In the Shadow of the Tiger (The Fighter Series Book 2) Read online

  “I don’t remember,” Jaden said choking back emotion. “I came into the city to get supplies.”

  “I’m afraid you have a concussion. Now that you’re awake, I should probably take a look at that lump on your head if it’s okay with you?” Ellie said clicking on the light.

  “You have electricity?” Jaden asked.

  “No. It’s a generator.” Ellie replied moving long strands of hair off to the side of Jaden’s head. “I hope the roof holds with this storm.” Ellie sighed as another wave of thunder passed overhead.

  Jaden nodded looking at Ellie while tears formed in her eyes. “My mom.”

  “First things first,” Ellie said parting the hair away from Jaden’s head. Jayden smile, comforted.

  “Is this your son’s room?” Jaden asked looking at the baseball trophies and photos.

  “Yes.” She said. “He’s rarely here. I’m going to get something to clean this up with and a few more bandages. There’s bottled water next to you. Are you hungry?” She asked.

  “Not really. Just sleepy.” Jaden said. “How many hours have I been here?”

  “You’ve been here for almost five days,” Ellie said softly. “You don’t remember us keeping you up and asking you questions?”

  Jaden nodded feeling desperate. Her mother would think her dead.

  “We had to make sure you weren’t going to slip back into unconsciousness again,” Ellie said. “I’ll be right back.”

  Jaden could hear Ellie gathering items in a room not far from where she was. The ringing in her ears was beginning to calm, and her stomach growled angrily from all the activity in the bathroom. Her mother wouldn't be at the house. Lisa would be hunting for the only person she had left, her only daughter. Jaden felt helpless, and at the same time, she knew it was too dark to be on the move. For now, especially with the storm, her mother would likely hold up somewhere safe. They had planned for everything else but this. Jaden had never left the property without her mom, and she was beginning to regret her decision to go out on her own.

  Ellie came back into the room sitting a tray next to the bed. “Having two boys has made me into a pretty good nurse.” She smiled softly.

  “My side hurts,” Jaden said.

  “You have a few broken ribs. Whoever was trying to take you didn’t give up until Adam came along.”

  Somewhere in Jaden’s subconscious mind, she heard the sound of shots fired and someone yelling. She looked over at Ellie. The woman’s gentleness was comforting.

  “I hope my mom is okay,” Jaden whispered.

  “Now that you’re awake one of the boys could go to your mom,” Ellie replied.

  “She won’t be there. She’s already out looking for me.” Jaden said.

  Ellie sighed softly. “Well, I’d do the same.”

  She lifted the gauze in her hand and started to press it to Jaden’s head. “this is going to sting a little.”

  Jaden tried not to pull away from the sting. Lightning slid through the skies sending another strand of electrical fingers into the air but this time much closer to the house.

  “Before I leave, I need to thank your son for saving me,” Jaden said gritting her teeth as Ellie continued to clean up her wounds.

  “You aren’t going anywhere too fast,” Ellie said. “Now, how can I help in finding your mom?”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  Once Jack reached his team, he tried to avoid making eye contact with her, but Riley wasn't about to let him off the hook that easy. It was in her nature to feed her curiosity. The white tiger fueled Riley's interest. There was more to this story, and something told her the cat was hunting something or someone other than for food. She had the distinct feeling the cat was out to settle a score.

  They gathered around a destroyed end cap of expensive basketball shoes. Riley watched Conman’s attention drifting to the pile.

  “You play basketball?” She asked Conman.

  "Naw. Cute shoes though." He chuckled.

  She glanced over at Jack who was wearing a 24-hour shadow on his face. He looked dark and rugged but most of all he looked hot as hell. This was the reason she didn’t mind the separation from him. Even now with a tiger roaming the mall and drug infested human beings wanting to kill them, she felt her chemistry drifting in his direction.

  “Let’s finish sweeping the building,” Jack said.

  “What about the tiger?” Conman asked reaching down to pick up a pair of shoes. Jack glanced over at him, and he quickly set the shoe back down on the shelf. He shrugged his shoulders and frowned.

  “Those were the new ones I never got to buy.” He said pouting.

  “They're old now.” Riley reminded him.

  “After you clear the mall, you can have whatever you can carry to the transporter,” Jack said.

  Riley chuckled while turning away, her thoughts on the lingerie in her pack.

  “Okay, so no one knows which way the tiger went,” Jack repeated.

  “Something distracted him,” Riley said. “It sounded like he ran to the right. I doubt he’d head out into the storm.”

  “It’s a male?” Jack asked me. They locked gazes, and Riley spoke without blinking.

  “He was too big to be a female.” She said. “I see you brought the tranquilizer gun. Does that mean we’ll be taking the cat to the transporter also?”

  "It means I don't want to take any chances." He said. He stepped in one-step closer to her as if trying to comfort her and yet at the same time Riley saw the dark look of concern in his eyes.

