Текст книги "True"
Автор книги: Laurann Dohner
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Chapter Two
Tim Oberto shot his team an infuriated look. “You damn near allowed her to die.”
Trey Roberts, his second-in-command, cleared his throat. “Sir, how was the team supposed to know it would upset a rescued female that much? The woman in question was an employee. How many New Species have been murdered at their hands? I’m sorry the New Species female was that distressed but employees of those hellholes aren’t our priority. We immediately got that woman medical help once the situation exploded. She’s going to make it.”
“She almost didn’t!” Tim yelled. “I know it’s your job to stand up for the teams but we both know they fucked up. Justice is going to be up my ass because we upset one of their females. She attacked one of our men, trying to defend that employee. Did she ask for help for the injured woman, or not, before she threw him into a wall to get his boot off the employee’s ass?”
“She did,” a team member admitted. “But hell, the bitch had a gun when we reached that floor. She sat there facing us with a weapon and it’s lucky we didn’t just open fire and blow her head off. I would have taken the shot if she’d been a man.”
The doors opened and Tim flinched as Justice North and a dozen large New Species males stomped into the room. Tim recognized how angry Justice was by the narrowing of his catlike eyes and the fact that his lips were parted enough to reveal his sharp canines. Tim waited as Justice stalked closer.
“What is your directive?” Justice snarled.
Tim straightened his shoulders and met Justice North’s heated stare. “To assist in the rescue of all New Species.”
Justice nodded. “You’re our team. The government assigned you to assist us but you answer to the NSO first and foremost, Tim,” Justice growled. “That means all New Species. When a female Species demanded medical attention for a human, she should have been given what she wanted. First contact is very important. She thinks your team is just as bad as the humans who kept her captive. Is it true the human had already been shot when your men roughed her up and handcuffed her, almost allowing her to bleed out on the floor?”
Tim flinched as his gaze shifted to Trey. “Is it?”
Trey sighed, addressing Justice. “I was a floor above them but I have spoken to that team leader. It appears so, sir. She was suffering from a gunshot wound and holding a weapon in her lap. Two security guards were dead on the floor next to her. The team assumed they’d turned on each other to prevent us from gaining any information if they were arrested.”
“The Species female,” Justice snarled, “said the human was beaten by the team. She swears the human’s face was bleeding and bruised only after they arrived. Is that true? Did someone hit the human?”
Trey cleared his throat. “I questioned them about everything that happened. One of the men smacked her with the butt of his assault rifle to knock her down. Her face got bruised then or from when they secured her on the floor.”
Another growl sounded and one of the New Species males stepped forward. True was a big son of a bitch—six foot six, wide shouldered and broad chested. His dense biceps stretched the black shirt sleeves to their limit. Shiny blond hair fell to his shoulders and his dark-brown eyes narrowed with anger as they fixed on Trey. Tim tensed, hoping a fight wouldn’t break out since he was aware that particular New Species, whom they’d rescued on a previous mission, was still learning to control his temper. The day had already been a total clusterfuck and he didn’t want it to worsen.
“She’s a small human who was already bleeding. There was no cause for your team to rough her up or use handcuffs. A small child could have dealt with her in that condition. She was helpless.”
“I wouldn’t have done it but I wasn’t there to control the situation,” Trey muttered. “I did bust their asses.”
Tim inched closer to get between them. Those were his teams so it was his mess. “I understand you’re upset, True.”
“Upset?” True snarled. “No one should abuse a female—human or Species. This is why I protest being forced to stay in the rear when the team enters a situation. I wouldn’t have allowed that to happen but she was already down when the team allowed me out of the elevator. I didn’t realize she was injured. The stench from the blood of the dead guards and the explosives used to open the doors masked her scent.”
One of Tim’s men snorted. “She works for Mercile or whatever company name they are using now. Who cares? How many of your kind has she helped kill? No disrespect, sir.”
True snapped his head in the direction of Chris, the team member who’d spoken. “We don’t abuse females. I don’t care if they work for our enemy. She’s a helpless creature.”
