New Species 02 Slade (30 page)

but she’s a bit under the weather. I’m sending her there

for her protection and so that she can get some well-

deserved rest.”

“I’ll handle it. No one will harm her here.” Slade

snarled the words.

“I’m sure she’ll be fine. I need to go. I’ll have the

pilot radio in on their exact time of landing.”

“It will be taken care of.”

* * * * *

Rage poured through Slade hotly until sweat broke

out over his skin. The office he sat in had air-

conditioning but it couldn’t offset the reaction to his

anger. He’d done the honorable thing by leaving

Homeland to avoid the temptation of seeking out Trisha.

He’d sacrificed his sanity at times to make certain she

wasn’t in danger.

She had to be sent to Reservation due to a threat. The

fact that Justice had been so vague on what prompted the

move really drove him into a bad mood. Had someone

actually tried to harm her? Had it just been threats by

phone? Maybe a breach at Homeland? The human who’d

betrayed them hadn’t been caught. Had he or she gone

after Trisha?

He snarled and drew the attention of a few of the

people inside the office. Tiger lifted a curious eyebrow.

“What is wrong? Did the crew at the hotel break

another water line?”

“No.” He glanced at the one human who worked on

blueprints and gave his friend a hand signal as he rose to

his feet. “We should check on their progress.”

Tiger stood. “I’ll walk with you.”

They walked about twenty yards from the makeshift

office before Tiger paused, staring at his friend. “What is

wrong?”

“That was Justice. He’s sending Dr. Norbit here. She’s

in danger and he wants her stashed.”

“Shit. Doesn’t he realize how rough that will be?”

“He didn’t seem to care. I couldn’t argue with him,

knowing everything I said could be overheard.”

“True.”

“I’m going to see her again.”

Tiger’s cat eyes widened. “You haven’t gotten over

her yet?”

“No. I think about her all the time.”

“You have to stand strong. We discussed this.”

“She’s in danger and I’ve stayed away from her.

Obviously that didn’t work.”

“She’ll be in danger regardless. She works for us, and

some will hate her for that offense alone. If she’s with one

of us, with you, and it gets out, whatever threat level

against her will worsen. You did the correct thing.”

“Did I?” Slade’s body tensed. “Why does the right

thing feel so wrong?”

“We’ve suffered enough. It’s better not to have her

than to risk her being killed because she’s your woman.”

Pain sliced through his chest. “I’d die inside if that

happened. I couldn’t live with that.”

“And that’s why you made the right choice.” Tiger

shifted his stance. “Work is the cure. We’ve got enough

of it here.”

“Right. Work.”

“I’ll handle her. You don’t need to talk to her when

she arrives.”

“No.” He knew it would be stupid but he needed to

see her. “Justice didn’t give details of why she’s in

danger but he said she was under the weather. I’ll sleep

better at night if I can actually see her for myself. I won’t

rest until I make sure she’s physically fine.”

“Masochist.”

“Shut up.”

“I’m just saying it will be painful to see her and not

be able to touch her. You’ll want to.”

“I’m strong. I can deal with this.” Tiger shot him a

disbelieving stare. “Sometimes I wonder why we are

friends.”

“I already told you. You’re a masochist.” Tiger

laughed.

* * * * *

Trisha walked out of Justice’s bathroom. She’d

redone her makeup and knew she could pass muster on

looking normal. She paused when she saw the pensive

look on Justice’s face as he watched her.

“I decided to hold off telling Slade about the baby.

It’s your news to share with him. I’ll give you a little

time.”

Relief washed through Trisha. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet. If you don’t let him know

within the next… ” He shrugged. “I will have to. He’s in

charge of Reservation and needs to know how important

it is to protect you. In order to do that he needs to be

made aware of the dangers. I think by the way he reacted

when he thought you were at risk, he might care more for

you than you believe. That’s what prompted me to see if

you both can work this out on your own before I

intervene.”

She stared at Justice grimly. “If he cared, as you put

it, he would have come to see me. He would have at

least called to make sure I was okay emotionally after

what happened to us. The way I heard it, he nearly

begged for the job at Reservation to get away from

Homeland, which probably translates to getting away

from me.”

“He did not beg for the job. I wanted Fury to go but

Ellie couldn’t leave our women. She takes her job at the

woman’s dorm very seriously and she’s always under

threat as Fury’s mate. My next in command is Slade. I

asked him and he accepted. I needed someone I could

trust handling everything. I have too much on my own

plate down here to keep bouncing back and forth. I was

getting airsick with the two and three helicopter rides I

had to take daily.”

“I see.”

“I hope you do. Now, Brass should be here at any

time to pick you up. I have a conference room meeting

with the Council in a few minutes.” He stood and sighed.

“Sometimes they drive me nuts.”

“Good luck with that. I’ll go wait for him in the

lobby.”

“Stay here and relax. The couch is comfortable.”

“Thank you.”

He grinned as he glanced at her stomach. “I’m very

excited about this.”

“Me too, when I’m not scared stupid.”

Justice squeezed her arm, reassuring her, and walked

out of his office. He firmly closed the door behind him.

Fifteen minutes later Brass walked into the room.

Trisha stood and studied him. He appeared calm now,

collected,

and

cool.

