“That doesn’t count. I thought all girls were yucky at that age and besides, you hadn’t grown up enough yet to see anything good.”
She laughed and waved. “Neither had you. I have to go. We have to cater a luncheon tomorrow at the church and I have to be at work at seven to help prepare. Ashley Bless met some guy and is getting married. Tomorrow is their engagement luncheon.”
Tim shuddered. “Someone is marrying her? Did she have a personality transplant? She’s the most annoying person I’ve ever met. Poor sucker.” He took a deep drink of his beer.
Tammy snorted. “No. She’s still a bitch but she’s convinced this idiot it’s somehow cute to listen to her rant about everything. That or she uses that big mouth of hers to give him amazing head.”
She walked toward the door, waved, and blew him a kiss. She heard Tim choke on his beer over her parting comment and laughed as she left the bar.
Summers in northern California could be weird. It had been hot during the day but the sun had gone down, bringing a chilly breeze that stirred around Tammy as she headed for her car. She glanced around, enjoying the quiet night. Growing up in a small town had always been great. She knew almost everyone and she’d had a lot of freedom since her grandmother had been half senile. Tammy had moved in with her just after her eighth birthday but she still remembered living in a big city before that. She loved the rural area more.
“Hey,” a man called out. “Are you Tammy Shasta?”
She’d already withdrawn her keys for her car. She turned to stare at the tall stranger who wore jeans with a green, long-sleeve, cotton, button-down shirt. He had finished his outfit with a pair of faded brown cowboy boots. He was definitely not someone who lived in her small town. He had short brown hair and appeared to be in his midthirties. She instantly became more alert. She had been taught to never trust strangers, especially men.
“Who wants to know?”
The man paused and hooked his thumbs through the loops of his jeans. “I’m Terry Briggs. I heard there was an incident with you at that New Species place they just opened up near here.”
Her heart began to race. What has he heard? Who is this guy? “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she lied. “You have a nice night.” She unlocked her car door but kept her gaze on him. Scary scenarios began to play inside her head and she wanted to groan. A shrink would have a field day with her love of overthinking everything.
“Don’t be that way,” he demanded as he took a step closer. “We heard you had a run-in with one of those animal experiments out there and he put his paws on you.”
Tammy tensed and fear inched down her spine. He had moved within a few feet of her now. He stood tall at about six feet but that wasn’t saying much. Everyone was usually taller than her but he was a stranger and she felt threatened. She glared up at him and didn’t like that he invaded her personal space. She couldn’t open her car door unless she inched closer to him, which she wasn’t about to do.
“Look,” she glanced down at his boots and then back up to his face, “cowboy. I don’t know what you’re talking about. Whatever you heard, that rumor was wrong. Now you need to back up because I want to leave.”
A look of disgust crossed his face. It made his features ugly and harsh. “They brainwashed you, didn’t they? Those animal things do that to some people. It’s all right, lady. They’ve done it before and you aren’t alone. You need to come with us and we’ll help you think straight again. We want you to hold a news conference to tell everyone what those sick animal bastards did to you. That will show the world they aren’t something us decent folks should be living with. They all need to be put down.”
She heard everything he said. His blatant hatred for New Species stunned her a little but the most alarming part of his little speech had been the “us” part. She turned her head and sure enough, spotted three more men edging toward her from the shadows of the building where they’d hidden. Not good. Shit. She peered at the taller man as her heart accelerated from fear. Think. Don’t panic.
“Fine. You got it. Why don’t you follow me to my house and we’ll discuss it there?” She could drive to the Sheriff’s station if she could just get inside her car or get her hands on her cell phone to dial for help. She had no intention of allowing them to follow her home.
He blinked and appeared a little surprised but his mouth tightened. “We’ll take my truck.”
She nodded, quickly assessing she needed to keep him off guard. It would be easier to surprise him if he thought she was a complete idiot. “Okay. What about my car? I can’t just leave it here. Sam, the owner, will have it towed first thing in the morning if it’s left in the parking lot. I’ll drive and you can follow me.”
