Free A Tiger's Treasure (Tiger Protectors Book 2) by Terry Bolryder Page B

thought over his years at the precinct. He’d seen some dubious things, but he’d also been focusing on different things than other cops. Had he really missed something that corrupt?
    He’d need to go in and talk to the chief.
    “Amy?” he asked quietly, pulling her away so he could look at her.
    “Yes?”
    “I want you to put the file back. Make sure everything is in order. And shut it all away. I assume you’ve made copies.”
    She nodded.
    “Then put it away. Act like you took their attack as a warning. Act like you aren’t looking into it anymore. I’ll deal with it from here.”
    “Why?” she asked, folding her arms. “So you can step in and be the big bad protector?”
    “Because whoever’s after you won’t stop as long as they know you’re looking into the case. And I can’t talk to those in the department who trust me and focus on getting your info if I’m constantly worried you’re going to be attacked.”
    “You’ll be worried anyway, won’t you?” she asked.
    “Yes,” he said frankly. “But less. At least as long as Blake and whoever he’s with knows I’m with you, they’ll probably give you some space. Blake knows I can take him, and they weren’t planning to have to go through a tiger to get to you. So just let me deal with this in the meantime.”
    “Okay,” she said. “I’ll give you a chance to deal with it first. I haven’t been successful yet anyway in trying to get information on my own.”
    A light bulb went off in his head. “Trent,” he said. “That’s why you went out with him.”
    “Yup,” she said. “But he didn’t know anything. He hasn’t been at the department long enough.”
    “Don’t do any more of that,” Carter said, folding his arms. “You could put yourself in danger.”
    She blinked, like that hadn’t even factored in. He guessed when you had one thing more important than everything else in your life, you managed to block out a lot of stuff. Like concerns for your own safety.
    Now she had someone who would.
    Carter nodded. “I’ll talk to the chief tomorrow. Spin it the way I need to.”
    She sighed. “I’m not used to someone else handling my problems.”
    “Right, but you’re used to other people causing them,” he said.
    She nodded.
    “So let me help you with this. You’re my partner.”
    He would start by exploring every one of the shifters in the office as an option, no matter how long they’d been there. They might know something from someone else.
    The idea of solving the mystery for her sort of pleased him, as long as she didn’t get hurt over it.
    She picked up her sandwich and finished it, and when she was done, he took their plates and glasses back to the kitchen.
    Her curvy form filled his mind, and he knew one thing for certain. He wasn’t letting her out of his sight until this was over. He wouldn’t let another person lay a hand on her. At least for the next little while, he could pretend she was his mate.
    That would have to be enough to sustain him in the future.
    Deep down, his tiger growled.

7
    A my sat at her desk the next day, waiting while Carter talked with the chief. She didn’t know exactly what he was saying, but she wanted to.
    Instead, she played with the photos on her desk, of the crime scene where she’d been attacked the other day.
    Carter was right. Something was off, but she didn’t know exactly what.
    She looked at one of the more graphic photos of the chest. Shifter markings, like the ones that had been on her parents. But that wasn’t odd, since the attacker had been a shifter. And shifters attacked people.
    Had the police just not noticed the scratches? Had the initial investigators not known about shifters, and the other shifters just didn’t interfere? A million options swam in her brain. She itched at the thought that with Carter’s help, she might finally know about what had happened to her parents.
    But for now, she had to act casual.
    When the chief’s door opened, Carter came