True: 11 (New Species) Read online

  “He’s soft,” one of the males stated. “That’s what she means. Like a human female—the flesh isn’t stretched taut over bone.”

  She nodded. “Yeah.”

  “Is anything else girly about him?” Query still looked amused.

  “He wore a pinky ring on his left hand. It looked like a cat, believe it or not. That stood out to me because it was kind of weird. Not too many men wear those.”

  “What’s wrong with a male wearing a cat ring?” Flirt frowned.

  “Men don’t usually wear jewelry of animals unless they are more…” She shrugged, trying to think of a way to explain. “A wolf or a panther is considered manly but not a house cat and that’s what it looked like to me. That’s more typical of something a woman would wear. They tend to buy the kitten, dolphin, or puppy jewelry.”

  “So cats aren’t manly?” Jinx’s blue eyes sparkled with humor. “I disagree.” He leaned back in his chair and flexed his shoulders, braced his elbows on the chair, and tightened the large muscles down his arms to show them off. “No one would ever call me feminine.”

  Jeanie laughed. “They wouldn’t but…”

  “But? Finish what you were going to say.”

  “I don’t want to accidentally offend you.”

  His humor vanished. “I look feminine?”

  She almost laughed again at his appalled expression, which was comical. “No. You don’t. It’s just that, um, if I were to take a guess…you look nothing similar to a house cat. You kind of remind me of a panther. It’s the predatory look in your eyes, the black hair and the shape of your eyes. You have that danger vibe going on.”

  “Predatory?” He grinned again. “I like that. Do I look at you in a way that makes you have thoughts about me eating you?”

  Her mind blanked, stunned he’d said that. Heat crept into her cheeks as every word sank in, and the insinuation behind them.

  “Are you done making jokes and trying to gain her interest in sharing sex with you? It won’t happen.” True released her hand and leaned forward to glare at Jinx. “We all know what she meant by that term. We frighten humans with the way we seem to study everything about them and it makes them uneasy that we don’t blink as much as they do. This is serious. Tim Oberto wants Jeanie returned to the task force to face Species law. We believe what she says but he views her as any other human who worked for Mercile. She’s the enemy to him. They planned to send her to Fuller.”

  Jinx’s mood darkened as he glared back. “She doesn’t belong in that place. I’ve been there a few times transferring prisoners. Her spirit would be crushed within days. The human males would torment her with vile words. She is too gentle to survive their abuse.”

  A male stood near the end of the table. “I work in the legal department.”

  Jeanie remembered him. He’d been a timid male, his primate features clear, but her interaction with him had been minimal. She couldn’t remember his number and he didn’t state his name. He hadn’t been sent to the clinic for many injuries since the doctors mostly used him in trials for drugs they were conducting on cognitive improvements. They hadn’t asked her to draw his blood more than two or three times but she had smuggled him a cookie at Christmas, along with the rest of the New Species. It had broken her heart, knowing they had never in their lives received a gift. A cookie had seemed so trivial but they were small enough to hide in her pockets, the evidence gone as soon as they ate it. A lot of cookies had fit in her lunch bag so she’d had enough to pass out.

  “I didn’t realize it was you when we assigned a number to the file. The task force doesn’t always give us names of who they bring in because paperwork can be stolen and leaked to the press. We have experienced nothing but trouble when that’s happened in the past. Their human families show up at the gates, their friends, and they create a publicity nightmare for the NSO.”

  He paused, turning his attention on True. “The evidence of her working for Cornas Research is overwhelming even if she hadn’t been wearing their work badge when she was taken into custody. Bank records linked her to Cornas and Drackwood Research. Tim was disappointed at the lack of money she received so there’s no evidence that she obtained funds from what was paid to the informant who led the teams to both locations.” He paused again then cursed. “Tim already wrote up a report to the council asking for her to be incarcerated at Fuller. But he added an amendment, asking for her death if he can prove she is involved in the plot regarding the millions paid out for Species recovery.”

  “Death?” True snarled.

  Jeanie wasn’t angry. She was frightened. She had to remember how to breathe before her mind would function again. Can the NSO hand down a death sentence on me if Agent Brice isn’t found? I’ll end up becoming the fall guy for all the things that asshole did since he set me up to look as guilty as hell. How will they kill me? Lethal injection? Firing squad? Have my neck snapped? Oh shit.

  She glanced at True and some of the fear eased as she stared at his enraged expression. He won’t allow that to happen. What if he can’t stop them? What if they send an entire SWAT team to his apartment to arrest me? He’d fight them. I’ll go with them willingly before I watch him get killed protecting me. She refused to allow that to happen.

  The primate male took a step back and nearly tripped on his chair. Jeanie didn’t blame him for being affected by True’s anger. It would frighten her too if he ever looked at her that way or made that sound. The New Species straightened his shoulders, though, and calmly stared back at True after a few long seconds as he seemed to restrain his instinct to flee danger.

  “Death,” he confirmed. “Tim believes it was unusually cruel to know Species were being abused but to withhold the information while it continued so the anonymous tipster could send us the evidence we received to gain a higher payment from the NSO.” He jerked his head in Jeanie’s direction. “Tim has ordered all of us to seek more proof that can link her to being that tipster.”

  “She is innocent.” Jinx used his hand to indicate the New Species should sit down. “Thank you for the information but we don’t need to hear more. No one is going to kill Shiver and she isn’t serving any time at Fuller.”

  “We agree.” True glowered at Jinx. “Stop wasting precious time flirting with my female. We need to track down this Agent Brice and force him to confess that he lied to Jeanie.”

  “She’s yours?” Jinx wrinkled his nose, sniffing the air. “She smells of you but she’s not your mate.” He rose and bent forward as his hands fisted. His knuckles flattened on the table as he braced his weight with them, putting his face inches in front of True’s. “Mates are safe. What is wrong with you? Is she good enough to take to your bed but not to your heart?”

  Jeanie’s mouth fell open at the blatant verbal attack on True. She expected him to physically retaliate but his response stunned her more than the sudden turn of events. He leaned back in his chair and sighed. “She refused.”

  Jinx frowned, shifting his gaze to her as he straightened. “Why?”

  Chapter Thirteen

  The double doors of the library were thrown open and Jeanie turned, watching as a group of New Species males entered the room. All five of them drew to a halt, standing almost shoulder to shoulder in a line they formed while the one in the center crossed his arms over his chest. She recognized him immediately.

  Justice North scowled. “What is going on here?”

  Jinx spoke first. “We’re having a reunion with Shiver. What are you doing here?”

  He didn’t answer right away, instead his gaze located Jeanie. Being the target of that cool stare wasn’t the most pleasant experience in her life. Justice North was as powerful as they came in the New Species world. He held press conferences on a regular basis, even rubbed shoulders with the President of the United States, and she knew her future ultimately rested in his hands. It was rumored that he pretty much ruled Homeland and Reservation. His word was law.

  “You’re the cause of all the disagreements amongst