Текст книги "Valiant"

Chapter Seven

“I’m taking a shower.” Tammy put her hands on her hips. “Move it.”

Valiant growled softly at her. “A llow Trisha to take a look at you first. She should be here soon.”

“I want to get clean first. I can even smell me and I stink. I have,” she released her hip and touched her head, “things inside my hair, maybe even some live stuff, and I can’t stand it. I could be all nice and clean before the doctor gets here if you would get out of my way. I bet she would appreciate it. Now move.”

“You are hurt and limping. I will go inside the stall with you if you insist on showering.” He reached for the waistband of his jeans.

“No!” She glared at him. “No way. Keep the pants on.

Now, behave and stop ordering me around. I know you think I’m yours but let me tell you something. I don’t take orders well. I’m going to go shower alone and you are going to stay here. Now let me get past you.”

He growled again but he stepped out of her path to the bathroom. “I don’t take orders well either.”

“I won’t order you around if you don’t order me around. That’s fair.” She stopped at the bathroom door.

“Could you pretty please see if you can get me some clothes?”

“I will make a call and see if they can bring them now.”

“Thank you.” Tammy walked into the bathroom, flipped on the light, and closed the door. It had a lock so she pushed it.

“Unlock that!” Valiant roared.

She clenched her teeth as she turned the knob, unlocking it, and yanked open the door. “Do you know how loud you are? It’s the middle of the night and I’m betting some people are probably trying to sleep. Could you please keep it down?”

“Don’t ever lock a door between us or I will break it down.”

Her eyebrows lifted as she stared into his golden, exotic eyes, reminding her that he wasn’t completely human. She’d probably tell him off if he were a regular guy and said that to her. She’d have fled as quickly as possible thinking he was a fruitcake. Valiant didn’t think the way most guys did though.

“You could get hurt if you fall and it would slow me from getting to you.”

She took a calming breath at hearing his words. He’d just saved her life, she knew he had risked his life for hers, and he hadn’t had to come after her in the first place. Maybe he feared she’d faint or something. She could deal with his orders if they stemmed from worry.

She wasn’t so sure that was the real reason but she was willing to go with it.

“Fine. I won’t lock the door if you don’t come in.” She closed the door before he could say anything but she didn’t lock it again. She walked to a mirror and flinched.

“Oh man,” she sighed. “I look horrible. Look what the cat dragged in.”

She instantly winced as soon as the last words passed her lips, realizing the bad pun. She glanced at the door, bit her lip, and hoped he hadn’t heard what she said. Her gaze returned to the mirror when he didn’t make any angry sounds she could hear. Thank goodness. He missed that slip. There’s another saying I have to forget.

Cross off saying screwed and now all cat references.

Her hair was mangled, with dirt and dried leaves sticking out of it. She had dirt on her face and since she’d cried, cleaner lines tracked down her cheeks from her tears. The only truly clean spot was the cut, purple area where she’d hit the truck’s side mirror. The paramedics had cleaned it. She turned her head and saw the scratch wasn’t bad but the purple area was definitely going to turn some ugly colors over the next few days.

She eased the really large sweater off her body and dropped it onto the counter to study the rest of her body, nearly crying again. She had bruises forming on her hips, on one side of her ribs and on her shoulders where one of those dickheads had shoved her down. She lifted her chin and uttered a nasty word. She could almost see a handprint under her chin in a forming bruise. Her gaze lowered to her tender breasts and she clenched her teeth when she noticed the swollen appearance of her nipples from them being nearly pinched off. Scratches marred her too from running and hitting things.

“A re you all right?” Valiant spoke right against the door.

“I’m just taking in the damage to my body and bitching to myself about it. I’m fine but mad.” She removed the bandages on her wrists so they wouldn’t get wet.

“Can I come in?”

“No. I’ll hurry.” She spun away from the mirror and attempted to untie the diaper-like thing Valiant had made for her with his undershirt. She tried next to tug it down her body but softly cursed. He’d tied knots with the ripped material and she couldn’t get them undone.

“Valiant? I do need some help.”

She cupped her hands over her breasts as the door suddenly opened before she could even finish speaking and he stepped inside the bathroom. His gaze locked immediately to her hands, filled with cleavage. Tammy bit her lip. Well, he might not resemble a regular man but he sure acts as if he’s one.

