Текст книги "Tiger"

Автор книги: Laurann Dohner

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YES!

“Um, excuse me?” It was a male voice—loud and close. “The ambulance is coming and someone is going to notice you and the human female. You could say she was having difficulty breathing but I doubt they will believe that is CPR.”

Her angel tore his mouth away from hers and swung his head to stare at something behind him. “Damn,” he snarled. “Thanks, Slash. I lost all control.”

“I assumed.” The other man cleared his throat.

Confusion filled Zandy as she was yanked back up to a sitting position beside the angel and he released her. He stared at her with his stunning eyes as he backed away and his hands lowered to close his pants.

Zandy turned her head to stare at another creature standing a few feet away. He wore all black and had catlike eyes too. He wasn’t looking at her but instead grinned at her fallen angel.

“Sorry,” the creature in black said softly. “If I didn’t interrupt you would have taken her where you stood and the ambulance would have arrived to see that. You both would have probably been embarrassed to have witnesses see sex between you on the hood of the Jeep.”

Something was written in white lettering on the man’s black shirt. Zandy squinted, read three letters and knew she’d seen them from somewhere before. Memory returned to her in a flash. NSO was short for New Species Organization.

Her gaze jerked back to her beautiful fallen angel. He was breathing hard and his eyes were locked on hers as she examined his features. She could actually feel the color drain from her face.

“I’m not dead, am I?”

The man she’d been kissing shook his head. “You thought you were?”

She felt her body cooling fast from the burning desire to leap on the man and take him to the ground, tear off his pants to continue what they’d started. “Oh shit. You’re not a…” She couldn’t say fallen angel to him, he’d think she was nuts. Hell, she was. No, she corrected, I’m drunk.

“I’m a what?” His tone deepened and anger seemed to flash in his eyes.

“You’re one of those New Species from Reservation, aren’t you?”

“Yes.”

Zandy closed her eyes and hugged her chest. It dawned that she’d just molested a New Species. They were humans who’d been altered with animal DNA. Some crazy pharmaceutical company had made them part animal and done illegal testing on them. Son of a bitch. Her eyes flew open.

She darted a glance at her surroundings and recognized the bar parking lot. The sheriff some of his deputies were visible in the distance near the front of the building under the outside lights. There were some drunks arguing with them. She hadn’t died on the bar floor as she’d believed but suddenly wished she had. She closed her eyes again. She couldn’t find the courage to glance at the man she’d mistaken for an angel. She waited silently for the ambulance instead.

Chapter One

Zandy tried to mute her anger but it was nearly impossible to do. She had a mortgage to pay. Her life savings had gone for the down payment to get her house and she needed to eat. Having electricity and gas would be nice too. Even if she sold her new house, the market was down and she’d lose the equity.

The thought of returning to Southern California and having to live with her parents at her age was enough to make her desperate. They’d berate her over making another blunder, tell her how disappointed they were in her and rub every mistake she’d ever made in her face. She’d do anything to avoid that, including taking any job, even if she risked running into someone linked to one of the most embarrassing evenings of her life.

She glanced up at the reception area where she waited and knew she’d hit that all-time low. It was the last place she wanted to be but they were hiring. It was a big place. The chances of her running into him had to be slim to none and she just had to believe that if she wanted to keep the courage it had taken to come to Reservation.

Hatred for Jordan Parks made her ears warm. The asshole had fired her after she’d repeatedly refused to sleep with the toad. He’d made her life unbearable for weeks, probably hoping she’d quit but she was more stubborn than that. It was a small town, job opportunities were scarce and the next town with jobs was a twenty-minute drive away. Her car was old. It wouldn’t endure six months of the mountain driving and the buses only ran once a day. She was in a hell of a mess because the prick had fired her.

She swallowed her anger and forced a smile as a door opened. A happy perspective employee gets hired more than a grumpy one, she reminded herself. The receptionist was tall, her features were pretty and she smiled back.

“He is ready to interview you.”

Zandy rose to her feet and felt short even in four-inch heels compared to the woman she passed. One glance at the lithe, athletic body also made her feel woefully out of shape. She entered the office, kept her smile in place and hoped she landed the job. It was the only one listed in the paper unless she wanted to work part-time scooping up road kill for animal control. She doubted they’d hire her and it didn’t pay enough for her to survive on.

