Текст книги "Wrath"
Автор книги: Laurann Dohner
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Текущая страница: 9 (всего у книги 16 страниц)
She pushed on her desk to test the weight of it but it didn’t budge. It was the only thing big enough in the room to keep them from breaking down the door if she barricaded it. That plan wouldn’t work though because they could as she had—go around the building, and come in through the window.
“Move,” John T ordered. “In that back office now. Keep your hands above your heads, move real slow. If you even twitch, I’m going to shoot you.”
“Yeah,” Brent said, “do that. We have phone cords. We’ll tie them up, take them out the back and grab the last one after we get them settled in the van.” He paused. “Go get the van.”
“My minivan?” John B gasped. “Everyone will see inside it.”
“The company van, you idiot!” Mel shouted. “It’s bigger. It’s got the cargo area and tinted windows. Just dump the signs out of the back.”
“Fuck,” he shouted. “Move, Gina. You too, Kim. You’re staying close to me. If they attack, you’re both dead.”
“Keep moving,” John T ordered. “Keep your hands up. Mel, go rip out the phone cords. You have three in there. Use the ones to the fax machine too.”
Lauren glanced around her desk, saw no one, and crawled forward until she could peek out the door. Her coworkers weren’t in sight and she leaned out enough to see Mel’s office. John T’s back was to her and he blocked most of the doorway, preventing her from seeing what was going on in Mel’s office. All of them seemed to be in there.
Pure terror gripped her but she moved, shoved up to her feet and grabbed Wrath’s chair by the arms. The back of it dug into her belly as she pulled. As the wheels moved over the carpet his boots dragged, making it tougher on her. She pulled, prayed he wouldn’t slide out of the seat. He would be too heavy to put back if he did.
She paused, listened, and heard her coworkers arguing in Mel’s office. She glanced around the corner again, saw John T’s back was to her, and she frantically pulled. The chair left her office, she bit back a groan, and kept pulling Wrath toward the front. She just needed to make it about ten feet to the reception area. She made it without anyone spotting her. Guilt ate at her over leaving the New Species and her coworkers being held at knifepoint. She couldn’t help them though. Wrath was the only one she could save. She needed to get him to safety first and just prayed the man she’d spoken to on Brian’s phone arrived in time to help them. It would be suicide to rush into Mel’s office to attempt to rescue anyone else.
Her back hit the exterior glass door but it didn’t push open when she pressed against it. She hit it with her ass but the glass just barely moved. She twisted her head, realized someone had locked the door, and fought to turn the deadbolt. The glass door opened and fresh air filled her lungs as she sucked in a deep breath. She pulled, dragging the chair and Wrath out of the building.
No one was on the sidewalk. Gravity helped move the chair since the building was higher than the street. She turned it, pulled frantically, and kept going. Her eyes remained on the building. She expected her coworkers to come out after them at any second when they realized they were missing a New Species but she made it to where she’d left Amanda.
“Open the back door now.” Lauren pulled harder, moving faster.
Amanda saw Wrath, the chair and Lauren. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes widened.
“Open the fucking door,” Lauren snapped at her. “Now! Move it. Back door. Get it the hell open. Now, Amanda. Now!”
Amanda moved. She hit the button to unlock the doors and almost tripped on the curb as she ran around the car to open the back door but she swung it open just as a panting Lauren dragged the chair there.
“Help me get him in.”
“What the hell?” Amanda’s eyes were wide and she looked unusually pale.
“I’ll explain later. Help me. He weighs a ton. We’ve got to get him out of here before someone sees us.” Lauren grabbed the protruding dart from Wrath’s chest and dropped it inside her skirt pocket. “Hurry.”
Amanda grabbed Wrath’s other arm and Lauren positioned the chair facing the backseat of the car. She gripped him firmly and they lifted to maneuver his limp form out of the chair.
“Jesus,” Amanda grunted. “My back is breaking. He’s got to weigh at least two hundred and fifty pounds.”
