by KD Jones
Zara looked down at his hand almost turning a shade white from her clutching him so hard. She lessened her hold immediately but didn't completely let go. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay. Just thinking I might need that hand later for more pleasant uses.” He winked at her making her laugh. Some of her tension left her body.
She loved that about him. He made her laugh and could change the mood in a room with a smile or a wink. But he could also be serious when he focused on his job. He cared about the people he was helping. It was a genuine concern and it didn’t end when the case was over. He would still go and spend time with Taurus and Maya and their adoptive kids. Rachel would tell her all the time about Trig donating his pay for charities and participating in events to help orphaned children or victims of harsh crimes. He was generous and kind. She loved that about him too. Zara was afraid to delve any deeper, afraid of how many more things she would find that she loved about the male.
“What did you find?” Trig asked the lead officer.
“During the raid eight years ago, the IDJ didn't have the thermo technology to sweep the entire building. In doing so this time, we found several pockets that were not listed on the building plans by the architect.”
“Hidden rooms?” Trig asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes, and hidden passageways as well.” The officer pointed to a panel in the wall. He then walked up and pushed on it. The door opened up to reveal a small room with multiple computer panels and monitors aligning the walls. “We believe this was their security room where they monitored everything that went on in the facility.”
Trig walked over to the computer panels and frowned. “These look damaged.”
“At the time of the raid, one of the security guards tried to destroy the computer panels.”
“So we can’t get anything from them?” Trig asked with frustration.
“Actually, we were able to retrieve a few files that were not marked as sensitive.”
“What kind of files?” Trig asked as he glanced over at Zara who remained at the entrance to the control room looking ready to bolt at any moment.
“We were able to hack into some old e-mail accounts. Quite a few of them had email receipts for paycheck deposits, their banking information. The company was a dummy company that was set up so we wouldn't be able to get much as far as the company is concerned, but the individuals had their personal identifications listed with addresses, contacts, and their tax registration numbers.”
“These individual employees, were they guards, scientists, housekeeping?”
“A few scientists and almost all the guards.”
Trig turned to Zara who was slowly making her way over to him. “Do you have a name we can try to search for to test this out?”
“Donald. He was a guard here,” she replied immediately.
“Do you have a last name?” the IDJ officer asked as he began typing on his computer.
“Donald the Dickhead was what we called him. The scientists and guards never used their last names. They didn’t want us to know it. But I think he was the only Donald that worked here.”
“Got him!” the IDJ agent called out. Trig and Zara rushed to stand over the officer’s shoulder to look at the monitor.
“Donald J. Stein. He wasn't on the list of arrested individuals the day of the raid. According to his date of birth record, he was forty-two years old when he worked here. On his paycheck deposit information it says his last known place of residence was in this region over on the canal side.”
“Check it in our database to see if he is still currently there. Also, check for all of the deposit information and cross check it. If they were not arrested, they need to be located. I want to see a copy of that list as well. Send it to my e-mail.”
“Yes, sir. We also found a few tapes that had recorded the day of the raid that had not been damaged.”
“Copy those and send them to my e-mail as well. You can find me at the East Village Hotel and Spa.”
“Could you see if there are any records about the prisoners? Specifically a full Beastial named Tiger?” Zara asked.
“I will do my best but most of the records and files regarding the prisoners have been wiped out.”
“Send me what you can find,” Trig told him. He hated that Zara wanted to locate Tiger, the father. But it was possible the man knew about the baby and may have taken her. He was the one that originally suggested finding the man. They had to look in every corner.
The officer nodded his head and concentrated on getting the information from the damaged computer panel. Trig turned to Zara, “Let’s get you out of here.”
“Yes,” she full heartedly agreed.
They walked back out of the building. Zara sucked in the fresh air, willing it to replace the smells she had to bear while inside. She shivered. It didn’t matter how long it had been, she would never want to go in there unless she had to. She wished the city would order it to be demolished completely.
A shuttle pulled up and Trig helped her climb inside. He gave the driver instructions to take them to the hotel. He didn’t want to say anything because it looked like she was in deep thought. She finally broke the silence.
“Thanks, Trig.”
“Don’t thank me yet. We haven’t found her.”
She reached over and squeezed his hand. “It’s more information than I have been able to find in eight years of searching on my own. Thank you.”
He felt tongue-tied. She was the only woman that did that to him. She threw him off his game. What the hell had he gotten himself into?
*****
Zara had packed a small bag with enough clothes for a couple of days. She took a shower first and changed into a pair of yoga pants and a muscle shirt, her signature sleepwear. Trig ordered them a meal to be brought up to their adjoining suites.
She almost lost her breath when she crossed over to his suite. Trig wore only his jeans, which rode low on his hips. He had taken his shirt off. He had a sprinkle of dark hair that traveled from his navel down and disappeared into the waist of his pants. Just the thought of exploring the path had her pussy dripping wet. Shit! She was in trouble with this male for sure.
