Free The Tiger's Heart by Marissa Dobson Page B

day
before. Memories flooded back to him. In the middle of the night,
Bethany had cried out for her sister Jamie, tearing at his heart.
He went to her, crawled into bed and wrapped his arms around her,
trying to bring some comfort.
    Gently he eased himself off as not to
disturb her.
    “ Where are you going?”
Bethany asked, her voice deep with sleep, holding tightly to
him.
    “ My gun…it’s digging
in.”
    “ Take it off. Please stay
with me. I need you.”
    “ Shh, love.” He ran his
thumb over her cheek. “I’m not going anywhere. There’s nowhere I’d
rather be than right here with you in my arms.”
    He slipped his gun out of the holster,
placing it on the nightstand in easy reach. Most of the guards
carried guns even if they could shift back and forth at will. It
saved any embarrassing situations that could arise from someone
seeing a tiger roaming free, and the naked moments after they
changed back.
    His hand was moving away from the gun,
when the bright pink cell phone that lay next to it rang. His
stomach sank. This most likely was the news they were dreading,
informing her of her family’s demise.
    “ There’s no need for you
to do this. I can handle this for you.” He
closed his hand around the cell; they both already knew who was
calling…the Virginia police.
    Beside him, she nodded, and he hit the
talk button.
    “ This is Bethany
Thompson’s phone. Who is this?” Raja moved to the edge of the bed,
as he hoped it was enough distance to avoid Bethany hearing any of
the details about their murders.
    “ Detective Davis, I’m
sorry. She is unavailable at the moment. I’m Bethany’s fiancé,
Raja. What can I do for you?” Out of the corner of his eye he could
see surprise on her face when he said fiancé.
    “ She’s in Alaska with me.
I’m not sure what this has to do with anything. What is the nature
of your call?”
    He stood from the bed,
moving to the window as Detective Davis told him of her parents’
and sister’s murders. They knew it was coming yet hearing the words
from the detective made it seem real. It left a sick feeling in his
stomach. Will more people die at Pierce’s
hands before we can take him out?
    “ There must be a mistake.
Why would anyone want to do that to the Thompsons? Did you catch
whoever did this?” Raja was silent, listening. “Find the person
responsible. We’ll discuss arrangements and call you back. But
since her family wanted to be cremated and the services held here,
I don’t see any reason that Bethany would need to return. Any
paperwork that needs signed can be faxed, or dealt with through my
lawyer.”
    The detective apologized
again.
    “ Thank you. We will be in
touch shortly with arrangements.”
    He ended the call and went to his now
weeping mate.
    “ It just seems real now. I
kept hoping it was a nightmare,” she blubbered on his chest as he
held her close.
    “ I’m sorry, my love. I’d
take away your pain if I could.” He wrapped his arms around
her.
    “ I’m alone now. I have no
one.”
    He leaned back, prying her from his
chest. “You have me. I’m not going anywhere.”
    “ You only feel sympathy
for me because I’m injured and my family was murdered. I don’t need
your pity.”
    “ Now listen here. I’m in
love with you. Sure, I have empathy for what happened to your
family but I was falling in love with you since I first laid eyes
on you,” he bellowed at her, annoyance filling his voice. He ran
his thumbs under her eyes, whiping away the tears. “You’re the
woman I love.”
    This only made her cry harder, sobs
shaking her body.
    “ What’s wrong? What did I
say?”
    “ Why now? The timing is
all wrong,” she sobbed.
    “ I know the timing could
have been better but I have you now, and I’m not going to let you
go.”
    * * *
    “ Raja!”
    “ In here,” he called to
his sister Tora from the kitchen. Earlier when Doc came to check on
Bethany, he mentioned Tora would be stopping by later in the day to
meet