“Hey, I’m glad you think so. At Christmas, may I borrow you for a few hours? I really need help then.” Richard grinned. “Not only do I have to buy for my wife but my mother too.”

“Ah,” she teased. “You don’t want me as a friend. You want me as a shopping assistant.”

“Damn straight!”

The van had to slow when a large crowd blocked the road ahead of them in front of the Reservation gates. Richard tooted his horn to get some of them to move out of the way. Three off-road, full-sized pickup trucks were in line ahead of them to be searched.

Richard sighed. “We might be a little late.”

“It’s not our fault. The NSO officers can see us up there on the wall.” Zandy peered up at the well-armed security officers patrolling the catwalk along the top of the thick barrier. “I don’t remember there being so many of them up there the day I came for my interview.”

“That’s because there usually aren’t.” Richard paused. “Are you feeling as nervous as I am? Notice the way some of these jerks are eyeing us.” He hit the locks on the door but they were already down. “I don’t like this.”

Her gaze darted around to find a lot of strangers glaring at them. “I don’t like this either. Maybe you should back up and drive to the other gate that I use.”

“That’s miles away and we’d really be late. We’re safe. No one would be stupid enough to try anything with all those guns up along that wall. We’re technically on NSO land here on this side of the gate. It’s posted everywhere and those officers can open fire if need be.”

She studied the faces around them. “Do they know that? Those aren’t our finest and brightest holding those racist signs. They are total dipshits.”

Richard chuckled. “It will be fine. Look, there are a few deputies from town trying to do crowd control. I’ve worked here for a while and I’ve seen worse.”

Some idiot wearing jeans and a T-shirt climbed up into the back of a pickup truck in line at the front to yell obscenities at the NSO officers. A news crew shoved forward with their cameras to capture the tension.

Richard softly cursed beside her. “They are such assholes.”

“Maybe he’ll fall out of the back of the truck and break his neck. We can always hope.”

Richard gave her a wink when she glanced his way. She smiled and returned her attention to the jackass making a fool of himself. The NSO officers ignored him but the camera crews were eating it up while filming the action.

“I’ll bet you five bucks that makes the six o’clock news. It only hurts their cause so I hope they do run it. What a prick. I know two-year-olds with better language skills.” Richard’s fingers tapped the steering wheel. “We’re really going to be late.”

“It’s not our fau—” Shock cut her off when a tarp was thrown from the back of the truck bed in front of them. It landed on the slanted hood of Richard’s minivan and two men stood up from where they’d been hiding under it. Both of them were gripping long weapons.

Zandy froze in horror as the men opened fire. The sounds of gun blasts were deafening and the brake lights on the truck holding the two men suddenly went off. It was such a small detail to notice but it drew her attention. Reverse lights came on a second before the vehicle ahead of them slammed into the front of the minivan. Zandy’s belt dug painfully into her shoulder with the rough impact and Richard yelled. It wasn’t a word, just a sound of terror and confusion.

The NSO officers responded by firing canisters that exploded on the pavement around them. Thick white smoke began to fill the air to block the sight of the gates ahead. Something hit the window next to Zandy, jerking her attention there. A man with a bandana over his nose and mouth hit the window again with the hammer he wielded. The glass next to her face spider-webbed as it started to crush in.

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.