Slade

  “Keep your head down, Trisha,” Moon yelled at her.

  The engine died and someone screamed from below as Brass kept firing. He dropped a clip, snapped another one in and continued shooting after a pause of only seconds. Moon fired his weapon from the window.

  Trisha’s heart pounded. Those men had driven a truck through the front of the cabin. Bullets tore up the floor by the bed where Trisha watched holes appear in the wood and continued on through the roof. Debris rained down. Trisha turned in to Harley’s still form and she grabbed him, clinging, until she realized her hand felt wet and warm on Harley.

  Blood. He’s bleeding. She opened her eyes to stare in horrified shock at Harley, sprawled on his back. Her hand over his heart on his chest lifted and it was covered in blood. All hell broke loose around her as men yelled, guns were fired and the cabin continued to be riddled with bullets. Trisha hated feeling helpless as she stared at her bloodied hand, knowing if she sat up she’d be of no use to him with bullets slamming into her as well.

  A loud roar sounded over the shouting, the gunfire, and the cabin being sliced apart by bullets. Trisha had heard that ear-splitting roar before. It sounded as if Valiant had entered the cabin.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Trisha felt hot tears running down her face when the gunfire ceased. She heard another roar, closely followed by something similar to a wolf’s howl. She lifted her head and watched Brass shove up from the floor. Moon hovered by the window grinning.

  “You should see this. There’s about ten of ours out there now and they have the assholes. One son of a bitch is trying to run from Valiant. Oops. He thought he could flee from Valiant. Now he’s a flying…ouch. He was doing a bird impression but now he’s part of a tree. Well, he was until his body hit the ground. Now he’s dead.” Moon chuckled. “That had to hurt. It seems the last thing on his mind was bark.”

  Trisha fought her way to her knees to stare down at Harley, realizing he wasn’t moving at all and instantly reached for his neck. A sob tore from her throat when she didn’t find a pulse. She frantically gripped his shirt and tore it open to examine a gaping wound on the left side of his chest.

  “Oh no,” Brass gasped.

  Trisha moved. It was hard to do on the soft mattress but she got beside Harley and she tilted his head to open up his airway. Trisha leaned over him, gripping his nose with one hand, supported him with the hand behind his neck, and covered his mouth to start breathing for him. She blew in air, shifted her gaze to watch his chest rise, and sat up. She released him to press her hands together over his chest above the wound. She counted in her head as she did compressions.

  “Trisha?” It was Slade’s voice and he was close.

  “Get help,” she gasped in air and blew into Harley’s mouth. She forced air into his lungs again. She did more chest compressions. “Life flight. Nearest trauma center. Hurry.”

  “Trisha?” Slade was very near, almost as if he were on the bed behind her. “He’s gone.”

  Trisha forced air into Harley’s lungs again. “No!” She refused to give up. He’d used his body to shield her to reach the stairs. He’d taken bullets protecting her and the baby. No way would she give up on him. She’d saved patients with worse wounds before.

  She kept going until she stopped, checked his pulse, and nearly collapsed with relief. “I’ve got a heartbeat.” She stared at his face to make sure he continued breathing. Relief swept through her as he took a breath on his own and then another. His pulse was weak but there.

  Trisha studied his chest to discover it was a sucking wound, telling her that his lung had been compromised. “Someone get me something plastic, now. A baggy, anything. Hurry. His lung will collapse.”

  Someone handed her a new, folded trash bag and she went to work while Harley kept breathing on his own. She put pressure on the bleeding wound over his chest. She just had to be careful not to put too much weight down for fear of collapsing the injured lung. Forever seemed to pass as Trisha knelt over him until she finally heard a helicopter.

  Arms gripped Trisha around her waist. “Help is here. They can’t see you, Doc. No one can. Let him go. Moon will hold that in place for you.” Slade held her, speaking softly against her ear. “Come on, sweet thing. You’ve done all you can do. They aren’t our people inside that helicopter, they are yours, and if you stay there will be too many questions.”

