“FURY!” She screamed his name. Her hands frantically grabbed for his side where the red stickiness spread. Her terrified, panicked mind understood he’d been shot. She pressed both palms over the wound, trying to slow the bleeding. Her terrified gaze locked on Fury’s face. He breathed but wasn’t conscious.
“Someone help me!” Ellie screamed.
Trisha Norbit suddenly dropped to her knees on the other side of Fury’s body. Trisha shoved Ellie’s hands away and tore at Fury’s shirt to get a look at the wound. Ellie ignored her hands, covered with Fury’s blood. She inched up to his face while the doctor and a few other people started to work on him.
Ellie trembled. “Fury?” She touched his face, not caring that her fingertips brushing his skin were bloody. Tears streamed down her face. “Fury? Please wake up.” Her voice broke with a sob.
“Get me a med kit,” Trisha demanded loudly. “Now!”
He didn’t move. Ellie frantically looked at the doctor. “Trisha? Is he going to be okay?”
Trisha met Ellie’s eyes and then turned her head away. “We need to get him to the hospital immediately. Call the trauma center and tell them we need an operating room prepared and—” She cursed. “Justice? I need a few of your canine people to come with us. He’s going to need blood and hopefully one of them will match his close enough.”
Justice stood behind Ellie gripping his cell phone. “I’ll get them all.”
“Trisha?” Ellie continued to shake.
Trisha met her gaze then, her expression grim. “He’s been shot twice, Ellie. It’s really bad. I promise I’m going to do everything I can to save him.”
Ellie totally fell apart in that instant. She knew he wasn’t going to make it. She saw all the blood soaking her hands, his clothes, and Trisha’s hands. She caressed his face and whispered his name. Someone grabbed her from behind and yanked her away from the man she loved. She fought whoever held her, screaming Fury’s name, but he didn’t move. The man holding her held on tighter and spun away.
“They need to work on him, Ellie. I’m going to drive you to where they are taking him. You need to calm down,” the man yelled in her ear. “This isn’t helping him.”
Ellie sobbed. She stopped screaming and struggling, admitted the futility of it. Slade held her and he was as big as Fury. Her feet weren’t even touching the ground. He kept hold of her, saying soothing things in her ear, as Ellie watched the doctor and the emergency medical staff work on Fury, trying to stabilize him. Someone brought a stretcher and they quickly loaded him onto it. She looked up when she heard a news helicopter circling.
Slade turned with her, still kept a good hold on her in case she tried to run after Fury, and quickly strode toward the parking lot. He gently dumped her into the back seat of one of the SUV’s when he got there and grabbed his radio.
“Canines, meet me at the parking lot. We’re ready to roll. I have Ellie secured.”
Slade got behind the wheel, turned in his seat and studied Ellie. She cried, curled into a ball on one of the back seats, but had overheard enough to piece together most of what had happened from the car radio. Slade was obviously torn up too by what had happened. It was obvious by his grim expression and the pained look in his eyes as they stared at each other.
“I was patrolling the wall when it happened. There were three shooters in all. I took out one of them but I couldn’t get the other two without risking hitting innocents. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to take them all out before they shot him.” His gruff voice paused. “Fury will be fine,” Slade promised in a firm voice. “We are stronger than humans and we heal faster. We can take more punishment.”
Ellie wiped at her tears. “I can’t lose him.”
Slade nodded. “You won’t.”
Men opened doors and climbed inside the SUV. Ellie noticed they were armed to the teeth with weapons secured from ankle to chest on their big bodies. They were also canine, judging from the shape of their solemn eyes. Slade started the engine and backed out of the parking space. He punched the gas and headed for the gate. He turned his radio up to hear it clearer over the sound of the engine.
“Clear the way. We’re just about there.”
He didn’t even slow as they came to the opened gate. The crowd normally present had been evacuated from the area. Gunfire and bloodshed had scattered the protesters and the reporters.
