Eye of the Tiger Read online

  Table of Contents

  Legal Page

  Title Page

  Book Description

  Dedication

  Trademarks Acknowledgement

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  New Excerpt

  About the Author

  Publisher Page

  A Totally Bound Publication

  Eye of the Tiger

  ISBN # 978-1-78430-529-1

  ©Copyright Crissy Smith 2015

  Cover Art by Posh Gosh ©Copyright April 2015

  Edited by Sarah Smeaton

  Totally Bound Publishing

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Totally Bound Publishing.

  Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Totally Bound Publishing. Unauthorized or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.

  The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.

  Published in 2015 by Totally Bound Publishing, Newland House, The Point, Weaver Road, Lincoln, LN6 3QN

  Totally Bound Publishing is a subsidiary of Totally Entwined Group Limited.

  Warning:

  This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers. This story has a heat rating of Totally Sizzling and a Sexometer of 2.

  Shifter Chronicles

  EYE OF THE TIGER

  Crissy Smith

  Book three in the Shifter Chronicles series

  He’s about to play the most important role of his life.

  Zak Lewis has been undercover for more than half a year for the Shifter Coalition. When one of the men in the group he’s infiltrated is put in danger, Zak has to make an agonizing decision. Whether or not to take another’s life.

  Abilene Fox is working behind the scenes as her ATF partner is working undercover. When Luca is shot, their investigation crashes with the Coalition’s. The Coalition agent who steps into her life is something she’s not prepared for. But maybe that’s a good thing.

  Zak is used to playing a role. He’s been the bad boy, the helpless, the brute, the geek and so much more. One look at Abilene and Zak can feel in his gut that he is about to play the most important role of his life. This time, for keeps.

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to all the men and women out there who have to overcome their past to have the future they deserve.

  Trademarks Acknowledgement

  The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

  BMW: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG

  Glock: Glock Ges.m.b.H.

  Sheetrock: USG Corporation

  Coke: The Coca-Cola Company

  Chevy Silverado: General Motors Company

  Jeep: Chrysler Group LLC

  Chapter One

  The moon barely lit the back alley that Zak Lewis had darted into. He glanced around, not spotting the contact he was supposed to be meeting. His Coalition colleague Calvin had been the one to request the conference. Zak was taking a big chance agreeing. He peered down at his watch noting that he was right on time. Calvin should have arrived to secure the area ahead of time. Narrowing his eyes, he searched farther into the darkness for any sign of either his partner or danger. In his line of business, it paid to be cautious.

  A soft shuffle of sound on the old asphalt had him moving forward even before the command to approach traveled from his brain to his legs. Training kicked in as he stalked whoever hid in the shadows.

  Halfway down the alley, he was swallowed in darkness and he had to use every ability that his shifter side gave him. Little by little he relaxed, his superior scenting power telling him who was up ahead.

  Standing up tall, he strolled even faster to the end of the alley where he could barely make out a chain-link fence. Sitting on broken and abandoned crates were his two best friends.

  Zak grinned at the two men waiting for him. “What are you doing here?”

  Jamie Ward was the first to stand. Before Zak knew it, Jamie had wrapped him in a large hug, lifting him off his feet. Grunting, he slapped his buddy’s back.

  “Damn it’s good to see you,” Jamie told him, finally putting him back down.

  “Fuck! It’s good to see you both too,” Zak said sincerely, turning to Cody Johnson.

  He offered his hand to Cody, who was normally more reserved than Jamie. Cody slammed his hand into Zak’s then yanked him into an embrace to match Jamie’s.

  The stress of the past month melted away just being in the presence of Jamie and Cody. He let himself close his eyes and just breathe for a minute.

  In control once again, he pulled back. “Where is Calvin?” he asked. It was fantastic that his friends had come but he needed to pass on the intel he’d gathered to his partner.

  “He finally got into that bar that you told him about. He went under a few nights ago so we volunteered to come,” Cody told him.

  “Plus Aubrey threatened to cut Cody off if he didn’t see you with his own eyes and could tell her that you’re really all right,” Jamie added before chuckling.

  Aubrey Reynolds was Cody’s mate and the kindest woman Zak had ever met. Like Cody, she was also a falcon shifter and she and Cody made the perfect couple. Zak was happy for his friend but there was also a strong connection of friendship between him and Aubrey that Zak relied heavily on. “Well, we can’t have that,” Zak agreed playfully.

  Growling, Cody flipped them both off.

  The gesture was usual for Jamie but seeing Cody act so immature shocked him. “Shit, you’ve been hanging out with Jamie too long,” Zak said, shaking his head.

  “Actually”—Cody smiled evilly—“we don’t see much of our bear. Brandy has him completely wrapped around her little finger and he’s been tamed quite thoroughly.”

