“The bitch is nuts,” Chris muttered, pushing himself off the floor to a sitting position. He shot a glare at True. “I think she broke my nose when she threw her head back into my face and I probably just busted my lip when I kissed the floor. I would have had her if True hadn’t interfered.”

“You hit the floor hard,” Flame pointed out. “That looked painful.”

“Fuck you.” The human stayed on the floor and checked out his palms. “Great. They are bleeding too.”

“How can you tell? They were already covered in blood.”

“Shut up, Flame.”

“Both of you shut it,” Trey demanded, staring at True. “Is she okay? So much for thinking she shouldn’t be in handcuffs or that she’d avoid a physical altercation with us.” He spun around to glare at Jordan. “I told you to reel it back, goddamn it. She’s not ex-military or some thug. Women snap under too much pressure. I hope you’re proud of yourself.”

True dipped his head, staring into Shiver’s eyes. She still peered up at him, her pupils dilated. He eased his hold. Her breathing seeming to slow to a more normal rate.

“Please,” Shiver whispered, now limp in his arms. “Don’t let him near me.”

He frowned, shooting a glare at Chris. The male could have hurt her if he’d succeeded with the tackle. She was no match for his heavier body and slamming her into the concrete floor could have caused a lot of damage.

“He won’t touch you.”

“I can’t take it.”

He frowned, wondering if she was having flashbacks to when she’d been arrested. He silently swore that Chris would be pulled off any duties that involved females until he had better training. She never should have been treated with such disregard. The near-death experience had left her traumatized.

“You won’t be harmed. Just keep breathing slow and steady.”

The elevator opened and Midnight rushed forward. She took in the scene with a grim expression and approached him quickly with a syringe. He adjusted his arms to lift Shiver a little more toward him to give the nurse free access to the back of the female. Midnight crouched.

“This will keep her really mellow,” Midnight promised, using an alcohol swab to rub a spot on Shiver’s thigh and gently inserted the needle. “It’s fast acting. It won’t knock her out but she won’t cause more trouble. Do you want to carry her or should I have Paul bring a wheelchair? She won’t be able to walk in a few seconds. It’s going to make her a bit drowsy and a lot loopy. No more escape plans will be forming in her brain.”

“I’ll carry her.” True wasn’t about to hand her over to any of the other males.

The female nodded and tugged on the gowns that encased Shiver, tucking some of the fabric between his forearm and her thighs. Midnight leaned in. “You don’t want to keep her exposed. She’s bare under the gown.”

He gnashed his teeth in anger. No one else had mentioned that. The dimness of the room where he now sat would account for the humans not seeing her exposed body too clearly but the Species males were another matter. Jericho seemed oblivious as he recovered from having his nuts smashed but Flame had no excuse. He glared at the male.

Flame raised his arms. “I saw nothing. My hearing is great but my eyes totally were blind to the fact that she mostly shaves it all off.”

“Congratulations,” Midnight muttered, turning to the redheaded male. “You sound so human.”

“Thanks.”

“That wasn’t a compliment.” She glanced back at True. “Follow me. We’ll get her settled back into bed.” She straightened.

“She’s being transferred to Fuller.” Trey came closer. “Doc Harris gave the green light that she was to be released to them after we were done here. Their new doc will keep a close eye on her for the next few weeks. It will take them about an hour to send a van. Talk to her and see if you can get real answers. She couldn’t even handle Jordan being an asshole. I don’t want to think about her going there.”

Movement in his arms caused True to look down. Shiver wiggled one of her hands free from between their bodies and clutched at his shirt. He tensed, expecting her to claw at him, put up another fight. She didn’t. Her eyes widened as she stared up at him.

“Please don’t let him kill me.” Her words slurred a little.

“He won’t.” True was definitely going to have a talk with Tim Oberto about Chris.

“Nobody here will,” Trey swore too. “We just planned to scare some answers out of you but Jordan took it too far. I swear we would have stepped in if he’d tried to hit you.”

Tears filled her eyes and True hated to see them. She looked so fragile and weak at that moment. He resisted the urge to adjust his hold to brush them away as the wet drops slid from the corners of her eyes. One landed on his bare upper arm where he still kept hold of her head, now keeping it from slumping rather than from thrashing around.

“I did it for you. I saved you.” Shiver’s words were still slurred. “I…hurt for you.”

“I may have given her too much,” Midnight assessed. “Dr. Harris left to speak with Justice so I just grabbed one of the sedatives from the cabinet. I only injected her with half but it may have been too strong.”

“Is she in danger of overdose?” Instant concern for her safety plagued True.

“No. She may pass out though or be extremely dopey.”

He nodded sharply. “Okay.”

“It isn’t.” Shiver released his shirt and lifted her hand higher, her fingers brushing his jawline. “Never going to be okay again.”

“We’ll put her in bed until the van arrives. They can take her, gurney and all.” Midnight spun around, striding toward the elevator.

True lifted his chin out of Shiver’s reach. Her fingertips stroking him did odd things to his body and he refused to allow her to get to him. Flame approached and reached down, gripping his upper arm. Jericho recovered enough to move to his other side, mimicking the action. Both males helped pull him to his feet so he didn’t have to release the female. He gave one quick nod of thanks before following Midnight.

“I wake up screaming.”

True halted, looking down at her. Her tears slid down her face when she blinked up at him. A tightness constricted his chest. He hated to see her so desolate.

“He hurt me so much but it was for you. That’s how I survived.”

“You’re fine now.” He wanted to reassure her.

“I’m not. Stupid panic attacks.” Her hand lifted and she placed it on his neck. “Thought I was past them. Haven’t had one in months.”

She suffers panic attacks? He frowned, watching her face.

“Please don’t let him get near me.”

“Chris won’t be allowed near you.”

“Polanitis,” she muttered, closing her eyes. “He’ll kill me if he gets the chance.”

Every muscle in his body stiffened. “What?”

Her eyes opened, shimmering with new tears. “He’ll be so angry. Don’t let him near me. I’m dead.”

Anger rose and it burned. “Your close friend will be happy to see you.”

Her gaze widened and her lips parted. “What?”

“Your friend will be happy to see you,” he repeated.

She shivered in his arms and turned her head, burying her face against his chest. “You smell good.”

His dick twitched and he ground his teeth together, walking again toward the elevator. Midnight waited, keeping the doors open. She wrinkled her nose when she pushed the button for the floor above them, punching in the code to activate the lift.

“She needs another shower. I take it you scared her. Did you get the information you needed? The stench of her fear is strong.”

“She doesn’t smell bad.”

Midnight shrugged. “It does to me. It’s sickly sweet.”

He inhaled, hating the way his lower half was still engaged. The semi hard-on wasn’t welcome, nor was the desire to run his nose along Shiver’s throat. He wanted to cover her with his body until she felt protected and the scent faded from her skin. The urge to lick her to get a taste irritated him. It was the animal instincts, he recognized, but it didn’t sit well with the rational part of him.