“I’ll consider it.” Darkness turned away from them, cursing under his breath, making it clear he wasn’t pleased.
Justice smiled again. “Good. Do that and let me know when you make a decision. For now you’re in charge of the Jeanie Shiver situation. Just make sure True’s dick doesn’t get in the way of him being responsible. He seems too attached to her.”
Fury nodded. “I wasn’t rational when it came to Ellie.”
Darkness stared at him. “I don’t understand.”
“She worked for Mercile where I was kept, the way this female did with True. I wanted to hate Ellie at first but those emotions quickly changed. I went from wanting to strangle her to feeling the overriding desire to get her naked on my bed. It took me a while to realize I wanted her for a mate.”
“I’ll watch for the signs.” Darkness paused. “There might be a problem with that. Flirt seems equally protective of her.”
“Make sure they don’t fight.” Justice gave Darkness a hard look and then glanced at Fury. “Let’s go soothe Tim’s temper somewhat. He’s got a right to feel anger but he needs to learn how to express it better.”
“I vote that we make Brawn deal with him.”
Justice chuckled. “Don’t tempt me, Fury. Tim is his father-by-mating. We can’t push that kind of stress his way. Becca won’t appreciate us pitting her males against each other either.”
Chapter Six
Jeanie knew she needed to wake. Something important had happened but her mind struggled to remember what. She managed to force her eyes open against the temptation to go back to sleep, only to stare up at a white ceiling. She blinked a few times.
“Jeanie,” a male voice rasped.
The bed dipped a little and she looked in that direction. The familiar face took a moment to identify and with it, the memories returned as she stared at 710. He was bent forward in a chair, elbows on his knees, his chin resting on his upraised fists. His dark-brown eyes looked almost black in the dim light.
She glanced around, stunned to find she wasn’t still in a hospital bed. “Where am I?” Her heart rate accelerated as fear slammed into her. “This can’t be a prison.” She stared at him again. “This is a bedroom.”
“It’s mine. I refused to allow them to transfer you to Fuller.”
She tried to piece together what had happened once she’d learned they were sending her to the same place Dean Polanitis had been taken. Embarrassment set in. “I attacked people, didn’t I?”
“You bloodied a human’s nose with the back of your head and kneed Jericho where it hurts the most. They’re both fine.”
She swallowed hard. “Jericho is the big one with the reddish eyes, right?”
“That’s him.”
“I’m so sorry. He was nice to me.” No guilt surfaced over the human since he’d been a jerk. She moved her arms, glad neither wrist sported handcuffs as she sat up. “I didn’t mean to freak out. I need to apologize to him.”
He leaned back. “There’s nothing to apologize for. You were terrified and reacted accordingly.”
She hugged her chest, thinking hard. “I don’t remember anything after that.” Her gaze held his. “Did I attack you too?” She’d be horrified if she had.
“No. I picked you up before any more damage could occur and a nurse gave you a sedative.”
It explained why she had a blank spot in her memory. “I wasn’t lying. I worked for Agent Terry Brice. He’s real.”
“I know you believe that.”
“I met him. He’s in his mid-fifties, overweight and sweats a lot. He called and came to see me the day after I contacted the NSO tip line. He showed me a badge. Please believe me.”
“I do.”
“Thank you, 710.” She felt immense gratitude.
“I took the name True. Please use it.”
“I like it.” She bit her lower lip, studying him. “Why did you pick it? May I ask?”
“I saw a lot of my kind attempting to fit in after we were freed, by acting different than who they really were. I wanted to stay true to my nature. It seemed fitting.”
“That’s beautiful.” It touched her that he was so thoughtful. He hadn’t spoken to her much at Drackwood but he’d always seemed highly intelligent. She’d grown to care more about him every time they’d had any interaction. There had been attraction and something deeper. “I think you have a nice name, True.”
“Tell me more about this human.”
“What do you want to know? He flew in every few weeks and we kept in contact through the disposable cell phone. He’d leave me text messages since I had to hide it. I’d call him back or I’d check the phone to find out where we were supposed to meet next.”
“Why hide it?”
“Both Drackwood and Cornas invaded our privacy in every way imaginable and I’m sure Security monitored our phone conversations even when we weren’t at work. That’s why I had the disposable cell. I paid cash for it and added minutes when I ran low. I kept it off so it wouldn’t ring and kept it inside a sealed plastic bag buried in a park near the places I lived. I bought the same model phone that I used as my personal cell and would just snap in the battery when I checked it. That way I could keep charging it without someone wondering why I had a spare charger when I didn’t have a second phone.”
“Why a park?”
“I pretended to be into jogging and it would give me a reason to go out at night. It was easier to make sure I wasn’t followed that way too. I’d rest and sip water along one of the trails, act as if I was stretching my muscles, but I’d actually dig up the phone to check for new texts.”
“Smart.”
“I was terrified of being caught. It’s a great motivation not to screw up.” A thought struck. “I can tell you where my last cell phone is buried. Those texts are still on it. I never had time to delete anything. I left my personal cell phone in my apartment the day I went to work but I can give you my address. The police can go there and grab it to use the battery on that phone when they dig it up. It will prove he exists, right?”