The two of them managed to dump the unconscious Wrath into the backseat. Lauren bent his legs up to make him fit. Wrath didn’t look comfortable but he was in and his face wasn’t pushed against the seat. She slammed the door and yanked open the passenger one.
“Get in the car,” she panted at Amanda.
Amanda ran around the car and jerked open the driver’s door, collapsing into the seat. The engine started and Lauren’s pounding heart threatened to explode from exhaustion and fear. One glance at her office assured her no one had rushed out yet and she twisted in her seat to duck down in case that changed.
“Drive, damn it. Get us out of here.”
Amanda punched the gas. “Oh my God,” Amanda babbled. “You’re going to get us both arrested. I know I keep complaining about being single but have you lost your mind? You can’t just kidnap a man. He’s really hot but what were you thinking? Are you on drugs? Let’s just call the police and tell them you had a breakdown. We could take him to a hospital and have them admit you for an evaluation.”
“I didn’t kidnap him, damn it. This isn’t what it looks like. We need to go. Drive! I’ll explain it all to you later but he’s in danger.”
“You know how friends tell friends when they’ve lost their mind?” Amanda licked her lips. “This is that time.”
Lauren lifted her head enough to see her friend’s flushed face and glared up at her. She opened her mouth but just closed it. She was too tired to yell at that moment. She decided to just be honest.
“You need to trust me. Please drive, Amanda. This really isn’t as bad as you think.”
“Where do we go?”
“Your place.”
Amanda nodded. “Okay. Oh man, are we in deep shit. You better have a hell of a reason. I can’t believe I’m doing this.”
Lauren wanted to use Amanda’s cell phone to call the police but didn’t dare after being ordered not to. She prayed the team arrived but wasn’t willing to stick around to make sure help came in time. Getting Wrath out of there was the priority, the only thing she could do.
Chapter Ten
Lauren had managed to stop shaking by the time Amanda pulled into her garage. The electronic door sealed them inside and the interior light stayed on. Amanda turned off her engine and stared at her best friend.
“Do you think he’ll press charges? Forget that. Of course he will. You knocked him out somehow and kidnapped him. What were you thinking? We’ll get you help. Let’s go inside and call someone. It’s not too late to fix this, okay? We’ll get you the best attorney. Insanity is a great defense. I never meant for you to do something so drastic to get me a man.”
“Stop that,” Lauren sighed. “It’s not like that.”
Amanda frowned. “Then why did you drug him and bring him to me?”
“I didn’t drug him.” Lauren shook her head, tired, frustrated and wondering if her friend needed some therapy. “It’s a long story. How are we going to get him inside your place? Any ideas?”
Amanda turned in her seat and studied Wrath, frowning. “I don’t know. He’s a big one. Did you have to lose your mind and kidnap the biggest guy you could find? I know I said I was desperate for a date but Jesus, Lauren!”
“Stop it!” Lauren shot her a glare. “He’s not a sex toy that I stole for you. I haven’t lost my mind and I didn’t do this in some misguided attempt to get you a man. His name is Wrath and he’s in danger.”
“I thought you said his last name was Williams.”
“I don’t think he has a last name. His real name is Wrath. It’s a long story.”
“I guess we have time for you to tell me what is going on since we have to think up a way to get him out of the car and up those steps.”
Lauren hesitated. “Did you notice his features?”
“Who cares about his face when he’s got that great body?”
“Look at him, Amanda. Look at his nose and think of your ultimate hero on television, the one you drool over. Here’s a hint. Justice North.”
Amanda turned in her seat so she could get a better view of the man behind her. She stared, tilted her head slightly and the color slowly drained from her face. Her mouth dropped open and she gaped at Lauren.
Lauren nodded. “He’s New Species.”
“Holy shit. What have you gotten me into? He’s like an endangered species, right? They have really strict laws about them. Lauren, what were you thinking? We’re going to get the electric chair if something happens to him. If you kill one of them, even accidentally, it’s the death penalty for a hate crime.”