“I can’t get this thing you fashioned for me off. The ties are too tight.”

His gaze remained locked on to her cupped breasts.

She turned, presented him with her back, but stared over her shoulder to watch him. He frowned immediately, obviously not pleased she hid that view from him.

“I need help with the diaper thing. I don’t need you staring holes into my boobs.”

He grunted as he walked up behind her. Wow, he’s big, she once again noted, sure she’d never get used to staring up at a six-foot-six man. His focus lowered to her covered ass and his fingertips brushed her skin right at her waist when he slipped his fingers between the material and it.

“I tried pushing it down but you tied it too tight and it won’t go down over my hipbones.”

She heard the material tear as he sliced through the knots he’d made. It hit the floor to pool at her feet. She twisted a little, looking at his fingers and at the ruined T-shirt on the floor. She released her breast with one hand and grabbed at his finger. She was careful to grab him by his knuckle and avoided the sharp tip. She lifted his hand up to stare in shock at his thick fingernails. They weren’t really long but they were slightly pointed and obviously sharp enough to cut cloth.

“You really should cut your nails down.”

He grunted again.

She released his hand looked up at him. “Thank you.”

His gaze drifted slowly down her body and he growled again. “I want you.”

She stepped away fast toward the shower stall.

“Thank you, but get out. I am going to get clean and isn’t that doctor coming?”

She stepped over the tub rim and firmly closed the nearly clear shower doors between them. He made a purring noise when she bent over to turn on the water faucets. She adjusted the temperature, deciding to ignore him if he was determined to watch her through the door.

“I need clothes, Valiant. Please?”

“Fine,” he agreed loudly but he sounded irritated since his voice came out deeper than usual, something she noticed he did when he became angry or aroused.

He quit the bathroom and Tammy relaxed. It amazed her that he wanted her in the messed-up condition she was in. She turned on the shower spray and was surprised when she glanced at the fully stocked shower shelves. She turned to stare.

She’d stayed at enough hotels to expect samples. The New Species gave the real deal. She examined the two kinds of shampoo, two kinds of conditioner and they even stocked full-sized body-soap dispensers. There were two razors—one pink, one blue—shaving cream and a pumice stone with a handle on it. She smiled over it.

They really go all out for their guests.

She showered quickly and unfortunately found a cut on the back of her head when the shampoo made it burn. She shaved her legs with the pink razor, stalling a little on time so she wasn’t alone with Valiant too long before the doctor arrived. She knew he wanted her and she wasn’t certain how to handle that.

She dried off and wrapped a towel around her head and another around her body. She stood there a second and sighed. She was clean and she couldn’t hide inside the bathroom forever. She opened the bathroom door and gripped the towel tightly as she stepped into the bedroom.

“Did someone find me any clothes yet?”

Tammy froze instantly upon seeing that Valiant wasn’t alone inside the room anymore. She stared at the large New Species male and the smaller female with long blonde hair. The woman was human and obviously pregnant. Three pairs of eyes met her surprised ones.

The blonde smiled, moving forward. “Hi. I’m Trisha¯”

“A doctor,” the man standing next to her said quickly.

“I’m her security officer. She’s a visiting human who’s applied to be a doctor here and she’s a friend of Justice North’s.”

The woman frowned while shooting him a dirty look before she turned her attention back to Tammy. “I heard you had a rough night. I’m sorry it took so long for me to get here but Slade had to wake me and I had to get dressed.”

“I woke her from two rooms away,” the tall man with really blue eyes growled. “I protect her while she’s visiting.”

The woman flashed him another frown. “This is Slade and he’s very protective of me.” The woman looked highly amused. “He’s my security guard.”

He tensed. “Security officer.”

The doctor laughed. “Whatever.”

Tammy glanced at the blue-eyed man. She stood in nothing but a towel and it wasn’t a big one. He got points for not staring at her though. She turned her full attention back to Trisha. “Thank you for agreeing to look at me so late or I should say so early in the morning, since that’s more accurate.”

“It’s my pleasure. The men will leave us alone while I take a look at your injuries.”

