Текст книги "Wrath"

Автор книги: Laurann Dohner

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Текущая страница: 11 (всего у книги 16 страниц)

“Don’t cry.” Amanda handed her a tissue. “Then you’ll get me started and I don’t look good at all with red, puffy eyes.”

“We didn’t get to talk during the trip back to your condo since we didn’t have any privacy.” Lauren studied her best friend. “How did your night go?”

Amanda sat on the couch next to her in the living room. “Not exactly as I had planned. Flame took me to their bar, it’s really cool there, but they don’t drink alcohol. Kinda weird, huh? They are totally into juice and sodas. Anyway, we ate a nice huge steak dinner—he ate three of those babies—but he is a mountain on legs, in his defense. I swear, I feel downright dainty compared to that hunk of kitty love.”

A smile curved Lauren’s mouth. “God, please tell me you didn’t call him that.”

“I didn’t. I thought it though. He can dance.” Her eyebrows wiggled. “I mean, he can bump and grind with the best of them but he got called away on some emergency.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Me too. It was cool though. I didn’t want to go back to the cottage since I knew you and super stud needed some alone time. I hung out with their women. Man, they are kickass fit. I got to go to the women’s dorm for a sleeping party in the living room. They think it’s totally cool to have slumber parties and I admit it was fun. There are a few little women too. They made me feel huge. You know?” She rested her hands on her stomach. “But we watched movies and they asked me a ton of questions. Now it’s my turn to grill you.” Amanda studied her. “You are in love with him, aren’t you?”

“I’m that easy to read? I think so. He’s amazing. I never thought I could fall so fast for someone.”

“You don’t cry often yet there you are sniffing and leaking. Is he going to call you?”

“I don’t know. He had to leave for some kind of meeting early this morning. They needed to ask him questions about what happened. He kissed me, told me breakfast had been delivered to the living room and he’d be back as soon as he was able. Instead two guys showed up after I ate and told me it was time to go.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Me too. I wanted to at least say goodbye. I left him a note and my phone number.”

“He’ll call. I saw the way he looked at you.” Her gaze dropped to Lauren’s chest. “And you’ve got big boobs. Men always call women with those.”

Hot tears welled again and Lauren admitted the truth. “I wasn’t ready to let him go.”

Amanda leaned closer, putting her arm around her best friend. “This is probably why we don’t date. We suck at this whole one-night-stand thing.”

“I had two nights with him,” Lauren corrected. “How am I going to sleep without him tonight? He holds me so tight in his arms. I never felt so safe and so right with someone before. He’s special.”

Amanda suddenly snorted. “You slept? Shame on you. I would have stayed up to enjoy every moment with Flame if he hadn’t had to leave. That’s a man who needs a warning label tattooed across his chest that says ‘a woman needs a strong heart to climb on this ride’. I’m really disappointed I didn’t get to find out for sure but I gave him my numbers. He promised to call.”

“I’m sure he will.” Lauren took her hand. “What a pair we are.”

“I just hope it wasn’t something dangerous for Flame. The word emergency implies something awful, doesn’t it? The women said it was probably something to do with those stupid protesters who are always giving them grief. I wanted to march out to the front gates and bitch-slap the lot of them. My poor Flame has already been through so much and having to deal with the worst types of human trash just pisses me off.” She sighed. “Especially since it took him away from me. He’s such a good man and I just wanted to kiss him and take him to bed. I think I’d make a hell of an ambassador to show him some real goodwill and human kindness.”

Lauren laughed. “You’re terrible.”

“No. I fell for him and wanted to fall on a mattress with him too.”

“You’re such a slutty bitch.”

“You’re such a…oh hell, Lauren. I think I’m in love. You know how we used to snort at the love-at-first-sight thing? Not so funny now. I spend a few hours with him and he’s all I can think about. It’s not just because I’m horny and haven’t had a date in forever. He’s funny, sexy, and I know he would have rocked my world.”

“Lucky you. I am pretty sure I’m in love with Wrath.”

They sat there. Lauren yawned and caused her friend to do it too. They glanced at each other and laughed.

“Are you staying here or are you going home?”

“I need to go home and check on Tiger.” Lauren pulled away. “I also want to be there in case he calls me. I don’t want to miss it if he does. God only knows where my cell phone ended up…or my purse. I have keys though.” She patted her pocket. “One of the NSO guys handed them to me and said my stuff would be delivered to me later. I don’t even have a car until they bring it back.”