“I didn’t do this. The people at my work shot him with some kind of drugged dart and it knocked him out cold.”
Amanda blinked. “Why? Did he have bad credit or something? I know your boss is a bitch but that’s even harsh for her.”
“Very funny,” Lauren snorted. “It’s complicated and a mess. I guess I worked with some jerks who used to work for Mercile Industries. They saw him and did this to him. They planned to take him away but I got him out of there first. We need to hide him in your condo until I can get him some help. His team and two of my coworkers who aren’t involved in this mess are back at the office. I could only save him. I didn’t know what else to do.”
“Who are you going to call? The police?”
Lauren shook her head. “No. The people Wrath works with told me not to call 9-1-1 so I guess I’ll have to leave them out of this.” Lauren climbed out the car. “Let’s get him inside.”
Amanda climbed out of the car and frowned at Lauren over the roof. “How? I don’t have a crane handy in here to lift him out of the car and up the steps. He’s heavy.”
Lauren studied the steps leading into Amanda’s condo and had a thought. “Do you still have that twin air mattress you use when your niece comes to visit?”
“The princess one?”
“Yeah. We could inflate it, put him on it, and drag it into the kitchen.”
Amanda sighed. “I’ll go get the electric pump and fill it.” Amanda’s gaze drifted to the backseat as she stared through the window. “I wouldn’t do this if he wasn’t hot. He’ll owe me.” Amanda suddenly grinned. “He really does look hot in those clothes. Once we get him inside it would only be kind to take some of them off him.”
Lauren groaned. “Amanda!”
“What? Just his shirt. Be a friend. I was the getaway car driver and hell, I should get some kind of reward after we drag him into the house. I think I already got a hernia from getting him in the car.”
Lauren shook her head. “I think you would benefit from taking drugs and I worry about you.”
“You should be worried. If I don’t get laid soon I’m going to shrivel up and die.”
“The things I put up with,” Lauren mumbled.
“You? I just helped you dump the body of a hunky New Species guy in the back of my car and I’m harboring an endangered species in my home!”
“Good point. You’re the best friend ever.” Lauren smiled. “Go get the mattress. Don’t you have some tarps in here somewhere from when we painted your bathroom last month?”
Amanda pointed to the corner. “Somewhere over there.”
Lauren turned to search for one while Amanda entered the condo. Lauren found a few of tarps folded under a shelf and opened the back door of the car, checking on Wrath. He remained heavily drugged. She spread out the tarp on the floor next to the open door and was grateful that Amanda had a double car garage with only one car so they had plenty of room to work. Amanda returned, lugging a big pink inflatable mattress she dropped on top of the tarp.
“He is really heavy.”
“I know,” Lauren agreed. “I’ll get his feet and pull him out. You climb in the other side and watch his head. I don’t want to bump it when we get him out of the car.”
“Okay.” Amanda laughed. “Are you sure we can’t take his clothes off? It would drop a few pounds off him.”
“I’m sure.”
“Damn. I always wonder if they have tails or any fur hidden anywhere. You know there’s talk that some of them could have those. They could shave their arms and faces to hide some hair issues. We could totally find out.”
Lauren gripped Wrath and tried to ignore Amanda. She was glad the boots were solidly on his feet as she straightened his legs and pulled on him by the ankles. Amanda gripped his arms, kept him from falling out of the car when his ass slid off the seat, and both of them struggled to get him flat and centered on the mattress.
“I should get to keep him since I think I just threw out my back and I’m going to need someone to take care of me.”
Sweat trickled down her body and she knew it would only get worse when they had to lift him up the stairs. There were only three steps but it seemed an impossible task. Lauren kicked her shoes off and out of the way. She leaned down and grabbed the sides of the tarp and lifted.
Amanda grabbed the other ends and stared down at his face. “He’s really good-looking. What color are his eyes? Do you know?”
