Numbers (17 page)

927 snarled as he jerked the door open, showing fangs. “I’m
packing, and have to catch a helicopter that is leaving in twenty minutes for
Reservation. I don’t have time to talk.”

He tried to slam the door but Breeze moved faster,
flattening her hands on the closing door and shoved. It surprised 927 as he
backed up. Candi lunged forward into the room, her gaze locked on him.

He paled when he saw her and his lips pressed into a tight
line. The color leached from them as if that much pressure pushed out the
blood. A muscle in his jaw flexed. He was furious. She gazed into his eyes and
understood how the technicians and doctors had once feared the chilling looks
he could give.

She licked her lips and her body trembled. He was really
alive. She noticed other things about him. He towered above her, having grown
much taller since she’d last seen him. His youthful body had matured, adding a
lot of muscle and bulk to his frame. He was larger than either of them had ever
estimated and he looked as lethal as she knew he could be. She noticed when his
hands clenched at his sides. She’d seen it before. He was fighting the urge to
attack. She was the target of that rage.

“Can we be alone?” She didn’t turn her head, not willing to
look away from…Hero.

“No,” Breeze stated firmly. “But ignore us. We’ll be as
quiet as mice.”

It frustrated her, but she didn’t have time to argue. The
male she knew wasn’t good at holding his temper for long. She might have only
seconds to calm him. She took a step closer, but his lips pulled back and he
snarled, flashing fangs. It was a warning.

“Hero!” Breeze growled.

“Stay out of this, no matter what. Please,” Candi whispered.
“This is between him and me.” She held still, trying not to approach him again.
“It’s always been just us.” She directed that at him. “I did it to save you.
They were going to kill you if I refused.”

He tensed further, the muscles in his arms straining,
indicating that he battled the urge to attack. Years might have passed, but she
knew him. He’d learned more control. It hurt when she saw his rage did not
lessen. It actually seemed to incense him more. She had to try though.

“It was agree or be forced to watch you die. You know I
would have done anything to protect you. Anything.” Tears blinded her. “Do you
think I wanted to let that happen? You’re all I wanted.” She blinked, clearing
her vision. The tears slipped down her cheeks, but she didn’t wipe them away.
“I did it to keep you alive so we could be together again.”

“You should have let them kill me.”

They were angry words, snarled at her. She understood. She
thought he might have felt that way. “We survive. It’s what we do.” She paused.
“I survived to be with you. Do you think I wanted that? I wanted to die first,
but that would have left you alone. If you had died, it would have left me
alone. I did what I had to so we could see each other again.”

He said nothing, but that rage burned in his gaze, the brown
seeming to have disappeared, making them actually look as black as she figured
his heart had turned. It broke hers into pieces. The pain that ripped through
her chest was almost as bad as the day she’d been told he was dead. She’d lost
him all the same. He was never going to forgive her.

She turned to Breeze. The female looked worried, confused.
“Will you please do me one favor? Can I trust you?”

“Of course.”

“You seem to be in charge of the females, and you said I’m
one of yours. Don’t let them punish him for this. I deserve it.”

“What are you talking about?”

She turned toward 927. She didn’t care what name he’d been
given. The male in front of her was the one she’d known, just older. She took a
step closer. “Hit me, 927. As many times as it takes. Find your payback. Be at
peace by causing me pain the way I hurt you with the decision I once made.”

“Shit,” Torrent growled. “Don’t you dare, Hero.”

Breeze stepped farther into the room to stand beside Candi.
She gripped her arm. “Stop. What is going on here?”

Candi jerked out of her hold and kept her gaze locked on
927. His eyes narrowed and he watched her. He didn’t move but his entire body
vibrated as he growled deep. He was about to snap, his control nearly gone. He
just needed that last push and she was willing to give it to him.

“I survived all these years believing I did it to make the
ones pay for taking you away from me.” She swallowed. “Now I realize it was
what I did that took you from me, regardless of the reasons. I wanted revenge
for you, but you can take your own. I understand. Do it, my pup.”

