True chuckled. “I would love six children with you. Half a dozen sounds good to me.” He cupped her face and placed a quick kiss on her mouth. “I would make sure you never got pregnant if it was dangerous. I won’t risk your life, Jeanie. You mean everything to me.”
It wasn’t a declaration of love but True saying she meant everything to him was just as good. “You really did change my life, you know.”
“How?”
She tried to think of the right words. “I was drawn to you from the moment we met. I thought about you all the time and I never stopped, even after you were released from Drackwood.”
“I was attracted to from the start as well. You were so sweet and your smile melted the coldness from my heart.” He grinned. “And you smelled so good I wanted to take your clothing off and investigate every scent.”
She laughed. “I used to mess up some of the blood samples when I took yours so they would have to send me back. I’m so sorry. I felt guilty when I had to take more blood but it gave me a chance to see you again.”
He didn’t look angry. “You touched me and got close enough for me to smell your wonderful scent. It was worth a small sting and a little bloodletting.”
“I would stop what I was doing and watch you every time they took you outside for training in the north area. I hated the endurance testing when they hit you. I would cry.”
He shifted, moving them onto their sides, still facing each other. She hated the loss of their connection when he slowly withdrew his cock. The swelling had dissipated.
“I hated endurance testing too.”
She debated telling him more but decided to be honest. “I did enjoy the time you broke that one asshole’s leg. You snapped it at the knee when you kicked out. I heard him scream all the way in my office. He cried in Medical while they set his leg. I went down there, pretending to be updating test results just so I could watch him suffer.”
True laughed. “He cried? He was cruel. He liked to hit me a lot. I enjoyed it, too, when I broke his leg. He got too close and I’d been waiting for an opportunity to do some damage.”
“I just wanted to get you free.”
He leaned in closer, studying her face. “Why didn’t you try to find me after I was taken to the NSO?”
“I was told you didn’t want to see me. Agent Brice swore he gave you my message. Now, I realize he lied about that. He lied about everything and I believed it all.”
Confusion clouded True’s features. “What message?”
Jeanie frowned. “I was so worried about you after the raid that I told Agent Brice I planned to drive to the New Species Homeland to make sure you’d gotten out safe. He told me that would be too dangerous and he’d arrange for a safer way for me to see you because of all the protesters at the gate. The next day he texted me a few pictures of you wearing jeans. You were outside at Homeland. He said he’d taken them to prove you were really alive and well but that you told him you wanted nothing to do with me.”
True’s tone was harsh. “He lied. I want to find this asshole. No one ever mentioned your name to me or ever gave me a message.” He calmed a little but still looked angry. “He had photos of me outdoors, in jeans?”
She nodded. “It looked like you were in some kind of park. You were barefoot, wearing jeans and a black tank top, standing next to a blond New Species a little shorter than you are and there was a lot of grass and trees in the background. You were smiling and looked happy. It was three days after Drackwood was taken down.”
A growl sounded deep within his throat. “Who is this human? We were taken to Reservation at first. That photo must have been taken there. How did he get it? It’s highly secure there. He has access to information from the hotline here at Homeland and he had access to get pictures of me at Reservation.”
“And he’s a big fat liar and a vicious jerk since he could have gotten help to your people a hell of a lot faster than he led me to believe. He kept telling me I didn’t have enough evidence. I always needed more.”
True rolled abruptly, pinning Jeanie on her back with him looming over her again. “When we find this Agent Brice, I’m going to kill him with my bare hands after my people get the information out of him that they need.” He stared down at her, his rage apparent. “Why did you let them drug you to save me? It must have been difficult. I was given the breeding drug once. It was some of the worst pain I ever experienced.”
“I love you. I couldn’t let you die. Polanitis said you’d be spared if I agreed to take the drugs and let them test how they affected me.”
“How did that monster know you had feelings for me?”
“He’d placed a hidden camera inside my office. I stopped working every time they brought you to the north area and I told you I’d cry sometimes. It was pure hell watching you be hurt for their experiments. I knew how many lives it could save but…” Emotion choked her, remembering all the suffering he’d endured. “It wasn’t worth it. It tore me apart watching them hurt you.”
True nuzzled her cheek with his. “You suffered when they tested their drugs too.”
Her fingers brushed over him, rubbing where she could touch his skin, which was always hotter than hers. “It doesn’t matter anymore. All that matters is that we’re both alive and here together.”
“You took pain for me.” His voice deepened. “You suffered so I could live. I never thought anyone could love me, Jeanie. I will give you so much pleasure to erase the memories of the pain if you’ll allow me.”
“I love you, True.” She cupped his face and stared into his eyes. “The past doesn’t matter. A future with you more than makes up for it.”
True kissed her nose. “I’m so happy you’re my mate.”
She smiled at him. “Me too, True.”
He took possession of her mouth, kissing her soundly. One hand lowered as he shifted over her, a big palm curved around her breast and his thumb circled her taut nipple. She arched her back to press more firmly against him as she adjusted her legs to wrap around his thighs. She wanted him again even though they’d just made love. She could never get enough of True.
