“But what if that takes days? Or weeks? What if you never find him? I have a life, a job, and bills to pay. I have plans to go to the movies with Amanda tomorrow. I can’t stay here.”

He frowned. “I’m sorry. Finding Bill is more important.”

“You have to let me go. What if that…Vengeance comes after me again?” She felt pure terror remembering what he’d nearly done to her in that interrogation room. It was understandable, but the guy had some screws loose and unfortunately he’d picked her to take it out on. “He scares me.”

Wrath stepped a little closer. “I apologize for what he tried to do to you. It is the pain he suffered at the loss of his loved female. He won’t do that again now that he’s realized how wrong it was to allow his rage and grief to get the better of him. I swear that no one will force mate you here.”

“Force mate?”

“You would consider it being held hostage by one male for the rest of your life…and rape.”

Shock tore through Lauren. Wrath had saved her. She wasn’t afraid of him and she did understand why they wanted to keep her there. It just wasn’t something she agreed with. No way would she warn Brent that his days of being on the outside of a prison were limited. It would be doing all women a great service if he was locked up forever. The guy was dangerous.

Wrath strode to a dresser and opened one of the drawers. He withdrew a folded pair of sweatpants and cautiously approached her. Lauren didn’t tense up or feel fear. He offered them to her.

“Why don’t you put those on? Your legs must be cold. There isn’t much heat down here and your skirt was destroyed. I’ll take you to get something to eat. Your stomach keeps growling from hunger.”

He can hear that? Wow. Not only did he have a super sense of smell but his hearing had to be pretty keen too. She accepted the folded pants and stood as he backed away.

“You may use my bathroom.”

The human female intrigued Wrath. He really wanted to believe she was innocent of being involved with Bill. The idea of someone as sweet as her allowing that monster to touch her made him furious.

The violence Vengeance had subjected her to had shaken her badly. That was nothing compared to the kind of evil Bill had done. He hadn’t threatened to force mate females in the testing facilities, he actually had assaulted some of them to achieve his own sexual pleasure. It hadn’t been for any other reason except the ability to inflict suffering on others.

Lauren stirred emotions inside Wrath that left him feeling unsettled. She hadn’t screamed when he’d revealed his true identity but instead seemed relieved. Him being Species was preferable to her than him being hired muscle for a criminal. She’d been very accepting of his origins.

She’d felt soft, slight and fragile in the cradle of his arms when he’d carried her into his room. It made his protective instincts flare to life. Lauren Henderson was trouble in a small package. A supple, seductive one that encouraged him to learn more about her but she was a curiosity he couldn’t afford to explore.

He was severely damaged inside, a victim of abuse, and human females were his trigger. Coldness settled inside him over the desire she stirred. The parts of him he tried to control, those animal instincts, fought to be free. He wanted her but he needed to resist. The sounds she made in the bathroom drew his attention as he waited for her to return to the bedroom. He’d get her food, keep her safe from Vengeance, and he’d focus on the simplicity of those things instead of the way his blood warmed with the temptation to hold her again.

The room was tiny—just a toilet, sink, and shower stall. It was bare basics, something found in a business rather than a home, and Lauran felt a little sad for Wrath for having to live in such a stark environment.

The sweats were huge and the legs way too long. She had to roll them to avoid stepping on the excess material. She used the toilet, washed her face and hands, and opened the bathroom door.

Wrath had taken a seat on the bed. His tall, large frame dwarfed the twin-sized, long mattress. He rose to his feet quickly and his gaze traveled down her body. He frowned and returned to the dresser then offered her a pair of thick white socks.

“Your feet must be cold.”

His concern warmed her heart and made her like him even more. For a guy she’d thought was a murdering ex-convict, she was really glad to be far off base. He wasn’t scary at all and was actually sweet to be worried about her catching a chill from the concrete floors. She put the socks on and had to roll those as well. One glance at his boots assured her the guy had huge feet and that’s why the socks would have probably reached her knees if she’d tried to straighten them out.

He hesitated by the door. “Come with me. They keep a small kitchen on this level for us and it is stocked with sodas and sandwiches. We have chips too. I apologize but it is all I have to offer until our main meals come. I will call and ask them to bring you cooked meat.”

“Cooked meat?” She walked toward him.

“We don’t enjoy our meat cooked much. We just sear the outside but enjoy it very rare inside.” He paused, his gaze studying her. “You may not wish to watch us eat in the morning. That is our next main meal delivery. I won’t forget to ask them to bring a human breakfast for you.”

“I can’t stay here until morning. I get why you want to keep me but I really have to go to work. I need my job. Maybe you don’t understand what rent or bills are. I don’t know how that works with the NSO but our world we have to make money to keep a roof over our heads. I’m almost flat broke and can’t afford to take any time off. I need to be out there showing properties, making sales. I earn a percentage of that.”

“I apologize for keeping you in captivity but there is no choice. Bill is too dangerous to risk allowing him to get away from us. They are not easy to track. They take false names and sometimes they try to harm our kind in retaliation for tracking them down. They are stupid and don’t feel they should be punished for what they have done to my kind.” His gaze softened. “I know how it feels to be held against your will but I promise, catching him is worth the time you’ll spend here.”

She could see from the determination in his steady gaze that he wasn’t going to budge. “I guess I should be grateful to come out of this alive. I really thought I wouldn’t.”

“No harm will come to you.” He opened the door to the hallway. “Please follow me and stay close. There is nowhere to escape to. The elevator needs a code to work and I doubt you would enjoy running into Vengeance after the scare he gave you.”

A shiver ran down her spine over that prospect. The bald man terrified her. Nothing was going to change that after what he’d nearly done to her. She quickly reached Wrath’s side. Once again she felt dainty compared to his tall, muscular form. New Species were much larger in person than in pictures and on television.

Amanda was going to flip when Lauren told her what had happened and how she’d been kidnapped by a few of them. New Species were their favorite topic of discussion and sometimes they watched television specials on them together. Two weeks prior they’d watched a documentary on how the New Species had been transferred to remote locations after their initial freedom to get used to life on the outside. The reporter had said they had to learn simple things such as how to use the phones and microwaves. None of those things had occurred to her until then.

Wrath stepped out of the room and she moved with him. She wasn’t about to lose him and risk running into Vengeance. He glanced at her.

“You are safe.”

She nodded, pretty sure he wouldn’t hurt her. “I know.”