New Species 03 Valiant (45 page)

your females handle the sudden change in lifestyle.”

Breeze glanced at Tammy, who shrugged. “She’s got

experience.”

A grin split Breeze’s face. “Sure. They put me in

charge of this task and to tell you the truth, I have no

idea what I’m doing. We don’t handle this kind of thing.

They are usually sent somewhere else but Justice wanted

them brought here. We would appreciate the help.”

“Thank you.” Jessie smiled. She was a really pretty

woman in her late twenties or early thirties. “I’d love to

do everything I can.”

Tammy studied the New Species women who exited

the helicopter. They were all tall, sturdy women. They

were muscled and in excellent physical shape. Their

clothes were off-white and their pants were exactly like

the ones 927 had worn. She even spotted the same thick

side seams of their clothing as one of the woman walked

past. The woman glanced at her and Breeze but no one

objected to her being there.

“What is up with the clothes? Why are they all

dressed that way?” Tammy kept her voice low, her gaze

on Breeze.

The taller woman showed signs of anger when her

nostrils flared. “We were restrained with chains on all our

limbs. It was easier for our captors to strip us and

change our clothing with seams that pull apart. They

have Velcro that sticks when pressed back together. It

kept them from having to pull the pants down our legs or

shirts over our heads.”

The answer sickened Tammy and she felt a whole

new appreciation for the kind of hell the survivors had

endured. The ugly clothing had a purpose and it wasn’t a

good one, in her mind. She pushed those grim

observations back and tried to appear friendly to the

freed women.

Everyone fit in the van. Tammy smiled at the women

but none of them returned the friendly gesture. Five out

of the six New Species women openly stared at her

though. A few of them looked baffled while one of them

appeared frightened. Two of them completely hid their

emotions. Tammy focused on the frightened woman

sitting on the seat behind hers.

“I’m Tammy. It’s safe here. Everything is going to be

fine.”

“They are in shock,” Jessie explained softly. “It will

take a few days for everything to sink in. Their entire

lives have drastically changed forever in a matter of

hours.”

Tammy smiled sadly at the woman still staring at her

with fear on her face. “It really will be okay. This is a

great place to live. I live here now and I love it.”

The woman licked her lips. “What are you?”

Tammy blinked. “Human.”

The woman shook her head. “You’re more.”

“Oh.” Tammy moved slowly and extended her arm.

“You smell Valiant. I’m wearing his sweater. He’s New

Species and we live together.”

The woman gave her a blank stare.

Jessie spoke. “New Species is what you all are called.

It is the name your kind came up with since you are all

different mixes of different species.”

The woman behind Tammy nodded. She hesitated.

“You live with one of our kind?”

Tammy nodded. “We are…” She faulted on how to

explain.

“Mates. They exclusively breed together,” Breeze

explained, coming to the rescue. “They have decided to

stay with each other until death.”

The woman appeared shocked. “But she’s human.”

Breeze smiled. “She’s a good one who would never

hurt our kind. She loves Valiant and he loves her.”

The women kept staring at Tammy as if she were

something they couldn’t figure out. She tried not to allow

it to bother her. She was something they didn’t expect.

“Do you feel as if you are an occupant of a zoo?”

Breeze asked and chuckled.

Tammy grinned. “Just a little.”

The rest of the ride to the hotel was silent.

* * * * *

The lobby of the hotel had been cleared. Tammy was

relieved that the males were gone, not wanting to risk

another confrontation. Jessie and Breeze talked softly

about the accommodations the newly arriving women

were given. Tammy noticed the six women were still

watching her. In the elevator they all pressed together

and they sniffed at her. She tried not to let it bother her.

She was a little more than relieved though when the

elevator doors opened on the fourth floor.

Tammy, Breeze and Jessie showed the women to

their separate rooms and demonstrated how to use

everything inside. They had no idea how to turn on the

shower or run a bath. They didn’t know how to use a

phone, how to open the windows or how to lock a door.

Hours later Tammy, Breeze and Jessie left the fourth

floor, tired but satisfied that everyone was settled.

“Wow,” Breeze sighed. “I didn’t realize how little I

knew when I was first released.”

Jessie nodded. “A t least they all can read and write.

Some of the Gift females were never taught. I’d say only

about half of them were. It depended on how old they

were when they were given away.”

“That’s so horrible,” Tammy sighed, remembering

what she’d learned about those poor women.

“Yes,” Jessie agreed. “It is. I’m the one who goes in

every time. There are two Special Forces teams that

make up the task force that was put together solely to

work with the New Species Organization. They are all

men. A t first they didn’t realize they really needed a

woman to go in with them when they recover New

Species females. The first two times they went in without

a woman they highly traumatized the recovered females

more than necessary. Think about it. It was just stupid.

They just didn’t think about how that would affect a

female who has been abused, locked up for years, and

suddenly she’s surrounded by two-dozen men dressed in

full assault uniforms who are armed to the teeth.” Jessie

clenched her teeth and shook her head. “They brought

me in finally. The guys kick ass and I handle the

females.”

“How did you get the job?” Tammy glanced around

the cafeteria as they walked into it.