“Dark brown and beautiful,” Lauren grunted, pulling on Wrath. “Don’t get attached. He’s taken.”
“He’s got a girlfriend? Damn! Why is it that all the good-looking ones seem to be taken or gay?”
They managed to get Wrath up the stairs by protecting his back with the mattress and turning the tarp into a hammock. Both of them collapsed to their knees when they reached the living room, after dragging him from the kitchen into the bigger room.
“I’m not taking him upstairs,” Amanda swore. “Stick a fork in me. I’m done.”
“Me neither. We’d never make it.”
“He looks good right there next to the coffee table. The wood matches his tan.”
Lauren struggled to her feet, got them bottled water from the fridge and passed one to her best friend. It was a warm day and lugging around Wrath had exhausted them both.
“I have an idea,” Lauren announced. “I’m going to use your phone.”
“Help yourself. Forget taking off his shirt. I’m too worn out.” Amanda lay back on the carpet. “I’ll just die here for a while.”
Lauren walked to the bar that separated the kitchen from the living room and sat down on the barstool. She reached for Amanda’s phone and dialed information. She groaned when the automated voice answered.
“Damn automation,” she muttered. She gave them the city she thought was right and the state. “NSO,” she said clearly. She repeated it. She was put on hold for a person.
Lauren asked for the number of the NSO. They didn’t have a listing. She asked for the number by their full name. “It’s the New Species Organization.” They found the number and she wrote it down and dialed.
A man answered. “NSO Homeland. How may I direct your call?”
Lauren took a deep breath. “Hello. My name is Lauren Henderson. I didn’t know who else to call but I have a New Species man in my friend’s living room about ten feet from where I’m sitting. He’s been shot with some kind of dart and he’s out cold. I need you to send help for him.”
There was silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds. “It’s against the law to make crank calls to us, female.”
“This isn’t a crank call. His name is Wrath and he’s living at headquarters. That’s all they referred to it as. I was taken by him yesterday because he said I was working with someone who used to be an employee for Mercile Industries. We went into my office today to try to find the person he’s hunting but it turned out that almost everyone in the office seemed to work for Mercile. They shot him with some kind of drugged dart. I got him out of there but I—”
The man cut her off. “You said his name is Wrath?”
“Yes.”
The man growled. “I have a list of all New Species right in front of me. There is no one named Wrath. Female, if you ever call here again I will send the police to your home. We have your address right here. Any incoming calls are immediately traced.” He recited Amanda’s address. “Never call here again.” He hung up.
Lauren clenched her teeth. She turned her head to stare at Wrath. He was definitely New Species. She dialed again and the same man answered.
“Listen to me, whoever you are. I’m looking at him. He’s right here in the living room. Please send someone to arrest me because when they get here they are going to take one look at him and know I’m not lying. He’s been shot with a dart and he’s unconscious. He needs help, I’m worried about him, and have no idea what was in that dart. I was told not to dial 9-1-1 so I haven’t. They took two more of your people, are holding two women hostage and hurt a man named Brian. He was bleeding in an alley.”
“Who did this to the male and those others you mentioned?” He sounded bored.
“My boss and some of my coworkers. They took two of your people at gunpoint and were going to put them in the courtesy van my company owns. They—”
“Don’t call here again, damn it. Call a head shrink.” The man hung up.
“Fuck!” Lauren hit the top of the bar.
“He didn’t believe you?” Amanda lifted her head.
Lauren was pissed. “No. He hung up on me again. I wish I knew where headquarters was but I wasn’t paying much attention when we left there.”
“Well, all you can do is hope that whatever they shot him with wears off soon and then he can tell us what to do.”
Lauren pushed off the barstool and walked toward him. She sank down on her knees and put her hand on his chest while she studied his face. She removed the glasses with gentle fingers, stroked his cheek and hoped that he’d wake soon.
“I hope it was just a sedative. What if it wasn’t?”
