Slade Read online

  Slade had never called or come to see her. As a matter of fact, he’d dropped off the face of the Earth for all Trisha could tell. Several weeks ago one of the men had mentioned that Tiger and Slade were working at Reservation. He wasn’t even living at Homeland anymore.

  The silent message of actions speaking louder than words had been clear to Trisha. The sex they’d shared had been nothing more than casual sex to Slade. That reality hurt deeply but she was recovering and determined to pretend it never even happened. That was until earlier that morning. She was afraid she would be sick again.

  “Dr. Norbit?” Trisha glanced up at the secretary. “You can go in now.”

  “Thank you.”

  Trisha rose to her feet even though her knees grew weak. She had the urge to flee. She could leave, quit her job, and move to another state just to avoid the entire mess. She’d been tempted to listen to that panicked voice inside her head. She even hesitated as her gaze flickered to the door that led out of the reception area. She swallowed instead though and forced her legs to walk toward Justice’s office. I’m a doctor and I know what needs to be done regardless of the personal consequences I’m facing.

  Justice wore his usual jeans and sported a tank top and bare feet. It always amused her that the leader of an entire race could always be so casual unless he planned to stand in front of media cameras. He wore dark suits then, would pull his long hair back, and even put on shoes.

  As she entered his office, he strode toward her with a smile curving his generous lips. She always noticed how good-looking he was with his fit body, his handsome features and those sexy cat eyes. The fact that he was really nice also added to his appeal. She forced a smile.

  “Welcome, Trisha. It’s hot today, isn’t it?”

  She nodded. She’d overdressed in a long navy skirt and business-style button-down shirt, intentionally going for the professional look as a means to calm her nerves. She’d even taken time to pull her hair up into a nice bun. It had distracted her from the upcoming meeting she’d requested with Justice as soon as he had time to see her. She’d specified the urgency of needing to talk to him. He’d made the time.

  “So, what is so important? Debra, my secretary, informed me that you needed to speak to me about something right away. Is this another request for more nursing staff? Are the two additional ones we hired not enough? Do you have a request for more medical equipment?” He waved her to a take chair while he walked around his desk. “Have a seat.”

  Trisha collapsed into a plush chair. Justice kept his smile in place as he took his seat. He leaned forward to brace his elbows on his desk, resting his chin onto his hands. He looked amused.

  “You look so serious. Don’t be. I told you before that I’m very willing to get you whatever you need for the medical center.”

  “This isn’t about that.” She had to slow her pounding heart. “This is about a personal matter.”

  The smile slowly faded as his gaze narrowed. “Please tell me you aren’t resigning. We need you.” He lifted his head, removed his elbows from his desk to fall back against his chair, and looked suddenly tense. “I’d be more than happy to discuss money with you if this is a salary issue. We really want you to continue working with us. You are an excellent doctor and my people have grown to trust you. You have no idea how much we value that and you.”

  She shook her head. “It’s not about money and I don’t want to lose my job or quit, though you might not want me to work for you after this meeting.” She took a deep breath, studying Justice. “I’m sorry. I’m scared to death right now.”

  “Of me?” He looked surprised.

  “Of the situation. I don’t even know where to begin. Something has happened and it’s pretty serious. If anyone realizes how severe this is, it’s me.”

  “All right.” Justice took a deep breath. “Tell me what is wrong.”

  “I’ve been given access to a lot of the medical files that contain some of the recovered research data from Mercile Industries. They tried to breed New Species men and women. I know you are very aware of this.”

  His face tightened. “Yes. I was personally subjected to a lot of their breeding studies.” His voice had lowered to a growl.

  “From what I’ve read, from the files I’ve been given, all their testing was between two New Species pairs and it always failed. They never attempted to breed New Species with pure humans.”

  “No. We were considered too dangerous and they were afraid we’d kill any of the staff who attempted to lure us into having sex with them. You can’t blame us.”

  “I don’t.” She hesitated.

  “They severely abused us.”

  “I know that. I— It’s happened,” she stated very softly.

  “I don’t understand. You found a file where they held those studies on some of my people? Some of them agreed to have sex with humans while we were prisoners?”

  She fought the urge to burst into tears. “No. I’m sorry. I’m not being very clear. A full human has conceived a child with a New Species.”

  There. I said it. She watched the shock transform Justice’s face. His mouth opened and then closed. He finally found his voice.

  “That…” He looked dazed. “You’re sure?”

  “Positive. I ran the tests myself this morning and preformed an ultrasound. The fetus has a strong, well developed heartbeat and it looks perfect. I won’t lie. This pregnancy isn’t normal. The heartbeat is that of a much more advanced fetus and the measurements are off on the size. It appears the growth rate and fetal development are farther along than a typical pregnancy. It’s alarming, Justice. The baby is growing faster than it should be and the pregnancy symptoms are premature for the gestation period.” Her fingers dug into the chair she sat in. “For the first time, according to what I know, a New Species has been able to help conceive a baby. I know you believed all your males were sterile but at least one of them isn’t.”

  Justice suddenly stood. He turned to the window and presented Trisha with his back. He remained silent. Trisha watched him with fear. She had no idea how he’d react. She had a television, watched interviews with hate groups, and knew that it would only bring New Species huge trouble when word spread that they could not only have children, at least one of them wasn’t sterile, but that the mother wasn’t New Species.

  A lot of idiots believed cross breeding of that sort would be a grave offense. They’d compare it with an animal and a human breeding. Their prejudices disgusted Trisha but she couldn’t change their narrow minds. Justice finally turned with a huge grin.

  “That’s wonderful!” He dropped into his chair. “And we’re sure it was definitely a human and New Species breeding?”

  “One-hundred percent sure.”

  He laughed. “I never thought I’d be able to have children. None of us did.” He stood again and almost leaped across his desk to grab a gasping Trisha. He yanked her out of the chair, into his arms and hugged her. “This is the best news ever, Trisha. You’re a genius! You did it!”

  Trisha pushed gently away from Justice until he released her. She looked up into his grinning face with a horrible feeling. He obviously thought she’d done something as a doctor that resulted in the pregnancy. She knew she needed to set him straight immediately.

  “This wasn’t something I did on purpose. There was no medical intervention. This just happened. It’s a completely unplanned and natural-occurring pregnancy.”

  “That’s even better! You’ve made my day. Hell, my year.” Then his smile faded as he tensed. “We have to keep this under wraps. We’re going to have to shield the couple. There could be a firestorm of threats directed at us if the press finds out and reports it. Who knows?”

  “Just you and me so far.”

  “The couple doesn’t know?”

  She realized he didn’t understand what she attempted to tell him. She opened her mouth. Justice backed up.

  “About that―”

  Justice cut her off. “The press will