* * * * *
Ellie paced and kept glancing at the men surrounding her. There were at least seven NSO officers guarding the private waiting room. The hospital had offered one to them as soon as they realized the NSO officers were armed and determined to guard Ellie. More officers were outside the operating room where Fury fought for his life.
“He’s still alive,” Justice assured Ellie.
She nodded, knowing Justice spoke on his cell phone with one of the NSO officers who guarded the operating room. The officer could see inside to give detailed information. Ellie was grateful for the relay system Justice had thought of, to keep tabs on how Fury faired. Ellie didn’t know how people could stand just waiting without any kind of word when a loved one underwent surgery.
Slade entered the room, moved directly to Ellie, and offered her a large, white, covered Styrofoam cup. A straw stuck out of it. Ellie forced a smile.
“Coffee doesn’t come with a straw but thank you.”
“It is iced coffee.” Slade smiled. “You’re shaking. I didn’t want to hand you something hot that could spill. Fury would kick my ass if I allowed you to get burned.”
Tears filled Ellie’s eyes and she smiled for real at him. “Thank you.”
He nodded before turning away to approach Justice next. Justice kept the cell phone against his ear but shifted it away from his mouth.
“Report.”
Slade sighed. “All three shooters are accounted for. One survived, unfortunately. The police informed me the man is an idiot who can’t stop talking. He’s claiming to be a member of the Pure Humans terrorist group.”
Justice snorted. “We aren’t supposed to call them terrorists but go ahead.”
“They heard about the press interview and infiltrated it by using photographer credentials. We didn’t cover security.” Slade growled the words. “It seems, if they had a press pass, they weren’t searched.”
“From now on we handle all the security where any of our people are concerned.”
Slade nodded. “Any word on Fury?”
“He’s fighting and has survived this long. We have two blood matches. Searcher and Darkness are inside the room donating blood as needed.”
Ellie sipped her iced coffee while she listened to them. She had to admit that everyone had really been great to her. They were guarding her and Fury. The New Species had made sure plenty of their men came to the hospital to be blood donors for Fury. Just regular human blood might have worked but matching their altered chemistry worked better. Justice had explained it to her.
Ellie remembered when they’d reached the hospital. Justice had taken her into one of the bathrooms, talked calmly to her, and promised everything would be done for Fury. He’d led her to a sink while he’d talked. She’d still been in shock as he’d washed her bloody hands as if she were a child and then handed her clothing someone had brought for her with the tags still attached. He’d left her inside the room to change out of her stained, bloody clothes. He hadn’t left her side after she’d stepped out of the bathroom. Her attention returned to him.
He shifted the phone back to his mouth. “Yes. I’m still here. What is going on?”
Ellie’s heart fluttered when she saw Justice close his eyes. Fear gripped her hard when Justice snapped his phone closed. Ellie continued to stare at him until his eyes opened. His gaze turned her way.
“He’s alive, Ellie. They removed both bullets and closed him up. They stopped the bleeding and his vitals are good. Trisha is sure, barring unforeseen circumstances, that he will make it.”
Tears slipped down her cheeks when she realized Fury woul
d live. She nodded but was afraid to really believe it until she saw him. Hours passed before they took Fury from recovery to a private room in the ICU. They allowed the NSO to guard him and watch from the observation room next door.
Ellie rubbed her neck, tired, but she didn’t want to go to sleep. She watched Fury through a wall of glass, from the same room as the officers. They only allowed her to sit with him at his bedside for a few minutes at a time. A doctor, not Trisha, monitored Fury.
It brought back memories of other times she’d regarded Fury through glass when he’d still been locked inside the testing facility. It made her want to cry once again. It broke her heart to see such a strong, vital man helpless.
Justice sat in the corner. Someone had brought him a laptop computer and he had his earpiece for his cell phone clipped to his ear. He spoke softly to someone every once in a while. Ellie glanced at him. The man never seemed to stop working. Ellie’s focus returned to the glass. Fury slept on. The doctor checked Fury’s vitals and then left through another door.