“Do you want to borrow my car? I’d offer to drive you myself but I’m so tired I’m afraid I wouldn’t make it back without falling asleep behind the wheel. I’ve got a hot redhead to live for.”

“The walk will do me good and it’s only a few blocks away. I hope Flame calls you soon.”

“Me too.” Amanda looked sad. “I’d so love to go visit him again but only when he’s got a few days off because I don’t want him called into work again. Want to go storm the gates of the NSO with me soon? That’s my plan if he doesn’t call me. I’m not letting this one go.”

“Only if Wrath wants to see me.”

Amanda nodded. “I’m sure he will. I saw the way he looked at you when we were in their medical place and he first walked out from the back.”

“I hope you’re right. I’d feel better about it if I’d gotten to talk to him before they took us away.” Lauren stood, stretched, and another yawn passed her lips. “Call me later. Much later.”

Amanda turned on her side, stretched out on the couch and waved. “Lock the door, okay? I’m too tired to go upstairs.”

“Sweet dreams.”

“You know who I’m going to be spending my snooze time with. He’s total fantasy material.”

Lauren let herself out, locked the bottom lock, and made sure the door latched well. The sun hurt her tired eyes but she trudged home and managed to avoid most of her neighbors since they’d already left for work. Walking inside her home reminded her of the last time she’d been there with Wrath and his team members.

“Tiger?”

He was stretched out on her bed. He raised his head and peered at her.

“No scary guys today, unfortunately, but hopefully at least one of them will be back soon. You’re going to like him as much as I do once you get past that whole growling thing. It’s sexy. Trust me.” She kicked off her shoes, stripped out of her clothes and stared at her answering machine by the bed. It didn’t blink, there were no messages, so she closed her eyes as she curled up under her covers.

He’ll call. He has to call me!

* * * * *

Wrath was furious as he glared at Fury. “You had her escorted off Homeland and taken to her friend’s home while I was gone? How could you do that? I planned to spend time with her after I was done with my duties.”

The other male frowned. “Is she your mate? I wasn’t informed of this.”

“No.”

Fury tilted his head, studied him closely, and Wrath shifted his stance. The scrutiny left him feeling nervous and meant he’d probably crossed a line. “Are you sure the female isn’t your mate? You look upset, Wrath. Does she mean a lot to you? We need to discuss this.”

“She means a lot.” Opening up about his feelings wasn’t easy to do except with Shadow. “Lauren is all I think about and I’m feeling anger that I didn’t get to say goodbye to her. I hoped to see her again soon.”

Fury smiled. “I understand. I felt a pull toward my Ellie from the first. We went through a lot but she was special to me. Perhaps you should take this time apart to do some thinking. You agreed to give the task force at least six months of your time and I know you’re still struggling to come to terms with who you are.”

The idea of not seeing Lauren for five more months sent panic shooting through his body. She could meet another male who might claim her in that time or she could forget about him.

“You are bad at hiding your dismay.” Fury chuckled. “She left you a note.” He withdrew it from his back pocket and held it out. “Read what she wrote and perhaps it will be something you wish to know to take that stricken look from your face.”

Wrath lunged for it. He tried to ignore the way his hand trembled as he unsealed the envelope. It tore in his unsteady grip but the paper inside remained undamaged. He stepped back, ignored everything around him, and read the few short words. His heart slowed to a more normal rate and he glanced up to find Fury watching him.

“She gave me her phone number and wants me to call her.”

“Poor bastard,” Tiger sighed, stopping next to him. “I heard enough from my office to know you’re going down too.”

Fury frowned at his friend and shook his head. “It is not a disease or a bad thing to find a female who makes a male feel whole. Ellie is the center of my world and so is our son.”

Wrath jerked his head up, his gaze leaving Lauren’s neat writing to gawk at the male in front of him. “You have a son with your mate? I hadn’t heard that.”

Tiger gripped his shoulder. “You’ve been gone, you were with the task force, and they aren’t allowed to know about our ability to have children. Only Tim knows the truth. Fury’s son is a few weeks old and as cute as hell. I’m surprised to find Fury in the office. He rarely leaves his mate’s side but I’m betting our females have swarmed his house again to visit and make funny noises at the baby. He tends to flee in case they snarl at him over how painful labor seemed. Our women are very protective of Ellie but of course, no one took it worse than Fury did. Trisha threatened to Taser him and have Slade sit on his back if he didn’t stop snarling at everyone when Ellie had a contraction. He acted as if everyone was the enemy because he got protective of her.” Tiger laughed. “Are our females still threatening to neuter you?”

