New Species 07 Tiger (5 page)

She studied the few dozen file cabinets. “Yes.”

“That’s where all the hate mail goes, the death threats, and the really scary shit.”

Zandy gave him a horrified look. “There’s so many of them.”

“You should see the second floor. That’s storage. These cabinets are just from the past five months.”

Shock tore through her. “All those are full of hate mail?”

“And death threats. Yeah. Keep your sense of humor if you have one. You are going to need it. If something comes in that is really specific or just gives you the willies, bring it to my attention immediately. Those we hand over to the FBI.”

Her gaze drifted around the large room at all the cabinets and it made her chest hurt to see the kind of hate that people were capable of.

“The sad part is that these people are just amazing, hell, better than the people I’ve known all of my life. They have to deal with all this hatred every single day. The good part about the job though is we do get a lot of fan mail too. Those are fun and nice. Hand it over if you find something really great. I like to give those to the NSO so they think some of us are decent people.”

She glanced at two mailbags by the door. “Is that today’s mail?”

He chuckled. “It sure is. You tackle the one on the left and I’ll tackle the one on the right. And don’t worry. All the mail is screened against poisons and bombs.”

Her heart rate accelerated for a second. She had never considered that and swallowed hard. “That’s always good to know.”

Richard laughed. “Welcome to working for the NSO. Did I mention they feed you for free and they serve a great buffet at lunch?”

“That helps. Is it just us here all day?”

“Just you and me.”

She hesitated. “Do you mind if I take off my shoes? I wore high heels to my interview but I wasn’t expecting to work all day in them. These are the ones that pinch my feet but they look great.”

He laughed as he suddenly lifted his foot to show her his socks. She kicked her shoes under her desk.

“You don’t have to dress up so much either. They like us to look casually nice. No sweats or stained shirts but you don’t have to go all out.”

“Thanks.” She moved around the desk to the bag on the left.

Richard walked over and gripped the top of the bag on the right. “It’s easier if you just drag these to the side of your desk.”

She gripped her bag. It was the size of a large duffel bag. She pulled it by the cords to her desk. It was heavy.

“We’ll really get through all this in a day?”

“Yeah.”

* * * * *

Tiger sighed, ran his fingers through his hair and frowned at the two males. “Enough. You’re giving me a headache.”

The two males glared at each other. Their clothing was torn and they appeared ready to fight again. Tiger stepped between them and finally twisted his head to arch a questioning eyebrow at the female.

“Kit? Do you want to explain why you invited two males to your room to share sex with you at the same time? You had to know they’d challenge each other.”

She bit her lip and put her hands on her hips, a defiant expression on her face. “Would you believe me if I said it was a simple mistake?”

Anger surged and Tiger growled. “Don’t lie. It’s unacceptable.”

She had enough honor to lower her gaze and give him a submissive stance to show remorse. “I was bored. I thought they could fight and the winner could warm my bed for a few hours. It was exciting until you arrived to break them apart.” She shot Tiger a pouty look. “You ruined my fun.”

A growl rumbled from both males and their anger turned toward the female instead of each other. Tiger was tempted to leave her to her fate. Two pissed-off males who’d been purposely pitted against each other and wanted a little revenge would serve her right. He knew they wouldn’t harm her, both males were friends who had good control usually, unless it was directed at another male. He made a quick decision.

“I’m out of here.” He spun, storming down the hallway.

“Wait!” The panic in Kit’s voice was clear. “Make them leave with you.”

Tiger halted and slowly faced her. “You wanted them to fight, you wanted excitement and you have it now. You created this problem so solve it on your own.” He glanced at the males. “Will you harm her?”

Both shook their heads. Tiger nodded. “Good enough. I have things to do besides this. Work it out!”

That’s why he avoided females. They caused him headaches and were always doing the unexpected. He left the hotel and headed for his Jeep. The memory of one certain female filled his head and he growled. The human. Just thinking of her made his cock twitch so he pushed the images back. Females were bad news but human ones were to be avoided at all costs. Especially pretty redheads with haunting green eyes.

Richard sat down hard in his seat. “We don’t have to respond to the hate mail. Sometimes if I really get pissed I’ll send them one back.” He grinned. “Just be polite. That’s what I was told. No one said I couldn’t be polite and sarcastic.”

Zandy laughed.

Richard turned his computer screen in her direction. “Read this letter and let me know when you’re done. I’ll show you my response.”

She walked to his desk, leaned over and began to skim the letter. Her temper flared as she finished it. Some man was calling New Species a bunch of rabid animals who should all be neutered and put to sleep. Her gaze met Richard’s and he clicked to the page he was working on.

Zandy began to laugh almost immediately. He’d written an extremely polite letter to tell the jerk that they felt the same way about him and they shared his loving sentiments about men like him. It was all polite unless you actually read the original letter he’d sent. Richard winked.

“I felt compelled to respond to this one.”

“That’s a riot. I hope when he gets it that it chaps his ass.”

“Me too.”

The mailbag was filled to capacity and she opened it, grabbed the one on top and used a letter opener to unseal it. Her coworker told her to scan each one into the computer—they saved them digitally as well as filing them—and type any responses she felt were needed. The outgoing department would print and send any letters she typed. It was grim work. Most of the incoming mail angered her but she did find a few good ones that kids had sent in.

The time flew by. Zandy sat Indian style, her skirt tucked between her thighs, typing out a response to a sweet little girl in Iowa who had written to say that she loved the New Species and thought they were really cool when the door opened. Zandy looked up as Slash walked inside.

“Lunchtime,” Richard announced.

Zandy yanked her skirt down and put on her shoes. She grabbed her purse.

