They had scared him in the hospital—he’d been afraid he’d never see Carly again.
“And anyway,” Carly went on. “If you were attacking to hurt people, your Collar would have stopped you.” She pointed to the inert black and silver chain around his throat. “Shocks you when you get aggressive, right?”
Again Ellison jumped in before Tiger could speak. “You bet it does. Hurts like a mo fo.”
Tiger remained silent. Carly was his mate, and he trusted her, but he didn’t want to frighten her too soon with the fact that his Collar was a fake.
Carly leaned forward in the seat. “Ellison, you missed the turnoff. You take Koenig so I can get out to the gallery.”
Ellison glanced back through the mirror, looking at Tiger. Tiger gave him a nod.
“Sorry.” Ellison slowed and turned at the next intersection, driving north to make for the 290.
“Thanks. I really appreciate this,” Carly said.
Ellison had been heading for Shiftertown, knowing Tiger wanted to be alone with her. But Tiger was curious to see this gallery where Carly worked, wanted to make sure all was well there.
Carly settled back, her scent sweet and spicy, but also conveying to Tiger her underlying nervousness. Not fear for what Tiger and Ellison could do to her—it was more subtle than that, buried deep. Carly feared to trust at all. The man Ethan had taken her trust in him away from her by blatantly sexing the other woman. His house had still smelled of that encounter, despite the cleaning solution scent over it. The house had also smelled of Tiger’s blood.
Tiger had never trusted easily either. The things the researchers had done to him had made him close himself off, fearing to believe in anyone. Liam and his family were trying to instruct Tiger in how to trust, and so far, they’d not betrayed him. But when the researchers had taken away Tiger’s cub and then told him it had died, Tiger’s last spark of hope had died with it.
He’d watched the spark die in Carly when she’d seen Ethan and the woman. Whatever people had done to her in the past, they, like Ethan, had made promises, then withdrawn them, just as the researchers had poked things through the bars of Tiger’s cage to see what he’d do. As a cub he’d needed touch and caring, and he’d received none.
And then they’d left him alone. Completely alone, abandoned, not even having the courtesy to kill him.
Tiger would never let Carly feel that alone. Never. Not even if he had to stick with her day and night until she understood.
* * *
Armand’s art gallery lay outside the heart of Austin in a tiny town called Karlsberg that was being built up and gentrified. Large, historic homes mingled with new mansions, and several streets of art galleries, restaurants, and gourmet food shops attracted well-heeled tourists.The long stretch of road where Carly had first met Tiger was again deserted as Ellison drove along it. They passed the place where the Corvette had broken down, not far past the sign saying that Karlsberg was thirty miles away.
Tiger recognized the spot too. He looked over at Carly, giving her his full stare. Nothing hinting or coy about it.
She knew she should talk to him. She should say, I can’t rush into another relationship right now. I need to figure out how I feel about my fiancé turning on me, and I have abandonment issues. Don’t make me care about you, only to have my world pulled out from under me again.
Carly would say all that if she were sensible. But no, she’d decided to kiss him, and to teach Tiger to kiss her. She’d fantasized about having crazed, intense sex in Ethan’s dressing room with Tiger, and not just as payback to Ethan.
She should slow down, until she was not needy, and then assess what she was feeling for Tiger. Things were moving too fast, as fast as Ellison racing down the highway.
But Carly would feel awkward saying such things in front of Ellison, Tiger’s friend and right now his watchdog. Watch-wolf? She’d have to wait until she and Tiger were alone, but that would be dangerous too.
Not that Ellison was paying attention to Carly right now. He kept looking into the rearview mirror, but not at Carly or Tiger. Carly saw a flash in the side-view mirror and turned around to see an SUV coming up behind them, very fast.
This wasn’t unusual. People got out here on these stretches of back highway and let it all go. It was dangerous, particularly on this two-lane road, but that didn’t stop people.
The SUV—black, like the one Walker and Brennan had used yesterday—zoomed closer. It pulled around their car into the oncoming lane, slackening its speed to run side by side with them. The windows were tinted, hiding the view of the driver and any passengers.
Tiger moved to look around Carly at the SUV, his gaze fixing on it.
“Ellison,” he said. “Go.”
“I hear you.”
Ellison floored it. Carly’s fairly low-performance car sputtered as it leapt ahead of the SUV, then it smoothed out and sped away.
The other vehicle sped up next to them. Ellison grinned out the window at them and pressed the accelerator even harder. Carly’s car zipped forward, but the other kept pace with it.
“Get away from it,” Tiger said abruptly.
“Can’t outrun them.” Ellison took his foot from the accelerator. “Have to do this another way.” He stepped on the brakes.
The SUV zoomed ahead as Ellison suddenly slowed. Carly assumed that would be the end of it, but red brake lights flashed on the SUV ahead, and it made a U-turn, driving halfway off the road to do it.