New Species 11 True (10 page)

“They’d kill her if she stopped and she wouldn’t be there to
help us. She whispered that to me and meant each word. She was as trapped as we
were.”

True had heard enough. He swiped his card to unlock the door
and pushed it open. “Don’t allow anyone in. She’ll be safe here.”

“Don’t hurt her in any way, True.” The threat hung in the
air. “We’ll make the NSO understand she’s not like the other humans and gain
her freedom. She deserves that for all she did.”

His temper flared. “Do you think I’d cause her pain in any
way?”

Flirt hesitated, closely studying him. “I’ll kill you if you
do.”

“Kill Polanitis. He’s responsible for her being harmed at
Drackwood. I think she was given breeding drugs.”

Shock widened the other male’s eyes.

“She admitted he had that done to her. That’s why I refuse
to allow her to be sent to Fuller. He’s there.”

“Son of a bitch,” Flirt snarled.

“It seems she made a deal to allow them to dose her with the
drugs to save my life. That’s what stopped them from killing me that day they
were leading me to the outer building and that’s why she’s staying in my home.
Don’t insult me again. I’d break my own fingers before I’d lay one on her that
would cause her any more pain.” He stepped inside and closed the door with his
foot.

One quick survey of his home assured him he needed to clean
the place before Jeanie woke. He worked a lot of shifts and his uniforms were
strewn across the floor. He slowly tugged the blanket away from her body, no
longer worried about concealing her modesty. She looked peaceful in her drugged
sleep as he cradled her in his arms, carrying her into his bedroom. The bed
wasn’t made but the sheets were semi clean since he’d done two loads of laundry
the day before. It helped that the covers were shoved down as he crawled onto
the side of the mattress and gently stretched her out on her back.

She looked tiny in the center of his large bed as he pulled
his arms out from under her and adjusted her hospital gowns down over her pale
thighs. It was a temptation to remove the scratchy material—he hated to sleep
in clothing—but she might be alarmed if she woke naked. He climbed off the bed
and pulled the covers up to her chest.

He caressed her soft skin along the side of her face with
one finger. She didn’t feel cold but he still walked over to the thermostat,
paused, debating what would be a comfortable temperature for her. He settled on
turning it up to seventy-eight degrees. It would be warm for him but he didn’t
want her chilled.

True quickly fled the bedroom to pick up the living room and
do dishes. Fifteen minutes later he returned. She slept in the same position.
He hesitated before lifting a chair, carried it to the side of the bed and took
a seat. He’d remain there until she woke. It was important that she not be
afraid. He wanted to be the first thing she saw so he could assure her that she
was safe.

* * * * *

Darkness calmly waited until the males entered the men’s
dorm before he stepped into their path. Justice, Fury and Tim Oberto didn’t
look as upset as he’d expected. A task force team consisting of six humans
assembled outside the main doors, appearing to be on high alert, indicated by
their tense body language.

“I expected you to arrive at least five minutes ago.”

Justice blinked, his expression calm. “We have a situation.”

“I’m aware. True heisted the human from Medical and took her
to his apartment.” Darkness put his hands on his hips. “Flirt is guarding his
door to prevent you from taking her back.”

Fury cocked an eyebrow. “Why?”

Darkness hesitated, carefully gauging his words. “Because of
what she did for them at Drackwood. I reread her entire file while I waited for
you to show—all of it—and no Species spoke bad of her. They were actually
flattering in their statements. Were you aware of that?”

Tim cursed. “It doesn’t matter if she was nice to anyone.
She needs to be sent to Fuller. She refused to cooperate with the team
interrogating her. True was out of line to pull this shit.” He lifted an arm
and ran his palm over his bald head in a sign of frustration. “You should have
been there to get the information we needed, Darkness.”

He nodded. “Probably, but I refuse to terrorize females. I
don’t have access to what was said during her interrogation since no one has
bothered to update that information yet. It would have been nice to read.” He
frowned. “Your team is lax, Tim.”

“It just happened. They haven’t had time to type out
transcripts from the recording and upload it to the database.”

