New Species 01 Fury (2 page)

She forced a smile she didn’t feel. “I’m here to take a blood sample.” The door automatically closed behind her, the locking pins slammed into place to seal her inside the cell, and a quick, sharp buzz sounded to underscore that fact. She took in the scene and gasped at the pure horror she witnessed.

416 wasn’t chained to the wall anymore. He was stretched out on the hard, cold concrete floor, facedown. The chains secured to his wrists had been locked to one of the pins cemented into the floor, forcing his arms high above his head while his legs were shackled to the wall. Jacob had removed the restrained man’s pants—they were a balled-up white pile on the floor—and he was on his knees between 416’s spread thighs, which were forced apart by the way he’d been bound.

It took her only seconds to realize what horrific thing she’d interrupted. Jacob sat back on his heels, frozen, stunned as well by her sudden appearance, but he recovered faster than she could. He dropped the instrument of torture, what appeared to be one of the guard’s batons to the concrete floor, and tried to rise. He grabbed for his unfastened pants, trying to close them, cursing. Ellie reacted.

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Fury

“You sick bastard!”

She sprang into action before she thought, the hard plastic case gripped so tightly in her fist that it dug painfully into her palm, and swung it with all the strength she could muster. It smashed into Jacob’s face. He reeled back, cried out, but Ellie didn’t stop when he hit the floor. She ended up dropping onto his body, straddled his belly, her body pinning his down, and grabbed the kit with both hands. Pure rage drove her to batter him with it. He tried to defend his face but after a few hits, his hands slumped to the floor.

“You monster,” she panted, hit him again, and then realized how bloodied his face had become. She stopped, her entire body shaking, and stared in horror at the technician.

Her gaze lifted away from his smashed nose and mouth, to the kit. Blood smeared all over the side she’d used to bash him repeatedly. She dropped it on the floor, in shock, and eased her weight off the downed man. His chest wasn’t moving.

“Oh God,” she gasped. She reached for his throat, a moan tearing from her parted lips, and felt for a pulse. She couldn’t find one. “Oh God, Oh God, Oh God,” she chanted, certain she’d killed him.

She turned and stared at 416, just remembering him. He faced her, his eyes were open, his cheek against the concrete, and he blinked. He’d watched what she’d done.

Her hands shook and she glanced down at them.

I just killed Jacob.
Her gaze drifted back to the horrific sight of the monster she’d attacked in a fit of pure rage.
He deserved it
. She tried to sooth her panicked mind.
Think.

They are going to come in here and find him. They’ll know I killed him. They’ll drag me away,
torture me to find out why I interfered, and they’ll kill me. The evidence will never reach my
handler. Think, goddamn it, Ellie!

She peered up at the camera. Usually a red light blinked but this one didn’t. It wasn’t on. The guard had followed Jacob’s instructions. No one but 416 had witnessed what had really taken place. She had no idea how long those cameras would remain off but she assumed they would until Jacob ordered them to start monitoring the prisoner again. She swallowed hard and rose to her knees. All her focus shifted to the man who watched her so intently, helpless on the floor.

“It’s going to be okay,” she crooned to him.

The test subjects were dangerous. She’d been warned a hundred times that sometimes the chains that restrained them broke. Mercile Industries had illegally altered human beings with animal genetics somehow, made them stronger than normal humans, and even their appearances had been changed. Testing facility assistants and some doctors had been killed by the people they’d helped create. She’d silently cheered at hearing that news but then, she hated everyone who worked inside the secret facility, performing illegal experiments. Mercile Industries was a drug research and development company that would do anything to make a buck.

9

Laurann Dohner

She watched 416 cautiously as she allowed her gaze to roam over his naked body.

His back rose and fell with his breathing but besides blinking, he didn’t otherwise move. She noticed a red mark on his side. With his arms stretched upward she could see it clearly. Ellie hesitated. He could kill her if he broke a chain.