  “Take her out the back window,” Brass ordered softly.

  Trisha twisted her head to stare at Slade. “I’m the New Species doctor and he needs me.”

  Slade hugged her harder against his body. “Think of the baby, Trisha. They can do for him what you could.” He lifted her completely away from the bed and hurried toward a back window.

  Brass kicked out what was left of the window. Bullets had broken it mostly out but sharp, jagged corners had remained. Brass stepped through the window first and onto the porch roof, only to disappear over the edge. Slade gripped Trisha, turned her inside the cradle of his arms and bent. They barely fit through the opening but then they stood on the roof. Slade walked to the edge to peer down.

  “Harley needs me. Put me down, Slade.” She frantically wiggled, trying to get a look at the bed and caught a glimpse of her friend laying still with Moon huddled over him. “Please? I’m a doctor!”

  Slade seemed to be ignoring her as he spoke to someone else. “Can you catch her?”

  “I can,” Valiant growled. “Drop her.”

  Drop me? Trisha’s eyes widened as she stared at Slade, pulled from her frantic need to monitor Harley’s condition. Slade’s grim expression didn’t reassure her.

  “Freeze just the way you are, sweet thing.” He lifted her out away his body to dangle over the edge of the porch roof and let go.

  Trisha had a horrible sense of falling and grunted when two strong arms caught her around her upper back and behind her knees. Slade had dropped her about seven feet down into Valiant’s waiting arms. She stared in shock at the ferocious New Species. He spun and bolted into the woods with her clutched close to his massive chest. Panic hit her hard when he sprinted away with her. They reached a thicker part of the woods far from the cabin but he kept going.

  “We’re far enough,” Brass stated, running alongside them.

  “Take me back,” Trisha demanded. “I need to help Harley. I could do things a medic can’t during the flight.” She could still hear the sound of the helicopter. They’d probably have a hard time stabilizing him and she wasn’t sure where the nearest trauma center was located. “I need to monitor him and—”

  “Shut up,” Valiant snarled.

  Trisha’s fear overrode her outrage at being taken away from her patient. She sealed her lips as the guy kept going with her held inside his massive arms, taking her farther from the cabin.

  Valiant finally slowed and glanced down at Trisha, frowning. “You should eat.” He looked away, peering at their surroundings.

  Trisha was thrilled to see Slade jog out of the woods behind them. He grinned. “Clean getaway.” He approached Valiant and opened his arms. “I’ll take her. Thanks.”

  Trisha met his gaze. “Harley needs—”

  “The humans have him and you’re not going back.” Slade’s dark gaze narrowed. “You can argue with me but it won’t change anything. You saved him and now it’s up to them to make sure he survives. Our priority is you and the baby. Harley knew it would be dangerous when he took the job and accepted the risks.”

  Tears spilled down her cheeks. She wanted to protest but realized as she heard the helicopter growing fainter that they’d already scooped him up and transported him away. She couldn’t do anything more for him. She just had to hope that the life-flight crew were top notch and that his lung didn’t collapse. His heart could stop again. A hundred other things that could go wrong began to filter through her head until she pushed them back. She couldn’t do anything more for him and worrying about all the “what ifs” wouldn’t do anyone any good. She was a professional and knew she ne
eded to let it go until she heard news from the hospital.

  Valiant transferred her from his arms into Slade’s. “Those men destroyed the inside of my house.” Valiant growled in anger. “I was out hunting and smelled them. They were gone by the time I reached my home but I followed them this way.”

  “I’m sorry.” Slade watched him. “Thank you for the help.”

  “She’s one of ours.”

  Slade nodded. “Mine specifically.”

  Valiant arched an eyebrow. “It now makes sense why you threatened to kill me for touching her. You should feed her more. She’s too skinny. You should at least be breeding a bigger one if you are going to be mounting a human. I can feel all her bones.”