“It’s been over an hour.” Darkness addressed Justice, “The
males owe that human a life debt. Did you read their statements when they were
released from Drackwood, recounting everything they’d endured there?”

“No.”

“You should before you force this issue. She’s safe and has
two males guarding her. She won’t be freely roaming Homeland. I’ll personally
guarantee that. She is no threat and is better off staying where she is. If you
need an extra male at True’s door, I offer my services as a guard.” He glanced
toward the male waiting by the elevators. “Dagger? Front and center.”

The male approached. “Now?”

A sharp nod from Darkness prompted him to speak.

“I was at Drackwood. Technician Shiver never harmed any
Species there and I have spoken to most of them. Darkness had me contact the
available Species at Reservation that I could reach by phone and I briefly interviewed
the ones here, too, from that facility. No one had anything bad to say about
her. They actually were alarmed that she’d been taken into custody and asked
after her welfare.” He paused. “A large number of them offered to testify on
her behalf if she is facing Species law. Two of them, both females, wanted to
leave Reservation to come here to be with her. They were worried she’d be
frightened. It upset them.”

“I, too, called Reservation while I was going over the
reports,” Darkness added. “I talked to a few of the newly freed Species. They
spoke highly of Shiver. One female is very irate over her treatment.” He glared
at Tim. “You really need to get a handle on some of your team members. It’s
unacceptable that the human nearly died when she was arrested and that her
already serious injuries were amplified by rough treatment.”

“I reamed their asses,” Tim huffed. “And Justice reamed
mine. We didn’t shoot her.”

“That sounds kinky,” Midnight stated, walking out of the
kitchen with a bowl of ice cream. “I got hungry while we waited.” She stopped
next to Darkness. “Hi.” She waved her spoon at Justice, Fury and Tim.

“What are you doing here?” Fury frowned. “You’re supposed to
be on duty at Medical.”

“I’m the female voice of reason and it’s my lunch break.” She
dropped the spoon into the bowl. “I didn’t like the human when she was brought
in.” She shrugged. “Then she got all doped up and started talking to True. It
was real interesting stuff. I changed my mind about disliking her enough to
come here to talk some sense into everyone before too many male egos clash.”

“What was said?” Justice leaned against the back of the
couch, his posture relaxing.

Midnight set the bowl down on a nearby table. “She had what
appeared to be a panic attack at the end of being questioned in the basement.
Old Doc Harris was in your office so I had to handle the situation. I thought
half a dose of the sedative we keep on hand to deal with our out-of-control
males would be fine but it seems I should have used less.” She winced as she glanced
at Fury. “Remember when Ellie was in labor? Same thing you were given to calm
you. That’s how she reacted. She barely made sense but some of what she said
did.”

“I don’t see why any of this matters,” Tim stated. “This
Jeanie Shiver is—”

“Enough,” Justice demanded, pushing away from the couch to
straighten. “It matters because this human matters to our people and I want to
understand why.” He nodded at Midnight. “Continue.”

“She described the effects of the breeding drug.”

Justice’s hands curled into fists. “What does that mean?”

Midnight hesitated. “For some reason, it seems Drackwood
wished to test the drug on a human female. She apparently agreed to be the one
and allowed them to use it on her in order to save True’s life.”

“He said he never mounted her.” Justice frowned. “He lied to
me?”

She shook her head. “No. We have no idea if any other males
mounted her. I’ve pondered this since True carried her away. A male on the drug
would have killed a human. They aren’t strong enough to survive an out-of-control
male in full-blown lust. There were only a few females at Drackwood.” She grew
silent, grimly regarding Justice.

“Fuck,” he hissed. “They dosed her instead. Even a male who
hated humans would have felt pity watching her suffer, especially if she
inspired any of them to feel any type of liking toward her or if they’d been
given the drug before.”

Fury growled. “It would have been tempting to just kill her
to end her suffering but some may have chosen to mount her instead if she
treated them well.”

