He suddenly lifted up and spun away from her. It made Tammy flinch as he snarled loudly and began to pace the cell. She scooted until her back rested against the bars of the cage wall. She hugged her chest and pulled her knees up, just watching him silently. He appeared agitated and really angry. She’d answered his questions but regretted saying that last part. Perhaps he was so angry that others had been found when he hadn’t been.

“Valiant will never stop searching for me. That means he’ll find us. Me and you. They’ll free you.” She said it softly, hoping her voice didn’t carry to wherever the doctor and his two thugs had gone. “We really do love each other and he won’t give up.”

The New Species stopped pacing to regard her. He slowly approached and crouched next to the bed. “The technicians will take you away from me if I don’t mount you soon.” He whispered the words.

Tammy shook her head frantically, afraid, and knew exactly what that meant. Sex. “No.”

“I will scent you and it will buy time.”

“What does that mean?”

He suddenly reached out and grabbed Tammy by her calf, gave a hard jerk, and his other hand gripped her arm to turn her on the bed where she fell flat. She gasped but had a few hundred pounds of muscled New Species pin her down when his body dropped over hers.

Tammy stared up at him and whimpered, thinking she’d been safe, sure he wasn’t going to hurt her after they’d talked. His face remained inches from hers and he looked grim. He lowered his face and buried it against her neck.

“Relax. I won’t hurt you,” he breathed very softly against her ear. “They listen always. This close and soft they cannot hear. I won’t mount you but I need to make them believe I am interested. They will take you from my cell otherwise and they could kill you if they think the experiment is a failure. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” she got out softly, struggled with her fear, but forced her tense muscles to relax. “They have microphones listening to what we say?” She kept her voice just as soft as he had.

“They watch with cameras too but do not search for them with your eyes. They will become suspicious.”

He shifted over her, pinned her closer to him, completely covering her with his body. He was careful not to crush her. Tammy experienced raw fear at how tiny she felt, how helpless, and had no choice but to trust that he wouldn’t hurt her. The man was big, smelled of a strong soap and sweat. It wasn’t unpleasant, but foreign.

She was used to the way Valiant smelled. She put her hands on his chest. His skin felt as hot as Valiant’s, almost as if they ran a fever, but they just had a hotter temperature than humans. She resisted the urge to attempt to push him off, already knowing it would be a useless effort.

He buried his face against her neck again, sniffed really loudly, probably for the microphones, before he spoke softly to her again. “Will Valiant really come looking for you and not stop?”

“Yes.” Tammy had no doubt. “They all will. The New Species, I mean.”

A soft growl tore from his mouth. “I will do my best to keep you here. They will kill you if they believe I won’t do as they wish by mounting you. You’ll have no value to them otherwise. They’ll take me from here, back to where I came from, and consider the test of breeding me to another human a failure.”

Tammy closed her eyes and fought more tears. The man dropped his face against her neck and adjusted until he’d wiggled his hips until he’d wedged between her thighs. Fear and mental exhaustion finally caught up to her. She wanted to cry, admitted to a little self-pity that this had happened to her, and she gripped his skin just to find some comfort.

“Lie here with me and rest. You are safe from me, little one with pretty eyes.”

“My name is Tammy.”

He inhaled her skin at her neck. “It is good to smell another of my kind on you.”

“They don’t let you see others?”

“No.”

He was alone. She shifted her arms and wrapped them around his neck. He didn’t protest the hug-like hold she had on him. He had her totally trapped under his big body but she didn’t feel threatened.

Deep down she understood one thing. He was alone and he needed to hold her too, probably longed for the comfort just as much as she did. She closed her eyes and relaxed. Her mind instantly drifted to Valiant. He’d find her somehow. He had to. A yawn surprised her and all the adrenaline started to drain from her body.

* * * * *

Tiger glared at Charlie A rtzola. The man had been found tied up inside his car near Reservation. He’d pleaded innocent to willingly stealing Tammy but Tiger wasn’t buying it. The human was ignorant of their sense of smell or he just thought they were really stupid.

“I told you. I was in my office and suddenly this man entered. He held a gun on me until Miss Shasta and her officer arrived. I didn’t have time to even warn them before he killed her security officer. It horrified me. He forced me outside with her and explained if I didn’t drive them out of the gates, he’d blow her brains out. I was trying to save her life when he shoved her into the trunk, climbed in with her, and told me to close the trunk. I knew he’d kill her if I tipped off the officers at the gate. I was terrified for her life so I did what he said.”

Tiger growled and took two menacing steps toward the attorney. He didn’t even glance at Justice for permission. He reached the human and backhanded the man’s cheek hard.

“You lie,” he snarled. “We scented your office and followed your trail to your car. We also scented your car.

Only she was inside the trunk. There was no other human male. You took her and you are going to tell us where you are holding her. Where did you take her?”

The man groaned from the pain and he licked his bloodied lip where it had split near the corner. A red mark marred his pale skin. Charlie A rtzola’s wide gaze focused on Justice.

“You know I’d never lie to you. I’ve worked for you for almost a year. I’m trusted, and everything I’ve said is the truth. That is what happened. I had no choice. The guy with the gun told me where to drive and that’s what I did. Maybe he wore something to hide his scent. He did have military-type clothes on and a cap over his hair.

That’s why you probably didn’t smell him. A nother man waited at the location where I was told to drive and he held another gun on me, ordered me to open the trunk, and his friend climbed out. They took Miss Shasta, tied me up, and drove away with her. I sat there helpless until your people found me. I swear, Justice. I’m a victim in this as much as that woman is.”

Justice slowly reached up and loosened his tie. He kept a calm expression on his features. He yanked the tie off over his head and reached for his jacket buttons next, unfastening each one. He shed his jacket and unbuttoned his white shirt. He removed it and his chest was bare. He reached for his belt next as he kicked off his loafers.

“What are you doing?” The attorney’s voice shook with fear. “Justice? Why are you getting undressed?”

Justice snapped his gaze up and glared at Charlie A rtzola. “This is a two-thousand-dollar suit. I don’t want to get your blood all over it. My people found you because we put trackers on all your vehicles but unfortunately we can’t track your destinations until they are activated. We don’t know where you took her because you’d already parked when we realized she’d been taken.

You knew that though since you were the one who drafted the agreement that allows us to make all human employees agree to those devices and you knew your car would be found. You should have disappeared. Instead you counted on my trust and your ability to lie well to shield you from our rage.”

“I’m sorry you lost one of your men but it wasn’t me.