Page 5 of Tiger Betrayal

As it stood, and unbeknownst to his brothers, he was in Salt Lake City now. He’d moved back here months ago. He couldn’t stay away from the damn cemetery where his mom was buried.

Why? Because his inner tiger only felt at peace when he was suffering.

He shook his head hard against another growl and dared a glance up at Laramie. She was watching him pull the tires off the rims with the machine and nodding her head slightly at whatever Murph was telling her.

When she realized she was caught staring at Stellan, she jerked her gaze away and started looking around awkwardly, then turned her back to him completely.

The growl had vanished, and to his surprise, a smile stretched his lips. It felt good.

“Do you know her?” Craig asked as he passed.

“No, why?”

“I don’t know. She keeps looking at you.”

“You sure are paying a lot of attention to her,” Stellan pointed out.

“So are you. So is everyone in here.”

When Murph led Laramie back into the waiting area and office portion of the shop, the strangest sensation washed through Stellan. He felt at war with himself. Part of him was relieved that she was gone so the other guys would stop staring at her, and part of him hated that she was out of his sight.

Shit. It wasn’t Rabbit stuff. Couldn’t be. It wasn’t.

He shook his head hard and pulled a new tire onto the machine to load it onto the old rim.

She wasn’t a Rabbit. He wanted to fuck her, not kill her.

She wasn’t a Rabbit. She just wasn’t.

Right? Right.

He blew out a long breath and tried to ignore the flashbacks of hunting Misty that assaulted his mind.

Being back in Salt Lake City dredged up so much bad.

He had to move back here though. He had to figure himself out.

“Hey, you?” came a soft voice.

Stellan startled and jerked his attention to the open hangar doors. Laramie stood there, backlit by afternoon sunlight. She offered him a little wave. “I don’t mean to interrupt. I know you’re very busy. I just wanted to say thank you. I got the job.”

“Oh,” he said gruffly. He frowned. “You’re welcome.”

“Ummm. I’m Laramie. Wait, I already told you that earlier.” Her shoulders lifted to her ears with her deep inhalation, and she let off a nervous laugh. “Okay, I’m going to go now.”

She talked weird for a hot girl.

Craig and Brant did these stupid catcall whistles at him as Laramie disappeared around the side of the building, and Stellan turned off his machine and followed her out, flipping the guys off as he left.

“When do you start?” he asked her.

Laramie jumped and let off a little squeak as she turned around. “You’re fast,” she said with a breathless giggle.

Shit. He did try to control that when he was around humans. She was messing with his head. Distracting him. Making him forget where he was.

“I ran track,” he lied.

She let off an uncertain laugh. “I start on Wednesday. Mister Reynolds is bringing in someone special to teach me the computer systems.”