“I’ll talk to them. Call a meeting.” He glanced at his watch. “Let’s say in two hours?”
“Sounds good.” Brass flashed a grin. “You realize you’ve become a father figure to everyone. You give advice and deal out harsh threats when we misbehave. Justice is our mother figure—protective, nurturing, and nesting to make our new Homeland a home.”
Fury’s hand lifted and his middle finger extended. “There’s your lesson today, son.”
A bark of laugher filled the room. “I decline if that is an offer. You aren’t my type.”
“No one is.” Fury chuckled. “Our women are too smart to choose to mate with you.”
Brass pushed away from the wall and took a few steps closer, his smile fading. His eyes narrowed as he studied Fury.
“Speaking of women, I heard the little human you saved has left Homeland.”
All humor fled. Fury nodded. “The director fired her and Justice asked me not to get involved. I wanted to overstep the director’s authority, give her job back, and keep her here. I saw the danger it placed her in to be associated with us after the attack we suffered. Justice made me understand she’d have a better life without me in it.”
“If you’d pulled rank on that pompous asshole, he would realize we’re aware of the power we yield.”
“That’s what Justice said. I felt conflicted, Brass. I didn’t want her to go but I have responsibilities to our people as well. I’m torn in half. The only way to have her stay was to take on the director. That action would have undermined our plan for our community.”
“You really care for this female?” His eyebrows arched. “I saw her plenty of times and she’s very unlike our women. She’s small.”
“I am aware of our size difference.”
“And she’s human.” Brass frowned. “She also worked for Mercile. I’m aware of why she did, everyone has been briefed that she worked there undercover to gather evidence, but I also heard you had a personal issue with her. I was in that conference room, Fury. I feared you’d kill her in front of a room full of humans.”
Fury sat down hard on the edge of his desk, crossed his arms over his chest, and sighed loudly. “Something happened between us and I felt betrayed by her. I completely lost my control.”
“No shit. I’ve never seen you so feral. What did she do to you?”
He paused. “She is the one I told you about when we were freed and detained inside those motels while we waited to be moved here. She’s the human who came into my cell and killed Jacob.”
“Shit,” Brass muttered, at a loss for more words.
“I have never reacted to anyone as strongly as I do to her. I’m…” He searched for a way to express his emotions. “I’m obsessed with her. She smiles and I melt. I want to hear her voice and just be close to her.”
“Shit,” Brass repeated.
“I want her back. I couldn’t be with her but I drove by the dorms nightly and at least got to watch her interact with our women from a distance. Now I don’t even have that. It…hurts me.”
The silence stretched. Brass finally spoke.
“When we take over Homeland you could invite her back. You’ll be in control of security. We won’t have to worry about how the humans react. Can you just hold off until then?”
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I just want her back. I want her near me.” He paused. “I need her close even if I can’t truly be with her. All I can think about is what she is doing right now, where she will go, and…” His voice deepened into a snarl. “If human males are attempting to touch what is mine.”
Brass’ eyebrows shot up. “Yours?”
“Mine.” Fury nodded. “It is how I feel when I think of her.”
“Hang in there. Our people learn quickly and we’ll be able to completely run Homeland soon. You’ll be able to invite her back. I hope for your sake she accepts your offer.”
“I do as well.” Fury stood. “Make those calls and set up the meeting. I’ll talk to our males and schedule extra training sessions to give them an outlet for their anger. The humans within our walls aren’t our enemies, for the most part.”
Chapter Nine
Ellie finished packing her bag after the motel clerk had jimmied her door open to allow her to retrieve her things. She was grateful she hadn’t unpacked yet. She studied the policeman at her door, watching her every move. “Thank you. I’m done and ready to go now. I appreciate you babysitting me.”
The policeman shrugged. “It’s my job.”
Ellie gripped her purse and her suitcase. The policeman moved out of her way and closed the motel door for her. She walked down the stairs, trying not to notice that some of the guests of the motel were still outside, gawking at her as though she were the evening’s entertainment. She sighed. She didn’t like being the main source of morbid amusement for strangers.
She winced at the words on her car. The police had made a report of the damage, had taken pictures, and given her a card with the police report number. The policeman unlocked her trunk while she lifted in her suitcase. She closed it and forced a smile when he handed the keys back.
“Would you like some advice?”
She nodded. “Sure.”
He glanced at the car and then at her. “Go get a rental car and leave this inside the parking lot of the rental company. This is a small town. If these morons are set to harass you all they have to do is drive around to motels and hotels looking for this. You’d be pretty easy to find until your insurance company has it painted.”
Great, Ellie thought. Her finances were going to be tight until she found another job. She could almost mentally see money burning but he made a valid point. “Thank you. I think that’s a great plan and I will do that.”
“I can’t wait for these morons to leave this area. Ever since the protestors showed up it’s been like this. The locals were happy about accepting Homeland, for the most part, and we welcome those poor people out there into our community. It beat having a military base as a neighbor. I lived next to one as a kid and they were always tearing up the town when they drank in their off hours. The New Species don’t do that. Then these Humans for Pure Humans jerks showed up on the scene. You’d think they’d have something better to do.”
