Slade Read online

  Justice softly cursed. “You thought there was more to the sex than it being casual and his actions hurt you.”

  Why lie? She nodded. “Yes. Please, Justice. I can’t stop you if you are set on telling him but keep him away from me if you do. Please?”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “He didn’t want to be with me anymore once we were rescued and I sure as hell don’t want him trying to spend time with me now because of this pregnancy. He made his choice.”

  He studied her for a long time. “I understand but I have to tell him, Trisha. I will make your feelings known to him and I will tell him that he blew it.”

  She wiped at tears. “Yeah. That’s a good way to put it.” She stood. “Thank you for taking this so well.”

  “Thank you for—” Justice moved and hugged a surprised Trisha. “For being pregnant and giving all of us hope of having children. I’m sure everything will work out and that this baby is going to be born healthy. We’re a hearty bunch and tough to kill. This baby will be half New Species.”

  She cried while Justice held her. She hugged him back, admitting she had needed someone to comfort her all day, since she’d realized she was pregnant. The shock had been that great. Justice rubbed her back and pulled her closer, consoling her.

  “I’m sorry for the pain you are in. Slade should know how special you are and he never should have let you go, Trisha. I wouldn’t have if you were mine. This should be a happy occasion and he has hurt you.”

  She sniffed and pushed away from Justice. He released her as she wiped at her tears again. “Thank you. That’s the nicest thing you could have said to me.” She looked up at him. “There is one more thing I want to ask of you.”

  “Anything.”

  “I’d request for you to tell Ellie and Fury that I’m pregnant. They haven’t conceived but they probably could. I know they want to have a baby. It might just be a simple problem with low sperm count or Ellie just might need a little help with producing her eggs. One round of fertility drugs might help her get pregnant. I can order tests that I’m sure they’ll agree to have once they know. They will know they have hope of conceiving. They are the only other full human and New Species couple and they are the only two who need this information. Both of them are trustworthy.”

  Justice nodded. “That’s fine. I’ll do that. Don’t worry about it. I’ll handle it all and I’ll have Dr. Ted Treadmont handle their tests. I know it’s not his field but he can do some simple testing, right?”

  “He’s trustworthy. Yes, Ted can handle that.”

  “Good.” Justice handed Trisha tissues from one of his desk drawers. “Here. Blow your nose. You can use my bathroom to clean up. We don’t want anyone to get suspicious and you crying would tip off someone that something is wrong.”

  “Sorry.”

  “You’re emotional. I hear that’s normal with pregnancy.”

  “Yes, it is. God, I hate to imagine what a nutcase I’ll be in five or six months.” She shook her head. “I already feel sorry for my security detail.” She walked to the bathroom door and then stopped, turning. “I feel so bad about Brass. Do you think he’ll still be my friend?”

  “He will be. He was disappointed but I didn’t see real hurt in his eyes. He’ll get over it.”

  She hoped so. She walked inside the bathroom and closed the door.

  Justice heard water running. Full humans didn’t have their keen senses. He always had to remind himself of that fact, taking his own hearing for granted. He sat down at his desk. He experienced joy and sadness over the fact they were able to breed. He wanted to have a child one day but the fear of how the humans would react if they found out made his gut twist. He dialed the headquarters office at Reservation and asked for Slade.

  “Hi, Justice. You actually caught me inside the office. I just had a meeting with one of the builders. The security fence is finished. It will be fully functional by next month with the motion sensors and electronic surveillance. They were grunting and groaning over the deadline for the clubhouse but it’s on schedule. In two months they should be finished with it. There’s nothing else to report.”

  “I have news for you, actually.”

  “All right.”

  “I’m sending Dr. Trisha Norbit up to Reservation.”

  Silence.

  Justice bared his teeth, showing his anger. Obviously Slade wasn’t thrilled with the news. The next sound he heard confirmed his suspicions. He heard a sigh finally.

  “All right. Is she going to be here for a reason?” Slade didn’t sound happy.

  “Yes. Is this a secure line?”

  “Of course. Is there a reason it needs to be? Has something happened? Has she been targeted? I thought everything had settled down about that by now. I feel obligated to tell you that I think she would be much safer there if you are sending her up here because she’s gotten more threats. There’s a hell of a lot of open space for someone to breach Reservation than there is at Homeland.”

  “There are too many people here who will see her. I think it’s best if she is sent there. It’s remote and easier to shield her from the public. She is coming so make all the arrangements. I want her put in a remote but comfortable location that is extensively secure. I’m sending three personal officers with her to protect her at all times.”

  “The danger is that high?” Slade’s voice tensed and his tone turned into growl. “Is she well? Has an attempt on her life been made?”

  Justice suddenly smiled over the fact that Slade obviously cared. He bit his lip. “She’s in extreme danger.” He managed to keep his tone cool. “She’s fine but she’s a bit under the weather. I’m sending her there for her protection and so that she can get some well-deserved rest.”

  “I’ll handle it. No one will harm her here.” Slade snarled the words.

  “I’m sure she’ll be fine. I need to go. I’ll have the pilot radio in on their exact time of landing.”

  “It will be taken care of.”

  * * * * *

  Rage poured through Slade hotly until sweat broke out over his skin. The office he sat in had air-conditioning but it couldn’t offset the reaction to his anger. He’d done the honorable thing by leaving Homeland to avoid the temptation of seeking out Trisha. He’d sacrificed his sanity at times to make certain she wasn’t in danger.

  She had to be sent to Reservation due to a threat. The fact that Justice had been so vague on what prompted the move really drove him into a bad mood. Had someone actually tried to harm her? Had it just been threats by phone? Maybe a breach at Homeland? The human who’d betrayed them hadn’t been caught. Had he or she gone after Trisha?

  He snarled and drew the attention of a few of the people inside the office. Tiger lifted a curious eyebrow.

  “What is wrong? Did the crew at the hotel break another water line?”

  “No.” He glanced at the one human who worked on blueprints and gave his friend a hand signal as he rose to his feet. “We should check on their progress.”

  Tiger stood. “I’ll walk with you.”

  They walked about twenty yards from the makeshift office before Tiger paused, staring at his friend. “What is wrong?”

  “That was Justice. He’s sending Dr. Norbit here. She’s in danger and he wants her stashed.”

  “Shit. Doesn’t he realize how rough that will be?”

  “He didn’t seem to care. I couldn’t argue with him, knowing everything I said could be overheard.”

  “True.”

  “I’m going to see her again.”

  Tiger’s cat eyes widened. “You haven’t gotten over her yet?”

  “No. I think about her all the time.”

  “You have to stand strong. We discussed this.”

  “She’s in danger and I’ve stayed away from her. Obviously that didn’t work.”

  “She’ll be in danger regardless. She works for us, and some will hate her for that offense alone. If she’s with one of us, with you, and it gets out, wha