True

  There will be none.

  True bent and gently lowered Jeanie to the ground, stretching her out on the grass. The human spun around and ran for his life. Someone landed with a grunt from an upper balcony and True whipped his head in the direction of the noise. Darkness rose, the enraged look on his face scary, even to True.

  “Go after the other one. This one is mine.” True jerked his head in the direction of the fleeing male.

  “Which direction?” Darkness sniffed the air and his head turned toward the direction the blond had taken. “Never mind. I caught his human scent.” He was gone an instant later, sprinting off in pursuit.

  Three more males landed on the ground in crouching positions, having followed True from the upstairs balconies. He glanced at Book, Dagger, and Flirt. “Take care of Jeanie.”

  He knew she’d be safe and they’d get her medical attention. A split second of indecision tore at him—the strong desire to remain at her side or the even stronger desire to exact revenge on the male who’d dared attempt to steal her from him. Revenge won out. She was safe now but that male might come after her again. A snarl tore from his parted lips and he was off.

  The male didn’t even make it to the street before True was on him. He jumped on his back, his fists slamming into the male first. They crashed into the sidewalk and the human took the full force of the impact with the unforgiving concrete. Bones crunched. The human seemed unable to do anything but struggle to breathe at first as True rolled off him, getting to his feet.

  The human sucked in air and screamed. True felt no pity for the agony the male must suffer from his injuries. He’d touched Jeanie. He could have killed her if she’d slipped off his shoulder and fallen to her death when he’d decided to take her off the balcony. True reached down and dug his fingers into the man’s shoulder, yanking him to his unsteady feet. The male threw a punch, missed True’s face by inches, but True’s fist found its mark as it splintered the male’s jaw. The disgusting sound of bone and skin being demolished barely registered. He didn’t want to just hurt the male. He punched him again, this time in the throat.

  He knew before he released him that the male was dead. The body slumped as True released his shoulder. He watched the deceased male for a moment, making sure the bastard never took another breath. He didn’t. There was no feeling of remorse or even guilt. He was just sorry the male hadn’t suffered more.

  He rushed back toward the dorm. The three males crouched around Jeanie’s still body. He shoved Book out of the way and ended up on his knees, huddled over her. Her eyes were open and she blinked. Her nose flared as she breathed.

  “Jeanie.” His hands shook as he carefully reached for her.

  “She seems drugged or something,” Flirt whispered, clearly shaken as well. “She is awake but can’t seem to move or speak.”

  Terror jolted through True. Had her neck been broken? He examined her face and throat for new injures but there were none he could see. His gaze locked with hers. “Talk to me,” he begged. “Tell me what they did to you.”

  She blinked, terror showing in her wide eyes.

  “She can blink. Maybe she can hear and understand what we say.” Book crawled closer. “Don’t move her. Medical is on the way.”

  Dagger sniffed and gently reached for her arm.

  “Don’t touch her,” True growled, knocking the male’s hand away.

  “I smell a little blood,” Dagger explained.

  True crouched lower, examining her arm. He spotted the injury right away. The mark was one he knew well. A little smear of blood marked an injection site. “They drugged her.”

  Males rushed around the building and True hoped they had brought Dr. Harris but one glance revealed Jericho and Jinx came to their aid.

  The large primate was slightly out of breath as he came to a halt. “Slash was drugged. He’s still down.” He took a deep, restorative breath and blew it out before asking, “Is she okay? What can we do here?” He turned his head, staring at the sidewalk. “I take it that one is dead?”

  “Yes. Go after the other male. Darkness is out there alone,” True instructed.

  Book rose to his feet. “Who’s with Slash?”

  “Flame and some of the other males. They are doing a scoop-and-run since he seems to be unharmed except for the dart they pulled out of him. It’s faster to just take him in,” Jericho answered then turned to hold True’s gaze. “We should do the same. Cancel Medical and just take her there ourselves. It’s faster. Do you want me to carry her? I ordered one of the males to get two Jeeps.”