“Or some may have been unable to resist if they hadn’t had
access to a female in a long time.” Darkness sighed. “She is attractive and
everyone from Drackwood seems to like her. We’d have done the same for our
females to ease the pain of the drug. They would have been careful not to hurt
her if she meant something to them. It would explain why she wasn’t killed.”

Midnight drew their attention. “She kept going on about an
Agent Brice and what she said answered some of True’s questions. He never
understood why those at Drackwood changed their minds about killing him. You
know I speak often to newly freed Species. I helped True adjust to life as a
free male. I know his history well and it fits.” She paused, as if considering
her thoughts before continuing. “I’m intrigued, Justice. It seems there’s a
human with a badge who convinced her she was really working for us to help
those Species gain their freedom. I believe her when she says he exists.”

Fury shifted his stance. “Are you sure she was being honest?”

She glanced down at his pants. “Do you want to empty out
your left pocket to show everyone what you keep there? I already know and I
know why you feel the need to keep Ellie’s scent close at all times.” She
smirked as her gaze lifted to his. “That sedative is really strong and gets
anyone taking it to make honest statements about things they wouldn’t normally
share.”

Color stained his cheeks as he growled. “Understood.”

Justice glanced at him and sniffed the air. “Should I ask?”

“No.” Fury cleared his throat. “The sedative is strong
enough that someone would blurt out honest information. Take my word for it.”

“What is in your pocket?”

“None of your business, Tim.” Fury shot Midnight a warning
look. “She was very talkative?”

“Yes. She tried to answer the questions truthfully when they
took her to the basement but no one believed her. True trusts her now. We
should wait until she wakes to get more answers, find out who this human is and
figure out how she was used by him.” She stared at Tim. “I have been thinking
about this. Is it possible that there’s another website out there that mimics
our own? Maybe she saw it and contacted this human instead of us. It wouldn’t
be the first time someone tried to mess with Species.” She glanced at Justice. “How
did we locate both places she worked?”

He glanced at Tim. “Tell her.”

“The tip line. We paid a million and a half out for the info
on Cornas Research.”

“So someone profited from their rescue?” Midnight beamed. “See?”

“It was her,” Tim accused. “That makes it worse.”

Fury frowned. “You know this for sure?”

“No. We received a package in the mail with proof that
someone had access to Species not listed in our DNA database three days before
we hit Cornas. There were no fingerprints or any way to trace where the package
came from. It contained sealed sample bags with Species’ DNA with a typed note.
It said we’d be contacted soon and the amount of money wanted for disclosure of
the location where we could recover them. Just after midnight on the day we learned
of the location a computerized voice message was left on the tip line with a
foreign bank account number attached. We paid and they emailed to tell us we’d
find our Species locked underground at Cornas Research. Four hours later we hit
it.” He paused. “I am pretty sure an anonymous tip with money demands was the
same way we learned about Drackwood. Don’t you see? She’s got to be the one who
did it. That bitch blackmailed a heavy sum from the NSO. I’m pretty sure we
paid over a million on that one too.”

“Another human is involved,” Midnight stated. “He’s going by
the name of Agent Brice.”

“Every indication is they are partners.” Tim turned,
motioning to his team outside through the large windows. “I’m going to
interrogate her myself this time and find out who she was working with. We’ll
nail both of these bastards and get the money back.” He nodded at Justice. “They
might know more locations where New Species are being kept. I’m concerned the
takedown will cause panic if that’s the case and any other locations might kill
any survivors. Time is of the essence.”

When the six humans rushed inside the building, Midnight
growled, getting in Tim’s face. “Stop. You aren’t listening to me. She believes
she was helping, not using us to get rich. It doesn’t fit.”

“Do you know that for certain? I don’t. We paid out a
shitload of money and more lives could be on the line. I don’t care if she
realized her partner was ripping us off. She knows who he is and they both knew
how to find Drackwood and Cornas. There’s too much at stake to give anyone the
benefit of the doubt.” Tim spun and motioned to his team again. “Upstairs. We’re
collecting our prisoner.”