“Shut up,” Fury snapped.

“They are.” Tiger snickered. “None of our females want to do surgery on my nuts and that’s another reason I don’t want a mate.” He released Wrath. “Don’t allow our females to get attached to yours if you take a mate. Only threats can come of it and a lot of pissed-off Species females with grudges.”

“Don’t you have phone calls to make or someone else to taunt?” Fury glared at him. “I was talking to Wrath.”

“He loves me. My man is just grumpy because he’s not getting any loving.” Tiger laughed.

“I am though.” A smile curved Fury’s mouth. “There are many ways to do that.”

Wrath glanced between the males, knew they were friends, and wished he could escape their good-natured argument. “I have a phone call to make.”

“Not so fast.” Tiger shifted to block his path and all humor left his face. “You did agree to work with the task force for six months and we can’t afford to lose you. We’re already one Species down since Vengeance didn’t work out. Whoever this female is, she can wait.”

“You could keep her with you. You have your own sleeping quarters, correct? I can talk to Justice and he’ll be able to smooth things over with Tim.”

Excitement struck Wrath for a few heartbeats as he absorbed Fury’s offer. “I don’t know if she’d agree to that.”

Tiger growled. “That’s too risky. She’d have to—”

“Agree to remain there during the rest of your mission.” Fury shot Tiger a warning look. “He has feelings for the female. You may not understand but I do. I’d live anywhere with Ellie and she’d live with me. It could be inside a cave in the woods but she wouldn’t care as long as we’d be together. This female might return his strong feelings.”

“Tim is going to pitch a fit. I know him better than you do. He will adamantly refuse to allow a human female to live with one of our males.”

Fury shrugged off Tiger’s assessment. “That’s not his call to make since he works for us and we give the orders.” He stared at Wrath. “You should find out how deep her feelings run for you. Justice and I both have mates and we understand how important they are to our happiness. He’ll support me on this issue. Do you love her?”

“She is all I think about,” Wrath confessed. “I’ve never been happier than when I’m with her.”

“Sounds like love to me.” Fury chuckled. “Stop wasting time with us and go call her. Find out if she loves you.”

Wrath hesitated, staring at the other male. “What if she doesn’t return my feelings?”

“It’s her choice and her heart. You can’t be mates unless the love and need to be inseparable flows both ways. It’s what makes the mating bond alive. Just don’t be surprised if she asks for time to figure out if she is willing to give up her life as she knows it to be with you. They are different from us and I’ve heard their males aren’t as intense as we are. She may not take you seriously due to how some human males don’t understand the true meaning of loyalty and commitment for life. It’s your duty to tell her how we are, that it’s for life, but you aren’t allowed to share classified information about Species until after she is your mate.”

“He means use condoms to prevent her from becoming pregnant and don’t tell her there’s a possibility of it until she’s really yours. I’d wait until you live at NSO before you do that. We can’t allow the humans to know we can have children. It’s too dangerous and you getting her pregnant while living with the team would reveal our secret.”

Wrath understood the importance of protecting his people and their future. “She is on the birth-control shot.”

“Good. Make sure she keeps taking it. They assume we can’t get them with a baby and might decide she no longer has to take it.” Tiger spun on his heel. “I do have calls to make. Good luck.”

Fury nodded toward Wrath. “Call her.” He stepped into his office and closed the door.

Wrath hesitated and walked outside to find privacy under a shade tree before he pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number on the note Lauren had left him. His stomach twisted from the uncertainty of what she would say or how she would react. They hadn’t started out on good terms when he’d taken her from that warehouse but emotionally they’d come a long way in such a small amount of time. He was willing to risk anything for her, even the pain of rejection.

* * * * *

The phone woke Lauren and she lunged for it. “Hello?”

“Lauren.”

Her heart instantly squeezed at hearing that deep, wonderful voice. “Wrath.”

“The briefing took longer than expected and then I was asked to be present while Bill was interrogated. I returned to the cottage to see you but was informed you’d been escorted to your friend’s home.” He paused. “I wanted to see you and was deeply disappointed that you were gone.”

“I wanted to see you too but they didn’t exactly give me a choice.” She sat up and clutched the phone tighter, fully alert. “You got my note.”

“I have it right here.”

She only hesitated for a second before blurting out what she really wanted to say. “I miss you already. I know I shouldn’t say that, it probably makes me seem kind of clingy but I just wish I was there with you.”

