“I’ll hurry.”
She hung up and walked into the bedroom. At least it would distract her from worrying about Valiant for a little while. Her purse still sat on the closet floor where Valiant had placed it after the sheriff had brought it with him to interview her. The New Species had to check it first and it had been delivered later that day. She’d also learned that the sheriff had her car safely towed to her house when he’d retrieved her purse from the crime scene.
She brushed her teeth and hair again. She didn’t bother with makeup. The quicker she could get back, the better, her mind was still on her coworkers. She didn’t want to miss their calls when they got her messages. Flame stood outside in the hallway when she opened the door. She smiled at him.
“That attorney called and said he needed me and my purse.” She lifted it to show him. “And here we both are.”
Flame smiled. “He called. Are you ready to go? His office isn’t far. I’ll call for a Jeep and I’ll drive you there.”
“Thanks.” They left the suite.
Flame used his radio to ask for the vehicle to be pulled up in front of the hotel while they waited for the elevator and by the time they walked out of the lobby, it had arrived. Flame helped her climb inside and rounded the vehicle. He drove from the hotel to where a two-story office had been constructed. He parked and helped her out.
The reception area was empty and silence filled the air. It seemed the building wasn’t currently in use. Flame hesitated. “I’m not sure where his office is. I haven’t been in here before. Only a few human employees work at Reservation and I haven’t been assigned this post. Did he tell you where it was?”
“No.”
Flame sighed. “Let’s find him. I’d make some calls but we’re on high alert right now and I don’t want to bother anyone when I can sniff him out.” He drew in air a few times through his nose and pointed to a hallway to the left. “This way. Male, human, and recent. His aftershave stinks and not in a good way.”
She grinned. “Most guys are clueless and wear stuff that reeks.”
“We tend to be sensitive to smells. Most of our people use natural-scented products. Humans don’t.”
Tammy followed him through a maze of hallways. “Are you on high alert because the two women were taken in town?”
He nodded. “Yes. We have tightened all incoming security and put our snipers on top of the walls in case someone decides they want to try to breach Reservation. We will never forget the attack that happened at Homeland.”
She’d heard about that on the news. A hate group had attacked the New Species Homeland right after it had opened. They’d rammed the front gate and a bunch of men with guns had invaded with trucks.
Deaths had resulted from that attack. Luckily those killed had been mostly the hate-group members. Tragically, a few human security guards who worked for Homeland had also died. It had been shocking that something like that could happen. Obviously the New Species were afraid of another attack and she didn’t blame them.
They found Charlie Artzola on the second floor in one of the offices. He sat behind his desk digging inside a drawer. He glanced at them both when they entered and he smiled.
“That was quick.”
“I told you I’d escort her immediately.” Flame leaned against the wall right inside the office.
“Have a seat, Miss Shasta.” The attorney jerked his chin at a chair. “You and your men can come inside and have a seat too. There’s four chairs and they may as well get used.”
“It’s just us. I’m fine standing.” Flame relaxed his stance.
The attorney nodded. “I’m looking for the notes I made. I’m very sorry about this. I was nervous and think I wrote the information down wrong. I might have just put in a wrong license number and the computer system will find you so we don’t have to fax it to them.” He leaned over farther behind his desk as Tammy took a seat closest to him. “Aha! I found it. I’m sure this is just an error. I probably just have it off by one or two digits.” He closed the desk drawer.
Tammy leaned back against her seat and set her purse on her lap. The attorney straightened. She barely had time to react before seeing it wasn’t a paper he lifted from behind his drawer. It was a weird-looking weapon he pointed at Flame and fired. Tammy gasped. Flame grunted behind her and crashed to the floor.
Tammy jerked around in horror to stare at Flame sprawled on the carpet. The gun hadn’t made a loud sound. Flame had fallen on his side by the door. She gawked at him, too stunned to do anything else for long seconds. She didn’t see any blood as she sat motionless. She finally regained the ability to move. Her head turned toward the attorney to discover he’d pointed the strange gun at her.