“She works for a company that is an offshoot from Mercile,” Tim reminded everyone, sending Chris a dirty look to silence the idiot. The guy was new, had a bad attitude, but he’d deal with him later. He focused on the New Species again. “Her welfare wasn’t our priority. That would be saving New Species. I’m sorry your female got upset, Justice. The truth remains the same, though. The woman your female was upset about wasn’t some innocent victim we attacked. She worked for Cornas, which we all know is Mercile with a new name, and she’s as guilty as hell under New Species law. The badge clipped to her coat had her name and picture on it. Not to mention, she was found only feet from the doors where your people were caged, on the same floor where over a dozen of your kind were being held. That woman is either going to spend the rest of her life in prison or she’s going to get the death penalty. They will decide her fate at Fuller, once she’s transferred there.”
True growled. “She won’t be killed by us.”
Justice calmed. “We don’t condone anyone killing females, Tim, though sometimes it can’t be avoided when they are among the crueler doctors whom we’re certain killed our kind or if we had no choice because they opened fire on us. Our female said the human saved her from a rape last month and again from a guard putting a bullet into her right before the task force rescued them. Someone disabled the locks on those cell doors by frying the circuits with a stun gun. She had one of those in her pocket when they stripped her bare in Medical and our female said the human claimed she was disabling the locks to keep them safe. None of our people died because those guards couldn’t gain access into their cells.”
True nodded. “We discovered bullet scars on some of the doors. The idiots built those rooms to keep our kind prisoner but they made them break-in proof as well. The guards would have gone in to shoot our people dead if those locks hadn’t been destroyed. Whoever disabled them saved lives.”
Tim ignored the throbbing at his temple, a sign of an oncoming monster headache. His team had made a few mistakes but they were somewhat justified. “Someone poured coffee into their mainframe computer. We pulled the woman’s prints off the coffeepot handle inside the computer room. Why did she do that if she’s so saintly? The data couldn’t be restored. It fried the damn thing. She covered Mercile’s ass when she did that. There are no records, no real proof that the testing facility belonged to them. They leased the building under a shell company and we are hitting a dead end on tracing the money that funded it. Those files were our only hope of cementing proof directly back to Mercile.”
Justice frowned. “I don’t know why she did it.” He turned and stared at the team’s medic. “What is the human’s current condition?”
“I just spoke to the older Dr. Harris. She’ll live. It was touch and go for a while but they stopped the bleeding. I heard she was given blood and New Species healing drugs. The injuries caused to her face aren’t life threatening. She’s bruised up but it’s mostly just painful.”
Justice faced Tim. “Interrogate her but do it with respect. She obviously saved some of our people. Keep that in mind. Find out why she did all of it and what she was protecting Mercile from on those computers. Offer her a deal if that’s what it takes to get more proof against those bastards for this one.”
True moved closer. “I want to be there.”
Justice studied him. “Why?”
“She worked in New Mexico last year.”
Justice appeared surprised by that news. “You knew her?”
True nodded. “She was kind.”
Justice frowned. “Were there experiments between the two of you?”
“No.” True scowled. “I’ve never mounted her if that’s what you’re asking.”
Justice seemed to accept that. “How was she kind?”
“She didn’t treat us as if we were animals. She sneaked in candy and pain medication to our injured. She seemed to care about us.”
Justice cocked his head, the frown returning. “You cared about her?”
“I never attempted to attack her when I could have but I then learned she was working with the doctors on a drug development.”
“How did you learn that?”
True hesitated. “Polanitis believed I cared about her since she’d shown kindness and tried to secure my agreement to willingly mount her, promising it would mean she’d survive. He informed me they were working on a new breeding drug.”
“Shit,” Tiger cursed. “You probably would have killed her if you had agreed.”
“You said you didn’t mount her? There’s no shame in admitting it if you did.” Justice studied him. He didn’t seem angry, more curious than anything.
“No. I told Polanitis I’d kill her if she was sent to my cell. I never mounted that female. He wanted my word to stop attacking the guards after that and to comply with the doctors in charge of testing another drug on me by answering their questions. It was something they were working on to improve intelligence or memory.” He shifted his stance, appearing uncomfortable. “I didn’t agree to his terms until he threatened to have the guards rape a Species female in front of me to get my compliance.” His voice deepened into a snarl. “I agreed to protect her from harm. I didn’t inflict injury on humans when I could have but I wasn’t meek either.”
“Why did he believe you would be able to fuck that woman while drugged and not kill her?” Tim was curious too.