“I miss you too and wish you were in front of me.” He growled.

Her body instantly responded to that sexy sound. “Don’t do that. It makes me miss you more and I’m remembering the night we spent together and how you would make that exact sound when we were making love.”

He growled again and she closed her eyes, listening to him breathing, and hated holding the phone instead of him.

“I want to touch you so badly.” It stunned her that those words had come from her but she didn’t regret them. It was the truth.

“I will be returning to the task force headquarters tonight.” He paused. “Would you stay there with me? It’s too dangerous for me to stay with you since your place isn’t secure. I have to stay where I’ve been ordered to live—at headquarters. I know my room is small. My bed isn’t as big as yours and you have a pet.” He growled again. “It sounds as if I’m trying to talk you out of staying with me but that’s not the case. I’m just thinking of all the reasons you can use to say no but I’m hopeful you won’t. I want to sleep with you in my arms.”

“I’ll pack a bag.” Lauren grinned, opened her eyes, and excitement gripped her. “I’ll make sure Tiger’s food dispenser is full and I’ll ask Amanda to check on him. I’ll even put out extra for him and fill the bathtub so he’s got plenty of water. Not that he really needs it since he roams outside a lot of the time and probably has his own ways of getting it. I don’t have a job anymore so no worries about not going to work tomorrow.” She laughed. “Is it just for tonight or should I pack for a few days? Where do I go to meet you? I’ll drive there if they’ve dropped off my car. Just give me a place and a time. I’ll be there.”

“I’ll pick you up. Pack a lot of clothes. Expect me between seven and eight.”

“I’ll be ready!”

“I will be there as soon as I am able, Lauren. I can’t wait to see you.”

“I can’t either. Hurry up. I’ll be ready! Goodbye, Wrath.”

“It is never goodbye between us, Lauren. I’ll see you soon.” He growled again and hung up.

“Yes,” she laughed, hung up, and dialed. Wrath wanted to see her, spend time with her and she needed to pack. First though, she needed to call Amanda.

“Hello?” The groggy voice assured her that her friend was still sleeping.

“Sorry I woke you up. He called me! He’s coming tonight to pick me up and I’m going to spend at least a few days with him. Did you hear from Flame yet?”

“No.” Amanda sighed. “But I’m happy for you. Run with scissors, Lauren. If there’s ever a time to take a stupid and crazy chance where you know you could get hurt, well, he’s the one.”

“Thank you. I’m sure Flame will call you soon.” She glanced at the clock. “He’s probably still at work. It’s only four o’clock. Most people get off work around five, right? You’re a wonderful person and he’d be stupid not to realize that. He seemed pretty smart to me in the little amount of time I got to spend with him.”

“I hope so. He did say he was sure I could make him roar.”

“Roar?”

“He’s part lion or something. He purred at me a few times while we were rubbing up against each other on the dance floor. It was the hottest thing. I swear it made me wet.”

Lauren chuckled. “TMI, Amanda. I don’t need to know that.”

“We’re best friends so there’s no such thing. Give it up, besty. Does Wrath purr?”

“He’s canine. He growls and snarls.” She bit her lip. “His cock swells at the end of sex and he’s locked inside me until it goes down. He snuggles with me afterward. It’s wonderful but that information stays between us.”

“No! Seriously? Wow. What did that feel like? The swelling?”

“Amazing.”

“I wonder if Flame swells. I can’t wait to find out. Of course now I’m a little frightened. He is seriously hung. I couldn’t miss that when we were pressed together and I noticed it was ‘ouchie’ sized. I can’t imagine it if he swells even bigger. I might take on more than I can chew.” She chuckled. “Or suck. You know what I mean?”

“Way too much info.”

“What about Mr. Hunk? Anything to write home about in that department?”

“He’s more than a letter. He’s worth an entire book.”

Amanda snorted. “Maybe it’s a New Species thing. Good thing they weren’t mixed with horses. That would totally be scary, right?”

“No shit.” Lauren scooted off her bed and dropped to her knees to dig one-handed under her bed for her suitcase. “I need to pack. I’m taking my cell if it’s in my car—hopefully they’ve brought it back here by now—but if not, Wrath probably has a phone I can use. I’ll call you in the next few days.”

“You better. Are you going to the NSO? Tell Flame to call me.”

“We’re going back to that headquarters place. It’s a secret so keep it hush-hush.”

“I’m the queen of discreet.”

“Right.”

“What is it like there?”