The doorbell rang. True growled as he stopped kissing her. “We should ignore that.”
The doorbell rang again and someone knocked loudly a few times, using their fist.
“It sounds important. You know what happened last time.”
“You’re right. Stay here.”
She was loath to let him go as she spread her legs and unhooked her ankles from the back of his thighs. He lifted up, rolled over and slid off the edge of the bed. She turned on her side, smiling at the sight of her aroused, very naked mate. The heated stare he gave her showed how much he hated leaving but then he turned away, moving toward the door.
“Uh, True?”
He turned and stared at her. “What?”
“As much as I love to see you naked, you might want to put something on before you answer the door.”
He grinned. “You love seeing me naked?”
Her gaze slowly traveled down the long length of his body. “Oh yeah.”
He walked to the dresser as the doorbell rang again. He quickly yanked on a pair of sweats and gave her a brief glance before striding out of the bedroom. “Don’t get dressed,” he called out. “I’ll be right back.”
“Hurry,” she urged, grabbing for the sheet since he’d left the bedroom door open. She covered up in case whoever was at the door needed to come inside. She just really hoped it wasn’t bad news. One glance at the clock assured her it had to be something important for someone to show up in the middle of the night.
True unlocked the door and yanked it open. He growled and showed his teeth as he glared at Jinx. “What do you want?”
Jinx’s nose wrinkled as he inhaled. “I interrupted you sharing sex with Shiver.”
Jealousy over the male’s interest still burned. “She’s my mate. And yes, you did interrupt. What do you want?”
“Easy. I know she’s yours. She agreed to mate
with you?”
“She did.”
“You signed the papers?”
“Not yet but I plan to call for them to be printed out in the morning then we’ll sign.”
“I’m glad.” The male didn’t reflect any joy on his face.
“What do you want? It’s late. My mate needs sleep.”
“We all know what happened and have been awake since the human males attempted to take her.” He paused. “We met again in the library while we waited for word of her condition. We were overjoyed to know that all the drugs left her system.”
“I am as well. Did you come to make threats because I wasn’t here to protect her? I don’t need a reminder.” Feelings of guilt surged to the surface. “I believed she was safe or I never would have left her side. Be assured it won’t happen again.”
The other male frowned. “Don’t beat yourself up, True. We were all shocked that she was attacked. It was ballsy of the humans to sneak into the dorm and we just now figured out how they got inside. At first we believed they must have broken a seal on a window on the first floor but no damage was discovered. It was the computer logs that archive every entry to the building that proved they used a security card to get in through the back door that is used for food and supply deliveries.”
True growled. “Only Species have access to the dorm.”
“And some of the task force team still do, we’ve discovered,” Jinx whispered. “Do you know what that means?”
His shoulders slumped as the information settled into his stunned mind. It wasn’t good news since he liked the members he worked with. “I do. I know most of them.”
“We consider them friends but they are suspects. I thought you should know right away. Don’t trust them when it comes to your mate. The card they used was an old one issued to the task force when they ran things here. It wasn’t deactivated for some reason when we took over internal security. There’s no way to know who used it since it was a general security card and was not assigned to an individual.”
“Damn.” True reached up and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “Has it been deactivated or can they still gain entry to the dorms?”
“Luna is all over it. She is at the control center right now, going through the computer systems to find other irregularities and errors in our security measures. She’s making certain only Species’ cards work on the dorms and double-checking to make sure Control is secure. The only human with access is Jessie, Justice’s mate. We know we can trust her.”
He agreed. “Is that card how Tim got in to interrupt our meeting?”
“No. A male allowed him inside. It won’t happen again. Everyone living at the dorms knows not to permit any humans inside while your mate is in danger, even the ones the males want as overnight guests.” He paused. “She is still in danger. You realize that, don’t you? I find it suspicious that she was due to view photo records of human staff at Homeland and they attempted to steal her before it could happen.”
True had been too worried about Jeanie’s well-being after her trauma to really give much thought to anything else. “Shit.”
“That’s good news.”
He growled at Jinx. “How can you say that?”
“They must fear she’ll find something and the one pretending to be the agent has to be in our records.”
“You think it’s a task force team member?”
“We do. It adds up. They knew how to gain her information in the first place when she contacted Homeland about Drackwood and even when we were going to strike the locations where Species were being held. Two males arrived tonight to grab her. Did she recognize one of them as the human who lied to her?”
“No. She would have told me.”
“Then we’re looking at two humans being involved—the supposed agent and the surviving male accomplice who came after her.”
True tried to be rational but it was difficult with his boiling temper.