  True crouched over Jeanie. She blinked at him, fear still apparent in her eyes, but he knew it was a plea directed at him. He hoped his body and the other males blocked her view of the sidewalk. She hated violence and spotting a dead body might cause her more trauma.

  “Can you understand me, Jeanie? Blink twice if you can.”

  She blinked twice in rapid succession.

  “Are you hurt? One for yes, two for no.”

  She blinked twice. The immense pressure in his chest lifted and he breathed easier. “Are you able to move or speak?”

  She blinked twice and he hated to see the traces of tears in her eyes. She had to feel helpless and it was an emotion he understood since he struggled with it as well. His Jeanie had been hurt and he hadn’t been there to protect her when those humans had shoved a needle in her arm.

  “Is it okay if I lift you and carry you to a Jeep?”

  She blinked once.

  He very gently eased one hand under her thighs and with the other he cradled her back and neck as he lifted her into his arms. Strong hands gripped him under his arms and helped him rise to his feet as the other Species assisted him. Her slight weight against his chest only heightened his awareness of her frailty.

  “Let’s go.” He kept glancing at her face, looking for any signs of alarm in her eyes as he quickly walked around the building.

  Two Jeeps were waiting. Flame and another male already had Slash in the backseat of one of the vehicles. They supported the drugged male between their bodies. Another male jumped into the driver’s seat and they speeded away.

  Jericho took the driver’s seat of the second Jeep. “They’re expecting us at Medical.” He had somehow managed to grab one of the earpiece microphones Security used and was in contact with them. He reached up and touched the device. “We’re coming in with her.”

  True had more help from Jinx and Flirt as he climbed into the backseat of the Jeep. Dagger jumped in the back and used the cargo section to crouch, gripping him by the shoulders, and braced his body behind the seat.

  “I’m going to be better than a seat belt,” he swore. “Move it, Jericho. Pedal to the metal!”

  The Jeep lurched forward as the primate punched the gas and they shot forward. True stared down at Jeanie as she held his gaze.

  “I’m so sorry,” he rasped. “I shouldn’t have left you.” The misery in her expressive eyes couldn’t be denied. “Faster,” he demanded, not looking away from her.

  It seemed to take forever before they reached the building. There was a flurry of activity and the older Dr. Harris and Midnight were already outside with a gurney. True ignored it as he climbed out of the Jeep with his precious cargo. “Which room?”

  “Three,” Midnight urged, her voice deeper than normal, showing her stress. “We have the recovered syringe and the dart. We have someone trying to identify what drugs they were given.”

  He didn’t give a damn. He just wanted Jeanie to be all right. He rushed down the corridor and laid her on the bed in exam room three. Dr. Harris and Paul closely followed.

  “Leave, True. We are going to do everything for her. It will probably take hours for the drug to wear off.” Dr. Harris whipped out a tiny flashlight and bent over Jeanie, studying her eyes.

  “Fuck you.” He wasn’t going anywhere.

  Dr. Harris muttered a soft curse as he gripped Jeanie’s wrist, taking her pulse. “Steady but sluggish,” he announced after
long seconds. “I’m going to hook her up to a monitor. Her pupils are sluggish too. I’m going to need…”

  True tuned out the male’s voice as he inched around the bed to Jeanie’s head. Her gaze sought his and he leaned down.

  “I’m right here,” he rasped.

  “True?” A gentle hand touched his arm.

  He glanced at Breeze.

  “Justice wants you. The other human hasn’t been found.” She spoke slowly, softly, each word enunciated with care. “I know you’re very upset right now. We all are. You can’t do anything for her here. Midnight will stay with her, okay? Did you see the other human well enough to identify him? That’s important. We need everyone who saw him. The quicker we identify him, the quicker this is over.”

  He was tempted to say no, hoping it would mean he wouldn’t need to leave Jeanie’s side. He wanted the bastard caught though. “Yes. I saw his face.”

