Текст книги "True"
Автор книги: Laurann Dohner
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Текущая страница: 18 (всего у книги 24 страниц)
“You should be allowed to go for a run without fear of something happening to me. Don’t apologize.”
“I should have been here.” He’d regret that for as long as he lived. The humans could have just killed her. He wouldn’t mention that but the heartbreaking thought wouldn’t leave his mind.
“Do we have time to shower?” Her smile looked forced. “I’m still a little sweaty from that hot sex we shared.”
Her attempt at humor failed. He appreciated it but he was too worried about the males out to cause her harm. “We don’t. I told Jinx we’d be ready to go in ten minutes and we have about two of left.”
“Okay.” She let go of his hand. “Let’s do this.”
Chapter Eighteen
Jeanie kept close to True’s side and firmly gripped his hand as they left the dorm. Three New Species guards surrounding them kept alert for any signs of trouble. She noticed that Jinx kept his hand on his sidearm as his gaze darted in every direction, looking for any sign of danger. She glanced up at True, seeing the same wariness in him. They were worried.
Breeze sat in a Jeep outside the building with the engine running. Jeanie smiled at the woman, happy to see her again. She’d been present at Medical, cracking jokes to ease the tension after True returned from Fuller.
“I made some calls,” Breeze announced. “Some of our males are stationed on rooftops with sniper rifles just in case we run into any trouble on the way. They’ll keep an eye on us the entire trip.”
True growled and let go of her hand to put his arm around her waist. He jerked her closer until she felt as though she’d become a part of his side. It was dark outside, dawn still hours away, and a cold wind blew her hair into her face. Her mate just lifted her when he reached the passenger side, which had the door removed, and she ended up sitting on his lap. He surrounded her with his arms, keeping her very close. The two other Species got in the backseat.
“You think that’s necessary?” She really hoped not as she leaned her head forward enough to peer at the driver.
“I do.” Breeze smiled. “I’m paranoid though. I really love watching human movies and in one of them I saw a group of good guys get attacked on their way to the police station while escorting a witness. I figure the bad guys might watch the same ones as I do and steal that plot twist. Now we have snipers in place to shoot the shit out of them if they try to set up a roadblock.”
“Don’t frighten her,” True ordered.
Jeanie had the opposite reaction. She laughed, amused.
True reached up and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at his grim expression. “This isn’t funny.”
“It isn’t,” she agreed and sighed. “It’s just that I really like her.”
“I like you too,” Breeze cheerfully called out. “Hold on. It might get rough. I’m not taking a route they’ll expect. I always wanted to do this.”
Jeanie grabbed hold of the bar above their head. True released her chin but his other arm tightened around her waist—him being her seat belt. The Jeep took off fast and abruptly veered across the road and jumped the curb. It almost tossed her off True’s lap but he kept hold of her when the wheels landed on the grass.
“You’re driving through the park?” Jericho cursed.
“Yeah,” Breeze laughed. “Brilliant, huh? They’ll think we’ll use the roads but we’re not. Our guys can see us from the rooftops so we’re covered.”
“Do you want to turn on the headlights?” Jinx pushed his head between the seats from the back. “So you don’t hit a tree. Do you see that one directly in our path?”
Breeze jerked on the wheel, sending the Jeep to the right before straightening it out. “I see it. I’m not blind, and no, I’m not using headlights. Humans don’t have our night vision. The point is to get there without them knowing where we are. Now shut up and sit tight. I’ll have us there before—”
“The bushes!” Flame yelled.
“I see them.” Breeze swerved to the left. “Isn’t this fun?”
“No,” True grumbled, “it’s not.”
“Spoilsport.” Breeze chuckled. “And yes, I see the lake.” She turned the wheel. “We’re not going for a swim.”
Jeanie closed her eyes and turned into True, grateful she couldn’t see anything out in the darkness. The speeding Jeep bumped and swayed over the uneven terrain, the wind cold against her skin, but she felt safe despite it all.
“Hang on. We’re leaving grass for road,” Breeze warned.
“Remind me to drive next time,” Jinx grumbled. “Slow down!”
“Did you lose your yarn balls, kitten?” Breeze laughed. “This is fun!”
The sensation of being airborne only lasted a second or two before the wheels landed on unforgiving pavement again. True cushioned her as they were thrown up into the air a little before slamming back against the seat. He snarled.
