Fury nodded toward Wrath. “Call her.” He stepped into his office and closed the door.
Wrath hesitated and walked outside to find privacy under a shade tree before he pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number on the note Lauren had left him. His stomach twisted from the uncertainty of what she would say or how she would react. They hadn’t started out on good terms when he’d taken her from that warehouse but emotionally they’d come a long way in such a small amount of time. He was willing to risk anything for her, even the pain of rejection.
* * * * *
The phone woke Lauren and she lunged for it. “Hello?”
“Lauren.”
Her heart instantly squeezed at hearing that deep, wonderful voice. “Wrath.”
“The briefing took longer than expected and then I was asked to be present while Bill was interrogated. I returned to the cottage to see you but was informed you’d been escorted to your friend’s home.” He paused. “I wanted to see you and was deeply disappointed that you were gone.”
“I wanted to see you too but they didn’t exactly give me a choice.” She sat up and clutched the phone tighter, fully alert. “You got my note.”
“I have it right here.”
She only hesitated for a second before blurting out what she really wanted to say. “I miss you already. I know I shouldn’t say that, it probably makes me seem kind of clingy but I just wish I was there with you.”
“I miss you too and wish you were in front of me.” He growled.
Her body instantly responded to that sexy sound. “Don’t do that. It makes me miss you more and I’m remembering the night we spent together and how you would make that exact sound when we were making love.”
He growled again and she closed her eyes, listening to him breathing, and hated holding the phone instead of him.
“I want to touch you so badly.” It stunned her that those words had come from her but she didn’t regret them. It was the truth.
“I will be returning to the task force headquarters tonight.” He paused. “Would you stay there with me? It’s too dangerous for me to stay with you since your place isn’t secure. I have to stay where I’ve been ordered to live—at headquarters. I know my room is small. My bed isn’t as big as yours and you have a pet.” He growled again. “It sounds as if I’m trying to talk you out of staying with me but that’s not the case. I’m just thinking of all the reasons you can use to say no but I’m hopeful you won’t. I want to sleep with you in my arms.”
“I’ll pack a bag.” Lauren grinned, opened her eyes, and excitement gripped her. “I’ll make sure Tiger’s food dispenser is full and I’ll ask Amanda to check on him. I’ll even put out extra for him and fill the bathtub so he’s got plenty of water. Not that he really needs it since he roams outside a lot of the time and probably has his own ways of getting it. I don’t have a job anymore so no worries about not going to work tomorrow.” She laughed. “Is it just for tonight or should I pack for a few days? Where do I go to meet you? I’ll drive there if they’ve dropped off my car. Just give me a place and a time. I’ll be there.”
“I’ll pick you up. Pack a lot of clothes. Expect me between seven and eight.”
“I’ll be ready!”
“I will be there as soon as I am able, Lauren. I can’t wait to see you.”
“I can’t either. Hurry up. I’ll be ready! Goodbye, Wrath.”
“It is never goodbye between us, Lauren. I’ll see you soon.” He growled again and hung up.
“Yes,” she laughed, hung up, and dialed. Wrath wanted to see her, spend time with her and she needed to pack. First though, she needed to call Amanda.
“Hello?” The groggy voice assured her that her friend was still sleeping.
“Sorry I woke you up. He called me! He’s coming tonight to pick me up and I’m going to spend at least a few days with him. Did you hear from Flame yet?”
“No.” Amanda sighed. “But I’m happy for you. Run with scissors, Lauren. If there’s ever a time to take a stupid and crazy chance where you know you could get hurt, well, he’s the one.”
“Thank you. I’m sure Flame will call you soon.” She glanced at the clock. “He’s probably still at work. It’s only four o’clock. Most people get off work around five, right? You’re a wonderful person and he’d be stupid not to realize that. He seemed pretty smart to me in the little amount of time I got to spend with him.”
“I hope so. He did say he was sure I could make him roar.”
“Roar?”