  “More details are coming in.” She used her free hand to point to her earpiece. “We think they came from Fuller Prison. We had two human males from there who checked in at the gate and they are the only strangers. We located their van but not them. The human you caught…” She paused and glanced down at Jeanie before lowering her voice. “Um, he was impossible to identify easily from the photo taken at the scene and sent to Security, with so much facial damage. We have footage from surveillance we need you to see, of those males entering Homeland, since you saw both of them.”

  “Darkness allowed the other male to escape?”

  Breeze winced. “I wouldn’t say he allowed to him. He’s kind of pissed, judging from the ranting I heard in my ear. One second he had the scent and was closing ground, the next it just seemed to disappear after the male crossed one of our roads. He and the other males who came to assist couldn’t pick up the scent again.”

  A killing rage tightened his chest again as he glanced down at Jeanie. She blinked up at him but some of her fear had eased. He bent closer, staring into her pretty eyes.

  “Are you okay?”

  She blinked once.

  “Tell me again so I can be sure. Blink twice now if you’re really all right.”

  She blinked twice.

  “I need to do something but I’ll be back soon. Is that okay? One for yes, two for no.”

  She blinked once.

  He didn’t want to leave her. It went against his instincts but the blond was out there free. He needed to be found. Jeanie would be at risk until he was captured.

  “I have dozens of males flooding Medical.” Breeze seemed to read his mind. “They are concerned about Slash and horrified this happened. She’s totally safe here, True. That human would be torn apart if he dared enter this building in an attempt to get to her. This is the safest place at Homeland right now. Midnight is right here too.”

  He lifted his gaze to seek out the other female. She gave him a tight smile. “I won’t leave her side. Like glue, okay? I know how much she means to you. I’ll piss down my leg before I even take a potty break. Swear.”

  “Geez,” Dr. Harris muttered. “I’ll hand you a bedpan if you need to go.” He studied the monitor. “She appears stable. I need a full blood panel.”

  True gazed down at Jeanie. “I’ll be back soon.” He brushed a kiss on her forehead and she closed her eyes. He spun away before he could change his mind, shooting Midnight a worried look.

  “Like superglue,” she swore. “The strong shit that sticks your fingers together when you aren’t careful and tears off skin when you force them apart.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Calm down,” Fury demanded, grabbing True’s arms and forcing him to hold his gaze. “We’ll find the human who got away and we’ll discover why they tried to take her.”

  Justice entered the room in just a pair of boxers and his hair wasn’t brushed. He snarled, “How the hell did this happen?”

  True jerked out of Fury’s hold. “Tim is behind this. I’ll kill him for what they did to her.”

  “I didn’t do this!” Tim stormed into the room in just a pair of sweats, his boots untied as if he’d just shoved them on. “I’ve been here the entire time. I didn’t bother to drive home but instead just crashed on my couch in the office we use. I got woken when Flame rushed in to tell me what was going on. I had dinner with him and I had a few too many drinks so I planned to stay at Homeland. I don’t drive drunk.”

  True tried to reach the male to hit him for lying but Fury got between them. “Stop.”

  “Tim is telling the truth.” Flame stood behind the human. “I offered to allow him to sleep on my couch but he insisted on sleeping it off in the office. He had four bourbons with dinner and was unsteady on his feet. I escorted him there and he hasn’t left. I decided to work out in the gym before bed and that’s when I heard the security alert. Tim was exactly where I’d left him.”

  True stared at Flame, knowing he spoke honestly. He turned his focus on Tim. The male looked unusually untidy and his eyes were red. The smell of strong alcohol reached him. He tried to think rationally. “You didn’t order any of the task force members to take Jeanie?”

  “No.” Tim half stumbled over to a couch and collapsed on it, cursing. “I told you I wouldn’t try to take her and I keep my word.” He rubbed his head. “Someone please get me coffee. Tons of it.” He looked at Justice. “It wasn’t my men who did this. How the hell did someone get past Security?”

