New Species 11 True (11 page)

Justice intervened. “Don’t follow that order.” He stared
down at Tim. “I understand the difficult situation you are in but you aren’t
sending your team after that female until we learn more information.”

“She could know where other Species are being held.” Tim’s
face reddened with anger. “They could be suffering right now. The faster we
make her talk, the faster we can get to them.”

“She could have another panic attack,” Midnight protested. “I
believe she was used by the human. True does as well.”

“Enough!” Darkness bellowed, his voice chilling. He waited
until he had everyone’s attention. “No one is getting near that female without
having to kill Flirt and True. They won’t allow you to take her without a fight
to the death. Didn’t you hear me about the life debt?” He held Justice’s stare.
“I won’t allow that to happen. They are doing what they believe is right. Let
them ask her questions, or I will, but this has become a Species matter.” He
turned his cold stare on Tim. “Get your males out of our dorm. I like some of
them but it doesn’t mean I won’t kick their asses if they attempt to reach
those stairs or the elevator.” He glanced at each task force member. “Do you
want to listen to me or Tim? Leave.”

The humans backed up, retreating out the door.

Darkness didn’t care that Tim appeared furious. “You should
go with them.”

“Don’t threaten me.”

“Call it a friendly warning. The female stays here. I’ll get
your answers. You want to know if she was aware of the blackmail and who the
male is. I’ll find out my own way.”

Justice nodded. “Darkness will handle this matter.”

Tim gasped. “She’s human, therefore my responsibility. It’s
my job to—”

“Follow my orders,” Justice stated. “I understand that you’re
angry because you’re looking out for us but Darkness is right. This became a
Species matter when the female in question took refuge under this roof.”

“She was kidnapped from Medical,” Tim reminded him.

“Actually,” Midnight countered, “she asked True to hide her.
She was pretty out of it but it was clear she wanted his help. Can you kidnap
someone who has asked you to move them to another location?”

“No,” Darkness answered. “He hid her inside his apartment.”

“I’m not sure what room he’s keeping her in.” Dagger smiled.
“I’d consider that hidden. He was just doing what she requested so it can’t be
kidnapping.”

“Goddamn it,” Tim raged. “This isn’t a game. You’re
harboring a fugitive from me and my team. I know Species have a blind spot when
it comes to anything with a vagina but this bitch managed to rip the NSO off
for millions of dollars in a blackmail scheme while New Species suffered. Let
me do my job.”

“We’ll handle this, Tim. Why don’t you go review the details
of how we learned about Drackwood? That would be very helpful,” Justice
suggested.

“Son of a b—”

“Stop,” Justice snarled. “I don’t have a blind spot just
because she’s female. I understand you think we’re more likely to believe her
because she’s female but do you know what convinces me to allow Species to
handle this matter? They care about her. We’re not idiots. Some of them know
this female, spent time with her during their captivity, and they vouch for
her. That’s what motivates me to walk out the door while she’s upstairs. Go do
your job by pulling and reviewing the details of how we found out about
Drackwood. You’ll be notified as soon as they learn any new information you can
work with. Go.” He pointed to the door. “I’ll remember that you’re so
passionate because you care instead of physically tossing you out on your ass
for the insult you just spoke.”

Tim stomped outside where his team waited. Justice watched
him go, frowning.

“Thank you for backing me up.” Darkness inclined his head in
appreciation.

“He’s trying his best to do his job.” Justice paused. “Regulations
state that humans are his problem but I disregarded them. Handle this matter. I
trust you to keep me in the loop at all times and she’s your responsibility.
She’s to go nowhere without a male at her side and to make no outside contact.”

“Understood.”

Justice turned but paused, glancing back. A slow smile
curved his lips. “I’m glad to see you getting involved. You’ve been a bit
distant.”

“I like True.”

“So do I. You know this could have been avoided if you’d
been the one to question her. You’re very thorough.”

“I refuse to torture females.”

