Page 26 of The Tiger's Secret Baby (Savage Shifters Special Ops 4)

The shooter refused to say anything. He just wore a smug smile on his face. If Mr. Duggers was right, and his cousin was the district attorney, this man would be out of jail in an hour.

I was angry. I don’t get angry very easily. It takes a lot to make me truly angry. Duggers had finally succeeded. The next time I saw him, he would be lucky of Gage and the guys are around. Duggers will need them to protect him from me, because I plan on ripping that man to shreds with my bare hands.

12

Damian

Icould see a shift in Ember’s attitude. She was angry. That was a frightening sight to see. I was in special forces. I was a shifter with powerful strength and amazing fighting abilities. I would not want to face an angry Ember in a dark alley. She was one woman, who, once riled, would stop at nothing to tear the object of her anger apart.

The good thing about Ember was that it took a lot to make her that mad. The other was that she only became angry over significant injustices. That put me in the safe zone. At least I hoped that it did.

I was in bed long before Ember was. She stayed up most of the night watching shows such asSnappedandForensic Fileswhile she crocheted an afghan. A woman who learned how to get away with murder while making a blanket. What’s not to love about that kind of a woman?

It was in the wee hours of the morning when she finally came to bed. I heard her come in, but didn’t open my eyes. I just lifted the covers for her to slip in next to me. Then, I wrapped her up in my arms.

The next couple of days were quite calm. There were no phone calls or visits. I thought that this made Ember more nervous than when he was harassing her. The quiet was putting her on edge as she was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Gage went home for a night to see his wife and cubs. Since Elise was Ember’s friend, she came up to stay with Jared, and brought their young pup. Lucian’s wife, Rainey, was out of town on a case. She probably would have stayed at the house, too, since Ember and Rainey knew each other from a long time ago, although they hadn’t kept in touch since Lucian and I joined the military.

A couple of days after the shooting, it was a beautiful afternoon, so we all decided to have a cookout. The kids needed a chance to relax and Jared loved to grill.

The kids were running around playing kickball. Magnar was working in his sketch book. Although he has said that he wants to join the security team, I think that he would be very successful as an illustrator, designer, or any other career that involved art. He was very talented.

Looking over his shoulder, I watched how fluid his movements were. I was impressed. I couldn’t draw a straight line using a ruler. Somehow, my lines were always angled.

“You are awesome,” I said.

He looked up and smiled. “Thanks.”

Jared was in the middle of wowing the kids by flipping some burgers in the air and catching them with his spatula when several cars pull into the driveway. I heard a low growl start in the back of Ember’s throat. I grabbed her arm. We didn’t need an all out war with the kids here, and I was pretty sure there would be one if Ember got her hands on the smug man getting out of the second car.

Everyone was silent as Alan Duggers walked arrogantly over to the grill.

“Dinner looks great. I guess I wasn’t invited to the party,” he said. He ruffles one of the kid’s hair. The boy slaps his hand away.

“Fiesty, aren’t you.”

Through gritted teeth, Ember said, “Don’t touch my children. I will rip your throat out if you lay one finger on them.”

By this time, I was physically holding her back.

Duggers looked surprised. It was obvious that he hadn’t seen this side of her.

“You are trespassing,” I said. “You and your people need to get off this land. Now.”

“In a moment,” he said. His voice was oozing with his oily pompous attitude.

Duggers walks over to Ember and hands her a check. I couldn’t see the exact amount, but I did see that there were a lot of zeroes on it. The look on her face verified that the amount was substantial.

For a brief second, Duggers thought he had won. Then, Ember ripped up the check and handed it back to him.

“This is our home. The kids and I have decided that our home is not for sale, for any amount of money. Now leave.”

He takes a step toward her and she growls again, clenching her fists. For a second, I thought she was going to throat punch him. Duggers decided that he was in danger and took a few steps back.

“In exactly two weeks’ time, you will be begging me to take this property off your hands at any price. You will find that I won’t be so generous then. I strongly suggest that you reconsider while you still can,” Duggers said, his voice very threatening.

“I strongly suggest that you and your men get off my property. And in two weeks’ time, my answer will be the same.”

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