She paused a few feet inside the office to study the man seated behind the desk. He had light-brown hair with blond streaks running through it. Blue eyes stared at her and he waved her to a seat. She spotted the wedding band on his tan hand, noted his wide shoulders and the way his suit bunched over his biceps. He was as fit as his receptionist and she hoped they wouldn’t hold it against her that she wasn’t.

“Have a seat, Miss Gordon. I’m Slade North.”

She passed him her resume as she sat in the big chair and tried to relax but it was impossible to do. She needed the job desperately. The part-time job wouldn’t pay her bills but this one would. It was actually listed for more than she’d made at her last job.

He placed the paper flat on his desk, didn’t read it, but instead watched her. “I already have a copy of your work history. You had to fax it in along with the other information we asked for to do a background check.” He paused. “You have the job.”

Shock slapped her. “But you haven’t spoken to me.”

“I already know everything about you that we need. You have the skills required for the job, you don’t have an arrest record and you’re not associated with anyone who has caused us problems. Your parents were interviewed and you weren’t raised racist.” He shrugged. “It’s that simple.”

“Terrific.” She grinned, relieved it was that easy. “That’s wonderful. I really need this job, Mr. North. You won’t regret giving me a chance.”

“Call me Slade. We spoke to your coworkers from your last job.” He frowned. “You didn’t put it down that your last employer harassed you but you should have. We wouldn’t have held that against you. That was unforgivable of your boss to sexually harass you but it won’t happen here. I don’t want to share sex with you. I am happily married and I’d rather die than touch anyone but my Trisha. No offense to you but that’s the truth.”

Zandy’s mouth dropped open and she gawked at him.

He frowned. “Was I too blunt? I thought that might be a concern of yours after your last job. Your coworkers told us what your last boss attempted and he fired you because you refused to share sex with him. I didn’t want you to worry.”

It took her a second to recover. “You’re blunt. I’ll give you that but thank you. I’m relieved to hear it and yes, after my last experience, I guess it is a concern.”

“You have nothing to fear here. My people—our males—will leave you alone. Just tell them to stop, that you have no interest in them if any approach you. We appreciate honesty and bluntness. There is no confusion that way. There are also a lot of words and sayings your people use that we are still learning. Sometimes it causes language barriers or misunderstandings. Just speak your mind clearly and we will listen. You can talk to me immediately if any problems arise and I will handle it. We want you to be happy working for us.”

“Thank you.”

“Could you start working now?”

He surprised her again. “Sure.” She hadn’t planned on more than the job interview but she wasn’t going to say no. It was just after eight in the morning. She didn’t have anything better to do other than go home and watch game shows and she didn’t mind avoiding that. “That would be great.”

He nodded. “Creek, my receptionist, will call for one of our males to escort you to building C. You will be told your duties when you get there.” Slade paused. “Because of security you are not allowed to leave the building during work hours until your lunch. One of our males will meet you at the gate every day when you arrive and escort you from there and then back to the gate at the end of your day. At lunch a male will escort you to our cafeteria. I apologize but we can’t have you roaming around free. We have many enemies and it has to be this way for security purposes.”

“I understand. I could just pack a sandwich so I won’t need an escort at lunch.”

He smiled. “Lunches are free, Miss Gordon. We serve excellent food and you should take advantage of it.”

“Thank you.”

He stood and held out his hand. Zandy stood to put her much smaller one in his so they could shake on it. He had a firm hold, released her quickly and nodded.

“Enjoy your work.”

“Thank you.” She gripped her purse and left his office.

Creek smiled and waved her to have a seat. “An officer was called to take you to building C. You will like working here.”

Zandy liked the New Species woman and smiled. “Thank you. I’m sure I will. Everyone I’ve met so far has been wonderful.”

A snort sounded from Creek. “Except for the fact that you have to be searched every time you enter our gates.”

“They had a woman pat me down but it wasn’t so bad. They were really nice about it.”

“We try. We feel bad for having to touch everyone but it’s necessary. Just weeks ago a man came in for a job interview and they found a gun stashed inside his underwear. He was from a hate group and wanted to shoot Slade dead.”

Zandy was shocked. “That’s terrible.”