  “I’m not skinny,” Trisha protested softly, using one hand to wipe her face. She sniffed and her anger stirred. It may have been the stress and trauma but she felt insulted. “I needed to drop ten pounds before I got pregnant. I eat plenty too. You’re making me feel as though I’m not taking care of myself. I’m healthy to the point of having excess weight I could lose.”

  Slade cleared his throat. “Where? I’m partial to your breasts and I love your ass just the way it is.”

  “You know I’m going to get bigger, a lot more so, in a few months, don’t you?”

  Slade nodded. “I can’t wait to see you fat.”

  “I won’t be fat,” she sputtered. “Pregnant is not fat.”

  “Where should we take her?” Brass moved closer.

  “You can take her to my home,” Valiant sighed. “Just for one day.” He shot Slade a warning look. “Only one.”

  “Thank you. Your place is the closest and I need to stash her until darkness falls. I want to move her to my house unseen. It’s going to be a mess out there right now after this happened. In a few hours things will calm.” Slade shifted her in his arms. “I want her under cover quickly.”

  Valiant nodded. “Even better. Let’s go.”

  “You can put me down,” Trisha informed Slade.

  He shook his head. “You are barefoot. Just wrap your arms around my neck and relax.” He suddenly grinned. “Unless you want me to put you on my back again.”

  She wound her arms around his neck, remembering their time after the SUV crash and how the muscles of her thighs had ached for days afterward from clinging to him. Valiant led the way with Slade following and Brass trailing behind.

  “Where’s Moon?” Trisha twisted her head, searching but she didn’t see him. “Is he okay? He wasn’t shot too, was he?”

  “He’s unharmed. He planned to stay with Harley.” Brass answered. “He’ll guard him while he’s inside the human hospital.”

  “Will someone let us know how Harley is doing?” Trisha met Slade’s gaze. “Please? I’ll worry until I hear if he made it.”

  He nodded. “I’ll make sure you’re updated as soon as I have news on his condition.”

  “Thank you.” She knew he would keep his word.

  * * * * *

  Valiant lived inside a large two-story house. Trisha stared at it, surprised. It was an old Victorian, in pretty good shape. Someone had lovingly restored the place unless it had been built to mimic an older house. Either way it appeared authentic and impressive.

  “This is land we bought adjoining the old resort,” Slade explained. “An old woman lived here but her son had died. She was all alone and not doing so well. Now she’s in a retirement center with a full-time staff to care for her. We were able to buy up a lot of properties in the area that surrounded the resort. We paid them nearly twice the market price to make them happy.”

  Valiant walked up the wide porch steps. The double doors were broken and Trisha winced. One of the stained-glass doors had been smashed and she knew it would be impossible to replace. Brass used his foot to sweep the glass to the side as Valiant ushered them inside his home.

  Trisha stared at the beautiful woodwork inside the nice entryway and at the hand-carved banister that led to the second floor. Her doubts of the real age of the home vanished. The beautiful woodwork shone with love and pride, craftsmanship that no longer existed except for the very rich. Valiant led them through double doors into a large living room. Trisha stared in horror.

  “They wrecked most of the house,” Valiant growled. He walked to the overturned couch and straightened it. “Put her down there. Between the three of us we should be able to make her more comfortable.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Slade told him sincerely. “We’ll help you replace what was destroyed.” He gently eased Trisha down to the couch before he moved away.

  Trisha watched quietly while the men righted furniture. She was grateful no one had taken a knife to the antique furniture. Valiant left to retrieve a broom and a dust pan. It didn’t take the men long to clean up.

  “Can I use your phone?” Slade glanced at Valiant.

  “They didn’t damage the one in the kitchen. Use it.”

  Slade disappeared. Brass took out trash. Valiant studied Trisha grimly as she watched him back.

  “I saw what you did for Harley. I heard you say you are a doctor.”

  She nodded. “I work at Homeland.”

  “Did you ever work for Mercile Industries?” Anger made his exotic, cat eyes a scary sight.

  “No. I never saw a New Species until after you’d all been freed. Slade was brought to my emergency room directly from the testing facility he’d been rescued from.”

