The sheriff nodded curtly. “He seems to know what he’s talking about, Stuart.”
“Bullshit! You got no proof!”
“You’ve got my knife in your boot.”
Stuart took a swing. Ty leaned away from it and trapped Stuart’s fist between both hands. He jabbed his elbow under the man’s chin, sending him reeling back, then kicked at his thigh and caused his leg to buckle. Stuart went to his knees, and Ty kicked him in the chest, sending him sprawling into the dirt.
The sheriff and his deputies pulled their weapons, fanning out to surround Stuart and his cohorts.
Ty put one booted foot on Stuart’s neck, pressing down with the heel to keep him still. It had happened so fast that none of Stuart’s buddies had been able to move to help, and when the guns turned on them they each raised their hands, sinking to their knees without putting up a fight.
Harrison forced his way through the crowd. “What in the Sam Hill is going on here?”
Ty didn’t lift his boot off Stuart’s throat. “I put my knife into the thigh of one of the poachers who attacked me.”
Sheriff Barnes looked down at Stuart. The spot where Ty had kicked him was beginning to bleed. The sheriff pursed his lips, then bent to look in Stuart’s boot where Ty was pointing. He pulled a knife out of the sheath the man had tucked into his boot and held it up. It was a Strider SA model. A simple, sturdy knife about seven inches long. Zane knew the leather-wrapped handle was worn from years of use, and that the sheriff would find the words “S. SGT BT GRADY” engraved in the hilt.
The sheriff looked up at Ty and nodded. He pulled his radio from its belt and called to his dispatcher. “We caught the poachers.”
Ty moved his foot off Stuart’s neck as Zane joined him.
“There were more than four people involved,” Zane told the sheriff.
Ty and Zane stepped back to let the deputies handcuff their prisoners. They rolled Stuart to his belly and yanked his hands behind his back.
“You think you know everything, you fucking queers?” Stuart snarled against the dirt. “You got trouble in your own damn house!”
Zane stalked forward and bent down to grab a handful of his hair. “Trouble in my house? Who?”
Stuart gave him a toothy grin. “You got no idea.” He looked over his shoulder as he lay in the dust. “I want a lawyer.”
Ty grabbed Zane’s arm and pulled him up before Zane could throttle a restrained prisoner in front of witnesses.
“We need to go back to that pump house,” Ty hissed in his ear as he bullied him away from the others. Zane stopped fighting him and let himself be dragged to the edge of the crowd. “We need to do it now.”
Zane’s eyes landed on Mark, and he was unable to tear them away as he nodded. “Let’s get out there before he does.”
They slipped through the crowd, lost in the excitement of the confrontation, and headed around the barn, where the family had parked their vehicles to keep them out of the way and block off certain parts of the ranch from partygoers.
The chaotic hum of the milling crowd on the other side of the barn was overwhelmed by the distinct sound of a tiger roaring.
Silence overcame the ranch. The sound ripped its way through Zane’s body like nothing else he’d ever experienced, and he and Ty both froze in their tracks. The tiger roared again, the sound culminating in a low, seemingly endless rumble. It was like a purr from hell.
The crowd on the other side of the barn began to boil with panic. Screaming and shouting, people scrambled to get to safety.
Zane felt the hairs rise on his neck, a feeling of foreboding overtaking him as Ty’s hand tightened on his arm. He turned his head, knowing Barnum the Bengal tiger was there before he ever caught sight of him. Ty turned with him. Barnum sat twenty yards away, watching them. He chuffed and sniffed the air.
There was a buzzing sound over Ty’s harsh breaths and the sounds of the terrified partygoers, and Zane realized it was panic encroaching.
The tiger made another sound, an odd hissing that Zane soon realized hadn’t come from the tiger at all. It was Ty, making the same sound he did to call Smith and Wesson.
He did it again and took a step forward.
“Oh Jesus, Ty, this is not how I want to die,” Zane whispered.
“It’s okay.”
“No, it isn’t!”
Barnum stood and lowered his head. He took a step to match Ty’s. Ty took another. Barnum chuffed and drew closer, looking wary.
