True

by Laurann Dohner

  “You think that’s necessary?” She really hoped not as she leaned her head forward enough to peer at the driver.

  “I do.” Breeze smiled. “I’m paranoid though. I really love watching human movies and in one of them I saw a group of good guys get attacked on their way to the police station while escorting a witness. I figure the bad guys might watch the same ones as I do and steal that plot twist. Now we have snipers in place to shoot the shit out of them if they try to set up a roadblock.”

  “Don’t frighten her,” True ordered.

  Jeanie had the opposite reaction. She laughed, amused.

  True reached up and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at his grim expression. “This isn’t funny.”

  “It isn’t,” she agreed and sighed. “It’s just that I really like her.”

  “I like you too,” Breeze cheerfully called out. “Hold on. It might get rough. I’m not taking a route they’ll expect. I always wanted to do this.”

  Jeanie grabbed hold of the bar above their head. True released her chin but his other arm tightened around her waist—him being her seat belt. The Jeep took off fast and abruptly veered across the road and jumped the curb. It almost tossed her off True’s lap but he kept hold of her when the wheels landed on the grass.

  “You’re driving through the park?” Jericho cursed.

  “Yeah,” Breeze laughed. “Brilliant, huh? They’ll think we’ll use the roads but we’re not. Our guys can see us from the rooftops so we’re covered.”

  “Do you want to turn on the headlights?” Jinx pushed his head between the seats from the back. “So you don’t hit a tree. Do you see that one directly in our path?”

  Breeze jerked on the wheel, sending the Jeep to the right before straightening it out. “I see it. I’m not blind, and no, I’m not using headlights. Humans don’t have our night vision. The point is to get there without them knowing where we are. Now shut up and sit tight. I’ll have us there before—”

  “The bushes!” Flame yelled.

  “I see them.” Breeze swerved to the left. “Isn’t this fun?”

  “No,” True grumbled, “it’s not.”

  “Spoilsport.” Breeze chuckled. “And yes, I see the lake.” She turned the wheel. “We’re not going for a swim.”

  Jeanie closed her eyes and turned into True, grateful she couldn’t see anything out in the darkness. The speeding Jeep bumped and swayed over the uneven terrain, the wind cold against her skin, but she felt safe despite it all.

  “Hang on. We’re leaving grass for road,” Breeze warned.

  “Remind me to drive next time,” Jinx grumbled. “Slow down!”

  “Did you lose your yarn balls, kitten?” Breeze laughed. “This is fun!”

  The sensation of being airborne only lasted a second or two before the wheels landed on unforgiving pavement again. True cushioned her as they were thrown up into the air a little before slamming back against the seat. He snarled.

  “Damn it, Breeze. My mate doesn’t need to be frightened even more.”

  “You’re not worried about being shot, are you, Jeanie?”

  “Definitely not,” she agreed, more concerned they’d be involved in a car accident.

  “See?” Breeze laughed. “I knew this would distract her. Okay, braking. Brace!”

  True snarled again and his body tensed. The wheels squealed in protest as the Jeep came to a too-sudden stop.

  “Safe and sound.” Breeze turned off the engine.

  Jeanie opened her eyes when she lifted her face away from True’s chest and glanced around. They were in a well-lit area, parked near the curb in front of a single-story building. Two New Species in uniform stood with weapons drawn but holstered them and frowned.

  “You’re a menace, Breeze,” one of them accused.

  “Love you, too, toga boy.”

  He snarled. “I told you to stop calling me that!”

  “Be nice or I’m going to go say hello to your mate. I missed Beauty while you guys were at Reservation. I’m sure I could find a flag somewhere on the way and tell her how romantic it is to relive memorable moments by reenacting them and how capturing it on camera is really awesome.”

  “You wouldn’t dare. I’m not posing for pictures.”

  Breeze climbed out of the vehicle and snorted. “You’ll do it if your mate asks. Remember that, toga boy.”

