Brawn

by Dohner, Laurann

  A good minute passed before a cage door slammed closed. The sound was distinctive enough for Becca to be sure and chains rattled. They were obviously securing his door the way they had Brawn’s. The four guys returned minus the Species and the gurney. One of them stopped to glare at Brawn.

  “You’re next, asshole.”

  She knew that voice. It was Randy, the one she’d winged in her house, the leader of the mercenaries. She saw the bandage near his ear as he turned his attention to her. “Then you, bitch. I’m going to take great pleasure watching you suffer.”

  “Why are we here?” Brawn kept his voice low.

  A smile curved the bastard’s lips and he gripped his hips. “The doctor wanted fresh meat but your girlfriend was a bonus.” Randy took a step closer but remained a good ten feet from the edge of Brawn’s cage. “You know what’s going to happen. We don’t have any females, weren’t able to grab any of them when we were raided, so she’s it.” His grin widened. “I hope she likes pussies as much as you do.” He lifted his hand and jerked it toward the pacing New Species. “He’ll be first and you’ll get her second.”

  Brawn roared, lunged at the side of the cage and grabbed it. “He’ll kill her.”

  “Even better.” Randy touched his bandage. “That cunt tried to blow my brains out. I’ll enjoy hearing her screams.” He spun, marched away and his three goons followed him.

  Becca trembled. She wasn’t an idiot and could fill in the blanks. Brawn refused to glance at her and instead glared at the double doors that closed behind the men. She backed away from the side of the cage to sit heavily on her cot. Her legs didn’t want to hold her weight anymore.

  Her gaze traveled across the room to the still agitated Species male. Terror gripped her. The guy couldn’t even talk and didn’t seem friendly in the least. He’d kill her for sure if she were thrown into his cage for some breeding experiment.

  “Becca?”

  She turned her head at Brawn’s raspy tone. He watched her, his beautiful gaze grim.

  “I know. Breeding drugs, I’m the only woman and that guy over there is out of his head, right?”

  “Listen to me.” Brawn took a deep breath and gripped the bars. “Do not fight if they put you in there with the male. He will be aggressive to begin with but if you resist, he will…” His voice trailed off.

  “Kill me?”

  Brawn refused to look away from her. “Yes.”

  Hot tears filled her eyes and she blinked them back.

  “He is drugged and it is painful. His body is on fire, the need to mount a female has taken his sanity and he will be sorry when it passes.” A sad note filled his voice. “I know this.”

  Becca hugged her chest. “You’ve taken it before, haven’t you?”

  “I was not given a choice. They used me for breeding tests. Only two of the five facilities that have been discovered used this drug.” He crouched. “I do not remember anything but knew I had shared sex with a female when the drugs passed from my system. I never smelled blood on my body and hope I never hurt one of our women. None of them ever told me I had after we were freed but they might have wanted to spare me any guilt if I had.”

  Memories of their conversation about how he enjoyed sex made her shiver. She wasn’t a New Species female, tough, or designed to be stronger than average. She was plain ole human, not even one who was in shape and she doubted she’d survive a round of sex with a drugged Species guy even if she didn’t put up a fight.

  “Becca?”

  She realized she’d glanced down when she had to lift her gaze to Brawn.

  “I’m tough. I’m a survivor.” She sucked in air. “And we are going to be found.” Anger made her voice stronger. “Someone is going to die.” She glanced at the double doors. “A lot of them.”

  “The male will not mean to hurt or force you.”

  She glanced back at him, avoided staring at the guy who still paced his cell and terrified her. “He’s a victim too. I get that. Don’t worry. It’s not his blood I’m hoping to see spilled.”

  “They will find us.” His voice deepened into a snarl. “Trust me.”

  She appreciated his optimism. Her dad was good at his job and they’d left a dead body behind to investigate. She had faith in her father and his team. They liked her and would do whatever it took to rescue her.

  “Dibs on the guy with the bandage. I want to kill that motherfucker myself.”

  Brawn’s eyebrows arched.