The smile faded from Justice’s lips. “I never said you had
to. You have a very unique history with skills we lack. I doubt you’d have to
resort to physical violence to convince a female to talk.”

Darkness lifted his chin, anger flashing in his eyes. “No.”

“You’re aware of what happened when the task force found
that female at Cornas since you admitted to reading all available files on
Jeanie Shiver. You wouldn’t have allowed her to be harmed by the team if you’d
been on scene.”

“I refuse to leave NSO lands with the recovery teams. You
never wish to see me in a combat situation, Justice.” Darkness’ voice lowered
to a whisper to make certain it didn’t carry throughout the room. “I’ve seen
enough death and they turned me into a killing machine. I’m not sure I could
turn if off if I had to do it again.”

Fury cleared his throat. “Midnight? Dagger? Please excuse
us.”

The two disappeared down the hallway into the library.
Justice broke the silence first.

“I understand your fears but—”

“I’m not afraid. I’m what everyone else fears.” Darkness
blew out a frustrated sigh. “Our people keep a wide berth from me.”

“You would have handled the situation with Jeanie Shiver
better than Tim’s team did. The humans get too emotional in our defense. They
believe we’re still too naïve or softhearted. No one could accuse you of that.
Will you at least consider handling any future interrogations with females
brought to Homeland? You can hand them off to someone else to deal with if you
feel uncomfortable but I’d sleep better at night knowing you were the one in
charge of gaining information from them.”

Fury drew Darkness’ attention. “You handled this situation
extremely well. Justice is wise and I believe you’re not giving yourself enough
credit. You’re not a monster. You’re a survivor who had to do the unthinkable
but it also makes you the best one for the job. The humans trained you to gain
information from other humans. You understand that females and males are not
alike and should be treated different. Tim’s team doesn’t make that
distinction. No torture or abuse needs to be applied to females unless they
have a military background where they’ve been conditioned to withstand
emotional triggers.”

“I’ll consider it.” Darkness turned away from them, cursing
under his breath, making it clear he wasn’t pleased.

Justice smiled again. “Good. Do that and let me know when
you make a decision. For now you’re in charge of the Jeanie Shiver situation.
Just make sure True’s dick doesn’t get in the way of him being responsible. He
seems too attached to her.”

Fury nodded. “I wasn’t rational when it came to Ellie.”

Darkness stared at him. “I don’t understand.”

“She worked for Mercile where I was kept, the way this
female did with True. I wanted to hate Ellie at first but those emotions
quickly changed. I went from wanting to strangle her to feeling the overriding
desire to get her naked on my bed. It took me a while to realize I wanted her
for a mate.”

“I’ll watch for the signs.” Darkness paused. “There might be
a problem with that. Flirt seems equally protective of her.”

“Make sure they don’t fight.” Justice gave Darkness a hard
look and then glanced at Fury. “Let’s go soothe Tim’s temper somewhat. He’s got
a right to feel anger but he needs to learn how to express it better.”

“I vote that we make Brawn deal with him.”

Justice chuckled. “Don’t tempt me, Fury. Tim is his father-by-mating.
We can’t push that kind of stress his way. Becca won’t appreciate us pitting
her males against each other either.”

Jeanie knew she needed to wake. Something important had
happened but her mind struggled to remember what. She managed to force her eyes
open against the temptation to go back to sleep, only to stare up at a white
ceiling. She blinked a few times.

“Jeanie,” a male voice rasped.

The bed dipped a little and she looked in that direction.
The familiar face took a moment to identify and with it, the memories returned
as she stared at 710. He was bent forward in a chair, elbows on his knees, his
chin resting on his upraised fists. His dark-brown eyes looked almost black in
the dim light.

She glanced around, stunned to find she wasn’t still in a
hospital bed. “Where am I?” Her heart rate accelerated as fear slammed into
her. “This can’t be a prison.” She stared at him again. “This is a bedroom.”