“Some humans hate us.” Creek shrugged. “They blame us for what we are though we were never given a choice. Now we just want to live in peace and it offends some of your kind. We fear hiring humans—no offense to you—but many of us don’t have the skills to do all the jobs required. I learned how to use computers and type to become a receptionist. A human did this job before me but she sold some documents to the reporters for money. Eventually we’ll be able to do most of the jobs as more of us learn skills though the humans we trust will keep their jobs.”

“That’s just shitty that she did that.”

Creek nodded. “Yes. Slade trusted her. She was a grandma type. Is that the right way to say it? I saw Christmas movies and she looked like Mrs. Santa Claus. It was sad when she betrayed our trust and it really hurt Slade’s feelings. He liked her and it left him very depressed.”

“I don’t blame him. There’s nothing worse than someone you trust screwing you over. Especially for money.”

A look of interest sparked in the woman’s eyes. “You have been betrayed for money?”

“I’ve been betrayed but I never had any money to steal and there were no tabloids to sell stuff to that would hurt me. I just imagine it would be worse if that’s why someone did it.”

Creek nodded. “Do you have children? I like them.”

Zandy shook her head. “No. I’ve been married twice but neither one of them turned out to be daddy material. Or loyal.” She shrugged. “Now I’ve given up on the whole having-kids plan. I’m past thirty and enjoy not having a man in my life.”

“You have had two mates?” Creek’s eyes widened. “Did they die?”

“I divorced them. The first one was a cheating jerk who nailed anything that said yes. The second one, well, he was a bum.”

“He lived on the streets?”

Zandy laughed. “He probably is now that I’m not around to support him. He liked to sit on his ass all day doing nothing and couldn’t find a job to save his life. He was lazy and I got fed up with it. I divorced him and he moved in with a woman two apartment buildings over. While I was working and supporting him, he was sleeping with her. I’m a horrible judge of character when it comes to men, I know that now, and have called it quits on finding another one.”

“I don’t blame you.” Creek reached over and squeezed her hand in support. “Our men are not bums. I heard some of your males are not very strong but our males keep in good shape. You won’t find any weak ones here. Our males would die before they expected a female to tend to them as if they were helpless. They don’t have that bad trait.”

“Are you married? Do you have children?”

Creek shook her head. “I just share sex with different males. I don’t plan on mating with one. Our females are unable to conceive children so there is no reason to settle down with just one male. They are a bit controlling. We dealt with that all of our lives and don’t wish to be told what to do.”

A smile curved Zandy’s lips and she liked the woman a lot. “That sounds wise. You don’t need a man to complete your life. At least that’s what I tell myself every time some cute guy hits on me. No way, no how. I’m better off remaining single.”

The office door opened and a tall man dressed in black walked in. Zandy felt the color leave her face as she stared at his features. She’d met him before. She couldn’t remember his name but she remembered him all the same. It had been a few weeks ago but she’d never forget his face.

Creek smiled. “This is Slash. Slash, this is Zandy Gordon. She is going to be working in building C. You are her escort for today.”

Shit, Zandy’s mind screamed. Maybe he won’t remember me. She stood as the man’s gaze landed on her. His blue eyes narrowed and he cocked his head while he studied her intently. A smile suddenly curved his mouth and she almost flinched, knowing he recognized her for sure. She could see amusement in his gaze.

“You’re the small female from the bar who was smashed by the drunken males,” he confirmed. “How are you, small female?”

“Zandy Gordon,” Creek corrected. “You’ve met her before?”

Slash flat-out grinned. “Briefly. It is nice to see you have fully recovered.” He held out his hand.

She had no choice but to shake the man’s large hand. His skin was hot as he gripped her hand firmly and gave it a squeeze. He released her but stayed close. She had to tilt her head back to look up at him.

“Call me Zandy. You are very tall.”

Creek laughed. “Yes. Our males are all tall but so are most of our females. I am six-foot-one. What are you, Slash? Six-foot-three?”

He nodded, still smiling at Zandy. “Come with me. I will escort you to work.”

The urge to quit her new job and flee gripped her. At least he wasn’t the one she’d molested. It could be worse. That thought barely comforted her. She turned to Creek.

“Thank you. It was nice meeting and talking to you.”

Creek grinned. “I would like it if we could become friends. We could eat lunch together. I could easily find you in the cafeteria. Would you like that?”

Zandy smiled. “I’d love that. I’ll see you at lunch.”