“Damn it, Breeze. My mate doesn’t need to be frightened even more.”
“You’re not worried about being shot, are you, Jeanie?”
“Definitely not,” she agreed, more concerned they’d be involved in a car accident.
“See?” Breeze laughed. “I knew this would distract her. Okay, braking. Brace!”
True snarled again and his body tensed. The wheels squealed in protest as the Jeep came to a too-sudden stop.
“Safe and sound.” Breeze turned off the engine.
Jeanie opened her eyes when she lifted her face away from True’s chest and glanced around. They were in a well-lit area, parked near the curb in front of a single-story building. Two New Species in uniform stood with weapons drawn but holstered them and frowned.
“You’re a menace, Breeze,” one of them accused.
“Love you, too, toga boy.”
He snarled. “I told you to stop calling me that!”
“Be nice or I’m going to go say hello to your mate. I missed Beauty while you guys were at Reservation. I’m sure I could find a flag somewhere on the way and tell her how romantic it is to relive memorable moments by reenacting them and how capturing it on camera is really awesome.”
“You wouldn’t dare. I’m not posing for pictures.”
Breeze climbed out of the vehicle and snorted. “You’ll do it if your mate asks. Remember that, toga boy.”
True lifted Jeanie out of the Jeep and placed her on her feet. She glanced up at him. “What are they talking about?”
“I don’t want to know and you don’t either,” he answered. He clasped her hand. “Let’s go inside before they start fighting.”
She glanced at the tall Species woman facing off against the taller Species man as True led her toward the building. “Maybe we should stick around to make sure this doesn’t escalate into violence. He looks kind of mean.”
True chuckled. “They are like siblings. Besides, Breeze can handle any male in a fight and it would be for play. Feel sympathy for Shadow. She never makes threats unless she’s willing to follow through.”
Jeanie stared wide-eyed as another New Species used his card to swipe a reader and punched in numbers to open a steel door. She was amazed at the amount of security they used. The interior was a large room with a bunch of computers. Three more New Species worked inside, one of them Luna. She stood and grinned, waving them over to her station.
“I’m all ready for you to look at the records, Jeanie. These are the employee files for Homeland and all have pictures. Have a seat.”
Jeanie released True and sat. Luna leaned over her and typed in commands on the keyboard.
“Thank you.”
“I removed all female humans. Just click the arrow button to go to the next record. I’m sorry but there are a lot of them. Homeland was totally run by humans and built by them so there are quite a few males for you to look at. It’s going to take some time.” Luna smiled encouragingly. “I’m going to be right over there.” She pointed to another desk before indicating that True should take a seat next to Jeanie. “That’s for you. I knew you’d want to stay by her side.”
True sat and scooted closer. “I hope we find the bastards.”
“Me too.”
Jinx and the other New Species males who’d come with them hovered near the back of the room. Jeanie turned her full attention to the screen to stare at the first employee file. It had the person’s name, job title, a photo, and a lot of other information with click-on options. She studied the face and hit the arrow button. He wasn’t Agent Brice or the blond man who’d come after her in True’s apartment. She had to remember that their hair colors could have been changed and keep in mind that they might look different in these photos. She carefully studied each face.
Jinx brought Jeanie a cup of coffee at some point. She gave him a smile of thanks and sipped it. True quietly remained next to her. He reached over from time to time to rub her back. She appreciated the fact that he was there to give her moral support. The files were in the hundreds. Jeanie was tired of looking at so many faces almost an hour into the process but she kept going. The next file appeared when she hit the arrow and the face on the screen made her gasp as she stared at it.
True leaned in. “What is it?”
“It’s him.” Jeanie stared at the photo and her gaze slid to his name. Jerry Boris. “It’s him!” Her voice rose. “That’s Agent Brice!”
Movement in her peripheral vision caused her to tear her gaze from the monitor. Every New Species in the room converged on her location. True reached over and gripped her thigh, squeezing it.
“That’s Director Jerry Boris. He was in charge of Homeland when it opened,” one of the New Species growled.
“Oh man,” Jinx said, “are you sure, Flame?”
The redheaded New Species grimly nodded while pulling his cell phone from a pocket of his uniform. “I’m calling Justice and the Council. They wanted to be informed if the male was found.” Flame stared at Jeanie. “You’re absolutely sure he is the one?”