True glanced at him, his cheeks a little red. “I had a fondness for her but that changed once I realized she’d probably been nice to gain my trust. I believe he thought I might fight my instincts while drugged. I never saw her again after Polanitis’ visit or I might have done some harm in retaliation of her deception.” His jaw clenched. “I wouldn’t have killed Shiver though. It was just a threat I made to keep her out of my cell. She didn’t deserve to die. She might have been kind just to trick me but she did help some of our people at Drackwood.”
Justice curled his lip in disgust. “I really hate that son of a bitch, Polanitis. I remember him from last year.”
“Polanitis offered up human females for mounting to reward Species for good behavior?” Brass growled. “I never heard about that before now.”
Justice motioned the other Species to silence. “Did he offer other human females to you?”
“No,” True snarled. “I’ve never mounted that human or any other, for that matter.”
Justice nodded. “You may be at the interrogation of this female since you once knew her. It might be an advantage.” He turned to Tim. “True is in charge. He’s to take over if he thinks it’s too intense.”
Tim wasn’t happy but those were orders, not a request. “Fine. When should we start?”
Justice hesitated. “We’ll keep her drugged until she’s better and only wake her when she’s strong enough to withstand interrogation.”
“Sounds good.” Tim hated to wait that long but Justice had spoken. It would be a waste of his breath to argue.
* * * * *
True entered Medical and walked down the hallway to the patient rooms. The Species male guarding the door glanced up at him from where he sat before dropping his gaze to reading an ebook on his electronic device. “No change,” he muttered.
“Thanks, Jericho.”
The male grunted.
True stopped next to the bed and his hands fisted as he studied the dark bruise and cut on the female’s cheek. It was healing, the yellowish color appearing better than when it had been a bloody, fresh wound. Her skin was too pale for his liking. He glanced at the monitor, seeing that her heartbeat was steady. She’d survive but it had been close.
Footsteps sounded behind him and he turned, forcing himself to relax into a more approachable stance. Paul smiled when he entered the room and rounded the bed with a new bag of fluids.
“She’s doing great, True. I was really worried when Dr. Harris pumped her full of your healing drug but she took it like a champ. I was sure it would kill her.”
“Why was she given them if it was dangerous?”
The male switched out the bags, checked the tube that ran to her arm and held his stare. “Man, I’m shocked she was still alive when they brought her in. She should have been taken to the closest trauma center but for some reason the task force team decided to fly her here instead. The fact that their medic kept her breathing that long was lucky as shit. Giving her the drug was the only thing Harris could think to do. It speeds up the healing process and she was a mess. It boiled down to having nothing to lose since she was so critical.”
The male checked her arm where the needle had been inserted. “It’s a good thing she’s got a sound heart. That shit is way strong for humans. I doubt he would have risked it if she’d been older. It’s like shooting massive amounts of straight adrenaline into us.”
That unsettled True. He hadn’t been allowed to travel in the helicopter with Shiver when they’d airlifted her. He’d been assigned to handle the newly freed Species. Protocol dictated he stay with them during their transfer to Reservation. He’d taken a helicopter to Homeland as soon as he’d made sure they were settled. It had been hellish hours until he’d discovered if the female was alive. His attention returned to her. Shiver appeared very frail and small on the big hospital bed designed for use by his kind.
“Harris is keeping her so drugged that she isn’t going to wake up if that’s what you were hoping for. It’s better to keep her knocked out since we have no idea how she’ll react emotionally when she comes around. As I said, this shit is hard on humans. We want to keep her heart rate as slow as possible so heavy sedation helps with that.”
“How can she eat?” He clenched his teeth. She was already too small.
“No worries there. We’ll make sure she gets what she needs to get well. Food is not the most important thing for her right now. She’s been through the wringer.” He stepped away from the bed. “Is the rumor true that she’ll be transferred to Fuller when she’s stable?”
The idea didn’t sit well with him. “I’m not certain.”
“I just hope they have a good medical staff.” Paul circled the bed and lifted the sheet. He removed the bandage, revealing her wound.
True bit back a growl at seeing her pale stomach and the angry red wound on her side. There were ugly bruises on each of her hipbones. The gown shielded her from her ribs up but if the nurse tugged the sheet any lower her sex would be exposed since it was obvious she was naked from the waist down. The protective urge that struck was strong, goading him to shove the nurse away, but he resisted. Her modesty was covered. He’d put a stop to it though if the nurse dared lower that sheet another few inches.
