Ellie opened her eyes finally when he didn’t touch her in any way again. Her gaze instantly found his image reflected on the mirror and her mouth opened in shock. Fury had his back to her while he removed his vest and unbuttoned his shirt to peel it from his broad shoulders.
“What are you doing?” Surprise sounded in her voice and she hated it.
“You need something dry and clean to wear. I thought I’d give you my shirt and briefs.” He glanced over his shoulder and met her gaze in the mirror. “Do you want to leave this bathroom naked?” Dark eyes narrowed. “I won’t allow it so don’t even think about it. If you’d told me to send in another male to help you get undressed that wouldn’t have happened either.”
She shook her head and crossed her arms over her breasts to hide them from his view. “Please lend me the shirt and your briefs. I’d appreciate it.”
He turned his head away. “You don’t have to watch me strip.”
Ellie realized she stared as he unbuttoned his shirt and removed it to expose a tan, muscular back. She squeezed her eyes closed, her only choice since she faced a mirror and turning around would just be facing him in the flesh. She listened as he undressed and it seemed like forever before he finished and spoke.
“I’m decent. Here.”
Ellie opened her eyes to find Fury closer, nearly touching her back. He faced away and held his shirt and a pair of blue boxer briefs over his shoulder toward her. Ellie turned and reached up to take them from him. She noticed again how much taller he stood than her.
“Thank you.”
“I owed you.” He growled the words.
Anger flared over his gruff taunt about their strained relationship. She clenched her teeth to avoid snapping out a rude response. She didn’t need to be reminded of that now. She dressed quickly instead. The boxer briefs were soft cotton, still warm from his body, and hung baggy, low on her hips. I have a fly now. She smirked at that thought while she put on his shirt. It smelled of him, held his warmth, and she was happy to be covered up again.
“You can turn around now.” She finished buttoning the borrowed shirt.
He slowly faced her. He looked sexy with just the vest on with his form-fitting pants. His arms were totally exposed, big, thick muscles showcased by the tight vest that looked too small for his impressive frame. She tore her gaze away from those biceps and rolled up the sleeves of the shirt until they didn’t fall past her hands. Fury stepped forward to help her by brushing away her fingers to do the task. She stared at his vest where NSO had been printed in large letters across it.
“I didn’t know you guys had your own security team.”
He inhaled deeply. “Yeah, well, we can’t trust humans to totally protect us. We’ve been training in secret and none of your people knew until now. Look what an incompetent job they did today. Mercile gave us strength, reflexes, and the ability to take a beating but remain fighting beyond normal endurance. The ones of us with any skills are teaching the others. We’re fast learners.”
“Why do it in secret? It’s your Homeland. You can do whatever you want.”
“Tell that to your people.” He hesitated. “They denied our requests when we asked for a space to train just for such a purpose or to have their instructors train our males in fighting skills. Now we do it ourselves in the men’s dorm out of their sight. We have removed all cameras inside. We tore them out when security refused to comply.”
She frowned. “Mike doesn’t tell on you to the director?”
“The dorm father?” Fury shook his head. “He drinks smelly alcohol every evening. After nine, a bomb could go off inside his apartment and he wouldn’t move. He has no idea what we do at night.”
“I’m sorry you have to do that.” She didn’t know what else to say. “If your women want to train here, I won’t tell on them. They won’t have to hide it from me.”
He shrugged. “We work around the roadblocks they throw in our path but thank you for the offer to the women. I’ll pass it along. One way or another, we’re going to become self-sufficient.”
“I know you will.”
He reached up but then froze midair, his fingers inches from her face.
Ellie couldn’t resist inching closer until the tips of his fingers brushed her check. Fingers curled around the curve of her face, slid into her hair, and she pressed her face against his palm. His touch soothed her. She wouldn’t say it aloud but she’d been happy to see him even under horrific circumstances.
Ellie raised her gaze to his. “Thank you for saving me.”
His dark eyes were beautiful and some unknown emotion flickered inside them for a heartbeat. “I told you I don’t want you dead anymore.” He caressed her face. “I was worried about you.”
She hesitated. “I’ve been told by a few of your women that they’ve seen you outside watching the dorm. Why are you out there?”
His cheeks flushed as if it embarrassed him but then his features blanked. His hand pulled away, dropping to his side. “I like to know where my enemies are. Come,” he growled. “The blood wasn’t yours. You have bruising and some scratches but you will live. I have a job to do. I need to see what is happening.”
It felt as though he’d slapped her with his out-of-the-blue harsh words, letting her know they weren’t even friends. She tore her gaze from his. “I’ll put on my shoes.”
“Don’t. They have blood on them and I just cleaned you. I can’t do that again. I’m not that strong,” he muttered.
What does that mean? Ellie wasn’t sure as she walked toward the bathroom door. Fury stayed at her side but didn’t touch her as he slid his gloves back on as they crossed the room. He opened the bathroom door for her and then walked away, leaving her to follow him. She stared up at the back of his head, wondering what his thoughts were. He had been nice to her up until the enemy comment.
The four NSO officers guarded the damaged entrance. Darren Artino and a dozen of his security guards waited. He glared at Fury.
