Smiley (New Species)

by Laurann Dohner

  “You don’t legally have to release the identities of whoever you imprison at Fuller.” Cindy grinned. “Score one for the good guys.”

  Fury chuckled. “I checked. The staff at Fuller Prison assembled the bunks and received new bedding. They are just waiting to issue clothing to the new prisoners.”

  Smiley calmed. “You’re sure he won’t get away?”

  “Positive,” Justice swore. “He’s too afraid to piss without a security team outside the door. He just hired two of our undercover task force members. He has no idea who they really are.”

  “That’s totally true,” Cindy nodded. “I’ve been researching Gregory Woods for over a year, since he hit the big-time-social-media level. He’s all mouth and no spine. Right now he’s got to be paranoid as hell and I’ve monitored the increase in his security detail in the past few days. He used to keep three suits around him but he’s doubled that number.”

  “Our team members have him wired and have cloned all his devices,” Fury announced. “He’s very dependent on his electronics and has already done searches for non-extradition countries to flee to. He also hired a private jet to be waiting on standby. One of our humans is now wearing that company’s pilot uniform. He’ll rush right to our pilot and be flown to where our team will be waiting to take him into custody.”

  “What about the son? I want him too.” Smiley wasn’t about to forget that Carl Woods had set Vanni up for his father.

  Justice nodded. “He and his father can share a cage. The father won’t leave without the son.”

  “By every indication I’ve found, Carl Woods is heavily dependent upon his daddy’s money.” Cindy whipped out an electronic device from her purse on the floor. “He spends more than he makes and to be honest, he’s not the best lawyer. His father paid to open his private practice and gives him the majority of his business.”

  She turned the screen to show Justice something. “This is his current debt. The doors to his practice are only open because Daddy saves his ass every month. His home is mortgaged for more than it’s worth and his ass would be homeless and jobless within three months if the money gets cut off. Gregory Woods is a dickhead who loves to keep everyone around him on strings. It’s that pathetic god complex he has. I’d bet the candy bar in my purse that Carl Woods realizes the money gets cut if he doesn’t stick close to his father’s ass. I mean wallet. He’ll also know, if criminal charges are filed against Gregory, the first thing that would happen is they’ll freeze his assets when he evades arrest. That means the money is cut off for sure.”

  “What if he doesn’t leave with his father?” Smiley wasn’t willing to risk it.

  Fury drew his attention. “Then we’ll pick him up a few weeks after his father disappears. Everyone will assume he just met up with him later. They’ll be accurate.”

  “Especially when they foreclose on his house and evict him from his nice office suites,” Cindy added. “Even his car is a rental.”

  “And Bruce? I want him the most. He Tasered Vanni and made threats.” Smiley wasn’t about to allow that male to get away with hurting her.

  Justice leaned back. “We did a background check on him. You want to hit someone and make them bleed? He’s all yours.”

  Fury growled. “He enjoys hurting females. He’s been arrested six times for beating and terrifying them. The females dropped the charges after the police suspected he made threats. Gregory Woods told your Vanni we have a graveyard of our enemies. I think we should start one.”

  “Now, Fury.” Justice shot him an amused look. “He would make horrible fertilizer. I wouldn’t want to expose our vegetation to his remains.”

  “True. He is a piece of shit though.”

  Justice nodded and held Smiley’s gaze. “Leave him alive after you teach him how it feels to be hit. We’ll get him when the teams bring in Gregory. I think death would be too kind. Let him spend his life in a cage. He doesn’t like to leave his boss’ side. We’ll help him obtain that goal. Let’s go.”

  Cindy stood. “I wish I could come with but Miles is probably waiting in the car. He wanted to leave after the meeting and you can guess who is driving. It wouldn’t be him.” She walked over to Smiley. “I’m glad you got the girl.” She winked. “Hold on to that one. She seems like a keeper.”

