Numbers (30 page)

“I love how tough you are, and I love your body. You have
curves.”

“Sweet talker. Garza is coming tomorrow morning at ten to give
an update to the NSO. I know she requested to speak to Candi. Is she going to
agree?”

He shrugged. “Hero was supposed to ask her, but he hasn’t
told Security either way. He wasn’t keen on the idea.”

Kat glanced at the couple. “Now isn’t the time to bring it
up.”

“I’ll ask him if I get him alone for a moment.”

“I’ll cancel my class and be there. I’ll grill Garza like a
salmon to make sure she checked out everything to my satisfaction.”

He chuckled. “You can’t cook.”

“You’re not much better in the kitchen. That’s why we eat
here so much.”

“It wasn’t a complaint.” He reached over and slid his hand
between her thighs. “I’m more interested in your other skills.”

She grabbed his hand. “Tease. Hold that thought until after
Candi opens her presents and we go home.”

“Do you miss your job, Kat?”

She shook her head. “No. There was too much bullshit
politics. The badge was cool though.” She grinned. “It made people sweat when I
flashed it. Cops just scare people. FBI terrifies them.”

He laughed. “I’ll get you a badge.”

“It’s okay. I’ve got you. You’re way better at giving me a
thrill.”

Hero watched Candi open another present. The sheer joy on
her face assured him he’d done the right thing by having his friends throw her
a surprise party. They’d raided some of the online store items for her. She’d
been given NSO clothing items, a nice messenger bag to carry her things in, and
a few of the adorable stuffed animals wearing NSO shirts that human children
enjoyed.

He removed his gift from his pocket, grateful that one of
the task force males had gone to a store off Homeland for him. Shane had texted
him dozens of photos until he’d found the perfect one. Trisha had helped him by
telling him the right size to get when she’d examined Candi earlier that
morning before he’d dropped her off at the women’s dorm to start his shift.

“Candi?”

She turned to him. “Yes?”

He was nervous, but he’d never believed he’d do something
like this. He slid out of his chair and got to his knees. He handed her the
gift and turned her chair to face him when she accepted it. She looked at it,
and then him.

“Why are you there?”

“Open it.”

The music died, and the bar grew very silent. He expected
it, but she didn’t. Glancing around, she blushed a little. “Everyone is
watching us.”

“I know. They are curious. Open it.”

Her hands trembled as she tore at the wrapping. The black
box almost fell off her lap, but he grabbed it from her and opened it, removing
the contents. He held it out.

“Females wear an engagement ring, and males ask the females
to marry them. You are Species, but I don’t want you to give up your heritage
by blood. You should have the best of both worlds, Candi. You’re my mate, but
I’d also like you to become my wife. Will you marry me?”

Tears spilled down her cheeks but she smiled, nodding. He
hesitated, forgetting what hand the ring was supposed to go on.

“Her left,” Kat whispered just loud enough for his hearing
to pick up, but not Candi’s. “The one next to her pinky.”

He eased the ring onto Candi’s small finger. It fit snugly
over her knuckle but easily fit on her finger. He held her gaze. “We’ll get
married next week. I made arrangements.”

She slid off her chair and straddled his lap. He sat back,
holding her as she clasped his face with both hands. “I love you so much. Thank
you for this.”

“Thank you for surviving and coming back to me.” He fought
his own tears. “I’m never letting you go.”

“You couldn’t be rid of me.”

He chuckled and didn’t care if everyone watched as he kissed
his mate. Loud cheers and applause sounded around the room. He pulled away and
grinned. “Your next party is going to be difficult if I plan to make it better
than this one.”

She leaned in and put her lips against his ear. “You could
try to have a baby with me.”

He hugged her tightly, holding her. He nodded. “When it’s
safe.”

He helped her off his lap and stood. Their friends gathered
around them, sharing hugs and congratulations. Candi showed the females her
ring, and moved away from him to talk to Species she hadn’t met yet. Darkness
stepped next to him.

“Nice job.”

Jinx came to stand on his other side. “It was a given that
she’d say yes. That female loves you.”

Hero nodded. “She’s mine. This was just so she knows I
accept her. All of her. She’s always felt less because of her human blood. She
tried so hard growing up to become stronger, as if she were Species.”

“I hate to bring this up right now, but is she going to be
at the meeting with the FBI in the morning?” Darkness paused. “Kat will be
there.”