“I will apply a fresh bandage but Harris is really curious as to how the drug will work on us. He needs to see this first. Damn. That shit is amazing. Look at that.” Paul pointed to the staples. “I think I can remove those. The skin seems to have already fused. It’s only been about twelve hours but you’d swear this happened at least a couple of weeks ago, judging by how rapidly it’s healing. I think the drug is working faster on her than it does on you guys. I’m going to call in Harris. He might want to lower the dose. This is so exciting to be able to finally test it on humans at full dosage. Nobody wanted to do that before.”
True covered her stomach with the sheet after the nurse laid gauze over her incision and left the room to seek out the doctor. It angered him that they were viewing Shiver as an experiment. He hesitated, straining for any sound of approaching steps, before carefully taking her delicate hand in his. It was totally lifeless but warm. He was gentle as he caressed her fingers, memories of finding her bloody and dying on the floor prevalent in his thoughts.
There had been times since he’d gained his freedom when he’d considered how he’d react when Tech Shiver was located and arrested. The sense of betrayal he’d once felt had remained. She might not have been his female but her reasons for being kind to him had been suspicious after learning she worked closely with Polanitis. Had it all been an act to get him to care about her so she could be safely mounted by a Species? He wanted answers.
He placed her hand back on the bed and stepped away. The anger he had thought he’d feel at seeing her again didn’t surface. It would have been easy to pretend he just wanted to question her if she survived but he prided himself on being brutally honest. True just wanted her to open her eyes and be well. He’d cared about Shiver too much and her death would cause him pain.
She probably would be sent to Fuller Prison. There was no denying that she worked for the enemy. The humans who ran the place would put her in a cage and justice would be served. She would learn confinement, hopelessness of ever gaining freedom, and suffer for her crimes against Species.
A memory from the past formed inside his mind…
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Shiver stepped inside his cell with a smile on her heart-shaped face, glanced at the camera before coming inside, schooling her features. The kit in her hand indicated why she’d come. They took many vials of blood after forcing drugs into his body.
“Hi,” she whispered. “I’m sorry about this.” Shiver placed the kit on the table and his chains activated, pulling him tight against the wall. She wasn’t the one to do it so that meant a guard outside the door watched their movements. “I’ll make it quick.”
She donned gloves as she uncapped a needle and inched closer with the syringe. A small alcohol packet was held between her fingers as she invaded his space. Her head didn’t even reach the top of his shoulder when she stopped mere inches away. She used her teeth to rip the tip off one finger of the glove, then also tore open the packet and swabbed his arm near his inner elbow. She lifted her head and studied his face, paying careful attention to his jaw.
“I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”
She referred to the bruising there. He didn’t answer, rarely did.
Her warm fingers gripped his arm so gently he almost missed the soft way she stroked his skin with that single bare fingertip. She had told him once that tearing away the latex made it easier to feel his veins but they were very prominent. Sometimes he pretended it might be possible that she just wanted to be able to touch him, skin to skin. Her body blocked the camera so he was the only one aware of her actions. The needle was inserted into his arm so carefully that he barely felt it. Others just stabbed him roughly, seeming to enjoy inflicting pain.
“I brought you pain pills. They are safe to take,” she whispered. She released his arm and reached down the front of her shirt. He couldn’t look away as the neck of it dipped lower to reveal her creamy, white skin and the top curve of her breasts as she removed something hidden there. She reached down and slid a small plastic packet against his palm. He closed his fingers around the object.
She withdrew the needle and capped it, shoving it inside her front pocket. She pressed a small gauze square to the puncture site. Shiver glanced up then, holding his gaze.
“Those pills are mine—from a dental appointment. I smuggled them in. Just take one at a time with some water, two if you are really sore. They’ll help take away some of the discomfort.” Her gaze drifted to his swollen jaw again then to his bruised ribs. Tears surfaced in her eyes but she blinked them back. “Don’t give up, 710. I promise this won’t last forever. Just keep calm and don’t cause fights.”
Her meaning was confusing. He always healed. The pain would fade until the guards inflicted more damage. Nothing in his life changed, especially the suffering the guards routinely inflicted upon him. He glanced down his body to study his chest, certain he’d experienced worse bruising than the dark ones now marring his skin. She shouldn’t be alarmed enough by their appearance to worry that he’d do something that would provoke a deadly response from the guards while he was helplessly chained. His life wasn’t a happy existence but he would only attack if he had a chance of winning a fight.
