Brawn Read online

  A good minute passed before a cage door slammed closed. The sound was distinctive enough for Becca to be sure and chains rattled. They were obviously securing his door the way they had Brawn’s. The four guys returned minus the Species and the gurney. One of them stopped to glare at Brawn.

  “You’re next, asshole.”

  She knew that voice. It was Randy, the one she’d winged in her house, the leader of the mercenaries. She saw the bandage near his ear as he turned his attention to her. “Then you, bitch. I’m going to take great pleasure watching you suffer.”

  “Why are we here?” Brawn kept his voice low.

  A smile curved the bastard’s lips and he gripped his hips. “The doctor wanted fresh meat but your girlfriend was a bonus.” Randy took a step closer but remained a good ten feet from the edge of Brawn’s cage. “You know what’s going to happen. We don’t have any females, weren’t able to grab any of them when we were raided, so she’s it.” His grin widened. “I hope she likes pussies as much as you do.” He lifted his hand and jerked it toward the pacing New Species. “He’ll be first and you’ll get her second.”

  Brawn roared, lunged at the side of the cage and grabbed it. “He’ll kill her.”

  “Even better.” Randy touched his bandage. “That cunt tried to blow my brains out. I’ll enjoy hearing her screams.” He spun, marched away and his three goons followed him.

  Becca trembled. She wasn’t an idiot and could fill in the blanks. Brawn refused to glance at her and instead glared at the double doors that closed behind the men. She backed away from the side of the cage to sit heavily on her cot. Her legs didn’t want to hold her weight anymore.

  Her gaze traveled across the room to the still agitated Species male. Terror gripped her. The guy couldn’t even talk and didn’t seem friendly in the least. He’d kill her for sure if she were thrown into his cage for some breeding experiment.

  “Becca?”

  She turned her head at Brawn’s raspy tone. He watched her, his beautiful gaze grim.

  “I know. Breeding drugs, I’m the only woman and that guy over there is out of his head, right?”

  “Listen to me.” Brawn took a deep breath and gripped the bars. “Do not fight if they put you in there with the male. He will be aggressive to begin with but if you resist, he will…” His voice trailed off.

  “Kill me?”

  Brawn refused to look away from her. “Yes.”

  Hot tears filled her eyes and she blinked them back.

  “He is drugged and it is painful. His body is on fire, the need to mount a female has taken his sanity and he will be sorry when it passes.” A sad note filled his voice. “I know this.”

  Becca hugged her chest. “You’ve taken it before, haven’t you?”

  “I was not given a choice. They used me for breeding tests. Only two of the five facilities that have been discovered used this drug.” He crouched. “I do not remember anything but knew I had shared sex with a female when the drugs passed from my system. I never smelled blood on my body and hope I never hurt one of our women. None of them ever told me I had after we were freed but they might have wanted to spare me any guilt if I had.”

  Memories of their conversation about how he enjoyed sex made her shiver. She wasn’t a New Species female, tough, or designed to be stronger than average. She was plain ole human, not even one who was in shape and she doubted she’d survive a round of sex with a drugged Species guy even if she didn’t put up a fight.

  “Becca?”

  She realized she’d glanced down when she had to lift her gaze to Brawn.

  “I’m tough. I’m a survivor.” She sucked in air. “And we are going to be found.” Anger made her voice stronger. “Someone is going to die.” She glanced at the double doors. “A lot of them.”

  “The male will not mean to hurt or force you.”

  She glanced back at him, avoided staring at the guy who still paced his cell and terrified her. “He’s a victim too. I get that. Don’t worry. It’s not his blood I’m hoping to see spilled.”

  “They will find us.” His voice deepened into a snarl. “Trust me.”

  She appreciated his optimism. Her dad was good at his job and they’d left a dead body behind to investigate. She had faith in her father and his team. They liked her and would do whatever it took to rescue her.

  “Dibs on the guy with the bandage. I want to kill that motherfucker myself.”

  Brawn’s eyebrows arched.

  “When we’re found,” she clarified, “you hold that piece of shit and I get to beat on him for a while, okay? I’ll borrow one of the team’s guns and shoot him after I hear him scream enough to make me feel better about whatever happens to me.”

  “You are violent.” Brawn’s lips twitched. “I like that.”

  “Extreme circumstances. It’s either plot to kick that dickhead in the nuts or curl into a ball and cry. I prefer the first option.”

  “Becca?”

  She stared into his eyes.

  “We will be found.” Sincerity shone there. “I swear this to you.”

  She nodded, hoping it would be before they started any breeding tests.

  Chapter Five

  “Stay away from her,” Brawn snarled.

  Becca jerked awake on the cot, knew where she was and sat up. She’d somehow fallen asleep. Two men, neither one of them Randy, unlocked her cage door. Brawn snarled at them again and she glanced his way to see how he clutched at the bars. He shook them hard, his biceps strained from the effort of trying to break them but it was a wasted effort.

  One of the men stepped inside and frowned. “Get up and come with us. You will get hurt if you fight us.”

  “Leave her alone. Take me,” Brawn roared. “Don’t touch the female. I will kill you, tear you apart, if you hurt her.”

  The guy in her cage ignored the threat. “Get up, Becca. That’s your name, isn’t it? There’s no point in fighting unless you want to feel some pain.”

  She stood on shaky legs and glanced at Brawn. His eyes were narrowed with rage as their gazes held.

  “I’ll be okay. Calm down and save your energy.”

  Brawn shook the bars again. “Take me. Don’t harm her.”

  The jerk inside her cage finally shot him an annoyed stare. “It’s not a big deal. The doctor wants to examine your girlfriend and give her a little shot. Stop making that racket. I hate you large cat mixes. I forgot how damn annoying you can be.”

  The guy outside the cage snorted. “The howlers aren’t any easier on the ears.” He glanced at the far cage with the still-sleeping male on the cot. “I’m so damn glad that one finally crashed. My ears were bleeding, I swear.”

  The guard grabbed her arm to jerk her out of the cage and she stumbled forward. She was afraid as the two men made her walk toward the double doors. She dreaded whatever waited behind them.

  A long hallway stretched ahead as they entered the unknown section of the basement and stopped three doors down on the right where one had been left wide open. The room reminded Becca of a doctor’s office when she spotted the exam table in the center of the room, one big light attached to it, and her head turned. A desk was in the corner, covered in papers, files and two computers. One of the monitors showed the room with the cages. A female doctor turned her chair away from that view to openly study her victim.

  “Put her on the table and strap her down.”

  “Who are you?” Becca didn’t fight as the men shoved her at the table. “What do you want?”

  “Sure thing, Doctor Elsa.” One of the men nodded.

  The woman refused to answer, instead just stood and crossed her arms over her chest. Becca memorized the gaunt face, the black hair pulled into a tight bun and the woman’s long, thin nose. She glanced down to note the doctor was rail thin, perhaps five foot nine in her flat shoes and wore a white lab coat. No rings adorned her fingers, no scars or tattoos were visible. She had no distinguishable marks besides a few wrinkles around her mouth and eyes, which pe