Numbers (24 page)

“I have to leave our home for a few minutes. Find one of my
shirts to wear and I’ll hurry back.”

“You need more popcorn?”

“No.”

He didn’t expand on that. He rushed to the front door,
unlocked it and stepped into the hallway. Not many Species who shared the floor
with him were at Homeland. They were doing their rotations at Reservation. He
realized no one who might be home would have any condoms. Only Species who
wanted to attempt to share sex with humans obtained them. He passed the
elevator and jogged down a floor. He knocked on Searcher’s door. The male opened
it quickly.

“Hi, Hero.” He examined him with a quick sweep of his gaze
and inhaled. The male grinned. “Congratulations.”

The male couldn’t miss the scents coming off him. “Do you
have condoms?”

“Somewhere.” The male stepped back. “Come in.”

“Thank you.”

“I just have to remember where I put them.”

“You don’t know?”

Searcher shook his head. “I haven’t opened them. I like to
be prepared.” He snapped his fingers. “Bathroom. They are right next to my
first-aid kit. I used word association to remember where I put things. I’ll be
right back.”

Hero scowled, replaying what the male had said. He decided
not to ask why the male believed he should keep condoms next to the first-aid
kit. Searcher returned and held out a large, sealed box. “Here.”

“Thank you. I appreciate it.”

“How is your female doing? Everyone is worried about her.”

“She’s well.”

A smile curved the male’s lips upward. “I would assume so
since you’re sharing sex with her. I’m happy for you. Is there anything we can
do?”

Hero held up the box. “This is it for now.” He spun away and
left his friend’s home. He hurried upstairs, but the sight of two males and
Breeze standing in the hallway slowed his steps. Breeze faced him with a grim
look.

“We have trouble.”

“Candi!” He tried to shove past Breeze.

The female flattened her palms on his chest and pushed him
back. “We called your cell but you didn’t answer. I was about to knock until I
heard you coming. She’s fine. We need to talk.”

“What is it?”

Breeze let her hands drop and eyed the box he held. She smiled,
staring at up him. “I’m glad you worked out sharing sex.”

“Breeze.” He scowled. “What is the problem?”

Her expression sobered. “We interviewed Candi when she first
arrived, but we only got basic information because she didn’t look well. Her
health was the priority and we planned to do a more in-depth one once Trisha
released her and she was deemed fit enough to answer all our questions. Then
she found out you were alive and we knew it was important for you two to bond
again.”

“You want to interview her now?” He shook his head. “Give
her more time.”

“We did.” Fury spoke from behind him. “That’s the problem.”

Hero spun, studying the grim male. “What are you doing here?
I thought you weren’t working this week.”

“Your female’s photo is being shown on every news station.
They found the body of the doctor she killed and the homicide investigation led
back to the hospital where she was held. The police are actively hunting for
Candi. We need to deal with this now, or it’s going to look bad later when we
admit she’s here.”

“They were keeping her prisoner.” Indignation flashed hotly
through Hero. “She killed to save her own life.”

“We’re aware of this, but we didn’t reach out to the human
authorities because we didn’t have enough details.” Breeze slid between Hero and
the wall to stand next to Fury. “We can’t put it off any longer, Hero. That’s
why we’re here. I wish we had a few more days but this has to be handled right
now before some human is mistaken for Candi. They have a full manhunt out for
what they believe is an unstable and dangerous female who has already killed
once.”

“That’s bullshit.” Hero snarled.

Fury nodded. “We know that, but the human authorities don’t.
They only have the information that was given to them, which came from where
she was being held. We need to clear this up fast before someone innocent is
injured.”

“I’m not allowing humans near my Candi.” Hero wouldn’t let
them upset his mate.

“They won’t be allowed to interview her directly. The NSO is
going to handle this, but we need more details from your Candi. It will help us
give them all the correct facts.” Fury softened his tone. “We’re going to
protect her. She’s one of ours. We just need specific details the police will
ask about. That’s all. We’re going to go out of our way not to upset her. It’s
the last thing we want.”

