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  “Desperate times call for desperate measures,” she muttered.

  A plan formed in her mind. It was insane, dangerous, but if it worked, the New Species in the basement would wake. His survival was what really mattered.

  Chapter Two

  The terror was hard to suppress but New Species had excellent senses of smell. They could sometimes pick up emotions and she’d been assured fear was one they could detect. Allison couldn’t afford to screw anything up. It was all about timing and not rousing suspicion.

  Her hands trembled as she hid the folded note inside her upper desk drawer and pocketed the key. Locking it away would give her more time to implement her plan before they found it. She lifted her gaze to the clock on the wall and her heart raced. A hundred things could go wrong and she’d be in a world of trouble if even one part of her plan failed. Minutes ticked by at a snail’s pace until it was finally four o’clock. The officer downstairs assigned to guard the patient would leave to eat dinner. She had exactly twenty-five minutes before he’d return.

  Her legs felt weak when she stood, inched around her desk and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her frayed nerves. During the previous twenty-four hours she’d laid the groundwork to make her plan go off without a hitch.

  Destiny wasn’t at his desk and that was one hurdle down. She rushed to the elevator, pressed the button, and prayed whoever guarded 880 wasn’t behind schedule. Her fingers brushed the coat pocket containing the keys to assure herself she could do it as the doors opened.

  The hallway chair sat empty as the doors to the elevator opened on the basement level and she fisted the air in joy. Her flat shoes didn’t make much sound as she jogged in the direction of the patient’s room and dug out the key to his door. She’d lifted the spare from Destiny’s desk an hour before when they’d had a Species come in with a cut arm from a sparring match. The key twisted and the door opened.

  880 lay still and she rushed into the room after she blocked open the door. It only took her a minute to turn off the machines, unhook his IVs, and remove the feeding tube. She watched his chest and face for signs of pain or shock from the sudden loss of support. He kept steadily breathing.

  She didn’t touch his restraints, swearing to deal with those later, and used her foot to kick off the lock on the wheels of his hospital bed. She maneuvered it into the hallway. It was a struggle to turn the bed and force it down the hallway to the elevator but she managed.

  Fear gripped her hard as the doors slid open but no one was inside. She groaned, gave a mighty shove, and got his bed into the tight space. She pushed the button while leaning back against his bed and had no idea what lie to tell that would be plausible if she were caught taking him to the ground level of the medical building.

  The doors slid open and she peered around the edge at the large room. Everyone was still at dinner. She hit the button that would keep the elevator open, turned, and gripped the railing of the bed. She had to throw her weight against it but managed to free him from the elevator. She stepped back inside, hit the door release, and jumped out before they closed.

  The back doors to the medical center were usually locked but she had keys. She sweated a lot and it tricked down her spine and between her breasts as she got that door open. No officers were assigned outside where her rental truck waited. She rushed toward it, lifted open the rear rolling door, and quickly dragged out the ramp.

  “Fuck,” she hissed, gripping the head of the bed. She took a running start, knew it was insane to attempt it, but figured if she didn’t get enough speed the damn thing would run her over when it began to slide back.

  Desperation gave her that added amount of strength and the wheels of the bed hit the ramp. It was jarring but momentum kept it going all the way into the back of the small-size rental truck. She wished she could collapse on her ass from exhaustion but she didn’t have time to waste as she glanced at her wristwatch. She had nine minutes to get out of there before someone checked on 880. She could only pray they didn’t eat too fast and return early.

  She had prepared the back of the truck already and used handcuffs she’d purchased from a sex shop to lock the rails of the bed to the inside bumper of the moving truck. She shoved a packing blanket between the side of the bed and the wall, praying it would cushion any bumps. Doubt struck.

  What if I end up killing him? Oh shit. I’ve lost it. It’s too late though. No way can I get him back to his room before they find out I took him. Shit! She peered down at his scarred features and clenched her teeth. She wasn’t going to allow him to die and that would be a certainty if she didn’t follow through with her plan.

  It wasn’t easy to get the ramp to slide back inside the grove it had come from. The thing seemed heavier to put back than to pull out, but she managed. Fear of getting caught kidnapping a New Species and what they’d do to her was motivation enough. She pulled down the back door, locked it, and rushed to the cab.

  She climbed into the driver’s seat, glanced over at her purse, hidden mostly from sight on the floor, and fumbled for the keys. The truck started as she belted in with her free hand, threw it in drive and slowly pressed down on the gas. They were in motion. She drove carefully, hoping her guest wasn’t being jarred too much.

  A quick glance at her watch made her hurry to the employee gate. She had a tight schedule to keep. She turned the air-conditioning on high, hoping it would blow away any stench of lingering fear. She opened the window to help as the gates and the officers who guarded it came into view.

  “Dear god,” she softly prayed, “please let this work. Pretty please?”

  The officer who stopped her wore a mask that shielded his face. The tinted, protective dark glass hid his identity and she didn’t recognize his voice.

  “Hello, Dr. Allison.” His head turned to stare at the back of the truck. “Where are you going?”

  “I bought furniture for my home yesterday. I have to return the truck today.” She lifted her arm to show him her watch. “It’s got to be back by five. Can you check me over quickly and let me go? The rental place will charge extra if I’m late.”

  “Of course.” He stepped up on the side of the truck and peered inside the front to make sure no one forced her to leave by hiding on the passenger floor. “Is the back unlocked?”

  Where the hell is that guy? Come on, damn you. She managed to keep her voice calm. “Yeah. There’s nothing in it but the moving blankets that protected the new dining room table from being scratched. Go ahead and look.”

  He climbed down and she wanted to scream when he walked toward the back of the truck. Her gaze lifted to the thick gate in front of her and the other Species male who manned it. More of them were above on the wall with sniper rifles. She could ram the gate in an attempt to flee but they might open fire, accidentally shooting 880. That wasn’t a risk she would take.

  “Alert!” It was a snarl from above. “We have an incoming van.”

  Boots pounded pavement and the officer rushed past her driver’s door to reach the gate. A beat-up van slowed on the other side of it and a burly man stepped out.

  “You are not permitted to come to this gate,” one of the Species officers stated. “Return to your vehicle and turn around. This entrance is off-limits.”

  “Calm down. I just need directions.” The guy glanced at the truck but was careful to look away. “Don’t shoot. Hell! Are those real guns? I’m just lost. I think I took a wrong turn.”

  More officers arrived on the scene. They carefully gripped him, spun him around, and patted him down.

  “Hello?” She shoved her head out the window to get the officer’s attention. “I have to go. Can you check the back and let me pass?”

  The officer was distracted with his focus on the threat of the unknown man and what the beat-up van could contain. She’d counted on that. He waved at her to go and the gate opened.

  Guilt ate at her as she drove slowly past the guy she’d paid to distract the officers. They had him handcuffed on the grou