The protesters attacked the minivan by the dozens, their bodies pressing against it and rocking it wildly. Zandy cried out as her fingers frantically clutched at the belt release. It popped open right when the man hit the window again and broken chunks of glass hit her lap as a hand gripped her arm. Richard jerked her roughly and shoved her between the open space between the seats.
Someone bellowed for calm from a loudspeaker but the words were lost between the screams from the protesters, the shouting and more gun blasts. Zandy hit the floor hard between the captain chairs in the center of the van. Someone grabbed at her foot and tore her shoe off. She kicked away and her legs slid off the center divider until she was curled in a tight ball.
“We need help,” Richard yelled.
She couldn’t see him from where she lay but she saw his uplifted arm that had to be holding his cell phone. He might have called 9-1-1 or the gate, she wasn’t sure. The side door next to her slid open suddenly and she twisted her head.
“Fucking animal-loving bitch,” some man yelled.
“It’s her,” some other man shouted. “It’s Justice North’s wife.”
Rough hands reached inside to grab at her. Zandy screamed when the thick smoke poured inside, blinding her. Her fingers clawed for any purchase as they dragged her out of the van. They had her legs though and were strong. She slammed hard into the pavement and had a coughing fit when she tried to scream again.
The hands released her legs when she fell and a man grunted. Someone fell next to her and she realized people were running by them. She crawled forward and bumped her head on part of the van. She couldn’t see anything but she had found it. Heavy footfalls came closer, people screamed and coughed and she rolled under the van.
It was a tight fit but she hoped it would save her from being trampled as everyone fled. The smoke grew thicker until she couldn’t breathe at all. Zandy fisted the front of her shirt and tucked her head, covering her nose and mouth. It only helped a little.
“Zandy!” Richard screamed her name before he broke into a fit of coughs. He sounded close and out of the van.
She took a deep breath and freed her mouth. “I’m under the van!”
Hands gripped her and dragged her out from her hiding spot. She started to struggle but a vicious growl stopped her.
“I’m NSO,” the male informed her.
Her body went lax and she was amazed when he just scooped her up from the ground. She was held tightly against a padded chest—his protective gear—and he quickly rushed her through the thickest part of the smoke.
She had to blink back tears and stared up at the face shield of the officer carrying her when it cleared enough for her to see again. The gates came into view and he jogged through the open space they’d made to get her inside.
“Breathe against my shirt and don’t inhale more of the smoke,” he demanded roughly. “Just hang on.”
The sound of someone else coughing made her twist her head a little and she spotted Richard being helped by another officer. Her coworker clutched a mask over his face that his escort had obviously provided as he was led inside the gate too. She fought back more tears of gratitude that they’d both survived.
Chapter Nine
The officer assessing Zandy had removed his helmet after carrying her inside the guard shack. He grimly frowned as their gazes met. He released her arms as he stepped back. She was pretty sure he’d visibly searched about every inch of her before he was satisfied.
She tried not to stare at his face. His features weren’t as harsh looking as some of the males she’d met. His black hair was tied back in a ponytail and he was really cute. His eyes were more rounded in shape. She realized that he wasn’t canine or feline. He was one of the primate-mixed New Species that she’d heard about from Richard. There weren’t a lot of them. He only stood about six feet tall but his muscular frame left no doubt he was in great shape, despite being shorter than other New Species males she’d come in contact with.
“You have some scratches, bruises, and you’re bleeding.”
“I’m fine. Thank you for coming out there to get me. I’m Zandy. You are?”
His eyes narrowed. “I’m Smiley. You work for NSO. You are one of ours.” He glanced down and suddenly he grabbed her shirt with both hands.
She lowered her chin to watch him pull both ends of her torn shirt together. Her bra had been showing…and a lot of cleavage. That was the least of her worries and she refused to be embarrassed. Those assholes who had dragged her out of the van had destroyed her clothing in the process. He crouched down a little to stare into her eyes again, looking concerned.
“Did you hit your head? Are you in any pain? Your knee is bleeding badly. We are taking you to Medical immediately as soon as a Jeep arrives. I’ll personally escort you there.”
She avoided glancing down at her right leg. The sight of blood wasn’t her favorite and knowing it was hers only made it worse. It hurt a lot but she didn’t want to be a crybaby about it. “My head is fine.”
Richard suddenly stepped next to the officer and she was happy to see him. He looked a little worse for wear but unhurt.
“Are you all right, Zandy? I tried to get to you but I couldn’t get my door open. They pulled you out of the back faster than I could say shit.”
“I’m a little dinged up but they dropped me once they got me outside.”
“Thank god.” Richard sounded and looked pretty shaken. “I thought they’d run off with you. I can’t believe they actually attacked the gates.” He studied her face. “Your cheek is bleeding. Did one of them hit you?”
“I think I bumped it on the side of your van. I couldn’t see anything but I found it with my face.” She refused to reach up to touch the throbbing spot, afraid it would be worse than it felt. She didn’t want to know. “It all happened so fast. All I could think to do was get under your van to hide and keep from being trampled.”
He reached out to touch her but the New Species officer blocked his hand and scooped her into his arms. “I’m taking you to Medical now.”