“We know where you live. It could possibly prove his existence.”
“I don’t understand. How would he know things about NSO if he doesn’t really work here? He texted me both times to give me a heads-up when the rescues were about to happen. Drackwood and Cornas would have cleared out the buildings if they’d had any forewarning of what was about to go down. We had drills about those kinds of things.”
“What do you mean?”
She slid her hands down to her lap, intertwining her fingers. “Drackwood and Cornas had protocols in place for certain events. They had us practice what to do.”
“Such as?”
She glanced away. It hurt, looking at him while having to explain just how horrible human beings could be. “We were ordered to destroy evidence in case of a breach, kill New Species and escape from the secret exits to avoid arrest. They didn’t want any of us to get caught since we could identify the other staff.” She paused, waiting to see if he got angry. Silence reigned but she didn’t feel brave enough to look at him to see his expression. She kept her focus on her hands. “They also had drills in case we ever needed to move locations. Security estimated we could clear out a facility within an hour.”
“How?”
“Drug all the New Species and transfer them by gurneys into trucks from the loading dock. I don’t know about the other assignments given to employees but I assumed they’d have some of them trained to destroy any evidence that we were ever there. My best guess is that they’d blow up the building or torch it.”
“Where were we to be taken?”
“I have no idea.” She turned her head and lifted her gaze. He didn’t appear angry, just curious. “That wasn’t something they ever said. It was classified information I didn’t have access to. My assignment was to travel inside the trucks with the drugged New Species and monitor them to make sure they stayed unconscious. Security ran the drills and didn’t even tell us how long
it would take to reach another location.”
“There’s really poison gas hidden inside the fire alarms at Cornas?”
“Yes.” She nodded. “I got lucky enough to have lunch at the same time as the guy who did it. He was someone I hadn’t seen before so I sat next to him, hoping to learn why he was there. He bragged about it.” She scowled. “He seemed proud of the fact that he’d just implemented something so gruesome. I told Agent Brice his first name was Ron. I’m not sure if he lied about that or not since he just had a visitor badge with numbers on it. He refused to tell me his last name. I tried to find out what other places he’d worked but he seemed to grow suspicious at that point. I said I had to get back to work out of fear of him reporting my interest if I lingered any longer.”
“That’s why you destroyed the mainframe computer?”
“Ron told me he’d set that up at another facility and the gas would kill anyone who breathed it in under a minute. He bragged about how Security could trigger it from their computer terminals, which were linked to the mainframe. I had to prevent it.”
“What is your connection to 712?”
She couldn’t help but smile. “I took care of him often when he was in the clinic. He’s doing well, right? Agent Brice said he was.” Dread came next when True growled, his features hardening into a mask of anger. “Oh no. Agent Brice lied? He didn’t survive?” Tears filled her eyes. “That bastard swore to me that 712 was rescued and fully recovered from his injuries. One of the guards really did a number on him with a knife to his stomach.”
“He’s fine. You care about him?”
“Of course. I care about all of them.” Relief washed over her. “I was really worried when Agent Brice said Drackwood was about to be raided because a few of them were being kept in the medical center at the time. The doctors on duty could have easily killed him and 754. She made it, too, didn’t she? They were both chained to their beds, totally helpless. All the injured New Species were at the highest risk of being murdered.”
“She is well.”
“Thank god. They’d had her there doing exploratory surgery on her ovaries. That was what the chart read when I peeked at it but I think they were really trying to harvest some of her eggs, thinking they’d figure out why none of the women were getting pregnant. The doctors were such sick bastards. They arrested Dr. Brask, didn’t they? Please tell me that son of a bitch isn’t running around free. He’s a nightmare. Agent Brice promised me he was caught but obviously I can’t trust anything he said.”
“He’s a prisoner at Fuller.”
“Good.”
True leaned in closer. “Did any Species ever mount you?”
She was taken aback by the question. “No. Why would you ask me that?”
He hesitated. “You told me about what Polanitis did to you.”
Her stomach heaved. “What?” She hoped she’d heard him wrong.
“He forced you to participate in breeding experiments. Please tell me the numbers of the males involved.”
She cringed away, horrified as it sank in that he believed she’d had sex with multiple New Species at Drackwood. Alarm swamped her. He knew about the drug trials she’d endured. The only way he’d learn that information was if she’d really told him something. Her mind came up blank on any memory of doing so.
“Jeanie,” he rasped, “look at me.”
She refused, panicking a little inside. I wouldn’t have told him anything about what was done to me. He must have asked questions like he is right now. He might figure out I did it for him. The last thing she ever wanted was for him to feel responsible. All the blame rested squarely on Dean Polanitis. He was the son of a bitch who’d targeted her for blackmail and used True to keep her in line.
“You were heavily sedated after your panic attack and terrified you’d see Polanitis. You didn’t pass out right away but instead shared how the breeding drug hurt you.”