“Positive. I’m one-hundred-percent certain. That is the man who told me his name was Agent Terry Brice. He’s been meeting with me every other week since the beginning. There’s no doubt.”
Flame cursed and spun away as he dialed. He walked into a room off the main office and kicked the door closed. Jeanie stared at the employee file on the screen and soaked in the information. It had him flagged as a current employee. She frowned.
“What is it?” True pressed against her side to get a better look at the screen.
“He still works for you guys.” She pointed to his current status.
Luna bent forward from the other side of Jeanie and grabbed hold of the mouse. She clicked on a link and it popped open another window. They all read the information.
“He is the warden at Fuller,” True snarled. “Damn it. No wonder they sent a team to kidnap you. That is how they got the paperwork and access to pull this off.”
Jeanie leaned back in the chair, feeling overwhelmed and baffled. “I don’t understand. If he runs Fuller, wouldn’t he be worried that I’d see him if they had succeeded in getting me there, that I’d recognize him?”
“I think that was the point,” True harshly ground out. “Humans die sometimes at Fuller.”
Jericho rumbled. “That is why they tried to get her to Fuller. The male must have been terrified she’d identify him when he heard she was going to look at all the files of the human employees. I remember him. He wasn’t a nice human. She’s the only witness who can link him to the crimes he’s committed.” His strange brown eyes with red hues fixed on her. “You are lucky their attempt failed.”
“He’d know all the security codes and he’d have been able to access our system when she contacted the NSO to report Drackwood,” Luna snarled. “The task force always gives Fuller a heads-up before we raid any facility in case we capture prisoners. They require prior notification in order to make certain they have extra staff on hand to process incoming prisoners.”
“Can you lock him out of our computer systems?” Jinx looked pissed.
Luna nodded. “It’s already been done. I locked down the system when we suspected it might be a task force member behind this. Right now you can only gain direct access to the computers from inside Control here at Homeland and from inside Control at Reservation. The codes have been restricted to New Species only.”
Flame opened the door and looked grim as he stepped back into the large room. His gaze sought True.
“Justice wants you both in his office in twenty minutes. He’s getting dressed. Your mate is in serious danger. Justice wants a larger security detail immediately assigned to her. I have SUVs coming to take us there. Warden Boris has already made one attempt at getting your mate, True. Justice is contacting Tim immediately to let the task force know what is going on and for backup support.” His focus slid to Luna. “Show her all current task force team members right now before we leave. We have to make sure the remaining male who tried to grab her isn’t one of Tim’s males.”
The control room door opened and Fury rushed in. He looked pissed. He wore sweatpants and a T-shirt and his hair was pulled back in a ponytail. “I was jogging and got the phone call.” His attention zeroed in on Jeanie. “You’re sure the male who claimed to be the agent you were working for is Jerry Boris?”
She nodded. “It’s him, without a doubt.”
Fury threw back his head and let out a howl.
Jeanie jerked in her seat, startled. The New Species seemed to be having a meltdown. The earsplitting sound died and his chin lowered. His face had transformed into one scary sight. True leapt to his feet, knocking over his chair in the process.
“Don’t scare my mate!”
Fury blinked a few times and actually flinched. “Sorry.” He looked at her. “My rage isn’t directed at you. I know this asshole. He made trouble for my mate and me when he ran Homeland after it opened. He fired my Ellie and sent her away from me out of spite for not following his orders. She was almost kidnapped by an enemy of the NSO. Then he tried to have her removed from my home as payback for not helping him delay Species’ taking control of Homeland. They removed him from his position and later gave him the prison to run. I didn’t mind because he wasn’t here any longer and I thought it fitting that our enemies who would have to deal with him.” He took a ragged breath. “I want to tear his head off.”
“Get in line,” True ground out. “I’m sure he wanted my mate taken to Fuller so he could murder her to keep her from identifying him.”
Flame cleared his throat. “Okay. We all agree Jerry Boris is a male who should die a painful death and he’s done evil things to both Species and mates. Justice wants to see us in about fifteen minutes and Jeanie still needs to view the faces of the task force team before we allow them to come help protect her. We have to make certain one of them isn’t going to betray our trust.” He paused. “Luna, get on it. Time is ticking.”
“I’m on it.” She bent over, tapping in commands into the computer.
Jeanie turned in her seat and reached back, rubbing True’s leg where he stood behind her. One glance assured her that he wasn’t in the mood to sit back down. In less than a minute Luna had opened up a page of thumbnail photos of the task force members.