Jessie laughed. “My father, actually. He’s a senator

who was appointed to represent the New Species issues

in Washington. He volunteered me when they realized it

might be smart to have a woman present who was

nonthreatening to the females they found. The first

woman they hired was a shrink. That didn’t go over well.

A fter that, my father got his way and I ended up with the

job. I was a little pissed at first since he didn’t ask me but

I love what I do. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of down

time. I wish more of them could be found. I wouldn’t

mind working eighty hours a week if it meant we were

rescuing more of them.”

“Do you find them often?”

Tammy grabbed a plate and started to fill it with food

from the buffet. She grabbed some donuts and a muffin.

Not much was out in the early-morning hours. The cook

hadn’t started preparing breakfast and wouldn’t until six,

according to the wall schedule. The other two women

filled their plates as well.

“They are hard to find. In all, we’ve recovered

twenty-three. We were able to track some of the Gift

Species who were unaccounted for, but most hadn’t

survived.”

Tammy cringed. “That’s so sad.”

“They are not like us,” Breeze stated softly. She met

Tammy’s curious gaze. “They are small and unable to

defend themselves. They were severely abused,

comparable to kicked puppies.”

“Oh.”

Jessie sighed. “It’s hard for the New Species to accept

some of them because they are so traumatized that they

can’t be around men at first. Several churches with

secluded women’s retreats were nice enough to take

some of them in. We send them there when we find an

especially fragile female.”

“They cry and shriek around men. They jump and

shake.” Breeze’s voice sounded upset. “A nd it makes us

very angry to see that.”

Jessie clenched her teeth. “It’s not their fault they are

that way.”

Breeze frowned. “We are not angry at them. We get

angry that this happened to them and that they were

made weaker and taken from our men who treated our

females well. We feel rage that they were completely

alone. It was rare that we saw other Species unless they

were breeding us but we could scent them on the

humans who came into our cells. It was comforting.

They didn’t have that. It angers all of us.” Breeze stared

at Jessie. “Our anger is never directed at them. Never.”

“I’m sorry.” Jessie sighed. “I have seen the reactions

of your kind when I take the women in. I just assumed

the rage was directed at the Gift females because they are

crying and very frightened when they see others of their

kind. I know you really respect strength and courage.”

“We do but we want to protect the weaker. We

understand they need our compassion most.”

Tammy finished her breakfast. “Wow. The sun is

out.” Her gaze drifted away from the window at the back

of the cafeteria.

“You should get some rest before Valiant returns.”

Breeze chuckled. “He will want to take you to bed but he

will not allow you sleep. You need all the sleep you are

able to get while you can.”

Tammy nodded. “We’re getting married today.”

Jessie choked on her coffee. “What?”

Tammy grinned. “We’re getting married. He asked

and I accepted. He wants it all legal-like and I’m happy

about that.”

“A nother one.” Jessie smiled. “So you’re going to be

the second married, mixed couple. That’s great. I didn’t

mean to blow coffee. It just surprised me.”

Breeze chuckled. “Wait until you see them together.

That will surprise you even more. Where she is short, he

is tall. He’s a big male—six-foot-six and weighs well over

two-hundred-fifty pounds.”

Jessie winked at Tammy, grinning. “Brave woman.”

“He’s a sweetheart.”

Breeze laughed. “To her, he is a sweetheart. We

shake in fear when he is angry. She laughs at him. Just

do not be afraid when you hear really loud noises today,

Jessie. I will have to put you on the third floor by their

suite. You will need a room for a few days while you stay

to help with the woman. Valiant is lion mixed. Just

remember that.”

Jessie appeared confused. “What am I missing?”

Tammy

knew

her

cheeks

warmed

with

embarrassment. “He roars after sex. On that note, I’m

leaving.” She waved. “I hope to see both of you at the

wedding. Come if you can.”

“She was kidding, right?” Jessie sounded stunned.

Breeze laughed. “No. She was not. She is what your

kind call a ‘screamer’ too. We all know when they breed.

We look forward to when they will go to Valiant’s home

just so we can get some undisturbed sleep.”

Tammy groaned as she walked away, grateful to

move out of earshot after that. She quickly reached the

elevator, happy there were no lingering males in the

reception area, and made a beeline for her suite.

Tammy might have been a little nervous but Valiant

didn’t seem to suffer from it. He held her hands while he

grinned at her. The New Species had brought in Pastor

Thomas to perform the ceremony. The elderly pastor

appeared a little uneasy, being surrounded by a few

hundred New Species but the fact that he’d agreed to

marry them touched her deeply. There was only one

other human present besides Tammy and the pastor.

Jessie Dupree had shown up to witness their marriage.

Her best friend had refused to come when Tammy

had called to invite Tim. She was a little sad but staring

into Valiant’s exotic golden eyes made it not matter after

all. Tim would either get over his prejudice or he

wouldn’t. It was his problem, not hers.

She’d never thought so many New Species would

show up to witness their joining but they had. It warmed

her heart that they cared. The lobby was the largest

room besides the cafeteria that the hotel had to offer and

it was packed—standing room only. There weren’t