“We’ll watch him and if he stops breathing or something, we’ll call for an ambulance.”
Lauren nodded. She shifted her body, getting comfortable, to stay by Wrath’s side. She wasn’t about to let anything happen to him.
* * * * *
Saturn shook his head, trying to shake off his anger. Didn’t humans have anything better to do than screw with him? He got a bunch of crazy calls every day. An hour before a female had called to see if she could hire a Species to be present at her child’s birthday party as if one of them would visit just to entertain children. The call before that was from a man saying he wanted to marry a Species female. Now a female was calling to tell him someone in a courtesy van was kidnapping his people and she had one of them in her living room. He snorted.
“Bad day?” Tiger, his supervisor, smiled.
“I hate phone duty,” Saturn admitted. “Humans are crazy.”
Tiger nodded. “I know. I can never decide if the ones who call to tell me to die are worse than the ones who call and ask me if they can get a ride back with us to our home planet.”
“Direct line, Tiger,” a female Species called out. “It’s Tim Oberto and there’s a problem.”
Tiger cursed. Four—no, three—of his Species males were working with Tim’s task force. He prayed there wasn’t another issue. One of the males had already turned out to be unstable and unfit for duty. He hoped another one of them hadn’t cracked under the pressure. He walked to the phone and lifted it to his ear.
“What is wrong?”
“We have a big fucking problem. One of my men and all three of yours have been taken. We’re tracking two of your men and our man at this moment. They had their uniforms on and they are tagged. We’re in pursuit and we should have them at any time unless they are stripped of their clothes. Unfortunately one of your men wasn’t wearing his uniform and didn’t take a tracker. We have no idea where he is, Tiger. He’s off radar unless he’s with the others.”
“Son of a bitch. Which one is missing?”
“Wrath.”
Tiger frowned. “Who?”
Tim sighed. “You called him 919. I ordered them to pick names and that’s the one he chose.”
“Wrath?” Tiger pushed back anger that something had gone wrong and fear for the safety of his males. “What happened?”
Tim quickly explained what the mission had been. “The woman called in on Brian’s phone to alert us all hell was breaking loose. Brian is one of my men assigned to your guys. She’s in the wind too now, wasn’t on scene when we arrived, and to be honest, I’m playing catch-up. Your men didn’t run this by me first or I would have sent more backup, Tiger. I just pulled the damn notes Brass made so I know what the hell was going on and who this woman is. No one was there when we got to the address. The entire office was abandoned. We found our SUV around the corner and some blood on the ground where she said Brian was injured.”
“You think the woman stole them?”
Tim sighed. “She alerted us to something being wrong. Otherwise we wouldn’t have known to activate their tracking devices until they didn’t report in. That would have been a few hours. We’re assuming she’s friendly at this moment and was taken with the team.”
“Got it. So a human female is missing too? What is her name? Did 358 pick a name too?”
Tiger wrote it down. “I’ll alert my people. Maybe whoever has them wants a ransom. Call me back the second you close in on those signals.” He hung up.
Tiger spun and raised his voice. “Everyone, we have a situation. We have three missing Species males, a human male and a human female. Our males were on a retrieval mission with the human male driver from the task force and a human female who was helping them locate the target. Our men missing are Brass, 919 and 358.” He paused. “Sorry. They picked names. 919 is going by Wrath and 358 is going by Shadow.”
Saturn suddenly cursed and stood. “Did you say Wrath?”
Tiger fixed his gaze on Saturn.
“Would the human female’s name possibly be Lauren?”
Tiger strode across the room toward him. “Yes. Lauren Henderson.”
“Shit. She called us but I thought she was a crackpot. I hung up on her twice. She’s got Wrath and wanted us to help him but I didn’t believe her.”
* * * * *
Lauren grew more alarmed as time passed and Wrath didn’t wake. She had borrowed clothes from Amanda, changed into something more comfortable, and stayed by his side. Amanda had tried to convince Lauren that he’d rest easier if they removed Wrath’s shirt. Lauren shook her head at her best friend.
