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

What this neighborhood termed a shed looked like a mini-apartment to Jared. The snug yellow building had pale blue window boxes and shutters, a curved roof, and even a cupola on the top. A small deck held a dozen potted plants and two child-sized Adirondack style chairs, a welcoming look. But one of them looked out of place. Had it been pushed aside?


Jared lurched forward, not seeing the child’s Big Wheel in the mist above the grass, and he slammed onto it. The clackety wheels turned and spit, making a ripping sound that carried in the quiet morning. It sounded loud as an elephant’s bellow.


The parakeet shrieked. He could imagine it beating its wings against its cage, batting at the wire and sure enough, on his left, in the next yard came a piercing bark. A small dog, but a yippy, annoying bark, high-pitched.


Chapter 90