  True lifted Jeanie out of the Jeep and placed her on her feet. She glanced up at him. “What are they talking about?”

  “I don’t want to know and you don’t either,” he answered. He clasped her hand. “Let’s go inside before they start fighting.”

  She glanced at the tall Species woman facing off against the taller Species man as True led her toward the building. “Maybe we should stick around to make sure this doesn’t escalate into violence. He looks kind of mean.”

  True chuckled. “They are like siblings. Besides, Breeze can handle any male in a fight and it would be for play. Feel sympathy for Shadow. She never makes threats unless she’s willing to follow through.”

  Jeanie stared wide-eyed as another New Species used his card to swipe a reader and punched in numbers to open a steel door. She was amazed at the amount of security they used. The interior was a large room with a bunch of computers. Three more New Species worked inside, one of them Luna. She stood and grinned, waving them over to her station.

  “I’m all ready for you to look at the records, Jeanie. These are the employee files for Homeland and all have pictures. Have a seat.”

  Jeanie released True and sat. Luna leaned over her and typed in commands on the keyboard.

  “Thank you.”

  “I removed all female humans. Just click the arrow button to go to the next record. I’m sorry but there are a lot of them. Homeland was totally run by humans and built by them so there are quite a few males for you to look at. It’s going to take some time.” Luna smiled encouragingly. “I’m going to be right over there.” She pointed to another desk before indicating that True should take a seat next to Jeanie. “That’s for you. I knew you’d want to stay by her side.”

  True sat and scooted closer. “I hope we find the bastards.”

  “Me too.”

  Jinx and the other New Species males who’d come with them hovered near the back of the room. Jeanie turned her full attention to the screen to stare at the first employee file. It had the person’s name, job title, a photo, and a lot of other information with click-on options. She studied the face and hit the arrow button. He wasn’t Agent Brice or the blond man who’d come after her in True’s apartment. She had to remember that their hair colors could have been changed and keep in mind that they might look different in these photos. She carefully studied each face.

  Jinx brought Jeanie a cup of coffee at some point. She gave him a smile of thanks and sipped it. True quietly remained next to her. He reached over from time to time to rub her back. She appreciated the fact that he was there to give her moral support. The files were in the hundreds. Jeanie was tired of looking at so many faces almost an hour into the process but she kept going. The next file appeared when she hit the arrow and the face on the screen made her gasp as she stared at it.

  True leaned in. “What is it?”

  “It’s him.” Jeanie stared at the photo and her gaze slid to his name. Jerry Boris. “It’s him!” Her voice rose. “That’s Agent Brice!”

  Movement in her peripheral vision caused her to tear her gaze from the monitor. Every New Species in the room converged on her location. True reached over and gripped her thigh, squeezing it.

  “That’s Director Jerry Boris. He was in charge of Homeland when it opened,” one of the New Species growled.

  “Oh man,” Jinx said, “are you sure, Flame?”

  The redheaded New Species grimly nodded while pulling his cell phone from a pocket of his uniform. “I’m calling Justice and the Council. They wanted to be informed if the male was found.” Flame stared at Jeanie. “You’re absolutely sure he is the on
e?”

  “Positive. I’m one-hundred-percent certain. That is the man who told me his name was Agent Terry Brice. He’s been meeting with me every other week since the beginning. There’s no doubt.”

  Flame cursed and spun away as he dialed. He walked into a room off the main office and kicked the door closed. Jeanie stared at the employee file on the screen and soaked in the information. It had him flagged as a current employee. She frowned.

  “What is it?” True pressed against her side to get a better look at the screen.

  “He still works for you guys.” She pointed to his current status.

  Luna bent forward from the other side of Jeanie and grabbed hold of the mouse. She clicked on a link and it popped open another window. They all read the information.

  “He is the warden at Fuller,” True snarled. “Damn it. No wonder they sent a team to kidnap you. That is how they got the paperwork and access to pull this off.”