“Ellie?” Justice spoke softly.
Ellie turned. “Yes?”
Justice gave a small smile. “He’s going to be fine. I told you that Trisha ordered that he stay sedated. New Species don’t do well laying flat on a bed because we like to be mobile. It’s best to keep him out of it while he heals more or he’ll try to get up no matter how bad it hurts him. We’re annoyingly stubborn that way, unfortunately.”
“I know. I just don’t think I’m going to feel better until I hear his voice and look into his eyes.”
“I understand. I know Fury requested marriage information. Were you aware of that? He told me he planned to ask you.”
“Yes.” She sat down. “We talked about it last night actually.”
“He loves you. Do you know that?”
“I love him too. He’s everything to me.”
“You didn’t have to tell me that. I see it every time you look at him.” He paused. “We never had anything that belonged to us while growing up. Did he tell you that? We never dared care about much either. The staff and doctors always took it away from us or used any perceived weakness against us as a punishment. Marriage means security to him, that he can keep you until he dies. It means that you belong to him and that you won’t ever be taken away from him. I wanted you to be clear about. If you do marry him he will expect that to mean forever. Don’t agree unless you are sure.”
“I am.”
His eyes narrowed. “He won’t let you divorce him. That’s what I’m saying. It would kill him. Marriage is permanent to him. It is vowing that he never has to fear losing you. He will die or kill to protect you and will love you with everything he has to give. I have heard about your human marriages. We’re not similar to humans at all in this matter. He would be loyal and Fury would kill another man if you allowed one touch you. We are possessive as hell. It’s been forced into us like the DNA they put into our cells. Not only did it physically change us but we carry some of the characteristics. We are protective and aggressive. We are possessive of what is ours. I don’t know if Fury explained that to you but I wanted to. We call it mating and it’s for life. He already has mated you but part of him has held back because he had to accept that you might leave him. He’s committed to you already.”
“Thank you but you can save it if you are trying to scare me. I love him. I don’t plan on divorce and I sure as hell wouldn’t cheat on him.” Ellie wasn’t offended. She knew Justice just wanted to make sure she understood what she was facing as Fury’s wife. “I’m looking forward to spending my life with him. Every second of it.”
“He will scare you sometimes. We snarl, growl and dominate. We try to restrain it but it is worse since we found our freedom. We struggle with the animal and the humanity inside us, Ellie. I know how independent women are. Our own females are that way up to a point but they also understand our males. They’re able to work around us better. I just wanted to you be aware of it. He won’t mean to insult you or your pride. It is just our nature to be aggressive and take control of situations.”
“Like when he turned down a job for me without asking?” Ellie smiled at the memory.
“He did that? You took the job anyway.”
“He finally asked me if I wanted it. It did irritate me at first.”
A smile flicked across Justice’s mouth. “I’m sure it did. He wanted to look out for you though.”
“I know.”
“So you are already aware of the differences.”
“Yes.”
Justice hesitated. “May I ask you a very personal question?”
“Sure. Go ahead.”
“Why did he bind you?”
Bind me? Her mind blanked for a second and then she understood what he meant. Oh. Ellie blushed. “You mean with the dishtowel and the tape?”
“Yes.”
“He got a bit overexcited and wanted to calm down. He bound my hands so I couldn’t touch him.”
“He was angry?”
Ellie shook her head, blushing more. “He got overly sexually excited. He wanted it to be good for both of us and he wanted to touch me until I became as aroused as he was. I love to touch him so he bound my hands.”
Justice’s eyes sparkled with amusement. “I understand now. You don’t mind being bound? Our people hate to be restrained. We fear it.”
“Nobody ever hurt me the way your people were. I don’t have nightmares about being tested and prodded. I’m sure some people would find it frightening to be tied up but I don’t. I trust Fury and know he wouldn’t hurt me, nor do I have a problem with being dominated. It appeals to me when Fury does it. Is that a good way to put it?”
