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  “That hurts like a son of a bitch. I figured he should experience it firsthand. Don’t you dare feel bad for hitting him. I wish I could have.” She broke eye contact and looked at Torrent, offering the weapon to him. “Do you want this? It’s heavier than I thought it would be.”

  Torrent grinned and accepted it. “Good shot.”

  “Not really. I was aiming for his balls.”

  The male laughed outright. “Do you want another try? We could wait for him to recover and ask to borrow another officer’s weapon. I don’t have one since we’re not allowed to carry while transporting prisoners from room to room. They might attempt to take it.”

  Vanni bit her lip, seeming to consider it.

  “No, she doesn’t.” Smiley was still stunned. “Vanni?”

  She looked at him. He saw uncertainty there.

  “Are you angry at me? I just saw Jericho’s sidearm and realized what it was. Bruce shot me with one so I wanted to return the favor.”

  He never wanted to see that look from her again. “I’m never angry at you.” He lowered his voice. “I’ll teach you how to shoot better. I really want you out of this room though. His blood is everywhere and Torrent is right. He probably is diseased. He’s insane too. I don’t want you in danger.”

  “Okay.” She turned and walked calmly out of the room.

  He watched her go and Jericho shrugged, as if to say he hadn’t expected that. He grabbed the door handle and closed it, staying with Vanni on the other side.

  “I like her,” Torrent admitted.

  Smiley whipped around, glaring at him.

  “Not that way. She’s your mate. I just like what she did. That’s all. Want to help me pick him up and drag him back to his cage? He’s out cold.”

  “I still want to speak to Gregory Woods.”

  “Let’s deal with this one first and do a little cleanup before we bring him in here. That male cries like a little girl. He’ll see the blood on the floor and will probably scream like one too. He’s already pretended to have a heart attack. This might bring on the real thing. He’ll believe we murdered someone.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Vanni sipped the orange juice Jericho handed her. He hadn’t said a word about her grabbing his weapon or using it. They’d watched Smiley and Torrent drag the unconscious Bruce out of the room. Another New Species had entered to clean up all the blood. She finally worked up the nerve to speak to Smiley’s friend.

  “I apologize. I just didn’t want to spend my honeymoon sitting on the other side of the bars with Smiley. I thought he was going to kill Bruce and get arrested.”

  “It would have been justified if he had. The male threatened his mate.”

  “Oh. I didn’t know that.”

  “Our laws aren’t the same as yours. Ours always make sense.”

  She wasn’t sure what to make of that but he explained.

  “We do get human news in here. It’s depressing. We don’t believe in murder but some just shouldn’t be allowed to live.” He glanced at the glass. “That male is one of them. You heard what he said. Any male capable of harming a female that way deserves death.”

  “Then why didn’t you stop me from rushing in there if you really believed that? You could have stopped me if you’d tried.”

  “I knew you going in there would stop Smiley. I didn’t want him to suffer for his actions, despite how much that male deserved it.”

  “He said he’s killed before.”

  “He has. A lot of us had to at Mercile and we probably will again to defend each other if we’re attacked. This time though, it would have made him fear losing you and feel insecure.” Jericho leaned against the wall. “It’s a real fear when mating a human that they’ll see violence and believe we’re a danger to them. Smiley already worries that you’ll change your mind and leave here. You have become a huge part of him.”

  “I love Smiley.”

  His features softened. “Good. Keep telling him that often. He needs those assurances.”

  “He does?”

  “Yes.” Jericho glanced at the glass wall, then back at her. “We feel deeply but try to hide it. It’s a flaw.”

  “Why?”

  He scowled. “Call it instinct or genetics but we’re more emotionally vulnerable compared to the canines and felines. Don’t ever forget that, Vanni. You could destroy him from the inside out.”

  “I’d never do that.”

  “Even better. Touch him often and tell him how much he means to you if you really love him. He’ll always take everything you say to heart. Don’t forget that if you argue with him. Think before you speak.”

  She appreciated the advice. “Thank you.”

  He shrugged. “I want both of you to be happy. I can’t stand seeing Smiley depressed. It wasn’t easy watching him endure misery before and I never want to see it again.”

  “You were locked up with him when you were kept at Mercile Industries?”

  “I meant when you escaped from the task force members assigned to bring you to Medical and he feared you were either dead or hurt in the out world. It tore me up seeing him that way. I feared he’d go over our walls and search for you on his own. It could have gotten him killed. We have a lot of enemies. All he could think of was you and making sure you were well. He bonded with you right from the start.”

  Vanni blinked back tears. “Thank you for telling me that. I do love Smiley. I um, bonded with him right from the start too. He’s everything to me.”

  “Good. Keep telling him that. I’m not joking. He’s going to worry for a long time that he’ll do or say something that will make you rethink being his mate.”

  “He’s stuck with me.” She smiled, cheering up. “I’d never leave him.”

  Jericho tensed, his gaze focusing on the glass wall. “Here we go. Remember that. I have no idea how Smiley is going to act with this one.”

  Vanni turned in her seat and watched Torrent bring in Gregory Woods. He looked unkempt and completely different from his television persona. His clothing was wrinkled, he needed a shave and his eyes were red.

  “Has he been crying?”

  Jericho snorted. “You heard Torrent. That would be a yes.”

  Gregory took a seat and hugged his chest. “I really need a doctor. I have a specialist that takes care of me. You don’t want me to die. Do you know who I am? You can’t get away with this. I am a celebrity and rich. I—”

  “Stop,” Torrent demanded. “You aren’t being transferred to a human hospital and no one even knows you’re here.”

  The door opened again and Smiley entered. He’d changed into one of the NSO uniforms and his hands were bandaged. He closed the door and stayed by it. Gregory whimpered, staring at him with obvious horror.

  “What’s wrong, human? Never thought you’d have to face the male you drugged and tried to set up?”

  “It wasn’t my idea. It was Bruce. I was afraid of him. You’ve seen him. He has a criminal record. I’m innocent.”

  “Shut up.” Torrent backed up. “We aren’t idiots. There were twenty missing doses of the breeding drug when you were taken into custody. Dean confessed to selling you two hundred doses.” He growled and shot Smiley a disgusted look before continuing. “This one swore he used them on prostitutes he paid to have sex with him. You saw firsthand what that drug did to your female. He felt no sympathy for those females he drugged and kept doing it over and over. He’s a cruel son of a bitch.” Torrent flashed his fangs. “Are you going to blame that on someone else too? Save it, asshole.”

  Smiley made a harsh, rumbling noise. “We should dose you and let you suffer. You deserve it. Bruce works for you and by the way, Dean Polanitis was very informative when we spoke to him.” Smiley crouched, keeping his back to the door. “He confessed to how you contacted him and threatened to expose the connection between Drackwood and Mercile that your investigators found. He called it blackmail and admitted you asked him for something to use against the NSO. You bought drugs from him a