“No.” He glanced at the one human who worked on blueprints and gave his friend a hand signal as he rose to his feet. “We should check on their progress.”

Tiger stood. “I’ll walk with you.”

They walked about twenty yards from the makeshift office before Tiger paused, staring at his friend. “What is wrong?”

“That was Justice. He’s sending Dr. Norbit here. She’s in danger and he wants her stashed.”

“Shit. Doesn’t he realize how rough that will be?”

“He didn’t seem to care. I couldn’t argue with him, knowing everything I said could be overheard.”

“True.”

“I’m going to see her again.”

Tiger’s cat eyes widened. “You haven’t gotten over her yet?”

“No. I think about her all the time.”

“You have to stand strong. We discussed this.”

“She’s in danger and I’ve stayed away from her. Obviously that didn’t work.”

“She’ll be in danger regardless. She works for us, and some will hate her for that offense alone. If she’s with one of us, with you, and it gets out, whatever threat level against her will worsen. You did the correct thing.”

“Did I?” Slade’s body tensed. “Why does the right thing feel so wrong?”

“We’ve suffered enough. It’s better not to have her than to risk her being killed because she’s your woman.”

Pain sliced through his chest. “I’d die inside if that happened. I couldn’t live with that.”

“And that’s why you made the right choice.” Tiger shifted his stance. “Work is the cure. We’ve got enough of it here.”

“Right. Work.”

“I’ll handle her. You don’t need to talk to her when she arrives.”

“No.” He knew it would be stupid but he needed to see her. “Justice didn’t give details of why she’s in danger but he said she was under the weather. I’ll sleep better at night if I can actually see her for myself. I won’t rest until I make sure she’s physically fine.”

“Masochist.”

“Shut up.”

“I’m just saying it will be painful to see her and not be able to touch her. You’ll want to.”

“I’m strong. I can deal with this.” Tiger shot him a disbelieving stare. “Sometimes I wonder why we are friends.”

“I already told you. You’re a masochist.” Tiger laughed.

* * * * *

Trisha walked out of Justice’s bathroom. She’d redone her makeup and knew she could pass muster on looking normal. She paused when she saw the pensive look on Justice’s face as he watched her.

“I decided to hold off telling Slade about the baby. It’s your news to share with him. I’ll give you a little time.”

Relief washed through Trisha. “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet. If you don’t let him know within the next…” He shrugged. “I will have to. He’s in charge of Reservation and needs to know how important it is to protect you. In order to do that he needs to be made aware of the dangers. I think by the way he reacted when he thought you were at risk, he might care more for you than you believe. That’s what prompted me to see if you both can work this out on your own before I intervene.”

She stared at Justice grimly. “If he cared, as you put it, he would have come to see me. He would have at least called to make sure I was okay emotionally after what happened to us. The way I heard it, he nearly begged for the job at Reservation to get away from Homeland, which probably translates to getting away from me.”

“He did not beg for the job. I wanted Fury to go but Ellie couldn’t leave our women. She takes her job at the woman’s dorm very seriously and she’s always under threat as Fury’s mate. My next in command is Slade. I asked him and he accepted. I needed someone I could trust handling everything. I have too much on my own plate down here to keep bouncing back and forth. I was getting airsick with the two and three helicopter rides I had to take daily.”

“I see.”

“I hope you do. Now, Brass should be here at any time to pick you up. I have a conference room meeting with the Council in a few minutes.” He stood and sighed. “Sometimes they drive me nuts.”

“Good luck with that. I’ll go wait for him in the lobby.”

“Stay here and relax. The couch is comfortable.”

“Thank you.”

He grinned as he glanced at her stomach. “I’m very excited about this.”

“Me too, when I’m not scared stupid.”

Justice squeezed her arm, reassuring her, and walked out of his office. He firmly closed the door behind him.

Fifteen minutes later Brass walked into the room. Trisha stood and studied him. He appeared calm now, collected, and cool. “I’m very sorry Justice misunderstood about you being the father of my baby.”

He studied her before his attention lowered to her stomach. “You’re really carrying a New Species baby?”

“Yes.”

“That’s good news.”

Trisha noticed he didn’t look happy. “Is our friendship all right, Brass?”

“Yes. I’m…wishing I’d met you before you became involved with another male. I hope that doesn’t offend you. It’s just that I was drawn to you more than I should have allowed. Now you belong to someone else but I’ll adjust. We’re fine, Trisha.”