“I’m

very

sorry

Justice

misunderstood about you being the father of my baby.”

He studied her before his attention lowered to her

stomach. “You’re really carrying a New Species baby?”

“Yes.”

“That’s good news.”

Trisha noticed he didn’t look happy. “Is our

friendship all right, Brass?”

“Yes. I’m… wishing I’d met you before you became

involved with another male. I hope that doesn’t offend

you. It’s just that I was drawn to you more than I should

have allowed. Now you belong to someone else but I’ll

adjust. We’re fine, Trisha.”

“I don’t belong to anyone, Brass. The father and I

aren’t together.” She rushed on before he could say

anything, not wanting to encourage him but needing to

be clear she wasn’t open to him hitting on her either. “I

have feelings for him but he obviously doesn’t return

them. It’s going to take some time but I’m sure I’ll deal

with it.”

He blinked. “You belong to someone. You didn’t

inform him about the baby?”

“No. Justice has given me some time to contact him

and give him the news.”

He nodded. “I figured or this male would be at your

side. You do belong to someone and he’ll let you know

that the second he finds out you are carrying his child.

Let’s go. The helicopter is ready. I chose Harley and

Moon to come with us.”

Dread pitted her stomach. She really didn’t want

Slade to find out. That wasn’t the way she wanted him

back in her life. She’d rather never see him again than

have him pursue her just because they’d created a life

together. She deserved a guy who cared about her, not

one who wanted to be with her out of some sense of duty

or honor. New Species seemed to have a lot of both of

those traits. She decided not to mention that to Brass. She

feared they’d argue.

Trisha had met Moon. He was one of the men who

showed up with Harley and Brass at her house to watch

movies. The tall man didn’t talk much but he had a

wicked sense of humor she enjoyed when he decided to

break his silence.

“Thank you.”

Brass held out his arm and Trisha wrapped her

fingers around his forearm. He genuinely smiled at her

and escorted her out of the office.

Trisha knew she wasn’t going to make it to

Reservation without being deeply embarrassed. Brass

rubbed her back gently while she sat on his lap. She

fought the urge to puke all over the floor. She miserably

glanced at Moon and Harley.

Both of them gave her sympathetic looks, knew of

her pregnancy, and had been sworn to secrecy. They

were going to be protecting her, living with her, and they

had needed to know the truth. She glanced at the floor

and used her hand to motion to them. Both men quickly

lifted their feet. Moon grinned.

“Motion sickness is not funny!” she shouted. She

wasn’t sure if he heard her over the loud helicopter and

the headset he wore to keep in contact with the pilots but

Moon winked in response, making her believe he had.

“We’re almost there,” Brass said next to her ear. “Just

hang on, Trisha.”

She miserably nodded. Her stomach pitched a fit but

she didn’t want to throw up. She’d be humiliated if all

three men got to see her lose her breakfast, not to

mention the pilots having to clean it up after they

landed. She closed her eyes but it made the sick feeling

worsen. She could feel the helicopter lowering. Thank

God. It’s nearly over. The helicopter landed and the pilot

started to shut the engines down.

Moon moved first when he opened the side door and

jumped out. Harley exited next. They split apart and

stood at both sides of the door. Trisha tried to stand on

her own but her knees trembled so badly she swayed the

instant she put weight on them.

Brass scooped her into his arms where he cradled her

tightly against his chest as he bent to carry her out of the

helicopter. Harley and Moon gripped Brass with Trisha

inside his arms and lifted both of them to the ground. It

prevented Brass from jostling her if he’d had to jump

down.

Trisha rested her head against the curve Brass’ broad

shoulder. She hugged him around his neck as the world

spun a little. She hated motion sickness. Brass shifted

Trisha in his hold, lifting her tighter against his chest, to

make her more comfortable.

“Hang on to me,” he whispered. “We’ll get you

settled and I’ll put a cool washcloth on your forehead.

You’ll feel a hundred times better.”

“Thank you,” she murmured to Brass. “You’re the

best.”

He laughed. “I know. It’s a hard burden to shoulder

but I’m willing.”

She smiled, really grateful to have him as a friend.

He always knew how to make her laugh. She heard

Harley talking but didn’t dare lift her head from Brass’

shoulder to see who he spoke to, still fighting the urge to

be sick.

“She’s motion sick. She will be fine once we get her

to a bed and give her some time to recover.”

“Is that right?” The male voice sounded furious and

was one that Trisha knew too well. She tensed and lifted

her head, regardless of the consequences.

Slade stood about five feet from her. He glared as he

glanced from her face to Brass, and then back. Trisha

knew she’d be experiencing the last seconds of life if

looks could have killed and his reaction confused her.

Why is he so angry? Does he hate me? He obviously had

an issue with her being near him. Their gazes met and

held.

Trisha noted that Slade’s hair had grown a little since

she’d seen him. He wore his usual NSO black outfit,

minus the vest though. Instead of NSO stamped onto the

breast of his shirt, his name had been printed in the

space. He looked fit and handsome. Trisha would have

thought he even looked sexy if it wasn’t for the

murderous rage she saw in his expression. Her heart did

a twist from being close to him again.

“Trisha?” Brass whispered against her ear. “That’s

him, isn’t it?”

She turned her head and met his gaze. Brass stared at