Ellie gave him a grateful smile, the tension easing from her body. It was nice to hear someone agree with her views after her ordeal. “Yes. The New Species have been through enough without those racist morons.”
“I’ll drive behind you for a few blocks to make sure you aren’t followed.”
“Thanks.”
Ellie stepped to the driver’s door of her car but paused when a large, black SUV pulled into the parking lot. She froze, staring. It looked very similar to the ones Homeland used, with all the windows tinted black. It stopped right behind Ellie’s car. Ellie tensed while the cop beside her reached for his gun with one hand, his radio with the other.
The driver’s door opened and Ellie stared warily at the man who circled around the front of the SUV. He wore a business suit and dark glasses. He stopped, his head turned toward the cop, and then he seemed to be looking at Ellie by the way his face lowered in her direction. His hands were open at his sides and he spread his fingers, moving his hands away from his body to show the cop he wasn’t armed.
“Ms. Brower? I’m Dean Hoskins. Mr. Fury sent me. You called Mr. North’s office and he has been made aware that you were having some kind of situation.”
Fury? Ellie relaxed. “It’s okay,” she assured the policeman.
Dean Hoskins let his hands drop as soon as the policeman released the butt of his gun. He reached up, removed his sunglasses, and it revealed he had green eyes in a nice face.
“Mr. Fury asked me to collect you and your things. I’ve been asked to give you a message. I’m not sure what it means but Mr. Fury assured me you would understand it. He told me to say that after saving your life, you owe him this time. He requests you follow me back to Homeland to talk to him in person. He would have
come himself but regrettably, because of the situation outside Homeland, it wouldn’t be advisable for him to leave.”
No shit, Ellie thought. Fury wanted to talk to her. She wondered what he wanted to discuss. He may have regretted not really saying goodbye to her. He might even want to say he’d forgiven her for what she’d done to him. Of course he might just want to know what had happened. She didn’t want to get her hopes up that he just wanted to see her again. She’d never know unless she spoke to him. It would bother her, wondering, if she didn’t go.
She nodded at Hoskins. She had no doubt he was on the level. Only Fury would talk about who owed who. “All right.”
He placed his sunglasses back onto his face. Ellie turned to the policeman.
“Thank you so much for everything. I’ll go to the car rental place as soon as my meeting with Mr. Fury is over.”
Ellie climbed into her car and waited while Hoskins turned the large SUV around inside the parking lot. Ellie backed out of the space to follow the SUV back to Homeland. She hated the stares she received from other drivers and dreaded when the protesters got a load of what had been spray painted on her car.
The hateful words humiliated and embarrassed her. The guard who let her inside the gate gaped at her with raised eyebrows. Ellie softly cursed and resisted flipping him off. She had no choice but to drive her vandalized vehicle. She followed the black SUV to the main office to park next to him in the visitor section.
Ellie grabbed her purse as she exited the car. She wasn’t about to let her wallet out of her sight after already being tossed out of Homeland. She needed to have options if they kicked her out again without a car. Dean Hoskins studied her vehicle with a frown.
“Was this the trouble you ran into?”
“Partly. It seems some idiots think I’ve been brainwashed and three jerks were set on trying to supposedly save me. God only knows what they thought they were going to do if they’d gotten away with kidnapping me.” She shook her head. “Some of them are just insane.”
* * * * *
Fury paced while Justice watched him closely, studied everything about him, and it annoyed him. He stopped, shooting a glare at Justice. “What? She was in trouble. She mentioned police to your secretary and needed an escort out of there. Do you have a problem with my sending Dean to collect her? He works for us. What good are having humans help us if they don’t do anything?”
“I’m not disputing your reasoning. I believed she’d be safer in her world but I freely admit when I’m wrong if she’s experienced trouble so soon. I’m just wondering if you’re going to explode when she arrives. You look about ready to totally lose control again.”
Fury snarled, fought his rage, and met his friend’s worried gaze. “Every protective instinct inside me is battling. My first impulse was to jump into a Jeep and go out there to track her down. I am in control since I sent Dean.”
“Good to know.” Justice inched closer. “If it means so much, you can keep her here. I’ll smooth things out somehow with the director and if that doesn’t work, I’ll outright order him to allow her to stay. Under the circumstances it may not arouse too much suspicion from him that I’d go over his head. He’s very paranoid about how much power we flex and he’s attempting to retain absolute command of Homeland. He is being an ass by treating us as if we are children but the bottom line is, he works for us. I’m sure there is housing available at the visiting-human section. I’ll make some calls.”
Fury’s eyes narrowed. “And have the director go behind our backs again? You put me in charge of security. I won’t allow her out of my sight.”
Justice’s mouth dropped open. “Where will you assign her then?”
“I have two bedrooms. She’ll be safe inside my house. No one would be stupid enough to go after her there, and I can guard her.”
“You mean protect her.”
“It’s the same thing.”