She followed Slash out of the building. He didn’t turn around once to make sure she followed him until they were outside and he paused by a black Jeep. He sat in the driver’s seat and she climbed into the passenger side, glancing at him warily as he met her gaze.

“You are working here now.”

“Yes.”

He chuckled and started the Jeep. “You made quite an impression on Tiger.”

“Who?” She knew though. Now she had a name for the mystery man she’d molested. She’d never forget those stunning blue-and-gold cat eyes.

“Tiger is the male who breathed life into you.”

Her heart nearly stopped. “Breathed life into me?” It was a hell of a great kiss but that is overstating it a bit.

“You were not breathing when he threw drunks off your body, which was crushed against the floor. He had to put his mouth over yours and force air back into your lungs to get you to breathe again.”

Shock tore through her. “I wasn’t breathing?”

“No. Tiger helped your heart pump and he forced air into your lungs. He carried you outside to wait for the ambulance once he breathed life back into you.” He chuckled. “I assume he believed you needed more assistance, considering he put his mouth on you again.”

Her cheeks flamed. “Could we drop this subject? Please? That wasn’t my best night and I keep trying to forget all the details.”

“We can drop it. Don’t worry. Tiger told me to never mention what happened between the two of you to anyone. I kept my word. We didn’t write what happened outside in our report to the sheriff or to the NSO.”

A report? Oh hell! Just the thought made her feel even more embarrassed. Slash had just said they hadn’t written what she’d done, which meant no one knew she’d molested…Tiger. Yeah, that name fits. She pushed that line of thought back. She’d referred to him as her fallen angel and she hated how many nights the memories of what they’d done together had kept her awake.

Slash had said she’d left an impression on Tiger but he’d left a huge one on her too. She mentally kicked herself. Every time she thought that word she remembered her hand digging into the man’s pants and gripping his cock. It had to be the alcohol. It just had to be. He really couldn’t have been that good-looking and built.

She smiled as a joke filtered through her thoughts. How do you turn a man into a perfect ten? Drink a six-pack of beer. She’d been having mixed drinks, which were stronger. Tiger couldn’t really have looked as good as she remembered. He probably wasn’t even that great of a kisser. It had to have been the booze.

Slash parked in front of a building with a big C on the front of it above the doors. She glanced at other buildings, saw more letters, and mused aloud, “How come the buildings aren’t numbered?”

He held her gaze, looking grim. “We were once known by numbers instead of names inside the testing facilities and seeing them reminds us of bad times. We chose to use letters instead.”

“I’m sorry.” She regretted asking and sympathy welled up.

“You didn’t know. There is no harm in asking questions and we welcome them. We ask many ourselves when we don’t understand something. I know you didn’t mean to offend me and I hope we never ask any questions that offend you. It wouldn’t be our intention.” He climbed out of the driver’s seat. “I will return to escort you to lunch. You need an officer at your side while you are on NSO property. We apologize but it is necessary. There are cameras inside all of our buildings and even outside. We had to implement this security measure and it is for your safety as well as ours. You working here will make you a target to our enemies. It provides you with a safe work environment.”

She slid out of the seat since the Jeep didn’t have doors. “I knew that about the cameras. It’s in the information packet I had to read before I applied for the job and I know I need to be patted down every day.”

He paused next to her. “I’ll introduce you to the male you will work with.”

Slash opened the door for her and Zandy stepped inside a large, open office space full of file cabinets and two large desks. A man sat behind a computer, glanced their way and grinned as he stood. He approached them.

“Hello. I’m Richard Vega. You must be Zandy Gordon.” He flashed a grin at Slash. “How are you doing today, Slash?”

“I am good, Richard. Here she is.” He frowned and his gaze narrowed. “Remember what you were told. You don’t want to share sex with this one.”

Zandy’s mouth fell open. She jerked her head to stare wide-eyed at Slash but he just spun on his heel and left. Her new coworker laughed.

“That came out wrong. They just crack me up.”

The man returned to his seat, grinned, and she gaped at him.

“I was told why you left your last job. He meant to say that I am not to sexually harass you. They kind of talk in a way that can come across badly at times.” Richard chuckled. “Like that. I’m sorry but it was funny. You should have seen your face. I swear I’m not a lunatic. Will you have a seat? That will be your desk right there.”

