Free A Tiger's Destiny (Tiger Protectors Book 3) by Terry Bolryder Page B

red dragon.
    The only person Kel had ever met that came close to him in size was Tor. He looked like a football player, tall and incredibly built, and had the personality to match.
    When Tor was on the warpath, you knew to stay out of his way.
    Right now, he just looked mildly irritated. Like he always did.
    Tor came up to the couch where Perry was seated and looked over at Kel and Sofia, raising a suspicious eyebrow.
    “Long time no see, Kel,” Tor said cryptically, folding his arms in front of him as they locked eyes.
    Kel didn’t know what to make of it.
    “You know how things are,” Kel replied, glaring back at him. “Hard to get away from work and all that.”
    “Clearly,” Tor said, taking a seat next to Perry, but not breaking his gaze from the both of them.
    Kel felt Sofia tense a little next to him, and he held her hand firmly in his.
    They had nothing to fear. At least for now.
    As long as awkwardness couldn’t kill.
    Perry cut into the silence first. “Tor, this is Kel’s friend Sofia,” he said by way of introduction.
    “Hey,” Tor said casually, still watching Kel like a hawk.
    “Nice to meet you,” Sofia replied.
    Tor’s head snapped to look at her when she spoke, but instead of withering disdain, his head cocked to the side slightly in fascination as his eyes narrowed.
    A lot like Perry looked when he first saw Sofia, too.
    Kel didn’t like it.
    “Interesting, a friend. Thanks for joining us, Sofia. What can we do for you two?” Tor asked, suddenly interested in the two of them now.
    Sofia spoke up before Kel could. “There are people after us. My godfather hired Kel to protect me initially, but we both suspect something is up,” she blurted out nervously.
    Kel could see a slight grin creep up Tor’s face as she spoke, as if fascinated by her. Kel knew dragons, at least these two, were always on the lookout for something new to entertain or interest them. But what was it about Sofia they found so intriguing?
    He wanted to ask her, but he knew she had a right to tell him when she was ready.
    “Someone has a bounty out for her. A high one,” Kel said in addition.
    “Yes, we know,” Perry said, crossing a leg and placing his hands on top of his knee.
    “What do you mean you know?” Kel said, irked by their games.
    “We got word of the bounty a couple weeks ago, so we’ve been looking into it since. We knew nothing particular about it, except the price was exceptionally high and the item for sale was… How shall I say it…? Exceptionally unique,” Perry said, his eyes darting to Sofia for a flash, then coming back to Kel’s. “I think it a rather interesting coincidence our very own Kel was brought into such a fascinating situation.”
    “She’s not an ‘item,’ Perry. She’s a person,” Kel said. “And stop talking in riddles.”
    Tor’s eyes flashed anger as he sat up straighter, always overprotective of Perry.
    “It’s fine, Tor. Calm down,” Perry said, patting his partner on the leg, calming him. “I’ll speak plainly, then. As of this morning, there’s been increasing chatter that we’ve picked up regarding the bounty. Apparently, the money has already been transferred by someone, the very person who is on your trail I imagine.”
    “Domingo Arnal,” Tor said seriously.
    “Who?” Sofia asked, puzzled.
    “He’s a shifter that’s been on our radar for a long time. He has a strange fascination for acquiring anything and everything that is rare or unique, especially things of shifter origin or significance,” Perry explained.
    “We’ve tried very hard to find him, but he keeps an extremely low profile. It’s been years since he’s come out of the woodwork, so we imagine he’s pretty serious about catching our friend Sofia here,” Tor said, nodding to her.
    Kel didn’t know what this all meant. True, Sofia was a cat shifter, and to him, she was the most beautiful woman in the world. But that didn’t explain why some creep would be interested in