“We leaked the video of the bartender to the press. It hit every broadcast about twenty minutes ago. We need everyone here because shit is hitting the fan faster than we believed it would.”
Smiley clenched his fists. He didn’t like hearing that. He preferred operations that ran smoothly. Justice seemed angry and frustrated, never a good sign.
“Trey Roberts!”
A male standing in the corner responded, “Here.”
Justice pinned him with a stare. “You are in charge of the two teams tracking Gregory and Carl Woods. Report.”
“Gregory is freaking out. He screwed up by using one of the phones we cloned instead of a new disposable one to call our pilot. He ordered him to prepare the plane and to be on standby. He also called his attorney. He’s going to make a run for it.”
“His son?”
Trey nodded. “Carl Woods is packing right now. He’s at his home. We’ll grab them after they land. You wanted records of him flying away from the airport for the authorities. Our pilot will fly low under the radar to make tracking the small plane difficult. We cleared a remote road near Reservation for him to land. Crews are still there in preparation of giving him some light if it happens after dark. The pilot is planning on telling his passengers they are having engine trouble and need to make an emergency landing. New Species will be waiting to take them into custody.”
“Good.” Justice turned, pointing at Tim. “Report.”
“We have small teams at each residence and at the church with a few of your canine males to help them execute a search. They are on standby to toss each location. Say the word and they go in.”
Justice nodded. “I think Gregory will want to travel with the drug so we’ll wait until they are in custody. I don’t want to invade human places unless we need to. It could draw too much attention. We want to appear as if we had nothing to do with their disappearance, if possible.” Justice swept his gaze around the room. “We’re on high alert. Is that clear? The church may stage a distraction to keep us busy. We have no idea of their exact numbers since he televises his show. Keep in close contact with your teams. Move out!”
The room cleared of all nonessential officers. Justice jumped down and approached Darkness. He stopped in front of him.
“We have four prisoners from Fuller. I want to know everything they know about this drug and how much of it was sold. I want verification of the numbers we were told. I hate surprises. Make certain there was only one purchaser. We need to make sure we go after every dose.”
Darkness nodded. “Whatever it takes.”
Justice turned toward Jericho and Smiley. “Thank you for coming. Help Darkness. Don’t kill them but I want answers. Medical is on standby if they are needed.”
“Understood.” Jericho cracked his knuckles. “Intimidate first then break bones if that doesn’t work.”
“Whatever it takes,” Justice repeated Darkness’ words. “I’ll be here. We’re keeping in constant contact with Reservation. They are on high alert too. Gregory Woods has a lot of supporters. They aren’t going to be happy that their leader is about to flee the country. They’ll blame us.” A cold smile curved his lips. “They would be correct, for once.” He spun away, moving toward the males and females monitoring the cameras.
Jericho jerked his head, motioning for them to move out, and Smiley followed Darkness. They entered the back part of the building where the interrogation rooms were. A male was assigned to each door. The mood was forbidding. Darkness turned. “I’ll take room one. You two team up for room two.”
“I can handle a prisoner myself.” Smiley held Darkness’ gaze. “I won’t lose my temper.”
The male frowned. “You’re not known for being overly aggressive, Smiley, but under the circumstances you might be. I’d rather not have to patch them up and keep them in the basement until they are cleared for return to Fuller. Intimidation is far better than violence.”
“I can be intimidating.” He allowed his anger to show. “I won’t lose control and damage anyone.”
Darkness blew out a breath. “Take room three but I’ll be in to monitor you shortly. I’ll scare the shit out of this one and give him a little time to think I’m about to kill him.”
Smiley paused outside room three and allowed his emotions to surface. Just thinking about the night he and Vanni had been drugged and all the things that could have gone wrong enraged him. He threw open the door and stomped inside. The human male handcuffed to a chair that was bolted to the floor jumped, his complexion already pale from living at Fuller Prison.
“Hello, human.” He slammed the door behind him and cracked his knuckles, making a show of it. “You can call me Pure Hell. That’s what you’re going to experience if you don’t tell me exactly what I want to know.” He approached the prisoner, keeping that anger alive inside. “I know we tend to be less violent than the felines and canines but don’t relax because I’m a primate. That would be a mistake.” He paused in front of the male and bent a little, glaring at him. “I have a mate. That makes me the most dangerous Species you’ve ever come into contact with. She was drugged.”
“I had nothing to do with that.” The male had an annoying whine to his voice.
“Drackwood created a version of the breeding drug for humans. She’s human. You’re guilty. You sold that shit to other humans.”
“It was Dean. He’s the one who sold it. It was his brainchild to weaken the dosages until it wouldn’t kill women.”
Smiley moved fast, grabbing the guy’s jaw. He applied enough pressure to bruise. “What did you do at Drackwood?”
“I’m Dr. Kent Berter. I ran research trials.”
“So you were the one who hurt Jeanie Shiver?”
His eyes widened. “No. That was Dr. Brask. I was animal research only. I refused to do human trials. Dean asked me first but I said no way. It’s one thing to kill a rat but something else entirely to watch a person suffer.”
“You worked for Mercile.”