  Jeanie leaned back in the chair, feeling overwhelmed and baffled. “I don’t understand. If he runs Fuller, wouldn’t he be worried that I’d see him if they had succeeded in getting me there, that I’d recognize him?”

  “I think that was the point,” True harshly ground out. “Humans die sometimes at Fuller.”

  Jericho rumbled. “That is why they tried to get her to Fuller. The male must have been terrified she’d identify him when he heard she was going to look at all the files of the human employees. I remember him. He wasn’t a nice human. She’s the only witness who can link him to the crimes he’s committed.” His strange brown eyes with red hues fixed on her. “You are lucky their attempt failed.”

  “He’d know all the security codes and he’d have been able to access our system when she contacted the NSO to report Drackwood,” Luna snarled. “The task force always gives Fuller a heads-up before we raid any facility in case we capture prisoners. They require prior notification in order to make certain they have extra staff on hand to process incoming prisoners.”

  “Can you lock him out of our computer systems?” Jinx looked pissed.

  Luna nodded. “It’s already been done. I locked down the system when we suspected it might be a task force member behind this. Right now you can only gain direct access to the computers from inside Control here at Homeland and from inside Control at Reservation. The codes have been restricted to New Species only.”

  Flame opened the door and looked grim as he stepped back into the large room. His gaze sought True.

  “Justice wants you both in his office in twenty minutes. He’s getting dressed. Your mate is in serious danger. Justice wants a larger security detail immediately assigned to her. I have SUVs coming to take us there. Warden Boris has already made one attempt at getting your mate, True. Justice is contacting Tim immediately to let the task force know what is going on and for backup support.” His focus slid to Luna. “Show her all current task force team members right now before we leave. We have to make sure the remaining male who tried to grab her isn’t one of Tim’s males.”

  The control room door opened and Fury rushed in. He looked pissed. He wore sweatpants and a T-shirt and his hair was pulled back in a ponytail. “I was jogging and got the phone call.” His attention zeroed in on Jeanie. “You’re sure the male who claimed to be the agent you were working for is Jerry Boris?”

  She nodded. “It’s him, without a doubt.”

  Fury threw back his head and let out a howl.

  Jeanie jerked in her seat, startled. The New Species seemed to be having a meltdown. The earsplitting sound died and his chin lowered. His face had transformed into one scary sight. True leapt to his feet, knocking over his chair in the process.

  “Don’t scare my mate!”

  Fury blinked a few times and actually flinched. “Sorry.” He looked at her. “My rage isn’t directed at you. I know this asshole. He made trouble for my mate and me when he ran Homeland after it opened. He fired my Ellie and sent her away from me out of spite for not following his orders. She was almost kidnapped by an enemy of the NSO. Then he tried to have her removed from my home as payback for not helping him delay Species’ taking control of Homeland. They removed him from his position and later gave him the prison to run. I didn’t mind because he wasn’t here any longer and I thought it fitting that our enemies who would have to deal with him.” He took a ragged breath. “I want to tear his head off.”

  “Get in line,” True ground out. “I’m sure he wanted my mate taken to Fuller so he could murder her to keep her from identifying him.”

  Flame cleared his throat. “Okay. We all agree Jerry Boris is a male who should die a painful death and he’s done evil things to both Species and mates. Justice wants to see us in about fifteen minutes and Jeanie still needs to view the faces of the task force team before we allow them to come help protect her. We have to make certain one of them isn’t going to betray our trust.” He paused. “Luna, get on it. Time is ticking.”

  “I’m on it.” She bent over, tapping in commands into the computer.

  Jeanie turned in her seat and reached back, rubbing True’s leg where he stood behind her. One glance assured her that he wasn’t in the mood to sit back down. In less than a minute Luna had opened up a page of thumbnail photos of the task force members.

  “Sorry but these are newer ones with an upgraded system. Just click on each one and it will pull it up. Hit the escape key and they will close. Go line by line so you don’t miss any faces.”