“Sorry but these are newer ones with an upgraded system. Just click on each one and it will pull it up. Hit the escape key and they will close. Go line by line so you don’t miss any faces.”
Jeanie went to work. There were only a few dozen files and she was happy to report that the jerk who’d drugged her wasn’t among the task force team members. True and the other New Species seemed relieved at the news. She was too since she knew True was friends with some of them. She figured she’d caused him enough hardship without adding the loss of a friend.
True stayed at her side when they left the control center. More New Species had gathered outside and she felt a little overwhelmed by the sheer force of them protecting her as they used SUVs to drive a short distance to another building. It was lit up inside, as if every room was being used.
* * * * *
Tim Oberto met them just inside. “We’re using the conference room.” He pointed. “Justice’s office won’t accommodate everyone.” He glanced around at the Species. “My men will be here in about five minutes but I’ll have them wait outside.”
True glared at the human. “Good. I don’t trust them around my mate.” He realized he was being unreasonable—Jeanie had cleared all the members—but he wasn’t about let it go any time soon that she could have been murdered.
“Damn it,” Tim muttered but didn’t say more.
True kept Jeanie within the circle of his arm, alert to her emotions since over twenty Species males surrounded them by the time they entered the large room. Justice, Fury, Slade, Jaded and Bestial took seats on the tabletops instead of in the chairs. Luna had come as well and she hovered on Jeanie’s other side. He was grateful for the female’s presence. Breeze also joined them, covering Jeanie’s back. Pride filled his soul because he knew they were protective of his mate.
Justice grimly stared at him. “She identified Jerry Boris?”
“I did,” Jeanie spoke before True could. He glanced down at her, seeing the firm set of her chin. No fear showed on her delicate features. It made him proud. “That’s the same guy who pretended to be Agent Terry Brice.”
“Son of a bitch,” Tim snapped. “I should have seen it.”
“Explain,” Slade demanded.
“Jerry, Terry. Boris, Brice. He kept the names close enough so he’d always respond if anyone spoke his name. It’s standard operating undercover technique to keep the name close so there’s less confusion. The first names rhyme so it would grab his attention. He damn near got his hands on her.” Tim refused to take a seat. “That spineless bastard has more guts than I ever gave him credit for, to pull this off.”
Breeze snorted. “Damn near? His men did get their hands on her. He just didn’t get her to Fuller and kill her. If we hadn’t prevented her from being taken do you think she would have survived for long?”
“No.” Tim shook his head. “He probably wanted her alive to discover what she’d told us so far and for no other reason.” He shifted his position enough to stare at Jeanie. “I’m sorry, Ms. Shiver. I really am. You must think I’m the biggest asshole in the world and I don’t blame you. You have to understand that Jerry Boris set you up in a way that left you looking guilty as hell. He was in a position to do it and nothing you said made a lick of sense. I’m sure he fed you everything to make it appear that way. I can’t apologize enough but please know I mean it.”
“She doesn’t accept your apology,” True snarled.
Jeanie glanced at him but must have read his anger. He didn’t feel she should accept an apology after all the suffering she’d experienced. He was grateful she didn’t argue with him when she remained silent. His mate was too tenderhearted but it would make his decision to stop working for the task force easy. He belonged at Homeland full-time and seeing Tim’s face would always stir bad memories and just plain piss him off.
Tiger walked in. “I got the information.” He glanced around, directing his gaze at Justice. “Warden Boris is indeed at a conference in Washington, DC. It was mandatory for all high-ranking human staff who have any dealings with the NSO. Senator Hills holds one every six months to make certain we’re getting full cooperation from them. Boris has been there for two days but we learned he changed his flight plans. His original return flight was booked for the day after tomorrow but he told them there was a family emergency.”
“He doesn’t have family that I am aware of,” Tim grumbled. “Lying bastard. He had a wife but she died a long time ago.”
“The first flight back here leaves at six a.m. his time. That’s three our time,” Tiger finished. “He’s booked on it. His new flight schedule allows him time to reach Fuller before the second-shift transfer.”
“I want him arrested right now. Do you know what hotel he’s at?” Tim yanked out his cell phone. “I’ll have him picked up there. Someone from Fuller might have called him to give him a heads-up. The jerk could attempt to run. I have some trusted friends in DC who will make the arrest. I’m not leaving this up to random cops.”