“Drackwood. I never worked for Mercile Industries. We had nothing to do with New Species until some of them were transferred to our facility after they were shut down. We only had some mutual shareholders. I told all this to the men who interviewed me after I was arrested.”
“Who was the drug sold to?”
“I don’t know. That was above my pay grade.”
“What can you tell me?”
“I know two hundred doses of it were synthesized. I already told your people what I know. Dean authorized it. It happened a week before we were raided. Chris bitched about the mass order and the overtime he had to put in to make it happen. He was our chemist. He’s here. He was brought with me. You’ll have to ask him if any more of it was made. He was the only one qualified to do it.”
Smiley wasn’t willing to call it quits. “You know more.”
“I saw a guy there around that time. I thought he was the buyer. He looked like a professional wrestler or something but he wore a suit. All muscle and kind of scary. He was kind of a dick. I ran into him in the break room and he glared at me. I was afraid of him. He bitched about our shitty coffee, as if it were my fault. I was afraid he was going to punch me out. He wasn’t in a good mood.”
“Did he tell you his name?” Smiley released his face.
The prisoner shook his head. “Dean came in though, and I think he called him Bruce. I remembered it because I have a brother-in-law with that same name and they are polar opposites. I tend to take an interest in traits of people with the same names. I remember thinking he had nothing in common with my sister’s husband.”
Smiley flashed his fangs. It was probably the same male who’d abused Vanni. It was the same description. “What else can you tell me?”
“I got the hell out of there because he complained to Dean the second he walked in that he thought his boss was being robbed. I got the impression he didn’t like the price he was paying. Dean came in carrying one of the freezer cases we use to transport liquid drugs. That’s a
ll I know. As I said, I got the hell out of there. Dean was never a pleasant guy to be around in the first place and that Bruce guy seemed even worse and bigger. I thought they might get into a fist fight or something. Dean never took shit from nobody. Look at me. Do I look like I’m into violence?”
Smiley ran his gaze over the thin male. He didn’t appear very strong or aggressive. “No.”
“That’s all I know. I swear. I don’t even understand why I’m serving time in prison. I mean, sure, I should have called someone when they brought New Species into our facility but I was afraid. They told us they’d kill our families. I just kept my nose to the ground and tried to ignore it all.”
“That’s why you’re at Fuller. You admit you could have made a call to the NSO, yet didn’t. We would have protected you and your family. Instead you chose to do nothing while our people suffered.”
The door opened and Jericho stuck his head in. “Let’s go.”
Smiley followed him into the hallway, closing the door behind him. “What is going on?”
“Woods and his son are on the move. They have left for the airport. I thought you’d want to monitor it all from Security.”
Smiley increased his pace. He wanted to make sure Bruce was with Gregory and Carl Woods. That would mean all the males who had harmed Vanni would be brought to the NSO, to him. He couldn’t wait to get a little payback on her behalf by watching them suffer.
* * * * *
Vanni showered and put on an oversized T-shirt to be comfortable. It was just after seven. Smiley had been gone for a long time. She wished she dared call and check on him. She resisted. She’d told him to go to that meeting but she hadn’t expected it to last all day and into the evening.
She finished her sandwich and eyed the clock over the stove. She sighed and started washing the few dishes she’d used.
The front door swung open and hit the wall. She spun toward the living room. Smiley looked okay as he entered. He slammed the door and strode to her. She opened her mouth to ask him what had happened but never got the chance to speak.
He hooked an arm around her waist and jerked her against his body. His other hand tangled in her hair as he lowered his head. She closed her eyes when his lips came down over hers, his tongue invading her mouth in a passionate kiss that left her breathless.
She gripped his forearms just for something to cling to. His arm around her waist lifted her off her feet. She thought he was going to take her to the bedroom but they didn’t make it that far. The back of her legs hit the cabinets and he set her on top of the island. His hungry mouth played hell on her senses. She no longer cared what had happened as Smiley wiggled his hips to get between her thighs. She parted them wide to make room.
A moan tore from her when he rubbed the front of his pants against her panties. He was hard and it felt good to have the rigid length of his trapped dick in contact with her clit, despite the material between them. He released her hair and reached down to shove up her shirt to get it out of his way. He pulled it over her head and tossed it aside then hooked his fingers in the top edge of her panties. The thin fabric tore.
Smiley pulled his mouth away and went for her throat next. The feel of his fangs and hot tongue on the sensitive skin just under her ear inspired her to wrap her arms around his neck. He reached between them and cupped her pussy. She moaned louder when he used his thumb to massage her clit. Vanni hooked her legs behind his knees, holding him close.
“I missed you,” he rasped between kisses.
“I can tell.”
“I have to have you. Say yes.”
“Yes.”
He made a soft, sexy sound and stopped playing with her clit. She wanted to protest but he nipped her hard with his fangs. A jolt of awareness shot throughout her body. She loved when he did that. It was not hard enough to hurt but it sure put her in the mood.
Smiley shifted his hips and opened his pants. The sound was almost drowned out by their heavy breathing. He returned in seconds and he pressed the thick crown of his cock against her pussy, rubbing it through her slit to her clit. She moaned louder and clawed at his shirt, wishing she could feel skin.