Realization dawned that she stood too close to his body. He could strike out and cause damage. His muscles tensed while he mentally reviewed her weaknesses. One downward arc and he could shatter her nose with his chin or cause facial injuries. She was even near enough to bite. Her tender flesh was vulnerable. He resisted, unable to hurt Shiver. He didn’t want to spill her blood or hear her screams. It made his chest ache, imagining seeing terror in her gaze when she looked at him instead of the warmth he always glimpsed.
She backed away and he watched her safely leave with her kit. The chains loosened and he limped to the sink. The camera remained at his back when he studied the white pills inside the tiny clear bag. He removed two, hesitated before shoving them into his mouth. He bent and sipped water from the sink to wash them down.
It was a risk to take her drugs but he trusted Shiver for some unknown reason. He hid the bag in his fist, making his way to the sleeping mat. He lay down, curling onto his side. He shoved the bag under the mat where it would remain hidden since they never moved it. Everything hurt but as time passed the pain eased. She hadn’t lied to him. Why did she care if he suffered? Why had she risked giving him her pills? He was sure the guards hadn’t known about it. She’d been careful to keep the exchange hidden.
He’d once witnessed firsthand that she wasn’t on friendly terms with the guards. It had been that time they’d purposely kept him chained to the wall for days while beating him for injuring one of them in self-defense. He hung there, helpless to retaliate.
She’d entered his room, seen his condition and yelled at the guard near the door to get a doctor. When he refused, she’d shoved the male and yanked the radio from his belt, demanding one come to the cell. The guard had pushed her roughly into the hallway before the door closed. A doctor had come and—
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“You have to see this.” Paul’s voice tore True from his memories as the nurse returned with the doctor.
True turned to glance at both males. He should leave but he wanted to hear what Harris had to say. The doctor approached the bed, drew back the sheet and lifted the gauze pad.
“Wow. At this rate she should be fully healed within a few days. It’s a real breakthrough we can use to our advantage.”
“That’s what I was saying.” Paul grinned. “Do you know what this means?”
“We keep a lid on it,” Dr. Harris snapped, shooting a glare at Paul. “Mercile created it and any hint that they came up with a miracle drug would have them ranting about how what they did to New Species was beneficial to mankind. That isn’t happening.”
“They destroyed their records to hide evidence of what they’d done to New Species. Won’t this drug formula be lost to them? They can’t claim ownership if they don’t have proof it was created in their labs. We didn’t exactly share the information that we recovered the formula from those bastards.”
“Who knows what backup files they hid? I’m not willing to risk it. I’ll send some samples to a trusted friend at the FDA if this continues to go well. They can test it in human trials and take credit for its creation at that point. Nobody wins a fight with the FDA.”
“How is she?” True didn’t care about the drug, only her prognosis.
Harris pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and shrugged. “She’s doing great so far. She hasn’t stroked out or had a heart attack. I half expected one of those two scenarios to happen by now but it’s only been twelve hours. It’s a powerful drug.”
Alarm shot through him. “Stop giving it to her. She’s no longer in danger of dying, correct?”
Harris frowned. “This could help humans, True. We’ll learn a lot if we keep her on it.”
“Her life is more important than a test.”
“She works for Mercile.”
True growled, his temper flaring. “So?”
“I won’t lose any sleep over this test. They didn’t give a shit if they killed New Species. The least she can do is help us find out if it’s possible to fully heal on the same dosage of the drug that they used on you guys. It could be used on mates if they are injured.”
“Take her off the drug.”
“I’ll discuss it with Justice.” Harris shook his head, turning away. “I’m sure he’ll see it my way. It’s worth the risks.”
True lunged, blocking the doctor from exiting the room. “Take her off the drug.” He growled. “She isn’t a test subject. Her life isn’t yours to gamble with.”
“She belongs to the NSO now. I don’t know why you’re so upset about this. They used you for testing so who gives a damn if we turn the tables? Did Mercile ever ask your permission to inject you with drugs? She would be dead already if it wasn’t for what we’ve done so far.”
“We’re not them. Stop giving her the drug, Harris.” He clenched his fists, ready to strike the male if he refused.