  Breeze rushed into the room. “Two human guards from Fuller signed in at the front gate at eight o’clock, stating they were here to pick up medical supplies for their clinic. No one wanted to call Dr. Harris at that hour just to verify the order. They do come once a month to resupply. They were just a week early and the hour was later than normal but Smiley didn’t think anything of it. They had the right paperwork. The guards inspected the van but didn’t see anything out of order. That was the only traffic in or out this evening.”

  “No one escorted them to Medical?” Fury growled.

  Breeze shook her head. “We trusted them, being from Fuller. The human guards weren’t ones Smiley knew but he figured they were just night-shift workers. He knows the day-shift ones. They didn’t act suspicious.”

  “Son of a bitch,” Justice cursed. “Are we sure the other human is not hiding somewhere on Homeland? Why hasn’t he been located yet?”

  “Every Species is still searching but have found no trace of him. The van is still parked at Medical so he couldn’t have gotten far,” Flame announced. “We woke up everyone to alert them to what happened. None of ours are injured or missing. All Species have been accounted for.”

  “There’s no way that human can get off Homeland without being detected,” Justice declared.

  “Are we even sure they were from Fuller? What if they stole a van and uniforms?” Tim got up, almost tripped on his loose shoelaces on his way to Justice’s desk, and yanked up the phone. “I’ll call them to check if they are missing anything.”

  “They were from Fuller.” Smiley kept by the door. “I inspected the paperwork myself. The van was the one they always use too. It has an oil leak and I know it well.”

  “The paperwork could have been forged.” Tim dialed.

  “Scents can’t be,” Smiley protested. “We supply the paper and ink they use. It’s specially treated and that’s classified just for that purpose. They were from Fuller Prison with authentic paperwork that was recently printed. The ink was fresh.”

  Tim gawked at him. “Does that go for the task team paper and ink too?”

  “Yes,” Justice sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Why would Fuller send two males to kidnap the female?”

  Tim slammed the phone down. “They aren’t answering. They should be.”

  True wanted to howl in rage and barely refrained.

  “Tim?” Fury glared at him. “Are you sure you didn’t order them to pick her up?”

  “I didn’t. I mean, I did at first, but I canceled it.”

  “What if they didn’t get the cancel orde
r?” Breeze shifted her stance. “This could be a mistake.”

  “They didn’t say they were here to pick up a prisoner,” Smiley reiterated. “Just medical supplies. If it was a miscommunication regarding Tim’s order, they would have shown different paperwork at the gate and stated they were here for a prisoner transfer.”

  “Perhaps they’ve captured the other human.” Fury reached for one of the Security radios. “I’ll get an update on the search.”

  Darkness stormed into the room. “It wasn’t one of ours.” He lifted a hand, showing blood on his knuckles. “I thought of our males at first, when I heard someone tried to take her. They caused a little trouble with True over the female. None of our males are involved in this.”

  “Who did you suspect?” Breeze inched closer to him.

  “Our numbers,” Darkness repeated. “The ones who have refused to take names.”

  “It was two human males, Darkness,” True snarled. “They touched her, hurt her. They were inside my home. Only one escaped.”

  Tim straightened his shoulders. “I’m going to be the asshole again and suggest that maybe this was some kind of escape attempt on her part.” He backed up behind Fury, staring at True from around him. “Don’t attack me but it needs to be said. What if she is guilty of using New Species for ransom and her partner bribed two males from Fuller to break into Homeland to get her free? There were other officers living down the hallway and they didn’t hear shit. In my experience women make a hell of a ruckus if they are being kidnapped.”

  “It is something to consider,” Justice calmly stated, holding True’s glare. “We don’t know—”

  True snarled. “No. You’re wrong. She was drugged too. She will tell us what happened when she is able. I did not want to leave her but Doc Harris said it will be hours until the drugs wear off and I am needed here. We must find those who mean her harm.”