“You will do exactly what I tell you to if you don’t want to die, Miss Shasta. I have no qualms about killing a woman.”
Her mouth opened but no sound came out. The gun was no more than three feet away, pointed right at her face. She knew he wouldn’t miss at that close range. The attorney slowly rose from his chair with a frown twisting his lips. The wide muzzle never wavered.
“Stand up slowly. I will shoot you in the back if you try to run.”
After a long moment of trying to get her body to move, she managed to rise to her feet. Her purse slid to the floor since her fingers refused to hold onto it. The attorney motioned toward the door with the weapon.
“We’re going to walk outside to my car and you are going to get inside the trunk. I’m going to kill you if you don’t. Do you understand me?”
She swallowed. “Why are you doing this? What do you want?”
He glared at her. “Someone I know wants to talk to you. He’s deeply worried that you’ve been compelled into marrying a New Species.”
Her brain began to function. The attorney wouldn’t be threatening to kill her if someone just wanted to talk to her. He was lying about that. She bit her lip and took a tentative step. She didn’t see any way to get away from him without being shot. He couldn’t miss her if he fired the weapon.
Her gaze dropped to the fallen New Species. He wasn’t moving at all but she still didn’t see blood. As she took slow steps toward Flame and the door, she realized two things. Flame’s eyes were closed but his chest rose and fell, proof that he was still breathing. She had to step over his arm and then his leg to exit the office.
She glanced back at Charlie Artzola. He stayed close and still pointed the gun at her. She walked, following his orders as he directed her where to go. Tammy’s heart pounded with fear but Tiger’s earlier words surfaced in her memory.
The New Species were on high alert. The attorney would never be able to get her off Reservation without them finding her. When she’d brought her catering van to the gates they’d searched every inch of it. She had to trust that they’d check the trunk of the attorney’s car and find her. They exited the building from a back door where a nice four-door sedan had been parked.
He made Tammy wait as he unlocked the trunk. He moved back, aiming the gun at her chest. “Climb inside and be very quiet. The trunk is too small for me to miss you if I fire through the backseat. Do you understand me? You better not scream when we go through the checkpoint. I’ll kill whatever New Species you tip off. Your life is only in danger if you make me shoot you. My friend really does want to talk to you, Miss Shasta. He’ll be angry if I have to kill you so do us both a favor. Get in and keep quiet.”
“Who told you to do this to me?”
“It doesn’t matter. All that matters is you’ll walk away from this in the end if you don’t give me any problems.”
Tammy wanted to scream and launch her body at the guy and attack him. Of course she didn’t believe that she wasn’t in danger if she complied. The attorney was a big liar. She felt torn. Fight or do what she was told?
He softly cursed, seeming to sense her dilemma. “This is a special dart gun filled with strong drugs designed to take down and kill New Species. You wouldn’t stand a chance of survival if I shot you. Get insi
de the trunk and be quiet.”
As long as she was alive there was hope that she’d be saved when they reached the gate. “I’ll do it. Just don’t shoot me,” she managed to say. “I’m going.”
The trunk was small. Tammy had to lie curled in a ball on her side, her knees pressed to her chest. He looked down at her grimly as he reached inside his pocket to fish for something. He pulled out a syringe and gripped the cap with his teeth to jerk it open.
“What is that?” Terror pulsed through her.
“Something to make sure you stay quiet. You’ll be fine. I just can’t risk you screaming when we get to the checkpoint.” The attorney jabbed the needle into her outer thigh through her pants.
Tammy groaned from the sharp sting of pain. She stared up at him with terror and hatred. “Valiant is going to rip out your guts and feed them to you. That’s his favorite thing to do.”
He clenched his teeth. “You’re a sick animal whore.” He slammed the trunk closed.
