Wrath Read online

  Wrath excused himself to go change his clothing and left her with Shadow at the table. The blond one waited until his friend was out of sight before he spoke.

  “He likes you.”

  Lauren knew which him he was talking about. Wrath. “I like him too.”

  Shadow’s blue eyes were intense and he frowned.

  “What?”

  “We are not similar to the males you know. I just want you to understand that.”

  “What does that mean exactly?”

  “I’m just warning you. You’re playing with fire with Wrath.”

  “I’m not playing anything.”

  His blue eyes narrowed. “It was just a warning. Wrath is very intense and we have had difficult lives.” He stood. “Let’s go.”

  Chapter Eight

  Lauren got to her feet, wanted to ask Shadow what he meant by that, or why he’d accuse her of playing some kind of game with Wrath but he didn’t give her the chance. His long legs moved fast as he crossed the room and stopped at the elevator. She had to scramble to catch up with him as the doors opened after he punched in a code on a keypad.

  “Aren’t we waiting for Brass and Wrath?”

  “They are either already upstairs or will be along shortly. This isn’t the only elevator.”

  “I don’t have keys to my apartment. They were in my purse.”

  “Your car and your possessions are being stored above. We had them moved here last night. Your purse is in your car.”

  “Someone drove my car?”

  Shadow nodded, stepped into the elevator and pressed a button. She followed him before the doors closed.

  “Yes. We were not going to leave it in the parking lot to draw suspicion. We weren’t sure if you were Bill’s girlfriend or not. We wanted him to find nothing wrong if he sent someone looking for you. Finding your abandoned car would have been suspicious.”

  Lauren couldn’t fault the logic. “I can see that.”

  Shadow smiled. “We know what we are doing. This isn’t our first hunt and capture.”

  “You didn’t know I wasn’t Brent’s girlfriend. Sorry—Bill. You thought I was that jerk’s lover. No offense but you were way off the mark on that one.”

  He shrugged. “You are the one who came in his place and you smelled of the perfume he gifts females he shares sex with. We have interviewed many of them as we’ve tracked him.”

  Shock tore through her. “You have more women locked up down here?”

  He shook his head. “We knew he had abandoned the females we spoke to before we reached them. They had all filed criminal charges against him for stealing from them and that’s how we were able to track him. He uses their money to fund his living but victimized women in this area recently. We used their photographs of him—ran them through the driver’s license database—and his false new name showed up.”

  “He’s a thief too? What a loser.”

  “He is a bad male.” Shadow sighed. “We told the women he had deserted the Army when he was younger and that he would serve many years in prison for this. Those females were very willing to give us any information we asked for to help track him down. Most of them were very pleased to learn he was wanted by us.”

  “I bet. He’s batting a thousand for winning the scum-of-the-decade award.”

  A comical look passed Shadow’s face as he gawked at her when the elevator doors opened. “There is such a thing?”

  “No.” She laughed. “It’s a saying but it gets the point across. He’d win, wouldn’t he? I’ve only been around him three months and I know I could live with him being locked up for a while. The man is a first-rate creep.”

  “That is what most of them said about him. They had other names for him as well but none were flattering.”

  “I can imagine.”

  He motioned that she leave the elevator first and she hesitantly entered a parking structure. It was dimly lit and had concrete walls. Her car sat within sight about twenty spaces away from the elevator and half a dozen black SUVs were parked with it.

  “We did not damage your car.”

  The elevator closed behind them and Lauren didn’t see Wrath as her gaze continued to study her surroundings. She started to feel nervous about being alone with Shadow. She knew he and Wrath were close but after Vengeance, the only one of them she trusted was Wrath. The driver’s-side door opened on an SUV and a guy dressed in all black climbed out. He approached them quickly, his gaze locked on Lauren.

  She tensed but immediately identified him as human since his face wasn’t covered by sunglasses, and his features were clearly shown. He had short brown hair, brown eyes and was almost as big as the New Species she’d met, minus a few inches in height. The uniform was the same that Brass and Shadow wore.

  “Who’s the woman?” He glanced at Shadow.

  “She’s helping us track our target.”

  The man grinned and offered his hand. “I’m Brian. How are you?”

  Lauren shook his hand firmly. “I’m Lauren. I’m fine.”

  The elevator doors opened and Lauren turned to see who entered the parking level. Wrath and Brass stepped out of the elevator. Brass was dressed in black like Brian and Shadow but Wrath had changed into green fatigues. Wrath growled suddenly and lunged at Lauren.

  She gasped as his arm hooked around her waist. He jerked her off her feet and spun her until his body blocked her from Brian. Another snarl came from him as he eased her back to her feet but kept his arm anchored around her middle. She twisted her head to look up at him but he glared at Brian with a scary expression.

  Brian stepped back and put his hands up. “What’s wrong?”

  Shadow sighed. “You touched her and were standing too close. He’s protective.”

  Brian put more distance between him and the angry New Species. “Sorry, man. I didn’t know it would upset you. I was just introducing myself. It’s a normal human interaction.”

  “Don’t get near her,” Wrath warned. “Are we clear, Brian?”

  “Perfectly clear, sir.”

  Wrath relaxed. “You know my name is Wrath. Don’t call me sir.”

  The man nodded. “Sorry. It’s just that you’re the boss when I’m assigned to escort you guys. You’ve got the rank. ‘Sir’ is what I usually call the team leader. It’s just how Tim runs the ranks.” He paused. “What’s our game plan today?”

  Brass stepped forward, taking charge. “We are driving the female to her apartment for her to change her clothing. She’s going to be taking Wrath into the target’s workplace while we monitor them from a distance. The female will talk to Bill’s coworkers and see if she can locate him.”

  Brian nodded. “Good.” He glanced at Lauren. “Do you think they will talk to you?”

  She nodded. “They should. I work there too.”

  Brian’s eyes widened in surprise. “Okay. Good. Are we ready to go? I assume I’m driving since I know the area?”

  “Yes,” Shadow sighed. “Let’s roll.”

  Wrath slowly released Lauren’s waist but gripped her hand quickly. She noticed he still appeared slightly upset over her shaking Brian’s hand and wondered if that was taboo with his kind. Maybe it was rude to touch an unknown male in Species culture. She wasn’t too sure about the reasoning but she made a mental note not to do it again. Wrath led her to the SUV and opened the back door.

  “Get in. You sit in the middle.”

  “What about my purse and keys? I need them.”

  “I’ve got them,” Shadow called out, rushing to catch up.

  Lauren scooted across the seat to the middle and Wrath climbed in after her. Shadow opened the other door and took a seat next to her, while Brass and Brian entered the front. They all reached for their seat belts and she did the same.

  The New Species all put on dark sunglasses before Brian even started the engine and Brass shoved a cap on. It made her really notice the tight braid at the back of his head for the first time. Her eyebrows arched but she didn’t ask why he had