He opened his mouth and howled. The killing rage twisted his
features. It was just as before, the last time she’d seen him, minus the chains
to hold him back. She didn’t tense, just watched him, waiting for him to lunge.
The fear never came. 927 had always been her motivation to keep fighting to
survive, but she was willing to allow him to strike her if it made him feel as
if they were even.

Candi was offering, no, taunting him to cause her harm. Hero
nearly lost his mind. He’d let the rage and pain explode in a violent outburst
of sound. He kept his feet planted firmly on the carpet, forced himself to stay
away from her. He didn’t want her blood to spill.
Never again
. He
realized he’d closed his eyes. He opened them.

Breeze, Jinx and Torrent flanked Candi. They stood close,
ready to defend her if he attacked. He was grateful for their interference.
Torrent cocked his head, uttered a curse, and moved fast to the open doorway.
The male stepped out, but stayed near enough to return quickly.

“Nothing to see here,” the male called out. “Spread the
word. Just leave the floor. It’s fine. Breeze, Jinx and I have it handled.
Nobody call Security. It’s just a little, um, argument.”

Hero studied Candi. She remained in the same position,
waiting for him to strike her. She showed no fear, no hesitation. A sheen of
tears still glistened in her beautiful eyes. Her words had been heard. The
adult in him understood, but the youth raged from the pain.

It took time to form words inside his mind and force them to
exit his mouth. “Canine or feline male? Was it just the one?”

She took a breath and he glimpsed that fleeting, sad look
she quickly erased from her features. “Feline.” Her throat muscles worked to
swallow. “One time.” She paused. “To prove to Christopher that it was safe. He
swore I was too fragile to survive being bred.”

“Oh shit,” Breeze whispered.

His heart felt as if it were being squeezed in a vise. “Did
you suffer?”

Tears spilled down her face, but she remained still. “More
than you’ll ever know.” Her voice broke. “But nothing beyond the expected
parameters, physically. That’s what Evelyn said, anyway.”

“What about you being too young?” It was tough to breathe
and he felt as if he was suffocating. The tightness in his chest worsened. He
needed answers though.

“I guess they considered me old enough. Evelyn got
permission from the board to use me in a breeding experiment, but Christopher
said he’d kill you first. He was in charge of you. He swore he’d make me watch
you die. It was no secret that all I wanted was to be returned to our space, to
be with you. Evelyn came for me with her plan to allow another male to mount
me. She said Christopher couldn’t harm one of hers. I fought at first. She had
the techs restrain me and told me it would save your life. She felt Christopher
would put me with you once she proved I wouldn’t be damaged by the experience.
I had to make a choice and play their game. Evelyn said, either way, someone
would mount me. I could get you killed or stop fighting, and be taken to the
feline. I couldn’t risk your life. Never you.”

It hurt deeply. He tried to think, to be rational. What if
they’d brought him a female and told him they’d hurt Candi if he didn’t comply?
What if they had threatened her life? Would he have mounted another? Would it
have even been possible? She wasn’t male though. She could be taken whether she
was aroused or not. She said she’d suffered. It ripped his gut out to imagine a
male touching her.

“Did he hurt you?” He had to know.

“Evelyn gave me a shot first.” Candi straightened her head,
her arms wrapping protectively around her middle in a hug. “It didn’t knock me
out, but it muted some of my emotions. I was crying, and she was having a
problem getting the male to comply. He was pacing and snarling, willing to take
pain rather than force me. He knew I was a prisoner too, from when they were
taking blood tests, and was aware I was being held with you. He treated me as
if I were one of your females.”

“He should have suffered a beating instead of touching you.”
He fisted his hands so tightly that the bones seemed to show through his skin
when he glanced down.

“The drug they gave me took effect and I felt strange,
lightheaded. They were beating him because he refused. I just wanted it to end,
but we both know it wasn’t going to until they got what they wanted. I asked
the male to stop fighting. We needed to survive. Do you hate me for that? I
didn’t want him to touch me, but I didn’t want him to be beaten to death
either. The technicians were brutal and they could go too far, despite their
orders. It’s a horrible way to die.”

