’d had the last time she was in one of those and didn’t relish a return to it. Heath stopped off at the pharmacy near the entrance to the hospital and then had her tucked into the car within moments. They drove back to the room they rented in silence.

Heath carried her inside and sat her on the bed while he began packing their things. Deja had wanted to get out of the hospital to make the meeting at the library, but she hadn’t counted on leaving so soon. If they had even a small chance to learn more about Spiderweb, now was the time to tell Heath everything.

Chapter Sixteen

“Um, Heath?”

He pulled a bag out from under the bed, one she didn’t remember seeing before. “Yeah?” He didn’t look up from the zipper he undid, and when he reached into the bag and pulled out a gun, she gasped.

“Where did you get that?
When
did you get it?”

“A few days ago while you were resting.”

He checked the gun, she assumed, to be sure it was loaded. Deja licked her lips. She’d never liked guns for some reason. They scared her, which was ridiculous with the number of people who owned them in Oklahoma. Hell, her stepmother owned a few, some that had belonged to Deja’s father before he died. She’d had no intention of fighting the woman for ownership of the pieces.

“If we’re going to protect ourselves, we need this. I don’t want to always rely on the tiger.”

She wondered if that meant he’d killed people as the tiger, or had he just injured them? “I don’t like guns.”

“I know, baby.”

Her hands shook, but she gripped the blanket in an effort to keep them still. They didn’t shake because of her fear, but because of her sickness. If only she could be stronger. Maybe she could if they had more answers. There might be an antidote. New hope rose inside her. “Heath, I have to tell you something.”

“Can it wait until we’re on the road, Deja? We have to get moving, and there’s more crap than I realized. Maybe we should just leave all this food.”

“It can’t wait.” Her voice cracked, and she coughed. Heath eyed her as if determining whether she needed meds now rather than later. “I’m fine. I just need to tell you about…” Again, she stalled. Damn, what if she checked the ad again and answered it with a new email address? No, the contact told her to delete her account, so it stood to reason he’d removed the ad.

“Come on, Deja. We can’t delay any longer. What did you want to say?”

Her stomach balled into a knot. “Oh crap, you’re going to be pissed.”

His eyes narrowed. “What did you do?”

She told him everything, and he began cursing. “Damn it, Deja, don’t you realize it was just a trap? Who the hell do you think is going to be out there gladly handing out information about Spiderweb?”

“I thought…”

“No, you didn’t think. You put us in jeopardy.”

“I don’t know who you think you’re talking to like that, but it can’t be me! All you want is to run and keep running. Whatever happened to fighting? I want a life, Heath, and I think you should want it too. Or did you forget about your ranch and how much you loved it? You act like you enjoy living out of duffle bags and jumping from place to place. Well, I don’t, and I’m going to that library even if you’re too scared to go.”

She panted and had to close her eyes by the time she finished her tirade. Heath walked around the bed to her side to stand in front of her. When she felt the heat off his body, she opened her eyes and tried moving back from him. He caught her arm and kept her where she was.

“How are you going to get there?” he demanded.

“What, are you going to hold me here?”

“Damn it!” He seemed about to shake her and then thought better of it. “Deja, use your head, honey. This is a trap. Who do you think is going to come all the way over here from wherever to meet with you to share secrets about Spiderweb? If it was a victim, don’t you think they would be afraid you were just an operative out to get them?”

“I…”

“Did they say where they were coming from? Did they give a name?”

She frowned, scrambling for something to say that would make him believe she wasn’t a complete idiot. “Well if they were worried about whether I was Spiderweb, then why would they give a name?”

“Look at the way we’re living.” He voice didn’t raise much beyond a whisper, and she heard the resignation in the tone, which tore at her. “What person who has been to their facility or has known someone who did can do anything other than keep their head low and survive? Do you think they could jump on a plane at the drop of a hat and come here?”

She was about to say they might be local, but then what were the odds? Sure, it was possible, but there were so many factors against this being their answer that she choked on tears. Heath’s countenance softened, and he pulled her into his embrace. He raised her chin and kissed her lips then wiped the tears from her eyes.

“I’m sorry.” She sniffed. “I just wanted to help you. I wanted to change your mind about me.”

“My mind? What do you mean?”

She lowered her lashes. “I know you blame me for keeping you from giving your all to find out who your real dad was. Your entire existence is filled with taking care of me, and I can imagine you resent it—even if your sexual desires keep bringing you back to me.”

“Deja, I swear I don’t know why I love you, woman, because you’re crazy.” He chuckled.

Her eyes widened. “What?”

Before he could answer, someone knocked at the door, and they both froze. Heath glanced toward the door and then to Deja. He moved in a flash to help her to the corner out of the line of sight, and then he picked up his gun. Deja saw the shift in the shape of his pupils. If he thought he would rely on the weapon, he was mistaken. While he approached the door with caution, she scanned the room for a weapon of her own. She would not be placed in the corner and have him risking his life on his own.

“Who is it?” Heath barked, standing to the side of the entrance.

The knock came again, and this time, Heath reached for the latch. Deja bit her lip. She picked up one of the red heels Heath had bought her. Someone was losing an eye today. She stood up and crept closer to the door. Heath jerked it open and yanked the man outside into the room. Not even confirming whether he was the enemy, Heath tossed him like old garbage against the wall. The man smashed into sheet rock and cracked it with the impact, then crumpled to the floor.

“He’s out, Heath. I think he’s not getting up again.” She took a step in the man’s direction, but Heath glared and pointed at her.

“Stay there!”

