Jude stared down at her. Weighing. Deciding. “I can’t risk your safety.”
“If you leave me here, you risk my safety.”
“That’s not—” Zane began hotly.
Erin flashed him a feral stare. He shut up.
“You take me, you risk me.” A shrug. “Guess it’s one of those lose-lose situations.”
Those were real bitches.
“It’s my life,” she said again. “And I am sick of running and sick of blood. It’s time to go back. Escaping didn’t work.
Trust me, I can see that now.” She licked her lips. “He won’t stop until I stop him.”
“Or until you’re dead.” A piss-poor comment from Dee.
Jude glared at her. Like f**k that would happen.
Erin’s chin lifted. “If I have to, I’ll just follow you to Lillian. But I am going.”
“Uh, don’t you have a job?” Zane asked. “Cases to prosecute?”
“I’m off until Monday.” She waited until Jude looked back at her and asked, “So what’s it gonna be, tiger? You taking me?”
Again and again, sweetheart. He bit back the words and sucked in a sharp breath. “You go, you follow my rules.”
“Ah, hell, fool number three riding shotgun.” Dee squeezed her eyes shut. “Can no one trust professionals these days?”
He ignored her. “At the first sign of trouble, you back the hell off and let me handle things.”
A nod.
Mistake. Oh, this was such a mistake, but—
But if he left her behind, he’d worry about her every second. Because the truth was that Jude could all but feel the bastard’s eyes on them.
Watching.
Waiting.
Poor f**ked up Lee Givens—the guy still hadn’t woken up yet. He was in the ICU, with a guard stationed at his side, courtesy of Tony’s pull. Erin had called to check on him first thing that morning, but there had been no improvement.
The docs thought it was a miracle he was still breathing. Well, breathing with the help of all those beeping and buzzing machines.
The guy out there after Erin didn’t play around. Vicious, twisted, and quick to kill.
Not exactly a dream date.
No, leaving Erin in Baton Rouge, even with Zane for protection, wasn’t an option he liked.
So that just left…shotgun.
Jude gave a grudging nod. Dammit.
The tiger brought her back. Fucking finally. His body tensed when he saw the familiar pickup truck. Then Erin appeared, midnight hair shining, and the two of them hurried toward her house.
The shifter’s hand pressed against her back right before they disappeared inside.
A familiar gesture. Too familiar.
He waited, barely glancing at the truck. He’d already marked the license down. He’d done that days before.
Less than five minutes later, the shifter was back at the door. The hunter glanced down the drive with narrowed eyes. He held a suitcase in one hand, the other hand was intertwined with Erin’s.
Too familiar.
They hurried out. Erin climbed into the passenger seat. The shifter hesitated. Looked around. Seemed to stare right at him.
Then the tiger smiled.
He leaned back inside the truck, caught the back of Erin’s head, and kissed her.
No.
A snarl broke from his lips and the tiger jerked up, gaze sweeping past the azaleas.
He shoved back the fury, nearly choking on the rage.
Erin’s slender hand reached up and touched the shifter’s chest. “Jude, what is it?”
Her voice drifted to him on the wind. So sweet and husky. Sexy.
And saying another man’s name.
You’re next, bastard. You’ll beg.
The tiger’s fingers closed around hers. “Thought I heard a damned dog,” he said, voice loud.
Too loud. Deliberate that.
So the cat wanted to play.
The fool didn’t understand who he was going up against. The tiger was big, tough, and deadly in his own right, but he didn’t understand a hybrid’s strength.
His mistake. One that would be fatal.
The tiger shifter tossed her suitcase in the bed of the truck, then took his time stalking around the back of the vehicle.
The urge to attack, to rip and kill and smell the sweet scent of death, had his blood heating in his veins.
But he wasn’t stupid. He knew how to hunt. And when to hunt.
Too many witnesses. Too many neighbors out and too many cars buzzing on the street.
For this hunt, this kill, he wanted to take his time and enjoy the moment.
Because after this, there would be no more games. The chase would finally be over and Erin would be his.
He just had to kill the cat first.
Easy.
The bigger they were, the louder they screamed.
And Erin would scream too. She’d have to be taught a lesson. He’d enjoyed the games. They roused his appetite, but her playing with the cat hadn’t been part of the deal.
The truck drove past him. So close.
He glanced down, surprised to see that his claws were out and embedded in his palms. Blood dripped onto the ground.
The blood was dark on the dirt. Fat blobs that spread over the grainy surface.
He looked back up just as the tiger turned the corner.
Where are you running to now, mate?
Didn’t matter. Wherever she went, he would find her.
That was the way he played the game.
Chapter 11
“Okay.” Erin turned away from the traffic and focused on the sharp lines of Jude’s profile. “What was all that about back at the house?”
His fingers were at a perfect ten and two position on the wheel. He didn’t glance her way, but the truck accelerated, and weaved in and out of traffic as he flew through the intersection. “Thought I heard something.”
“Something,” she repeated quietly, “or someone?”
She caught the curl of his lip. “What do you think, sweetheart?”
“I think baiting the ass**le out there might not be our smartest move, and I think that next time, you better let me know your plans.” Because being in the dark sucked, and if she was going up against the wolf, she wanted to know everything.
“Got it.” A quick glance her way. “But, for the record, I kissed you because I wanted to do it. Because you’ve got the sexiest mouth I’ve ever seen, and because I wanted to taste you.”
“Ah…okay.” Erin reached out and fiddled with the air conditioning vent because she was suddenly feeling a little warm.
“Fair enough.” His mouth had sure given her plenty of fantasies. It was the scar—scars weren’t sexy, she knew that. Well, they weren’t supposed to be sexy, but his…