Tiger Billionaire: The Whole Story (BBW Paranormal Tiger Shifter Romance Box Set) Read online

  Tiger Billionaire

  The Whole Story

  Suki Selborne

  Contents

  Hunted

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Found

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Captured

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Freed

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Also by Suki Selborne

  About the Author

  Part I

  Hunted

  1

  “Are you trying to pick a fight with me, Finola?”

  Wayne pronounced my name sarcastically. He always did that when he was annoyed.

  His face twisted into a half-smirk, half-grimace. And honestly, that was still not as offensive as his table manners.

  I sighed.

  “Just admit you’re trying to break up with me, Wayne. Be real about it.”

  “There you go again, trying to rile me. Always trying to bring me down, aren’t you?”

  Here it came. The ‘I could do better than you’ speech. Wayne had been tiptoeing around it since the day we got together, but he’d never quite said it out loud.

  He shoveled a chunk of bread in, then chewed it with his mouth open. Nice.

  “You think I’m out of your league. That’s why you’re so argumentative tonight. It burns you up inside that other women want me. Hot women.”

  “You mean thin women.”

  I rubbed my eyes, suddenly exhausted. This evening had been hard work. Just like my day at the office. If only I’d stayed home tonight.

  He sat back in his chair, picking crumbs out of his teeth with his thumbnail. “Whatever you wanna call it.”

  “No, you think you’re out of my league.” I held his stare. “You think because I’m not skinny, I should think myself lucky to have you. Don’t you?”

  I knew this hit home, because he looked shocked when I said it. Shocked that I dared to call him out on it, not shocked because it wasn’t true. I knew it was true.

  Then he recovered and just shrugged.

  “Your words, babe. Not mine.”

  He balled another handful of bread and threw it into his mouth.

  Every other time we’d had this conversation, I’d go quiet about now. Then Wayne would sulk for the rest of the evening, like I had to win him over. Then he’d make pointed remarks about how much he’d spent on dinner, like he was hinting that he wasn’t getting value for money. Then we’d go back to his place and I’d feel silently grateful he hadn’t dumped me yet.

  Then we’d have very brief, fumbling sex. We’d keep the lights off, so he didn’t have to look at my big Irish ass while he screwed me thinking of someone else.

  Then the whole thing would start over a few days later.

  But tonight, something inside me just snapped.

  “You know what, Wayne?” I stood up so fast the chair clattered to the floor behind me. The waiter taking orders at the next table looked alarmed. “You’re right. You’re so goddamn right. I don’t deserve you.”

  Wayne raised his eyebrows in that smug way again, but he hadn’t quite got it yet.

  I set the chair back upright and pushed it under the table.

  “I don’t deserve a boyfriend who makes me feel like shit because I’m not size six.” My purse was teetering on the edge of the table, so I tucked it under one arm. “I don’t deserve a boyfriend who looks at me like I’m a hog if I eat a donut. I don’t deserve a boyfriend who can’t look at me nude without telling me all my flaws. Actually, one who can’t look at me nude ever because it throws him off his game. I don’t deserve to feel like this at all any more. Nobody does, Wayne.”

  I opened my purse and scrabbled for the few scrappy notes in my wallet. Then I lay them on the table in front of him.

  He gaped at me blankly.

  “What’s that for?”

  “For dinner. So you don’t feel you were ripped off by the charity case you’re ashamed to admit you’re screwing.”

  I was almost shouting now.

  A phone rang and vibrated very loudly somewhere in the restaurant. Its insistent buzz threw me off-balance a little.

  I gripped the back of the chair and took a deep breath.

  “And now, Wayne? Now I’m going to leave you to all the hot women who want to worship your world-class body. Enjoy it. Don’t ever give your pitiful ex-girlfriend another thought.”

  Without waiting for a response, I turned to leave, biting back the tears that threatened to dissolve my anger into self-loathing and shame. I threw open the door and stepped out into the night.

  A hand reached out and stopped me before I could escape. It was the waiter.

  “Look, I already paid,” I half-sobbed. “Go look. The money is on the table.”

  “Your phone,” the waiter said, pressing it into my hand. “Didn’t you hear it back there?”

  Damn. That ringing? That was my cellphone the whole time.

  I took it and stumbled into the street, swallowing my pride and my embarrassment together. Two missed calls. No messages.

  It rang again in my hand. This time, I answered before the voicemail clicked in.

  “Is that Finola Malley? It’s Lucy, from the agency.”

  “Oh, hey Lucy.”

  I felt my stomach lurch. Why would the employment agency be calling me at eight o’clock on a Friday night? Surely this couldn’t be good.

  If Lucy was about to tell me I was fired from my temporary job, I was going to be in big trouble. Like homeless and starving kind of trouble.

  “Can you talk, Finola?”

  “It’s, uh, yes, it’s fine. Is everything okay?”