  “When we’re found,” she clarified, “you hold that piece of shit and I get to beat on him for a while, okay? I’ll borrow one of the team’s guns and shoot him after I hear him scream enough to make me feel better about whatever happens to me.”

  “You are violent.” Brawn’s lips twitched. “I like that.”

  “Extreme circumstances. It’s either plot to kick that dickhead in the nuts or curl into a ball and cry. I prefer the first option.”

  “Becca?”

  She stared into his eyes.

  “We will be found.” Sincerity shone there. “I swear this to you.”

  She nodded, hoping it would be before they started any breeding tests.

  Chapter Five

  “Stay away from her,” Brawn snarled.

  Becca jerked awake on the cot, knew where she was and sat up. She’d somehow fallen asleep. Two men, neither one of them Randy, unlocked her cage door. Brawn snarled at them again and she glanced his way to see how he clutched at the bars. He shook them hard, his biceps strained from the effort of trying to break them but it was a wasted effort.

  One of the men stepped inside and frowned. “Get up and come with us. You will get hurt if you fight us.”

  “Leave her alone. Take me,” Brawn roared. “Don’t touch the female. I will kill you, tear you apart, if you hurt her.”

  The guy in her cage ignored the threat. “Get up, Becca. That’s your name, isn’t it? There’s no point in fighting unless you want to feel some pain.”

  She stood on shaky legs and glanced at Brawn. His eyes were narrowed with rage as their gazes held.

  “I’ll be okay. Calm down and save your energy.”

  Brawn shook the bars again. “Take me. Don’t harm her.”

  The jerk inside her cage finally shot him an annoyed stare. “It’s not a big deal. The doctor wants to examine your girlfriend and give her a little shot. Stop making that racket. I hate you large cat mixes. I forgot how damn annoying you can be.”

  The guy outside the cage snorted. “The howlers aren’t any easier on the ears.” He glanced at the far cage with the still-sleeping male on the cot. “I’m so damn glad that one finally crashed. My ears were bleeding, I swear.”

  The guard grabbed her arm to jerk her out of the cage and she stumbled forward. She was afraid as the two men made her walk toward the double doors. She dreaded whatever waited behind them.

  A long hallway stretched ahead as they entered the unknown section of the basement and stopped three doors down on the right where one had been left wide open. The room reminded Becca of a doctor’s office when she spotted the exam table in the center of the room, one big light attached to it, and her head turned. A desk was in the corner, covered in papers, files and two computers. One of the monitors showed the room with the cages. A female doctor turned her chair away from that view to openly study her victim.

  “Put her on the table and strap her down.”

  “Who are you?” Becca didn’t fight as the men shoved her at the table. “What do you want?”

  “Sure thing, Doctor Elsa.” One of the men nodded.

  The woman refused to answer, instead just stood and crossed her arms over her chest. Becca memorized the gaunt face, the black hair pulled into a tight bun and the woman’s long, thin nose. She glanced down to note the doctor was rail thin, perhaps five foot nine in her flat shoes and wore a white lab coat. No rings adorned her fingers, no scars or tattoos were visible. She had no distinguishable marks besides a few wrinkles around her mouth and eyes, which pe
gged her age at around fifty. She stared long enough to make sure she’d be able to pick the bitch out of a lineup if the need arose after her rescue.

  The two men suddenly adjusted their holds, lifted her off her feet and slammed her back on the table. It was padded, no paper had been laid down the way real doctors did for exams and the cheap, fake leather was cracked from age. Panic struck when they began to use Velcro straps to pin her arms down and she kicked at one of the men who grabbed an ankle, nailed him in the arm and he glared.

  “Put your feet at the end of the table.”

  She locked them together bent up. No way was she going to allow them to strap her flat and leave her totally helpless. The jerk leered at her. He suddenly reached out and grabbed her thigh to dig his fingers into her flesh deep enough that it really hurt. She screamed. It felt as though he was tearing the skin from the inside of her thigh. She opened her thighs and his hand released.

