Trisha just studied him. She knew he could be dangerous and had the ability to kill. She’d seen it firsthand when he’d saved her from being raped. She nodded.
“All right.”
Chapter Nine
The sun hung low in the sky when Slade glanced back at Trisha. He’d found a dugout area of earth inside the side of the hill. A large boulder had once taken up the space but time and gravity had caused the large rock to roll down the hillside into the ravine below. It had been really hard to reach the area. It was so steep that Trisha had nearly fallen three times, and if not for Slade, she would have. He’d climbed behind her, one hand on her, and had caught her each time she’d lost her footing.
“You are safe here.” Slade crouched down in front of her and his hand brushed her uninjured cheek. “You will hear anyone coming from below and it’s too unstable above for them to use their ropes to try to climb down to this place.”
“Okay.”
“I want you to wait here where my people will find you if I don’t come back. It might take a few days but some of the males they send were trained with me from before we were freed. They know how I think and they will realize what kind of hiding place I would look for to stash you. Don’t shoot them when they do, Doc.” He gave her a tight smile. “It is considered rude to injure or kill someone attempting to rescue you.”
Trisha didn’t smile back, knowing he tried to use humor to defuse the stress, but she was too worried about him. “Come back to me.”
His smile faded. “I can’t guarantee that, Doc. I won’t make promises I can’t keep.”
“Then stay with me where we’re safe. Please? We could just wait right here together.”
Slade hesitated. “I didn’t realize there would be so many of them hunting us, Doc. Those men I killed are not the same men who followed us down from the road when we crashed. They obviously have different teams out there searching for us. You know this from hearing them. That puts you in extreme danger and there’s only one way to handle this situation. I need to hunt the hunters and turn it around on them.” He paused again, staring intently at her.
“But—”
“They won’t expect that from me and their numbers need to be thinned out. It could take some time for my people to reach us and I need to help us survive. It will confuse those assholes when they find themselves under attack. Some of them will flee when people start dying. It will weed out the cowards from the truly deadly ones. Those are the ones who need to die. It’s the only way to protect you, Doc.”
“But this is a really good hiding place. Just wait it out here with me, Slade. Please? I’ll beg you if I have to. I’m terrified they will hurt you or worse. You’re just one man and there are too many of them out there. Those are your words.”
Slade’s head slightly tilted and his mouth tightened into a grim line. “I’m not just a man, Doc. I’m something far worse with the advantage, whether they know it or not.” He hesitated. “This is what I am. I’m a New Species and I have something important to me to protect. But this isn’t just about you and I don’t want you to feel guilty if something happens to me. My people will be coming and I don’t want them walking into a trap of any kind, which is a possibility. I need to take out as many of these assholes as I’m able to. I’m a predator beneath my humanity. I may try to hide it but it’s still there. I’m also a survivor who has had to kill in the past to remain breathing. Mercile trained me to fight to show off their drugs and it’s one lesson I’m grateful for at this moment.”
“You don’t have to fight them. You aren’t locked inside a cell anymore and we can hide. From what I understand, you were never really meant to be placed into a real battle zone, which makes that training not count. They just taught you enough to show what you could do but this is real, Slade. I don’t want you to die.”
He took a deep breath. “It was always real. Not all of my people survived their cruel tests or the shows they forced us to participate in to demonstrate the results of their drugs. I am dangerous, even though it’s never what I wanted to become. Whether you accept it or not, that’s the truth. They trained us too well and made us less than completely human. It wasn’t their intention to ever see us free but we are. I’m New Species. You’re a doctor but just because you aren’t inside a hospital doesn’t mean you stop being what you are. You’d help any injured person if you could regardless of being on the clock or off, wouldn’t you?”
Trisha hated his logic. “Yes, but I don’t want you to go. Stay with me. Chances are, when your people arrive, it will scare those assholes off. I’m sure they never planned to have to search for us.”
“Don’t tempt me, Doc. Holing up with you inside this small space for a day or so…” He winked. “I would enjoy the hell out of keeping us from growing bored.”
“Stay with me.” Hope soared inside Trisha. She just wanted him safe, with her.
“It’s too big a risk if I were to stay with you and do nothing. There’s too many of them and they can spread out to search a lot of places. If we’re found they could surround us.” He glanced around the cave and then back to her. “You could be struck by a bullet if there’s a shootout. There’s too many rocks buried into the walls that something could ricochet off and strike you. I won’t allow that to happen. We also don’t have enough bullets to hold them off. They could also start a brushfire and smoke us out. It’s better if I go after them than risk them trapping us here. I’ll make certain that anyone who comes close to you is no longer breathing.”
She bit her lip, forgetting her injury, and winced from the instant pain. Slade brushed his finger over her mouth, staring at it.
“You will need to stay low, no standing or moving around much. That blonde hair of yours can draw attention and doesn’t blend well with the hillside. Remember to stay out of sight. I’m leaving you all the guns from the camp just in case some of them get past me or they take me out. This handgun is all I need. You only fire when they are close enough not to miss and you have no other choice. The noise will carry far if you shoot and bring more of them this way. That would be bad.”
