Page 31 of Tiger Born

Tonight, she had paid to park in the parking garage that was heavily lit and had cameras everywhere and had easy access and just a very short walk to the hospital. It seemed safer than the wide open parking lot.

The elevator dinged, and she stepped onto the elevator.

“Hey!”

Misty yelped and startled hard as someone grabbed her arms from behind.

She reached for the gun in her purse, but it was just Chris scaring her on a tease. He laughed at her reaction.

“Oh my gosh,” she said, grasping her scrubs at her chest as the door closed. “Don’t do that ever again. I don’t like being scared like that.”

“I remember.”

She tossed him a glare. “You remember what?”

“I remember you saying that.”

“Then why would you do it?”

“Hey, don’t be mad,” he said in that persuasive velvet voice of his.

He was tall and wore blue scrubs that made his blue eyes look brighter in the saturated light of the elevator.

She hit the right button and avoided eye contact.

“You caused some problems between me and Miranda, you know.”

“Good. She should run for the hills,” she said.

“Is that what you want her to do?”

She tossed him a dirty look and wished this dang elevator would go faster.

He scooted closer. “Seems to me the only reason you would have for trying to break us up would be because you still know there is unfinished business between us.”

“Oh, I just threw up in my mouth a little. Can you go stand in that corner over there,” she asked, pointing across the elevator from her. “The smell of cologne and beef jerky is overpowering.” She had no idea if he smelled like beef jerky. She was just saying stuff at this point.

The elevator dinged as the doors slid open on the wrong floor. Must’ve been someone getting on.

The elevator doors opened, and time slowed.

A man stood there, muscled and tall, wearing a black T-shirt, and black jeans that sat low on his hips. He lifted his gold eyes to hers, and she froze.

Dame.

He looked over at Chris, and slowly, he came to stand in between them, stood in a power stance, chin lifted into the air as he settled his attention on the elevator doors.

Chris looked around him with a slightly concerned look on his face. “Hey, I meant to talk to you about something.”

Dame cast a narrow-eyed glance at her and then back to the doors as the elevator started going up again.

Anger filled her, and she inhaled sharply. “What would you like to talk about, Chris?”

Dame huffed a barely audible laugh and nodded his head.

“You remember that big deal a few weeks ago, where there was all that blood in the parking lot, but no one could identify who had been there? And it was right out of camera range?”

Her heartrate stuttered. “Yep.”