Valiant growled. “I don’t have to leave. I’ve seen her bare. Make Slade go. He can’t see her that way.”

Tammy shot a glare at Valiant. “Please leave. Don’t make me argue with you in front of the nice pregnant doctor and the guy protecting her. She got out of bed to come all the way over here to examine me and the last thing she needs is to listen to us go another round.”

Valiant growled at her again.

“Stop that,” she snapped. “Stop growling at me. I’ve had a long night, I’m tired, and I’m in pain. Can’t you just do one thing without making me argue with you?

Please?”

He stormed out of the room. The New Species man laughed and a look of joy passed over his features. “This was so worth getting dressed to see.” He grinned a second before he spun on his heel and left the room too.

The door closed behind him.

“Thank you,” Tammy called out. “I appreciate it.” She looked at the doctor, knowing her cheeks blushed slightly with embarrassment. “I’m sorry about that.”

Trisha grinned. “Don’t be sorry at all. I would have paid to see someone stand up to Valiant.” She had a bag with her that she set on the edge of the bed. “Why don’t you tell me where you hurt and we’ll see what I can do?

What happened to you specifically?”

Tammy walked closer to the bed, hesitated, and dropped the towel. “I guess looking is telling. Four men grabbed me, kind of beat me up a bit in the back of a truck, and dragged me through the woods. They tortured me too but Valiant and his friends came to my rescue.”

She slowly turned a full circle to show all her injuries.

“My shoulder hurts the worst and I’m limping. My hip took a few big bumps inside the back of the truck bed when two of those assholes were making a dog pile out of me. I was stuck on the bottom so their weight slammed me into the truck bed.” She stuck her wrists out. “This is from a belt they used to tie my hands behind my back.”

The woman wasn’t smiling anymore. She had Tammy stand while she sat on the bed and opened her bag. “Let me treat some of these scratches and bandage them.” The woman touched Tammy’s hip, feeling it.

“Sorry if this hurts. I just want to make sure nothing is broken.”

“It’s not broken but it sure hurts.”

Tammy stood there while the doctor put some kind of cream on her cuts and bandaged the worst ones. The doctor gave her a few ice packs and told Tammy to shake them to make them cold. Trisha stood and asked Tammy to turn so she could rotate her shoulder. Tammy winced.

“That hurts the most.”

“You have some bad bruising. Does your throat hurt?”

“It’s uncomfortable but I don’t think any real damage was done. The soreness feels about the same as when I have a slight cold.”

“I’m going to give you some pain medication that I brought just in case you needed it. I want you to take two as needed for the pain and if you run out, have Valiant give me a call. I want you to visit the medical center in a few days if the pain in your hip or shoulder worsens or doesn’t subside. We’ll get some X-rays.”

Tammy nodded. “Thanks.” She retrieved the towel and wrapped it around her. “I really appreciate it.”

Trisha sat on the bed. “So, have you seen Valiant since the incident at his house?”

Tammy wanted to wince but didn’t. “You heard about that?”

Trisha nodded. “Yeah. Slade, Tiger, Justice, and I know you had sex with him but that’s everyone who knows.”

“No. Tonight was the first time I’ve seen him since that day. I can’t believe he forgave me for knocking him out with the lamp and was great enough to come looking for me tonight.”

Trisha’s voice dropped in volume drastically. “You knocked him out with a lamp? I was under the impression he let you go. Tiger didn’t tell us that.”

“I coldcocked him.”

A grin split the woman’s lips. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I’m going to have a great laugh about that when it’s safe. Their hearing is amazing so always keep that in mind.”

“Thanks for the warning,” Tammy whispered back.

Her gaze lowered to Trisha’s stomach. “I bet you and your husband are really happy. Is this your first baby?”

The woman touched her stomach with a grin and her voice rose loudly when she spoke. “I’m not married. The guy knocked me up and just took off on me.”

A growl sounded from the hallway and someone A growl sounded from the hallway and someone knocked on the door. “Is she decent? I’m coming in.”

Trisha winked at Tammy. “Come on in, Slade.”

Slade looked furious as he shot a glare at Trisha.

Valiant followed at his heels. Trisha chuckled.