Trisha stared into his eyes when he met her gaze. She did what she really wanted to do most. She leaned forward, gripped Slade’s face, and watched surprise cross his features a second before her mouth brushed his. She tested the soft texture of his full lips, heard the sound Slade made deep inside his throat, and then he took control of the kiss.
He deepened it, his tongue meeting hers. She ignored the pain of her cut lip, even the taste of her blood mingling with Slade’s taste, just wanting, needing to get lost in that kiss. Her arms wound around his neck and he lifted her weight when his arms slid around her waist, gripping her hips to pull her close, pressing them chest to chest. Slade suddenly growled and tore his mouth from hers, breathing harder.
“Trisha,” he groaned. “You’re making this difficult for me and if you sat on my lap, you’d know how hard you actually are making it. I have to leave now. Please don’t make this worse. This needs done and I have to go while I have enough daylight to move quickly. My night vision is not as good as normal sight during the day.”
She knew she’d lost the argument and he had his mind set to hunt down those men. He planned to go out there and risk his life trying to save hers. Hot tears threatened her eyes but she blinked rapidly to hold them back.
“Okay. Just come back to me, Slade.”
A smile suddenly twisted his lips. “What are you going to give me when I return, Doc?”
“Anything you want.”
His eyebrow arched and the smile widened. “Anything?”
“Anything,” she repeated firmly. “Just don’t get killed.”
Slade nodded. “Stay low, be quiet, and keep those guns ready. Use them only if you have to and hold them off as long as you can. I’ll hear if you have to fire at anyone and I’ll be coming. No more provoking jerks trying to get them to kill you. Remember to just survive and I’ll have something to save. You promised me tha
t, sweet thing. I’m holding you to it.”
“I remember and promise. Swear to me that you won’t take too many risks. Survive, Slade.”
Slade nodded again, studied her intently as if trying to memorize her face, and then he backed away, releasing her completely. He forced his gaze from hers before he quickly took some items and shoved them into his pockets. He gave her one quick glance and then started to climb down from her hiding spot. He was gone in seconds. Trisha had to bite back the plea to beg him to come back, certain that regardless of what she said, he wouldn’t change his mind.
She unrolled the sleeping bag on the hard, unforgiving earth to keep busy. The dirt floor was embedded heavily with tiny rocks and hard clumps of dirt. Even with the sleeping bag she could still feel the uncomfortable ground beneath the thick material when she sat to assess what items she had.
Slade had acquired two sets of binoculars and he’d left one behind inside the backpack. She found them and inched to the opening. She used them and it didn’t take long for her to spot Slade. He moved amazingly fast without her.
She turned the binoculars, scoping out the area, but didn’t spot anyone else. She could see for a long ways with the help of the powerful glasses. She turned her focus back to Slade, knew when he had reached the bottom of the ravine to her left. He turned and examined the area where she hid and then started to jog away. Trisha kept her focus trained on him.
Darkness crept up too quickly for Trisha’s liking. She had lost sight of Slade through trees but sometimes she’d spotted him through the dense foliage. He moved fast, showed no signs of slowing, and he seemed to be heading in one direction. She wondered if he’d caught someone’s scent with his amazing nose.
She scooted back into the dark hole and had to feel her way to the backpack and unzipped it. She’d watched Slade take all the beef jerky but he’d left her the breakfast bars they’d found. She ate two and drank a soda before crawling back toward the opening. She glanced at the darkness below her and then gasped. In the distance she spotted a tiny sparkle of flame that came from the same direction Slade had been heading.
Trisha could see what had to be a camp. Flames showed through thick trees, not more than distant flames even with the binoculars. She had a sinking feeling that’s where Slade headed.
Trisha sat up and dragged the sleeping bag to the edge where she got comfortable, grateful she at least had somewhere to try to catch a glimpse of Slade. He was out there somewhere and she worried.
If Slade could smell their fire and he planned to attack, that’s where it would happen. Forever seemed to pass to her but no distant sounds of a fight reached her ears. She got more comfortable by stretching out on her stomach and propped her elbows on the sleeping bag while she continued to catch snatches of the flames.
More time passed and she lay down flatter onto her stomach. A yawn passed her parted lips, reminding her of her exhaustion. She drifted to sleep until a single gunshot jerked her awake.
Trisha scrambled to sit up while frantically aiming the binoculars toward the campfire. She spent seconds searching the darkness until she found the flickering light.
Her attention remained focused on it until it died out, disappearing in the darkness. No more shots rang out. It gave her hope that he might have survived if he’d attacked the camp.
She fought the urge to shed tears over Slade being out there alone. He could be dead if one of them had gotten off a lucky shot. She dragged the sleeping bag away from the edge and huddled into a ball on top of it. She needed sleep and she had no chance of trying to spot Slade until the sun rose.
* * * * *
Slade kept low, watching the four men in the camp with hatred. He could hear their words and it made his blood boil. The smell of the deer they’d shot and cooked faded with the firelight they allowed to slowly burn out.
“Think the animal will beg for his life when we find him?” The one in the jeans jacket asked the one in the black shirt.