  “Tamed?” Jamie protested, pulling up to his six-foot height.

  With Jamie’s large shoulders and chest, he appeared to tower over Cody, even though he was only a few inches taller. The massive expanse would have been intimidating if Zak didn’t know how much of a softie Jamie really was. Jamie might shift into one of the scariest black bears Zak had ever seen but he was a sweet guy on the inside.

  “That’s what I said,” Cody taunted Jamie.

  Zak held his hand up to stop Jamie from tackling Cody. He didn’t have time for Jamie’s antics, even if he really wanted to enjoy the show. God, Jamie would rile up anyone. Cody normally took his behavior better than most but even Cody had his limit.

  “Guys…” Zak drawled.

  “I’ll get you and your little dog too,” Jamie threatened.

  Tilting his head to the side in confusion, Zak looked at Jamie. That was a weird statement.

  Jamie laughed quietly. “Aubrey brought home a stray pup she f
ound in a ditch. When I went to pick Cody up tonight, he was bottle-feeding the baby on the couch.”

  The picture of his big tough friend nursing a pup was so vivid that Zak had to bite his lip to keep from laughing loudly.

  “Aubrey’s working a case!” Cody said, exasperated, as he threw his hands up.

  Zak’s chest ached as he thought of missing that and everything else for the last two months. He’d been undercover for the Shifter Coalition trying to figure out who was leading the attempts to start a shifter and human war.

  Ever since the shifters around the world had announced their presence, a lot of groups had formed to either fight or protect their beliefs.

  As a tiger shifter, Zak didn’t have a pack, caste or group that he belonged to. The feline shifters followed a royal line for guidance but lived solitary lives. Prince Zachary had chosen to go public and all species of felines had gone with him.

  Zak didn’t care one way or another if the shifters went public. He’d been with the Phoenix Police Department along with Cody and Jamie when Jamie had gotten kidnapped by the men he’d been hunting. Of course, he and Cody had gone after Jamie right away. They’d rescued Jamie and a wolf shifter, Colt, just as the other wolf shifters had arrived. That meeting had led to the three of them all accepting positions with the new Shifter Coalition.

  Zak enjoyed his job, although he was getting too damn old for undercover work. This mission had been the hardest on him. He missed him home, his friends and hated that life was going on without him.

  He could see it in his buddies. Cody and Aubrey were laying down roots and Zak wouldn’t be surprised if they started to talk about kids soon. While Aubrey owned a private detective agency that kept her busy, she was also one of the most motherly types he’d ever met.

  Hell, she mothered him. She was always getting on him about smoking and staying out late drinking. She’d even offered to set him up with a few of her single pals. Then there was Jamie. Jamie had just met his own mate—Brandy, a human woman who had knocked the big, bad biker down to his knees with her sweetness. Zak had only seen Brandy from afar as he’d watched out for his friends. Jamie had never been happier, and Zak really wanted to officially meet the woman responsible.

  His two buddies were still sniping at each other so Zak pulled a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket as he strolled over to the crates and sat.

  Cody smacked Jamie on the back of his head before glancing around for Zak.

  Zak just waved from his perch.

  “Damn it,” Cody bitched. “Let’s get down to business.”

  “Yes, boss,” Jamie teased, following Cody over to Zak.

  “I can’t take him anywhere,” Cody whispered while glaring at Jamie.

  “Admit it. You love me,” Jamie replied back smugly.

  Cody sighed. Zak nodded in agreement. “I can’t believe how much I’ve missed you both,” he admitted.

  “You doing okay?” Jamie asked, growing somber. Jamie might seem like he never took anything seriously but he was actually one of the best men Zak had ever worked with—fierce in his protection and smart as a whip.

  “Just tired,” Zak answered. “I hoped to have more by now.”

  “We’ll figure it out,” Cody assured him. “At least there haven’t been any more bombs.”

  The explosion that had almost killed Cody and Jamie along with their mates still gave Zak nightmares. He hadn’t been inside the inner circle of the Shifters In Power—SIP for short—yet and had just found out about the bomb in time to warn his friends to get everyone out.

  Luckily no one had been injured. Because of the attempted hit on the benefit for shifter causes, the Coalition had reason to hit the hideout of the radicals hard. It had been too late. Worried about the failure, the men in charge of the terrorist group had ordered Zak and a few others to take off.

  Following the small faction, Zak had found himself even deeper in the group. That was both good and bad. He’d overheard a name that was supposed to belong to the ringleader but he had to be even more careful than before and he was always being watched.

  “Mike Timmons,” he told them. “I need you to find out everything you have on him. He may even have property in another name. From what I’m picking up, he’s planning something big, but this time they’re not telling us until it’s time.”

  “Got it.” Cody had his phone out taking notes.

  “What’s next for you?” Jamie inquired.

