Top Gun Tiger (Protection, Inc 7)

She dialed a number. “Hal? First off, I’m fine and so is Ethan. But we still need a pickup. My car’s at the bottom of a lake, along with my Sig Sauer, one of my shoes, and all of Ethan’s stuff. And my dress is a pile of shreds and spangles.” She paused while Hal said something. “Yeah: he knows. I’ll explain it all to him while you cancel the cavalry.”

She turned to Ethan. “Let’s go talk somewhere out of earshot.”

“Sure.” They collected the gangsters’ weapons, and then he followed her along the shore of the lake until they reached a flat rock, far enough to escape prying ears but where they could still see the gangsters. Destiny plonked down on top of it, and he followed suit. There was a brief silence while they looked into each other’s eyes.

So beautiful, Ethan thought. The tiger had the same soft brown eyes as the woman, though much bigger. The tiger was the woman; the woman was the tiger. He’d seen and even felt for himself that it was true, but it was still hard to believe.

Wryly, Destiny said, “Would you believe that the whole time I’ve been a shifter, which is my entire life, this is the first time I’ve ever had to explain it to a person who’s never even heard of shifters before?”

Only then did Ethan realize what a sacrifice she’d made to save him. She obviously could have simply fled in her tiger form and kept her secret, but instead she’d come back for him. “Is anything bad going to happen because you let me find out? You’re not going to get court-martialed or something like that, are you?”

Her laugh echoed across the still water. “No. There’s no underground shifter government. We just keep it a secret for obvious reasons. Also, because there’s a lot of rumors floating around that the actual government, or parts of it, knows about shifters and would love to find out what makes us tick. Like, by keeping us locked up in a lab and experimenting on us.”

“I’ll never tell a soul,” Ethan said immediately. “But Hal knows? Did you tell him? Or is he a tiger shifter too?”

“Guess I might as well spill the beans on everyone,” she said with a grin. “Hal’s a shifter, yeah, but he’s a grizzly bear. Ellie already knows. They were going to tell you when you arrived. Break it to you gently.”

Now that the shock was wearing off, his mind worked quickly. “And the rest of your team?”

“Rafa’s a lion, Shane’s a panther, Nick’s a wolf, Fiona’s a snow leopard, and Lucas is a dragon.”

“What?” Suspicious that he was pulling her leg, he was about to say, “He is not,” when he remembered how Destiny had glanced upward as she’d estimated how long it would take for her teammates to arrive. “Lucas could fly here in about twenty minutes, huh?”

“Yup. You’re quick on the uptake. I thought you’d be way more disbelieving. And way more weirded out. Though maybe you’re just having a delayed reaction and will freak out later.” Though her tone was light, her gaze dropped down as if she was genuinely uncertain how he’d respond. Her hands were flat on the stone, but the tendons stood out. He wondered if she thought he might suddenly recoil from her.

“Hey.” Ethan laid his hand over hers. She twitched slightly, but he kept it where it was. “Destiny, I can’t pretend this hasn’t been the biggest shock of my life. And to be honest, I’ll probably wake up in the middle of the night tonight and think, ‘Did that really happen?’ But I know it did. And I’m not scared or

horrified or whatever it is you’re imagining. I’m just… surprised.”

She looked up then, and the moon shone in her beautiful eyes. “You sure?”

“Positive, nerd girl.” As he’d hoped, she made a face at him, and he felt some of the tension leave her hand. “You’re a gorgeous, fierce woman, and you’re a gorgeous, fierce tiger. Any man lucky enough to get with you will never sleep cold at night.”

She snickered. “He wouldn’t anyway.”

They sat in silence for a while, with her soft hand warm under his. A feeling of utter contentment filled his heart. He had no need to rush anything. If he and Destiny didn’t do anything that night but hold hands, that was fine. He and this brave, bewitching, literally magical woman had all the time in the world.

A shout made them both start. “Destiny? Ethan?”

She jumped up and waved. “Over here, Hal!”

An enormous man holding a flashlight in one hand and a gun in the other stepped out of the woods. Ellie followed him.

Ethan ran to meet his sister, sweeping her off her feet in a hug. She threw her arms around him and held him tight. He’d never admitted it to anyone, not even to her, but by far the hardest part of being a Marine was how little he got to see Ellie, and how much he missed her when he was gone.

“Hey,” he said, setting her down. “Hear you went and got engaged to a grizzly bear.”

“He’s only furry sometimes,” she said, smiling. Despite the stress she’d been under, she looked happy and relaxed. It seemed like love agreed with her.

Ethan took a good long look at Hal the bear. Ellie might like him, but Ethan was going to make up his own mind. Still, he had to admit that the first impression was positive. Hal clearly knew how to use the gun he held, which indicated competence. Destiny respected him, which did as well. But most importantly, there was no mistaking the love in Hal’s gaze when he looked at Ellie. That man would live and die for her, and lay down the world at her feet. That was good enough for Ethan.

Ellie and Ethan started to catch up with each other while Hal and Destiny conferred about the gangsters and her car. Hal called the police to come pick up the gangsters and take them to jail, and made another call to get her car winched out of the lake. They waited for the police to arrive, and then they all climbed into Hal’s car to drive to the cabin.

Destiny squeezed into the back seat with Ethan. He nearly put his arm around her, then decided that he shouldn’t without knowing if she wanted her boss to know. He wasn’t even sure how he felt about Ellie knowing. It was all so fresh and new, he wanted to keep it between the two of them for now. With an inward start of surprise, he realized that the most they’d ever done was kiss, and that only once. How strange. It felt like they’d come so much farther than that already.

He didn’t dare look her in the eyes, or he’d give it away for sure. It was killing him to keep his hands off her. But a delicious warmth kindled within him at her presence.

Soon, he thought. Maybe not tonight. But soon.