New Species 02 Slade (39 page)

bullets. You’ll be drawing fire when you open up on

those terrorists.” Brass glanced at Trisha and held her

gaze. “Do not move your ass no matter what happens.

Do you understand me? If one of us goes down, doctor

or not, don’t move an inch. You think of that baby.”

Fear gripped Trisha when the trucks were close

enough for her human ears to pick up the sound. Moon

dragged out a duffle bag from a closet near the front

door and tore it open. He hadn’t packed clothes inside

the large, long bag. Instead he unloaded two rifles and

gripped the hand of the duffle, taking it with him as he

hurried up the stairs.

Harley walked to his bag and Trisha watched him

unloading handguns and ammunition. He glanced at

Brass. “Do you want the front or the back position?”

“I’ll take the back. Humans always seem to think

they can creep up on us. I think the attack along the back

side will be far worse and I’m a better shot.”

“Yeah,” Harley snorted. “We’ll see about that. I bet I

can take out more of those terrorists than you can.”

“I’m sure they are just lost,” Trisha urged, hoping

that was the case. “Please don’t shoot someone unless

you have to.”

Brass met her gaze. “There are two trucks of humans

trespassing inside the wild zone and Slade would never

send them in this direction with you here. They would

have a Species escort and Slade would have warned us

to move you to keep you out of sight if they had

permission. They are here to do harm. Keep your ass

where you are.” He grabbed a side table and shoved the

lamp to the floor where glass shattered as it broke. He

pushed the table near her to block the hole and trap her

there.

“You move from that spot and I’ll blister your ass

with a leather belt,” Brass growled at her. “Do you

understand? You won’t sit for a week.”

Shocked, Trisha stared at him. Brass suddenly

grinned and winked.

“I know enough about human children to know

that’s an effective threat.” His smile died. “And I mean

it.” He spun away, heading for the back wall of the cabin

to a window.

Trisha heard brakes and engines died, letting her

know the trucks had stopped outside. She heard male

voices. It just has to be some kind of mistake. The guys are just

freaking out and overreacting. They have to be. No one knows

I’m in the cabin and no one is coming to hurt me or my baby. It

is all just a big misunderst―

“Are any of you fucking animals inside there?” a

male voice yelled from outside. “Come out and let us

put you out of your fucking misery.”

Laughter sounded and Trisha tensed. Okay. It isn’t a

misunderstanding. They’re here to do harm. The men outside

weren’t looking for her personally but instead were

searching for any New Species they found. She locked

her focus on Harley by the front window and knew he

would be able to see them best. He looked calm to her.

She felt anything but. Her terror mounted as the seconds

ticked by, praying they’d just leave. She didn’t want

Brass or the guys to get hurt protecting her.

“Let’s go in and get us some animal skin,” another

jerk laughed.

“We will kill you where you stand if you come any

closer. We’re heavily armed,” Harley warned loud

enough for them to hear his threat.

Male voices laughed from outside. “You hear that?

One of the animals thinks we’d allow a dog or cat to

chase us off. Spread out and shoot the son of a bitch.

We’re going to show it who the masters are.”

Gunfire erupted, the sounds loud and horrible.

Trisha’s gaze flew toward the loft when she realized that

Moon had opened fire. Trisha stared in horror as Harley

lifted his gun, pointed it out the narrow opening at the

top of the window uncovered by the kitchen table, and

fired his weapon. Her hands lifted to cover her ears. She

heard multiple gunshots and men shouting outside

though she tried to block out the sound.

* * * * *

“We know where they are,” Tiger spat, grabbing his

radio. “We need help at the wild zone at cabin six. We

have active gunfire. Our people are under attack.”

Slade snarled at Tiger. “Sit.” It was all the warning he

gave before he twisted the wheel hard and the Jeep left

the road. He had to violently spin the wheel again

seconds later to avoid slamming into a tree.

Tiger cursed and grabbed hold of anything he could.

Slade had left the pavement and drove at a dangerous

speed through the woods. The Jeep bounced roughly,

the ride nearly terrifying as they dodged obstacles and

barely missed trees. Tiger held his breath a few times,

thinking the Jeep wouldn’t clear between thick trunks a

few times. One of the side mirrors didn’t make it when it

slammed into a tree, exploded from the impact, and

Tiger heard paint scraped off the side of the door.

“Don’t drive out into the open when we get there.

We’ll sneak up behind them and take them out. They

won’t hear us with all that racket.”

“Fuck that. I’m hoping to draw them away from her.”

Slade snarled the words, too enraged to care what

happened to them as long as they fired at him instead of

at Trisha. “I want them after me instead.”

“They are humans,” Tiger growled. “They don’t fight

that way. We won’t draw them off, at least not all of

them. Listen to me. I know you are enraged but do what I

say. You aren’t rational.”

Slade nodded, knew his friend spoke the truth, but

he couldn’t seem to think past the fear of Trisha getting

hurt or killed. He knew he’d left rational behind at the

first sound of the gunfire when he’d driven off the road.

“Fine.”

* * * * *

bloody arm when a bullet struck him. He didn’t stop

firing his gun though. He just gripped his injury for a

few seconds before he ignored it.