  “Sorry to call you on a Friday night. I’m sure you’re out partying. But this is an emergency, I’m afraid.”

  Partying. Yeah, right.

  “No problem, Lucy. What can I do for you?”

  “Are you away this weekend or still in London? Can you get into the office within the next hour or so?”

  Of course I was still in London. I couldn’t remember the last time I spent a weekend away.

  “My manager at the bank needs me to work tonight?”

  “Yes, I’m afraid so. Well, not your regular manager. The big boss is in town. Mr Chase. It’s a rare event and he normally has his own personal assistant handling all his work. But she’s pregnant, as you may have heard, and is too sick tonight to work. Can you cover for her?”

  “Of course.”

  I answered automatically, although I wasn’t sure I was up to it. I was a little emotional after the showdown with Wayne and I�
�d never even met the CEO of the bank. But I needed the money, big time.

  “What does Mr Chase need?”

  “He just wants someone there who can follow his instructions and get things done. You know. The usual duties. Updating spreadsheets, calling New York, booking flights. That sort of thing. He’s heading down to his family estate in Cornwall tomorrow, so he won’t require your help beyond first light. You’ll be paid double rate for the unsocial hours. And, of course, it’s Saturday tomorrow. You’ll be able to rest up and recharge before Monday, no matter how hard Mr Chase works you!”

  Lucy let out her shrill tinkle of a laugh.

  “No problem,” I said. “Can I park in the building? Sounds like the tube trains will stop running for the night before Mr Chase is finished.”

  “Of course. Go straight to the underground parking area, right beneath the building. I’ll let Bob the security guy know you’re coming.”

  “Great. Okay, I guess I’ll get there in about half an hour.”

  I clicked the phone off and ran my hands through my thick chestnut tangles. I should probably run a hairbrush through this, I reflected. And apply some lipstick. Emergency grooming. Something to make me look like a professional and not a total mess. Plus, I’d need to make sure my mascara wasn’t smudged from the tears I shed a few moments earlier. I’d do all that in the car.

  Knowing my roommate, Dahlia, she would worry if I didn’t come home. So I had to let her know. I jotted down a quick text explaining I was working late. She replied with a simple smile emoji and a kiss. I hoped she was having a much better Friday night than I was.

  My battered Ford Fiesta was in the next street. As I made my way down there, I glimpsed Wayne on the other side of the road, deeply engrossed in an animated phone conversation. I picked up my pace. He didn’t see me.

  No surprise there. He barely saw me when we were a couple.

  At least I could make tonight count for something. Double pay for however long I was needed at work, plus a distraction from my catastrophic love life. I’d take it.

  2

  Lucy was true to her word. Bob on the security gate was expecting me. He waved me straight through the gate and down the ramp with a wave and smile.

  The underground parking garage was dark and cavernous, with a few expensive-looking vehicles still parked there despite the late hour. The senior partners all worked crazy hours. Of course, they earned crazy salaries and profit shares in return. Me, I’d be happy just making rent and paying back my adoptive family for all the trouble I caused them. Either way, we were all going to be working on a Friday night.

  The car coasted round a corner and then I found a space right by a wall light. I could hear my favorite high school teacher’s voice saying ‘Girls, always park in a well-lit area’. Yes, Miss Walker. Look, I’m doing what you told us. I’m keeping myself safe.

  As I stepped out of the car, I snagged the bottom of my floaty chiffon dress on the edge of the door. It ripped.

  “Oh no,” I said out loud to myself. This was the last thing I needed. Why did I have to wear such a stupid girly outfit on that date with Wayne?

  Because you know feminine shapes look best on you, I admitted to myself. You thought he’d treat you right if you made more effort with your looks. What an idiot I’d been.

  I tried to smooth the torn hem back in place, but a chunk of it was hanging down.

  Then it hit me. I must have a pin in the car somewhere. A few months back, a shirt button had popped in a meeting where I was taking notes. I ended up exposing my worst, greyest old bra to a bunch of surprised executives. That was what you got for trying to stuff an ample bust into a tailored shirt. After that embarrassment, I made sure I always had a wardrobe malfunction kit in the glovebox. It had been a while since I’d needed it, but it had to be here somewhere.

  Hmm. So where was it?

  As I rifled through the glovebox, a noise echoed round the concrete space. It was shuffling, rumbling, almost growling sound.

  I froze.

  Ducking out of the car, I stood upright and swiveled all around to see where the noise was coming from.

  “Hello?” The parking lot was silent again. “Is anybody here?”

  A chill crept over me. Get a grip, I told myself. You’re at work, on corporate property with a security guard. There’s nothing to get antsy about.

  But I couldn’t shake the feeling of dread.

  “Look, is somebody here?” I called out, almost desperate. There was a slight tremor in my voice.

  As I fumbled to close the glovebox panel, I dropped my keys. They hit the floor with a metallic crunch.