She fought when the darkness surrounded her and she wasn’t under direct threat from the gun any longer. After a few ineffective hits to the roof of the trunk, horror spread through her mind when her limbs began to grow heavy. Her hands refused to fist anymore, her arms drooped at the elbow, and finally fell limply to the floor of the trunk.
Panic came next. Whatever drug he’d injected her with seemed to paralyze her. She could breathe fine and blink, stare into darkness, but the rest of her body refused to function. She tried to scream but her throat had even been affected. She could barely swallow and couldn’t even push her tongue against her teeth. She screamed inside her mind but the sound didn’t pass her lips.
The car started. Tammy tried to calm down, realizing how dire her situation had become. Think! The New Species checked trunks. She’d seen them do it to a car in front of her the first day she’d visited Reservation. Two of the security officers had checked Tammy’s van next.
They’d done a very thorough job. They’d even opened the mini refrigerators inside the back of the van and opened sealed trays to make sure they carried food and not weapons. They’d used handheld devices over the food to make certain nothing had been stashed inside.
She’d be found. Charlie Artzola wouldn’t get her off Reservation. She knew large, thick walls enclosed the entire place with only two entry gates. He wouldn’t be able to get her out except to go through those checkpoints. Tears of frustration slipped down her cheeks and she couldn’t even wipe them away. They’ll find me.
The car slowed at one point but didn’t stop before it picked up a lot of speed. A long time passed. The car finally stopped. Hope soared inside Tammy. At any second one of the security officers would make the attorney open the trunk. They’d discover her, she’d be rescued and returned to Valiant.
Instead the car moved again, picking up speed. More time passed. The car stopped again, the engine died, and Tammy fixed her gaze toward the top of her prison. It was dark inside, pitch black, she couldn’t see a thing, but she knew where the trunk lid opened. Any second she’d be saved. She heard keys. Hope soared.
Light blinded Tammy when the trunk was jerked open. Tammy looked up but she didn’t see a New Species face. Charlie Artzola glared at her instead before he turned his head to look at someone else.
“I told you they’d just wave me through. They trust me.” The jerk snickered. “Here’s the bitch I told you about. They wanted a marriage license. She wanted to marry one of those animals. She’s living with and screwing him. He looks worse than the rest of them do. He doesn’t even appear kind of human. He is a tiger or something. He is about as freakish as I’ve ever seen.”
Tammy screamed inside her head. NO! The officers at the gate couldn’t have just waved him past. Another man walked closer until Tammy stared at the face of a man in his sixties. He wore glasses and was bald. He looked as if he could be someone’s nice grandfather. That was until he turned a pair of ice-cold green eyes on her that froze her. He frowned.
“So,” the older man said softly. “We finally have a test subject. She survived breeding with one of them. Something about her attracted one and, if my theory holds, that chemistry should attract 927 to her as well. You said the one she was breeding with was a tiger? Well, let’s see how she fairs with a dog.” He laughed. “I hope he likes her as much as the tiger did.”
Two scary thugs in their twenties suddenly stood over Tammy. They reached for her and lifted her out. One of them gripped her legs and the other one grabbed her under her armpits. They hauled her out of the car. She saw a flash of trees while they carried her between them as though she were a large bag.
She glimpsed a house—a white one badly in need of paint. It was a single story and she didn’t recognize it. That meant she wasn’t close to town. As they entered the structure she stared up at a cracked, plaster ceiling. They dumped her on a soft mattress.
The twin bed had been set up inside a living room. One of them grinned at her and pulled out something from his back pocket. He yanked her hands up and handcuffed her to something above her head. She couldn’t turn her head to see what he’d locked her to but then her legs were jerked down flat and straight. Metal enclosed each ankle. The scary one by her head leaned over to stare into her eyes.
“Wait until you meet 927. He’s going to love you.” He laughed, his gaze lifting to the other man. “For about ten seconds until he snaps her neck and kills her.”
Tammy heard the other man laugh.