She wanted to help him but knew it would be

suicide to try to reach him. Bullets struck the cabin

repeatedly and holes opened up along the wall by the

door in a sudden flurry but Harley threw himself down

at the last second. He crawled, cursed, and moved to a

new location. He stood and began firing again. More

bullets tore through the cabin walls as the men outside

returned fire. A framed picture hanging on the wall near

where the couch had been shattered from a bullet,

sending glass raining down.

Trisha turned her head to check on Brass, who leaned

against a thick support beam while he fired outside.

He’d obviously guessed accurately that some of the men

would try to sneak up along the back. Trisha heard a

noise and stared at the kitchen as the countertop Brass

had wedged against the window came crashing down. It

hit the sink and slid to the floor. Trisha saw movement as

the long barrel of a gun entered from where someone

had obviously gotten the window open.

“Kitchen window,” Trisha yelled.

Brass dived for the floor and slid across it a few feet

on his belly until he could see the kitchen. He twisted

onto his side, gun in hand, and aimed. Brass shot the

intruder in the head when a man attached to the barrel of

the gun climbed through the window.

The body jerked before he collapsed with half of his

body slung over the sink. Brass turned and blinked at

Trisha before he dumped an empty clip from the

handgun and shoved in a new one. He lunged to his feet

to reach his post by the support beam again. His gaze

peered out the window he guarded.

“Tell me if you see anyone else, Trisha,” Brass

ordered. “Don’t look away. You’re our eyes.”

Trisha mutely nodded but remembered he wasn’t

looking at her. “I’ve got your back.” Her voice came out

shaky but she knew he heard her when he didn’t repeat

the order.

She stared in horror at the body draped through the

window. Blood ran down the cabinet under the sink and

pooled on the floor. She forced her attention away from

the red and the grotesque sight of what was left of his

head where pieces were missing. She focused on the

window opening instead. If someone used it to enter the

kitchen they would be able to shoot at Brass and Harley.

Their sole focus needed to be on the outside.

The shooting stopped suddenly and Trisha held her

breath. She was afraid to look away from the window

and she didn’t. The lives of men she cared about

depended on her keeping a steady visual.

“They are reorganizing,” Brass growled. “How you

doing, Harley?”

“Two hits but just grazes on my arm and lower leg.

I’m good to stand.”

“Moon?”

“Still here and fine. I’ve gotten six of them for keeps

and winged two more. They are staying behind the

trucks or sneaking through the woods to circle around.

Right now they are huddled, probably trying to come

with a plan to rush us. I don’t have a good shot from the

back. The porch roof blocks my view.”

Brass lowered his voice to a whisper. “Ammo?”

“I’m good,” Moon called from above.

Harley hesitated. “Low.”

“Moon? Cover the front.” Brass kept his voice soft to

prevent it from being heard by the men outside.

“Got it.”

“Harley, trade positions with me after you resupply.

Hold the back while I fix the problem inside the kitchen.”

Trisha watched Harley limp to the bags on the floor.

He shoved ammo clips into his pockets along the legs of

his pants. She stared with worry at the blood trail he’d

left when he walked. She wanted to tend to him. Brass

hesitated inside the kitchen, swept his gaze around it,

and crouched. He reached the dead man, grabbed him by

his collar, and dragged him totally inside the cabin. He

even took a second to check for a pulse. He shoved the

body where the stove had once stood to put it out of the

way.

He stayed low to the floor when he grabbed the

broken countertop and used it for a shield in front of his

body when he rose and slammed the heavy piece back

over the window. He turned, examining the kitchen.

Brass moved, a loud noise sounded, and she watched as

he turned, gripped the cabinets that housed the dishes

and ripped them from the wall. There were three of them

hooked together but he dumped the entire section of

cupboards on top of the sink as though it weighed

nothing. He studied it before spinning around to meet

her gaze.

“How are you doing?” Brass moved toward her.

“I’m fine. Can I look at Harley? He’s losing a lot of

blood.”

“You stay put.” He glanced at the bloodstained floor,

lifted his gaze to where Harley stood against the back

window and frowned. “Harley? Walk to Trisha.” Brass’

gaze returned to her. “You can treat him sitting on your

ass right there. You don’t move from that spot.”

Brass headed for the back window. Harley limped to

Trisha. She shoved the table out of the way and she

focused on the bleeding area. He’d been hit just under

his knee on the outer side of his leg. Her fingers shook as

she hooked the material of his pants with her fingers

where the bullet had torn it open and widened the hole

enough to see his bloodied skin. The bullet had grazed

him but it was a deep cut.

Harley had a knife strapped to his thigh. She glanced

at it first before she met his gaze. He watched her

silently.

“Hand me your knife, please.”

He didn’t hesitate to pass it over, handle first. Trisha

looked down her body, realizing she didn’t have a lot of

clothes on. She gripped the bottom of her shirt and began

to slice it. She took off four inches of the bottom and

made a large strip and held up the knife, handle first, to

Harley. He instantly reclaimed it.

“I would have shot Moon if I had known you’d cut

off your clothes if one of us got shot.”

“I heard that,” Moon called out from above.

Trisha laughed as she wrapped the strip around his

leg and tied it tightly. “That should hold it enough to

slow the bleeding but it needs stitches.”

“It feels better already.”