“Give it up. We’re not stripping him down.”
“But he’d be more comfortable.”
“Not when he woke up and needed a shower from you drooling all over him.”
“I’ll get a drool rag and tie it around my neck.”
Lauren laughed. “For the last damn time, no! You aren’t taking his clothes off.”
“You removed his boots.”
“Well, that’s just his feet. He’s sleeping. No one should do that with their boots on.”
“He’s got big feet and hands. Think that saying is true?” Amanda grinned.
“It is in his case.”
Amanda’s eyes widened. “You peeked when I was changing, didn’t you? God, you’re such a bitch. You are supposed to do everything with your best friend.”
Lauren hesitated and decided to just tell her friend the truth. “I didn’t peek while you were changing. I’ve showered with him.”
“No! Get out! You’re lying just to make me jealous.”
“We spent last night together.”
Amanda let her eyes roam up and down the man on the pink inflatable mattress. Her gaze returned to Lauren. “You are my hero, girlfriend.”
Lauren stood and entered the kitchen. “I’m getting hungry. How about you?”
The doorbell rang. Lauren instantly felt fear as she spun and her gaze flew to Amanda’s. “What if it’s the jerks from my work?” she whispered.
Amanda hesitated, paled, and whispered back, “How would they know where I live?”
“We work in real estate. Duh! We do title searches all the time.”
“Do they know my last name?”
Lauren shrugged.
Amanda rose to her feet and tiptoed closer to the door. “I’ll peek.”
Lauren grabbed the largest knife in the kitchen and a rolling pin. She ran for the door too, ready to do battle if they tried to break down the door to steal Wrath. Amanda frowned and glanced at the things Lauren gripped in her hands, before rising up to peek out the tiny hole in the door. Amanda jumped back, spun, and looked terrified as she met Lauren’s gaze.
“Two really large men wearing all black with sunglasses are out there. They look huge,” she whispered.
“Lauren Henderson?” The male outside spoke loudly. “You called the NSO. We are here as you requested. We know you aren’t a crazy female anymore and we’ve come for our male. Will you please allow us in to see Wrath? We mean you no harm.”
Lauren eased closer to the door, rose on tiptoe and peered through the tiny hole. The two men were really large but the glasses and prominent bone structure assured her they weren’t trying to trick her. She dropped back.
Amanda gave her a questioning look.
Lauren nodded at her. “Let them in.”
Amanda shook her head. “Did I mention they are really badass looking and huge?”
“Open the door. Damn it, Amanda. Wrath needs help.”
“Fine but I am going to annoy the shit out of you in the afterlife if you get us killed.”
Lauren rolled her eyes. Amanda unlocked the door and slowly opened it. She jumped back, almost tripped, as two very tall, wide men wearing all black stepped into the room. They had long hair, down past their shoulders, and were wearing identical sunglasses. They closed the door behind them.
One of them frowned and slowly reached up to remove his sunglasses. Lauren was shocked when she met a pair of catlike eyes. He blinked at her before his attention dropped to her hands.
“Are you going to cut us or try to beat on us with those?”
Lauren realized she was still holding the knife and wooden rolling pin. She flushed and put them down on the nearest table. “I’m sorry. We were afraid you were the men from my work. Wrath is over there.” She pointed.
They had to walk around the couch to see the unconscious Species. The man who’d spoken to Lauren suddenly laughed. “Is that a pink castle?”
“It’s my niece’s,” Amanda admitted. “She loves to sleep in my room so I bought her that. It’s got a princess under him.”
The man grinned. “I’m Flame and this is Slash.”
Slash was as tall as Flame, about six foot three, but he had streaked, light-brown hair with silver highlights. He removed his glasses. He had the same catlike eyes and they were an odd shade of blue. The man nodded at Lauren and Amanda.
“What happened?” Flame focused on Amanda.
