Page 18 of Tiger Queen

Anthony came running out of the visitor’s center with a grin on his face. “You see? I told you. Didn’t I tell you?”

David nodded. “I’m happy to be wrong.”

“Who is it?” I asked.

“That’s our brother Jake,” David said. “I guess he decided to show up and help after all.”

9

Jake

This whole thing was fucking bullshit.

Blue Lake, North Carolina was the last place on the planet I wanted to be. I had managed to avoid it for five long years, bouncing from coast to coast and scraping together money however I could. Sleeping on friends’ couches and calling in favors. Anything to stay away from this God-forsaken town and the family fucking zoo.

There was a sinking feeling in my stomach as I pulled into the visitor’s lot. It was empty except for a Honda Accord with Virginia plates parked over in the corner by the employee entrance. I wondered what that was all about.

I stayed in my truck for ten long seconds before turning off the engine. “I drove all this way. No use delaying.”

The gravel crunched underneath my combat boots as I crossed the parking lot. It felt like I was walking into prison. That’s what this place felt like since I was a kid. Dad saw to that, running things like a prison warden—whether you were an animal or one of his kids. Every fiber of my being told me to turn around and leave. Drive back to Cincinnati where I had been shacked up until yesterday.

But I had promised Anthony, so I kept walking.

My little brother was waiting at the gate. “I knew you’d come to help. You are here to help, right? We need a lot of help. This whole place does, I mean. We hardly know the first thing about it, and at least you have experience from when you worked here…”

I gave him a big hug. “Good to see you too, baby brother.”

He beamed up at me. “I knew you’d come. Where, uh, have you been calling home?”

“Ohio. Bouncing between Cincinnati and Columbus for the past two months. You know how it is.”

“Yeah!” Anthony said. “I totally know how it is. Well. I mean, not really. I work from home most days. Anywhere my laptop is. But like, I get what you mean for yourself.”

I mussed up his brown hair. Even though he was in his mid-twenties, he would always be my baby brother.

“You didn’t come to the funeral.”

David wore the same cocky smirk he had since we were kids. The smirk that said I’m the eldest brother, and I know what’s best.

“I was busy,” I lied.

David hesitated two more heartbeats, then shook my hand. “Thanks for coming. It means a lot.”

“Okay.”

A girl appeared around the edge of the building. Like she wanted to be part of the introductions but wasn’t sure if she was welcome. This girl was hot as fuck. Tight khaki shorts that hugged strong thighs and a plump ass, with a nice little thigh gap in the middle. She had a full chest underneath her t-shirt and blonde hair that was tied back in a ponytail. But her face was what stopped me in my tracks. She was stunning. Sharp eyes that were a hair farther apart than most women. A mouth that was wide and full. A button nose and cheekbones that I instantly wanted to caress.

But she didn’t belong here.

“Brought your girlfriend home?” I asked David with a sneer.

The girl sputtered and shook her head. “I’m not his girlfriend! Shit. That came out wrong. I didn’t mean to sound so appalled by your assumption, it’s just that…” She extended her slender hand. “I’m Rachel. The new zoo vet.”

I ignored her hand. “What the fuck is an outsider doing here?”

“We need the help,” David replied.

“Dad would’ve hated it,” I said bitterly. “Has she been vetted? She probably works for PETA.”