“He lives there underground. A lot of people hate them so keep your lips sealed about that place. He says it’s not safe for them to live where it isn’t secure—I guess that means anywhere other than their compounds—or he’d just stay here with me. He’s got a private room with a bathroom. They also have a big room with a kitchen and a living room. There’s even a pool table.”

Amanda laughed. “You could have him do you on it. Pool table sex is hot.”

“It’s in a room everyone uses.”

“Even better. The thrill of maybe getting caught.”

“I worry about you.” Lauren laughed. “Go back to sleep. I need to pack and get ready.”

“Don’t worry about how long you’re gone. I could pop in there and check on Tiger. I know where you keep the food.”

“Thanks. That would be great.”

“That’s why we have keys to each other’s places. Are you telling anyone else where you’re going?”

“Nope. Just you. If my family happens to call, tell them I’m out of town or something. You know the drill.”

Amanda laughed. “I’ll tell them you joined a nudist colony that worships women with big boobs. I’ll say a dozen sex-starved naked men grabbed you in a van and you’re doing the whole free love thing. They’ll enjoy that. When they start to bitch at me about how come I didn’t try to stop you, I’ll just tell them I was looking out for you by buying you a don’t-come-a-knocking-if-the-van-is-rocking bumper sticker. I’ll remind them how supportive I am.”

Lauren laughed. “Don’t you dare.”

“I’ll assure them that you’ll come home as soon as someone knocks you up and with all that sex with a dozen guys it shouldn’t be too long since you forgot your pills. They don’t know you take the shots, right?”

“I swear, Amanda, if you do that, and I know you would just to freak out my bitchy sister, I’ll personally call your grandma and tell her you’re ready for her to introduce you to men again because you so desperately want to get married. Remember the last time she started sending men your way? I don’t know which one was worse. The mortician she hooked you up with since most of her friends keep dropping dead or the horse jockey she met when she was dating that guy who liked going to the races. What was he? Four-nine? You had nightmares for months about those dates you suffered to avoid hurting her feelings.”

“You wouldn’t dare. It took me months to get Monty the creepy-ass mortician to stop calling me. He sent me flowers and I swear to God he stole them from graves. He missed one of the condolence cards once. He said he really wanted to have sex with me in a coffin and that was his version of tempting me to go on a second date with him. I refuse to talk about the jockey. He asked me if I’d ever worn a saddle while I tried to eat my dinner. I don’t even want to go to that bad, ugly place, Lauren. That was just mean to remind me. You just forget Grandma’s number and I’ll make up something nice to tell your family if they call me.”

“Love you. I’ll call.”

“You better. Love you too.”

Lauren hung up, dropped the suitcase on the bed, and returned the phone to the cradle. It didn’t take long to pack, shower and grab her e-reader. She downloaded a bunch of books while it charged, packed it, and prepared Tiger to be alone for a few days.

Wrath was coming! She glanced at the clock, only had a few hours to go, and time couldn’t move fast enough.

Chapter Thirteen

Lauren grinned when the doorbell rang early and rushed for the door. Wrath must be as impatient to see her as she felt to see him. She’d already gotten dressed, had eaten an early dinner and was more than ready to leave when she threw open the door with a grin in place.

Her joy died instantly when a stranger stood on her doorstep instead. The tall, thin woman bore an uncanny resemblance to her boss, Mel Hadner. Her heart raced, she tried to hide it, and had a sinking feeling this person just might be related to the woman who had tried to hurt Wrath and his team.

“Hello,” she got out. “May I help you?”

“I believe so. You work for my sister, Mel. I went to her office today after receiving an urgent message from her yesterday that she needed to speak to me but no one was there. Do you know where my sister is?”

“No,” Lauren lied. “No idea at all. She was in her office when I left.” That part was true.

“Today?”

“Yesterday. Today is my day off.”

A frown curved the woman’s thin mouth downward and lines appeared on her forehead. “I came here because I spoke to a few of the businesses near the office and they saw you pushing a man out of the office in a chair. They said he appeared drunk. My sister is missing and so are a lot of your coworkers. I’ve already been to their homes and they aren’t there, didn’t sleep in their beds last night, and haven’t been seen.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Their cars are in the parking lot but they have just disappeared. Do you know anything about that?”

Shit! Think! “I had a man come in to see condos yesterday who had a bad knee. He injured it when he stood after sitting so long viewing listings. I had to push him out to his car.”