  Riley had to look up to Jack. She only stood five feet seven inches, and he topped out at six foot three and a half inches. His chest was as wide as a man's shoulders could get. His hair was wet. Tiny droplets of water dripped from the strands and his shoulders.

  “I thought we left all the lions and tigers…”

  “And bears?” Conman asked.

  This time Riley saw a slight grin form on Jack’s face. However, it was so slight anyone else would have missed it. “Let’s move on.” He said.

  Level one, or according to the mall map level A, was the first story of the mall. There were two more levels B and C that compromised more retail space and more destruction to search. So far, they'd faced two drug-infested humans, a lone white tiger and a handful of corpses that they left for the clean-up team. Stepping out of Champs wasn't just another day at the Arden mall; it was like stepping into a jungle.

  The continuous pounding of the rain never seized lending them some buffering for sound and movement. However, that worked both ways. The team had to be aware of all movement coming towards them. They walked in pairs, Jack and Conman out-front and Riley and Ryan several yards to the back. With every movement, their guns moved with them and with every step they took, they expected an attack.

  They had more than a dozen stores to clear before moving on towards Sears. Many of the apparel stores held a large quantity of stock while gadget stores reflected heavy looting. Left behind in a dark tomb were riches for looters to find on another day. Nonetheless, there within the walls that separated businesses was a definite smell and feel of annihilation. The mall would’ve already been closed when the moon rose to its devastating fullness that fateful night in June 2014. It left the mall nearly empty of people save a few workers finishing the day's bank totals and cleaning. For some unknown reason, some had lingered too long. While most escaped, others remained permanent fixtures.

  They remained constant moving systematically through aisles and displays of USA and Chinese made products, Indonesia and Pakistan combined with a few other countries no longer in production. Riley was sure Conman was making mental notes of what he’d come back and take. They passed through one apparel business after another until they stepped into a jewelry store. Under her feet, glass crunched from shattered display cases. It would’ve been the store of choice by looters and thieves as the shift unraveled.

  Jack and Conman moved to the left. Riley beside Ryan slipped to the right with no way to be
quiet. As the afternoon wore on daylight began to dwindle. The mall turned to an abyss. Riley thought of the cat knowing its own ability to see in the darkness. Max would've been an asset about now. The rescued cat had been an asset more than once. His ability to see in the dark had saved her butt. However, the blindness of shadows slipped past her, and the smell of death stung her sense of smell.

  “Bodies.” She said.

  A soft glow encircled them, and she was thankful for the light. The outlines on the ground near the other end of a counter were human. She stepped over the glass-laden floor using the soft glow of yellow light as her guide. Some sights affected her more than others, but because seeing death often made it less scary than confronting live ones. Riley looked down at the first body staring at the woman's blouse that had once been white. Her ripped slacks suggesting a vicious fight had followed between herself and her attacker. Riley stepped in closer. Seeing the boy lying on the floor not a foot away was the reason. Behind the counter, lay another female victim. Riley felt her throat constrict. Staring down at them, she withdrew her Vic’s from her pocket and rubbed it underneath her nose. She was almost out of ointment.

  Most of the jewelry was gone. No bigger pieces of jewelry remained. The expensive pieces stolen the first night of the shift had no value now. It cost people their lives. Why were the mother and child in the store that late? The mother and son happened in the wrong place at the wrong time. Riley stood trying to picture her face and that of the little boys. She imagined the sound their voices as the child waited impatiently for his mother to finish her business. Riley moved on. As she always did, she shoved the memory somewhere in her busy mind.

  “Clean up on level one. Jewelry store. Three deceased." She said into the mic.

  “Copy.”

  The hum of the storm above them changed its tone scaring even her. The round of thunder rolled so loud that it shook the giant building with limitless power. The walls shuddered, and the floor beneath her feet vibrated. Lightning cracked over their heads, and the pop of electricity was so close that a surge of static filled the air. A light shower of debris fell from the ceiling. This storm was not of the norm, and a feeling of wickedness clung overhead like talons on clouds waiting to capture victims.

  “Wow,” Riley yelled out. “What is happening?”

  “Mother Nature,” Ryan said. “And she’s pissed at something or someone.”

  “This is insane.”

  “Air’s changed from the lack of pollution,” Jack said from across the room. “That’s why the storms are getting worse.”

  “Oh okay Mr. Clean, I mean green.” Ryan teased trying to lighten the mood. Between dead bodies, tigers, monsters and the storm, they all felt the tension.

  “Just saying,” Jack said.

  Conman chuckled finding his humor in the discussion.

  “Well guys, I hate to tell you this, but that cat is just as scared as we are,” Riley said as a sound drew her attention away from her team.

  “I’m not scared,” Ryan replied. “You scared?”

  “No,” Jack answered. “Conman?”