  A faint roar sounded but she heard it. Brawn. He must have heard her scream. The doctor laughed.

  “He is pissed. Make her scream again and see if he reacts, Dean.”

  Dean grabbed her thigh and dug his fingers in again. This time Becca expected it. She gasped and tensed through the horrible pain but the asshole dug in deeper until she couldn't take the agony anymore. His hand released her thigh when she screamed. Another faint roar sounded a second later.

  Doctor Elsa chuckled. “I never expected them to bond so well.” Her cold gaze examined Becca. “Thank you. Now I have a way of controlling one of them. I think he’ll do anything I want if I use you against him.” She smiled widely at her two goons. “Look at the monitor. He’s going nuts.”

  Dean turned his head and Becca stared at the monitor too. It was a live shot of the cages from high above, where she’d spotted those cameras. Brawn paced and attacked the bars but they didn’t break. He roared again, spun and began pacing furiously.

  The doctor walked to a microphone system by the monitor. “Stop it or I’ll hurt the female,” she warned. “Sit down and be quiet.”

  Brawn paused, lifted his head and glared at the camera. His rage was evident. He backed up until he reached the cot, sat hard and his hands gripped the edges of it. He kept glaring at the camera. The Doctor moved away from the microphone and laughed.

  “I’ll be damned. I bet that cat would bark if I told him I’d hurt her if he didn’t. This is intriguing.” She waved her hand as she faced Becca. “You men can leave us alone.”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Dean hesitated. “We should stay in case you need us. Her legs aren’t strapped down.”

  She shrugged and walked around the exam table, studying Becca. “What’s your name?”

  “Rebecca.”

  “Well, Rebecca, I’m going to take a swab of your mouth to test you for drugs and get a sample of your DNA. Open up and if you bite me one of these guys will knock out your teeth. Do you understand? I’m also going to draw blood and give you a shot. I’m trying to figure out what is different about you that attracted him to you. Leave those feet down and don’t kick at me either. I have no sense of humor.”

  Becca didn’t fight and opened her mouth for the swab against her cheek. She flinched when the bitch drew blood from her arm. The shot to her hip hurt but the doctor finally backed away.

  “Are you on any form of birth control? IUD? Do you have breast implants? Take any medications? Do you have any diseases?”

  She clamped her lips together.

  “Do you want a full body exam?” The woman reached into her front pocket to withdraw gloves. “I don’t have an ultrasound here to see if you have implants but I could feel my way around. It won’t be comfortable but the men might enjoy holding you down, tearing off your clothes—and the view.”

  “Fuck you,” Becca hissed. “No. No breast implants or anything else added. I don’t have any diseases or take drugs.” She paused. “I’m totally healthy and I am not on any medications.”

  “What about birth-control pills?” Dean stepped closer. “Or those shots. My girlfriend takes those.”

  “Are you on any form of birth control?” The doctor suddenly grabbed Becca’s nightshirt and jerked it up to her ribs, exposing her stomach.

  Becca gasped but the woman’s hands were on her skin before she could react. She held still, afraid one of the men would hurt her since they lunged forward, ready to grab her if she fought the doctor’s touch.

  “No scars from surgeries.” The hands were cold as the woman lowered the waistband of her underwear a few inches. “No stretch marks from pregnancies.” She glanced up at Becca. “I take it you don’t have any children? You haven’t answered me about the birth control.”

  “No children and I’m not on anything like that either.”

  * * * * *

  Brawn stayed seated but fumed and worried about Becca. Horrible images of the things being done to her filled his imagination. Memories surfaced of what Species women had endured at the hands of Mercile staff during the breeding tests. They’d examined the women, sometimes performed exploratory surgeries on them and didn’t even have the decency to drug them first to alleviate the pain.

  A snarl built in the back of his throat at the idea of Becca suffering that way. She hadn’t had years to build up tolerance to pain. She was gentle, sweet, and he worried about her mental state. He might be able to keep her alive if given the chance but their captors might kill her outright. He definitely couldn’t protect her mind from the atrocities she might have to endure.