She squeezed her eyes closed and hugged her waist hard enough to hurt her injured side. “Stop. I don’t want to talk about this.”
“I do.”
She wasn’t certain how to respond. Her goal had been to protect him from ever knowing the truth. “Please, True. I don’t want to talk about the past. You said I was babbling and drugged. Chalk it up to that. Let’s change the subject.”
“We’re not done,” he snarled.
She jerked and stared at him, unsettled by that frightening demand. His handsome face loomed even closer since he’d leaned halfway across the bed until only inches separated them. Though his eyes appeared black with turmoil, he didn’t seem evil to her. He just looked angry.
“Did anyone mount you? Tell me the truth or I’ll call Midnight to bring another sedative. Don’t make me drug you to get answers, Jeanie. I would hate to do it but I need to know.”
“No.”
He studied her. “That’s the truth?”
“Yes.” She held his gaze. “I swear.”
“I’ve been given the breeding drug. I suffered unbearable agony until it drove me insane. I retained no memories of what was done to me or if I harmed anyone. You probably suffered the same fate. Males could have mounted you without you remembering.” His voice deepened. “I’ll find out, even if I have to speak to every male who came from Drackwood.”
The blood drained from her face as she purposely recalled the horrors of Polanitis forcing her to walk with him to visit Dr. Brask. She’d never forget being strapped to a gurney or being injected. The pain, humiliation, and terror that followed had haunted her many nights. She had nightmares about being back inside that room, screaming as her body writhed from excruciating pain.
“Jeanie?”
She closed her eyes, focusing inward instead. “I’m pretty sure I’d have known if that happened. I mean, every muscle ached from thrashing around and I’d have bruises on my wrists and ankles from the restraints but nothing indicated I’d been sexually assaulted.” She looked at him. “It was just Polanitis and Brask in the room. I don’t think I ever blacked out. I would have known if they’d done more to me. They seemed more interested in diluting the drug enough to get the effects they wanted. My guess is that they were attempting to make it so it wasn’t painful to take but still caused the physical symptoms of…” She paused, blushed. “Getting a woman unreasonably in the mood to crave sex. Just the right combination to cause mindless desire without debilitating the user. It was awful at first but gradually wasn’t as painful. I retained more memories of what was being done to me as the testing advanced.”
“You don’t have our ability to detect a male’s scent on you.”
She bit her lip, trying to think of a way to delicately explain, without embarrassment, how she’d have known. She decided to just be frank. “I had to shower afterward. I was soaked in sweat. I wasn’t messed with.”
“You wouldn’t know if it happened in the beginning.”
Heat warmed her cheeks and she dropped her gaze to his neck. “I don’t agree. I hadn’t dated anyone in over a year at the time and I’m pretty sure I’d have known if I’d been raped. I wasn’t sore down there or anything.”
“They could have been gentle.”
Nausea threatened to rise at that concept but it went against everything she knew about her old boss. “Dean Polanitis didn’t know the meaning of the word. He was a brutal bastard who enjoyed inflicting terror and humiliation on everyone around him. He would have told me what they were going to do if they planned to have me raped. He also wouldn’t have it done when I was passed out. That would have been too humane for someone so vicious.”
He studied her while seeming to consider her words. “He offered you to me.”
The shocks kept coming. “What do you mean by that?”
“He said I could mount you if I didn’t harm any more of the guards. He seemed concerned that hiring new ones to replace them might heighten the risk of Drackwood’s activities being discovered.”
She gaped at him. No words even came to mind. Dean Polanitis
had been malicious, a nasty person, but to offer to allow someone to have sex with her surpassed the scope of evil she believed he’d been capable of committing. It also came as a surprise that her boss hadn’t taunted her with the threat. They’d hated each other.
“I refused.”
She dropped her gaze to his chest, letting that sink in. Her response was easy. “You could never be cruel.”
He cleared his throat. “It seems this agent fooled you into believing he really worked for the NSO. There is no such person affiliated with us. I received information while you slept that ransom money was paid for the locations of Drackwood and Cornas.”
The sharp sensation to her chest had to be caused by betrayal and heartbreak after learning all she’d done had been used to financially hurt the NSO. She studied his face. “You’re sure?”
“We’re positive.” He straightened in his chair and lifted a cell phone from the nightstand. He turned the screen her way after using his index finger to manipulate the device. “See? We paid a million dollars for the location of Drackwood and a million and a half for the location of Cornas. This so-called agent pocketed the money. We were anonymously sent samples of blood, hair, saliva and fingernail clippings that were tested. It was determined they belonged to Species who weren’t in our current database. Everyone who has been freed has samples taken and tested for comparison.”
“What do they compare them to?”
He hesitated. “Some Species have a wish for family. We’ve found some who have the same biological markers. It also helps us determine if the tips are real or not. We can test to see if they are Species, if it’s someone we’ve already recovered or not. We get a lot of humans who lie and claim to have knowledge of where Species are being held in captivity in hopes we’ll pay them money. We do if we can determine their information is real.”