Shadow

  Beauty frowned. “His name is accurate?”

  “He’s your ‘Shadow’.” Destiny suddenly chuckled. “That was a good one, wasn’t it? He’s right next to you.”

  She smiled. “Thank you for caring for me.”

  Shadow growled again, drawing her gaze.

  “What?” She didn’t know why he looked angry.

  “It’s his job to treat you. I am taking care of you.”

  “Okay.” She began to wonder if Shadow was more hurt than he’d let on. He was unusually irritable and perhaps a bit irrational to make such a slight distinction. “Will you allow Destiny to look at your cuts? I’d feel better. You don’t want me to worry about you, do you? I will.”

  “I’m fine.” His stubborn streak reared its head. “None of my injuries require his assistance.”

  “He is fine,” Destiny agreed. “I’ve been eyeing his wounds and the way he’s moving. He’s got some bruising but the cuts aren’t bad. Just disinfect them the first chance you get and slap some bandages on the worst ones. We fight infection easily but why take the chance?” He turned, opened a cupboard and removed a small box. “Here. It’s a mini med kit. It’s got everything you’ll need.”

  “Thank you.”

  The door opened behind them and a human walked in. She remembered him from when she was rescued. Beauty tensed until Shadow stepped between them. His body completely shielded her from the sight of the other man.

  “I wanted you to know both suspects are being detained and Al is all over their bank accounts, phone records, and tracking their movements over the past twenty-four hours. We’ll figure out which one it is.”

  “Thank you, Tim.” Shadow softly growled. “I still want his head.”

  “I have a feeling there isn’t going to be much of this ass left by the time he’s taken apart by our team. He broke the code. Never screw over your brothers. We’re sending one of the helicopters back to Homeland. Justice called and wants you to escort the Gift back. She’s too exposed here and I have to agree. She needs tighter security.”

  “Understood.”

  “Blades up in twenty. I’ll have a few of the guys cover you there.”

  “I’ll have officers drive us.”

  The man hesitated. “Just because we had one bad apple doesn’t screw the entire pie, Shadow. I don’t want this to sour you on the task force.”

  “I trust the team but I know the officers wish to speak to me. It will give them the opportunity.”

  “Sure.”

  Shadow shook the man’s hand and Tim left. He grimly regarded her. “Let’s go. I have to give a debriefing before we meet that helicopter.”

  “So we are going back to Homeland.” She didn’t really need to say the words but it was better than what she really wanted to blurt out. What was that going to do to their budding relationship?

  “We are. You’re safer there. There’s too much open land here for them to breach and miles of walls that they obviously were able to sneak across.”

  A knock sounded at the door and it opened, admitting Jaded, the council member. He glanced at Beauty and jerked his thumb at Destiny to leave before addressing Shadow. “You look good after what you suffered.”

  Jaded kept by the door while he spoke, far from her. She did notice that Shadow didn’t step between them. He must trust him.

  “Thank you.”

  Bright-green, catlike eyes narrowed. “Great job. Breeze will be fine. The female is too stubborn to be harmed enough to keep her down for more than a few hours while she undergoes the cleaning of the wound and stitches. She’s already made one of the Drs. Harris threaten to quit.” He chuckled. “It was the younger one. He’ll learn to be as grouchy as his father when dealing with us. Self-defense.”

  “I’m glad to hear she will be well.”

  Beauty was too. She kept silent though, not comfortable with someone she didn’t know.

  “Justice wants a full report when you land at Homeland. You’re to take Beauty home. The task force is giving you a lift in about twenty minutes. They have both their helicopters here.”

  “Tim just told me.”

  Jaded hesitated, glanced at Beauty and cleared his throat. “Perhaps we should speak in the hall.”

  Shadow didn’t budge. “What is it? Do you no longer trust the team? I know those males. It would be rare for one to betray the others. My faith isn’t shaken.”