“Have you heard anything yet?” she asked, sitting down at the table that now had food on it. She tried to act as if she was affected by his sexy appearance. It was hard. She picked up a piece of meat and put it in her mouth. She looked up at Trig who had remained unusually quiet. His eyes were focused on her chest. She wasn’t wearing a bra again. She cleared her throat to get his attention. “Uh huh. Trig, did you hear back from the other IDJ officer yet?”
Trig blinked and looked up into Zara’s gorgeous baby blues. He was caught staring at her amazing breasts. Damn the woman, she wasn’t wearing a bra again. How I am supposed to focus on a conversation when she does things like this? She had to know the effect she had on him. “Not about the video feed yet. But I did get the address for the ex-guard.”
“When do we go?”
“Not tonight. We are both exhausted. We just came straight from a fight, to a ship flight to here. We will leave in the morning to investigate the ex-guard’s address. Don’t get your hopes up too much okay. Maybe you should stay here or return to the GCFA ship.”
She gave him a frustrated look. “I feel like I am getting closer than I ever have been before. I can’t step aside now.”
“You will listen to me and follow my directions?” When she hesitated, he became more forceful. “Zara, I am the IDJ agent in charge of this case. I have regulations I have to adhere to whether I am wearing the badge or not. I need to know you will listen to me and follow what I say.”
“Fine.”
“Good.”
They stared at each other a few minutes. Zara liked the way he looked at her. His eyes traveled down her body. They centered in on her breasts, causing her nipples to strain against her shirt.
Trig surprised her when he knocked the table out of the way. He grabbed her arms, lifted her up to he
r feet, and claimed her in a brutal kiss. Stars seemed to explode from behind Zara’s closed eyes at the contact of their tongues. Fuck yeah!
They reached or each other’s remaining clothes almost tearing them off. Trig needed to get her naked and he needed to be inside her. As soon as her breasts were freed from her shirt his hands cupped them, massaging them. Her mounds were so warm and soft. He loved that about her. Tough persona, but behind that facade she was very feminine and very responsive.
Skin on skin caused sparks to spread throughout Zara’s entire body. She wrapped herself around him desperate to be as close as possible. She wanted no barrier, nothing to keep them apart.
Trig tried to walk them back to his bed, but he missed and they both tumbled to the floor. They laughed at having sprawled onto the floor unceremoniously. Then they stopped laughing and were once more mouth to mouth, skin to skin.
Trig lowered his hand to test her readiness with his thick fingers. Her juices coated his digits. He inserted one and then two fingers, pumping in and out. He ached to be deep within. He took her lips again as he anchored himself between her thighs. His manhood poised at her entrance. They both groaned as he pressed himself into her fully.
Zara wrapped her long legs around his waist and lifted her hips with each of his thrusts. It felt so damn good. He felt so damn good inside of her. She didn’t want him to stop. She didn’t want him to leave her. She soon lost all train of thought as Trig beat a rhythm that had them both panting.
Trig felt a tightness traveling up his legs, connecting to his spine, and then centering in his balls. “Zara!” He started to come inside of her over and over. He reached between them, teasing her lower lips, making her quiver even more.
“Trig!” Zara growled out his name as her release hit her. She lay in his arms feeling safe. She loved being in his arms. She loved being with him. She—loved him. How did that happen? When had that happened? She had fallen in love with a damn human.
Chapter Thirteen
Zara reached out a hand and found the space beside her on the bed completely empty. “Trig?” She sat up and looked at the clock on the nightstand. Five a.m.? They had gone to bed a little after one a.m. but they had not fallen asleep until after a couple of more bouts of hot sex. She sat there wondering what she was going to do about the feelings she was quickly developing. Trig was a major player when it came to females. He was not a settling down kind of person. But she hadn’t been either. What the hell was she going to do?
She shook her head clear of these frustrating thoughts. Her priority had always been to find Angel, and make sure she was safe. She grabbed one of Trig’s shirts, pulled it on, and went in search of him. She found him in the main living space watching something on the T.V. monitor.
“What’s that?” she asked coming closer.
Trig looked up at her. Damn the woman looked good in his shirt. He preferred her completely naked and beneath him though. The woman couldn't look bad even if she tried. She was too damn sexy. He felt himself getting hard again with want for her. He feared he would never get enough of her.
“Trig, what are you looking at?” Zara asked again, sitting down beside him. She kept some space between them. She could smell his arousal and it was causing havoc on her body.
He turned his head back to the video feed he had paused. “I got the video feed from the breeding facility the security team had uncovered. I am reviewing it.” He hit play without saying another word. They both sat there and watched as prisoners, guards, and scientists all walked down one corridor to another from one room to another. When they got to a feed that was dated the date of the IDJ raid, an image of a man holding something and running down the corridor to an exit caught Zara’s attention.
“Pause it!” She got to her hands and knees and crawled toward the monitor. “Rewind a bit and have it move slowly forward.”
Trig did what Zara asked. He leaned forward trying to see what had caught her attention. The man rushing by holding something. Wait, not something, but someone. A small brunette head peeked up over the man’s shoulder, barely visible. “Is that…”
“Yes, that’s my Angel. I would know those curls anywhere.”
“We need to ID this guy.”