“It’s mine. I refused to allow them to transfer you to
Fuller.”

She tried to piece together what had happened once she’d
learned they were sending her to the same place Dean Polanitis had been taken.
Embarrassment set in. “I attacked people, didn’t I?”

“You bloodied a human’s nose with the back of your head and
kneed Jericho where it hurts the most. They’re both fine.”

She swallowed hard. “Jericho is the big one with the reddish
eyes, right?”

“That’s him.”

“I’m so sorry. He was nice to me.” No guilt surfaced over
the human since he’d been a jerk. She moved her arms, glad neither wrist
sported handcuffs as she sat up. “I didn’t mean to freak out. I need to
apologize to him.”

He leaned back. “There’s nothing to apologize for. You were
terrified and reacted accordingly.”

She hugged her chest, thinking hard. “I don’t remember
anything after that.” Her gaze held his. “Did I attack you too?” She’d be
horrified if she had.

“No. I picked you up before any more damage could occur and
a nurse gave you a sedative.”

It explained why she had a blank spot in her memory. “I wasn’t
lying. I worked for Agent Terry Brice. He’s real.”

“I know you believe that.”

“I met him. He’s in his mid-fifties, overweight and sweats a
lot. He called and came to see me the day after I contacted the NSO tip line.
He showed me a badge. Please believe me.”

“I do.”

“Thank you, 710.” She felt immense gratitude.

“I took the name True. Please use it.”

“I like it.” She bit her lower lip, studying him. “Why did
you pick it? May I ask?”

“I saw a lot of my kind attempting to fit in after we were
freed, by acting different than who they really were. I wanted to stay true to
my nature. It seemed fitting.”

“That’s beautiful.” It touched her that he was so
thoughtful. He hadn’t spoken to her much at Drackwood but he’d always seemed
highly intelligent. She’d grown to care more about him every time they’d had
any interaction. There had been attraction and something deeper. “I think you
have a nice name, True.”

“Tell me more about this human.”

“What do you want to know? He flew in every few weeks and we
kept in contact through the disposable cell phone. He’d leave me text messages
since I had to hide it. I’d call him back or I’d check the phone to find out
where we were supposed to meet next.”

“Why hide it?”

“Both Drackwood and Cornas invaded our privacy in every way
imaginable and I’m sure Security monitored our phone conversations even when we
weren’t at work. That’s why I had the disposable cell. I paid cash for it and
added minutes when I ran low. I kept it off so it wouldn’t ring and kept it
inside a sealed plastic bag buried in a park near the places I lived. I bought
the same model phone that I used as my personal cell and would just snap in the
battery when I checked it. That way I could keep charging it without someone
wondering why I had a spare charger when I didn’t have a second phone.”

“Why a park?”

“I pretended to be into jogging and it would give me a
reason to go out at night. It was easier to make sure I wasn’t followed that
way too. I’d rest and sip water along one of the trails, act as if I was
stretching my muscles, but I’d actually dig up the phone to check for new
texts.”

“Smart.”

“I was terrified of being caught. It’s a great motivation
not to screw up.” A thought struck. “I can tell you where my last cell phone is
buried. Those texts are still on it. I never had time to delete anything. I
left my personal cell phone in my apartment the day I went to work but I can
give you my address. The police can go there and grab it to use the battery on
that phone when they dig it up. It will prove he exists, right?”

“We know where you live. It could possibly prove his
existence.”

“I don’t understand. How would he know things about NSO if
he doesn’t really work here? He texted me both times to give me a heads-up when
the rescues were about to happen. Drackwood and Cornas would have cleared out
the buildings if they’d had any forewarning of what was about to go down. We
had drills about those kinds of things.”

“What do you mean?”

She slid her hands down to her lap, intertwining her
fingers. “Drackwood and Cornas had protocols in place for certain events. They
had us practice what to do.”

“Such as?”