  Smiley nodded in agreement and followed the men out of Justice’s office to Security. He entered the holding cell first, recognizing the bartender from the hotel. The male’s eyes widened upon seeing Smiley. He tensed in his chair.

  “You do remember me.” Smiley kept away from the male and crossed his arms over his chest. “I remember you.”

  Jericho entered the interrogation room and slammed the door. “I’ll do the talking.”

  Smiley showed fangs but stepped to the side. He glared at the male who was handcuffed to the chair but made sure he stood out of the range of the camera set up in the corner. Jericho rumbled loudly as he stalked forward. It was a sound meant to intimidate the human.

  “I didn’t do anything!” The human’s eyes were wide with fear.

  Jericho crouched a few feet from the male, just glaring at him. Smiley noticed he’d tilted his head up enough that the lighting in the room would catch the red hues of his eyes. The bartender tried to scoot the chair back but realized it wouldn’t move. He broke out in a sweat.

  “I don’t like liars,” Jericho rasped as the rumble emanating from his chest deepened. “Do I look amused? You’re wasting my time. I want to know what happened in that bar.”

  “I just served the drinks.”

  “Let me rephrase that. I know what happened but I want you to admit what you did.” Jericho took a deep breath, expanding his chest and nostrils. His expression showed his anger. “Confession is good for the soul, I’ve been told. So confess.”

  A good minute ticked by. The bartender tried to glance away but his gaze kept going back to Jericho’s intense glare. He trembled. “Okay. All right. This guy approached me before my shift and paid me four hundred bucks to slip something into a pair of drinks. He said it was going to be a joke.”

  “Really?” Jericho stood. He cracked his knuckles. “What was so funny? Share how this joke worked on my friend because I could really use a laugh. I want specific details.”

  “Um, maybe he didn’t say it was meant to be funny. He was with that church group.”

  “What church?”

  “I forgot their name. You know the one with the heavyset preacher guy who has a whiney voice?”

  “No.”

  “He’s always going on about protecting the human race and how wrong it is that you weren’t sent to live in zoos.” He blanched. “I don’t feel that way though. I don’t! I’m so cool with New Species and the entire NSO thing. My girlfriend has a poster of Justice North on her fucking bedroom wall.”

  “You resent that?”

  The human’s face reddened. “No.”

  “I don’t believe that. Justice is a handsome male.”

  The human clenched his teeth. “She tells me I need to work out more.”

  Jericho snorted. “I bet that isn’t good to hear.”

  “She thinks he’s perfect.”

  “Perhaps he is.”

  “No guy is. And he’s a cat. She named her kitten after him. It’s all kinds of fucked-up.”

  Smiley winced and glanced toward the camera, hoping Justice didn’t take offense. His focus returned to the male. It made him happy he wasn’t feline or canine. Primates were harder for humans to own as pets so he doubted there were many being named after him. Of course no one had known about him until the footage of him and Vanni behind the hotel was released. His name hadn’t gotten out until the shopping excursion.

  “Get to the point. This male approached you to do what?”

  “He handed me this little glass bottle with a liquid drug inside it. I was supposed to wait for a New Species to come into the bar and when some chick came in and sat next to him I was told to split the dosage in half and put it thei
r drinks.”

  “What drug?”

  “Hell if I know. He said it would be entertaining. That’s the word he used.”

  “What was his name?”

  The human shifted in his seat. “I’m not sure. I didn’t ask. He was a big meathead. You know the type.”

  “I don’t. Tell me.” Jericho crouched again, balancing his weight on the balls of his feet.

  It seemed to frighten the human, having Jericho that close again. “A little over six feet tall. Dark crew-cut hairstyle. He didn’t have a neck.”

  “Keep describing him.”

  “He looked like he was on steroids, okay? All muscles and not much of a talker. I didn’t pay too much attention to his looks. I didn’t want to date the asshole. I just took the cash and the drug from him. I did what I was supposed to.” He paused. “I really needed the money. My old lady is always complaining about how I don’t take her to nice places and she’s been hinting for me to buy her a ring. Diamonds aren’t cheap. It’s kind of her fault if you really think about it.”

