“She’s injured?”

“Emotionally. The shrink recommended you make no contact with her at all. Let her come to you when she’s ready if she ever wants to discuss what happened.”

“She was well? The doctor checked her over completely?”

“Yes. Trisha personally took care of her.” Tiger hesitated. “She gave her the pills.”

“What pills?”

The hesitation in answering angered Brawn. “What pills? Was she sick?”

“You shared sex with her. It was decided to give her medication in case you got her pregnant. It will end any pregnancy that may have occurred.”

Brawn snarled, pure rage gripped him and stepped toward Tiger before he even meant to. Tiger stumbled back a few steps and lifted his arms.

“Stop!”

He did. “She wasn’t in heat when I mounted her. I told you this! You told her classified information? I understand now why she is angry. I couldn’t tell her that I could get her pregnant while we were locked up. It was too risky in that place. Is she angry with me? Is that why she refused to wait? I am sure she is on some kind of preventative drug to prevent being impregnated. Most human females are.”

“Not according to what she told Trisha. Becca wasn’t told what the pills really were. She thinks they are antibiotics to prevent infection from the needle used to draw blood from her arm. She isn’t angry or upset with you for not telling her the truth before you shared sex.”

“We shared more than sex.”

Tiger’s expression showed pity. “I’m sure you did but seeing you will only remind her of the trauma she suffered. She was locked inside a cage with you, forced to take your semen and it was a grim situation. She’s safe now and if she ever wants to see you, she’ll let you know. Give her time.”

His chest hurt and it had nothing to do with his bruised ribs, which had been injured when he’d fought with 919 to protect Becca from the drugged male. “We shared more than sex,” he stated more firmly. “I know it would be difficult but I want to spend more time with her. I have feelings.”

“She’s Tim Oberto’s daughter. He leads our task team and while he likes us, he sure as hell wouldn’t be down with you doing his daughter.”

“Where did you learn to speak that way?”

Tiger sighed. “I’m spending a lot of time with the task team. We’ve been training together and I’ve gotten to know them. Tim is very protective of his daughter. He wouldn’t welcome any kind of relationship between you and his daughter. He made that very clear.”

“It doesn’t matter what he likes. I have feelings for Becca.”

“It’s not just about you. It’s about her too and she needs to come to you if or when she wants to see you. Respect that, Brawn. You are a council member but this is about the best for all of us. We can’t make an enemy of the man who heads the task team. We need him.”

“I want her.” His fists clenched.

“She isn’t a pet you can collar and take home.”

“I know,” he snarled.

“You’re tired and hungry. You need ten hours of sleep and then we’ll discuss this, okay? Be rational.”

He fought his anger and tried to calm. “This discussion is not over.”

“I understand. We’ll have it tomorrow after you get some rest and good food.”

The door opened at the front of the Medical Center and Flame stepped inside. “I’ve come to take you home and someone is bringing you food, Brawn. We hope we timed it right to give you time to shower before it arrives. You ready?”

Brawn shot a glare at Tiger. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“I don’t doubt it.”

* * * * *

Becca sat inside her bedroom but the feeling of being safe inside her own home was gone. Her dad sat at the end of her bed watching her grimly. He’d shadowed her since some of his men had driven her from Homeland to the house. He’d been waiting in her living room.

“Are you hungry?”

“They fed me.”

His gaze studied her intently. “You’d tell me if they made one of those New Species touch you, wouldn’t you?”

“I swear none of them hurt me, Dad. How many times do I have to say it?”

“Tiger and Trey wouldn’t tell me much, no matter how much I threatened. What the hell was going on down there?”

“There was a woman doctor who used to work for Mercile and she had a bunch of goons working for her. They planned to sell the New Species to someone in Europe so they could earn enough money to flee the country. They knew they are wanted by the police. They have some buyer over there who wants a set of them. I guess there are three types of New Species and the doctor only had one so she had Brawn kidnapped and plans to kidnap another one.”

“Feline, canine and primate. I read the report and we’re trying to find the leak.”

“Good. Can I ask you something?”

He tensed but gave a firm jerk of his head. “You’ve earned some answers after what you’ve gone through. What do you want to know?”

“What is going to happen to them?”

“The males are under a doctor’s care. The New Species have a few specialists working for them and they’ll do whatever they can. They’ll call in consulting doctors if they think someone can help. Those guys will get the best care possible now that they are home.”

“I’m glad to hear that but I meant the ones who took Brawn and me. Are they going to pay for what they did? That’s what I want to know.”

He reached out and rubbed her foot through the blankets. “New Species law is brutal. You were right to leave on that helicopter. I wasn’t thinking straight or I would have sent you to Homeland myself. Those sons of bitches are never going to know freedom again.”

“The NSO can give them a trial and sentence them to life in prison?”

He hesitated.

“Tell me. Please?” Tears pricked her eyes. “I’ll sleep better at night. They killed Tina and Mel. They came into my home and—”

“We have a prison, baby. It’s not known, it’s not for general population, but one that only holds people who have committed crimes against New Species. Justice North is a damn smart man who negotiated some impressive deals.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Mercile was funded in part by the US. It’s not widely known but the public would be pissed if they knew where their tax dollars were being spent. Everyone involved wants to keep it that way. New Species could sue the United States and win in court the way they’ve gone after Mercile to be compensated for the years they were imprisoned. It was cheaper to settle and better for public relations to just keep it under wraps. They were given Homeland, the money to start it up, and my task team to hunt down Mercile employees who weren’t captured and to recover New Species still out there. We have found five testing facilities and there could be more. We don’t know but some New Species were given to investors.”

“Given to investors?”

He looked down. “Women, baby. The company traded money for flesh.” His gaze lifted and his mouth grimaced. “Sexual slaves. We try to find them.”

Tears fell. “Oh my God.”

“Yeah.” He rubbed her foot. “That’s what my team is mostly for. We hunt those sick bastards down who bought them and try to find out if the women are still alive.”

“Have you found any?” She hoped so.

“Some. Usually it turns out bad. I won’t lie. Justice demanded to have a task force put at his disposal with full resources to track them down and I was assigned to lead it. We can do what most law agencies can’t, don’t have as many rules as they do and that includes starting up our own prison. We take the ones we arrest there and they aren’t getting out. There’s no such thing as parole or time off for good behavior.”

“It’s at Homeland or Reservation?”

He shook his head. “No. It’s at another location and I’m not telling you where. Some of the people who used to run Homeland before New Species took control are now in charge of that facility. It’s not a resort, let me assure you. They aren’t mistreated but they sure aren’t watching cable or getting visitors.”