New Species 02 Slade (41 page)

Valiant finally slowed and glanced down at Trisha,

frowning. “You should eat.” He looked away, peering at

their surroundings.

Trisha was thrilled to see Slade jog out of the woods

behind them. He grinned. “Clean getaway.” He

approached Valiant and opened his arms. “I’ll take her.

Thanks.”

Trisha met his gaze. “Harley needs—”

“The humans have him and you’re not going back.”

Slade’s dark gaze narrowed. “You can argue with me but

it won’t change anything. You saved him and now it’s up

to them to make sure he survives. Our priority is you

and the baby. Harley knew it would be dangerous when

he took the job and accepted the risks.”

Tears spilled down her cheeks. She wanted to protest

but realized as she heard the helicopter growing fainter

that they’d already scooped him up and transported him

away. She couldn’t do anything more for him. She just

had to hope that the life-flight crew were top notch and

that his lung didn’t collapse. His heart could stop again.

A hundred other things that could go wrong began to

filter through her head until she pushed them back. She

couldn’t do anything more for him and worrying about

all the “what ifs” wouldn’t do anyone any good. She was

a professional and knew she needed to let it go until she

heard news from the hospital.

Valiant transferred her from his arms into Slade’s.

“Those men destroyed the inside of my house.” Valiant

growled in anger. “I was out hunting and smelled them.

They were gone by the time I reached my home but I

followed them this way.”

“I’m sorry.” Slade watched him. “Thank you for the

help.”

“She’s one of ours.”

Slade nodded. “Mine specifically.”

Valiant arched an eyebrow. “It now makes sense why

you threatened to kill me for touching her. You should

feed her more. She’s too skinny. You should at least be

breeding a bigger one if you are going to be mounting a

human. I can feel all her bones.”

“I’m not skinny,” Trisha protested softly, using one

hand to wipe her face. She sniffed and her anger stirred.

It may have been the stress and trauma but she felt

insulted. “I needed to drop ten pounds before I got

pregnant. I eat plenty too. You’re making me feel as

though I’m not taking care of myself. I’m healthy to the

point of having excess weight I could lose.”

Slade cleared his throat. “Where? I’m partial to your

breasts and I love your ass just the way it is.”

“You know I’m going to get bigger, a lot more so, in

a few months, don’t you?”

Slade nodded. “I can’t wait to see you fat.”

“I won’t be fat,” she sputtered. “Pregnant is not fat.”

“Where should we take her?” Brass moved closer.

“You can take her to my home,” Valiant sighed. “Just

for one day.” He shot Slade a warning look. “Only one.”

“Thank you. Your place is the closest and I need to

stash her until darkness falls. I want to move her to my

house unseen. It’s going to be a mess out there right now

after this happened. In a few hours things will calm.”

Slade shifted her in his arms. “I want her under cover

quickly.”

Valiant nodded. “Even better. Let’s go.”

“You can put me down,” Trisha informed Slade.

He shook his head. “You are barefoot. Just wrap

your arms around my neck and relax.” He suddenly

grinned. “Unless you want me to put you on my back

again.”

She wound her arms around his neck, remembering

their time after the SUV crash and how the muscles of her

thighs had ached for days afterward from clinging to

him. Valiant led the way with Slade following and Brass

trailing behind.

“Where’s Moon?” Trisha twisted her head, searching

but she didn’t see him. “Is he okay? He wasn’t shot too,

was he?”

“He’s unharmed. He planned to stay with Harley.”

Brass answered. “He’ll guard him while he’s inside the

human hospital.”

“Will someone let us know how Harley is doing?”

Trisha met Slade’s gaze. “Please? I’ll worry until I hear if

he made it.”

He nodded. “I’ll make sure you’re updated as soon

as I have news on his condition.”

“Thank you.” She knew he would keep his word.

* * * * *

stared at it, surprised. It was an old Victorian, in pretty

good shape. Someone had lovingly restored the place

unless it had been built to mimic an older house. Either

way it appeared authentic and impressive.

“This is land we bought adjoining the old resort,”

Slade explained. “An old woman lived here but her son

had died. She was all alone and not doing so well. Now

she’s in a retirement center with a full-time staff to care

for her. We were able to buy up a lot of properties in the

area that surrounded the resort. We paid them nearly

twice the market price to make them happy.”

Valiant walked up the wide porch steps. The double

doors were broken and Trisha winced. One of the

stained-glass doors had been smashed and she knew it

would be impossible to replace. Brass used his foot to

sweep the glass to the side as Valiant ushered them

inside his home.

Trisha stared at the beautiful woodwork inside the

nice entryway and at the hand-carved banister that led to

the second floor. Her doubts of the real age of the home

vanished. The beautiful woodwork shone with love and

pride, craftsmanship that no longer existed except for the

very rich. Valiant led them through double doors into a

large living room. Trisha stared in horror.

“They wrecked most of the house,” Valiant growled.

He walked to the overturned couch and straightened it.

“Put her down there. Between the three of us we should

be able to make her more comfortable.”

“I’m so sorry,” Slade told him sincerely. “We’ll help

you replace what was destroyed.” He gently eased

Trisha down to the couch before he moved away.

Trisha watched quietly while the men righted

furniture. She was grateful no one had taken a knife to

the antique furniture. Valiant left to retrieve a broom and

a dust pan. It didn’t take the men long to clean up.