She relaxed and took a seat. The chair was comfortable and she just dropped her purse on the floor, still watching her new coworker. Richard Vega was in his late thirties, Hispanic, with lightly graying black hair and laughing, light-brown eyes.

“New Species, well,” he chuckled, “they take some getting used to. They are really good folks. I just hope you have a great sense of humor because you’ll need it.”

“That did come out wrong.” She smiled.

He laughed again. “The last man left because he moved to Arizona to help his daughter with his grandkids. I didn’t sexually harass him if you’re wondering.”

Zandy laughed. “That’s always good to know. Is there anyone here who doesn’t know why I left my last job?”

“Probably not. They are looking out for you, believe it or not. They wanted to make sure it never happens to you again. As an employee, they will be protective of you. Toss out the rule book for standard work policy if you had one. You’re in a whole new world.”

“I’m starting to see that.”

His smile faded. “My wife got sick last month with a bad case of the flu and had to be hospitalized. We have two small children. Not only did the NSO send flowers to my wife but they invited my children to come to work with me since I insisted on working. They sent two of their women to play with my kids all day to keep them amused. They are amazing and then to top it off, when I took my wife home, they had food delivered to us for a week. They said it was just to help out my family. Those are the kind of people you’ll be working for and I wanted you to know that.”

“Thank you for telling me. They sound great.”

He suddenly smiled again. “Yes. So when they slip with their words just know it was unintentional. Laugh a lot. I do.”

“I understand.”

“Are you ready to learn what you do? I hope you have a good sense of humor because you’ll need it with this job. Otherwise you might get pretty pissed off.”

“Why?” She didn’t like the sound of that.

“We’re the incoming-mail department. All the hate mail, the fan mail, all of it, comes right to us. It’s our job to read it, separate it and respond to it. And keep in mind we are supposed to reply nicely no matter what.” He stood and pointed. “See those file cabinets?”

She studied the few dozen file cabinets. “Yes.”

“That’s where all the hate mail goes, the death threats, and the really scary shit.”

Zandy gave him a horrified look. “There’s so many of them.”

“You should see the second floor. That’s storage. These cabinets are just from the past five months.”

Shock tore through her. “All those are full of hate mail?”

“And death threats. Yeah. Keep your sense of humor if you have one. You are going to need it. If something comes in that is really specific or just gives you the willies, bring it to my attention immediately. Those we hand over to the FBI.”

Her gaze drifted around the large room at all the cabinets and it made her chest hurt to see the kind of hate that people were capable of.

“The sad part is that these people are just amazing, hell, better than the people I’ve known all of my life. They have to deal with all this hatred every single day. The good part about the job though is we do get a lot of fan mail too. Those are fun and nice. Hand it over if you find something really great. I like to give those to the NSO so they think some of us are decent people.”

She glanced at two mailbags by the door. “Is that today’s mail?”

He chuckled. “It sure is. You tackle the one on the left and I’ll tackle the one on the right. And don’t worry. All the mail is screened against poisons and bombs.”

Her heart rate accelerated for a second. She had never considered that and swallowed hard. “That’s always good to know.”

Richard laughed. “Welcome to working for the NSO. Did I mention they feed you for free and they serve a great buffet at lunch?”

“That helps. Is it just us here all day?”

“Just you and me.”

She hesitated. “Do you mind if I take off my shoes? I wore high heels to my interview but I wasn’t expecting to work all day in them. These are the ones that pinch my feet but they look great.”

He laughed as he suddenly lifted his foot to show her his socks. She kicked her shoes under her desk.

“You don’t have to dress up so much either. They like us to look casually nice. No sweats or stained shirts but you don’t have to go all out.”

“Thanks.” She moved around the desk to the bag on the left.

Richard walked over and gripped the top of the bag on the right. “It’s easier if you just drag these to the side of your desk.”

She gripped her bag. It was the size of a large duffel bag. She pulled it by the cords to her desk. It was heavy.

“We’ll really get through all this in a day?”

“Yeah.”

* * * * *

Tiger sighed, ran his fingers through his hair and frowned at the two males. “Enough. You’re giving me a headache.”

The two males glared at each other. Their clothing was torn and they appeared ready to fight again. Tiger stepped between them and finally twisted his head to arch a questioning eyebrow at the female.

“Kit? Do you want to explain why you invited two males to your room to share sex with you at the same time? You had to know they’d challenge each other.”