“I already know who it is,” Zara said with a bite to her voice. “Donald J. Stein. The one we called Donald the Dickhead.” The guard that she hated the most had taken her daughter.
Shit!
*****
The canal side was a lot more of an unsavory and rough location. Trig was glad he requested IDJ officers to accompany them. He wanted to keep Zara safe.
The canal side was full of no good people. There were drug pushers, prostitutes, and black market racketeers, if they were bad, they were here. He knew Zara must be worrying about her daughter growing up in this hellhole.
The shuttle stopped outside of the run down residence listed for the guard’s home. Trig halted Zara’s departure. “Stay here until we have the place secure.”
“No way.”
“This is my call, Zara. Stay in the shuttle until we have the place secure. If you don’t, I will give the order for the IDJ agents to restrain you again. You don’t want that.”
“Damn you!”
“Stay, Zara.” Trig climbed out of the shuttle. Zara continued to cuss at him the whole way. He smiled, she had quite the vocabulary. He loved that about her. He loved just about everything about her. What the hell?
The lead agent walked up to him. “Sir.”
“Is Stein here?”
“Yes, sir. He has not left the residence.”
“Anyone else in the house?”
“No, sir. We also used Thermo imaging. There are no escape routes hidden.”
“Very good. Let’s go then.” Trig didn’t bother to knock on the door. He barged inside the house.
The man inside was an older balding man with a portly body. At first, Trig wasn’t sure it was the same man that he had seen in the video feed.
“What the hell is going on? Who are you?”
“Donald J. Stein?” Trig asked. He fought a gag reflex. The place smelled of rot.
“Yeah, that’s me. What’s this about?”
“Grab him and bring down to IDJ headquarters. I am not about to question him here. It’s disgusting.” Trig turned his back on the man who tried to fight the IDJ agents who grabbed hold of him and started dragging him to the door.
“Let me go! You can’t do this! I haven’t done anything wrong!” the ex-guard yelled, struggling to get free.
Trig frowned. Zara had not remained inside the shuttle as he had directed her to. He could tell by her frozen expression that she recognized the man. Then the emotion turned to one of pure hatred. Trig shivered. A pissed off Zara was not something you wanted to see often, if ever. She started to move toward them. He had to admit, she was quite something to behold.
“We are taking him to headquarters for questioning,” Trig told her. She didn’t respond. She kept her gaze on the ex-guard. She walked right past Trig. “Zara?”
The man looked up at the tall woman approaching him with determined angry strides. It took a moment, then recognition hit him. He struggled to get away, but the IDJ officers held onto him pretty tight.
Zara stormed right up to the hated male. She pulled back her arm and then let it fly, hitting the male square in the jaw. The force of the impact pried him out of the IDJ’s grasp and he flew backward onto the ground.
The ex-guard tried to stand, but Zara kicked him in the face. He looked at Trig for help. “Get this crazy bitch off me!” Trig shrugged his shoulders. The man’s face turned even whiter. “You can’t let her manhandle me like this!” He tried to scurry on the ground. He got to his hands and knees and began crawling away.
Zara stepped on the middle of the male’s back, forcefully pushing him down to the ground. His face scraping against the dirty and rough pavement. She looked at Trig to see if he was going to stop her, but he just had a smirk on his face as he watched the ex
-guard sputter dirt out of his mouth.
“Let me go! Please, someone help me!” the ex-guard yelled out with tears coming down his face.
Zara gripped the male’s hair, what was left of it and pulled it hard making him bend backwards at an awkward angle.
“What are you going to do to me?” the ex-guard asked.
“Not even half of what you deserve. But I will let you live on one condition.”
The male was blubbering with snot coming out of his nose and if the wet spot on the front of his pants was any indication—he had peed himself. The other IDJ agents stood by and snickered. Zara didn’t care about all that. There was only one thing she did care about.
“What the hell did you do with my daughter?”
*****
Zara paced just outside the IDJ interrogation room. She hated that Trig made her stop her questioning. He said they were drawing too much attention and he didn’t want this to be on the news. It might tip off the people who had her daughter and they might whisk her away. The last bit was what broke through her hate-filled frenzy.
She wanted to serve justice for her, her daughter, and all the other prisoners of the facility, but she would do it the right way. These people had not treated her like she was a citizen with rights, but she was. She would show them by getting to them the legal way.
Trig had the IDJ agents take Donald J. Stein into custody. He promised her they would get to the ex-guard. Trig assured her that he would not be released, that Stein would have to await his judgment while locked up. She could do nothing else about it except wait and trust that Trig would keep his promise.
Trig walked over to her. “You ready?”
“Yes.”
“Remember, don’t hit him anymore. We have to get the answers from him.”
She nodded her understanding. She followed him into the interrogation room. As soon as the ex-guard saw her, he tried to jump up. He was locked down to his seat so he wasn’t going anywhere.
“Get her away from me!” Stein yelled.
Zara snorted. They didn’t send in the healers yet so the ex-guard’s face was swollen and bruised. There were scratches on the side of his head too. Blood dripped down the side of his mouth indicating she may have knocked a tooth out. He deserved a lot worse. She smiled at him and took a seat on the opposite side of the table.