“You didn’t answer my question. Did you get the information from the female?” Midnight stepped out of the elevator when the doors opened, leading back to the patient rooms.
“No. She’s being sent to Fuller. They’ll try to gain information we couldn’t.”
“That place gives me the creeps.” Midnight pointed to the bed. “Just put her on that and I’ll at least give her a sponge bath. Stay put until I return. I may as well change her clothing too. They just sent over sweats that should fit her.”
“The humans won’t notice how she scents.”
“I will and I am the one left to babysit her until the van arrives. She shouldn’t be left alone. I’ll be right back.”
True gently eased Shiver down on the bed and tried to let her go but she fisted his shirt with both hands. She pulled, drawing him closer until his mouth was way too close to hers. He breathed through it instead of his nose, guessing she’d smell even more tempting at that close range. He gazed into her eyes, surprised to see fear there again.
“Please protect me. I did you.”
He reached up and cupped her cheek. Her skin was soft, too much so. He wanted to stroke it. “You’re heavily drugged but safe.”
“I heard her. Don’t send me where Polanitis is.” She whimpered. “I’m dead if you do.”
“You won’t be killed. We don’t do that to females.”
She struggled to sit up and he backed away a little, watching her as she seemed to also fight the drug in her system. Her gaze sharpened a little as she frantically looked around. “Hide me.”
“Jeanie.” Using her first name seemed appropriate at that moment and odd at the same time. “Lie back down.”
She grabbed his hand with both of hers, clinging to it. “I saved you.”
“You’ve said that.”
“You don’t believe me.” Tears slid down her cheeks. “How can you do this to me after what I’ve done?”
“You—”
“They were going to kill you. Take you to hell.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “I was caught crying over you. Couldn’t take watching the guards beat you. He would have killed us both so I made the deal. I kept it for you or I would have just run away. I couldn’t run, though, because I couldn’t leave you there.” She glanced around, a desperate look in her eyes, before staring up at him again.
“You need to calm.” The drug was making her unstable and irrational. She babbled nonsense.
“Calm?” Her voice rose. “Do you know what he did to me? What I suffered? How I’d cry and…” Her voice trailed off and she frowned, dropping her attention on their clasped hands. “I’m not supposed to tell you that. You can’t ever know.”
He leaned in closer, on alert. “What can’t I ever know? Jeanie? Tell me.” She might say something important that could help them find others.
She frowned, engrossed with his hand. Her fingers explored the curve of his knuckles. “What?”
“Tell me what I can’t ever know.”
Her movements stalled but then she clutched at him again. “I allowed him to do things to me.”
True reared up, straightening from his bent position. It took a lot of control not to tear his hand out of her grasp. His lips parted as he bit back a snarl. He didn’t want to hear all the details of how she’d screwed over Species, him included. It remained a sore spot with his pride. He also feared she’d confess that Polanitis was more to her than a coworker. The idea sickened and enraged him at the same time.
“Don’t be angry at me. They hurt me so bad, 710,” she whispered. “But it kept us alive. That’s how I survived.” She lifted her chin, her gaze unfocused, cloudy from the drugs. She smiled at him then. “You’re free. That’s all that matters. I endured for a reason. Look at you.”
He crouched, studying her. He’d seen some of the human task force drunk. That’s what she reminded him of with that vacant look and how she slumped a little where she sat. She was vulnerable at that moment. The humans let down their guard after too much alcoholic consumption and talked too freely. Her words made little sense but she was too indisposed to lie.
“Polanitis hurt you?”
Fresh tears glimmered in her pretty eyes. “I made the deal. They changed your drugs. No more beatings.”
He held his breath, her words stirring memories.