A hand shot out and gripped Tammy’s arm. “Your car is the least of our concerns. You’re going to help us turn everyone against those animals.”
Tammy fisted her keys to force a few of them to slip between her fingers. Four men against her weren’t good odds. She silently prayed someone would walk out of the bar to help her but it didn’t happen. Her other hand grabbed the handle of her car door.
“I can’t just leave my car here. I’m willing to listen to what you have to say but I can’t afford to pay the tow yard to get it back.”
The jerk suddenly tried to yank her away from her vehicle. She clung to the car handle, he pulled on her hard enough to open the door slightly, and the interior lights inside her car came on. He yanked harder and the metal she gripped slipped from her fingers. She spun and knew she needed to attack to break free.
She punched the guy hard in the gut with the pointed keys sticking out between her fisted fingers as her foot came down on his. Her hand hurt from the keys when she struck him and her other hand clawed at his face. Her fingernails dug into his flesh just under his eye. He bellowed and released her just as Tammy let out a piercing scream to try to draw attention to her predicament.
Tammy shoved him and started to run for the bar but only got a few feet before someone grabbed her hair. She screamed again from the pain that shot from the back of her head. The stranger jerked her in his brutal grasp and slammed her into someone’s parked truck. Their side mirror struck her cheek and pain shot through that side of her face near her ear.
He released her hair so his strong arms could wrap around her waist and they kept her from hitting the ground when her knees threatened to collapse under her. She screamed again and kicked at the jerk who hefted her off her feet. The back of her head made contact with a face behind her when she threw it back in a frantic attempt to force him to drop her. He cursed loudly and released her.
She hit the ground and nearly fell to her knees but managed to stagger away a few steps instead. Two of her attackers had put themselves between her and the bar. She fought back a wave of dizziness from the pain in her face and the back of her head where she’d head-butted the jerk. She bumped the truck again, used it to push against, and sprinted for the road instead. She made it out of the parking lot to the sidewalk, even to the pavement of the street, and spotted headlights coming at her.
Tammy ran at them, sure that those jerks would run in the opposite direction. Traffic was normally light at that time of night but whoever drove the car approaching her had to be better than those she fled. She waved her arms, yelling to get the driver’s attention, and realized the vehicle started to slow.
She recognized the vehicle as it drew closer. Pastor Thomas’ beat-up old car was a welcome sight when he hit the brakes completely, stopping just feet from where she stood. She couldn’t miss the shock on his features as he peered at her through his windshield. Relief flooded her until his gaze shifted from hers, his lips parted, and his eyes widened in alarm at something he saw to the side of her.
Tammy twisted her head to stare over her shoulder and saw the four men rush at her. The one in cowboy boots who’d lifted her off her feet had blood running down his chin from his busted lip she’d caused and that’s all she saw before they reached her.
They hoisted her into the air and tossed her over the rim of the bed of the truck as if she were a sack of potatoes. The force of the impact when she landed knocked the air from her lungs and pain exploded inside the back of her head where it slammed into the metal truck bed hard. She gasped in air, ordered her body to move, but the second she tried to sit up, two bodies crushed down on top of her.
She struggled and clawed at both men but they easily kept her pinned under them. The truck engine roared to life and doors slammed a second before the transmission was thrown in reverse. Wheels spun and everything moved rapidly.
The sudden and abrupt movement of the truck rolled two of the men away from her as they slammed into the side of the truck bed. It rolled Tammy onto her side. She glimpsed the night sky. The truck brakes locked up and rolled her in a new direction a second before the driver changed gears again. The transmission protested loudly when it made a grinding noise.
Tammy reached for the edge of the truck in hopes of climbing out but the driver punched the gas before her fingers could make purchase. The momentum of truck’s forward motion made Tammy slide toward the lifted tailgate. Hands grabbed her and two bodies came back down on top of her, pinning her under them. She managed to scream.
