Chapter 6
DOMINIC
I was scrolling through my emails that I’d missed during the day when a notification popped up on my screen.
Unknown number: I need to meet your sister. Crimson Tiger here.
I shot upright on my bed, my heart kicking against my ribs.
A rush of excitement raced down my spine. The thought of her , the tigress, messaging me sent downright flutters in my stomach. But the message itself hit me like a bucket of ice-cold water.
My sister was a mess. It had taken weeks before she could even get out of bed. She still slept with her lights on, hadn’t stepped outside our parents’ house since it happened, and was tired of answering the same questions over and over again.
Every failed attempt by the cops had chipped away at my sister’s hope for justice until nothing was left. For the life of me, I couldn’t bear to give her any more hope in case the Wildcats failed too .
Not having the strength to put it all into a text message, I hit the call button.
The phone rang three times before the call connected.
“Dominic, hi,” a breathy voice said with a sharp exhale. It sounded like I’d caught her doing something strenuous.
“Tigress, hi. Is this a bad time to talk?” It didn’t seem too weird to think of her as Tigress in my mind, but calling her that out loud almost brought an embarrassing smile to my face.
Every time I closed my eyes, all I could see was the light shining down on her muscular arms, the way her earrings sparkled, the anger in her eyes like a raging volcano, and those full, pouty lips that had smirked so beautifully when I’d called her jacked. She truly was a Tigress.
“Nope. What’s up?”
“I actually called to tell you that it won’t be possible to talk to my sister about the matter. I’ve given you all the files, all her statements, and all the recordings of her interviews with the cops.”
“I started going through them. But I still need to talk to your sister myself.”
“Miss…uh…Tigress, my sister is in an extremely delicate condition right now. She hasn’t left our parents’ house in the past four months.
She hasn’t smiled a real smile since the fucking incident.
Her physical condition has just barely recovered, and her emotional recovery will still take time.
I haven’t told her that I’ve hired your team.
I don’t want to give her any false hope or stress her out any further by making her answer the same questions over and over again. ”
Silence greeted me from the other end, followed by a soft sigh.
“Dominic, I admire your care and concern for your sister. I understand what you’re going through, what she’s going through.
However, I still need to speak with your sister.
You have to trust me on this. I don’t want to stress your sister any more than you do. But I need to meet her.”
Just the thought of telling Sophie about the Wildcats and asking her to talk to one of them was making me rethink my decision to work with them. “Do you genuinely believe you could find her rapists?” I asked, needing to know the answer. Not for me, but for Sophie's sake.
There was no hesitation from Tigress, just pure, unwavering confidence. “Yes. I will find the rapists.”
For some insane reason, I believed her. Believed in the surety of her tone, the way she didn’t follow up with any explanations or assurances.
Just thinking about the strength she exuded, her unflinching gaze when she’d heard what happened to Sophie, and the crackling fury in her eyes made me want to put my faith in her.
I sighed, running my hand through my hair. “Fine. I’ll talk to my sister tomorrow. When would you like to meet her?”
A loud slurping sound came from her end as she said, “The sooner, the better. The trail’s cold already.”
“Are you drinking something?” I couldn’t help but ask as another loud slurp hit my ears.
She gave a low chuckle. “Yep. I need my berry milkshake.”
I lie back down on my bed, resting my head over my folded arm as something inside me—that playful, innocent feeling buried deep under the weight of the constant guilt and violent need for justice—slowly unfurled and compelled me to tease the big, bad Tigress.
“You know, drinking sugar so late in the evening is not good for your health.”
A loud bark of laughter crackled in my ears. “You’ve seen my muscles, right?”
I stared at the mirrored ceiling and found my lips stretched in a wide smile. “Yep, smaller than mine.”
I bit my lip, bracing myself for implosion.
“Are you fucking kidding me? No way, motherfucker.”
I burst out laughing. “I don’t lie about the size of my muscles, Ms. Tigress.”
She scoffed and slurped into the phone in a deliberately loud and obnoxious manner. “I saw you in your suit today. No way you’re packing that much.”
“If that’s what you want to believe to help you sleep better.”
“Oh, I sleep just fine.” I could just imagine her rolling her eyes.
I stared at my reflection in the mirror, and there was a lightness on my face that wasn’t there before. I couldn’t understand it, but talking to her made me feel like I was floating in the air. I desperately wanted to know more about the mighty Tigress. “Can I ask you something?”
“You can ask me whatever you want. Doesn’t mean I’ll answer.” Her voice was gruff but not dismissive, which made me keep going.
“I really don’t want to keep calling you Tigress. Could you tell me your name?”
It was as innocent a question as it could get, yet my heart raced in my chest.
She snorted, but I knew in my bones that she was smiling. “But I love it when you call me Tigress. Makes me feel mighty.”
My chest expanded as a smile—a downright obsessed, crushing-over-a-girl kinda smile—stretched across my face. “You only need to look in the mirror to feel powerful.”
“Don’t need a mirror for that.”
Yep, she certainly didn’t. Just the thought of her muscles flexing had blood rushing straight to my cock. It had been a while since I’d felt and enjoyed the familiar pulsing. What about her was making me so fucking hard and so unreasonably talkative?
“Have you been a part of the Wildcats for long?” I asked, a loud yawn following my question, even though I felt like I could talk to her all night.
Tigress—who still hadn’t told me her name—gasped. “Are you getting tired of talking to me, Dominic? ”
If the playful gasp didn’t wake me up, my name on her lips in such a playful tone certainly woke every single part of me fully and excitedly up.
I bit my lip hard to suppress the groan that wanted to escape my throat as my hips flexed with need.
Biting my groan, I turned my body to lie flat on my stomach, just to give my achingly hard cock some friction.
My voice was a gravelly rasp as I said, “Certainly not. It’s just been a long day, and I’m usually asleep by ten.”
I looked at the clock to see that it was nearly midnight.
“Hmm. I’ve been with Wildcats for about thirteen years now.”
My eyes widened. Thirteen years?
“So you’re telling me that the Wildcats have been operating for over a decade in New York City, and nobody knows of their existence?
” I asked, incredulous. “How have you all kept it a secret for so long? Doesn’t the family of these abusers, the cops, the lawyers ever wonder where these men disappear to?
Haven’t any police investigations been launched to find these missing individuals? ”
My mind poured out more and more logistical questions, my thoughts spinning and wondering about all the mysteries the city of New York might hold in its underbelly.
Her breathy sigh through the phone pulled me back from my spiraling thoughts.
“First, we do far more than just find the rapists. Nobody knows about our existence because nobody even understands what they should be looking for. We’ve taken hundreds of precautions to ensure our anonymity.
And we’ve made damn sure that the people who truly need us can find us. ”
“Through people like Juliet, who gave me your card,” I mused, a pleasant warmth pulsing through me as sleep began to tug me under.
She hummed quietly on the other end as my breathing deepened and the pull of sleep became stronger, my eyes refusing to stay open .
“You can call me Samaira.” Her soft voice infiltrated my mind, hovering on the edge of unconsciousness—that one name stretching my lips into a drowsy smile.
I whispered, “Samaira,” and drifted off to sleep with her name on my lips.