Justice Read online

  Her lips parted but she pressed them together, not saying a word about the two handguns mounted to the wall and the bags of spare clips next to them. She just watched as he grabbed a bulletproof vest. He spun, shoving it at her.

  “Put it on.”

  “You.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Do it. We don’t have time to hold a debate, Jessie. I heal and move faster than you do. My kind will fight another Species hand to hand but you are human and I’m not sure they’ll give you that respect. They might have guns and shoot you. Wear the vest.”

  He had that determined look that clued her in that arguing with him would be a waste of time. She accepted the heavy vest, put it on and tried to make the too-large garment fit. Justice wasn’t strapping on weapons but instead turned, thrusting them at her. His weapons stash was impressive as she glanced at them.

  “Nice. I take it you’re keeping the shotgun?”

  He shook his head. “We don’t use weapons on each other, Jessie. We fight with our bodies. You on the other hand are not Species. You would lose to one of our men if it came to that. I won’t lose you. You need help surviving if it comes down to it.”

  “Do you think they’ll come here?”

  “They will figure out where you must be since you are not next door. They must want you badly to risk so much and I’ll assume they’ll come here next.”

  “Shit.” Jessie checked the safeties on the guns, made sure they were off and popped the clips, seeing they were fully loaded. “I’m so sorry. This is because of me.”

  Justice moved lightning fast to grab her chin, forced her head up to meet his gaze, and softly growled in anger. “You didn’t do this. Mates are precious, to be protected at all costs and considered Species. Those males are to blame for betraying us.” His hand dropped away. “I want you to go sit in the tub in the bathroom. There are only two entries there. Kill anyone who gets past me. It means I’m dead.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “They wouldn’t dare hurt you. You’re their leader.”

  He grabbed four clips for the handguns and shoved them down the front of her vest. “I guess they want to fire me. Move, Jessie.” His gaze softened. “Tiger and some men are on the way. Trust him. He’ll get you to safety and back to your father if something happens to me.”

  “You gave me both guns.” She offered him one, butt first. “Please take one.”

  “Species don’t use guns to fight each other but you need them. Don’t fight them hand to hand. Just pull the trigger before they can attack.”

  Jessie stared into Justice’s dark eyes. “I’m not hiding inside the bathroom while you’re facing five of them by yourself. I can shoot and I’m staying by your side. These guns and I can even out the numbers pretty quick.”

  He suddenly leaned forward to kiss her lips. “I love you.” His smile died and his eyes narrowed. “We don’t have time to vote on my plan.”

  An alarm screamed throughout the house and Justice cursed. “They have breached our home. Get inside the bathroom. I can’t concentrate if I don’t know where you are. Do it or you’ll get us both killed.”

  He flipped off the light, grabbed her arm and shoved open the closet door. She was propelled forward by his strong hold, led into the bedroom where he quickly checked before he left her there.

  Son of a bitch. He was going to face off against five Species males alone because she had breasts…or it might be because she was human. She couldn’t see him telling any of the muscular Species females to hide in the bathroom while he fought. They were kickass and he’d have kept a Species female at his side to help even out the odds.

  Jessie resisted the urge to follow him, knew it would distract him since he seemed certain she needed his protection and hoped that no one would really dare attack Justice. Species adored him and appreciated all the sacrifices he made. It was inconceivable that any of them would wish him harm.

  She could barely make out the dim interior of the room, seeing more shadows than anything. Her gaze drifted to the best location to set up an offense—that being the far corner away from the one window and the open door to the bedroom.

  The tub was the exact size and model of the one inside her old home. It was perfect, would provide cover and she climbed into the big thing, crouching down to make a smaller target. She shifted the clips inside the large vest so they weren’t digging into her breasts and gripped the guns in both hands. Her gaze darted back and forth from the window to the door.

  The window was big enough for a person to come through and the open doorway to the bedroom would allow her to keep track of what was going on in the rest of the house. Of course the screaming alarm grated on her nerves. It was muted somewhat in the back of the house but she wished for a com link to Justice. It was a mental “to buy in the future” on her list of things to do.

  The alarm cut off and only eerie silence remained. She hoped that was a good thing. Maybe the males had fled when they realized security would hear it and come rushing to Justice’s aid. They sure came when he roared so sirens would definitely bring them running.

  Time ticked by and not knowing drove her a little insane. She bit her lip, stood and stepped over the edge of tub. She wanted a view outside, a chance to see if anything was going on and hesitantly approached the window. She shoved one gun between her thighs, listened to make sure nothing moved on the other side and felt for the lock. She pushed it down and slid the glass open along the track, breathing in fresh air. Her hand gripped the second gun again, lifted it and felt safe with the weight of both resting against her palms.

  Nothing moved in the dark backyard or near the outline of the pool, where the dim glow of lights at the bottom of it provided some sight. She backed away. Her gaze turned to the doorway to make sure nothing crept up on her. She heard a soft thump and her focus jerked back to the open window in time to spot a large figure rush from one side of the yard toward her.

  Maybe it’s security but what if it’s not? Fear had her backing away from the window and hurrying back to the tub where she stepped in and crouched. She aimed the guns at the backyard, held her breath and her heart raced.

  A shadow darkened a corner of the window. They sniffed loudly and growled. It was a soft, vicious noise and assured her it wasn’t anyone happy to catch her scent. A Species male would smell her since she’d stood there. Her fingers tightened on the triggers while she waited for him to make a move.

  Justice heard the faint sound of a footstep on tile and it gave away the location of one male. He was near the end of the hallway that led to the bedrooms. The approaching intruder wore shoes that squeaked, new ones did that sometimes when the soles weren’t broken in and it clued him to the fact that these males weren’t well trained. None of his officers would make that mistake. They were too skilled in stealth to make noise.

  He wondered if he’d made a mistake, judging them to be Species, but no humans could move the way he’d seen the males outside walking. Their grace and fluidness was too animalistic, whereas human men were stiffer and stepped heavier. It confused him since all his males had to undergo training yet these weren’t skilled. He leaned against the bedroom wall next to the open door to the hallway. He didn’t want to go far from Jessie. The position allowed him to protect the bedroom windows and the entrance from the hall. He glanced at the bathroom door to be assured she was safe so far.

  Another sound caught his ear, one he identified as a window sliding open. He gritted his teeth after determining it had come from the bathroom where Jessie hid but gunfire didn’t pierce the quiet house. Jessie would have shot anyone trying to breach the house through the smaller room. It must have been another window and he’d misjudged the direction.

  He heard another slight sound, wood scraped plaster, and he realized the intruder moved down the hallway closer to the bedroom. A table sat eight feet from his bedroom. He’d obviously bumped into it, once again betraying his lack of training. Rage gripped him as he inhaled, picking up the distinctive Species scent. They were