Zandy gave Richard a stunned look over Smiley’s shoulder before she was carried outside. Snow waited behind the wheel of the Jeep that had arrived and she was carefully placed in the passenger seat. The officer climbed into the backseat.
“Go.”
The Jeep took off quickly. Snow glanced at her as he drove. “Are you harmed, Zandy? We apologize for you being attacked.”
“It’s not your fault there are assholes in the world. I’m just a little banged up but I’ll be fine.”
Snow glanced from her to the road, then back. “They shot one of our males but he didn’t suffer any lasting effects. The vest stopped the bullet from piercing his skin. We got both males who opened fire on the NSO.”
“Good.” The memory of seeing that tarp hit Richard’s hood and those men standing up suddenly, holding those weapons, made her shiver. She had little doubt it wasn’t something she’d ever forget and it would probably be the source of many nightmares. She didn’t say it but knew if they’d fired at her and Richard, they’d have been easy targets strapped in their seats. “I’m glad you have them in custody.”
“They believed she was Jessie North,” Smiley added.
She hadn’t remembered those men yelling at her until that second. “Who is Jessie North?”
“Justice took her as a mate.” Snow concentrated on driving as he parked in front of a building with glass windows. “She’s human but looks nothing similar to you except you both have red hair. Didn’t you watch the news last night?”
“I missed that.”
“They say our kind are hard to tell apart.” Snow snorted. “It seems your kind can’t tell each other apart either. You don’t look anything like Jessie except for your small size and the long red hair. Her hair is much longer though and it is very red.”
Smiley jumped out of the back and scooped her into his arms before Snow could even turn off the engine. “Thank you. I have it from here
.”
Zandy put her arms around his broad shoulders while he carried her inside the building once the automatic doors opened. A Dr. Harris waited inside for them with a New Species female at his side. The man was in his mid-thirties and introduced her to Midnight. The tall blue-eyed female smiled grimly.
“Bring her this way, Smiley.”
He carefully placed her on an exam table in one of the back rooms and hovered there until Dr. Harris walked in. “Thanks for bringing her. We’ve got it from here.”
The officer hesitated. “I need to stay with her.”
“We’re making her strip,” Midnight informed him. “I see your interest but approach her later.”
“It was an order to protect her.”
“Wait outside.” Midnight smiled. “Human females are shy about their bodies.”
He spun around and Zandy watched him leave. Midnight closed the door. “Males.” The woman shook her head. “Did he drool on you?”
“No.”
Dr. Harris laughed. “That was Smiley and he has a thing for humans.” He turned his back. “I won’t peek.”
Midnight pulled out a cloth gown and offered it. “You need to strip down to your panties if you wear any.”
It hurt to stand on her injured knee and the tall Species female kneeled down to help her remove her only shoe. The other one was lost. She had forgotten that since she’d been carried everywhere since her rescue. Midnight took her clothes and she put on the gown, leaving it open in the back.
“She’s decent, handsome.”
The doctor turned his head to grin at Midnight. “Thanks, gorgeous.”
Zandy was surprised at their exchange. The doctor had put on gloves and he pulled a stool closer to sit. He examined her bloodied knee when she took a seat on the exam table.
“He’s mine,” Midnight announced, pointing to the doctor. “The young one. Not his father. There are two Drs. Harris. Don’t get ideas about him.”
“I wouldn’t,” she managed to get out, stunned that the tall muscular nurse was dating the doctor. He wasn’t a bad-looking man and was fit but it was obvious his girlfriend could kick his ass.
The doctor chuckled. “Yeah. I’m hers.” He prodded Zandy’s injured knee. “You won’t need stitches but it needs to be cleaned. It’s going to hurt.”
Midnight got him what he needed and Zandy clenched her teeth while he worked on her knee until it was bandaged. He examined her chest where her shirt had been torn, found a scratch above her breast, and even prodded the bruise on her hip where she’d landed on the pavement after being dragged from the van.
“Any dizziness? Double vision? Nausea?” He blinded her with a penlight he flashed in both her eyes while studying the cut on her head. “What happened here?”
“No, no, and no.” She winced when he started to clean it. “It isn’t bad, is it? I was crawling and hit the side of a van.”
“It’s not bad,” he admitted. “This is going to sting.”
Shit.
* * * * *
Tiger was furious. “They attacked the gates?”
Timber nodded grimly. “They shot Torrent. He is pissed but fine. They tagged his vest hard enough to leave some bruising.”
Tiger’s gaze wandered around Security, watching his males hard at work, keeping an eye on everything with the cameras. “Has Justice and Homeland been informed?”
“Immediately. We had to warn them about potential attacks on Jessie. One of our human employees was attacked. The idiot humans thought she was Justice’s mate.”
“Why would they think one of our human employees was Jessie?”
“She has long red hair. She had left for lunch with a human male and they were returning when the idiots attacked the gate. Some of them saw her and assumed she was Jessie. They broke the windows of the van she was in and dragged her out. The smoke made them run and they dropped her. She will be fine. I ordered Smiley to stay with her. He escorted her to Medical for treatment. We have the shooters and driver who brought them here in custody. They have been prepared for transport to Homeland.”
