He cried out and threw up an arm, trying to shield his head. It wasn’t effective as she used the legs of the chair to ram downward into his belly and chest. He gasped and she hit him again. Boris rolled onto his stomach at that point and she hit him one more time just for good measure.

A lot of pent-up anger drove her to nail him a few more times until she was out of breath from exertion. She only wished the chair was heavier and more solidly made. She dropped the chair and kicked him in the side. He rolled, curling into a ball. It hurt her a little when she kicked him again, this time in the chest, but it had the desired effect. He ended up sprawled on his back. She turned a little, used the last of her strength and lifted the chair. She brought it down so the legs of it landed on each side of his neck. The support bar along the bottom connecting the back legs pressed against his throat and she leaned over, resting her weight over the seatback.

Jerry Boris, or as she’d known him, Terry Brice, stared up at her with wide eyes as his face turned an ugly shade of purple.

“Can’t breathe?” She panted. “I know how that feels. Try having some douche bag shove his dirty hand over your mouth and nose. That’s what your asshole goon did to me.”

She eased up just a little so he didn’t die. He sucked in air but his color didn’t improve. She glanced back and lifted her foot, slamming it down on his groin. He squealed.

“I know how that feels too. It’s a bitch not being able to scream, isn’t it? Does that hurt?” She ground her toes against the front of his sweats, a little grossed out, but no way was she about to let him get up. He outweighed her by a hundred pounds. Plus, I have no damn sympathy for you, asshole.

Jeanie looked at his face, saw his terrified expression and the way his hands clawed at the bar against his throat. She eased a little of her weight off the chair until he managed to suck in more air. She pressed down again.

“You and I,” she got out, catching her breath a little more, “are going to have a talk. And what I mean by that is, I’m going to talk and you’re going to breathe when I say you can.”

She waited and let him have a little more air. It wasn’t her intention to kill him but she was determined to get answers. He knew where a Gift was and he’d put her through hell but she was mostly pissed about how he’d allowed True and the others to suffer longer than necessary because it amused him and he’d wanted to get more money.

“Those jerks you hired pushed me into a hole and let me fall into dirty water. I smell. I had a gag shoved into my mouth and you planned to poison me,” she reminded him. “I could kill you. Got that? Forget about your retirement plan. Forget about getting another penny from the NSO. You’re going to tell me where that Gift is or I’m going to watch you suffocate. I might take a nap here.” She lifted enough to let him get air. He choked a little but she held off until he took a few breaths.

“You bitch,” he wheezed.

She leaned over, putting her weight on the back of the chair. “Fuck you, Jerry. Yeah. I know who your name. I saw your picture when they showed me all the men who used to work for the NSO. Director Jerry Boris. You got fired because you were an asshole to Fury’s mate. He said you almost got her killed and tried to take her from him. You just can’t leave mates alone, can you? You took me from mine and guess what? I’m furious.”

It was satisfying when he stopped struggling, going totally still. It didn’t last for more than a few seconds. He let go of the bar and tried to grab the ankle of the foot resting on his crotch. She stomped down, hoping she crushed his junk. He squealed and let go. She eased off the pressure.

“Where is that Gift, Jerry? You’re going to tell me or I’m going to torture the shit out of you. I learned something about that while at Drackwood, watching what was done to those poor New Species you hate so much. I love one of them and he almost died in there, being beaten and hurt, but you didn’t give a damn. You just wanted money. Guess what? I just want you dead to make sure you can’t hurt anyone else.”

She took a few calming breaths, trying to rein in her temper. “But I’ll let you live if you tell me where the Gift is.” She lifted up, letting him breathe. A red mark dented the fleshy area of his throat but she didn’t feel bad about that either. He didn’t deserve it.

“Never.”

Her eyebrows arched. “Really?”

“Fuck you. I’m not telling. The cat bitch will die.” He coughed. “I want money and I’ll tell where she is once I’m safe.” He turned his head and twisted his bulky body in the same direction.

It caught Jeanie off balance and she tripped as the chair slammed into her since he was a big guy. Two big hands clutched her hips to prevent her from landing on her ass and she fell against a firm, big body. Terror struck as she lifted her head to see which one of his goons had returned. She was going to die a slow and painful death.

True frowned down at her. She stared into his eyes, part of her afraid he was a dream. That beautiful gaze of his shifted away from her to something on the floor. She followed it, watching as Jerry Boris struggled to his feet. He coughed a little but managed to get up. His hands curled into fists as he spun to attack. Darkness grabbed him by his throat and slammed him up against a wall. He lifted him, easily putting the man on tiptoe.

“Cat bitch, huh?” Darkness snarled. “I’m kind of fond of them myself since I’m feline too. I take offense to you saying she’ll die.” He turned his head and held Jeanie’s gaze. “I have this. He’ll talk.”

Jeanie was in shock and worse, it was clear they’d heard and seen what she’d been doing to Boris. She sagged in True’s arms. Another New Species crouched next to her and he withdrew a small kit from one of his pockets.

“I’m going to get you free.” Tiger gave her a grim smile before turning his attention to the handcuffs attaching her to the chair.

The surreal feeling left her speechless. She’d lost it, totally snapped, and her reaction to what she’d done was setting in. She’d been willing to kill another person and might have if they hadn’t arrived to stop her. True and the other New Species had to have been horrified when they’d walked in and saw her using a chair to torture someone. She felt that way and she’d been the one doing it.

“You’re safe.” True cradled her in his arms.

“Get her out of here,” Darkness ordered.

“Working on it,” Tiger muttered. “Or we’ll have to drag the chair with her.”

“Hurry.” Darkness held Jeanie’s gaze again and seemed to study her. He frowned before shifting his focus to True. “She’s seen enough violence and suffered enough. I’m about to spill blood if that’s what it takes to get him to tell us where the Gift is. I’ll get him to confess all his crimes.”

“Those two men who work for Boris are coming back,” Jeanie managed to get out.

“We have officers down here.” Justice came into view. “They won’t make it far without being captured if they return. I’m having them map the entire system since we weren’t aware of it until now. I wonder why they weren’t in the blueprints we were given.”

Even Jeanie picked up his sarcastic tone and the way he glared at Jerry Boris. She forced her mind to work. “He thinks Fury and Ellie have a baby. He’s been keeping tabs on what has been ordered by the NSO and where it’s being delivered. That’s how he found out where I was staying. He’s also been down here going under people’s homes to listen and he heard a baby crying.” She was careful how she worded what she said. “I told him that wasn’t true but he threatened to tell the media that Species can breed, just to cause problems.”

A few growls sounded and she glanced around, noticing for the first time that over a dozen New Species had filled the chamber. She leaned into True. The handcuffs popped open when the feline was able to pick the lock. She glanced at him.