The truck speed at a fast rate but over the stressed engine and the heavy breathing from her captors, she heard a horn honk repeatedly behind them. Pastor Thomas followed the truck and refused to stop trying to draw attention to what had happened.
Bless him! Unfortunately it made the driver of the truck more reckless. The truck hit some potholes and Tammy groaned in agony as the men on top of her slammed and crushed her tighter against the painful metal under her back.
Her ribs and head hurt. She also fought to breathe with their combined weight compressing her lungs. The horn kept honking behind them and it seemed to go on forever. The men holding her down were swearing when the ride turned really rough after the driver seemed to leave the road, driving over what Tammy guessed was grass from the way she could feel the ass end of the vehicle sliding and how bumpy and violently it moved. The sound of a horn grew fainter. She realized her attackers were smart enough to go off road since the pastor’s car wouldn’t be able to.
Tammy nearly passed out from the pain when a loud grinding noise came from the truck and it slowed until it came to a stop. A man yelled curses from the cab. The men holding her down eased their hold. Tammy kneed one of them in the stomach hard. He made a horrible retching noise and she clawed her hand across the arm of the other man who tried to grip her thigh. Her nails dug into soft flesh until he screamed, jerking away.
Tammy fought with her fists and legs to get away from her captors. She managed to do enough damage that they winced away. She sat up and lunged in the other direction. Her fingers gripped the side of the truck. Desperation and terror made her find the strength to drag her body up until she fell out of the back of the truck and hit the dirt on her side. She lay there for a second, in pain, but stumbled to her feet when the cab door near her squeaked open.
She was able to make out the heavily wooded area that surrounded her with the help of the moon. She ran for the dark, dense tree line, hoped she could hide there, and knew it would be her only chance to lose the bastards. She barely made it to the trees when she heard them shout at her. It encouraged her to run faster and fear motivated her to press on while ignoring the pain in her side.
Someone panted heavily behind her, closing the distance, and the urge to scream gripped her hard. They were gaining on her. She dodged a dark shape and hoped they’d hit what she’d avoided. Instead something slammed into her back. It sent her sprawling hard into the leafy dirt and a heavy, painful weight pinned her down. Pain ripped through her with an intensity that made everything go black.
* * * * *
“Valiant?” Tiger yelled again.
Valiant walked out of his house, approached the gate and stopped. He glared at his friend. “Is there a reason you’re bellowing at me at two in the morning? I was sleeping.”
Tiger looked grim. “We got a call a few minutes ago from the local sheriff. They need our help.”
Valiant narrowed his eyes in anger. “You know humans aren’t my favorite. Go help them if you wish to do so. Why are you bothering me?”
Tiger bit his lip. “You need to remain calm, all right?”
Valiant’s gut tightened. Tiger would only warn him if whatever he had to say would make him angry. “Why? Are more humans planning to attack us? Do you need me to patrol the Wild Zone? Have they breached the walls? I’m not patrolling outside with the human security. I’ll just kill the intruders if they come here.”
Tiger hesitated. “A human woman has been kidnapped from the town and there is a witness. The guy who saw her taken followed the truck but lost it when her kidnappers drove into the woods where the witness’s car couldn’t follow. He used a cell phone to call for help but it’s a small town. It took the cops a few minutes to get to where he’d lost them. They found the truck but not the woman. Four men took her and fled into the woods. The local law enforcement doesn’t have immediate access to tracking animals. They’d have to wait for daylight and it may be too late for her by that time. The sheriff thought of us. A few of our officers are heading there with me to help and I thought you would want to go with us.”
Valiant hated the idea of any woman at the mercy of human males. They were unstable and mean. “I’m sorry for that female but I still don’t understand why you came here. You’re wasting time by talking to me if you plan to search for her. You should go after her instead.”