“Calm down!”
“You could kill her.” He glared over the male’s head to the nurse. “One of you is going to comply or both of you are going to need medical assistance. You can test the drug on yourselves if you feel the risks are acceptable.”
“Fuck,” Paul muttered. “He means it, Dr. Harris. They are really protective of women.”
“You have no authority here,” Harris snapped.
True snarled, giving the man a cold stare. “Stop giving her the healing drug.”
“Do what he says,” Jericho rasped from behind him. “We don’t kill females. I wasn’t aware she no longer needed the drug to survive or the harm it could cause to her body if you continue to dose her.”
“Neither one of you has any medical knowledge,” Harris protested. “I’m not being mean, damn it. This could help human mates if they are hurt. I’d rather test it on her than someone we care about.”
“I care if she dies,” True rasped.
Jericho stopped next to him. “I have excellent hearing and heard the risks. They aren’t worth it.”
True gave the male a grateful look for backing him up before turning his head and growling at the doctor. “She belongs to the NSO now. You stated it. Do what we say. Stop giving her the drug.”
“You do work for us.” Jericho’s voice deepened. “That’s an order.”
“I’m on it.” Paul removed the bag he’d just hung. “I’ll go get plain saline. Let’s not fight. I don’t want to get my ass kicked,” he muttered. The nurse rushed around them and fled the room.
“I’m calling Justice.”
“You do that.” True wasn’t concerned with Harris’ threat. “Tell him it could have killed her. I’m sure he won’t be happy.”
The doctor stomped out of the room and True relaxed, looking at the primate male, Jericho. “Thank you.”
The other male shrugged. “My job is to protect and keep her safe. I fail if she dies.” He glanced at the bed. “I heard she once worked where you were held.”
“She did.”
“You want her to survive to experience the suffering you once lived with daily? Fuller is run by humans. She’ll learn to regret all she’s done.”
“She wasn’t like the other technicians.” He studied Shiver, resisting the urge to step closer.
“How so?”
True hesitated. “She wasn’t callous or cruel.”
“A polite technician?”
True shrugged. “She was different.”
“Different how?”
The questions began to annoy him but he owed the male a debt. He faced him, crossing his arms over his chest. “She brought me pain pills without the guards’ knowledge a few times after I suffered severe beatings. She also sneaked in candy, saying it was Christmas. I didn’t know what that meant at the time but I liked the sweetness of it. No one had ever given me a gift before.”
The male’s eyes widened, revealing more of the red in the irises. “What did she want in return?”
True looked at her. “She asked for nothing.”
“Odd. Mercile never did anything without a motive.”
“Yes.”
“She escaped when you were rescued?”
“She wasn’t there. I reviewed the statements taken from all employees that were captured. She’d called in sick that day.”
“That was unfortunate.”
“Not for her.” True couldn’t stay across the room anymore and dropped his arms to his sides, drawing closer to Shiver. “She remained free to work in another place our people were kept.”
“She was finally captured.”
And almost killed. He kept silent.
“I’ll return to the hall.” Jericho paused by the door. “You might want to hide your emotions better.”
He spun around. “What does that mean?”
The male cocked his head, staring back at him. “You should be filled with rage but that’s not what I see when you look at her. She’s little and pretty, despite the bruising. Don’t forget what she is and where she comes from. That’s not a female you should trust.” His lips curved into a smile. “You’d have to keep her in front of you at all times to be sure she doesn’t strike when your back is turned. You want to mount her.”
“I don’t.” His temper flared.
The primate had the nerve to outright grin. “Humans have a saying that is appropriate right now. You protest too strongly. That means your anger comes from knowing that what I say is right.” He stalked out of the room.
True fumed. He didn’t want Shiver. Perhaps once, he admitted. That had changed when he’d learned she had a motive for being kind. Polanitis had attempted to use his fondness for the female to force him to agree to participate in breeding experiments. The thought of what would have happened if they’d been successful was enough to cool his desire.
She was human and he could have gotten her with child. He hadn’t known it was possible at the time but the consequences would have been horrific. Mercile would have bred countless Species infants after learning humans and Species could breed, exposing their offspring to the hell their fathers had suffered at their hands. His fists clenched and he had to swallow a howl of rage. Shiver had tempted him to mount her and that weakness caused a deep sense of shame.