  “Nah.” He said but then let out a little shriek when another round of lightning exploded directly over the top of the mall lighting all the stores up like a Christmas tree.

  Riley pulled out her flashlight and shone it down into one of the cases where she'd been standing. A fine dust had settled over the pieces of glass and showcases. She left an imprint as her fingers brushed over the surface. She reached further down between some broken shelving. The silver piece glimmered under the beam of light and called her to release it from its hold. Her fingers wrapped around the precious metal. She tugged several times to release it. She pulled upward and freed a thick silver chain.

  “What is it Relay?” Conman asked.

  Riley stretched out her hand and exposed the delicately tooled heart pendant to Conman who in turn whistled softly. “Now that has your name on it sister." He said.

  He took the chain and held up the pendant. “What do you think, Boss? Don’t you think it fits Relay?”

  Jack stepped in to look. “All heart,” Jack said and then nodded. “Keep it.”

  “For sure,” Ryan added. “For the woman who always wears her heart on her sleeve.”

  The silver glimmered in the dim light. Riley took it from Conman and carefully slipped it into one of her pockets. She felt a cold breeze brush past her causing her to shiver.

  “Let’s move,” Jack said.

  Riley was ready to leave the store. The sooner they finished, the sooner they'd be out of there. Outside, the storm was about to promise something different sending down torrential rain already drenching the ground.

  Riley was about to step out the front section of the store when Jack grabbed her by the edge of her collar. Swept off her feet, Riley landed snug against him. She could feel the warmth of his body. Instinct and experience told her to freeze. She said nothing. Balancing herself against him, the shadow of the cat turned the corner across the breezeway of the mall. Riley held her breath. Conman and Ryan held their pose. The cat trotted down the long rows of stores not bothering to look in any one direction. He knew where he was going and that was straight back to where he left them.

  They only had a few minutes before he discovered they weren’t there and then the hunt would be back on. Jack waited until the cat was out of sight and then turned her loose.

  “I need to be there.” He pointed to the second level. “Maybe I can get a shot at him.” Jack slung the semi-auto on his back and pulled the tranquilizer gun to the front.

  He loaded a dart into the chamber. Riley watched as the red plume disappeared into the chamber. She pressed her gun tightly in front of her. Jack took the lead. The escalator was not too far from them, and they moved in fast passing unsearched stores and their contents. As if on cue, called from something dark, another distorted wax like figure shot to meet them. This one moved much faster, his legs churning under him. A sawed off shotgun waving in their direction.

  Riley never had a chance to warn Jack or Conman. The attacker, high out of his mind, belted out a growling sound as he raised his weapon. The first round exploded from the man’s barrel in Ryan's direction. If that wasn't enough to alert every tiger, monster, and corpse in the mall, then the sound of Conman returning fire was. Ryan dodged the shot and dove straight down toward the service counter. Wood splintered into the air like tiny toothpicks.

  The second blast that left man’s shotgun catching Conman in the right shoulder sending him reeling backward. The force of the impact knocked him off his feet. Pellets smacked the top of his bulletproof vest but most of the spray connected with flesh and bone. Conman let three perfect shots rip sending his attacker backward. Blood puffed outward catching air in a fine mist of red spray. Then silence. Smoke floated through the stale air, and then the wax man gasped for air.

  Riley reached down to help Conman to his feet. Jack and Ryan, with guns drawn, approached the wounded man.

  “Sweet Jesus,” Jack said gazing down at the man taking his last wet breath. Glassy eyes stared upward into the glass windows overhead.

  “Just say no to drugs,” Riley said.

  “Everyone okay?” Chamber said. Jack’s earpiece broken.

  “Affirmative,” Jack said. “Copy?”

  “Copy,” Chamber answered.

  Conman pulled back his jacket. His black shirt was wet with blood.

  “You’re hit,” Ryan said.

  Riley looked down at the man than to Conman. The features of his face distorted and sliding. “That’s not scary.” She said. “We better go.” She said remembering the tiger. “I need to get Conman somewhere where I can bandage up his shoulder.”

  Jack looked back at Conman and stepped in to take a closer look at his shoulder. “Okay. Let’s get up to the next level.”

  They moved to the escalator taking the time to survey their surroundings. They settled in a shop that had suffered little damage. Jack picked the lock sliding the gat
e open just enough for them to pass through. Once in, he locked them in. He remained on the outside with Ryan. From there, they had a full view of the breezeway as well as the corridor downstairs. Riley signaled Conman to sit down reaching into his pack for the medical kit. Jack placed the tranquilizer gun in Ryan's hands and glanced back at Riley.

  “Where are you going?” She asked.

  “To barricade the other entryway.”

  “Hurry back.” She said cutting away Conman’s sleeve.

  The wound was large, and Riley could see bone. It didn't take long before her gloves were covered in blood. Conman sat solidly in the chair as she cleaned and moved flesh away.