“She wants to speak to the humans and tell her story.” He
hated to admit that. It would put Candi in the room with FBI agents. “I can’t
be there, but I’ll be close. I’ll lose my temper if they upset her.”

Darkness nodded. “Kat won’t allow them to verbally mistreat
her. My mate has a temper and a mouth on her. I’d worry more about the FBI
agents leaving in tears.”

“I’d want their blood if they act as if Candi is telling
them lies,” Hero admitted. “She really hopes they believe her. I just don’t
want her to be disappointed. She’s seen far too much of that in her lifetime.”

“She’s a strong female.” Jinx grinned.

“I know it. I just want to protect her.”

Darkness nodded. “I understand, Hero. Mates are everything,
but you have to let her make her own decisions and just be there when she needs
you.”

Candi straightened her shoulders and locked gazes with
Breeze. The taller woman didn’t look happy. Her next words proved it.

“Are you sure you want to do this? Some of these humans with
authority jobs are pure assholes. I’ve sat in on some meetings between us and
the NSO before. They treat us as if we’re children. They can be rude,
conceited, and act as if we lie.”

“I will tell you the same thing I said to Hero. I need to do
this. I want to do this. I spent years wishing someone would listen to what I
had to say. Take me in there.”

“Hero looked angry when he said he was coming with you after
all. Why wouldn’t you allow him to come?”

“Did you see how stressed he is?” Candi winced. “I was
afraid he’d attack someone. I’m not as fragile as he believes.”

“He’s protective of you. We all are. We want you to heal
from what you’ve endured.”

“Then let me in that conference room.”

Breeze nodded. “Fine, Candi.” She pushed open the door, but
then snarled when another female Species already stood in the room, leaning
against a wall. “What are you doing here, Kit?”

The feline pushed off the wall and placed her hands on her
hips. Her gaze landed on Candi and her eyebrows rose. “She’s dainty.”

“This isn’t the time or place to be rude.” Breeze jerked her
thumb. “Out. The humans should arrive in a few minutes. They are being brought
through Security now to speak to Hero’s mate.”

“That’s why I’m here.

Breeze scowled. “What?”

“Hero is my friend, and I don’t want anyone to upset his
mate. I’m far meaner than the male assigned to help you control this situation.
I told him to get lost and took his place. I’m your backup. We’ll tag team
these human males.”

Breeze opened her mouth then closed it. She chuckled
finally. “Work on your sayings. That isn’t the right one. You make it sound as
if we’re going to share sex with them at the same time and then switch sexual
partners.”

Kit lifted her upper lip in disgust and hissed.

“Yeah. Exactly.” Breeze pulled out a chair and indicated
Candi should take a seat. “Remember they will probably make threats, but they
can’t do anything to you. They are just meaningless words to intimidate. It
stops the moment you stand up and leave. You can at any time.” She pointed at
Kit. “I’ll let you stay, but behave for once. Don’t aggravate the situation.
Let me take the lead.”

Kit inclined her head. “Thank you.”

Candi took a seat and the Species females stood on each side
of her, right behind her chair. She felt safe. The door across the room opened
and a couple entered. The male wore a suit. The female wore a tailored skirt,
jacket and button-down shirt. The male Species who’d escorted them pointed to
the chairs across from Candi. The humans took seats, staring at her.

Candi didn’t feel fear. She tried to assess which one of the
two was their leader. The human female spoke first. She opened a thick file and
pulled out a photo, tossing it on the table. Candi looked at it, and lifted her
gaze without touching it.

“I’m agent Mona Garza. Do you know this woman?”

“That’s Penny Pess.” Candi didn’t have to look at it again.

“Did you kill her?”

Candi nodded. “She planned to kill me first. She said my
father died, and wouldn’t pay her to keep me locked up anymore. She told the
orderlies she was taking me to another hospital, but that was a lie. She pulled
far from the road in her car, believing I was still drugged in the backseat.
She opened the back door to pull me out of the car to end my life, and I took
the knife from her. We fought and I won.”

The woman picked up the picture and closed the folder. “We
were informed by the NSO of what happened when they invited us to have a
meeting with them. I looked at the file the police had on the murder
investigation once the body was discovered. Two orderlies and the gate guard
stated that Dr. Pess planned to take you to another hospital. She implied
they’d be waiting to receive you as a patient.” She paused. “What the police
failed to do was check that out. I had our agents do it. We contacted every
hospital within a three-hundred-mile range. Do you know what they discovered?”
She didn’t wait for an answer. “You weren’t expected at any of them.”

