New Species 02 Slade (18 page)

had me blocked from reaching you before they did. I

heard them state they were bringing you back to their

camp. You did good, Doc. You slowed them down and

gave me time to come back here. I found the first one

inside the tent. I killed him and carried his body away to

prevent them from finding him.”

“But―” Slade gently put his finger over her lips and

she closed her mouth. “I knew they wouldn’t harm you

as long as they thought he was injured and in need of

your help. I hid his body, hoping they’d think he walked

off to piss and got lost. I followed the younger one and

took him out. I had to backtrack the loudmouthed one

for a ways. He was smarter and harder to get the drop

on. Then I came back here in time to hear you scream.”

“They are really dead?” Shock tore through her that

Slade had killed them.

“Yes. The men they are with killed Bart and they

were going to kill you. They would have done the same

to me too. Trust me. They tried to kill me when I found

them. I never would have left you alone if I didn’t think

you would be safe. I’m so sorry. I swear I never thought

you’d be harmed. When I left he was feeding you and

giving you a drink.”

She saw sincerity in his eyes. “I didn’t expect him to

attack me either.”

Slade cupped her face and studied Trisha. “I’m really

sorry, sweet thing. Do you forgive me?”

She nodded, still stunned that he’d really killed

those men to save her.

He took her wrists in his hands and peered at them,

frowning. “You will have a lot of bruises. Are you hurt

anywhere else?” His gaze met hers. “Tell me. Did that

bastard hurt you worse?”

“No.”

“Trisha? Tell me. Did he do anything to you besides

the wrists and your face? Did he assault you sexually in

any way before I arrived? Did I reach you in time or did

he molest you earlier too?”

Tears blinded her. “You got here in time.”

“Then why the tears?” He brushed at a few of them

with his thumb, eyeing them as though they were

something foreign.

Trisha laughed, partly from hysteria and partly from

his comical look. “You don’t ever cry, do you?” She

sniffed, her laughter gone. “I was terrified. I’m crying

because of what he planned to do to me.”

“No. I don’t cry.”

Trisha wasn’t surprised by that admission. “Well, I

do. Crap. I’m naked. See what a mess I am right now? I

forgot I wasn’t wearing clothes.” She gripped her shirt

from behind her neck and yanked it down her body to

cover her to her lap. She glanced around the area and

found the rest of her things before she looked back at

Slade. “I should get dressed.”

“Don’t move. You’re still shaking.” He put his arms

around her. “Just relax, Doc. They are dead and you’re

safe. There isn’t anyone else around for miles. I made

sure of it.”

She turned and relaxed against Slade, putting her

arms around his waist and just clung to him. She fought

the urge to cry when both his arms wrapped around her.

It was a given that she would have been in some serious

hell if it weren’t for Slade holding her. He made her feel a

little better.

“By the way, don’t ever do that again.” Slade sighed.

“Do what?” Trisha lifted her head, peering at his

tense expression.

“Provoke a man into hurting you.” Slade shook his

head a little at her. “What if I had arrived later? I

wouldn’t have been able to reach you before he’d killed

you. I would have come to recover your body from his

dying, bloody fingers, Doc. Next time you do anything in

your power to stay alive. You can survive anything as

long as you keep breathing.”

“He was going to do horrendous things to me. I

would rather die than suffer through that.”

Slade growled at Trisha, showing his anger. “No.

You survive any way you can but you cling to life. It

would have been hell for you and it would have hurt

you badly but as long as you are breathing, you have life

left to fight for.”

“You don’t understand. That asshole didn’t tie you

to a tree and tell you he would rape you in ways that

would have left you screaming.”

Slade breathed harder now, angry, and glared at

Trisha. He gripped her arms, turning her to face him. “I

have suffered many harsh things, Doc. You have no idea

of the kind of pain and agony I have endured in my

lifetime. I watched them kill my friends and they were all

I had. I’ve suffered pain that would have driven most

males insane but I am here still. I fought. I bided my time

in hopes that one day I might have one like today. I’m

free. All the pain and agony, all the hell, all the indignity

and humiliation is behind me. I’m here sitting with you

on my lap and I’m grateful, Doc. Do you understand?

You survive any way you can but you don’t give up.

Never provoke a man into killing you again.” He took a

ragged breath and his handsome features softened.

“Please. I can’t save a corpse.”

Trisha nodded her understanding, her anger gone.

He had suffered and she had no idea how deeply that

anguish had gone. He’d spent year after year being a test

subject. He’d seen many people he had to have cared

about being tortured to death. One really horror of a

nightmare day she’d had to undergo paled in

comparison to Slade’s entire life.

“I promise.”

The tension in his body eased. “Good. We’ll eat their

food, take their supplies, and get out of here before

someone comes to check on them. I’m sure teams of my

people have reached the area and are searching for us.”

“But those men have hunting parties out there

looking for you, Slade. They were talking about a fifty

thousand dollar reward.”

Slade cursed. “On capturing me or killing me?”

“I don’t know but I’m pretty sure it didn’t matter as

long as they killed you. They just said it was fifty

thousand dollars. They mentioned someone named

Thomas who wouldn’t pay them if something happened

to his son. That was the first guy you killed inside the

tent.” She gave him a smile. “I guess Thomas won’t be

happy when he finds out his son is dead.”