“Perfect. Thanks, Ellie. I am sorry for my reaction and the resulting harm I caused you. I thought he had lost his mind and had hurt you. Ever since the day he grabbed you in that conference room he hasn’t been sane where you are concerned. I believed he really wanted to do you harm.”
“He actually did want to kill me that day.” Ellie chuckled. “I’m glad he changed his mind.”
“I do have some good news.”
“What is that?” Ellie leaned back against her chair, relaxing. “I could really use some.”
“Something good has come out of all this.” Justice motioned toward Fury. “I just concluded a meeting with our public relations director. She informed me the press has backed us a hundred percent. Phone calls and emails have been pouring in supporting us. Your people are horrified over what happened. The cameras were still rolling and a lot of the news stations carried the broadcast live. Did you know that?”
Horror washed through Ellie. “They were broadcasting it live on the news when Fury was shot?”
“It’s all right,” Justice said, to reassure her. “It’s actually a good thing, it seems. Good opinion for New Species has jumped phenomenally. How much do you remember of it? I know you aren’t trained to retrain details or react calmly under extreme conditions the way we are.”
“Not much. All hell broke loose and then Fury carried me to the safety inside the gates where we couldn’t be shot at anymore. Then he collapsed on the ground.”
“When the men opened fire,” Justice informed her calmly, “Fury reacted. He kicked over the table to shield everyone sitting there from the incoming bullets. He threw himself over your body to make certain the bullets would strike him instead of you. He was shot once and must have realized the table wasn’t thick enough to stop them. At that point he lifted you up and ran to get you to safety. He took another bullet while running.” Justice paused. “You were the target. They wanted to kill you. He got you to safety before anyone accomplished that.”
Tears blinded Ellie and she had to wipe them away. Fury had saved her. She knew he had but hearing exactly what he’d done to protect her broke her heart. He’d taken two bullets for her.
“They did harm me. They shot Fury.”
“I know. The good news is, our public relations director believes the general consen
sus is that every father is wishing right now his daughter grows up to marry a New Species since Fury risked his life to save yours. Women think we are natural heroes.” He shrugged and gave her a confused look. “I’ve been assured that’s a good thing for fathers to feel that way.”
Ellie couldn’t help herself. She laughed. “It’s a good thing women tend to be very attracted to those kinds of men.”
“I see. Thank you.” He winked at her. “I’m supposed to know these things but the truth is, I’m still learning about humans.”
“I’m glad the response was favorable toward New Species.”
He nodded. “The bottom line is, this turned out to be a positive thing for us. Fury risked his life to save you and that seems to have gone over really well for the general public. We even got word that a lot of your people are pressuring the government and local law authorities to do something against the extremist groups who have targeted us. They are putting pressure on anyone who has supported the protestors to stop. This really could be the best thing that happened, as horrible as that sounds. It gave the world a real view of our situation and made us a bit more human to them.”
Ellie’s gaze returned to the glass to watch Fury’s sleeping face. “I’m glad something good came out of this.”
“Me too. He’s going to be fine, Ellie.”
She nodded. “I know.”
* * * * *
The pain tore through Fury when he woke but he thought of Ellie first. He struggled to sit up, to find her. Strong hands held him down.
“Fury?” Ellie’s sweet, soft voice called to him.
His eyes opened and there she stood, pale, tired, and hovering just inches above his face. He breathed in her scent to assure she wasn’t an apparition. The smell of medicine, cleaners and something foreign nearly overpowered hers though.
“Don’t move, Fury,” she ordered him. “You were shot.” Big tears welled in her beautiful blue eyes. “You saved me and you’re going to be fine. You need to stay very still to help you heal.”
He studied her face carefully. “You are unhurt?” Fear jolted through him at the thought of what could have happened to his Ellie. “I just wanted to get you out of the line of fire. I couldn’t allow anything to happen to you.”