  “Could you pick him out of a lineup?”

  The human hesitated and Jericho rumbled deep within his chest.

  “Yes!” The human nodded. “I could. He was in the bar a few times. He drinks bourbon with ice.”

  The door opened and one of the task force members entered with a large envelope. He opened it and withdrew some eight-by-ten photographs. “Tell me when you see him.”

  The human chose the third photograph. “That’s him.”

  “You’re sure?” Jericho stood.

  “Yeah. He’s got a jagged scar on the back of his left wrist. I saw it when he was drinking at the bar. It was kind of hard to miss. He’s tan and it’s pretty stark in comparison. You notice that shit when you’re chatting up customers when it’s slow. He wasn’t a talker so I thought he might be ex-military. They tend to be loners when they come in and I knew he was working security detail for someone at the hotel.”

  “How did you know that?”

  The human grimaced. “He had one of those earpieces with the cord running down to his collar and he was packing a gun. He had a left-side shoulder holster on. The suit was expensive so I knew he wasn’t there to rob the place. Could have been secret service because we’ve had them in the hotel before but they never drink while on duty. This guy was in there often. He kept talking to some guy named Gregory through his earpiece thing. The first time it happened, I thought he was talking to me and couldn’t read my nametag but then he said it was his boss.”

  Smiley breathed easier. They had linked the drugging to Gregory Woods. He turned and opened the door. He wanted to see Vanni. She’d be happy to know the bartender had confessed and he’d identified Bruce’s photo.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Vanni hung up, glad it was over. She’d notified both credit card companies and was relieved to learn no charges had been made. Replacing her driver’s license and her medical insurance cards, along with some store discount cards, would have to wait. Those were things she had to do in person once she left Homeland.

  She called her office, getting her boss. Glen seemed happy to hear from her. “When are you coming back in?”

  “I’m not sure.” She hated the silence.

  “I can’t afford to pay a temporary agency forever, Vanni.”

  She translated that into what he wasn’t saying. She needed to get her life in order or he’d have to let her go. “I’m so sorry about this, Glen. You’re being very understanding. I know I need this week for personal time for sure. I do have some vacation time coming. The wedding is off so there won’t be a honeymoon.”

  “I assumed that after I saw the news. It’s kind of been the talk of the building. Carl hasn’t been seen either. Are you all right?”

  “I’m better off without him. He turned out to be an ass.”

  “Men rarely react gracefully when they are cheated on.”

  She winced. “That’s not exactly how it was. We’d kind of, well, it’s a long story.”

  “You have two weeks. You’re excellent at your job and until now, a prized employee, but this is a business.”

  “I totally understand. Thank you, Glen. I’ll call you again soon.”

  She hung up just as the front door opened and Smiley walked in. She stood and forced a smile. “How did your meeting go?”

  He approached. “What’s wrong?”

  It amazed her that he could sense her moods so easily. “It’s not important.”

  “Talk to me.” He sat on the couch and patted the spot next to him. She walked over and sat. He smelled good and looked even better.

  “My siblings called. Then I made some calls about my credit cards and another to my boss. My brother is an ass but that’s nothing new. My sister was surprisingly fantastic. She’s usually not so understanding. My boss gave me two weeks to get back or I’m fired.” She paused. “On an up note, no one messed with my credit cards. I canceled them.”

  He reached out and played with a lock of her hair. “You don’t need your job. You could stay here with me.”

  Vanni didn’t know what to say to that. She changed the subject. “How did your meeting go? Was it about us?”

  Smiley released her hair and took her hand. “They brought the bartender in. He identified Bruce as the male who paid him to drug us.”

  That information comforted her. “He’s under arrest?”

  “For the moment. We’re releasing footage of his confession to the news outlets first. It will apply pressure to Gregory Woods to flee to avoid your police. We hope he will take Bruce and his son with him. That’s when they’ll pay.”