“He’s scared, Zane.”
“Well, he should join the fucking club.”
“Come on, Barnum.”
“Ty, you are not the tiger whisperer,” Zane hissed.
Ty held out a hand to calm him, then took a few more steps toward Barnum. In the blink of an eye, Barnum lowered his body and lunged at Ty, wrapping his arms around his head and dragging his face against Ty’s as he stood on his hind legs and hugged him. His massive body dwarfed Ty, and Zane could only see Ty’s arms as he returned the tiger’s hug. Barnum continued to rub his floppy ear against Ty’s face.
Zane stood rooted to the spot, mouth hanging open, shaking his head.
After a few long moments, Barnum released Ty and sat down. Ty staggered back and leaned over, gasping for breath.
“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen,” Zane whispered, still stunned.
Ty began to laugh. “That’s what he did in his enclosure.” He held out his fist to the tiger, and Barnum smacked him with his paw like he was giving him a fist bump. “Loves to hug.”
“You’re an idiot.”
“We need to get those animal control morons over here. Or call the sanctuary, let them know we found him.”
“You’re a fucking idiot!”
Ty straightened and Barnum sent a low grumble in Zane’s direction. Ty shook his head, smirking a little. “My tiger disagrees, Zane.”
“Son of a bitch.”
“Go call the place, I’ll stay here with him, keep him calm.”
“Fuck no.”
“Well, what do you want me to do with him?”
Zane stared. Both Ty and Barnum were looking at him with their heads cocked. He wasn’t even sure he was awake right now. “How tame is he?”
“I don’t know. Tame enough that he’d rather hug me than eat me right now, but I don’t fucking speak tiger.”
“Should we give him food so he won’t eat anybody?”
“Zane. Why are you asking me like I know what to do? Sure, go grab a brisket off the grill and we’ll see how he likes it.”
“Briskets aren’t cooked on a grill.”
“I’m standing next to a tiger, Zane!”
“I’ll go call the sanctuary.”
“Thank you.”
Zane took a careful step back, giving Barnum one last wary look before turning and calmly walking to the corner of the barn. He couldn’t run no matter how much he wanted to. He remembered what Tish had said about playing tag with a tiger.
He was halfway to the house when his father hurried up to him. “Have you seen Sadie?” Harrison demanded.
“What?”
“We called animal control to get their worthless asses out here and got people leaving for safety, but we can’t find Sadie!”
Zane went cold. He turned to look back at the barn.
If the tiger didn’t have the little girl, then who did?
Ty fought the urge to fidget. It wasn’t hard, what with Barnum leaning against his leg and demanding contact. He stroked Barnum’s cheek, one of the places Tish had told him was safe when handling the tigers. His heart was still racing. Tame circus tiger or not, he was still a fucking tiger and they were not in his enclosure anymore.
The seconds ticked by, and Ty imagined he could feel time expanding as he waited. What the fuck was taking Zane so long?
He looked down at Barnum, and the tiger peered up at him, tongue lolling, his golden eyes full of intelligence and trust. A chill ran down Ty’s body and he fought the resulting shiver.
“What’s the matter, big man?” Ty asked, maintaining a soothing tone. Barnum made a few chuffing noises, responding to his voice. Ty swallowed against the knot of nerves in his throat and began to sing. The first song that popped into his mind was one he used to sing during his Recon days: “Show Me the Way to Go Home.” It was slow and soothing and easy to remember the words to when trying not to panic.
Barnum hefted his body to stand and sniffed the air again. He took a few steps away, and Ty forgot about the song. Then Barnum prowled to the side, beginning to pace.
“Oh please don’t eat me,” Ty whispered.
Barnum rumbled in response, sniffing the air again. He glanced back at Ty in passing, then stalked off toward the darkness, heading away from the barn.
“Barnum,” Ty whispered. He clucked his tongue and made a few hissing noises, but who the hell was he kidding? If the tiger wanted to go, it was going to go. “Come on, buddy, don’t leave me. I’ll sing a different one,” he said as he followed after the big cat. “‘Eye of the Tiger’?”
