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  He caressed her soft skin along the side of her face with one finger. She didn’t feel cold but he still walked over to the thermostat, paused, debating what would be a comfortable temperature for her. He settled on turning it up to seventy-eight degrees. It would be warm for him but he didn’t want her chilled.

  True quickly fled the bedroom to pick up the living room and do dishes. Fifteen minutes later he returned. She slept in the same position. He hesitated before lifting a chair, carried it to the side of the bed and took a seat. He’d remain there until she woke. It was important that she not be afraid. He wanted to be the first thing she saw so he could assure her that she was safe.

  * * * * *

  Darkness calmly waited until the males entered the men’s dorm before he stepped into their path. Justice, Fury and Tim Oberto didn’t look as upset as he’d expected. A task force team consisting of six humans assembled outside the main doors, appearing to be on high alert, indicated by their tense body language.

  “I expected you to arrive at least five minutes ago.”

  Justice blinked, his expression calm. “We have a situation.”

  “I’m aware. True heisted the human from Medical and took her to his apartment.” Darkness put his hands on his hips. “Flirt is guarding his door to prevent you from taking her back.”

  Fury cocked an eyebrow. “Why?”

  Darkness hesitated, carefully gauging his words. “Because of what she did for them at Drackwood. I reread her entire file while I waited for you to show—all of it—and no Species spoke bad of her. They were actually flattering in their statements. Were you aware of that?”

  Tim cursed. “It doesn’t matter if she was nice to anyone. She needs to be sent to Fuller. She refused to cooperate with the team interrogating her. True was out of line to pull this shit.” He lifted an arm and ran his palm over his bald head in a sign of frustration. “You should have been there to get the information we needed, Darkness.”

  He nodded. “Probably, but I refuse to terrorize females. I don’t have access to what was said during her interrogation since no one has bothered to update that information yet. It would have been nice to read.” He frowned. “Your team is lax, Tim.”

  “It just happened. They haven’t had time to type out transcripts from the recording and upload it to the database.”

  “It’s been over an hour.” Darkness addressed Justice, “The males owe that human a life debt. Did you read their statements when they were released from Drackwood, recounting everything they’d endured there?”

  “No.”

  “You should before you force this issue. She’s safe and has two males guarding her. She won’t be freely roaming Homeland. I’ll personally guarantee that. She is no threat and is better off staying where she is. If you need an extra male at True’s door, I offer my services as a guard.” He glanced toward the male waiting by the elevators. “Dagger? Front and center.”

  The male approached. “Now?”

  A sharp nod from Darkness prompted him to speak.

  “I was at Drackwood. Technician Shiver never harmed any Species there and I have spoken to most of them. Darkness had me contact the available Species at Reservation that I could reach by phone and I briefly interviewed the ones here, too, from that facility. No one had anything bad to say about her. They actually were alarmed that she’d been taken into custody and asked after her welfare.” He paused. “A large number of them offered to testify on her behalf if she is facing Species law. Two of them, both females, wanted to leave Reservation to come here to be with her. They were worried she’d be frightened. It upset them.”

  “I, too, called Reservation while I was going over the reports,” Darkness added. “I talked to a few of the newly freed Species. They spoke highly of Shiver. One female is very irate over her treatment.” He glared at Tim. “You really need to get a handle on some of your team members. It’s unacceptable that the human nearly died when she was arrested and that her already serious injuries were amplified by rough treatment.”

  “I reamed their asses,” Tim huffed. “And Justice reamed mine. We didn’t shoot her.”

  “That sounds kinky,” Midnight stated, walking out of the kitchen with a bowl of ice cream. “I got hungry while we waited.” She stopped next to Darkness. “Hi.” She waved her spoon at Justice, Fury and Tim.

  “What are you doing here?” Fury frowned. “You’re supposed to be on duty at Medical.”

  “I’m the female voice of reason and it’s my lunch break.” She dropped the spoon into the bowl. “I didn’t like the human when she was brought in.” She shrugged. “Then she got all doped up and started talking to True. It was real interesting stuff. I changed my mind about disliking her enough to come here to talk some sense into everyone before too many male egos clash.”

  “What was said?” Justice leaned against the back of the couch, his posture relaxing.

  Midnight set the bowl down on a nearby table. “She had what appeared to be a panic attack at the end of being questioned in the basement. Old Doc Harris was in your office so I had to handle the situation. I thought half a dose of the sedative we keep on hand to deal with our out-of-control males would be fine but it seems I should have used less.” She winced as she glanced at Fury. “Remember when Ellie was in labor? Same thing you were given to calm you. That’s how she reacted. She barely made sense but some of what she said did.”

  “I don’t see why any of this matters,” Tim stated. “This Jeanie Shiver is—”

  “Enough,” Justice demanded, pushing away from the couch to straighten. “It matters because this human matters to our people and I want to understand why.” He nodded at Midnight. “Continue.”

  “She described the effects of the breeding drug.”

  Justice’s hands curled into fists. “What does that mean?”

  Midnight hesitated. “For some reason, it seems Drackwood wished to test the drug on a human female. She apparently agreed to be the one and allowed them to use it on her in order to save True’s life.”

  “He said he never mounted her.” Justice frowned. “He lied to me?”

  She shook her head. “No. We have no idea if any other males mounted her. I’ve pondered this since True carried her away. A male on the drug would have killed a human. They aren’t strong enough to survive an out-of-control male in full-blown lust. There were only a few females at Drackwood.” She grew silent, grimly regarding Justice.

  “Fuck,” he hissed. “They dosed her instead. Even a male who hated humans would have felt pity watching her suffer, especially if she inspired any of them to feel any type of liking toward her or if they’d been given the drug before.”

  Fury growled. “It would have been tempting to just kill her to end her suffering but some may have chosen to mount her instead if she treated them well.”

  “Or some may have been unable to resist if they hadn’t had access to a female in a long time.” Darkness sighed. “She is attractive and everyone from Drackwood seems to like her. We’d have done the same for our females to ease the pain of the drug. They would have been careful not to hurt her if she meant something to them. It would explain why she wasn’t killed.”

  Midnight drew their attention. “She kept going on about an Agent Brice and what she said answered some of True’s questions. He never understood why those at Drackwood changed their minds about killing him. You know I speak often to newly freed Species. I helped True adjust to life as a free male. I know his history well and it fits.” She paused, as if considering her thoughts before continuing. “I’m intrigued, Justice. It seems there’s a human with a badge who convinced her she was really working for us to help those Species gain their freedom. I believe her when she says he exists.”

  Fury shifted his stance. “Are you sure she was being honest?”

  She glanced down at his pants. “Do you want to empty out your left pocket to show everyone what you keep there? I already know and I know why you feel the need to keep Ellie’s scent close