He entered her in one long thrust and Vanni cried out. It felt amazing having him inside her. He froze, buried deep. He stopped kissing her and lifted his head. She opened her eyes and stared into his beautiful soft brown gaze. She noted the concern reflected there.
“Don’t stop.”
“Lie back and use your arms to cushion your head,” he urged.
She didn’t want to let him go but did as he demanded. The granite countertop wasn’t exactly comfortable but she didn’t care when Smiley reached down, gripped her behind her knees and hiked them up. Her ankles rested on the tops of his shoulders and he let go to grip her hips. He dragged her to the edge of the counter and hooked one arm over the top of her thighs to keep them pressed against his chest. He started to fuck her slowly, moving in and out.
Vanni closed her eyes and moaned. She used one arm to pillow her head and reached down, wanting to touch him, finding bare skin at the side of his hip. His hand slid along her belly and he pressed his thumb against her clit, moving it in rhythm with his hips.
“Oh god.”
“That’s it, babe. Let me make you feel as good as you do me. I love being inside you, touching you, looking at you.”
She forced her eyes open to stare up at him. She could understand why he wanted to watch her during sex. Smiley looked fierce in the heat of the moment—mouth slightly open, fangs showing. His gaze was fixed on her and his cheeks were flushed. He bit his lower lip as he picked up the pace, fucking her faster. The friction from his large cock caused pleasure to course through her with every thrust into her body.
“You’re so damn beautiful.” His voice deepened. “I could come just looking at you.”
She gripped his hip where she could touch his skin, trying to avoid getting him with her nails. The tension in the arm holding her thighs eased a little and he shifted his chest, spreading her legs farther to give him better access to her pussy. She looked down, a little embarrassed at the way her breasts jiggled. Smiley rumbled and she glanced up, noting that he was staring at them too.
“Beautiful,” he murmured, fucking her even faster. “Come for me, my Vanni.”
She closed her eyes, concentrating on what he was doing to her body. Her vaginal muscles clenched in eagerness and then she was crying out his name. Ecstasy robbed her of words quickly though.
She was barely aware of him pulling his thumb away from her clit but she did open her eyes when he released her thighs so they were no longer pinned to his chest. He bent them upward, spread them wider and leaned over her. She thought he was going to kiss her but he latched on to one of her nipples instead. He groaned loudly and his cock pulsed inside her. She liked the way she could tell when he came. The warmth of his semen seeped into her as his hips stilled.
Vanni wrapped an arm around his shoulder and played with his hair. Her other hand opened up on his back, exploring the wide expanse of it. He was hot, a little sweaty, but she didn’t care. His weight pinned her to the hard surface of the countertop but she liked it. They felt connected at that moment.
He released her nipple and licked the tip. She shivered a little under him, a bit sensitive. He ran his tongue over the curve of her breast to her chest and then to her neck.
“I love the way you taste.”
“I love the way you feel.”
“Do you want me to move?”
“No. I like you right here, like this.”
“Me too.” He nuzzled her neck, breathing softly against her skin. “But I’m being a bad mate. I bet that counter isn’t too comfortable.”
He said mate. Her heart melted a little. “I don’t care.” She wrapped her legs around his hips to keep him in place.
“Hold tight.”
She hesitated before releasing his hair and locking both arms around his neck. He wiggled his fingers next to her side and she giggled, a
rching away from them. He slid his hand between her back and the counter. His strength never ceased to amaze her when he lifted her. She gasped, locking her legs tighter around him.
“I could walk.”
He grinned and hooked his arm under her ass. He was still inside her. “You could but this is going to be more fun.” He took a small step and his dick moved inside her. It also rubbed her swollen clit against his lower belly.
Vanni gasped. “Sensitive.”
“I just hope I don’t trip over my pants. That would be bad.”
She recovered and laughed. “Just put me down.”
He shook his head, taking another step. “I’ll twist if I fall so you land on top of me. This is a skill I want to learn.”
“Walking with your pants around your ankles or having me fall on top of you if we go down?” She laughed again.
“Walking, for sure. Think of all the times I could come home from work and nail you in the kitchen then continue it down the hallway until we reach our bed. Tell me that doesn’t sound appealing.”
“It does.” She suddenly had images of waiting by the door for him in sexy lingerie—a concept that appealed to her.
He took another step, then another, until they reached the hallway. He suddenly pressed her ass against the cool wall and started to move inside her in shallow thrusts. Vanni closed her eyes and moaned, loving the sensation his cock created.
“See?” His voice deepened and his lips brushed hers. “Still sensitive?”
“I’ll survive.”
He chuckled and pulled her away from the wall when he took a step back. “We’ll wait until we reach the bed.”
She tightened her hold on him and opened her eyes. “That was mean.”
“I plan to follow through. I just don’t want to really fall. I’m not risking you getting hurt, Vanni. My pants are hooked on my boots.”
She twisted enough to look down. She couldn’t see his feet for all the material covering them. He walked in small steps, his ankles hobbled. He stumbled a little but recovered. She giggled, amused.