“He ordered you to be killed.” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “New drugs designed to turn New Species against New Species. I told Agent Brice to warn the NSO about them.” She dug her fingernails into his hand when she clutched at him tighter. “I made the deal and he had you returned to your cell.” She nodded, her tears stopping, and focused on his hand again. Her hold eased as she stroked his thumb, tracing the calloused surface. “I don’t blame you for being leverage, 710. It was my choice. I don’t regret the hell I suffered because it got you out alive. Wasn’t your fault. We were both trapped.”
Leverage. That one word took him back in time to his cell when Polanitis threatened to have a female raped if he didn’t comply with his demands. He’d used that term then, telling him that’s what he was.
“Leverage?” he whispered, hoping she’d say more.
She nodded and slumped to her side but refused to release his hand as she curled into a ball. Her eyes closed when she yawned.
“Jeanie?” He growled her name. “Leverage? Tell me about it. It’s important.”
She pulled his hand against her chest, pressing it next to her supple breasts, covered only by the thin material. His knuckles felt the warmth of them. “I wasn’t going to let you die. I let them do anything to me as long as it kept you alive.”
“What did they do to you?”
She curled into a tighter ball.
“Tell me,” he demanded roughly, his tone harsher than he intended.
Her eyes opened as she jerked, seemingly startled. Her unfocused gaze searched and found his face.
“What did Polanitis do to you that kept me alive?”
The pain etched on her delicate features tore at him. “Anything. I told Agent Brice, hoping he’d get that warrant faster to help us.” A small whimper passed her lips. “Polanitis had me hurt, 710. I wanted to die sometimes but I knew I couldn’t give up until you were free.” She sucked in a ragged breath, almost a sob. “You gave me the courage, though, to go to that new place Agent Brice sent me to. I had to save the others.”
His free hand fisted, rage growing at what he suspected. “Did he mount you against your will?”
She closed her eyes, her face turning into the bed.
“Jeanie, look at me!”
She did and he almost wished she hadn’t as she stared up at him with anguish. He identified the signs of pure suffering. The suspicion that had filled him about what that monster was capable of, what kind of threats he’d made to True about female Species, prompted him to apply it to Jeanie. Would the male rape, or have the guards rape, a human?
“Jeanie!” He growled. “Were you force mounted?”
She didn’t look at him. “So much pain.”
He gently reached down and cupped her jaw, turning her head. The slight show of redness from Jordan’s rough touch angered him. It had taken a lot of control to stand back when the task force interrogator had used those tactics but he had known no real harm would come to her. He regretted it, though, since the male had left faint marks. She didn’t fight when he leaned in to stare intently into her glassy eyes.
“What did Polanitis do to you?”
“Tests,” she whispered. “Injections. I’d scream. My skin was on fire and…so much pain.” Her voice broke and she twisted her face away.
He allowed it, reeling from her revelations. There was only one drug given to Species with that result. He locked his knees to keep upright when they threatened to buckle. His mind raced to think of reasons why they’d give that drug to Jeanie, all of them horrible. She would have died from that drug though. It wasn’t possible. It seemed more feasible that she was just confused, talking about a male’s reac
tion to the breeding drug.
Had Jeanie been subjected to a crazed male high on drugs that would have sent him into a frenzy to have sex with a female? He’d refused to share sex with her but had others agreed? It would have been violent since she was human, a target for their rage. The images of what she’d have endured were sickening. How would she even have survived?
“You agreed to help them with breeding-drug experiments to save me the day they sent me out to that building, the one that none of my kind had ever returned from. Didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
He closed his eyes, seething. That day had never made sense to him but what she said fit. She’d always been kind but would she allow a monster to harm her to save his life? He opened his eyes but hers were closed.
“Jeanie? Tell me more about that day.”
She didn’t speak.
“Jeanie?”
“She’s out for the count,” Midnight stated from behind him. “I did give her too much sedative. She’s not going to wake for hours.”
He twisted his head, surprised she was right behind him.