He did a quick search and found a gun on the man. Deja’s mouth went dry. She spun to jog over to the open door. A quick scan of the street below showed nothing out of the ordinary. Either they’d just attacked her informant or a scout agent from Spiderweb. They had to go.

She slammed the door shut and tossed away the heels. After she’d pulled on flats, Heath gathered two bags, and they left the rest to hurry out to the street. Heath had scarcely unlocked the car before several thickly built men were on him, wrestling him to the ground. A shot rang out, and one of the men rolled away groaning in pain. Deja’s stomach churned at the blood spreading over the man’s shirt.

When Heath went down to his knees, she dragged one of the bags from the pavement and swung it as hard as she could. The weight wasn’t enough to do more than knock the attacker’s head to the side. He snarled and turned toward her, lips drawn back over crooked, coffee-stained teeth. She stumbled in retreat and spun around, managing to put the car between her and the assailant. He moved faster than she thought a man that heavily-muscled could and grabbed her arm. He squeezed so hard, she cried out, but she would not go down without a fight. A knee to the groin almost did the trick, but the man backhanded her. The impact snapped her head on her neck and sent shockwaves of pain through her skull. The inside of her lip scraped her teeth, and she tasted blood.

“Deja!”

Five men flew in several different directions when Heath shook them off. Heath seemed to flex his shoulders once, and then he turned. Not with sharp teeth, cat’s eyes, and claws alone. He poised for attack as a full-grown tiger, and from the ear-splitting roar, he was not playing with these fools any longer.

Heath pounced on one man and swiped claws across his cheek, leaving it a bloody mess. Deja ducked her head from the horror, but cries of fear and pain split the air. The man holding onto her dragged her to the car and shoved her inside. He was about to climb in after when he fell on top of her, and his eyes widened with dread. Deja gasped when the man slid backward as if something pulled him, and she peered out to find Heath had bitten into the man’s ankle. Deja almost felt sorry for the dude when he cracked his mouth on the ground.

The car door behind her opened, and she looked up. Another man started into the car with blood staining his sleeve, which meant he’d already been in a fight with Heath. The tiger roared, and he leaped into the car, missing Deja’s body completely before landing into the enemy’s chest and sending both of them back onto the pavement.

Deja tried to pull herself up, but her body refused to cooperate. Darkness danced at the edges of her vision, and she shut her eyes to give herself a minute. When strong hands slipped around her waist, she swung her arms, but Heath made a clicking sound with his tongue.

“Easy, baby, I’ve got you. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you anymore.” He helped her to sit up, and she glimpsed several men lying unmoving on the street. They would never be able to stay here, and from the siren blaring not far off, if they didn’t go now, they would be hauled into jail. Who knew what the townspeople thought when they saw a man turn into a tiger and back again. She just hoped not many were on this street during the scuffle, especially after the gunshot. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything. Sit here.”

She grabbed his arm. “Um, Heath, you’re naked.”

He looked down at himself, surprise registering in his eyes.

“You changed completely into a tiger. Don’t you remember?” She touched his arm and put her hand in his. He ran shaky fingers through his hair.

“I remember feeling rage and the tiger rising in me like he’d done countless times before. Damn it, it’s like we’re one, and I don’t know where he ends and I begin. That’s why I didn’t fully realize I’d changed all the way.”

“Hello there.”

The man standing next to the car grinned at them. He dressed in cowboy boots, a Stetson, and ratty jeans, the typical cowboy, Deja thought. Yet, he was big with broad shoulders, and although she sat in the car, she figured him for well over six feet, about Heath’s height.
Come to think of it…

Heath growled at the man, but the cowboy held up his hands. “Whoa, partner, I’m on your side.”

Deja looked past him and noted several other people with him. Somehow, they didn’t seem like citizens of this town, but rather outsiders. Could this be her contact?

“Fuck you,” Heath snapped, and she tugged at his arm. The man needed to get a grip on the attitude, or the rampant testosterone, or whatever his issue was. She wondered if attacking the men had driven him to the edge, and she hoped all the more this man was who she thought he was.

“I’m here because she contacted me.” He pointed to Deja. So this
was
the contact. The man glanced over his shoulder and nodded to one of the men behind him. “Handle that, will you, Joe?”

“Sure, boss,” the man named Joe said, and Deja leaned forward to see around the edge of the car. Joe approached the sheriff. How the heck was he going to “handle that”? The lead man turned back to Heath. “I’m Ward. I suppose you should put something on. Your lady doesn’t seem like the type to want the whole world seeing what you have.”

Deja frowned. “What type would want it?”

Ward chuckled.

Heath took the offered clothing and yanked on pants. He stood up bare-chested and bare-footed, half blocking Deja from the people surrounding the car. The way he stood, alert and fingers curled, she knew he still didn’t trust Ward or the others, and if they weren’t careful, they would find themselves face down with the Spiderweb operatives.

Another man grinned and spit tobacco on the ground, but not near Ward or Heath, she noticed. That would have disrespected both, which she found interesting. “Yep, an ornery cuss, that’s your son all right, Ward. Looks just like you too.”

Heath went still, and Deja started even though she’d figured it out from the start.

“His son?” Heath’s words were more a sigh.

Ward stepped forward and stuck his hand out. “Good to meet you, Heath. I’m Ward Taylor, your
real
father, and we’ve come for you and your mate, son.”

Chapter Seventeen

Heath sat in the middle seat of the pickup between his father, who drove, and another man named Carter. Deja sat asleep on his lap, and he held her tight to his chest, determined she would never be hurt again. Every time he looked at her and saw the bruise and the swelling on her cheek, it reminded him that he hadn’t protected her, and it killed him inside.