He growled and spun away, stalking to the window. It didn’t
help, not to be looking at her anymore. He could feel her in the room, inside
his space again.

“He was gentle and I don’t remember much. He didn’t want to
hurt me. I felt as bad for him as I did myself.” A sob broke from her lips, her
pain evident. “No one forced me. I just wanted us all to survive. I closed my
eyes and just thought of you until they took me back to my space. I washed to
remove his scent and his touch. I scrubbed my skin until it was red, but it’s
not as if they gave us soap often. I wanted to be taken to you. I did what they
asked. Evelyn said we could be together.” Another sob came from her, and there
was a pained hitch in her voice. “Only you still smelled him on me. You lost
your sanity and snapped.”

He spun. “You were mine!”

She nodded. “Always.” She took a step closer. Breeze tried
to hold her back by gripping her arm but she tugged free. “Stay out of this.
Please. This is between him and me.”

He glanced at Breeze. He saw sadness in her face, and
understanding at the tragedy of what had been their past. She held his gaze,
seeming to judge his mood. She wanted reassurances that he wouldn’t attack. He
knew that, sensed it.

“I’d never,” he swore.

Breeze backed up. “Torrent? Jinx? Hallway, now. We’ll be
right outside the cracked door but close enough to come in here if needed.”

Jinx moved. “I have to make a call.”

He was going to share his and Candi’s history. It was
procedure. Hero knew that. The NSO watched out for their own.

Torrent bristled. “I think one of us should stay closer.”

Breeze growled. “They don’t need us here at this moment. Get
to the door.”

Torrent stared at him, looking grim.

“I won’t hurt her,” Hero swore. He’d already done that once.
The image of her lying in a pool of blood was still the thing of his
nightmares.

Torrent hesitated a second more but then left with Breeze
and Jinx. They didn’t fully close the door. He finally allowed himself to look
at Candi. She watched him with deep sorrow. He could relate.

“I understand.” They were difficult words to speak, but the
adult in him won out over the youthful, heartbroken male he’d once been. “I
might have done the same to save you, if I’d been forced to decide.”

“Can you forgive me?”

He answered truthfully. “I don’t know. It’s still a raw
wound. I am sorry you suffered.”

She reached up and wiped at her tears. “Can I hold you?”

“No.” He couldn’t allow her to get that close.

She reacted as if he’d struck her, actually flinching. He
hated having that effect on her, but didn’t think he could withstand her touch.
There were too many painful memories attached to it. He was still digesting
that she wasn’t dead and the full knowledge of what had happened that day she’d
stepped into his room with the stench of a male coming from her. It had totally
masked her scent, strong enough that he’d known she’d been mounted. She had
belonged to another instead of him. At least, that’s what he’d believed she’d
come to tell him.

“I need time.”

“Time?” Her expression changed to one of raw anger. “How
long has it been since we saw each other? Do you know? There was no sense of
time where I’ve been, but I know years have passed. I see it in your face, and
my own. We’ve aged so much.” She took a ragged breath. “They stole our future
together. I hate time. It passes so slowly. Every second seems like a minute.
Every minute, a week. Every week, a month. Every year, an eternity. I’m right
here. We’re alive. You’re in front of me. Don’t do this.”

“Do what?”

“We’re alive,” she repeated. “Nothing is stopping us from
being together. It’s all we ever wanted.” She stepped closer. “I’m right here.”

“Everything has changed,” he whispered, almost wishing it
wasn’t true.

She staggered a little. He tensed, wanting to go to her, but
held back when she stabilized her balance. An agonized whimper came from her,
the hurt reflected on her face, in her eyes.

“You share your space with a female?”

She thought he was in a relationship. “No.”

“Have you mounted females?”

He debated answering, not wanting to hurt her. He knew that
kind of pain and had lived with the memory of betrayal. It was hellish to feel
the burn of jealousy and that kind of rage, to know another had touched what
belonged to him.

His silence seemed to tell her what words couldn’t. She spun
away and hugged her middle, bending a little as if it caused her physical pain.
He found himself halfway across the room before he brought his need to console
her under wraps. He backed up, his hands clenching into fists.