“You were too intent on her and these were left just outside the door on a cart. I heard most of it.” Midnight adjusted the pile of clothes in her arms and reached out to rest one of her hands on the curve of his arm, giving him a comforting squeeze. “She’d be unable to lie while she’s that drugged. I guess the mystery is solved. You have your answer now about why they brought you back to your cell and changed you from one drug trial to another. She made a deal with a human to save your life.” She held his gaze. “I remember how much you said it bothered you when we talked after you were freed.”
“Why would she do that?”
Midnight shrugged. “I’m not sure. We caved in to some of Mercile’s demands when they threatened other Species.” She paused. “She’s human. Would she care enough about one of us to do the same?”
He turned his head, watching Shiver sleep.
“Either way, she doesn’t seem to be a coldhearted human, True. I saw her expressions. She endured what was done but she’s damaged.”
He let go of Shiver’s hand and rose to his feet. Midnight released him when he stepped out of her reach. “Damaged?”
“You never recover fully from being forced,” she softly stated. “Aren’t you thinking what I am? Only a few females were recovered from Drackwood. Ten to one on the male-to-female ratio. Not even Mercile would be stupid enough to send one of us to that many males on breeding drugs. We wouldn’t have lived long.” Midnight reached out and brushed a lock of Jeanie’s hair off her cheek. “Poor human. She doesn’t look strong or sturdy enough to survive, does she?”
He had to step away from the bed. “They wouldn’t put a human at the mercy of one of our drugged males.”
Midnight sighed. “She wouldn’t have fought the male to protect her body if she was also drugged. It may be how she survived. Not all the males talk to others about what happened to them during captivity.” She stepped away from the bed too, holding his gaze. “Especially if a human was brought to them. They might not retain the memory of who or what she was. No one enjoys discussing those things since they aren’t the fondest memories to share. The males were insane from the pain and it was terrifying for us females. We never knew if we’d survive.” She frowned. “She described exactly the kind of reaction the males had on the breeding drug. Shit. They really did give it to her.”
Flashbacks filled his mind of the one time in his life he’d been dosed. “They wouldn’t. No human could survive a drugged male. I know that because I’ve been dosed. She couldn’t have withstood the pain if they dosed her instead. Her body is too frail. Her heart would have given out.”
“It sounds as if they did,” Midnight protested. “It makes sense that they’d dose her as well. She’d be out of her mind with the need to have sex, aroused, and a male wouldn’t kill her if she didn’t attempt to fight him. He’d be more interested in mounting her if she was prepared for him.” She reached up and stroked Jeanie’s head. “The pain from the drug would have already been unbearable so any rough treatment from the male couldn’t have been much worse.”
True’s temper exploded. He didn’t agree with Midnight’s assessment. Logic said if she’d been dosed, the males probably hadn’t been. He’d never heard of both parties being drugged at the same time. It would mean the male had been totally in control of his actions, yet still agreed to the experiment. It also explained why she wasn’t killed. The male could have taken care not to inflict damage on the helpless, drugged female. Polanitis must have made a deal with other males and they’d agreed. His rage grew until he broke out in a sweat and couldn’t even speak.
“Who is this Agent Brice?” Midnight stared up at him, seeming to notice how close he was to hitting something when she rubbed his arm. It was a gesture to calm him. “She mentioned him a few times. She warned him about a drug that would turn Species on Species. That’s what I heard, didn’t you? Do you think that’s the drug that was used on Moon? He attacked everyone. She also said Brice was supposed to help. What is a warrant?”
He felt gratitude that she’d turned the conversation to a safer topic, knew it was on purpose. “She said he was an agent who worked for the NSO and he demanded proof that Species existed when she located them. A warrant is a human word for their law that allows searches and arrests.”
Midnight turned, dumping the clothes on a counter, and took a seat in the chair. “You didn’t believe her?”
“No.”
“She is so drugged that I believe her. This person exists.”
“Are you sure she couldn’t be manipulating us?”