Jeanie tensed, drawing True’s attention. “You can’t do that,” she protested.
“Why?” True didn’t like that response. “You’ll be safer if they arrest him now instead of waiting until he reaches California.”
Her pretty brown eyes peered up at him and he could see her distress. “What if there are others out there like me?”
“What do you mean?” Justice didn’t sound any happier than he felt.
Jeanie pulled her gaze from his to stare at the feline male. “Mr. North, he lied to me and got me to work undercover. There could be other people who are in the same situation I was in.” She leaned against True. “Don’t you understand? He used me and he could be using other people.”
“We’ll have Darkness force him to tell us if he knows of any other locations.” True was certain the male could do it.
Jeanie chewed on her bottom lip.
“What is it, mate?” True knew she wanted to say more but didn’t. “Don’t hold back.”
She glanced up at him, then at Justice. “Do you really think he’s going to be honest about it if he’s using someone else the way he did me? Or admit to knowing where other New Species are being held?”
“Darkness can be very persuasive,” Justice assured her.
“Are you willing to make a deal with him that will allow him to go free? I know what Polanitis wanted. They were discussing it at Medical while I was there and I heard some of it. A million dollars and to be sent to a country without extradition. Who is to say Brice won’t demand the same? I really don’t want that bastard set free and he could do the whole ransom thing again if he doesn’t give up everything he knows.”
Justice glanced at True, confused.
“You were outside. That’s what he asked for. Darkness wasn’t pleased.”
Justice nodded and gave Jeanie a soft look. “We don’t make deals. We break bones to make them talk.”
“And the warden of Fuller Prison would know that’s how you operate, right?” Jeanie pushed away and True eased his hold to allow her to stand on her own since she seemed to want to.
“He runs the prison he’s going to be living in. It’s…hell, right? He knows that better than anyone. I’ve spent time with Brice—Boris—whatever his name is, and trust me, he had me totally fooled. I don’t think he’ll tell you everything he knows. I think he’ll do anything to save his own ass and that means leaving people like me and those poor New Species in whatever hellish place they are in. Brice wanted to make sure I couldn’t testify against him. The last thing he’ll want is more people pointing the finger at him or more crimes added to the list if there are other locations he knows about. He might keep quiet just out of spite to get even for being locked up.” She looked up at True. “He’ll have nothing to lose since he knows it’s all over once he’s arrested. But he can get revenge by holding back what he knows.”
“Darkness can be persuasive,” Fury stated. “I wouldn’t mind spending some time in interrogation with him as well.”
Jeanie sighed. “He doesn’t know we know who he really he is, right? I’m not supposed to have viewed those files yet. What if we made him think I got sick from the drug or something to delay that? It would give you time to track where he’s been and hopefully learn more before he’s aware that he’s been identified. You can tap his phones. He’s got to be freaked out and he might try to cover his tracks.”
“Jeanie,” True rasped. “He’s too dangerous to allow him to run free. He could flee the country.”
She turned to face him. “What if he resists arrest or something? What if he’s shot and killed? This is a guy who doesn’t have a heart. He couldn’t to be able to do all the shitty things he’s done. He won’t feel an ounce of pity or regret for lives lost. What if there are others who are praying every day for someone to come in and rescue them?”
“You want us to put him under surveillance?” Tim moved closer.
Jeanie turned her head, focusing on him. “Yes.”
“He needs to be taken into custody.” True scowled. “He’s a danger to you.”
“Wait a minute,” Tim appeared to be considering the idea. “She might be onto something.” He tapped his cell phone against his other palm. “We could bug his house, his car, search it, too, without him being aware we were ever there. We could find out if he’s got burner phones stashed. We know he’s out of town.” He grew silent but the wheels of his mind were still spinning from the intense look of concentration on his face. “Yeah. I like this idea better.” He glanced at Jeanie. “I just decided I really like you.”
“Tim, I don—”
“It’s a great plan,” Tim said, cutting Fury off. “I agree that he’s a dickhead and vindictive. We can get inside his home and ghost any communication devices we find. Anything he does, we’ll know about. He wouldn’t have taken that shit with him to DC. The security there is outrageous and he’d have gone through scans at the airports. I know they only take carryon luggage. It’s standard procedure. He’d have left any burner phones at home because the security detail assigned to them is from Senator Hills’ office. He’d have worried about them noticing two phones on him and they do room checks often to make sure no one got in while they were at meetings. That includes checking his bags for tampering.”