Breeze nodded. “We’ll make this as easy as possible.”

“Mate papers are being drawn up right now and postdated to
when she stepped through our gates.” Fury paused. “Sign them and get her to. We
need the paperwork in case this gets messy. It covers our asses. Breeze will
question your female, and I need to sit down with you. I need details about
when you were held with her at Mercile in case the humans want to establish why
we’d accept her as one of our own, and that she was yours long before she made
it safely to Homeland. We don’t want this to become a publicity nightmare with
our enemies accusing us of shielding a murderer behind our gates.”

“I won’t let them take her.”

Fury reached out and gripped his shoulder with one hand. “We
wouldn’t allow that to ever happen. Human authorities don’t have the right to
storm our gates to try to take her away. They’d be met with force if they did.
We’d just like to avoid that. Our entire task force and legal department are on
this. They are just waiting for us to fill in the blanks.”

Hero nodded. “Let me go talk to her. Give me a few minutes.”

Everyone moved out of his way and he entered his home. He
located Candi in his bedroom. She wore one of his shirts and smiled at him.
“You took a long time.”

He placed the condoms on the nightstand, snagged her hand
and pulled her onto his lap. “Species are waiting in the hallway. They need to
ask you questions. You’re not in any trouble or danger. It’s just that the
humans found the body of the female you killed.”

He hated the fear he saw in her expression.

“No. Don’t be afraid. There’s no reason to be. Breeze just
needs to ask you questions. The NSO is behind us, Candi. They aren’t going to
allow anyone to take you from me. Humans have no right to come here. The human
police might want to question you, but I said no. You won’t have to talk to
anyone but Species.”

She took a few breaths. “I’m not sorry I killed Penny. She
planned to kill me.”

“I know. I would leave out the part about it feeling good to
do it.”

A smile played at her lips. “Okay.”

“I understand. Are you okay? I can stay at your side while
Breeze talks to you.”

“I feel safe with Breeze.”

“I have to tell the NSO all about our history. Are you
comfortable with that?”

“I don’t mind. Do you? You said you’d never told them
anything about me. Don’t say anything if it’s going to get you into some kind
of trouble.”

“It won’t.”

“Let’s just get this over with.” She scooted off his lap.

He snagged her hand and stared down at her bare legs. “Let’s
find you more clothes first.”

“It’s just Breeze.”

“There are more males in the hallway. I don’t want any of
them to see so much of you.”

She grinned. “I’m yours.”

“You’re mine.”

While she dressed, he thought back to their childhood. She’d
always been strong inside, but there had been some things he couldn’t protect
her from…

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

When they returned Candi to their cell, her expression was
solemn as she took a seat next to him on the mat. “Teach me how to fight so I
can be like you.”

927 scowled. “No. You are too little.”

“I’m growing.”

He stood and yanked her to her feet. The top of her head
only came to his shoulder. “I seem to be the one growing. You are getting
shorter.”

She laughed. “I am not!” She made fists of her hands and
threw a punch, catching him in the stomach. “Did that hurt?”

He shook his head. “No.”

Her good mood disappeared. “I’m ten years old now, not a
baby. I need to learn to protect myself. The technicians don’t go near you
unless they drug you first. They just grab me and drag me down the hallway
because they know I can’t hurt them.”

“You want them to drug you?” Sometimes she made no sense to
him.

“Well, no. But I need to learn how to fight.”

He pulled back his upper lip to show her his sharp fangs.
“They fear these.” He reached out and gripped her chin, forcing her mouth open.
“You don’t have them. You couldn’t tear their skin with those smooth little
things.”

She jerked out of his hold and threw another punch. That one
caught him in the ribs and he took a step back. “Don’t do that.”

“It hurt, didn’t it?” She grinned. “Teach me.”

He shook his head. “It would only get you drugged and hurt
more when you fight.”

She grew solemn again. “They had a female in the place where
they take me for checkups.”

He cocked his head, curious. “A human?”

