“Let’s go ahead and open the unit,” Arlo suggested while the two guards continued their discussion as they remained in the car. “I want to see if he handles things differently this time.”
Soren nodded and squeezed Taggart’s hand before climbing out. Romy followed and immediately went to stand beside Bash while Taggart headed to unlock his unit.
Soren decided to remain beside Taggart, so he wasn’t in the way if Arlington and Bash needed to head off the tigers.
The hairs on the back of Soren’s neck stood on end when he heard the crunch-scrape of heavy, booted footsteps heading their way, and caught the scent of tigers getting stronger on the breeze. Taggart got the unit open and turned on the light, only for the tiger scent to reach its strongest point.
One of them smells like the tiger from my homeland.
Soren became convinced, sending that bit of information to both Arlington and Taggart when the fear kept the memory fresh. It was less that a second to feel just how much his admission revved up Taggart’s anxiety, even as the scent began to fade without the cat’s saying a word.
“They’re prowling,” Arlo murmured low enough to make them strain to hear, having stepped closer to them. “They made eye contact with Bash and I and kept right on walking. Whether that means they were checking us out to see if they recognized us, or something more remains to be seen.”
“Does that mean they’ll be back?” Soren whispered, eyes darting to the doorway. “I’m sure I recognized one of their scents,” he persisted, pulse hammering in his ears.
“I expect them to wander back around being nosy,” Arlo murmured, stroking a hand down his arm. “This first pass could have just as easily been about sizing us up as making sure we belong with the unit. Keep your eyes and ears open, it wouldn’t surprise me if they came at us from a different direction.”
I don’t need anything. Taggart’s hands fidgeted at his sides.I’m going to rummage around for a bit anyway, so it looks like we’re here for a purpose.
Soren remained near him while Taggart examined components and occasionally set one aside, thinking he might need it in the near future, just to fill the time.
Sure enough, the breeze soon carried with it the scent of the tigers again, only this time it smelled like the duo had morphed into a trio. Steady, heavy footfalls came from two, while a third had a slower gait that included a lot more shuffle-drag in the cadence of their footsteps.
Soren scented something else too. The aroma of gun oil.
The scent was one Soren was far too familiar with, as all the strangers who’d swept through his people’s lands had traces of it clinging to their clothing. Bitter in his nose when he sniffed it, he’d learned to fear it as much as anything. He hadn’t caught a whiff of it during the first pass. With the wind smelling like it was about to whip itself into a frenzy of rainwater, it was hard to separate the fresh smells, but it was impossible to miss the fact that at least one of them had come armed.
“You can quit playing games anytime now,” a gruff, grumbly voice declared as the footsteps stopped outside the unit. As soon as they did, Taggart turned towards him, their eyes locking as they turned their focus on watching Arlington’s back.
“What kind of games are you accusing us of playing?” Bash questioned with an icy calm Soren did not feel.
“I see your manners haven’t improved since our last encounter,” Arlo grumbled, keeping his body positioned to the left of the door while Bash kept to the right side, Romy tucked just inside the doorway.
If things get messy, y’all stay on the inside of the unit.
The command Arlo gave—because there was little doubt in Soren’s mind that itwasa command—was sharp, firm, and fierce enough to promise punishment if either of them even thought to disobey him, not that they would. They’d promised to do exactly what he said when he said it.
“Who brings four extra people and no vehicle for transporting the contents of a unit?” the tiger to the left, the biggest of the trio, declared. “You’ll need a lot more than the bodies you’ve brought if you plan on dragging me out of here in chains.”
“More like they’ll wind up shredded if they try it,” the one on the right declared.
The tigers looked to have mirrored Arlo and Bash’s positioning, aside from the one in the center, whose eyes appeared shrewd and cold.
“Ease down,” he snapped, “and think a minute, both of you. The council would have sent more than two rhinos, and a trio of timid smelling beasts, if they intended to drag you back,” Arlo declared.
The tigers who flanked him said nothing, but as Soren watched, their stances eased just a little. If anything, the rigid set of their shoulders relaxed a fraction, while the one to the left began to worry the seam of his jeans, his fingers taking up a restless stream of motion.
“If you’re truly here for the contents of that unit, then we’ll leave you to it, but if you’re here for something more, out with it already so we can all get on with our night,” the middletiger said. He sounded older, his voice lacking the same stern gruffness as the other two, though it was no less commanding.
“We’re here to determine why there are suddenly tigers in Cookietown,” Arlo announced in a measured way, as if considering every word he spoke.
“’Cause we were hired to protect this facility,” the center tiger declared. “The owner is a member of my wife’s family and reached out to us to keep his business secure. Nothing more, nothing less. Considering the reputation of this town for being welcoming to shifters of all kinds who wish to live in harmony, I see no reason for anyone to be sent to determine our intentions.”
“I think we all know why there is a need for assurances,” Arlo grumbled, his gaze moving between the three tigers, assessing.
The middle one inclined his head, the only hint that he concurred with Arlo’s statement.
“Tigers are known for being solitary,” Bash said, the deep, rolling bass of his tone sounding downright scary to Soren’s ears. “Which makes it suspicious as hell, thethreeof you being here.”