“Your men wouldn’t allow me to go inside.”
Fury gave a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. He showed sharp canine fangs. “You may enter now.”
Artino uttered a foul curse and waved his men into the dorm. His angry gaze traveled down Ellie’s body and he visibly tensed. His focus zoomed in on the men’s briefs she wore, just an inch or so of them displayed at the bottom of the shirt, and his mouth gaped. He spun to glare at Fury.
Fury shrugged. “She needed clothes. You should put showers and towels inside the bathrooms on the lower floor if you have shitty security. When the people you fail to protect need to clean up the blood that was spilled, they can do it in comfort after they save their own asses. Paper towels weren’t going to cover her modesty afterward but my underclothing was much preferable to walking around naked.”
Ellie put her hand over her mouth to hide the smile. Artino’s face reddened as the words sank in. The head of security could be a real self-righteous prick sometimes and she enjoyed him getting a good verbal kick. She let her hand drop as she watched Fury nod at his men. They walked out of the women’s dorm without a backward glance.
Artino faced her. “Can you believe he said that to me?” He glared at Ellie in outrage.
She hesitated, choosing her words carefully. She wasn’t in a position to tell him his security had failed big time. “You really should put in at least one shower and real towels on the first floor bathroom. It would have come in handy.”
Ellie tore her gaze from his stunned expression to head over to one of the couches. She collapsed onto the soft material. Exhaustion and the need for a good cry set in. Or a stiff drink. Maybe all of the above.
* * * * *
Fury paused outside on the sidewalk to face his men and to stare over their shoulders at Ellie. She sat on the couch looking tired and pale from her traumatic ordeal. It had taken every ounce of his willpower to leave her when he really wanted to wrap his arms around her to give comfort. If she burst into tears he knew he’d go back insi
de regardless of how stupid it would be to cuddle her until her fear eased.
His phone rang and he snatched it up. “Yes, Justice?”
“What did you do with the human female while you were inside the bathroom? The cameras followed you when you carried her there but there is no footage inside. Are things well?”
“Yes.” Fury tensed.
“You should have sent one of our men with her if she needed assistance. We’ve had long talks about her, my friend. Are you all right?”
He lowered his voice. “They touched her and hurt her but I kept my cool.”
“Good.” Justice paused. “You did a damn good job, Fury. I’m proud of you. The humans are a tad upset that our team saved the woman. They weren’t happy when they realized we have our own security now.”
“It’s our Homeland. We were told by the President of the United States that this is our home and, when we’re able, we can run it ourselves.”
“I know. They feel guilty for funding Mercile Industries without knowing exactly what they paid for. They want to make it right with us and it would be very bad publicity worldwide if we pointed a finger at them. We need to tread lightly still until we’re in a position to govern ourselves. The conversation with Darren Artino appeared unfriendly. What was said?”
“He wasn’t happy we succeeded where his security failed. It displeased him that I ordered my team not to allow anyone access to the dorm until I made sure of Ellie’s safety and well-being.”
Justice hesitated. “Are you in control? I need you to be. Our people need leadership and guidance the most right now while we learn to thrive in the world outside captivity. I chose you to be my second in command because you’re respected, you usually keep your emotions on a tight leash, and you want what is best for our people as much as I do.”
“You have nothing to worry about,” Fury swore, his gaze still locked on Ellie. “I know I can’t have her.”
“I wish you could.” Justice sighed softly. “You deserve happiness. Return to the male dorm. I’ll be there soon to address our men.”
Chapter Eight
Director Boris glowered at Ellie. “I want an explanation for your refusal right now.”
She glared back at him, furious, and beyond ready to tell the man off in a rude way. “What is to explain? Don’t make me go over this again. I already have a hundred times and nothing is going to change just because you have a problem with them having their own security officers. Officer Fury helped me clean up inside that bathroom. I shook too badly to walk from being that upset. I had to kill two men, I’m not military, and I don’t have that kind of background.”
“I know that,” he snapped.
“I was shaken up that day those crazy freaks broke into Homeland and I couldn’t even walk. If you saw the videos of what happened then you know Officer Fury had to carry me. My clothes were bloody and he just lent me his briefs and a shirt. He did the decent, kind thing. What is your problem?” She rose to her feet and resisted the urge to smack the offensive asshole.
“He inappropriately touched you and I want a formal complaint filed by six o’clock today. We need to show them they can’t do whatever the hell they want. They didn’t get authorization to do what they did.”
Unbelievable. Ellie gaped at him. “I won’t do it. He didn’t inappropriately touch me. If you want to have a pissing contest with someone to show who’s in control, don’t pull me into it. I don’t even have the right equipment.”
He ignored her sarcastic comment. “That man carried you into a bathroom where you stripped naked in front of him and he stripped naked in front of you, obviously, to give you his damn boxers. That is totally unacceptable. Write that report now. That is an order.”
“There are no cameras inside that bathroom. You don’t know what went on in there!” Ellie yelled, beyond furious.
“I can guess. Is that it, Ms. Brower? Do you have the hots for Officer Fury? Did you two do more than exchange clothing? Did he fuck you?”
