New Species 05 Brawn (24 page)

“Yeah, beat him up.” Trisha was disgusted. “That will teach
him. I’m glad Slade isn’t running Reservation right now and we’re home. I hate
it when I have to patch him up.”

Justice chuckled. “It’s a male thing.”

Chapter Thirteen

Flame studied the cabin that appeared empty of life and
waved the human team forward. They carefully surrounded the cabin, three of
them keeping out of sight in the trees. One of the humans, Bobby, knocked on
the front door. He wore jeans and had grease smeared on his hands. They all
were dressed in casual wear so they didn’t appear suspicious and frighten the
off the woman if they found her. They had a cover story if someone answered the
door. Bobby
would ask to use her phone to call a tow truck for
his supposedly broken-down car.

No one answered. Bobby peered in the window and waved
everyone forward as he dropped to his knees. He picked the lock and had it open
by the time Flame reached his side. They glanced around the small living room
and Bobby turned to Flame.

“Someone is definitely living here.”

Flame walked farther inside the home and inhaled. “It’s a
female who lives alone. I only pick up her scent.”

His heart rate increased with excitement that this might be
the right place when he spotted a crib in one of the two bedrooms. Everything
for the infant smelled new and unused. The second bedroom was the woman’s and
he pulled back the covers, leaned in and pressed his nose against the sheets.
One good whiff and he knew they’d finally located the right female. He could
smell her, the faint scent of pregnancy, and Species.

Flame pulled his cell phone as he turned to face the human
team. “This is the right place. She must be coming back soon, her things are
here, so implement the plan.”

Bobby grabbed his radio. “Call off the search. We found her.
Return to base and stay out of sight.”

Flame dialed Reservation. “We found her but she’s not here.
I believe she should come back soon. I scented what we expected to find. I’m
going to wait in hiding for her to return. Have the helicopter standing by and
fueled. I want it sent the second I have her.”

He hung up and glanced at the men around him. “I can handle
her. I think it’s best if I make contact alone. Go ahead and return to base.”

Bobby, the team leader of the task force assigned to Flame,
hesitated. “Are you sure? I’ll stay behind as backup.”

“No. This isn’t a dangerous situation. We’re doing a favor
for Trisha. Her cousin ran away from an abusive husband and she was worried.
She won’t fight or cause harm. I’m just going to give her a message.”

“Oh.” Anger tensed Bobby’s features. “We’ve been busting our
asses for that?” He spun, stomping away.

Flame let him go and hated making him angry. He liked the
team but they hadn’t shared why they were looking for the female, didn’t want
to tell them why she was really so important and didn’t plan to. The less they
knew the better but they’d needed them to make contact, knock on doors. Anyone
opening a door to a Species would have been alarmed and word might have spread.
It wasn’t something they wouldn’t gossip about or worse, call the police over.
That meant the reporters would get a whiff of a story. The female might have
heard they were in the area and fled.

Flame watched the men leave. The NSO was terrified that if
it got out they could have children with humans, it would cause a lot of
problems. They trusted the task force but the tabloids offered too much money
for some to resist. Keeping that information known to Species and their mates
only was essential. Everyone who knew the truth was personally invested to
protect that secret. He closed and locked the front door, found a good location
to wait and leaned against the interior wall. He had patience.

* * * * *

Becca smiled and rubbed her stomach as the baby kicked
softly. She was sure that was the fluttering feeling she kept getting. It made
her happy every time, assuring her all was well inside her belly.

“I know.” She lifted her hand to grip the wheel with both of
them. “This dirt road is kind of rough and sucks. You feel that, don’t you?”
She slowed the car a little on her way to the cabin. Talking to the baby had
become a favorite pastime. “We’re almost home.”

She parked in front by the door, shut off the engine and
released her seatbelt. She stood, stretched a little and wiggled her butt. The
bumping around on unpaved road always made her rump feel a little numb. She
shoved the door shut, opened the back passenger one and leaned in to grab the
two grocery bags.

“Hungry? I am starving! We missed breakfast when we ran out
of milk and it took longer to get to town than normal thanks to that logging
truck hogging the road. I wasn’t about to try to pass him.”