Tiger growled. “You should have contacted me immediately when this happened.”
“You were tending to the Wild Zone incident. It was all handled well. The only real destruction done was to the van the two humans were in. We are taking care of that. Good thing we pay for insurance for this stuff with the money we fine the idiots. The repair bill will be costly. The driver of the truck hiding the gunmen reversed his truck into the front of the van when they attempted to flee and then the windows were smashed in an attempt to get to the human female when the protesters attacked. They also dented the van greatly since they tried to overturn it.”
“Son of a bitch,” Tiger snarled. “Is the human female well? Is she going to quit? It is hard to find trustworthy humans.”
“She is well. I just spoke to Midnight. The human has been treated and has asked to go back to work. We offered her a few days of paid vacation to recover but she refused.”
“I will go smooth things over with her. What is her name?”
Timber hesitated, thinking. “It was an odd name. Zane? Zany?”
Tiger’s heart almost stopped beating. “Zandy?”
Timber nodded. “That is the name. Small human female, green eyes and long red hair.”
“Fuck!” Tiger snarled. “I’m going to Medical.”
Timber gaped at him. “You know this female?”
Tiger spun and sprinted out to his Jeep, not bothering to answer. Zandy had been attacked. The details sank in as he drove quickly to reach her. He wanted to know why she’d left Reservation for lunch and what human male she’d been with. He decided it had better have been with Richard Vega. The male loved his mate and that would mean it hadn’t been a date. Just the idea of another male touching her made him want to roar with rage. She’d been hurt and he hadn’t been there to protect her.
He took ragged breaths, trying to control his rage. A mixture of jealousy and fear gripped him hard enough to make his chest hurt. They hadn’t agreed on any dating terms. Had Zandy gone on a date? He shook his head. That didn’t matter at the moment.
She’d been attacked by humans and he was tempted to call Timber to put a hold on the prisoners. He’d love to spend five minutes with each of the males until he made certain they were injured as well. The thought of what could have happened to her left him with a deep need to reach her side as quickly as possible. He punched the gas to an unsafe speed and took a turn too fast. Species stared at him as he passed but he didn’t give a damn.
* * * * *
Zandy put on the new set of clothes. Midnight had brought her a gray T-shirt with NSO lettered on the front pocket and matching sweatpants. Her torn clothing had been thrown away. Her knee throbbed. Dr. Harris told her to go home and keep off it for a few days but Zandy had refused. The last thing she wanted was to go home to her empty house. She’d rather be around people after her close call with nearly being kidnapped.
Dr. Harris wasn’t happy with her decision. He held out a plastic bag. “I put a few shake ice packs in here too. Do you know how to use them?”
She smiled. “Um, I shake them?”
He grudgingly smiled back. “Yes.”
“Thank you.”
“Your purse was retrieved from the vehicle you were in.” Midnight handed it to her. “We are glad that you weren’t really harmed. Are you sure you don’t want a few days to recover? There is no shame in that. You are human and not used to this kind of stress.”
“Honey,” the doctor said softly, “we’re not invalids just because we aren’t as tough as you. She wants to go back to work. I’d do the same.”
She smiled at him. “You are very brave. For a human.”
“I’m glad you think so.” He turned to Zandy and asked, “Do you want crutches? That knee is going to hurt worse in the morning. You’re already limping.”
“I’m good. I won’t lie and say it doesn’t ache but I banged up my knees worse whe
n I was a kid. I was a bit of a tomboy and liked skateboarding.”
“I saw the faded scars and wondered.”
“We lived on a hill.”
“Got it.” He grinned. “I hope you wore a helmet.”
“I plead the Fifth.”
“Don’t forget to take the pills I gave you for the pain and the ones I prescribed to help reduce any swelling. They are inside the bag. Use condoms for a month if you’re on birth control. They will mess with it since it’s also an antibiotic. I’d rather be safe than sorry to help you prevent any infection. I cleaned the cut well but you were in contact with the pavement. I have no idea what kind of germs you were exposed to. Stay off that knee as much as possible. I know you have an office job and work behind a desk. Have someone else fetch anything you need. Elevate it if possible.”
“Thank you. I’ll take the pills as soon as I get to my office.”
Midnight offered to escort her out but Zandy refused. Smiley was pacing outside in clear view of the front windows. She limped out there and he turned, his expression grim.
“Allow me to carry you.”
She shook her head. “No, I’m okay.”
“I called for transportation. You shouldn’t be standing from the amount of blood I saw on your pants. I strongly suggest you go home.” He paused. “You’ve had a trauma. Your family should care for you.”
“I live alone. The idea of staring at my walls isn’t real appealing. I’d rather be around someone right now.”
“I understand.” His expression softened and his pretty brown eyes fixed on her. “I could request to end my shift and take you to my home. I’m not offering to share sex but someone should care for you. I have a large television and I’m safe.”
She highly doubted his version of safe and hers lined up. Midnight and the doctor thought the New Species was attracted to her. The only man she wanted fawning over her had blue eyes and purred during the heat of passion. Her mouth opened to tell him no thanks but the sound of a car careening around a corner drew her attention first.