He is worth saving.
She repeated that silent chant a few times while she worked up the nerve to inch closer to his downed body. She’d already decided to put her life on the line when she’d agreed to work undercover, understanding the real possibility that she might not survive. Lives were all too often taken in the name of science. This company only cared about money and they needed to be stopped.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” she promised him. Her hand brushed next to the mark and anger stirred. Jacob had jabbed him hard enough with a needle to leave a dime sized injury. Her gaze shifted to his face. “He drugged you?” The male didn’t answer but she didn’t really expect him to. She knew they could talk, had heard some of them curse and threaten staff as she’d drawn blood, but this one had never spoken to her. The times she’d entered his cell, he hadn’t even growled at her. He’d silently watched her approach, occasionally sniffed at her, but his dark brown gaze always fixed on her every movement. She swallowed again, taking note of his hot skin, and wondered if he were sick. He felt feverish to her.

“It’s going to be okay. He’s dead. He can’t hurt you anymore.” Her hand left him and she crawled a little down his body. She winced at the sight of what Jacob had done to him. His ass was red from blows from the baton. Jacob had beaten him with it on his buttocks, inner thighs and the backs of his legs. She clenched her teeth. She hadn’t arrived in time to prevent another horror either. The sight of blood near his rectum assured her that Jacob had been doing exactly what she’d assumed.

He’d used the baton to sexually assault 416.

Rage gripped her again as she shot a murderous glare at the dead man. His pants were still open and his flaccid cock showed, covered in a condom. She didn’t see blood on him. That small relief, that she’d arrived before he’d raped his victim, helped slightly. A growl emanated from 416.

“Easy,” she crooned. “You’re bleeding. Let me take a look. I’m a nurse.” She didn’t bother rushing for the corner cabinet to get gloves. She wasn’t sure how much time she had. With only a slight hesitation, she lifted her leg over the man’s thick, muscular thigh to get a better view, and peered down at a rounded, beefy ass. Her hands touched him softly, spread the cheeks enough to check the damage, but it looked minimal, considering.

“I’m so sorry for what he did. It doesn’t appear he got—” Her voice died. To say Jacob hadn’t raped him much or seemed not to have penetrated him deeply sounded horrific to even note. This shouldn’t have happened at all. “You’re going to be fine.”
At
least physically
, she amended. Her hands released his ass.

She moved from between his spread thighs to crawl up next to his body and leaned down to study his features. He watched her and she couldn’t miss the look of rage. His 10

Fury

lips parted to reveal sharp fangs. He snarled at her, a little louder than the mild growl he’d given her before. His body didn’t move though.

Dear God, he has canines.
She could see the sharper teeth at close range.
Like a dog’s or
maybe a vampire’s.
She guessed it had probably been some kind of canine breed. It could account for the terrifying growl that erupted from the back of his throat that eerily resembled a vicious dog. She hesitated, afraid he’d snap at her with those sharp teeth if she got too close.

“Easy,” she urged again. “I’m not going to hurt you.” Peering into his eyes told her a few things. His pupils were unusually large and he seemed a little confused. Jacob had obviously drugged him pretty strongly but she had no idea what he’d used. The powerful guy sprawled on the floor probably
couldn’t
move. He’d have fought otherwise when Jacob had assaulted him. He lay meekly next to her but his eyes were lively and another growl tore from his slightly parted lips. She tried not to shiver from the sight of his sharp fangs.

“Did he do anything else to you? Did he mention what drug he gave you?” 416 stopped growling but he didn’t say anything. It made her wonder if he could speak. The drug might be preventing him from doing more than making throat noises.

Ellie knew she’d have to check him over, do it quickly, and think a way out of the mess she’d created by rushing to 416’s cell. The security cameras would have recorded her going into the room.

She opened the metal pin cemented into the floor to release the arm chains that held him flat to the floor and grunted as she pushed the large male onto his back. He was very tall and had to weigh at least two hundred sixty pounds or so. She tried hard not to gawk at his wide chest or the fact that he didn’t have on any clothes.

Ellie took note of how tan he appeared and determined it had to be his natural skin tone since they kept him below ground. His coloring never changed. With his dark-brown hair and deep-chocolate eye color she thought he had to be a good portion Native American. Of course she couldn’t miss the fact that he was a great deal bigger than any Native Americans she’d ever seen. She guessed he had German or some other husky, tall ancestry too.