“I was just telling Tammy about my baby.” She tapped her stomach.

“When are you going to have the baby?” Tammy gripped her towel tightly around her body, trying not to feel too weird that Slade was inside the room.

The woman hesitated. “I’m not really sure. I’ll find out whenever he decides to be born.”

Tammy let that sink in. “I meant when is your due date?”

The woman hesitated again. “I’m five months pregnant.”

Tammy’s gaze dropped to the doctor’s protruding stomach again. “Wow. A re you sure you aren’t carrying twins? One of my friends is eight months pregnant and she…” Tammy closed her mouth and blushed. “I’m sorry.

You aren’t big or anything. I just realized how that must sound. It’s just that you are so small and your tummy looks as if you’re more pregnant. I¯”

Trisha burst into laughter. “Stop! I’m not insulted or offended. I know I’m huge and look as though I’m ready to pop. The father is a big guy and the baby is too.”

Tammy was happy she hadn’t offended her. “Do you even speak to the father? You really should force him to pay child support. Kids are really expensive these days.”

Slade growled again. Trisha laughed. “We worked things out and he realized he was a bonehead for leaving me. I’m going to make him marry me. I love the jerk a hell of a lot but he’s kind of thick-headed, you know? I brought up marriage just a few weeks ago and he said it wasn’t necessary since we were already a family.”

“Men.” Tammy shook her head. “They just don’t get it.”

Trisha grinned. “A ll too true. I’m thinking of going on a sex strike.”

Tammy smiled at her. “That might work. You could also tell him that, if he won’t marry you, someone else will. You’re beautiful. I’m sure another man would be happy to if he’s not smart enough to seal the deal.”

Slade growled again. Tammy glanced at him with concern. Her gaze flashed to Trisha. “Is he all right?”

Trisha handed Tammy a bottle of pills. “He gets cranky when he gets woken up but he’ll be fine. I’ll send him to the guestroom when we get back to where I’m staying and he can take a nap. It was nice meeting you, Tammy. Have Valiant call me if you need anything.

Maybe one day this week I can bring lunch. It will be nice to talk to another woman.”

Tammy grinned. “I’d enjoy that if I’m still here.

Thank you again, Trisha. It was really nice meeting you.”

Trisha turned to study Tammy. “By the way, Tiger interfered with you making a statement tonight. The sheriff is going to come back in the morning. I hope that’s all right but I told him you would need rest. I asked him to tell the sheriff that you’d been given pain medication already and he will be back at nine in the morning to interview you.”

“That’s great. Thank you. I am kind of done in.”

Trisha stopped next to Valiant. “She’s got some bad bruising. Be nice to her and make sure she gets plenty of rest. She needs two pain pills every four to six hours, depending on how much pain she is in. Have her eat before taking them.”

“Thank you.” Valiant hesitated before he opened his arms.

Trisha laughed as she hugged him. “You’re learning.”

He stepped back. “It’s not so bad. You still smell nice.”

These people are just weird. Tammy watched as the woman left the bedroom. Her security officer suddenly slapped the woman on her ass when he stepped into the hallway with her. Trisha jumped, turned her head, and laughed up at the large man following her before they moved out of sight. Tammy gawked after them. Valiant moved suddenly, blocking her line of vision.

“Did her security guy just slap her butt?”

Valiant smiled. “Yes.”

Tammy shook her head. “Her boyfriend might not like him doing that.”

Valiant shrugged, grinning. “I don’t think he’d object.

He and Slade are very close.” He laughed.

Tammy let that one slide, not wanting to ask questions that were too nosey. “Did I get clothes yet?”

“They are in the other room.”

“Could you bring them in to me, please?”

“You don’t need them.” Valiant moved to the bed and threw back the blankets. “Drop the towel and get into bed. It’s late and you need sleep. I will get you a glass of water to take your pills. Have you eaten tonight or should I have some food brought to you?”

“I ate.” She hesitated. “Could you at least turn around?”

He turned. Tammy dropped the towel and climbed into the bed. She pulled up the covers to her shoulders.

“A ll in.”

Valiant walked toward the bathroom. He returned with a glass of water. Tammy still held the pill bottle. She took out two pain pills and swallowed them down with the drink. Valiant set the glass down on the nightstand by the bed.

