A man. A tiger. A tornado. Jared Montaine owns a big cat rescue in Florida and faces financial pressures, getting over his ex-wife, and the challenge of suburbia creeping ever closer to his enclave for the animals. But when a tornado wrecks part of the refuge, Jared's worst fear comes to life: his Siberian tiger, Sultan, escapes. It's a big cat handler’s nightmare: a tiger on the loose, confused, lost -- and hungry. Jared races against the police, the media, and the hysterical public, all of whom are clamoring for the tiger's hide. He must re-capture Sultan before the cat is killed -- by traffic, by SWAT, or by a civilian who just wants to shoot a tiger. With fellow wildlife handlers at his side, Jared fights desperately to find and capture Sultan before the tiger injures or kills a human. Because that would lead to his worst nightmare -- having to kill the tiger he hand-raised from a cub. Jared’s commitment is tested -- to his animals, his refuge, and his belief that saving the life of even one tiger is worth losing everything.

The Tiger Whisperer

“That’s such a negative attitude. I’m surprised at you. We’ll recover. It will just take some time.” Instinctive defensiveness flared within him. He’d spent more than a decade helping build this refuge. How could he admit that ten years of his life were wasted if things went badly here?


Katherine gazed at him evenly then slid her hand to her belly. “I don’t have that much time. Just because he has problems doesn’t mean we have to take them on. Besides, aren’t you tired of taking orders from him?”


“That’s not the point and you know it. We’re a team. It’s always been that way.”


“He lets you think it’s a team, but he’s always the captain.” A bitter tone in her voice, the syllables tight and short.


Chapter 56