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

Behind Jared, Peter snapped open his cell phone and called Steve. “We need a sling team, my friend, and fast. Home Warehouse, in the garden center, pull up to the far east entrance.”


The words spilled into Jared, full of orange hope and sunny yellow light, gleaming, and his vision went fuzzy. He held on to himself—just a couple hours more, gotta hang on—and he grabbed Valerie’s hand and squeezed it tight. She squeezed back. Peter smiled and patted his shoulder.


The ERT team stayed on site, guns drawn, eyes alert. Lawton stood with his arms crossed, chin set.


Jared got the mask over Sultan’s face, bright blue saline pads covering his open eyes. When he saw that Sultan was safely out, Jared walked over to Lawton and carefully extended a hand as the cameras whirred. “Thank you. Let me get my cat home and then you can come and arrest me. I won’t run. Deal?”


Chapter 98