But Barnum paid him no mind, slinking off into the night so quickly and quietly that Ty lost him in a matter of yards.
Ty peered into the darkness, his heart pounding hard. “Everyone’s a critic,” he grumbled as he backed away from the last spot he’d seen Barnum. It was just too dangerous to track the tiger in the dark, no matter how tame or friendly Barnum seemed to be. Ty needed to get to safety, and then warn the rest of the partygoers.
He continued to back away, turning once he no longer felt eyes tracking him. He made his way to the truck and climbed in, breathing a sigh of relief when he got the door closed behind him.
He found the keys under the brake pedal, where Zane often left them, and got the truck started. He drove right through the yard, not especially surprised to find that the party had dispersed. Harrison had probably taken that precaution and moved the guests inside or sent them home. The bonfire still blazed, sending ashes into the night sky. Torches were lit around the yard, marking the areas intended for the party and keeping bugs at bay. But there was no other sign of life.
Ty pushed down the creepy feeling and headed for the house, parking the truck right at the bottom of the steps. He had been chewed on by enough felines in his lifetime, thank you.
He hopped out of the truck and darted up the steps, then slung open the screen door and didn’t relax until it had clicked behind him.
A gun cocked near his ear, and the distinct barrel of a .45 pressed to his temple.
Ty froze.
“Grady?”
Ty risked a sideways look past the barrel of the gun and found Cody standing there.
Cody lowered the gun and smiled. “Sorry.”
Ty shook his head, growling but unable to produce a curse word appropriate for the moment. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Sadie’s gone missing.”
“What?” Ty asked, his heart sinking.
Cody nodded grimly. Ty noticed that he hadn’t put his gun away. “They think the tiger nabbed her.”
Ty looked from Cody to the gun. “So you thought I was a tiger?”
Cody shook his head. “Stuart said we got trouble in our own house. Can’t be too careful.”
“Where are the others?”
“I don’t know. Party broke up, everyone got scattered looking for Little Bit.”
Ty glanced around the quiet house, then back at Cody. “Come with me. I need you to drive me out to that pump house.”
Cody nodded and headed out onto the porch. Ty followed, glancing around the yard. The night was silent. No insects sang, no horses whinnied from the barns. None of the animals made a peep.
“Why are we headed back out there?” Cody asked.
“Whatever’s under that place, that’s what this is about. It’s not just stolen tigers. And I think whoever has Sadie might be headed there.”
Ty hopped down the steps. The crack of a gunshot tore through the night, and the impact thumped into Ty, stealing his breath and knocking him flat.
Somewhere in the darkness, Barnum the Bengal tiger roared.
Chapter 10
“I don’t get how she can just disappear!” Harrison sounded near panicked as they rounded the dark corner of the house and headed for the front yard again.
“She didn’t disappear, Dad, Mark’s got her! He’s running with her!”
Harrison grabbed Zane’s arm and whirled him around almost viciously. “You best be damn sure before you say that out loud again.”
“Yes, sir,” Zane said through gritted teeth. “I have to get back to Ty and let him know what’s going on before he and that damn tiger get twitchy.”
Harrison nodded.
Zane turned the corner of the house in time to see Ty and Cody hurrying down the front steps. “Ty!” he called out, but his shout was drowned out by the crack of the gunshot. Ty and Cody both fell to the ground, either hit or taking cover. Zane shouted again, drawing his weapon.
Harrison grabbed him and yanked him back just as a shot thumped into the house.
“No!” Zane fought against his dad’s hands.
Harrison slammed him against the siding. “You ain’t no good to him dead, Z! Get inside.”
Zane opened his mouth to respond, but the sudden shatter of glass and a crash from behind the house cut him off. They hit the ground, and a shadow hustled through the trees, the moonlight glinting off a shotgun. The shooters were aiming at the house and at them. Bullets glanced off the walls, far too close for comfort.
Harrison clamped down on the back of Zane’s neck and wrenched him to his feet. “Get in the house!”