He wasn’t handsome in any conventional sense, his cheekbones so pronounced they made him appear too harsh. Some might not consider him good-looking but he was quite exotically beautiful. She guessed the bone structure might be caused by whatever genetic altering had been done to him. He looked human but not quite fully so. With his hate-filled glare and the tense jaw, it gave him a snarling appearance, which he actually did the moment Ellie inched closer. The deep growl made her pause, heart pounding, and fear shot through her. He looked intensely masculine and rough, projecting how dangerous he could be. It disturbed her that she found him extremely attractive. She couldn’t deny how his muscular body and pure masculine magnetism drew her to him.

11

Laurann Dohner

If he regained movement she’d die. She knew that and he probably wished he could get his hands on her. She glanced across the room to stare at the cracked and peeling white paint that ran the length of the room on the floor by the door. The staff called it the kill line. All test subjects were shackled by each limb. Though they were strong enough to break chains occasionally, none had ever broken all four at once. They only needed one free limb to kill. She sat inside the kill zone with an enraged, huge male whose two arms were chained but they weren’t connected to anything anymore. That realization made her want to crawl away from him but she resisted the urge.

He’s worth saving
. She nodded.
He needs help. Check him over, do what you can for him,
and pray no one walks in here. Yeah
. She could just hope the drugs didn’t wear off immediately. He’d probably snap her neck before she could beg for her life. He had to hate everyone who worked for Mercile and he had a damn good reason. Her gaze landed on Jacob’s dead body, her teeth clenched, and she forced her gaze to return to 416.
See how hurt he is.

Red marks marred his stomach. Her fingers traced the proof that Jacob had punched him there. She felt his ribcage where more marks showed. She didn’t feel any broken bones. His belly had firm, hard muscles even while he lay lax, but she didn’t feel anything that would suggest internal bleeding. She tried to stay professional but her fingertips lingered a little too long as she traced an integrate pattern of muscle groups.

She couldn’t deny touching him affected her as a woman. He was forbidden, dangerous, and sexy.

Her gaze lowered to his pelvic area, unable not to look at the male she found so appealing, and she gasped. She moved before she thought, gripped his slightly engorged cock, and worked the painful looking bands down the shaft. She tried to be gentle but Jacob had tightly wrapped a thick piece of rubber around the man’s penis a few times. She managed to work it loose and threw the offensive thing away as soon as she got it off. Her fingers gently massaged the reddened skin before she realized how inappropriate the action was. Her gaze lingered there, realized that, even mostly soft, he was impressive. Blood flow had been painfully constricted and prevented from reaching the shaft.

“That son of a bitch,” she muttered, cursing Jacob for doing such a horrible, vicious thing. Her cheeks warmed when she realized what she’d done. More embarrassment slammed her when she realized how her body responded to touching him, even just to remove the offensive implement of torture. She’d been handling his cock.

416 growled. Her gaze flicked up to his face. He watched her with dark, furious eyes. She realized she cradled him still inside her palm and released his cock quickly.

“Sorry! I had to remove it.” She glanced down at his appendage and saw the line where the rubber band had injured him was still red and angry looking. “I’m sure it will be okay.”

She hoped so anyway. Jacob had obviously done it to hurt 416. If left that way too long, lack of blood supply to his cock would have done severe damage, but of course that bastard had planned to kill him.
It would be a horrible crime to disfigure such a sexy
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guy.
That thought made her want to groan and made her more aware that her body responded to the naked male sprawled in front of her. She mentally shook that line of thought away, couldn’t afford to go there, and needed to stop looking at his bare body.

She bit her lip, thinking hard about how to get them out of the mess they were in.

She needed to be free to leave work after her shift and get the data she’d stolen to her handler. Her gaze flicked to the dead guy once more. He lay there, bloody, on the concrete where she’d left him, the cause of his death obviously the blunt-force trauma from pounding his nose with the kit. She’d experienced pure rage to do so much damage. It could be mistaken for damage from a fist. Her gut twisted.