“That’s because the doctor planned to kill our female,” Kit
growled.

Both agents shifted in their seats, watching Kit. Breeze
cleared her throat. “It was self-defense. You would have found our female’s
body if she hadn’t killed the doctor.”

Agent Garza looked at Candi. “Why didn’t you go to the
police after it happened?”

“You’re human. I had to kill one of yours. I told the truth
for years while I was locked up, but no one would believe me. I wasn’t willing
to risk it. Humans had refused to help me every time. I knew I needed to reach
Homeland.”

“I understand. We spoke in depth to the staff where you were
kept, pulled your medical records, and even the financials for your care.”
Garza paused, her gaze examining Candi. “I wanted to personally tell you that
I’m sorry for what you must have endured.”

Candi hadn’t expected that.

“I’m just going to put it out there. We had four consultants
go through everything and it reeked to high heaven. Your rights as a patient
were violated on a daily basis. Some of the drugs they had you on went directly
against the listed medical diagnosis Dr. Pess had put down. Only a hack would
do what was done to you. We traced the financials out of the country to an
account that belonged to a man who’d died over twenty years ago. It was opened
weeks after the first Mercile Industries site was raided. We also located the
homicide case from when you were a child. You witnessed the murder of your
mother and the next-door neighbor?”

Candi nodded. “Loud blasts woke me. I can’t tell you how
many, but there were a lot. The hallway was dark and I wanted to go to my mom.
I was afraid of loud noises. My mom and Mr. Cooper from next door were naked
and bloody on the bed. There was a gun lying beside to them. I knew what it
was, because my father owned one. They taught me never to touch it. He kept it
in his office downstairs. I heard footsteps coming so I hid behind the bedroom
door. My father walked in with a knife and started stabbing them. He was taking
something out of their bodies and putting it in his jacket pocket. He had
brought bottles from the bar from downstairs. He opened them, poured them over
the bed, and started a fire. It scared me enough to make me move. I wanted to
run, but I froze when he turned and looked at me. He took me to Mercile and
left me there. I was moved from there to the hospital when I was sixteen.”

“Why?”

Candi glanced at Breeze for help. She didn’t want to explain
what had happened that day with the feline, and Hero’s violent reaction.

“Because Mercile were assholes,” Kit growled. “They didn’t
inform us of why they abused us or give us any say in the matter. They shipped
us off to various locations at times. What kind of question is that?”

Agent Garza looked up at Kit. “I’m just curious because I
don’t understand why Christopher Chazel bothered to keep her alive. He had her
moved from there and paid for her to be cared for somewhere else. I doubt he
had to do that at Mercile. Do you see where I’m going with this?”

The door behind them opened and Kat stalked in. She wore
black slacks, a button-down shirt tucked into her pants, and had a badge
snapped to her belt buckle. She walked to one of the chairs at the side of the
table and took a seat. “I’m Katrina Perkins, former FBI.”

Garza frowned. “I remember seeing you around. I know who you
are.”

Kat unclipped her badge and placed it on the table. She
tapped it with her finger. “I’m part of the NSO task force now. I’ve been
monitoring from the next room to get a feel for what you’re up to.”

Agent Garza glanced up at the camera, and then back at Kat.
“I’m not up to anything, Perkins.”

“You’re fishing. How the hell would Candi know what that son
of a bitch’s motives were? He wasn’t father of the year, and he didn’t have
heart-to-heart talks with her. Maybe he drew a line at killing his own flesh
and blood. He could have had some guilt over the shitty thing he did when he
locked her up at Mercile for all those years. You should be asking him his
motives, but he’s dead. That’s like asking the victim, which she was, why the
perp chose her. Move on.”

Agent Garza clamped her lips together, but turned her gaze
on Candi. “Penny Pess told you Christopher Chazel died, correct?”

“I viewed the tapes given to you.” Kat leaned forward. “You
know the answer to that. She gave details about what Dr. Pess said to her in
her office before attempting to kill her. Should I pull a copy of it for you
and replay that part of the tape so you can see and hear it word for word?”

Agent Garza glared at Kat. “You know it’s procedure.”

