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

Jared had to work to keep sharpness from his voice. “That’ll cover some pictures, too. Let’s see the cat.”


Peter tugged out their camera and looped it around his neck.


“Two, really. Two fer the price of one!” Hillbilly Boy hitched up his dirty jeans and led them behind one of the RVs. The smell grew stronger, became a stench.


Jared’s stomach fell when he went around the corner.


A tigress lay bunched in a makeshift cage, no more than eight feet long. Her fur was dirty, crusted with filth, some of it her own. Her ribs were prominent, her eyes too large in her thin skull.


No response. The tigress lay still, and even though her eyes were open, she didn’t acknowledge the four humans a few feet away. Peter glanced at Jared and raised the camera. Jared nodded and Peter started shooting. Documenting.


At her belly, a cub tugged fiercely at one of her teats. Two of her nipples were crusted with blood.


Oh, she’s sick, bad sick and he’s not getting enough food.


Chapter 82