“He’s part lion or something. He purred at me a few times while we were rubbing up against each other on the dance floor. It was the hottest thing. I swear it made me wet.”
Lauren chuckled. “TMI, Amanda. I don’t need to know that.”
“We’re best friends so there’s no such thing. Give it up, besty. Does Wrath purr?”
“He’s canine. He growls and snarls.” She bit her lip. “His cock swells at the end of sex and he’s locked inside me until it goes down. He snuggles with me afterward. It’s wonderful but that information stays between us.”
“No! Seriously? Wow. What did that feel like? The swelling?”
“Amazing.”
“I wonder if Flame swells. I can’t wait to find out. Of course now I’m a little frightened. He is seriously hung. I couldn’t miss that when we were pressed together and I noticed it was ‘ouchie’ sized. I can’t imagine it if he swells even bigger. I might take on more than I can chew.” She chuckled. “Or suck. You know what I mean?”
“Way too much info.”
“What about Mr. Hunk? Anything to write home about in that department?”
“He’s more than a letter. He’s worth an entire book.”
Amanda snorted. “Maybe it’s a New Species thing. Good thing they weren’t mixed with horses. That would totally be scary, right?”
“No shit.” Lauren scooted off her bed and dropped to her knees to dig one-handed under her bed for her suitcase. “I need to pack. I’m taking my cell if it’s in my car—hopefully they’ve brought it back here by now—but if not, Wrath probably has a phone I can use. I’ll call you in the next few days.”
“You better. Are you going to the NSO? Tell Flame to call me.”
“We’re going back to that headquarters place. It’s a secret so keep it hush-hush.”
“I’m the queen of discreet.”
“Right.”
“What is it like there?”
“He lives there underground. A lot of people hate them so keep your lips sealed about that place. He says it’s not safe for them to live where it isn’t secure—I guess that means anywhere other than their compounds—or he’d just stay here with me. He’s got a private room with a bathroom. They also have a big room with a kitchen and a living room. There’s even a pool table.”
Amanda laughed. “You could have him do you on it. Pool table sex is hot.”
“It’s in a room everyone uses.”
“Even better. The thrill of maybe getting caught.”
“I worry about you.” Lauren laughed. “Go back to sleep. I need to pack and get ready.”
“Don’t worry about how long you’re gone. I could pop in there and check on Tiger. I know where you keep the food.”
“Thanks. That would be great.”
“That’s why we have keys to each other’s places. Are you telling anyone else where you’re going?”
“Nope. Just you. If my family happens to call, tell them I’m out of town or something. You know the drill.”
Amanda laughed. “I’ll tell them you joined a nudist colony that worships women with big boobs. I’ll say a dozen sex-starved naked men grabbed you in a van and you’re doing the whole free love thing. They’ll enjoy that. When they start to bitch at me about how come I didn’t try to stop you, I’ll just tell them I was looking out for you by buying you a don’t-come-a-knocking-if-the-van-is-rocking bumper sticker. I’ll remind them how supportive I am.”
Lauren laughed.
“Don’t you dare.”
“I’ll assure them that you’ll come home as soon as someone knocks you up and with all that sex with a dozen guys it shouldn’t be too long since you forgot your pills. They don’t know you take the shots, right?”
“I swear, Amanda, if you do that, and I know you would just to freak out my bitchy sister, I’ll personally call your grandma and tell her you’re ready for her to introduce you to men again because you so desperately want to get married. Remember the last time she started sending men your way? I don’t know which one was worse. The mortician she hooked you up with since most of her friends keep dropping dead or the horse jockey she met when she was dating that guy who liked going to the races. What was he? Four-nine? You had nightmares for months about those dates you suffered to avoid hurting her feelings.”