Jeanie beamed, happy. True wasn’t. He wanted the human locked up where he couldn’t do her any harm.
Tim wasn’t done. “We can plant devices in his computers at work and at his house. I can call in a favor at the airport. The head of security over there was one of my boys from the service. I’m sure that bastard Boris has a laptop he took with him and it will be easy to tag with a ghost program. The airport scanner it has to run through could have an issue so it delays him long enough for one of my tech guys to grab his case and gain access to his computer. He’ll just think it’s stuck in the machine until they supposedly get it fixed. Anything he does on it will be transmitted to us. We can see every damn stroke he makes on the keyboard and see what he sees. We can gain access to any of his passwords and email accounts we don’t know about. It will also give us more time to look into what he’s been up to. The safer he feels, the more he’s likely to fuck up. Ms. Shiver has a point. He’s going to want to cover his tracks and probably set up new protocols to deal with anyone he’s working with currently, in case of his arrest. Otherwise he’ll fear they’ll contact the NSO directly if they don’t hear from him when they normally do.”
“We aren’t even sure if there are other humans he’s deceived or other locations Species are being kept,” Flame stated. “We do know he is a direct threat to True’s mate.”
“Exactly,” True agreed.
“He’s gotten money from us twice by using her to verify where New Species are being held and my team is still searching for other transactions he could have been behind.” Tim frowned at True. “Her idea is better than just grabbing him. I have a lot of faith in Darkness but hell, this guy has nothing to lose. He doesn’t have family to use against him. We can keep her safe. I’d also like a chance at seeing where he stashes his cash so we can get it back. He’ll create an escape plan and that means accessing that money.”
“She shouldn’t be in danger at all,” True growled, not liking the idea.
“Please?” Jeanie turned in his arms and peered up at him.
He looked down at her and knew he would give in. It was the sight of her unshed tears, something that affected him strongly. “I just want you safe.”
“I know. I want that too but I also want to make sure there aren’t people out there who could be saved. I’d rather be at risk for a bit longer than always have to wonder if safeguarding me cost lives.”
True bit back a snarl and lifted his head, staring over the top of hers at Tim. “Do it.” He glanced at Justice. “We need a better plan to keep her safe than just more officers. I want her taken to a new location where it’s more secure and he has no chance of discovering where she is. Perhaps Reservation in the middle of the Wild Zone.”
Justice slid off the edge of the table to stand. “Tiger? What is your suggestion?”
The feline male frowned, giving it some thought. “The house next to yours is empty. Director Boris obviously had more access to our computers than we knew about and may have kept tabs on what we’ve done since we took over Homeland. He’ll suspect we’ll transfer the couple to Reservation since it’s what we’ve done in the past. I think we should keep them here.”
“Agreed,” Fury sighed. “I don’t like that asshole running free either.” He held True’s gaze. “But your female has made valid points and so has Tim. We can keep her safe and give Boris enough room to hang himself at the same time.” He smirked at Tim. “Is that the right saying? Hang himself?”
“Yeah.” Tim grinned. “That’s what we’re hoping he’ll do. I’ll have my teams on it ASAP. I want to borrow a couple of your guys with good noses when we enter his house. They might find things we can’t on visual inspections. We have to make damn sure we’re super careful so he doesn’t suspect we’ve been there and that means barely touching anything.”
“Done.” Tiger pointed to the door. “Let’s gather your males together and work out assignments, Tim.” He glanced at Slade. “You can handle getting the couple safe and settled.”
“No problem.” Slade grinned as he glanced at Fury. “Enjoy the drive. I know you’re going with the team to Boris’ house.”
The canine chuckled. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
True blew out a frustrated breath and pulled Jeanie back into his embrace, hugging her to his body. It seemed everyone was on board with the plan but him. He just wanted to keep her safe.
“I want detailed updates,” he demanded. It wasn’t a request.
Justice lifted an eyebrow but then nodded. “I understand. I would too if it were Jessie. Keep him apprised of everything, Slade.”
“Done.” The male stood. “Let’s get you both settled in a new home.”
The doors opened again and Jinx sauntered into the conference room, smiling. True hadn’t noticed the male had been absent from the meeting until that moment. He stepped around a few Species until he paused before them and the arm behind his back moved. He held out a manila folder with a pen clipped to it.