She hefted the bags, used her hip to close the door and
climbed the porch steps, careful not to trip. The chair next to the door took
one bag as she used her keys to get inside, turned and grabbed the bag again.
Her foot shoved the door closed behind her.

“I want a big ole steak. Doesn’t that sound good? And milk.”
She walked into the kitchen, dumped the bags on the counter and reached in for
one of the meat packages. “Sorry for the tummy rumbling you’re hearing.” She
chuckled. “I bet it’s pretty loud in there where you are since I can hear it
out here.”

She grabbed a pan she’d left on the stove, pulled it to the
front burner and tore open the plastic. Starved was an understatement. Hunger
seemed to plague her constantly. She dumped the steak into the pan and tossed
the packaging in the trash next to the stove.

“Five minutes, kiddo. We’ll be slurping milk and chowing
down on a T-bone.”

She turned to put away the rest of the groceries and
movement caused her to gasp. A tall man dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt
stepped into her kitchen from the dining room. Terror gripped her instantly.
She hadn’t locked the door when she’d entered the house and her frightened gaze
jerked up to his face.

“Oh shit,” she muttered. It wasn’t just some random stranger
bent on robbing or killing her. He was a New Species. His light-red hair was
windblown and his catlike eyes blinked at her. His hands slowly rose, palms out
at his side.

“Easy, female. I am not here to harm you. I came to talk.
Doctor Trisha sent me. I’m Flame. Don’t be alarmed.”

Becca backed up. Alarmed? A New Species was inside her
cabin. Her hands darted protectively over her stomach and his gaze lowered,
noticing her reaction. He looked at her, held her gaze and remained where he
stood. She backed up more.

“Careful. There’s a hot pan behind you.” He tensed. “Don’t
get burned.”

“Get out,” she whispered, heart pounding.

She stopped moving but panicked inside. She’d made a huge
mistake trusting that doctor and they’d obviously traced her call. They would
have had to do that to find her. The proof stood in her kitchen, watching her.

“Doctor Trisha is worried. You’re safe and no one will harm
you. She just wants to make sure you and the baby are fine. She flew to
Reservation two days ago when she talked to you last. She didn’t trace your
call. We did, to the local cell tower that relayed your call. Do not be angry
with her. She didn’t break her promise but had no control over what we did.”
His gaze lowered to her stomach again and he sniffed. “Your baby is New Species
and you need special care during your pregnancy.”

“Just forget you found me and go away,” Becca pleaded as she
blinked back tears. “Just leave me alone.”

He met her gaze again and sorrow filled his exotic eyes. “I
can’t do that. You and your baby need to see a doctor. You are about halfway
through your pregnancy. If we left you alone you would be in for a shock when
you hit your fifth month. That’s when your baby will come full term.”

Becca’s mouth fell open. It took her a second to recover.
She’d guessed the baby might develop faster but nothing had prepared her for
that. ”What?”

“It’s a Species baby. It will be male, it will look Species
and it will be born at around five months, full term. We develop faster. You
told the doctor enough for her to know the father of the baby is like me. I’m
feline. The baby will have features like the father. You won’t be able to pass
your child off without anyone taking one look and knowing what he is. Hate
groups will come after you and your child. They will try to kill you both.
Mercile Industries might come after you and your child as well.” He paused.
“Some of the employees are still out there avoiding capture, being hunted, and
they might try to use you both as leverage against us or worse. You are putting
yourself and your baby in severe danger by not coming to us. We would never
hurt you or your child. We’d never take him away from you. Your pan is burning.
May I turn off the fire under it?”

Becca turned her head, saw smoke rising and the smell of
burning meat finally registered. She reached over to turn it off. She stepped
away from the stovetop but kept her distance from him. He held still, not moving
as she watched him warily.

“No one knows about this baby. I’ve gone to a lot of trouble
to hide. I’m good where I am and you can leave.”

