Free Rare Find by Dale Mayer

would be asleep for hours. Not true.
     
    Now he didn't know what to do. Shit. He closed the back of the truck, threw down the level to lock it in place, walked to the front of the truck and hopped up onto the driver's seat.
     
    He could really only do one thing – carry on as he'd started.
     

Chapter 7
     
    Saturday, late evening
     
    R onin and Tabitha were finally sleeping under one roof. Just not the way she'd hoped. Tabitha strolled back to her own huge bed and pulled the covers back as much as she could. Tango had taken up most of the space. "Move over, boy."
     
    Instead, he rolled toward her on his back, presenting his belly to be scratched.
     
    "That's not quite what I meant." She smiled. "Then it seems males always interpret what I'm saying in their own way."
     
    Tango's engine kicked in. Tabitha sat down and scratched the tiger's velvety fur. "What am I going to do when you're gone?"
     
    It would devastate her. Losing Tobias had been difficult. She'd understood her grandfather's lingering despair months later. They'd been closer than father and son. And she was closer to Tango that she was to her own father.
     
    Tigers had been the missing link for both generations.
     
    Her grandfather had spent the better part of his life being a servant to the large cats. She was following in his footsteps. For the most part, she was fine with that. But she didn't want to be alone forever. Her thoughts once again returned to Ronin, sleeping so close, and yet so far away. That short distance somehow made her feel even more lonely than if she had been there, alone in the house. Knowing that they were so damn close to taking their relationship to the next level also made it difficult.
     
    She'd been falling for him for weeks. That long slow glide of attraction that was both special and disconcerting. Sure, he had this thing about cats...but when she needed him, he'd done well with Tango. Many people would have taken one look and run.
     
    "Just you and me, huh, boy." At least for the moment.
     
    She slipped under the covers, shoving Tango over. Not an easy task, but he rolled back the way he'd been earlier with a contented snort.
     
    Regardless of where Ronin slept, Tabitha had to admit she did feel better having Ronin staying there. It felt right. With that thought, she turned off her lamp and slid lower under the covers.
     
    ***
     
    It was the middle of the night when she woke. Her heart pounded in her chest with a ferocity that had her panicked and searching the corners of her bedroom. She’d also woken alone. Tango had slipped out of her room sometime in the night. She glanced at her clock. It was 2:34 am. She'd managed less than three hours.
     
    A shadow crossed her nervous system, accentuating the feeling of wrongness.
     
    Then she understood. Shit.
     
    Someone was out hunting… She was the prey.
     
    Again.
     
    Taking a deep breath, she sank energy lines down her legs, through the heels of her feet and deep into the ground. She had to be grounded. She desperately wanted to jump ship and hide in the ethers, but she didn't dare leave her body alone and unprotected. Not if she was the prize. Well, she wasn't going to make it easy on whoever was doing this. Not this time.
     
    Knowing it was foolish, but unable to resist the instinctive move, she scrambled out of bed and raced to the spot behind her bedroom door. She understood it was a psychic attack, but that didn't mean her attacker wasn't here physically as well.
     
    Except that neither Tango nor Tripod had raised the alarm. And they would have if there was a stranger in the house.
     
    "Tabitha?" The male whisper slipped into the room, so soft it was almost silent.
     
    Ronin? How did he know?
     
    "Yes," she whispered.
     
    "Are you okay?" His voice deepened as he moved closer.
     
    She didn't know what to say. That his interruption when she'd just acknowledged that her attacker could be here physically was disconcerting. She was certain it wasn't him.