A Growl, a Roar, and a Purr (Lions & Tigers & Bears #1) - K.C. Wells Page 0,1

into the glass and pressed it. About a minute later, an immaculately dressed woman appeared. She smiled as she approached, pointing a remote at the glass wall. One of the panels slid open.

“Mr. Parton? I’m Veronica Brading, Mr. Prescott’s secretary. My apologies, but Mr. Prescott is running a little late this morning. Unavoidable, I’m afraid. Please come this way. May I get you something while you wait? Coffee, tea, bottled water, or a soda perhaps? If you haven’t had breakfast, I can have something sent up.”

Rael smiled warmly. “Thank you, but I’m fine.” She gave him a single nod before walking back the way she’d come. Rael followed her along a hallway, the floor covered with a deep blue carpet. At the far end was a door. She opened it and stood to one side to let him enter. As soon as he did so, Rael caught his breath.

“Oh my God,” he said softly.

“That’s usually people’s first reaction. Although there have been a few who screamed.”

Rael turned his head to look at her. “Gee. I wonder why.” Then he returned his gaze to the sight before him. A glass cage took up the entire width of one wall. He estimated it had to be at least seventy feet long, twenty feet high, and ten feet deep, reaching up to the ceiling. At each end stood a tree, both of them sturdy looking, almost reaching the top of the cage. In one of the front corners was a pool of water, and tall grasses sprang up over the floor of the cage. Rael couldn’t believe it. A complete habitat housed in a glass cage.

But what made his heart hammer was the tiger.

It lay stretched out on a low branch of one of the trees, its left front leg curved around the thick limb as if hugging it, its head resting on the branch—and its bright eyes focused on Rael.

Breathing had never been such a chore.

“What a magnificent animal,” Rael murmured. The tiger didn’t move, but its gaze didn’t falter. It lay so still Rael could hardly believe it was real, until he looked along its flanks to see the gentle movement of its body as it inhaled and exhaled.

He scanned the cage walls. “How do you get into it?” He couldn’t see a door.

“There are hatches behind the trees, big enough for someone to crawl through.”

Rael gave a chuckle. “Wait—so its dinner crawls inside?”

Veronica laughed. “No, those are for when the cage needs maintaining.” She pointed to the ceiling. “There’s a wire grille that covers the cage. It slides back so food can be dropped through.”

Rael wiped his forehead. “Even so, I wouldn’t crawl into a cage with a tiger in it.” He peered up at the grille. “You’d need a tall set of ladders to even get up there.” He couldn’t resist. “Do you ever get to feed it?”

Veronica put her hand to her chest. “It makes my heart pound just thinking about it. I leave that to braver souls than me.”

“Still, it’s taking a chance.” Rael had only ever seen tigers at the zoo, and each time his lion had roared at the sight of the captives. Which led him back to this tiger. “How does it come to be here?” He hated the idea of someone keeping such a beautiful predator as a pet, a rich man’s mere accessory.

“Mr. Prescott rescued it. Someone had smuggled it into the country as a cub and kept it in a basement.”

Rael’s pulse sped up, and blood pounded in his ears. “A basement?” It was a horrifying thought.

“I know. Apparently, he was a drug dealer who thought it amusing to keep a tiger. But when the police raided his house, they found the tiger, fully grown by then, chained up. It would have been destroyed, but Mr. Prescott spoke with a friend of his who happens to be a judge and got the necessary paperwork so he could save the poor creature.”

Rael breathed a little easier. He studied the cage again. “This is a well-thought-out environment,” he admitted. The temperature in the room was comfortable, so what with the grille on top, Rael guessed it was the same inside the cage.

“Mr. Prescott went to a good deal of trouble to make sure the tiger has everything it needs.”

Except the open air. And space. And freedom to move. To run.

The lion within him growled.

Rael turned to her. “But why keep it here? Why not turn it over to an animal sanctuary or a