“A re you tired?”

“Yeah. I’m wiped.”

He blinked. “Does wiped mean tired?”

She nodded. “Slang isn’t your thing, is it?”

“I’m learning. I was raised around doctors, techs, and security guards. I’m afraid my vocabulary is limited to what they taught me. I didn’t get as much exposure to them as some of the other Species did. I was different.”

She frowned. “Do you know how to read?”

“Yes. I learned after I was freed in the months we spent in hiding waiting for our home to be established.”

He sat on the edge of the mattress. “Most of my kind were taught before then but I wasn’t slated for any interaction with humans. It was a waste of time according to them. They just wanted to keep me alive because I was so strong and closer to animal than most.”

Tammy stared at him mutely. She was too shocked to even reply. Valiant looked a little sad as he gazed into her eyes.

“How much do you know about New Species?”

“Just what I hear on TV and read sometimes in the newspapers. I know that some pharmaceutical company did illegal research on you guys and they finally got popped. I know they made you part human and part animal. That’s really about it except for how you guys have your own Homeland down south near Los A ngeles and how you opened up this place recently.” She shrugged.

Valiant sighed. “We were altered with different animal DNA . Some more than others, such as myself. They made mistakes and I am one.” A nger tightened his expression as he regarded her, seeming to be waiting for a reaction.

Tammy stared into his exotic eyes. “A mistake? I don’t understand.”

“I’m different—my animal traits are more dominant than my human ones.”

She stared at his face, taking in his eyes, nose, mouth, and cheekbones. “You appear more New Species than most.”

“It’s not just how I appear. My instincts are stronger than most of my kind.”

“What does that mean?” She was glad she was sitting down, almost afraid to hear whatever he wanted to share with her.

“I’m more animal than man. It’s the only way I can explain it. The testing facility ‘mistakes’ such as myself were trained to be aggressive, to fight and to take a lot of pain. We were regarded as expendable and therefore heavily abused by their drug research trials. They tested the most dangerous ones they make on us. We were useless for any other purpose.”

She had one of those rare moments where she couldn’t form words. Valiant had a talent for making her speechless.

“They performed a lot of drug research on most New Species. They expected huge profits from enhancement drugs to that would make soldiers and athletes stronger, faster and better. They trained them to show off what their drugs could do. They were valuable. The failures were not. They tried breeding experiments with me but decided after a few unsuccessful attempts that they didn’t wish to produce more of us.”

“Breeding experiments?” She got the question out but wasn’t sure she really wanted to hear the answer.

“They brought some females to my cell to breed with me to see if I could impregnate them. The other males hadn’t produced results. Their testing failed with me as well.”

Tammy tried hard to hide her horror. She knew she hadn’t done a good job of it when Valiant’s gaze dropped and his shoulders sagged. The sadness on his face tore at her heart. He hadn’t had a choice, had been horribly abused, had been a victim.

Valiant refused to look into Tammy’s pretty eyes any longer. The revulsion he saw hurt him deeply. He’d wanted to be honest with her by telling her everything about his life. His mate would need to know. It wouldn’t be fair to ask her to spend her life with him if he kept secrets. He stared at the blanket covering her lap.

“We have heightened senses of smell, hearing, and our eyesight is better than most Species. We are stronger, faster, and even our intelligence was heightened in some cases. We are experimental prototypes that failed and in order to recoup their losses they even tried to turn us into perfect killing machines.

They wanted to stamp out our humanity so we could be trained as pure animals that would follow their commands. It didn’t work out for them so well when we wouldn’t break. We fought them instead, killed them when given the chance and refused to do their bidding.

They were still working on us when we were discovered and freed.”

“They tried to turn you into a killer?” She whispered the words.

He glanced up and stared at her. “Please don’t get that look in your eyes. I know how to fight and kill. It doesn’t mean that I’m some mindless slayer. They tried to salvage the failures by making us fighters mostly and since we were so impressive looking they believed we might turn a profit. They wanted me to be their…” He paused. “‘Display’ New Species for the failures they wished to sell. I would not comply.”

“Display?”