“Talk to her. I’m just the getaway driver. I didn’t know what he was or I might have at least bitched more on the drive here but she’s my best friend so what else could I do? She said to drive and I put the pedal to the metal.”
Flame turned to Lauren. She quickly explained everything that had happened and retrieved the dart she’d saved, handing it to Flame.
“This was what they stuck him with. I kept it in case you could test it to tell what drug they used.”
Flame took the dart and sniffed it. He cursed. He dug out a cell phone and quickly dialed someone. “We need a helicopter out here now. Wrath has been tranquilized with a heavy dose of sedative and a paralyzing agent. There’s a park half a block from here. We’ll meet it there.” He hung up and stared deeply into Lauren’s eyes. “You did really good, human female. The sedative lasts longer with the paralyzing agent. It’s a trick those bastards discovered to stop our bodies from working through their drugs as quickly. His heart could stop if they overdosed him.”
Lauren nodded. “Will he be all right?” She was worried.
Flame nodded. “I believe so. His breathing is steady and strong. Grab some clothing quickly. We are taking you with us.”
“But—” Lauren started.
“Let me grab my bag,” Amanda said at the same time. Amanda shot Lauren a dirty look. “They want to take us with them. Be a friend, shut your mouth and let’s grab some clothes.”
Lauren frowned.
“Duh! Hunky guys. Move your ass, Lauren.” Amanda was already turning, running for the stairs. “Don’t leave without me!”
Lauren glanced at Flame and couldn’t miss his shocked expression or widened eyes.
“Did she say hunky guys?”
Lauren sighed. “She’s single and looking.”
Flame frowned. “Looking for what?”
“She doesn’t have a man in her life and she wants one. You’re both men.”
Flame relaxed and laughed. “Oh.”
Slash made a weird noise. “What does she want one of us for?”
Flame grinned. “She’s looking for a mate.”
Slash shook his head. “Not me. Females are trouble and I don’t want a mate.”
Flame chuckled. “One wouldn’t want you either.” He stared at Lauren. “The helicopter will be arriving in fifteen minutes and we must leave here in seven to meet it. You may want a spare set of clothing.”
Lauren ran upstairs to find Amanda in a fit of packing. Lauren shook her head, staring at three open suitcases on the bed and her friend tossing clothes at them.
“Put the cocktail dress down. We’re leaving in a helicopter and that means one bag.”
“But I have to look good. Did you see the both of them?” Amanda fanned herself. “So hot.”
“They either fit you inside the helicopter or all those bags you’re packing. How badly do you want to leave with them?”
Amanda hesitated. “Right. I can do one bag.” Her voice lowered. “Who knows. Maybe I won’t need any clothes.” She winked. “Dibs on the talker. He’s got the deepest, sexiest voice, and did you see those eyes? Meow! I totally want to rub him.”
Lauren lowered her voice too. “They have really good hearing and he probably just heard what you said.”
“Then he knows how I really feel. Life is too short not to go after something you want. I’ve learned that.”
“I know you have. Let me help you. One spare outfit, something to sleep in and we should be good.”
“You can borrow whatever.”
“Thanks.”
They returned downstairs and Lauren immediately went to Wrath’s side to check on him. He was breathing slowly and deeply, his coloring was good, but he still didn’t rouse. She was really worried about him. She turned her head to find both Flame and Slash a few feet away watching her intently.
Flame stepped forward. “I’ll take Wrath. Please don’t try to run. You will be safer with us than staying here. The people who shot him may be looking for him.”
“Oh, we won’t run,” Amanda assured sincerely as she smiled up at him. “Try to lose me—it won’t happen. I don’t want to leave your side.”
Flame grinned. “I like you, female. You are direct.”
“That’s me.” Amanda winked. “Direct and single but you could change that.”
Lauren stood and allowed the other man to bend down where she’d been. It stunned her when the large New Species just lifted Wrath as if he weighed nothing, shifted his body, and straightened with the other New Species draped over one broad shoulder.