  “More of the same. Sit around doing nothing until they tell us to move. We haven’t been this silent since I first got in. I can feel the group’s desperate and I’m afraid of what they’ll do,” Zak confided.

  “We have a name now,” Cody told him. “We’ll get it shut down. You do what you can from the inside and we’ll take care of this.”

  Nodding as he blew out one last long drag of cigarette smoke, he hoped Cody was right.

  “I have the intel about the guy you asked Calvin to look into.” Cody worked his phone for a minute.

  Zak accepted the device and started to scroll through. Luca Perez. Grandparents came over from Colombia legally and started their own business in sugar cane farming. Thirty-four, collage graduate, parents still alive and one younger sister, Amanda. Luca had no criminal background and was on no watch lists.

  “What’s your feeling on this guy?” Jamie asked, once Zak had started to offer Cody back the phone.

  “He just doesn’t fit. He watches almost as much as I do. There is something going on, I just don’t know what yet.”

  “Be careful around him,” Cody ordered.

  “The strange thing is that I trust him to have my back,” Zak admitted. He didn’t know why but Luca just didn’t seem to be the same kind of crazy as the others. “I’ll keep my eye on him, though.”

  “Good, anything else?” Cody questioned.

  As Zak went over everything he knew so far, he was glad it was Cody and Jamie that had met with him. He needed the bond the three of them had formed to continue on.

  His best friends were one of the reasons he was still so dedicated to his mission. They wouldn’t be safe until the faction was taken down. Aubrey and others like her would still be in danger. This meet was a good reminder of why his type of undercover work was needed. Once he’d wrapped up his report he gave both men one more hug. “Give Aubrey my best,” he said to Cody.

  “I’ll do more than that. I’ll get you back home soon,” Cody promised.

  “And I want to meet your girl soon.” He pointed at Jamie.

  “Shots on me when you’re home,” Jamie agreed.

  * * * *

  One month later

  Smoke hung heavy in the air as the bass from the speakers thumped loudly. Zak sighed while leaning over the bar top and signaled for another beer. He was dead on his feet and just wanted to go home, fall into bed and catch a few hours’ sleep.

  Of course there was no way that he could go home, even if he left the bar. Instead of his small fixer-upper house that he’d lived at for almost a year, his current sleeping quarters were a tiny room on the second floor of a broken-down farmhouse.

  A fucking month ago he’d been certain that he’d have this case wrapped up already. Doubt about his mission had really started to weigh him down. There were some bad moments when he wondered if he’d ever get back to his own life.

  He hated everything at the moment, especially knowing he’d have to return to the damn room that wasn’t even his. Being out of the loop with his small group of friends was one of the hardest aspects of being deep undercover. Even knowing he was making a difference wasn’t keeping the depression from setting in.

  Sure he had stopped three attempted bombings, a kidnapping and a serious assault on some young shifters but at what cost did those saves come? Zak was losing himself in the character that he’d developed. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold on. Each day he spent living the life of a low-level madman for the SIP took a part of his soul.

  “Here, take a shot. You lo
ok like you’re about to go postal,” Luca Perez said quietly, bumping up against him.

  Without lifting his head, Zak grunted an acknowledgment. He picked up the small glass and quickly downed the scorching liquid.

  Heat flowed down his throat to burn into his stomach. It felt good.

  “Better?” Luca asked.

  Nodding, Zak set the empty glass back down. “I’m just so fucking tired.”

  “I know. We’ve been at a standstill for days now,” Luca commented.

  Luca was the only person that Zak had any trust in at the moment. He’d watched Luca for months, knowing something wasn’t right with him.

  Giving Luca enough intel to test him, Zak had unknowingly found an accomplice. Luca had passed every trial Zak had thrown at him and although he still hadn’t shared his exact reason for being there, Luca knew enough to act as a partner for Zak.

  Of course Zak hadn’t been entirely upfront with Luca either. He still had to be careful, and working for the Coalition was enough to get him killed if anyone found out.

  “What are we waiting for?” Zak questioned out loud. He kept his voice low, knowing that with Luca’s superior hearing the man would still pick up the question.

  “I don’t know. It’s seems like the inner circle is closing ranks and becoming more secretive,” Luca whispered, as he turned and motioned the bartender for two more shots.

  “You think they’re onto us?”

  Luca shrugged. “Doubt it. For being well funded with murderous intent, they aren’t the brightest group.”

  When Zak took a quick peek over his shoulder to make sure no one was paying too much attention to them, he was relieved to see the others were still intent on getting drunk and laid. Pete Browning was the ringleader of the small troop that was with him and Luca at the bar. Pete was the loudest of the guys and if there was trouble, he always started it. But he wasn’t the sharpest man. As they worked during the day, he’d also proved to be very lazy. He wasn’t the worst guy that Zak had had to work under.