She glanced away. It hurt, looking at him while having to
explain just how horrible human beings could be. “We were ordered to destroy
evidence in case of a breach, kill New Species and escape from the secret exits
to avoid arrest. They didn’t want any of us to get caught since we could
identify the other staff.” She paused, waiting to see if he got angry. Silence
reigned but she didn’t feel brave enough to look at him to see his expression.
She kept her focus on her hands. “They also had drills in case we ever needed
to move locations. Security estimated we could clear out a facility within an
hour.”

“How?”

“Drug all the New Species and transfer them by gurneys into
trucks from the loading dock. I don’t know about the other assignments given to
employees but I assumed they’d have some of them trained to destroy any
evidence that we were ever there. My best guess is that they’d blow up the
building or torch it.”

“Where were we to be taken?”

“I have no idea.” She turned her head and lifted her gaze.
He didn’t appear angry, just curious. “That wasn’t something they ever said. It
was classified information I didn’t have access to. My assignment was to travel
inside the trucks with the drugged New Species and monitor them to make sure
they stayed unconscious. Security ran the drills and didn’t even tell us how
long it would take to reach another location.”

“There’s really poison gas hidden inside the fire alarms at
Cornas?”

“Yes.” She nodded. “I got lucky enough to have lunch at the
same time as the guy who did it. He was someone I hadn’t seen before so I sat
next to him, hoping to learn why he was there. He bragged about it.” She
scowled. “He seemed proud of the fact that he’d just implemented something so
gruesome. I told Agent Brice his first name was Ron. I’m not sure if he lied
about that or not since he just had a visitor badge with numbers on it. He
refused to tell me his last name. I tried to find out what other places he’d
worked but he seemed to grow suspicious at that point. I said I had to get back
to work out of fear of him reporting my interest if I lingered any longer.”

“That’s why you destroyed the mainframe computer?”

“Ron told me he’d set that up at another facility and the
gas would kill anyone who breathed it in under a minute. He bragged about how Security
could trigger it from their computer terminals, which were linked to the
mainframe. I had to prevent it.”

“What is your connection to 712?”

She couldn’t help but smile. “I took care of him often when
he was in the clinic. He’s doing well, right? Agent Brice said he was.” Dread
came next when True growled, his features hardening into a mask of anger. “Oh
no. Agent Brice lied? He didn’t survive?” Tears filled her eyes. “That bastard
swore to me that 712 was rescued and fully recovered from his injuries. One of
the guards really did a number on him with a knife to his stomach.”

“He’s fine. You care about him?”

“Of course. I care about all of them.” Relief washed over
her. “I was really worried when Agent Brice said Drackwood was about to be
raided because a few of them were being kept in the medical center at the time.
The doctors on duty could have easily killed him and 754. She made it, too,
didn’t she? They were both chained to their beds, totally helpless. All the
injured New Species were at the highest risk of being murdered.”

“She is well.”

“Thank god. They’d had her there doing exploratory surgery
on her ovaries. That was what the chart read when I peeked at it but I think they
were really trying to harvest some of her eggs, thinking they’d figure out why
none of the women were getting pregnant. The doctors were such sick bastards.
They arrested Dr. Brask, didn’t they? Please tell me that son of a bitch isn’t
running around free. He’s a nightmare. Agent Brice promised me he was caught
but obviously I can’t trust anything he said.”

“He’s a prisoner at Fuller.”

“Good.”

True leaned in closer. “Did any Species ever mount you?”

She was taken aback by the question. “No. Why would you ask
me that?”

He hesitated. “You told me about what Polanitis did to you.”

Her stomach heaved. “What?” She hoped she’d heard him wrong.

“He forced you to participate in breeding experiments.
Please tell me the numbers of the males involved.”

She cringed away, horrified as it sank in that he believed
she’d had sex with multiple New Species at Drackwood. Alarm swamped her. He
knew about the drug trials she’d endured. The only way he’d learn that
information was if she’d really told him something. Her mind came up blank on
any memory of doing so.