“To sell us.” Valiant’s voice tightened. “Third-world countries, private armies for rich fanatics, or whoever was willing to pay a fortune for an animal that could talk and kill efficiently on command. Luckily for us, we never heeded orders well. We had too many flaws for them to actually put us up for sale.” He shrugged. “A t least most of us. We now have found out that some of our women were sold.”

Tammy stared at him in horror. “So some of your women are out there being forced to kill people?”

He shook his head. “I do not know exactly what DNA I was changed with. It might have been multiple large feline species from my looks and abilities but we guess the lion is most obvious. Their records having to do with how we were created were destroyed. Mostly our experimental prototypes were changed with species known for tracking, hunting, strength and fighting.

Canine. Feline. Primate. We discovered that some of our females were mixed with weaker animal DNA strains to make them smaller and less aggressive. They were sold to provide funding to continue the research.”

“Sold to whom and for what?”

Valiant looked furious. “Sold to whoever wanted to make large donations to Mercile Industries. They called them Gift females and in exchange for large sums of money and for helping them cover up what they were doing and to avoid being caught, they handed them over to humans. They were giving our women to those bastards as sexual slaves. We have recovered some bodies and some living females.”

Tammy swallowed and tears filled her eyes. “I never heard any of that on the news. My God. That’s terrible.

Those poor women.”

“You won’t hear it on the news. Justice thinks, if the press takes it public, that the men holding our women will kill them immediately to destroy any evidence that they ever had them. Justice and your government are tracing financial records and serving warrants to search for our missing ones. We don’t know the numbers with the records being destroyed but we find another one every few weeks lately.”

She reached out and her fingers traced the back of his hand. “That’s horrible. It just is sickening, isn’t it?

Those poor women.” She paused. “I hope that all of them are found.”

He nodded grimly. “We do as well. We’re free and it bothers us that some of our people are still being tormented and imprisoned.”

“There’s no way to recover all the information to find them?”

“When the testing facilities were breached by your government law enforcement it triggered alarms where we were hidden. The staff started fires in the record rooms and destroyed the computers holding the information. They started killing our people too. Some died but most of us lived. Very few records were salvaged.”

“I hate to say this but it’s probably a good thing. You know how information goes. Someone could get hold of it and use it start all over again. You guys are pretty impressive. I’m betting that company would be tempted to start new testing facilities with new people to experiment on.”

He shivered. “We were told by a doctor who was arrested that the leading researcher who created us destroyed that information. She didn’t agree with what Mercile planned to do with us after she succeeded in creating us and she disappeared, taking that knowledge with her. That’s why they began to try to breed some Species to create more. I hope no one could ever replicate what was done to us. It’s enough to give us nightmares. We’re trying to financially destroy Mercile Industries. We’ve won in your courts often on financial matters and your government has put a lot of them in your prisons.”

“It is your government too. You’re A mericans, aren’t you?”

He nodded. “We have always been separate. It’s hard to try to think any other way. It’s why Justice and our council fought so hard for our independence by acquiring Homeland and used some of the money from the lawsuits to buy Reservation.”

“I heard you guys kind of have something close to diplomatic immunity on your own Homeland and here too. A news guy said it was similar to a consulate and you have your own laws and justice system.”

“I assume so. Your government can’t breach us or force us to comply with your laws. Not on our lands.”

“So I’m kind of in another country right now, huh?”

She suddenly grinned. “A nd I don’t even have a passport.

How cool is that?”

He fought a smile. She was adorable when she smiled and he resisted the urge to reach up and cup her face. He studied the bruise on her cheek and fought back anger at what had been done to her by humans. “Is it cool?”

“Kind of.”

His gaze held hers. “I want to kiss and touch you. Let me, Tammy.”

Her grin faded as she stared at him, chewing on her bottom lip. “I don’t know.”

“What don’t you know? Did I hurt you last time? Did you not enjoy my touch? I know you did.” Hope flared inside him that she’d be tempted. He longed to touch her again.

Tammy couldn’t deny it. The time she’d spent in Valiant’s bedroom had haunted her for five weeks. He had turned her inside out. When he touched her, she lost the ability to think. He seemed to take her silence for agreement when he slowly leaned closer. His hand reached out and caressed the uninjured side of her face.