  “That’s not it.” Jaded lifted a hand and ran tan fingers through his short black hair. “We have a problem. Moon was hit by a sniper with a tranquilizer dart.”

  “Torrent informed me. I was with him when he got the call.”

  “We believed it was just a distraction to draw our officers toward the front gates so they could gain access to the Wild Zone. But he woke feral. It wasn’t a sleeping drug he was exposed to. I’m certain they shot him for that purpose but the result is much worse.”

  Beauty didn’t like the uncomfortable silence that suddenly blanketed the room. “What does that mean?”

  Jaded actually looked at her for more than a few seconds before glancing at Shadow. “Are you sure you don’t want to take this away from her? It might be upsetting.”

  “I’m not leaving her alone.” Shadow crossed his arms over his chest. “She’s stronger than you know. She was almost killed yet she’s calm.”

  “Understood.” Jaded stepped closer, lowering his voice. “Moon is completely feral. He doesn’t know us, won’t or can’t speak and is exhibiting violent behavior to the extreme. The older Dr. Harris ran blood tests after six of our males had to restrain Moon when he attempted to kill them. It will take time to get official results but some of our males sniffed the dart to compare against known drugs. Our senses are faster than running them through machines to identify. The drug is unknown to any of us.” His gaze drifted to Beauty, then back. “There’s a connection between Douglas Miller and Mercile. They may be working together on this. Who else could come up with a drug that could do something that would send one of ours into a murderous rage? Mercile is the only one who could pull this off with their knowledge of our biology. Moon is one of our most easygoing males. I know him well but that’s a stranger I faced inside his room. Complete and total personality reversal.”

  Shadow’s fists clenched at his side. “That would mean this was planned far in advance. They must have been working on a drug that would harm us.”

  “Or they already possessed it but none of our surviving people ever experienced it.”

  “There is a Mercile doctor involved in this.”

  “That’s what we’re assuming at this point. Douglas Miller may have been waiting for an opportunity. He has the money to support the employees still running from us. I pulled the file on Miller and while we were able to have his accounts frozen in this country, he had vast holdings outside the reach of the US justice department. The bastard even had a human working for him inside the task force headquarters to monitor all movement. Some humans are vindictive. He may have set this into motion as soon as he realized we’d taken back what he held. He finally saw his chance to retrieve…what he wants.”

  “Who is Douglas Miller?” Beauty was trying to follow their conversation. “What does he want? Is he one of the owners of Mercile?”

  Shadow turned and stepped closer, peering into her eyes. His hand was warm when he gently cupped her cheek on the side that wasn’t bruised. “Douglas Miller is the human who imprisoned you.”

  Master. It was an emotional slap but she kept her chin up, resisting curling into a ball to protect herself from the pain washing through her system. Not once had she asked to learn more about the human who’d reared and kept her. Getting beyond what had been done to her seemed more important than focusing on the details of who and why.

  The conversation between Shadow and the council member suddenly made horrifying sense. She was glad to be sitting down. Shadow softly growled, his thumb stroking her skin in comfort.

  “This isn’t your fault.”


  “It is in a way. He is after me. He wants me returned.” She pulled away from his touch to lean to the side enough to see Jaded behind him. “You think this…” she had to pause and swallow down the bile that rose. She couldn’t get his real name past her lips. “Bastard is working with Mercile to hurt Species in revenge for my rescue?”

  Jaded hesitated, glancing at Shadow.

  Shadow stepped to her side. “Tell her the truth. She deserves that.”

  Beauty was grateful for his support and almost reached over to take the hand he’d lowered to his side. She resisted, afraid to look weaker in the eyes of the council member than he surely assumed she was. “Please tell me.”

  “Mercile is broke and the employees who fled are too. We cut off their money and seized everything they owned with the help of the president. Douglas Miller had a lot of money in foreign countries that we couldn’t touch. He’s a wanted man who can’t return to the States or any country that would extradite him.” Sympathy softened Jaded’s features. “We know he hired the humans to come after you and we do believe he’s responsible for Moon’s unstable condition.”