“To make matters worse, when the sheriff and his deputies found the truck, they searched it, looking to identify the owner. They realized these guys are members of one of those anti-New Species extremist groups. They had some flyers inside the truck that pointed to that conclusion.” Tiger hesitated. “They took Tammy.”
Shock tore through Valiant. “My Tammy?”
Tiger nodded grimly. “Yeah. Your Tammy. I thought you’d want to help find her.” He paused. “I figured you’d still remember her scent well enough to be able to track her faster.”
A roar erupted from Valiant. Rage gripped him at the thought of males attacking his Tammy. Hate groups killed humans who associated with Species. Her beautiful face surfaced in his mind instantly. He panted, going insane a little at the thought of what they’d do to her and he struggled to think.
Tiger flinched. “I take it you’re coming?”
Valiant spun around and sprinted for his home. “Let me get a few things,” he snarled loudly. “Do not leave without me. I’m going to tear them apart with my bare hands if they have harmed her in any way.”
“I figured!” Tiger yelled.
Valiant stormed back outside a few minutes later. Tiger noticed the shoes Valiant had donned and glanced at his thigh. He didn’t say a word about the wicked-looking knife strapped to it, but instead just climbed into the Jeep. Valiant jumped into the passenger seat. Tiger waved an arm in the air to signal the two other vehicles behind them to follow.
“I’m going to kill them if they hurt her,” Valiant swore.
Tiger bit his lip. “Remember, we’re not going to be on Reservation. Their law might have a problem with that but they did kidnap a woman. Keep in mind that their law is going to come down harshly on them when we capture them. I want to make sure you realize that. Couldn’t you just maim them a little and let them live? It would be bad press to return these humans in pieces to their law enforcement.”
Valiant growled. “It depends on if they hurt her or not.”
“That sounds fair enough to me.” Tiger punched the gas.
* * * * *
White-haired Sheriff Cooper, who appeared to
be in his midfifties, gaped openly as at the four New Species who climbed out of three Jeeps. Tiger had told Valiant the human’s name on the way there and warned him to try to be polite. Valiant had snarled.
He just wanted to find Tammy. He didn’t give a damn about impressions they made or if Justice wanted them to be nice. Tiger seemed to think it was a big deal that humans would ask them for help, a first step to acceptance by the town, but Valiant figured they were just desperate enough to ask anyone for aid.
His gaze darted to the other three Species. Tiger, Brass and Rider wore their uniforms. The sheriff seemed to fixate on Valiant the most and fear widened the human’s eyes. It could be because he didn’t wear a uniform, instead sporting jeans and a gray sweater he’d tossed on when Tiger’s presence had awoken him. He met the sheriff’s direct gaze and realized the human seemed unable to look away from his face. He resisted baring his teeth to really put on a show. Obviously it wasn’t the jeans that put the guy off as much as his facial features.
The human seemed to get a grip on his fear and stepped closer to them as they approached. He cleared his throat and held his hand out to Tiger, who had taken the lead to meet with the group of humans waiting at the side of the road. “I’m Sheriff Greg Cooper and these are my deputies. Thank you for coming. You got here very quickly and we deeply appreciate it.”
Tiger stopped near the human and shook his hand. “I’m Tiger. These are my men.” He released the guy’s hand to point. “That’s Brass, Rider and Valiant. We’re glad to be of service, Sheriff Cooper. Has anything changed since you called us?”
Sheriff Cooper shook his head. “No. I don’t know how this could happen. I’ve known Tammy Shasta since she moved here when she was just eight years old and I don’t know anyone who’d want to hurt her. She’s a nice little gal. Our pastor is the one who witnessed those men snatch her and he followed them out this way. The truck they used to abduct her broke down about a mile from this road. They tore out the oil pan and the engine seized up. Those men are strangers to this area because Pastor Thomas knows everyone who lives out this way and they aren’t anyone he recognized.”
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