New Species 03 Valiant by Laurann Dohner

*
    White-haired Sheriff Cooper, who appeared to be in
    his midfifties, gaped openly as at the four New Species
    who climbed out of three Jeeps. Tiger had told Valiant
    the human’s name on the way there and warned him to
    try to be polite. Valiant had snarled.
    He just wanted to find Tammy. He didn’t give a
    damn about impressions they made or if Justice wanted
    them to be nice. Tiger seemed to think it was a big deal
    that humans would ask them for help, a first step to
    acceptance by the town, but Valiant figured they were
    just desperate enough to ask anyone for aid.
    His gaze darted to the other three Species. Tiger,
    Brass and Rider wore their uniforms. The sheriff seemed
    to fixate on Valiant the most and fear widened the
    human’s eyes. It could be because he didn’t wear a
    uniform, instead sporting jeans and a gray sweater he’d
    tossed on when Tiger’s presence had awoken him. He
    met the sheriff’s direct gaze and realized the human
    seemed unable to look away from his face. He resisted
    baring his teeth to really put on a show. Obviously it
    wasn’t the jeans that put the guy off as much as his facial
    features.
    The human seemed to get a grip on his fear and
    stepped closer to them as they approached. He cleared
    his throat and held his hand out to Tiger, who had taken
    the lead to meet with the group of humans waiting at the
    side of the road. “I’m Sheriff Greg Cooper and these are
    my deputies. Thank you for coming. You got here very
    quickly and we deeply appreciate it.”
    Tiger stopped near the human and shook his hand.
    “I’m Tiger. These are my men.” He released the guy’s
    hand to point. “That’s Brass, Rider and Valiant. We’re
    glad to be of service, Sheriff Cooper. Has anything
    changed since you called us?”
    Sheriff Cooper shook his head. “No. I don’t know
    how this could happen. I’ve known Tammy Shasta since
    she moved here when she was just eight years old and I
    don’t know anyone who’d want to hurt her. She’s a nice
    little gal. Our pastor is the one who witnessed those men
    snatch her and he followed them out this way. The truck
    they used to abduct her broke down about a mile from
    this road. They tore out the oil pan and the engine seized
    up. Those men are strangers to this area because Pastor
    Thomas knows everyone who lives out this way and they
    aren’t anyone he recognized.”
    Tiger nodded. “We’ll take it from here. You’re more
    than welcome to come with us if you want. We can track
    anything between us two cats and the two canines.”
    “I insist on it,” the sheriff stated as he gave them all a
    nervous glance, seeming unsure about not being there to
    watch whatever they did. “I’ve seen a lot of things in my
    life and when we find Tammy, I have a bad feeling that if
    she’s still alive, she might want to see a familiar face. I
    can’t think of why four men would grab a pretty woman
    unless it’s for the worst. I have an ambulance on standby
    if they didn’t just rape and kill her flat out.” He paused,
    frowning. “Two cats and two canines?”
    Valiant snarled and startled all the humans around
    him as they backed away fearfully, their gazes locked on
    him. If any of the humans had put their hands on
    Tammy sexually he’d tear their fingers off. He’d rip their
    arms from the sockets while they screamed and then
    proceed to beat them with the their own limbs. He’d—
    Tiger spoke, ending his violent plotting. He flashed a
    warning look Valiant’s way, silently conveying that he
    needed to keep a leash on his rage. “Valiant and I are
    feline species while Brass and Rider are canines.”
    “Oh.” The sheriff seemed at a loss for words.
    Valiant’s irritation couldn’t be contained. Tiger
    wanted to play polite with the humans but he just wanted
    to hear what the sheriff knew to help him track Tammy.
    He hated wasting time. He lifted his lip to flash fangs at
    Tiger, conveying a silent message of his own. He wasn’t
    patient