“You wouldn’t dare. It took me months to get Monty the creepy-ass mortician to stop calling me. He sent me flowers and I swear to God he stole them from graves. He missed one of the condolence cards once. He said he really wanted to have sex with me in a coffin and that was his version of tempting me to go on a second date with him. I refuse to talk about the jockey. He asked me if I’d ever worn a saddle while I tried to eat my dinner. I don’t even want to go to that bad, ugly place, Lauren. That was just mean to remind me. You just forget Grandma’s number and I’ll make up something nice to tell your family if they call me.”
“Love you. I’ll call.”
“You better. Love you too.”
Lauren hung up, dropped the suitcase on the bed, and returned the phone to the cradle. It didn’t take long to pack, shower and grab her e-reader. She downloaded a bunch of books while it charged, packed it, and prepared Tiger to be alone for a few days.
Wrath was coming! She glanced at the clock, only had a few hours to go, and time couldn’t move fast enough.
Chapter Thirteen
Lauren grinned when the doorbell rang early and rushed for the door. Wrath must be as impatient to see her as she felt to see him. She’d already gotten dressed, had eaten an early dinner and was more than ready to leave when she threw open the door with a grin in place.
Her joy died instantly when a stranger stood on her doorstep instead. The tall, thin woman bore an uncanny resemblance to her boss, Mel Hadner. Her heart raced, she tried to hide it, and had a sinking feeling this person just might be related to the woman who had tried to hurt Wrath and his team.
“Hello,” she got out. “May I help you?”
“I believe so. You work for my sister, Mel. I went to her office today after receiving an urgent message from her yesterday that she needed to speak to me but no one was there. Do you know where my sister is?”
“No,” Lauren lied. “No idea at all. She was in her office when I left.” That part was true.
“Today?”
“Yesterday. Today is my day off.”
A frown curved the woman’s thin mouth downward and lines appeared on her forehead. “I came here because I spoke to a few of the businesses near the office and they saw you pushing a man out of the office in a chair. They said he appeared drunk. My sister is missing and so are a lot of your coworkers. I’ve already been to their homes and they aren’t there, didn’t sleep in their beds last night, and haven’t been seen.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Their cars are in the parking lot but they have just disappeared. Do you know anything about that?”
Shit! Think! “I had a man come in to see condos yesterday who had a bad knee. He injured it when he stood after sitting so long viewing listings. I had to push him out to his car.”
The woman’s arms slowly lowered and a cold look entered her eyes. “That was almost believable. Not bad. You’re a fast thinker, aren’t you, Lauren?”
Mel’s sister lunged suddenly and grabbed Lauren’s shirt with both hands, shoving her back. A large man suddenly stepped out from where he’d been hiding against the wall next to the door and entered the apartment. Two more came from the other side of the door and yet one more entered and closed the door firmly behind the five intruders who’d invaded the living room. It was the last guy who held Lauren’s attention.
He wore a hat and sunglasses but his features were something she’d learned to identify with the wider cheekbones and flatter shaping of his nose. His full lips were sealed but she knew he was New Species. His big frame and tall height also pointed to him being one of them. Of course the three human men were no slouches in the muscle and sheer-size departments either. They all were bruisers.
“Where are they, Lauren? I’m not screwing around. I want answers.”
“I don’t know. Who are you?” She knew she was in deep shit. The only thing she couldn’t figure out was why a New Species was with Mel’s sister. She forced her gaze away from him to stare at the woman still fisting her shirt. “I haven’t seen them since I left the office yesterday.”
“140? Tell me what you smell right now.”
The New Species lifted a hand, removed his glasses, and stepped forward. He inhaled, sniffed a few times, and his eyes widened slightly while he frowned. Lauren stared into his eyes. They were catlike—an amazing swirl of bright blue, rimmed along the outer edges with deep amber. They were beautiful, striking, and almost unreal. No one should have eyes that looked like that. His tan skin and black hair only added to how dramatic and exotic they appeared.
“Well?” The woman turned her head and shot him a glare. “Tell me, damn it.”
“Their scent isn’t here at all. Not on her or inside this place.”
“What do you want to do, Mary?”