“You won’t need that. Your money is no good here. Just drop your purse in your desk. It’s safe. Theft is never a problem.”

Zandy nodded to Richard and followed the men out of the building. Slash studied her when she sat in the front seat of the Jeep.

“How do you like your job?”

“I am happy to have one.”

He nodded. “Good.” His gaze fixed on the rearview mirror. “How was your day, Richard? Did you lose your temper yet?”

Richard laughed. “Not so far today. Zandy kept me in a good mood through the worst of the mail.”

Slash started the engine. “Good. I am glad it is not my job to read that shit. I would be mad all the time.”

They were driven a few blocks over to a large building. It wasn’t marked but she was pretty sure it used to be a hotel. There were a lot of Jeeps and golf carts parked along the street and in parking spaces. Nervousness struck her.

“It looks crowded.”

“We all eat lunch at the same time.” Richard climbed out of the back. “They do a huge buffet but the lines move fast. We have an hour to eat.”

When Richard said the word “huge” Zandy instantly thought of her fallen angel. She gritted her teeth, knowing she had to stop doing that. He had a name.
Tiger.
She glanced around a big lobby just inside the building as she, Richard, and Slash walked through double doors.

She remembered high school suddenly when they reached the cafeteria. It was all coming back to her as she eyed the gymnasium-sized room. Tables were lined up in rows with trash cans placed strategically. She felt totally out of place. There were four lines and a long steel counter on the opposite side of the room. A lot of the long tables were already filled.

Zandy glanced around at the people as she followed Slash and Richard to one of the lines. The line really did move quickly. There were just a handful of fully human employees and they had to be outnumbered thirty to one. It left her feeling uneasy.

There had to be over two hundred New Species at lunch. The women were tall and athletic looking but the men were bigger. She watched one man walk by her and the amount of food on his tray amazed her. His plate was platter-sized and it was piled about six inches high with meat.

“Don’t stare,” Richard ordered softly.

She turned her head. “I was looking at the amount of food.”

He chuckled. “I guess I should warn you that most of them eat their meat raw inside. Don’t be shocked. When we hit the buffet head, move to the left, not the right. The left has fully cooked meats. The right is the raw side. It looks cooked until you bite into it. I made that mistake my first day here and while it was amusing for everyone around me, not so much for me.”

“Thanks.” She meant that. She’d hate to end up with raw meat as her selection for lunch.

Slash headed right and Zandy followed Richard to the left. Not all of the New Species chose raw meat for their meals since a few remained ahead of them in line. Her coworker handed her a regular-sized plate and grabbed his own. She followed him down the long buffet, amazed at the amount and selection of food. She ended up with meatloaf and gravy, mashed potatoes, corn, a few chicken strips, some fries, and a slice of chocolate cake. She grabbed a soda and silverware last.

They sat by the back wall near the entry doors at an empty table. Richard smiled.

“Did I tell you they really serve a buffet or what?”

She unwrapped her paper napkin, spread it over her lap and nodded. She cut up her meatloaf and took a bite. It stunned her when the flavor filled her mouth and she moaned slightly.

“Just like Mom made, huh? They have a catering service and they are damn good.”

“This meatloaf is amazing. The gravy is mushroom and it’s so good.”

He nodded. “You can always go back for seconds. And thirds. No one is going to look at you weird if you do that. We eat a hell of a lot less than they do.”

Zandy saw someone walking toward the table and recognized a familiar face. “Hi, Creek. Are you eating with us?”

“Yes.” Creek took a seat next to Zandy and flashed a smile at Richard. “Hello, male human.”

He laughed. “Hello, Creek. I’m Richard.”

Creek turned in her seat. “How was your first day so far, Zandy?”

“Great. I love my job.” Zandy glanced at her new friend’s plate, saw a few steaks with a big salad and then noticed what looked like an iced coffee.

“I didn’t see those. I love iced coffee.”

Creek pointed. “They are over there in the corner to the right. They have a chocolate flavor, one with mint, and a nutty one. We love caffeine.”

“Who doesn’t?” Zandy grinned.

She glanced around the room. Everything seemed fine. Some of the New Species were glancing her way but she figured they had to be as curious about her as she was about them. Motion from the door drew her attention as two tall men entered the cafeteria.

It was
him
, her fallen angel. He wore his black uniform, minus the bulletproof vest, and walked side by side with a man equally as large. They were talking softly but she ignored his friend. Her focus locked on Tiger. She couldn’t believe she was seeing him again but knew without a doubt she wasn’t mistaken.

His hair appeared a striped honey color in the daylight—highlights of red, shades of blond and soft brown combined. It hung freely around his shoulders and she vividly remembered how soft and satiny it felt to the touch. He passed her table and she got a view of the back of him.

Her angel’s pants were molded to a nice, beefy ass. He had a trim waist and his upper body was as large and muscular as she remembered. The fact that she’d been drinking had nothing to do with how sexually appealing he’d been since she had to swallow hard not to gasp. He was gorgeous—all man. Even the way he moved showed a grace and sensuality that had her taking notice.

He glanced over his shoulder, almost seemed to sense her intense scrutiny and scanned the area until he came to her. Their gazes met for a few heartbeats before he faced forward, took a few more steps and his entire body appeared to turn to stone. He came to an abrupt halt.

Zandy’s heart raced and she forgot to breathe as he whipped his head around again, this time finding her immediately. She studied his breathtaking eyes. They were exactly as she remembered—catlike, an amazing blue, but she couldn’t make out the gold color in them from that far away. His face was just as rugged, masculine and fascinating too. His lips parted, forcing her to remember vividly how he’d tasted of cherry when they kissed and how hungry those generous lips could feel on hers.