The woman’s arms slowly lowered and a cold look entered her eyes. “That was almost believable. Not bad. You’re a fast thinker, aren’t you, Lauren?”

Mel’s sister lunged suddenly and grabbed Lauren’s shirt with both hands, shoving her back. A large man suddenly stepped out from where he’d been hiding against the wall next to the door and entered the apartment. Two more came from the other side of the door and yet one more entered and closed the door firmly behind the five intruders who’d invaded the living room. It was the last guy who held Lauren’s attention.

He wore a hat and sunglasses but his features were something she’d learned to identify with the wider cheekbones and flatter shaping of his nose. His full lips were sealed but she knew he was New Species. His big frame and tall height also pointed to him being one of them. Of course the three human men were no slouches in the muscle and sheer-size departments either. They all were bruisers.

“Where are they, Lauren? I’m not screwing around. I want answers.”

“I don’t know. Who are you?” She knew she was in deep shit. The only thing she couldn’t figure out was why a New Species was with Mel’s sister. She forced her gaze away from him to stare at the woman still fisting her shirt. “I haven’t seen them since I left the office yesterday.”

“140? Tell me what you smell right now.”

The New Species lifted a hand, removed his glasses, and stepped forward. He inhaled, sniffed a few times, and his eyes widened slightly while he frowned. Lauren stared into his eyes. They were catlike—an amazing swirl of bright blue, rimmed along the outer edges with deep amber. They were beautiful, striking, and almost unreal. No one should have eyes that looked like that. His tan skin and black hair only added to how dramatic and exotic they appeared.

“Well?” The woman turned her head and shot him a glare. “Tell me, damn it.”

“Their scent isn’t here at all. Not on her or inside this place.”

“What do you want to do, Mary?”

The woman shot a glare at one of the thugs with her. “She knows something.”

She shoved Lauren hard enough that she hit the back of the couch but she was free. Lauren assessed her situation and knew it was grim.

Mary backed up a step, held her gaze, and it chilled Lauren to the bone. If the eyes were the windows to a person’s soul this woman had a dead one. A shiver ran down her back.

“I know you brought a New Species into the office yesterday. My sister called me and told me that. She was freaking out and scared. I didn’t get home until this morning to hear her message. Where the hell are they, Lauren? Tell me the truth and stop playing games or you’re going to regret it.”

“I don’t know anything,” Lauren lied. “Mel pulled me into her office and said the client was a rapist and she shoved me out the back door. That’s all I know. She wasn’t alone with him though. Brent and both John T and B were in her office with her.” She paused. “I was sure Kim was still there when that happened and Gina should have been in her office. Ask them again because I’m sure they were there after I left.”

One of the thugs snorted. “They can’t talk. They had accidents.”

Horror hit Lauren and she didn’t need to ask. They were dead. She wanted to scream but managed to stay on her feet, a real victory since her knees wanted to collapse under her.

“I’m a real bitch,” Mary admitted. “You’re going to tell me where my sister and her friends are or I’m going to have 140 start breaking your bones one at a time until you tell me what I want to know I have my sister back. You took that New Species out of there in a chair after he was shot with a tranquilizer dart. My sister said they had one of them out cold and two more captured. All the witnesses couldn’t be wrong and they know you. Kim and Gina were pawns who are no longer a threat.” Her gaze raked Lauren. “A chubby blonde was pushing him out of the office and down the street. Tell me now or you’re going to die a really slow, agonizing death. You are done lying to me.”

Lauren stared up at 140, decided she’d be honest, but only with him. “Why are you with them? You’re being called a number as though you weren’t freed. Is that it? I’ve seen two New Species fight and you could kick these humans’ asses. Your people have been freed and you don’t have to stay with these people.”

He growled. “They have my female.”

Shit. Lauren swallowed. “Can’t you just kill them and get her back?”

Mary struck hard and fast, backhanding Lauren in the face, and the blow threw her back against the couch where she nearly flipped over the thing. Pain made her curse, grab her injured cheek, and glare at her.

“I guess you weren’t joking about being a bitch, were you?”

“Where is my sister and her men, Lauren?”

She figured out quickly it would be a death sentence the moment she confessed they’d been taken by the NSO. They’d already killed the other two innocent people who’d worked in her office. Kim and Gina hadn’t worked for Mercile but they’d been witnesses to what had happened inside that office. Her only hope would be to stall for an hour until Wrath and his team arrived. If they arrived at seven. Otherwise there’d be two hours to drag out to give her any hope of surviving.