  He relaxed. “You look too young to be a doctor.”

  “I started medical school at fourteen. I’ve always been kind of smart.”

  “You really work at Homeland?”

  “Yes.”

  Valiant smiled, all traces of his anger disappearing. “You are attracted to Slade? He’s kind of gruff.”

  She smiled. “He has his moments.”

  “I hear some of our women are kept at Homeland. Do you take care of them too?”

  “When they need me.”

  “Will you do me a favor when you return there?”

  “Yes,” she agreed instantly. He’d helped save her life.

  His cat-like golden eyes narrowed. “Don’t you want to know what I want from you before you answer?”

  “You helped save my life and I owe you. What do you need from me?”

  He hesitated. “I want a mate. Will you talk to the women and see if anyone is interested? It gets lonely out here. I want a big, sturdy woman. I’d prefer a feline mixed species but as long as she’s tough I wouldn’t be picky.” He paused. “I frighten most of my own kind. Our women don’t scare easily since they were raised in testing facilities. I bred with a feline female once inside while in captivity and she didn’t scream at the sight of me or beg the men who brought her into my cell to take her away. All the others refused me. Primates were especially terrified when were introduced to me.”

  Trisha had to swallow and remember to keep her mouth closed. He wanted her to find him a girlfriend? She swallowed again.

  “I can talk to them. There are about three dozen New Species women living in Homeland dorms. I’m just not sure how many of them are feline but I’ve seen some.”

  He nodded. “I had heard that. Talk to them for me and tell them I am not as scary as I appear.” He suddenly stood. “Are you hungry?”

  “A little.”

  “I’ll get you some good food. Pregnant women should eat often and you need to do that more than most. You are too skinny.” He stalked out of the room.

  Trisha hugged her waist and let the conversation settle into her thoughts. Valiant was one big man. If someone took her into his cell and asked her to have sex with him, she probably would freak out too.

  She shook her head in disbelief. He seemed nice once he calmed and wasn’t snarling. Maybe one of the New Species would be interested in him but she didn’t envy that woman. He was just too big and ferocious. She didn’t believe he’d hurt anyone he was with but just the sight of him angry would be enough to scare the hell out of anyone dating him if he lost his temper.
br />   Slade returned alone and sat on the couch inches from her. “I spoke to Moon. Harley made it to surgery and he’s holding his own. All the men who attacked you have been taken care of but most of them died. The three who survived are being transferred to human authorities and will be questioned.” He studied her. “How are you holding up, sweet thing? Since you involved yourself with my kind your life hasn’t seen too many dull moments, has it?”

  She hesitated. “I didn’t work for New Species when I met you the first time. You made me curious enough to want to send my résumé into Justice so I blame you.”

  He smiled. “Really?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’d think it would be the opposite. I grabbed you when I woke and pulled you into my bed. I pinned you under me and told you what I planned to do to you.”

  She could feel heat warm her cheeks. “Yeah, well, maybe that’s what got me interested.”

  Slade’s smile widened and he reached for her. His hand slid across her thigh to rub her leg. “What part interested you? I know I was sure I wanted to keep you under me for days.”

  “That part kept me up nights, wondering what it would have been like if you’d had your way with me.”

  He inched closer. “I haven’t had the opportunity to do that yet, sweet thing. I want to spend days with you under me.”

  “You won’t pin her there on my couch,” Valiant growled.

  Slade sprang back and his hand released Trisha. He smiled at Valiant. “Sorry. I didn’t hear you enter the room.”

  “You were too concentrated on the female.” Valiant handed Trisha a soda and a banana-nut muffin. “It amazes me how soft our kind have grown since we were freed. Once, no one would have been able to creep up on you before you were aware of them.”

  “Once we were chained to walls and slept on mats on the floor. Once we were prisoners. Once is over.”

  Valiant nodded. “True enough.”

  “I have to go handle the fallout of what has happened.” Slade gave Valiant an intense look. “Is it okay if I leave her and Brass here with you?”