The jerk still leaning over Tammy looked down. “I almost feel sorry for you. 927 is the meanest beast ever made but since you like to do their kind, I guess you might enjoy the rough treatment you are going to get when he mounts you. If he’ll mount you. The Doc thinks he might since one of his kind liked you.”
“Get away from her,” the older man demanded loudly. Tammy recognized his voice. “We don’t want your smell on her because he’ll just kill her outright since he hates the two of you so much. We need her to smell like the tiger.”
Valiant. She silently screamed his name. Would he be able to find her again? Save her? Would he even know by now that she’d been taken? That someone had kidnapped her?
Tears streamed down her face. She screamed again in her head. Valiant!
* * * * *
“This doesn’t make sense.” Tiger frowned at Valiant. “Why would they take those two women, walk them a few miles from their home and just leave them tied up alone? It was too easy to find them.”
Valiant shrugged. “I do not know but they are fine. That is what matters, right?”
Tiger nodded. He glanced at the three other men that he’d brought along on his team. They watched him back. Tiger sighed. “Something just isn’t right. I can’t put my finger on what it is but this just makes no sense. What was the point of taking two women to just tie them up and abandon them?”
One of the men shrugged. “They are human. They sometimes don’t make sense.”
Sheriff Cooper approached Tiger and his group with a wide grin on his lined face. “Thank you so much. Again, we owe you. The women are fine. They were scared but they only have a few bruises. They wanted to give you their thanks. They said the men didn’t talk to them at all. The only thing they heard was one of the men asking if they thought they had moved them far enough for them to be hard to track. It doesn’t make sense to me but that’s all they heard. The women said the men carried them through the woods, took turns tossing them over their shoulders to get them this far, and just dumped them at the base of that tree. They tied them up good and just took off.”
“Perhaps they were planning to come back later.” It was one of the deputies who worked with the sheriff who had joined them. “Maybe they wanted more women and are searching for other victims. We should keep a few deputies out here just in case they return.”
Tiger’s cell phone rang. “Excuse me. It’s Reservation.” He turned and stepped away to answer it. He listened and spun around. Tiger locked his grim gaze on Valiant and he hesitated.
“I think I know why the women were taken.” Tiger kept his focus trained on Valiant but then he glanced at the Sheriff.
“You specifically asked me to bring Valiant. Why?”
The sheriff frowned. “Well, he’s your best tracker. That’s why I asked for him.”
“Who told you that?” Tiger clenched his teeth.
“It was one of the news reporters who’ve been hanging around town since Tammy was taken. They practically camp outside our station. He said he covers stories all the time for you folks and that Valiant was the best tracker you had. He said if more women were ever kidnapped to be sure to ask for him because he’d be the best chance at finding them fast.”
“What is going on?” Valiant frowned. “How would any reporter know my name? It was never released, was it?” He glanced at Tiger for an answer.
“No, it wasn’t.” Tiger appeared killing mad. He glared at the Sheriff. “Do you remember the reporter’s name?”
The sheriff hesitated. “No, but I know his face. Why?”
Tiger growled. He turned his head to Valiant. “Tammy has been taken from Reservation by force. She’s gone, Valiant. Flame was asked by our attorney to escort her to his office. When they didn’t return to the hotel within twenty minutes and Flame didn’t respond to the radio, a team immediately went in search of them.”
Shock jolted through Valiant. “No.”
“They found Flame on the floor unconscious inside the attorney’s office. He’s been drugged with an unknown substance. The attorney and Tammy are missing. Her purse was found but she was not. Our people picked up only the attorney’s scent and Tammy’s. That led them to the parking lot, which makes it apparent he took her. We are sure she didn’t go willingly because her scent of fear lingered. He drove right out the gate. We trusted him. We check incoming cars but not outgoing ones when they are driven by trusted employees. He took her, Valiant. The kidnapping of these two human women was obviously a ploy to lead you away from Tammy.” Tiger growled and glared at the Sheriff. “The man who spoke of Valiant used you to lure him away.”
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