“You came in here with sympathy and kind words, but you’re
looking for something to nail her on. I don’t appreciate it. You think I don’t
know the dance steps?” Kat smirked. “Let’s cut the shit, Garza. You’re probably
getting pressure from some desk jockey who hasn’t been in the field since
Clinton was in office. They aren’t good with change or comfortable with the
NSO. The cops had her picture all over the news and put it out there that she
was a homicidal killer who had escaped from the loony bin. They had her
convicted because they were too lazy to actually investigate beyond surface facts.
That means the public panicked. She was spotted in what? Four states?”

“Three.”

Kat shrugged. “Three. Then it was leaked that she was here,
and some loud-mouthed idiots started tweeting about how the NSO is taking in
cold-blooded killers. I have a computer and internet access. I’ve been keeping
tabs. They are stirring up shit. Your boss is having his ass chewed out, which
means it’s coming down the line tenfold to land right on your desk. Have I said
anything that is wrong so far?”

“No.”

Kat pointed at Candi. “She’s a victim. Period. She was five
years old when she realized her father was a piece of shit who’d killed her
mother. You said you saw the homicide file. Who vouched for his whereabouts at
the time of the murders?”

“His supervisor at Mercile Industries.”

“There’s your link to how and why he kept her there. You’re
smart, Garza. You did your research on Mercile Industries as soon as you were
assigned this case. We both know they had zero morals because of the fucked-up
research they did. You want me to level with you? They wanted to see if a
Species kid would kill a human one. She was an experiment. They got their
answer. Species don’t kill children. She grew up in that hellhole until they
had no use for her anymore. Chazel sent her to a new hell and he probably paid
for her to stay alive because…who the hell knows? Get a profiler and study him
to figure it out. Candi killed Pess so she could keep breathing. You know it. I
know it. Hell, your boss would know it too if he stopped playing politician long
enough to give a shit about what really went down instead of trying to score
points with whoever he’s trying to impress.”

Kat took a deep breath and blew it out. “I’ve been where you
are. That’s why I work for the NSO now. I made a choice to do the right thing
over the pressure I got from my boss. Plus, I won’t deny that the benefits here
are way better. Candi isn’t dangerous. She’s a survivor. Follow the facts and
do the right thing. It won’t make you popular, but it will help you sleep
better at night.”

“We’re tracking down the financials at the hospital. It’s
going to take time, but the account linked to the payments where Candi was held
helped us figure out where Christopher Chazel might have been living. We’ll
make certain that information is correct, and if he is in fact deceased.” Garza
looked at Candi. “If he’s not, we’re going to move heaven and hell to get him
brought back here to stand trial for what he did to you, the victims of
Mercile, and for the double homicide he committed.” She wrote something on the
folder and stared at Candi. “Would you testify against him in a court of law?”

Candi nodded. “I would like to know if Penny lied to me
about his death. I want him to pay for what he’s done.”

Garza looked at Kat. “I’m trying to do the right thing,
Perkins. Believe it or not, I wasn’t dancing with her. I feel bad. Everything
I’ve learned substantiates what she said.” She looked at her partner. “Kether
and I both agree on that. I’m just trying to cross all my t’s and dot all my
i’s. Otherwise my boss is going to raise hell and question it.”

“He’s known for reassigning agents if they don’t file
reports he likes,” the male muttered.

Kat winced. “Jorginson? I thought he was retiring.”

The male agent snorted. “He changed his mind. Again.”

“Shit. He’s an asshole.” Kat leaned back, and relaxed in her
chair. “Let’s play ball on the same team. How about it? What can I do to help
make this work?”

Garza smiled. “I heard you were a bitch, Perkins. You’re not
so bad.”

Kether glanced at the camera. “Can you delete anything on
that and make it disappear?”

Kat nodded and lifted a hand, making a slicing motion. “They
stopped recording. Only NSO is watching or has access to it. What do you want
to say off the record?”

Garza closed the file and stood. “Demand copies of all the
evidence we collected. Justice North can get it done. There’s no way anyone can
view what we’ve acquired and still think any charges should be filed for Pess’s
death, or doubt why the NSO is stating she’s one of yours.” She looked at
Candi. “I am sorry for all you’ve endured. I wish I could arrest some of the
staff at that hospital for stupidity. Unfortunately, it’s not a crime to be
morons.” She looked at Kat. “I’d sue the shit out of them. The NSO has lawyers.
Use them to get a little payback for her. She’s owed it.”