“Jeanie,” he rasped, “look at me.”

She refused, panicking a little inside.
I wouldn’t have
told him anything about what was done to me. He must have asked questions like
he is right now. He might figure out I did it for him.
The last thing she
ever wanted was for him to feel responsible. All the blame rested squarely on
Dean Polanitis. He was the son of a bitch who’d targeted her for blackmail and
used True to keep her in line.

“You were heavily sedated after your panic attack and
terrified you’d see Polanitis. You didn’t pass out right away but instead
shared how the breeding drug hurt you.”

She squeezed her eyes closed and hugged her waist hard
enough to hurt her injured side. “Stop. I don’t want to talk about this.”

“I do.”

She wasn’t certain how to respond. Her goal had been to
protect him from ever knowing the truth. “Please, True. I don’t want to talk
about the past. You said I was babbling and drugged. Chalk it up to that. Let’s
change the subject.”

“We’re not done,” he snarled.

She jerked and stared at him, unsettled by that frightening
demand. His handsome face loomed even closer since he’d leaned halfway across
the bed until only inches separated them. Though his eyes appeared black with
turmoil, he didn’t seem evil to her. He just looked angry.

“Did anyone mount you? Tell me the truth or I’ll call
Midnight to bring another sedative. Don’t make me drug you to get answers,
Jeanie. I would hate to do it but I need to know.”

“No.”

He studied her. “That’s the truth?”

“Yes.” She held his gaze. “I swear.”

“I’ve been given the breeding drug. I suffered unbearable
agony until it drove me insane. I retained no memories of what was done to me
or if I harmed anyone. You probably suffered the same fate. Males could have mounted
you without you remembering.” His voice deepened. “I’ll find out, even if I
have to speak to every male who came from Drackwood.”

The blood drained from her face as she purposely recalled
the horrors of Polanitis forcing her to walk with him to visit Dr. Brask. She’d
never forget being strapped to a gurney or being injected. The pain,
humiliation, and terror that followed had haunted her many nights. She had
nightmares about being back inside that room, screaming as her body writhed
from excruciating pain.

“Jeanie?”

She closed her eyes, focusing inward instead. “I’m pretty
sure I’d have known if that happened. I mean, every muscle ached from thrashing
around and I’d have bruises on my wrists and ankles from the restraints but
nothing indicated I’d been sexually assaulted.” She looked at him. “It was just
Polanitis and Brask in the room. I don’t think I ever blacked out. I would have
known if they’d done more to me. They seemed more interested in diluting the
drug enough to get the effects they wanted. My guess is that they were
attempting to make it so it wasn’t painful to take but still caused the
physical symptoms of…” She paused, blushed. “Getting a woman unreasonably in
the mood to crave sex. Just the right combination to cause mindless desire without
debilitating the user. It was awful at first but gradually wasn’t as painful. I
retained more memories of what was being done to me as the testing advanced.”

“You don’t have our ability to detect a male’s scent on you.”

She bit her lip, trying to think of a way to delicately
explain, without embarrassment, how she’d have known. She decided to just be
frank. “I had to shower afterward. I was soaked in sweat. I wasn’t messed with.”

“You wouldn’t know if it happened in the beginning.”

Heat warmed her cheeks and she dropped her gaze to his neck.
“I don’t agree. I hadn’t dated anyone in over a year at the time and I’m pretty
sure I’d have known if I’d been raped. I wasn’t sore down there or anything.”

“They could have been gentle.”

Nausea threatened to rise at that concept but it went
against everything she knew about her old boss. “Dean Polanitis didn’t know the
meaning of the word. He was a brutal bastard who enjoyed inflicting terror and
humiliation on everyone around him. He would have told me what they were going
to do if they planned to have me raped. He also wouldn’t have it done when I
was passed out. That would have been too humane for someone so vicious.”