He was sluggish as he rolled, fell right off the cot and she winced when his big body sprawled onto the metal floor. That seemed to rouse him though as he snarled, pushed up with his arms and his eyes opened. Fury twisted his normally handsome features as he stared at the bars and lifted his chin to take in the cage roof. Every muscle appeared to tighten with strain.

“Brawn?” Becca softened her voice. “Are you okay?”

His head jerked in her direction, confusion crossed his face. The anger receded and he paled. “No.”

“We were attacked. Do you remember?”

He rose to his feet slowly, rubbed at some of the marks from the darts he’d taken to his thighs and stared around them. His gaze stayed on the cages across the room where the two other prisoners were kept. He moved fast though, hit the side of the bars and growled at the pacing male.

The other guy ignored him, kept walking the length of his cage and Brawn sniffed loudly. “Fuck.”

“What?”

He turned his head. “We’re in a lot of trouble.”

“No shit!” She bit her lip and glanced at the cameras. “They are watching us.”

He followed her gaze and turned her way, came to the corner closest to her cage and studied her body slowly. “Are you harmed? Did they drug you too?”

“No. I think they are from Mercile.” She whispered that part. “I overhead enough to know they are working for some woman doctor and they know your number. That’s classified, right?”

“My number?”

“358.”

“That’s not me.”

She stared at the Species pacing. “Maybe it’s him.”

Brawn glanced at the other male before staring at Becca. “I can smell drugs heavily in the room and suspect he’s drugged. I’ve smelled those chemicals before and he’s mentally gone if it’s coming from him. Has he talked to you at all?”

“No. He growled a bit but no actual words. I tried to ask him how long he’s been here but he just began pacing again. He’s done that since we came in.”

“How long have I been out?”

“About four hours, best guess, but it could have been longer. I saw sunlight before they brought us down here. We were in that van for at least three and a half hours because that’s how long it would have been until the sun rose when we were attacked. They drove us here in a commercial van with a home security logo on it but I’m pretty sure they don’t work for that company. I got a good enough look at it to see it was one of those magnet signs affixed to it and a real company would have them painted.”

“We are in serious trouble.”

“You think?” She gaped at him a little. “What I can’t figure out is why they wanted us alive. Wouldn’t Mercile employees want you dead? You guys sue the shit out of the company and my dad said that they are tracking down anyone who worked at that company to show the victims pictures to try to identify the ones who abused your people.”

He sniffed the air. “Hope my memory is wrong.”

“What does that mean?”

He hesitated. “I smell the drug they used on us for breeding experiments.”

Her knees weakened. “What does that mean?”

“They developed a highly stimulating drug to force us to desire sex and dosed us when we refused to mount our women sometimes when they were trying to figure out why we weren’t able to get our females to conceive. The room reeks of it and that is very bad.”

No shit. “I don’t see any of your women. There’s the guy sleeping on the cot and him.” She glanced at the pacer who hadn’t slowed inside his cell.

“I smell another Species male, at least twelve different human males and two human females. You are one of them.”

That was seriously disturbing. Becca knew the doctor the mercenaries worked for was a woman so that just left her on the wrong side of the cage bars. The blood drained from her face at the implications.

“You don’t think they brought me here to…you know.” She slowly mouthed the next words she hoped he’d understand after lifting her hands to cover her profile from the cameras. “They think I’m your girlfriend.”

Brawn spun away with a snarl, obviously able to read lips. He walked to the cage door, studied it and gave it a kick with his bare foot. Becca winced, knew that had to hurt and the metal didn’t budge. He lifted his leg, rubbed his toes and snarled again. He dropped the leg, spun and stormed back to the corner closest to her.

“I will do everything I can to protect you,” he swore softly. “You need to trust me.”

“I do.” She meant it. She hadn’t known him for long but he was a good guy. “We’ll be found.” She didn’t want to tell him about the dead body or how her father would use it to tear into the man’s past, too afraid the cameras would pick up her words. She didn’t want these assholes to be warned. “Nothing will stop them.”

He nodded. “Watch what you say.”

That bit of advice was useless since she already had surmised that. Brawn stared at her and took deep breaths. “I was not drugged with the breeding drug. This is good news.”

The double doors the men had left through suddenly were thrown open. The sound echoed in the big room and Becca gaped at the sight of four men pushing a gurney through the opening. A large New Species male was strapped down on it. His eyes were closed but his heritage was apparent from his muscular size. It became more apparent as the jerks pushed him closer. His cheekbones and full lips were a dead giveaway and Brawn sniffed loudly as they passed their cages and moved out of sight behind the concrete wall behind them. The wheels of the gurney stopped shortly after.

A good minute passed before a cage door slammed closed. The sound was distinctive enough for Becca to be sure and chains rattled. They were obviously securing his door the way they had Brawn’s. The four guys returned minus the Species and the gurney. One of them stopped to glare at Brawn.

“You’re next, asshole.”

She knew that voice. It was Randy, the one she’d winged in her house, the leader of the mercenaries. She saw the bandage near his ear as he turned his attention to her. “Then you, bitch. I’m going to take great pleasure watching you suffer.”

“Why are we here?” Brawn kept his voice low.

A smile curved the bastard’s lips and he gripped his hips. “The doctor wanted fresh meat but your girlfriend was a bonus.” Randy took a step closer but remained a good ten feet from the edge of Brawn’s cage. “You know what’s going to happen. We don’t have any females, weren’t able to grab any of them when we were raided, so she’s it.” His grin widened. “I hope she likes pussies as much as you do.” He lifted his hand and jerked it toward the pacing New Species. “He’ll be first and you’ll get her second.”

Brawn roared, lunged at the side of the cage and grabbed it. “He’ll kill her.”

“Even better.” Randy touched his bandage. “That cunt tried to blow my brains out. I’ll enjoy hearing her screams.” He spun, marched away and his three goons followed him.

Becca trembled. She wasn’t an idiot and could fill in the blanks. Brawn refused to glance at her and instead glared at the double doors that closed behind the men. She backed away from the side of the cage to sit heavily on her cot. Her legs didn’t want to hold her weight anymore.

Her gaze traveled across the room to the still agitated Species male. Terror gripped her. The guy couldn’t even talk and didn’t seem friendly in the least. He’d kill her for sure if she were thrown into his cage for some breeding experiment.

“Becca?”

She turned her head at Brawn’s raspy tone. He watched her, his beautiful gaze grim.

“I know. Breeding drugs, I’m the only woman and that guy over there is out of his head, right?”

“Listen to me.” Brawn took a deep breath and gripped the bars. “Do not fight if they put you in there with the male. He will be aggressive to begin with but if you resist, he will…” His voice trailed off.

“Kill me?”