  Jaded took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. “In no way is this your fault. It’s just tied together. Miller and some of the Mercile doctors must be working together to achieve similar goals. He’s got the money to hide and help them if he wishes. Mercile made a previous attempt against one of our males with a drug they hoped would make him commit murder. It would have backed their stance that we’re dangerous and don’t deserve human rights if Fury had murdered his human mate. It would have been a major victory to sway world opinion that they were justified in using Species as laboratory rats for their experiments.”

  Shadow drew her attention. “A human nurse was assigned to Fury after he was shot in an assassination attempt by other humans against his mate. The drug she exposed him to made him aggressive and violent.” He looked at Jaded. “Was it the same drug?”

  “Not according to the sniff test. It’s something else that appears far worse than the symptoms Fury suffered. Moon is completely violent and unresponsive to anyone or anything. He’s either in so much pain he is beyond thought or they damaged his mind so extensively that his personality has devolved to basic survival of his animal genetics. That’s what we’re assessing right now but it’s early. There’s always hope the drug will wear off the way it did in Fury’s case. We’ve sent for specialists. They will be arriving within the next few hours.”

  Guilt ate at Beauty. “Why couldn’t he have just died?”

  Jaded’s green eyes flashed anger. “Moon is my friend. I hate to see him this way but I’m grateful he survived.”

  “I meant the bastard. Not your friend.” She suddenly wished she were alone with Shadow. “He got sick and he’s old. That’s what I meant. This would be over if he had died. He wouldn’t be around to come after me or hurt our people.”

  She didn’t mention aloud that she wouldn’t be alive either if he had died while she’d been his prisoner. The guards wouldn’t have had anyone to stop them from hurting her any way they wished. They would have destroyed the evidence and burned her body to ash, the way she’d overheard them plotting at times.

  “I understand.” Jaded calmed. “Some humans wish to hurt us anyway. They are afraid of us or refuse to accept what we are. Don’t take this personally. If it wasn’t Douglas Miller, it would be someone else.”

  He spoke to Shadow next. “I’ll leave now. I wanted you informed of all we know so far. We’ll have more solid facts by the time you reach Homeland to meet with Justice.” Catlike eyes turned to Beauty. “I meant what I said. This isn’t your fault. We’re different and sometimes that’s reason enough to draw hatred from others. You are in no way responsible for Douglas Miller or his actions.”

  She was left alone with Shadow. Tears threatened to spill but she fought them back. “I do feel guilty.”

  “You shouldn’t.” He brushed his fingertips over her arm, caressing lightly.

  “You and Breeze were hurt protecting me. Other Species were hurt. I saw all those men out there in need of medical help.”

  “Most of the injured were mercenaries.” He smiled in an attempt at humor.

  The effort didn’t work. “Don’t make light of this. Please?” She reached out, his chest warm and firm under her palm. It soothed her, just touching any part of his body. “You seemed to already know his name. How?”

  “Douglas Miller?”

  She nodded.

  “I had to review all the files when I was assigned to the task force. He is a fugitive, one of the many we plan to hunt down and capture. I reviewed the files of humans we’d retrieved Gift Females from after you told me your story. The task force doesn’t put the names of victims in those files but the clues you gave were enough to pinpoint him and the details of the operation that rescued you. That’s how I know what happened with Fury and Ellie as well. They keep the team up to speed on unclosed cases. The human nurse had outside help and we were still tracking down some of her known associates from Mercile.”

  “Fury was not permanently damaged by the drug. I see him all the time with Ellie. He’d never hurt her.” It made her feel hope for Moon. “Their love is beautiful.”

  Shadow glanced at the clock. “We need to go, love. The helicopter will leave soon.”

  “Okay.”

  “It will be fine.”