The woman shot a glare at one of the thugs with her. “She knows something.”
She shoved Lauren hard enough that she hit the back of the couch but she was free. Lauren assessed her situation and knew it was grim.
Mary backed up a step, held her gaze, and it chilled Lauren to the bone. If the eyes were the windows to a person’s soul this woman had a dead one. A shiver ran down her back.
“I know you brought a New Species into the office yesterday. My sister called me and told me that. She was freaking out and scared. I didn’t get home until this morning to hear her message. Where the hell are they, Lauren? Tell me the truth and stop playing games or you’re going to regret it.”
“I don’t know anything,” Lauren lied. “Mel pulled me into her office and said the client was a rapist and she shoved me out the back door. That’s all I know. She wasn’t alone with him though. Brent and both John T and B were in her office with her.” She paused. “I was sure Kim was still there when that happened and Gina should have been in her office. Ask them again because I’m sure they were there after I left.”
One of the thugs snorted. “They can’t talk. They had accidents.”
Horror hit Lauren and she didn’t need to ask. They were dead. She wanted to scream but managed to stay on her feet, a real victory since her knees wanted to collapse under her.
“I’m a real bitch,” Mary admitted. “You’re going to tell me where my sister and her friends are or I’m going to have 140 start breaking your bones one at a time until you tell me what I want to know I have my sister back. You took that New Species out of there in a chair after he was shot with a tranquilizer dart. My sister said they had one of them out cold and two more captured. All the witnesses couldn’t be wrong and they know you. Kim and Gina were pawns who are no longer a threat.” Her gaze raked Lauren. “A chubby blonde was pushing him out of the office and down the street. Tell me now or you’re going to die a really slow, agonizing death. You are done lying to me.”
Lauren stared up at 140, decided she’d be honest, but only with him. “Why are you with them? You’re being called a number as though you weren’t freed. Is that it? I’ve seen two New Species fight and you could kick these humans’ asses. Your people have been freed and you don’t have to stay with these people.”
He growled. “They have my female.”
Shit. Lauren swallowed. “Can’t you just kill them and get her bac
k?”
Mary struck hard and fast, backhanding Lauren in the face, and the blow threw her back against the couch where she nearly flipped over the thing. Pain made her curse, grab her injured cheek, and glare at her.
“I guess you weren’t joking about being a bitch, were you?”
“Where is my sister and her men, Lauren?”
She figured out quickly it would be a death sentence the moment she confessed they’d been taken by the NSO. They’d already killed the other two innocent people who’d worked in her office. Kim and Gina hadn’t worked for Mercile but they’d been witnesses to what had happened inside that office. Her only hope would be to stall for an hour until Wrath and his team arrived. If they arrived at seven. Otherwise there’d be two hours to drag out to give her any hope of surviving.
“I might let you live if you just tell me.” Mary rubbed the hand she’d struck her with.
Lauren glanced at the New Species. He shook his head, telling her not to trust what she was told and she believed him. He was obviously being forced to be there but it didn’t mean he liked it if he was willing to give her that tiny signal of warning.
“Okay. I’ll tell you the truth.” She remembered the conversation she’d overheard from her office. “I didn’t know what he was until Mel told me. Brent and both Johns wanted to ransom the three guys for a lot of money.”
Mary glared at her.
“Mel didn’t want to cut you in on it. Brent said to throw you off the track and they’d just disappear after they got paid. Your sister doesn’t want to give you any of the money. I’m sorry but that’s the truth.”
Lauren hoped her plan would work. Mel’s sister should be mad, thinking Mel was trying to screw her out of a bunch of money. It might possibly make the woman buy the story enough to wait around for a nonexistent phone call.
“If I don’t answer, they are going to be in the wind. That’s what John T said.”
Mary hit Lauren again, harder, and the taste of blood filled her mouth as she spun hard and sprawled over the back of the couch. It was the only thing that kept her on her feet.