She took a step back and her hands balled into fists. She wanted to deck him so bad she had to struggle to get hold of her temper. She couldn’t. He’d gone too far.
“You’re a dirty-minded asshole, Director Boris. That man and his team saved my life. Where the hell was your security when those men were using vehicles to ram down the front doors of the dorm? Where were they when they chased me through the first floor and I was forced to kill two men? Where were they while those jerks manhandled me and planned to brutally rape me in front of your cameras before they killed me? Let me tell you where they were. They were watching from their safe control room. The NSO security officers saved my life and Officer Fury, for your information, stepped into a stall while I cleaned myself, kept his back to me the entire time, and his eyes closed. He never saw me naked,” she lied. “And I never saw so much of an inch of his skin except his arms,” she lied again. “Don’t tell me to commit perjury on some bogus report because you’re pissed they saved the day when your shitty security measures were a joke.”
Director Boris rose to his feet. “You’re fired. Get your shit and get off Homeland immediately. I’ll personally have you arrested for trespassing in one hour if you are still here and let my shitty security toss you onto your ass out the front gates. I’ll have the local police waiting to give you a new home inside the city jail.”
She nodded. “You’re a spineless prick.” She spun and stormed out of his office.
Ellie choked on tears as she headed for the outer door. She only had one hour to gather everything she owned and leave the only home she had. She’d have to call security to ask them to bring her car to the dorm to load her belongings. All personal vehicles were stored inside a secure parking lot at the back of Homeland. It was a standard security measure to prevent their cars from being messed with. She had no home anymore, only a few thousand dollars in her savings account, and no job. What hurt most would be that she’d miss the women she’d grown closer to. She reached the security guard at the door that lead outside and he moved suddenly to block her path with a grim demeanor.
“Director Boris ordered me to take your security card and escort you directly off Homeland. He stated your personal possessions would be packed into your vehicle and brought to you within the hour at the front gate.”
Shock tore through her that she wouldn’t even be allowed to say goodbye to the women or pack her own things. My prick comment has probably driven Director Boris to a new level of asshole. Shit. Her next thought centered on Fury. I’ll never see him again. Pain lanced through her. She might not be his favorite person but to never lay eyes on him again left her feeling miserable.
She nodded grimly as the security guard put his hand on his gun in case she argued the point. It would only make the impossible situation worse. She unclipped her security card to hand over. He released his gun but grabbed her arm instead.
“I can walk myself, thank you.” She tugged to break his grip but he didn’t let go.
“I’ve been told if you put up any kind of resistance to arrest you and have you transferred to civilian officers of the law when we reach the gate.”
She didn’t struggle but she wanted to. She lifted her chin instead. She fought back more tears as the man yanked on her arm roughly and pulled her out into the bright sunshine. Two more security guards waited outside, one of whom snatched her security card from her hand.
Director Boris had really rolled out the angry red carpet for her, it seemed, since she’d been assigned three security guards. Asshole. The two new men took front and back positions while the guard still gripping her arm stormed to one of the security cars. He practically shoved her into the back seat. She closed her eyes when the car moved, knowing they drove her to the gate, and out of Fury’s life forever.
Ellie was shoved outside the gate into a group of protesters. Nervousness ate at her as she stood there to wait for her car. She glanced at the anti-New Species group and looked away quickly when she met suspicious glowers aimed at he
r. The protestors didn’t know her association with the New Species but they’d seen security escort her out. She inched closer to the gates when a few of the protesters approached.
“Back away,” one of the guards demanded, reaching for his weapon.
Ellie froze. “I’m waiting for my car. They don’t like me.” She jerked her head toward the people behind her. “Can’t I wait here so I’m safe until my car comes? Is that too much to ask?”
The security guard smirked. “Move back to the line now or I’m going to have to make you.”
He looked totally sincere. She spun away and moved ten feet back to the line painted on the ground. Some of the protesters were within a yard of her now. One of the men glared at her and walked closer. He was a burly thug sort and he appeared to be a reject from prison with badly inked tattoos on his bare arms.
“Who are you? You came from inside. Are you one of those bleeding-heart animal lovers?”
She swallowed. “Please leave me alone.”
A woman protester glared at her and turned to face one of the guards. “Who is this woman?”
The guard didn’t even glance at Ellie. “She worked inside but just got canned.”
Ellie gaped at the guard for ratting her out and instantly sensed the hostility that came from the people around her. She again moved closer to the gate, fearful. Some of them belonged to the same group who’d stormed Homeland. The guard with the shotgun shook his head at her.
“I ordered you to get back.”
“Yeah,” one of the protesters yelled at Ellie. “Why don’t you come over here, bitch? We’d love to have a chat with you.”
Ellie studied the crowd. They weren’t walking around anymore, carrying their hate signs. They watched her and drew closer together, mob style. Their signs were gripped as if they were baseball bats and terror filled Ellie. She faced the gates again and grabbed at the bars.
“I will sue every one of you if you let them harm me and you will be canned right along with me.”
“So leave,” one of the security guards snorted at her. “They can’t attack you if you aren’t here.”