  She hoped so.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Beauty’s worst-case scenario happened. She wished a hole would open up under her and make her disappear when they reached the helicopter landing area. The tall task force member she spotted spoke to another one but then Shane turned his head. Recognition flared across his features as he smiled.

  No, she silently begged, dropping her gaze. Don’t try to talk to me. Please!

  She glanced at the ground, her hands, even her shirt. Shadow had gone to speak to the pilot, leaving her standing alone. Military boots approached until they stopped about four feet away. She knew it was Shane. Her heart did a panicked number inside her chest.

  “Beauty? Wow! You look fantastic. Well, except for the bruise on your face.”

  She had to look up but dreaded it. The lump inside her throat felt large but she had to speak. Otherwise he’d probably pity her after the trauma she’d suffered. It was important to show him that she wasn’t the terrified, frail woman he’d helped save. Her gaze lifted to stare up at a face she’d wished to never see again.

  “Hello, Shane.”

  “You remembered my name?” Color flushed his cheeks. “That means a lot to me. We always hope it’s a two-way street but it’s so traumatic when we go in. We kind of figure we’re just a blur of memory.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “You know, every Species we free is a triumph to us. Giving someone their life back makes this job worth all the bad stuff we deal with. We remember every one but we aren’t sure if the ones rescued remember us.”

  She wished she could forget at least one part of that awful night. “It’s something we always remember too.”

  His gaze swept up and down her body. “You really look good.” He blushed more. “I don’t mean that the way it sounds. I just meant you’re healthy now. You’ve put on some weight. Not that I’m saying you’re fat or anything.” He rushed his words. “Dang. My sisters would kick my butt. I’m putting my foot in my mouth. I’m just saying you look good and healthy. Perfect. Yeah. Okay, I’m done. Taking foot out of mouth.”

  She almost laughed. He seemed more nervous than she was and it made her relax a little. A smile played at her lips. “I didn’t take offense. I knew what you meant. It’s amazing what some food and baths will do to make someone look better.”

  “Yeah. You were so thin.” He grew serious. “You doing good? I mean, besides what happened here? We all know about the mercenaries coming in to grab you. Are you happy at the NSO and are they taking good care of you?”

  “I am and they are.” She swallowed. “Um, there?
??s something I need to say.”

  He shifted his stance. “Sure. Okay.”

  It took a few seconds to work up the courage but she did it. “I’m really sorry for, um, you know…” She tried to say it but failed to get all the words out. “For what I did or tried to do the night…” I made a fool of myself when I almost begged you to have sex with me, thinking you’d be a better master and protect me from my old one.

  He blushed again and glanced down before meeting her gaze. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. You have nothing to be sorry about.” Understanding shone in his gaze though. “Nothing at all. I don’t even know what you’re referring to.”

  Tears threatened to spill. He was being so nice to her. She blinked rapidly. Maybe apologizing to him would stop the nightmares. At the very least she could earn her dignity back. “I didn’t know any better but I do now. Thank you for what you did that night and for protecting me from my own ignorance. You could have taken advantage but you didn’t.”

  His hand rose and he slowly touched her arm, carefully watching her first to make sure she didn’t flinch away. Warm fingers gently squeezed her upper arm. “Hey, no worries. It was an honest mistake after all you’d been through and you have nothing to apologize for.” He nodded. “Ever. Okay? I’m just glad we got you out of there and I’m sorry I stuck you with a needle. I felt bad about that.”

  “You had no choice. I freaked out. It was the right thing to do.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Get your hand off her,” Shadow snarled.

  Beauty spun and was barely able to jump into his path as he attempted to lunge at Shane. She feared he’d just plow her over in his haste to attack the other man. His face twisted in a mask of rage. If the scary tone of his voice wasn’t clue enough of his intent, the fangs he revealed in threat were.

  “Stop!”

  “He was touching you.” Shadow didn’t even glance at her, instead he continued to glare at the task force member. “You don’t do that,” he warned, no longer speaking to her. “I’ll rip your hand off and feed it to you.”