The New Species frowned. “Reservation is fifteen miles from
here. Let me take you there to allow Doctor Trisha to look you and the baby
over. If you refuse, we will just put a detail of security around your home to
keep you and the baby safe. That isn’t up for debate. You and the child need to
be guarded around the clock. It’s more dangerous for you here but we would never
force you to live in captivity. We know all about that.”

She shook her head. “I can’t go with you and you can’t send
people here to protect me. You don’t understand. I don’t know you, which is
good, but there’s going to be hell to pay if anyone recognizes me.” Terror
gripped her. “Are there any humans around or is it just you?”

“It’s just me.”

“Thank God.” She could breathe again. “Please just forget
you found me and go. The worst thing you could do is send a security detail
here. Swear to me you won’t do that.”

“Explain why that’s dangerous. It would protect you.”

The baby kicked hard. Becca flinched and rubbed her stomach.
The New Species male smiled suddenly as he met her gaze.

“I saw that. He is strong. Trisha said that by the time she
was in her sixteenth week it felt as though her son might kick his way out.”

Shock tore through Becca. “Doctor Trisha?”

Flame nodded. “I am allowed to tell you. It is confirmed
that you are pregnant with one of my kind. She has a son named Forest who is
Species. Trisha is married to one of us. She had her baby at twenty weeks.
Would you like to see her son? Would you like to see what your baby is going to
resemble? Species are cute as infants. He is canine mix so his features are a
little different but I think you will be less frightened to have a Species baby
if you see Forest. He claims the hearts of everyone.”

“I can’t go. You need to leave and don’t let them send
anyone else.”

He frowned. “You need to see a doctor. You are frightened. I
can smell your fear. Please stop being afraid. I’d rather shoot myself than
cause you any harm. What is your name? We searched but couldn’t find anything
with your name on it.”

“We?” Her fear increased.

Flame frowned. “You are terrified.” He suddenly paled. “Did
one of us harm you?” His focus jerked to her stomach and then back to her face.
“Did the father hurt you? Did he force you?”

She shook her head.

Flame’s frown deepened. “But you are afraid. Why?”

She met his eyes. “I don’t want the father of my baby to
know. At least not yet. I have enough to worry about without dealing with the
crappy situation with him. I also don’t want my family know. It’s…complicated.”

“You’re terrified. Tell me why now.”

She bit her lip. “I can’t. Let’s just say my family is in a
situation to hurt the father and while I’m not a fan of his, I don’t want
anything to happen to him. I also don’t want my baby growing up without any
family since mine will be in prison for murder. You need to just leave.”

Flame watched her and his features softened. “You’re giving
me no choice but to do this the way I didn’t intend. I won’t reconsider and
leave you this way without a security detail. I was certain I could talk you in
to going with me but I see now that you are determined to stay.” He glanced at
her stomach once more, took a deep breath, and his gaze hardened when he met
her eyes. “I’m so sorry. Don’t be afraid but you are going with me. You’ll see
the doctor, have round-the-clock security and that isn’t up for debate. You’re
obviously in extreme danger anyway and it was a good thing we found you. Please
don’t fight me. Think of your baby.” He moved.

Becca backed up and her ass hit the counter. “No.”

In four long steps he had her and his hands carefully
gripped her arms gently. “The helicopter comes. You would have heard it in a
moment and known I planned to take you whether you agreed or not. I don’t wish
to cause you fright and remember no one is going to hurt you. We are going to
Reservation where Trisha will look you and the baby over. You have no choice in
this. Remain calm for the baby.”

“Let me go, damn it!” Becca yelled and tried to twist away.

He suddenly released her and easily scooped her up into the
cradle of his arms. Becca screamed and clawed at his shirt. “Put me down.” She
didn’t struggle, too afraid he’d drop her and he was tall. It would be a long
fall to the floor.

“Think of your baby,” he growled loudly. “Relax and slow
your breathing. Calm.”

Terror hit Becca but she stopped tearing at his shirt. Her
fingers fisted the material though, clung to him and tried to find words that
would make the big New Species put her down.

“This is kidnapping! Yeah. It’s illegal and you’re not on
NSO property. I’m a US citizen and I refuse to go with you. You can’t do this.
It’s against the law.”