“The guards they interrogated at Fuller are corrupt. Darkness called to inform us that they admitted they’ve been taking bribes from some of the prisoners. They never dared allow any of them to escape for fear they’d share the location with someone from the outside world. They weren’t just afraid someone would break out the prisoners, they were afraid of being killed in retaliation for all the abuse they dished out to them. They gave some of them extra food and smuggled in illegal luxury items for them to use as money. Darkness hasn’t been able to interrogate every guard yet since they weren’t all on duty but they have interaction with the task force team members on a regular basis. It’s his theory that it wasn’t just money that exchanged hands. The guards could have traded for information with the prisoners and then shared what they learned with the one pretending to be the agent. That’s how he might have known about other locations where Species were being kept.”
“That’s how he knew the location of Cornas Research, where he sent Jeanie,” True guessed.
“That is what Darkness suspects.”
“What about Polanitis? Was Darkness able to gain information from him?”
Jinx shook his head. “Not yet. The human is mental and smashed his head against the bars until he caused a bad concussion. He’s in Medical at the prison, being treated for that injury. They believe he will heal but he did it on purpose to save himself from being questioned. He feared Darkness that much.”
“I hate that human male,” True snarled, wishing death upon him. He glanced down the hallway. “I want an officer guarding the door again.”
“Already done. I asked them to step away to talk to you in private. There are two now. Jericho volunteered and so did Flame.”
“Good.” He was sure he could protect Jeanie but he wanted help, refusing to allow his pride to affect his judgment and ignore the fact that the odds of keeping her safe were better with backup.
“I also came to ask if you would bring your mate to Security to view those files now. The longer we wait, the greater the risk of them making another attempt to stop her. Tim wasn’t at that meeting when we spoke of our plan but other Species were. They were with him at dinner and I’m not sure what he may have overheard at the bar if they discussed those plans.”
True’s teeth clenched as he gave a sharp nod. He was furious. “It had better not be Tim.”
“His daughter is Species and so is his grandson. He’s one human I would trust but he may have mentioned what he overheard to one of his team members about your mate planning to view photos of those employees’ faces. He might have made some calls to his team members to update them on what was happening here after he went back to the office.”
“Give me ten minutes and you can help me escort her to Security. You said Luna is in Control?”
“She’s already preparing the employee records for viewing and will include everyone who works on the task force.”
“We’ll dress fast but I need a few minutes to let her know what is going on. Ten minutes,” True repeated, closing and locking the door.
Jeanie sat on the bed with the sheet pulled up to cover her breasts. The sight of her was tempting but her life was in danger. The need to mount her would have to wait. He perched on the side of the bed and took her hand.
“That was Jinx.” He hated to give her more reasons to be fearful but she needed to know what was going on. He quickly gave her a rundown of what he’d been told and waited for her to respond.
“Shit,” she whispered, clutching his fingers tightly.
“That was my response as well.”
“You work with them.” She appeared worried as she watched him. “Maybe it’s not someone on the task force team.”
“It’s likely that it is. It makes sense with the access they’ve had to accomplish all this.”
“I’m so sorry, True. You consider them friends and I don’t want you hurt if one of them betrayed your trust.”
“The only one in danger of being hurt is the male or males responsible.” It pissed him off that anyone had used
Jeanie but it just made it worse that it might be someone trusted by the NSO. “We need to dress and you need to see those files.”
“You think they’ll make another attempt to grab me?”
“It’s possible. One of the males responsible for taking you from our home is still at large and the human pretending to be an agent is still unknown. They have proven their ability to gain access to Homeland. You’ll be well guarded from now on, Jeanie. I won’t leave you alone again. I’m so sorry about that.”
“You should be allowed to go for a run without fear of something happening to me. Don’t apologize.”
“I should have been here.” He’d regret that for as long as he lived. The humans could have just killed her. He wouldn’t mention that but the heartbreaking thought wouldn’t leave his mind.
“Do we have time to shower?” Her smile looked forced. “I’m still a little sweaty from that hot sex we shared.”
Her attempt at humor failed. He appreciated it but he was too worried about the males out to cause her harm. “We don’t. I told Jinx we’d be ready to go in ten minutes and we have about two of left.”
“Okay.” She let go of his hand. “Let’s do this.”
Chapter Eighteen
Jeanie kept close to True’s side and firmly gripped his hand as they left the dorm. Three New Species guards surrounding them kept alert for any signs of trouble. She noticed that Jinx kept his hand on his sidearm as his gaze darted in every direction, looking for any sign of danger. She glanced up at True, seeing the same wariness in him. They were worried.
Breeze sat in a Jeep outside the building with the engine running. Jeanie smiled at the woman, happy to see her again. She’d been present at Medical, cracking jokes to ease the tension after True returned from Fuller.
“I made some calls,” Breeze announced. “Some of our males are stationed on rooftops with sniper rifles just in case we run into any trouble on the way. They’ll keep an eye on us the entire trip.”
True growled and let go of her hand to put his arm around her waist. He jerked her closer until she felt as though she’d become a part of his side. It was dark outside, dawn still hours away, and a cold wind blew her hair into her face. Her mate just lifted her when he reached the passenger side, which had the door removed, and she ended up sitting on his lap. He surrounded her with his arms, keeping her very close. The two other Species got in the backseat.
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