“My bad.” Slade shrugged. “He’s definitely dead

and I hope none of them get paid their blood money. Did

you hear anything else?”

“Bill, that’s the dead guy over there, used a walkie-

talkie to talk to a base camp. I’m assuming they set up a

few of them around here. There are more teams out there

hunting for you but I guess we’re a few miles from them.

Bill was supposed to check in with them first thing in the

morning.”

He smiled. “He won’t be.”

“They knew I’m a doctor when they found me.”

“Your things were at the crash site. It was probably

easy to figure out who you were and they can

communicate and share information. I’m sure there is a

search going on for us. Justice would have publicized

our faces to help find us.”

“Oh. Sorry. I thought that might be important.”

“It was a good catch on detail.” Slade winked at her.

“Hungry? I am.”

She nodded. “I have to pee first though.”

“You go find privacy while I find you some clean

clothes. They have water. I see the bottles from here.

Take one with you and wash, Doc. I’ll take care of the

body over there and start sorting supplies.”

“Thank you.” Trisha suddenly cupped his face and

leaned closer to him. “You saved my life, Slade. Just…

thank you.”

A slow smile curved his lips. “Since I saved your life

does this mean I’m guaranteed to get lucky tonight?”

Trisha laughed. She couldn’t help it. It was the

amused look on his face. “I can’t believe you said that.”

Sturdy shoulders shrugged. “I always want you,

Doc.”

She climbed off his lap and stood. Slade rose to his

feet as well. Her body trembled from the stress and tired

muscles but she ignored it. She was more concerned with

the fact that she was naked from the waist down. She

knew Slade couldn’t help but see that as she moved

away from him. She walked over to retrieve a bottle of

water.

“Tease,” Slade growled as she bent over and

retrieved one of the bottles her for a sponge bath.

She straightened and shot him a look over her

shoulder. “Aren’t you supposed to be finding me some

clean clothes instead of watching me bend over?”

“I’m doing both.” He headed for the tent. “Do you

want to lean over and pick something else up before I go

inside? I could throw things in your path for you to have

to move.”

She laughed, walking toward the clump of bushes

that would give her privacy. “No thank you. I’m good.”

She quickly attended to her immediate needs and

then removed her shirt and torn bra. She stood naked in

the shade as everything hit her at once. Trisha fought

tears as she examined her injured wrists. Her mouth hurt

and her cheek throbbed hotly and ached where she’d

been struck. She also felt really, really dirty. Bill had

touched her and just the thought of what he had wanted

to do to her body made her want to throw up.

She crouched, attempting to open the water. She

wasn’t strong enough to twist the lid off and her

trembling didn’t help. She made a soft sound, fighting

the urge to start sobbing, and hugged her body as she

stared at the bottle.

“Doc?” Slade’s voice came from right behind her.

She didn’t move. She huddled naked and kept her

back to him. It embarrassed her to fall apart the way she

was and remembered he wasn’t fond of tears. She knew if

she looked at him he’d see how close she was to

completely losing it.

“I found clothes for you,” he said, his voice soft as he

moved closer.

She hugged her chest tighter. The urge to break into

sobs grew stronger. The past events of the last twenty-

four hours were just too much. She wasn’t used to

people trying to kill her or men attacking her.

“Trisha?” Slade crouched down behind her and his

arms wrapped around her. “It is okay, sweet thing. I’m

here. You’re shaking.”

Hot tears streamed down her face. She heard Slade

softly curse and then he sat on the ground, pulling her

into his arms. She didn’t look at him. She wrapped her

arms around his neck instead, held on tightly, and

buried her face against his chest.

Slade’s arms hugged her harder and his fingers dug

into her hair. He cradled her against his chest and rested

his chin on the top of her head.

“You’ve been very brave,” he rasped softly. “I’ve

been trying to keep you mouthy and fighting but it’s

been too much, hasn’t it?”

She nodded against his chest. “You hate tears. I’m

sorry.”

His hand stopped rubbing her scalp and he sighed.

“I don’t hate tears on you. Don’t be sorry. You deserve to

cry. It’s actually been a bad two days. I’m so sorry I left

you here. I would have killed him first if I thought he

would hurt you but I made a mistake. I was certain he

would treat you right until I got back and I thought it

was best to leave you here with him in case more men

came. My reasoning was that they already had you and

wouldn’t hurt you because they had a need for you to

treat their team member.”

“It’s not your fault.” Trisha used her forearm to wipe

her tears. “You saved me. Thank you, Slade. I know you

didn’t have to and you risked your life fighting that man

to do it. You killed him for me. You killed all of them to

rescue me.”

His fingers brushed her hair again. “You’re mine,

Doc. I’d fight anyone to get you back and I’ll kill any man

who touches you.”

His words sank in. Trisha lifted her head, stared at

Slade. His blue eyes met her shocked ones. “I’m yours?

What does that mean?”

He hesitated. “Now isn’t the time, okay? We’ll have

this discussion later when we’re home. Let me help you

get cleaned up. We’ll eat, salvage their supplies, and get

out of here. I’m hoping we are back at Homeland by

tomorrow.”

Trisha studied him. “Okay.” She wanted to ask him a