“I work in Medical. You should hear what you males say when you get shot with that stuff.” She rolled her eyes and then smirked. “Book gets a hard-on for Doc Trisha every time he sees her and confessed that he sometimes gets hurt on purpose when she’s here just to feel her touch. Slade would kill him if he knew. Do you think he’d ever admit that if he had a choice?”
He shook his head.
“Flame cried like a baby two months ago when he was doped up after being hurt when his shoulder was dislocated during training, rambling about some human. He’s got it bad for her but he’s too stubborn to go after what he wants. He found out she was almost killed by some human she trusted and he doesn’t want her to deal with the bullshit we get from our enemies. He cares too much to risk causing her any emotional difficulty on his behalf.”
“Amanda.” True had heard the story but it was difficult to believe Flame would shed tears.
“Yeah. That’s the name.” Midnight leaned forward, her voice lowering. “Fury? He keeps a pair of Ellie’s underwear in the pocket of his uniform. Worn ones. He likes to sniff them when he misses her, swearing it keeps him from rushing home and pissing off everyone because he neglected his duties to go bury his nose in her lap. The scent calms him and he feels closer to her. That’s what he confessed when he went nuts in the delivery room when Salvation was born. Doc sedated his ass to keep him from tearing us apart every time his mate cried out in pain. He wanted everyone to suffer the way she did.”
Midnight grinned. “I think humans would call that pussy whipped to the extreme but you won’t ever repeat that. He’d beat on whoever said it. They’ve been mated the longest. I guess a female’s scent is an addiction that just gets worse as time passes. It makes me partially alarmed but sometimes curious to see what it would be like to have a male addicted to sniffing me.”
True glanced at Jeanie, then back at Midnight. “You are mated to the younger Dr. Harris.” They had two Drs. Harris—a younger and an older.
“He calls it that but it’s not an actual mating. He’s not Species. I say it, too, because I don’t want to hurt his feelings.”
“Ellie and Doc Trisha aren’t Species but they are mated.”
She bit her lip, hesitated, and sighed. “Our males do the mating, True. They are the ones with the strong instincts to cement the bond. Human female
s are submissive enough to allow it to happen. Human males aren’t dominant enough for a Species female. I have very strong feelings for my human and he usually makes me happy but there is distance between us. Do you understand? He isn’t in tune to my needs the way a mate would be. I’m fine with it for now but that doesn’t mean I don’t have moments of envy for real mates. I can guarantee he’ll never carry my scent around with him or need to rush home to mount me just because it’s been a few hours.”
“Why?”
“He doesn’t have our strong sex drive.” She stood. “Humans can stand the touch of others after they claim a mate. Species can’t because other females smell bad after they bond.”
“Your mate seeks other females?” It horrified True.
“Do you see him in a body cast? Fear is a strong motivation for him to stay loyal since I’ve made certain he knows I’d smell her on him if he is ever unfaithful, even if he showers afterward.” She paced. “That’s enough about my life. I don’t want to discuss it. Tell me everything your human said about this Agent Brice. I’ve been reading mystery novels. I’m good at figuring out clues.”
True growled. “The task force called Fuller to transfer her there.”
“It’s going to be difficult to ask her more questions when she wakes if she’s no longer here. We need those answers to figure this out.”
He inched closer to the bed. Polanitis lived at Fuller and it was clear that he’d been responsible for whatever had happened to Jeanie. “I won’t allow them to take her near that monster, Polanitis.”
“It won’t be your decision. You need to share what we’ve learned with Justice.”
True growled, his temper building to a red-hot sensation inside his chest. He didn’t like the idea that her life and future were in the hands of another male. “Harris released her from his care so they could transfer her to Fuller, correct?”
“Yes. She’ll need regular checkups but any doctor will do. We don’t keep human prisoners here after they are out of danger.”
“You’re sure she won’t suffer an overdose from the sedative you gave her?”
“She’ll wake fine in a few hours. We’d know by now if she had an adverse reaction.”