She cleared her throat. “I had enough evidence sitting inside my stomach on that data drive to get a judge to finally issue a search warrant on Mercile Industries. If anyone realized I’d killed that technician they wouldn’t have allowed me to leave after my shift ended. I framed Fury for killing the technician. I smeared that ass**le’s blood on Fury’s hands while he lay helpless on the floor, unable to move, put the needle back into him as if he’d just been drugged to explain how he’d been able to move long enough to do it, and I was too afraid to tell him why I did it.”

She waited for the guy to get angry as he stared at her with his narrowed, intelligent eyes.

“There is more you aren’t telling me. We often took the blame for things. This is damn personal to Fury.”

She clenched her teeth. “I walked in to find that son of a bitch beating and about to rape Fury, okay?” She blinked back tears and lowered her eyes to his shirt again. “He’d already done horrible things to him, started to rape him with a baton, and um, it was traumatic, okay? Fury thought I would never hurt him but instead I framed him for murder. He told me they tortured him after I pinned the killing on him. They beat him up and hurt him because of what I did. He’s got reasons to be mad at me. He just wanted some payback and he got it.”

Justice said nothing. The breeze stirred. She didn’t dare glance up at his face, afraid she’d see disgust or worse, rage. She’d just admitted to doing a horrible thing to his friend.

“He took me from the park to give me a taste of what he had experienced—being restrained, helpless, while someone did whatever they wanted to my body. He suffered that and more for the death of that technician.” She paused. “He didn’t force me have sex with him. He didn’t beat me or anything. He decided seducing me would be more fitting to get his point across. I consented to it. Fury and I are even now, he has his revenge, and I need to go.”

“And the blood I smelled? Did you agree to him harming you?”

“He accidently got me with his teeth. It’s nothing but a scratch.”

Justice sighed loudly. “I see.” He released her face and stepped back.

Ellie spun away and fled down the sidewalk. She didn’t dare look over her shoulder to check if Justice would come after her again. She didn’t stop until a security guard ran into her a few blocks later. She made up a lie, swore she had visited someone, and assured him no harm had come to her. She refused to give him a name but hinted it was of a sexual nature to explain her disarrayed state, which he couldn’t miss.

She didn’t miss the guard’s smirk and the way he leered at her br**sts when he’d called in to report that she had been found safe. By the time she entered the dorm building she wanted to collapse from the emotional hell she’d suffered.

Four New Species women were watching television when Ellie passed the living room to go to the elevator. She paused to wait for it to open and studied them only to realize they watched her back. The woman sitting closest to her suddenly stood. Her nose flared as she sniffed the air and frowned.

“Are you all right?”

It surprised Ellie that any of them would care about her emotional state. “I’m fine but thank you for asking. Good night.” She faced the elevator doors to break eye contact.

The elevator took a long time to reach the ground floor. Ellie closed her eyes and hugged her chest. She tried to ignore the tenderness where her pants rubbed against her sex and where the underside of her breast slightly burned. She needed a bath, a strong drink, and maybe a good old-fashioned cry.

The elevator dinged as the doors slid open. Ellie opened her eyes when she stepped inside, turned to hit the button for her floor, and gasped. Four New Species women stepped into the small space with her and all four pairs of eyes were narrowed on her. They loudly sniffed, their gazes raked up and down her body, and they inched closer. Ellie backed into the corner.

Their sudden interest in her well-being alarmed Ellie. They were all tall, muscular females, and stronger than average women. She ended up trapped as the women backed her into the corner. One of them turned her head and pushed the button for the third floor. Ellie struggled to remember their names. The woman with red hair appeared as if she’d been altered with cat genes, from the shape of her eyes. She calmly turned her nearly black gaze on Ellie.

“We smell you. Blood, fear and sex. It all has a scent.”

“And we smell one of ours on you too,” the woman on Ellie’s left side stated. She was a strange-looking woman who appeared part calico cat with her multi-colored hair and feline features. She sniffed again. “Dog species, I think. Our sense of smell isn’t as great as our males though. Our males could sniff you and identify who harmed you instantly. We have a harder time identifying scents.”

“Don’t call us that,” the redhead snapped, her yellowish eyes showing anger. “I’m not a dog. I’m part canine.”

The feline-looking woman shrugged her shoulders and her gaze narrowed at Ellie. “You were attacked.” She sniffed.

“I’m fine.” Ellie swallowed hard. “Thank you for your concern.”

The four women stared at her silently. The elevator dinged as it reached the third floor. Ellie tried to inch around them but the women continued to block her way. She bit her lip hard and glanced at each of them.

“I’d like to go to my room now.”

They parted to allow her out of the small space. Ellie squeezed between the women, careful not to touch them, and fled down the hallway. They’d frightened her. She didn’t know their sense of smell was strong enough to pick up so much or that they could smell emotions. She jogged the last few steps to her room and pulled out her key card. The light changed to green and she yanked hard at the door handle, shoving it open. She stepped inside and closed the door. Someone shoved against it instead and the four women entered Ellie’s apartment. Fear welled up inside Ellie at their grim expressions. She backed up slowly, alarmed at this turn of events. The door closed firmly behind them.