“I hope so.” He laughed. “I brought along my video camera to tape it all. We need to show all the decent folks that they aren’t men.”
Jeans jacket snorted. “Damn two-legged animals. Not only do we have to protect our country from them but our women too. First they’ll want to vote, then they’ll want to get married. If their women look anything similar to the men they will be after our sisters and daughters. It’s just sick. I figure they hide how their women look for a damn reason. They probably mixed them with mules and they have jackass faces.”
One of the men laughed. “Butt-faced ugly. Forget the coyotes.”
“They never should have been set free. We don’t go around freeing monkeys they test makeup on. Hell no.” The black-shirted man leaned back against the log, putting his boots closer to the fire. “They are dangerous and probably nuttier than fruitcakes.”
The blond man who’d kept silent suddenly frowned. “Does fruitcake actually have nuts in it? I won’t taste that junk. It looks bad.” He paused. “Do they really use cute monkeys to test women’s face crap on? Monkeys are cool. I always wanted one for a pet when I was a kid.”
“Hell if I know.” The guy in the black shirt shrugged his shoulders. “It’s a damn saying. My point is that they have to be completely whacked out of their minds. You don’t set caged animals loose and let them run around free. It’s dangerous and that’s why they all need taken out. They sure aren’t cute and I wouldn’t want one for a pet. It would probably try to hump my wife.”
The blond laughed. “I’ve seen your wife. I doubt it.”
The guy in the black shirt threw his can at his friend, tagging him in the arm. “Fuck you, Mark.”
“Knock it off,” the guy sitting farthest from the fire sighed. “We haven’t found our target and every hour that passes means he could somehow slip out of the area. The roads are locked down by our teams. They are trapped in the area, but that woman he’s with is some kind of doctor. That means she’s smart and is probably thinking for him. They might have found a hole to hide in. That’s what I’d do. We need to cover a lot of ground tomorrow at first light, find them, and kill them. I didn’t come out here to bullshit and insult each other. I want the reward.”
“I’m not mounting that head on my hunting wall.” The blond shuddered. “They look freaky and just plain ugly. Of course it would be cool just for a conversation piece. I could charge admission and show it off.”
Slade had heard enough. He wasn’t about to allow those men to leave the camp. They were too close to Trisha and they were looking for sheltered places. He eased around the camp and waited until the men began preparing to sleep. The blond stood, stretched and walked into the darkness to take a leak.
The man never heard Slade come up behind him until his hands were on him. The smaller man only gasped when a palm slapped over his mouth, he was jerked off his feet, and the knife on his thigh was yanked free and pressed to his throat.
“Be quiet,” Slade ordered.
The blond panted but didn’t try to cry out.
“Are there more of you nearby?”
The guy hesitated before he slowly nodded.
“More than the other three at your camp?”
The blond nodded again. The news angered Slade. He needed to find the other camps, take out the threat to Trisha, and get hold of their cell phones. Hopefully one would work. He could call Homeland to help them locate Trisha faster. She needed to be taken out of this dangerous mess quickly.
“I’m going to tie you up and go after your friends. If you don’t fight I won’t kill you. I’ll secure you until my people come. Do you understand me?”
The blond nodded. Slade wanted the humans dead but he wasn’t at Homeland. He wasn’t sure where he stood on the law. Self defense was one thing but the man he gripped posed no current threat. He hated them but he wasn’t a cold-blooded killer despite their low opinion of Species.
He loosened his hold and the blond suddenly struck. The guy tried to twist out of his hold and twisted his head.
He gasped in air to give the alarm but Slade was faster. He snapped the man’s neck. The sound of the bone breaking sickened him as he allowed the body to slump to the ground. He turned to face the camp but suddenly spotted movement. Another human came at him. The guy didn’t seem to see him in the darkness until the last second.
The human’s shock was apparent as he frantically grabbed for the handgun strapped to his chest in a holster. Slade threw the blade in his hand and lunged forward to grip the man’s arm and throat. The human went down without putting up too much of a fight. He lowered the dying body to the ground, staring into his enemy’s eyes.
“We’re going to kill you and that bitch who owns you,” the man hissed before he died.
Slade released him, his rage heightened by the stench of blood and death. His instincts gripped him hard. Protect Trisha. These men weren’t compassionate. They weren’t worthy of receiving what they didn’t posses. They were hunting a helpless woman and a Species in a death sport for money. He snarled softly, releasing his human side and embracing the instincts of the predator that was part of him and came so naturally.
Kill them, make sure they aren’t a threat to my woman, and show no mercy. Memories of the years he’d been locked up flashed inside his mind. These men were as bad as the ones who’d kept Species prisoner. They didn’t see his people as anything but rabid animals. A soft snarl tore from his throat as he jerked the knife out of the body, and rose to his feet. The only way to stop them from reaching the doc was to kill every one of them. He could do it. He’d do anything for Trisha.
His gaze drifted toward the camp as he stealthily moved forward. The humans would die but Trisha wouldn’t. He’d make certain of that regardless of how many he had to kill.
* * * * *