Page 17 of Ignited

Tactical error.

Karisma bunched her legs and leaped at the FBI guy, going tiger mid-leap. The agent’s gun went off with a thunk a second before she cannoned into him. Boomer saw her jerk and his heart leaped into his throat, but then he realized it wasn’t a bullet. Some kind of dart.

She took the agent to the ground and bitch-slapped him with her island-sized paw, whipping his head to the side. He went still.

Then she turned and faced Boomer, tail lashing, looking straight into his eyes. She was so damn beautiful, tiger and woman. She took a step toward him…

They heard someone call from the other side of the building, “She must have gone out the side.”

Karisma turned her head in the direction of the voice, snarled, and bounded away into the woods.

“Fuck,” Boomer muttered, handing the gun back to his brother and undoing his jeans. He couldn’t let her go off alone. She’d been hit by that dart, and if it was a tranquilizer, she’d be vulnerable.

The FBI could not be allowed to get their hands on a shifter. Especially one who couldn’t hold back her animal.

Boomer turned to his brother. “Can you get to the truck and get out of here? Meet us on the road somewhere?”

“Do tigers shit in the jungle?”

Shaking his head, Boomer Changed and followed the tiger.

Boomer’s brother ducked behind the dumpster just before backup arrived for the unconscious agent. They checked his vitals, and then one of their radios crackled to life.

“Sitrep?” the person at the other end demanded.

Boomer’s brother’s ears pricked up, and a chill of shock went through him. He could swear he knew that voice…

The lead agent replied, “We missed her. She’s gone, and the tracks are muddled. Abrams is down, but it looks like he’ll be okay. When he wakes up.”

“Dammit,” the voice said. “All units, we need to find her vehicle and her belongings.”

“Should we begin a search in the woods?”

“Negative,” the leader said. “Too much ground to cover. We need to find out where she lives. She’ll go back there to retrieve the items. We have to get there first.”

Boomer’s brother took a slow breath, not wanting to make a sound. He did know that voice. And it was not someone he wanted on his brother’s trail.

The agents picked up Abrams and dragged him back toward the front of the building. As soon as they were gone, Boomer’s brother slipped around through the edge of the woods along the parking lot, back to his truck.

Cisco and Matéo were waiting for him.

“Where’s Boomer?”

“And the tiger?”

“She was the target,” he told them. “And she panic Changed. Boomer’s gone after her—I need to stand by to rendezvous with them.”

“Fuck,” Matéo said. “Need us to track her?”

Boomer’s brother shook his head. “Hopefully not. We need eyes and ears here. You guys mind getting rounded up with the stragglers, and herded inside for questioning?”

“Oh, sure,” Cisco said. “I love spending my Saturday nights being questioned by federal agents.”

“I’ll buy you a beer, crybaby. Got your comms earbuds?”

“What do you take us for? Amateurs?”

“You really want me to answer that?”