  “Allow me.”

  A man was suddenly at my side, picking up my keys. I gasped.

  He wasn’t giving them back.

  I held out my hand to take them, but he slipped them into his pocket.

  “Hey, what are you doing?” I gasped. “Give me my keys.”

  Suddenly, there was a deafening, metallic crunch of a noise. It sounded like a gunshot, a crash and a roar all in one. The wall light next to me shattered. Darkness swallowed us. I screamed.

  In seconds, I felt myself being handled roughly. People grabbed my arms from both sides and pulled them wide apart, so I was held still. Hot, slightly sweet breath hit my face.

  The man who had taken my keys was very, very close to me.

  “Quiet.”

  I was about to scream again when I felt cold metal at my throat. A knife.

  “You look like a reasonably sensible girl. Let’s do this the right way, shall we?”

  His voice was upper class English and soft. I felt the menace in his politeness.

  At last, my eyes adjusted to the gloom. I could just about make out the two figures holding my arms. They were wearing dark beanie hats and sunglasses.

  “Who are you people?” I whispered.

  “It’s of very little significance, as far as this situation is concerned. Please come with us.”

  It didn’t sound like a request.

  “I’m… I can’t. I’m expected upstairs. Mr Chase called me in. He…”

  “Quiet.”

  The man in front of me placed one finger on my lips. I froze again.

  “I really must insist on silence, I’m afraid. It’s that, or…”. He mimed a theatrical slitting throat gesture, then smiled widely.

  Now I was trembling. What were they going to do with me? Why were they trying to abduct me?

  I knew I couldn’t go with them, because that would lead to something awful. My fear was non-specific and I wasn’t sure what I thought was about to happen. But my instincts were screaming at me to avoid going anywhere with them.

  Stall them. It was the only way.

  If I kept them talking, maybe Bob would finally stop reading his newspaper long enough to check the security monitors. How in hell had he missed that noise anyway? He must have heard it. Yes, Bob would call the police. Maybe he already had! Then the police would come before these maniacs had a chance to do whatever the hell it was they planned to do.

  I felt certain the police were only minutes away. It gave me a shot of boldness.

  I cleared my throat with a weak rasp.

  “Mr, uh, sir? I have a question.”

  The man stared at me as though I’d sprouted a second head.

  “A question. You have a question.”

  “Yes sir, I do. May I ask you where you plan to take me?”

  He laughed again, a gurgling noise that turned my blood to iced water.

  “You may ask. But I’m not idiotic enough to answer.” He gestured to the two people holding my wrists. “Take the sample now.”

  The blade at my throat was removed. Before I could react, one of the men slashed with it lightly across my forearm.

  I yelped and struggled as a glossy red line appeared on my arm, accompanied by a hot stab of pain. It was no use. I couldn’t get away. My arms were held too tightly.

  “Hold her steady while I apply the sampler.” The man re
ached into his jacket and pulled out what looked like a small square of white cloth. He dabbed it onto my cut arm, soaking up a stripe of blood.

  There was a deep rumble from the back of the parking lot. All three of them flinched noticeably.

  The man in charge breathed in sharply. “He’s here?”

  Then the rumble became a roar.

  It seemed as though the concrete walls themselves shuddered and shook. Deep bass notes vibrated through my skeleton. If I hadn’t been held securely on both sides, I imagined I could be mown down by the noise. It was almost deafening.

  And just when I thought the evening could get no stranger, it did.

  Out of the shadows, a huge beast sprang out at us.

  It was a white tiger.

  A white tiger. What in the hell was a tiger doing here?

  I heard myself screaming. How was this happening? Was I trapped in a bad dream? This thing couldn’t be real.

  In a split second, the tiger leaped at the man with the knife at my throat, clamping its vast jaws around the man’s arm. The man screeched in agony, slashing wildly at the tiger with the knife.

  The blood and the shrieks were so awful to witness, I genuinely thought I might throw up.

  The two men either side of me dropped my arms and ran around to the other side of my car, sheltering between the vehicle and the wall.

  Now I was free. But only free to get eaten by a wild animal on the loose. Thanks, universe.

  So far, the white tiger had ignored us all except the man with the knife, who was being mauled terribly. His arm was now partially severed, with an inch of bone showing near the elbow. Blood soaked through his suit and pooled around him on the floor.

  His awful howling echoed round the parking lot. I clamped my trembling hands over my ears and staggered backwards, hitting the wall with a thud.

  There was a screech of brakes. My car jerked backwards next to the tiger. My car! My two captors were inside it! I remembered hazily that the men had my keys. Too late to worry about that now.

  The tiger let the man’s arm drop to the floor. One of the figures leaped out of my car and dragged the badly injured man into the back seat, bending to the tiger in a sort of half-bow as he or she did so. The tiger growled softly. Then my car sped off with my three attackers inside, one of whom must be in serious need of medical attention.