She bit her lip and put her hands on her hips, a defiant expression on her face. “Would you believe me if I said it was a simple mistake?”

Anger surged and Tiger growled. “Don’t lie. It’s unacceptable.”

She had enough honor to lower her gaze and give him a submissive stance to show remorse. “I was bored. I thought they could fight and the winner could warm my bed for a few hours. It was exciting until you arrived to break them apart.” She shot Tiger a pouty look. “You ruined my fun.”

A growl rumbled from both males and their anger turned toward the female instead of each other. Tiger was tempted to leave her to her fate. Two pissed-off males who’d been purposely pitted against each other and wanted a little revenge would serve her right. He knew they wouldn’t harm her, both males were friends who had good control usually, unless it was directed at another male. He made a quick decision.

“I’m out of here.” He spun, storming down the hallway.

“Wait!” The panic in Kit’s voice was clear. “Make them leave with you.”

Tiger halted and slowly faced her. “You wanted them to fight, you wanted excitement and you have it now. You created this problem so solve it on your own.” He glanced at the males. “Will you harm her?”

Both shook their heads. Tiger nodded. “Good enough. I have things to do besides this. Work it out!”

That’s why he avoided females. They caused him headaches and were always doing the unexpected. He left the hotel and headed for his Jeep. The memory of one certain female filled his head and he growled. The human. Just thinking of her made his cock twitch so he pushed the images back. Females were bad news but human ones were to be avoided at all costs. Especially pretty redheads with haunting green eyes.

Chapter Two

Richard sat down hard in his seat. “We don’t have to respond to the hate mail. Sometimes if I really get pissed I’ll send them one back.” He grinned. “Just be polite. That’s what I was told. No one said I couldn’t be polite and sarcastic.”

Zandy laughed.

Richard turned his computer screen in her direction. “Read this letter and let me know when you’re done. I’ll show you my response.”

She walked to his desk, leaned over and began to skim the letter. Her temper flared as she finished it. Some man was calling New Species a bunch of rabid animals who should all be neutered and put to sleep. Her gaze met Richard’s and he clicked to the page he was working on.

Zandy began to laugh almost immediately. He’d written an extremely polite letter to tell the jerk that they felt the same way about him and they shared his loving sentiments about men like him. It was all polite unless you actually read the original letter he’d sent. Richard winked.

“I felt compelled to respond to this one.”

“That’s a riot. I hope when he gets it that it chaps his ass.”

“Me too.”

The mailbag was filled to capacity and she opened it, grabbed the one on top and used a letter opener to unseal it. Her coworker told her to scan each one into the computer—they saved them digitally as well as filing them—and type any responses she felt were needed. The outgoing department would print and send any letters she typed. It was grim work. Most of the incoming mail angered her but she did find a few good ones that kids had sent in.

The time flew by. Zandy sat Indian style, her skirt tucked between her thighs, typing out a response to a sweet little girl in Iowa who had written to say that she loved the New Species and thought they were really cool when the door opened. Zandy looked up as Slash walked inside.

“Lunchtime,” Richard announced.

Zandy yanked her skirt down and put on her shoes. She grabbed her purse.

“You won’t need that. Your money is no good here. Just drop your purse in your desk. It’s safe. Theft is never a problem.”

Zandy nodded to Richard and followed the men out of the building. Slash studied her when she sat in the front seat of the Jeep.

“How do you like your job?”

“I am happy to have one.”

He nodded. “Good.” His gaze fixed on the rearview mirror. “How was your day, Richard? Did you lose your temper yet?”

Richard laughed. “Not so far today. Zandy kept me in a good mood through the worst of the mail.”

Slash started the engine. “Good. I am glad it is not my job to read that shit. I would be mad all the time.”

They were driven a few blocks over to a large building. It wasn’t marked but she was pretty sure it used to be a hotel. There were a lot of Jeeps and golf carts parked along the street and in parking spaces. Nervousness struck her.

“It looks crowded.”

“We all eat lunch at the same time.” Richard climbed out of the back. “They do a huge buffet but the lines move fast. We have an hour to eat.”

When Richard said the word “huge” Zandy instantly thought of her fallen angel. She gritted her teeth, knowing she had to stop doing that. He had a name. Tiger. She glanced around a big lobby just inside the building as she, Richard, and Slash walked through double doors.