  He fingered the coin inside his pocket and worried that it was useless since help hadn’t arrived. The second he’d placed the emergency distress call to Homeland they should have activated the tracking device hidden inside the metal. A team should have already shown up and attacked, or better yet, reached them before they were secured inside the underground prison. Becca had been certain hours had passed since they’d been taken and that meant help probably wouldn’t come.

  His eyes closed as he thought of the reasons why his coin had failed. It had been tested before he’d left Homeland so it wasn’t defective but the assault team could have had something to jam the signal. The walls around him appeared to be thick concrete and they could block the signal too.

  Fuck! He jerked his eyes open as two men opened the doors where they’d taken Becca but they weren’t escorting her. He shot to his feet.

  “Where is she?”

  “Calm down, beasty boy,” one of them sighed. “Your girlfriend is with the doctor. We’re here for him.”

  They edged toward the cage with the pacing male who refused to calm or speak. Panic gripped Brawn as he lunged for the cage wall. “Take me instead. I’ll breed with the human. Don’t allow him to touch her. He’d end up killing her.”

  Both men paused and glanced at each other. The one who spoke finally stared at Brawn. “919 isn’t going to mount your girlfriend. He’s got one of his own.”

  His male companion chuckled loudly. “She’s a real sucker too.”

  The joke Brawn didn’t understand made both men laugh.

  “Where is Becca? Why did she scream? What have you done to her? Tell the human in charge I have the authority to pay a ransom for our return to Homeland. All of us, including Becca.”

  They stopped laughing and the dark-haired one bit his lip. “How much money are you talking about?”

  The redhead slapped his companion’s arm. “Shut up,” he hissed. “That isn’t even funny.” His gaze lifted to the camera. “She’ll hear you, might take it serious and you’ll end up with a bullet in your brain, numb nuts.” His voice rose. “Real funny, Greg. Don’t play with the fucker. I know you’re bored but false hope is the last thing he needs right now. Let’s do our job.”

  The dark-haired guy lowered his voice. “She’s busy and I doubt she’s watching those cameras right now. We could at least hear him out.”

  “Randy will kill us both. They can’t pick up whispers on the audio but I’m telling you now not to talk to him
about that shit. We’re all in this way too deep and the only way he’ll ever leave here alive is on a cargo plane bound for some hellish third-world laboratory where they make us look like amateurs.”

  “Name your price,” Brawn hissed softly. “I could gain access to millions.”

  The redhead glared. “Shut the fuck up. We’re all screwed.”

  “He might mean it. They got money,” his friend whispered again. “I don’t trust any of them, Mike. You’re the only friend I have left. They don’t give a shit about us.”

  Mike spun on Greg and grabbed his shirt. He spoke low but Brawn’s hearing picked up the words easily.

  “Do you want to get us both killed? We’re wanted by the police, they are going to stick a needle in our damn arm or lock us up for life if we get caught and the only way out of this mess is to do what Doc Elsa says. She’s the brains, she’s making us money and she has the connections to get us the fuck out of here. We’re going to live in Russia with new identities, find us some sweet brides and drink vodka, damn it.”

  “Money we don’t see. They control everything, Mike. We’re as fucked as those animals are but we aren’t locked in cages. For all we know, they could put a bullet in our brains when we’re not useful anymore or just take off without us.”

  “They wouldn’t dare. We know too much to leave behind and Randy isn’t going to kill one of his men unless he thinks he can’t trust someone. I worked with him far longer than you have. He might be a prick but he’s a stand-up guy for his crew. He’s all about loyalty. You fuck that up and you will be dead.”

  “Shit.” The dark-haired guy shoved his fingers through his close-cropped curls. “Okay. I’m just sick of this shit. I just want to get to Russia and start my life over.”

  “Me too and we’re so damn close. We just need to capture a primate. You heard Doc Elsa. They want a complete set, they’ll pay enough for them and we’ll finally get out of this shithole.”