“It’s a bad idea.” Justice shrugged. “But you are in charge. I have enough headaches trying to figure out the business side of Homeland, how to afford to pay for everything and where to find more funds for us to use after we start running it ourselves. While the president is generous, we’re bleeding out a lot of money with the construction costs for all the extra preventative measures we need in place after the attack. Don’t forget that you have a meeting in the morning with the architect. I want you to go over the plans carefully and it’s your call on whether what they have come up with will prevent another breach at our front gates.”
“I’ll be there.”
Justice moved forward, gripped Fury’s shoulder, and stared deeply into his eyes. “I know you will do your job. I’m more worried about your emotional state when it comes to this woman. It’s the only chink in your armor I’ve ever seen. Emotions can play hell on our kind.”
“I can separate my responsibilities to our people from my personal matters.”
“I know you can.” Justice released him. “Good luck with your human.” A grin split his lips. “I don’t envy you. Of course, they’ve got to be easier than attempting to handle our women.”
Fury snorted. “Not really. She’s very hard to understand since we come from two different worlds.” He hesitated. “I feel rage that she may have been harmed.”
“Try to keep it under wraps. They spook easily when we snarl and show teeth.” Justice chuckled, walking away.
Fury growled softly. He’d try to hear what happened to Ellie without letting his anger show. Dean had called to tell him she was following him to Homeland now but refused to tell him what had happened. Ellie hadn’t been harmed if she could drive and that was all that mattered. He strode from the office toward the parking lot where she’d arrive. He’d wanted to be there waiting but Justice had delayed him.
* * * * *
“They what?”
The deep voice behind Ellie startled her. She spun and dropped her purse. Fury had stalked right up behind her without her knowing it. He’d moved so stealthily he hadn’t made a sound to warn her of his approach. She clutched her chest as she faced him.
“Don’t sneak up on someone that way. I had no idea you were there. You almost gave me a heart attack.” Her arms dropped to her sides.
Fury moved closer. “Someone tried to kidnap you?” He bent down, lifted her purse from the pavement, and held it with his big hand while he straightened to his full height again. “How?”
Ellie’s racing heart started to calm. “I’m guessing one of the protestors followed me to my motel and they rented a room beside mine. They were waiting to ambush me when I returned to my room after grabbing some food. I screamed when one of the three men grabbed me. There were people around who started to yell and they ran away.”
The look on Fury’s matched his name. The name sure does fit him, Ellie decided. He became silent while he continued to stare down at her but then he softly growled. His canine teeth peeked out from his slightly parted full lips. She backed away, leery of his anger. What did I do? It wasn’t my fault. He looked as if he wanted to tear out her throat again.
“You aren’t safe out there,” he stated in a harsh tone. “From now on you stay here. Don’t argue with me.”
Dean Hoskins cleared his throat and pulled out his cell phone. “I’ll call guest housing to make sure they have a room for her.”
“Hang it up,” Fury demanded. “She is staying with me.”
Ellie gawked at him, trying to make sense of his offer. “With you?” she gasped.
He took a step closer. “You seem to know how to find trouble, sweetness. Or maybe it just seems to know how to find you. I have a guest bedroom and you are staying with me. That way I can keep an eye on you.”
Uh-oh. She watched as Fury tore his gaze from hers to turn his attention on her car. He paced all the way around it, examined every inch of damage, only stopping when he stood in front of Ellie again. He snagged her hand, holding it firmly inside his hot-skinned but gentle grip.
“Let’s go. My house is
n’t far so we’ll walk there. I’ll have someone remove your things from that and tell them to fix what they did to it.”
“But my suitcase―” Ellie tried to stall.
“Not now,” he snarled, tugging sharply on her hand, forcing her to move when she hadn’t meant to.
He pulled Ellie alongside him, giving her no choice but to accompany him. She noticed Dean Hoskins’ alarmed expression. She didn’t want to cause a scene or for Fury to get into any kind of trouble. She knew he was protecting her for some reason and she hated the idea of leaving Homeland more than living inside his house.
“Thanks for coming to get me,” she called out.
“Not a problem,” Hoskins mumbled.
Ellie glanced at Fury’s handsome but grim profile while she all but jogged along beside him as his long legs ate up ground. He still clutched her purse in a fisted hand. She gave her purse a worried look and hoped nothing inside it got crushed in his white-knuckled hold. Ellie didn’t protest as Fury kept going until they arrived at his house. He released her at the front door, reached into his back pocket, and used his key card to open it. His dark gaze fixed on her.
“Inside, now.”
Ellie hesitated. “Why are you so mad at me?”
“I’m not,” he growled. “Get inside.”
Ellie entered the dim interior, darting glances around to take in the room. The door slammed behind her loudly. She spun to face him. Fury leaned against the door, just dropped her purse onto the floor, and she flinched, hoping her cell phone she’d shoved in there survived the hard hit to the entry tile. Her attention returned to Fury only to find him staring at her with his dark, intense gaze. His sharp teeth peeked out between his slightly parted lips again.
“For someone not mad at me,” she stated softly, “you’re doing a hell of an impression of it. Could you please, at least,” she pointed to her own mouth, “put away the fangs?”