“Can I use your phone?” Slade glanced at Valiant.

“They didn’t damage the one in the kitchen. Use it.”

Slade disappeared. Brass took out trash. Valiant

studied Trisha grimly as she watched him back.

“I saw what you did for Harley. I heard you say you

are a doctor.”

She nodded. “I work at Homeland.”

“Did you ever work for Mercile Industries?” Anger

made his exotic, cat eyes a scary sight.

“No. I never saw a New Species until after you’d all

been freed. Slade was brought to my emergency room

directly from the testing facility he’d been rescued from.”

He relaxed. “You look too young to be a doctor.”

“I started medical school at fourteen. I’ve always

been kind of smart.”

“You really work at Homeland?”

“Yes.”

Valiant smiled, all traces of his anger disappearing.

“You are attracted to Slade? He’s kind of gruff.”

She smiled. “He has his moments.”

“I hear some of our women are kept at Homeland.

Do you take care of them too?”

“When they need me.”

“Will you do me a favor when you return there?”

“Yes,” she agreed instantly. He’d helped save her

life.

His cat-like golden eyes narrowed. “Don’t you want

to know what I want from you before you answer?”

“You helped save my life and I owe you. What do

you need from me?”

He hesitated. “I want a mate. Will you talk to the

women and see if anyone is interested? It gets lonely out

here. I want a big, sturdy woman. I’d prefer a feline

mixed species but as long as she’s tough I wouldn’t be

picky.” He paused. “I frighten most of my own kind. Our

women don’t scare easily since they were raised in

testing facilities. I bred with a feline female once inside

while in captivity and she didn’t scream at the sight of

me or beg the men who brought her into my cell to take

her away. All the others refused me. Primates were

especially terrified when were introduced to me.”

Trisha had to swallow and remember to keep her

mouth closed. He wanted her to find him a girlfriend?

She swallowed again.

“I can talk to them. There are about three dozen New

Species women living in Homeland dorms. I’m just not

sure how many of them are feline but I’ve seen some.”

He nodded. “I had heard that. Talk to them for me

and tell them I am not as scary as I appear.” He suddenly

stood. “Are you hungry?”

“A little.”

“I’ll get you some good food. Pregnant women

should eat often and you need to do that more than most.

You are too skinny.” He stalked out of the room.

Trisha hugged her waist and let the conversation

settle into her thoughts. Valiant was one big man. If

someone took her into his cell and asked her to have sex

with him, she probably would freak out too.

She shook her head in disbelief. He seemed nice once

he calmed and wasn’t snarling. Maybe one of the New

Species would be interested in him but she didn’t envy

that woman. He was just too big and ferocious. She

didn’t believe he’d hurt anyone he was with but just the

sight of him angry would be enough to scare the hell out

of anyone dating him if he lost his temper.

Slade returned alone and sat on the couch inches

from her. “I spoke to Moon. Harley made it to surgery

and he’s holding his own. All the men who attacked you

have been taken care of but most of them died. The three

who survived are being transferred to human authorities

and will be questioned.” He studied her. “How are you

holding up, sweet thing? Since you involved yourself

with my kind your life hasn’t seen too many dull

moments, has it?”

She hesitated. “I didn’t work for New Species when I

met you the first time. You made me curious enough to

want to send my résumé into Justice so I blame you.”

He smiled. “Really?”

“Yes.”

“You’d think it would be the opposite. I grabbed you

when I woke and pulled you into my bed. I pinned you

under me and told you what I planned to do to you.”

She could feel heat warm her cheeks. “Yeah, well,

maybe that’s what got me interested.”

Slade’s smile widened and he reached for her. His

hand slid across her thigh to rub her leg. “What part

interested you? I know I was sure I wanted to keep you

under me for days.”

“That part kept me up nights, wondering what it

would have been like if you’d had your way with me.”

He inched closer. “I haven’t had the opportunity to

do that yet, sweet thing. I want to spend days with you

under me.”

“You won’t pin her there on my couch,” Valiant

growled.

Slade sprang back and his hand released Trisha. He

smiled at Valiant. “Sorry. I didn’t hear you enter the

room.”

“You were too concentrated on the female.” Valiant

handed Trisha a soda and a banana-nut muffin. “It

amazes me how soft our kind have grown since we were

freed. Once, no one would have been able to creep up on

you before you were aware of them.”

“Once we were chained to walls and slept on mats

on the floor. Once we were prisoners. Once is over.”

Valiant nodded. “True enough.”

“I have to go handle the fallout of what has

happened.” Slade gave Valiant an intense look. “Is it

okay if I leave her and Brass here with you?”

“Fine but remember you said you were going to take

her out of my home tonight.”

Slade stood and his gaze met Trisha’s. “You’re safe

here and I’ll be back in a few hours when the sun goes

down. I’m going to take you to my house. Get some

rest.”

“Okay. Hurry back.”

Slade smiled. “I will. I’ll come for you soon.”

Trisha cringed. She’d heard him say that to her before

yet he’d never returned. Instead he’d avoided her by

accepting a job overseeing Reservation. She watched him

go, realizing she had to learn to trust him or she would

always be afraid every time he walked away from her.

She didn’t want to live that way.

“Don’t look so fearful. You are safe here with me.

You’re too skinny to draw my sexual interest, Slade has