  “By being arrested?”

  Smiley hesitated. “It’s not that simple.”

  “They’ll get away with what they did?” It angered her.

  “No. It’s just that our laws will handle this instead of yours.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Your laws are less harsh. Gregory and the males who work for him will pay for drugging us and for keeping you against your will. I promise they won’t get away with it.”

  “I’ll testify against them.”

  He smiled. “You don’t have to go to your court. You told Justice what happened and that’s enough. You’re safe here, Vanni. They will never get the opportunity to hurt you again.”

  “You’re confusing me,” she admitted.

  “They are going to pay and will never know freedom again.”

  “Even Carl?”

  He didn’t seem to like her question, his body growing rigid and his expression stern. “Don’t feel pity for that male. He lured you into a trap and didn’t protect you.”

  Put that way, she nodded. She’d never forget him walking out that door and leaving her there with his father and Bruce. “I know. He’s a jerk.”

  “You could have been seriously harmed or killed. I won’t ever forget that. You shouldn’t either.”

  “I won’t.”

  “Good.” He studied her features. “I don’t want you to leave me, Vanni.”

  Her heart raced a little. She’d miss him if she left Homeland. She could visit him on weekends if he was at Homeland but it would be tough. A long-distance relationship would be difficult for any couple. She wanted to be with a man she got to see on a regular basis. Carl had been a weekend-only dater for the most part and it had helped him hide his true flaws.

  “I know this is fast but I’m willing to marry you.”

  She hadn’t expected that.

  He slid off the couch to his knees in front of her and adjusted his body until he had her pinned. He took both her hands. “I’ll be a good mate. I’ll make sure you are happy, Vanni.”

  “I…” She was speechless.

  “You were willing to marry Carl Woods.” He said the name as if it were distasteful. “I’m a much better male than he could even dream of achieving. I’d never hurt you. I’d never allow anyone else to hurt you either. I really would kill someone to protect you. You would be
everything to me. Tell me your concerns.”

  She licked her lips, trying to think past the surprise of his proposal. “We barely know each other.”

  “I’m Species. We don’t need a lot of time to know our hearts.” He leaned in closer. “I don’t have human relationship flaws.”

  That made her smile. “Which would those be?”

  “I don’t need to date many females before I decide on one because I know what I want and need. That would be you. You make me happy. I feel all the things I’ve always dreamed of. I don’t fear commitment. I welcome it. I won’t take you for granted the way most humans do the females in their lives. I’ve been alone my entire life and I’d cherish spending every moment with you.”

  Tears filled her eyes. She blinked them back. It was probably the sweetest, most open conversation a man had ever had with her. Most men hid their feelings but Smiley opened himself up wide. The look in his soft brown eyes, the earnestness that shone there, expressed his level of honestly.

  “We could be happy, Vanni.”

  “What if we get to know each other better and that changes? This is the honeymoon stage.”

  One eyebrow arched. “What is that?”

  “Almost every relationship is great at the start. Both people are on their best behavior but they let their guard down after a while. Then you get to see their flaws. You might not like me a month from now.”

  “Are you deceiving me?” He frowned. “Are you pretending to be someone else?”

  “No.”

  A smile curved his lips. “I know that. You are bad at hiding your emotions and have a very expressive face.” He grew serious. “You’ve seen me at my worst, Vanni.”

  He’d been wonderful to her. “I don’t believe that.”

  “I’ve been surly since you came into my life. I’m afraid a male is going to draw your interest. I feel jealousy and worry that you might want someone else. It’s why I’ve been so angry when they are near. I took the name Smiley because I was happy to be freed and swore to enjoy every day to the fullest. Jericho called me grumpy and he was correct. I admitted that I’ve killed humans in the past and would do so again if I had to. I don’t imagine that’s a good trait, yet I want you to know me. These are the things I would have hidden if I wanted to deceive you.”