Tangling with the Tiger: Lone Pine Pride, Book 5 by Vivi Andrews Read Free Book Online Page A

cracks in him as if he could at any moment.
    “Leave it,” Kye said softly. “He’s getting the job done. He was great on the mission.”
    “He’s only great when he’s working.” Grace reached for the front door of the Alpha’s mansion, holding it open for Kye and following him inside. “He isn’t sleeping.”
    Kye let his silence speak as they jogged up the sweeping staircase that dominated the entry to the large conference room above.
    “I know no one else can do what he does, but just keep an eye on him, okay?” Grace asked. “If he collapses, we’re all screwed.”
    Kye grunted an affirmative and got the door for the conference room. As soon as it cracked open, the hum of conversation greeted them. The Alpha and nearly a dozen other lieutenants and advisory council members for the pride were already crowded around the long conference table.
    The lumbering bear shifter Hugo spoke quietly with Tarron, one of the older lions, both of them carried over from the previous regime. Xander was kissing up to the previous Alpha, Greg, and his mate Lucienne. They were only attending in an advisory capacity, but Xander couldn’t seem to stop sucking up to them, even though it was now Roman in charge.
    Roman himself was bent over a tablet with two other lions, pointing to something on the screen. Mateo sat at one end of the table by himself, huddled over a tablet of his own, his fingers flicking rapidly over the surface.
    Grace moved in and took an available chair, stretching her legs beneath the table and leaning back with her arms folded as she studied the boys’ club gathered around it, alert for any warning signs of disquiet.
    They all had shifter hearing, but it was Kye who tilted his head to the side and murmured, “They’re here.” Conversations died away and everyone took their seats, leaving one empty beside Roman and two empty at the opposite end. Moments later the conference room door opened again and Patch preceded the Hawk and the good doctor into the room. She moved to take her place beside her mate, but Grace kept her eyes on Rachel Russell.
    The woman really was a stunner. It was no wonder Adrian was so obsessed with her. She had the kind of beauty that made it her defining characteristic—even if she was also a brilliant reproductive specialist and anti-Organization shifter-smuggler.
    The Hawk hovered over her as they made their way to the two remaining chairs. He was tall and angular, with a naturally stooped posture, seeming to curve over her protectively as they moved. The doctor displayed no fear—either in her expression or her scent—and Adrian looked like he would rake his talons across anyone who looked at her wrong. At least that was one less thing to worry about. The good doctor was in good hands.
    Now to see what she had to share…

Chapter Six
    The Lion’s Den was never completely empty, no matter the day or night. The pride’s only bar, it was the one place a shifter could go to let loose without worrying about whether the humans would discover their secrets. Those shifters newest to the pride were unused to the luxury of being able to get wasted somewhere it didn’t matter if they got furry—and those recently released from Organization captivity were the most likely to need to drown their sorrows. So even though it was only one in the afternoon, the Den was the perfect place to stir up the kind of trouble Dominec was looking for.
    He paused in the doorway, taking in the scarred hardwood floors, battered and mismatched tables, and the tilted pool table. He wasn’t a regular here. After being drugged by the Organization for years, he’d lost his taste for losing control. He hadn’t touched alcohol in years and wasn’t the sociable kind to hang out in bars, but the Den was perfect for his purposes.
    He scanned the dozen or so patrons huddled around tables and bellied up to the bar, looking for the perfect fuse to light.
    There. Two men at the end of the bar. Emaciated.