  Jeanie went to work. There were only a few dozen files and she was happy to report that the jerk who’d drugged her wasn’t among the task force team members. True and the other New Species seemed relieved at the news. She was too since she knew True was friends with some of them. She figured she’d caused him enough hardship without adding the loss of a friend.

  True stayed at her side when they left the control center. More New Species had gathered outside and she felt a little overwhelmed by the sheer force of them protecting her as they used SUVs to drive a short distance to another building. It was lit up inside, as if every room was being used.

  * * * * *

  Tim Oberto met them just inside. “We’re using the conference room.” He pointed. “Justice’s office won’t accommodate everyone.” He glanced around at the Species. “My men will be here in about five minutes but I’ll have them wait outside.”

  True glared at the human. “Good. I don’t trust them around my mate.” He realized he was being unreasonable—Jeanie had cleared all the members—but he wasn’t about let it go any time soon that she could have been murdered.

  “Damn it,” Tim muttered but didn’t say more.

  True kept Jeanie within the circle of his arm, alert to her emotions since over twenty Species males surrounded them by the time they entered the large room. Justice, Fury, Slade, Jaded and Bestial took seats on the tabletops instead of in the chairs. Luna had come as well and she hovered on Jeanie’s other side. He was grateful for the female’s presence. Breeze also joined them, covering Jeanie’s back. Pride filled his soul because he knew they were protective of his mate.

  Justice grimly stared at him. “She identified Jerry Boris?”

  “I did,” Jeanie spoke before True could. He glanced down at her, seeing the firm set of her chin. No fear showed on her delicate features. It made him proud. “That’s the same guy who pretended to be Agent Terry Brice.”

  “Son of a bitch,” Tim snapped. “I should have seen it.”

  “Explain,” Slade demanded.

  “Jerry, Terry. Boris, Brice. He kept the names close enough so he’d always respond if anyone spoke his name. It’s standard operating undercover technique to keep the name close so there’s less confusion. The first names rhyme so it would grab his attention. He damn near got his hands on her.” Tim refused to take a seat. “That spineless bastard has more guts than I ever gave him credit for, to pull this off.”

  Breeze snorted. “Damn near? His men did get their hands on her. He just didn’t get her to Fuller and k
ill her. If we hadn’t prevented her from being taken do you think she would have survived for long?”

  “No.” Tim shook his head. “He probably wanted her alive to discover what she’d told us so far and for no other reason.” He shifted his position enough to stare at Jeanie. “I’m sorry, Ms. Shiver. I really am. You must think I’m the biggest asshole in the world and I don’t blame you. You have to understand that Jerry Boris set you up in a way that left you looking guilty as hell. He was in a position to do it and nothing you said made a lick of sense. I’m sure he fed you everything to make it appear that way. I can’t apologize enough but please know I mean it.”

  “She doesn’t accept your apology,” True snarled.

  Jeanie glanced at him but must have read his anger. He didn’t feel she should accept an apology after all the suffering she’d experienced. He was grateful she didn’t argue with him when she remained silent. His mate was too tenderhearted but it would make his decision to stop working for the task force easy. He belonged at Homeland full-time and seeing Tim’s face would always stir bad memories and just plain piss him off.

  Tiger walked in. “I got the information.” He glanced around, directing his gaze at Justice. “Warden Boris is indeed at a conference in Washington, DC. It was mandatory for all high-ranking human staff who have any dealings with the NSO. Senator Hills holds one every six months to make certain we’re getting full cooperation from them. Boris has been there for two days but we learned he changed his flight plans. His original return flight was booked for the day after tomorrow but he told them there was a family emergency.”

  “He doesn’t have family that I am aware of,” Tim grumbled. “Lying bastard. He had a wife but she died a long time ago.”

  “The first flight back here leaves at six a.m. his time. That’s three our time,” Tiger finished. “He’s booked on it. His new flight schedule allows him time to reach Fuller before the second-shift transfer.”