She shook her head. “They beat her, 927. She is about your
size and she was so hurt. The technicians did that to her.” Tears filled her
eyes. “Worse than I’ve ever seen them hurt you when you fight before they take
you away for their tests. She probably didn’t know how to fight when they
attacked her. I don’t want that to be me.”

Fury filled him. “Scream for Dr. C if they start to hit
you.”

“I don’t think he’ll protect me.”

“You are his daughter. The tests said so. He didn’t kill you
so he must want you alive. You wouldn’t survive a beating, Candi. He must know
that.”

“I’m not supposed to tell anyone that I’m his daughter. He
said only a few people know. Evelyn and a few of the ones who watch our cell.”

“Tell them if they are going to beat on you. It might make
them stop.”

“I don’t think so.”

He stepped closer and gripped her hand. He curled her hand
into a clawed position. “You fight like this. Use your nails. You don’t have
the strength to hurt them with a fist.” He yanked her hand to his face. “Go for
the eyes.” He positioned her hand lower. “The throat next.” He released her
hand and leaned forward and gripped her leg behind the knee and bent it,
bringing it up to his groin area. “Do that as hard as you can to males. It will
take them down.”

She nodded.

“I’ll teach you.” He wanted her to be able to defend herself
if she had to. It frightened him, thinking of all the times she was taken from
his cell—for tests or if they wanted to ask her questions—when Dr. C ordered it
done.

“Thank you.”

“It won’t be easy,” he warned, backing up to the mat they
slept on. “Come over here. I don’t want you to fall on the floor. Are you
certain about this?”

She followed him and curved her hands into claws. “I need to
know.”

She was brave for one so small and weak. He respected her
inner strength, but that was his Candi. She always amazed him. He crouched a
little and swatted at her with one hand, making sure not to make contact.
“Block me. Use the backs of your hands and wrists to knock my hands away and
prevent me from touching you.”

She threw up her arm and did it. He swiped at her again and
she managed to knock his hand away, avoiding his grasp. He grinned. She was
cute as she scrunched her nose to concentrate. He moved faster and actually
grabbed her that time, fisting her shirt. He pulled, yanking her right off her
feet and dropping her onto her back. She landed hard and he instantly regretted
it when she gasped. He crouched, worried he might have hurt her.

“Are you well?”

She smiled. “I’ll get better. Don’t treat me like a baby.”

He wanted to. He never wished for her to need to use
anything he taught her. He straightened and pulled her to her feet. “Come at
me.”

She did and he knocked her flat back onto the mat. She
landed but rolled, coming back up. He admired her for that. She launched
herself at him and he had to twist to prevent her from slapping his face. She
tripped on his leg, and he grabbed her around her waist to keep her from
falling to the floor. She twisted in his arms and grabbed hold of his jaw.

“
Pow!
I could have hurt you if I’d done that hard.”

He chuckled and opened his mouth, licking her fingers near
his lips. She yanked her hands away. “I could have bit a few of those fingers
off.”

“Technicians don’t have sharp teeth.”

“Good point.” He grabbed her with his other arm and eased
her to her feet. “Are you sure you want to learn? This won’t be easy, and you
might get bruises when we work harder to teach you how to defend yourself. I
don’t ever want to hurt you, Candi.”

She nodded. “I know that, but I need to learn. I’m tougher
than you think, 927. You aren’t always with me when they take me from our
cell.” She got that determined look he knew so well. “Don’t baby me.”

“You are my baby,” he teased. “My short one.”

She took a swing at him and caught him low on his abdomen.
He grunted and rubbed it. It caused her to laugh.

“See? I’m getting better.”

He nodded. “We will do this if you insist.”

“I do.” She clawed her hands and backed up.

He crouched a little and she mimicked his stance. He took
swipes at her and she blocked them. He grew more aggressive once he felt her
reflexes were improving. He touched her a few times, but she never flinched,
even when he knew it hurt a little. She just kept coming at him.

She was tougher than he had believed. He finally tackled her
and twisted in the air so she would land on top of him when they hit the mat.
She was out of breath. He chuckled, holding her close. “That’s enough for
today.”