He’d once witnessed firsthand that she wasn’t on friendly terms with the guards. It had been that time they’d purposely kept him chained to the wall for days while beating him for injuring one of them in self-defense. He hung there, helpless to retaliate.

She’d entered his room, seen his condition and yelled at the guard near the door to get a doctor. When he refused, she’d shoved the male and yanked the radio from his belt, demanding one come to the cell. The guard had pushed her roughly into the hallway before the door closed. A doctor had come and—

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“You have to see this.” Paul’s voice tore True from his memories as the nurse returned with the doctor.

True turned to glance at both males. He should leave but he wanted to hear what Harris had to say. The doctor approached the bed, drew back the sheet and lifted the gauze pad.

“Wow. At this rate she should be fully healed within a few days. It’s a real breakthrough we can use to our advantage.”

“That’s what I was saying.” Paul grinned. “Do you know what this means?”

“We keep a lid on it,” Dr. Harris snapped, shooting a glare at Paul. “Mercile created it and any hint that they came up with a miracle drug would have them ranting about how what they did to New Species was beneficial to mankind. That isn’t happening.”

“They destroyed their records to hide evidence of what they’d done to New Species. Won’t this drug formula be lost to them? They can’t claim ownership if they don’t have proof it was created in their labs. We didn’t exactly share the information that we recovered the formula from those bastards.”

“Who knows what backup files they hid? I’m not willing to risk it. I’ll send some samples to a trusted friend at the FDA if this continues to go well. They can test it in human trials and take credit for its creation at that point. Nobody wins a fight with the FDA.”

“How is she?” True didn’t care about the drug, only her prognosis.

Harris pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and shrugged. “She’s doing great so far. She hasn’t stroked out or had a heart attack. I half expected one of those two scenarios to happen by now but it’s only been twelve hours. It’s a powerful drug.”

Alarm shot through him. “Stop giving it to her. She’s no longer in danger of dying, correct?”

Harris frowned. “This could help humans, True. We’ll learn a lot if we keep her on it.”

“Her life is more important than a test.”

“She works for Mercile.”

True growled, his temper flaring. “So?”

“I won’t lose any sleep over this test. They didn’t give a shit if they killed New Species. The least she can do is help us find out if it’s possible to fully heal on the same dosage of the drug that they used on you guys. It could be used on mates if they are injured.”

“Take her off the drug.”

“I’ll discuss it with Justice.” Harris shook his head, turning away. “I’m sure he’ll see it my way. It’s worth the risks.”

True lunged, blocking the doctor from exiting the room. “Take her off the drug.” He growled. “She isn’t a test subject. Her life isn’t yours to gamble with.”

“She belongs to the NSO now. I don’t know why you’re so upset about this. They used you for testing so who gives a damn if we turn the tables? Did Mercile ever ask your permission to inject you with drugs? She would be dead already if it wasn’t for what we’ve done so far.”

“We’re not them. Stop giving her the drug, Harris.” He clenched his fists, ready to strike the male if he refused.

“Calm down!”

“You could kill her.” He glared over the male’s head to the nurse. “One of you is going to comply or both of you are going to need medical assistance. You can test the drug on yourselves if you feel the risks are acceptable.”

“Fuck,” Paul muttered. “He means it, Dr. Harris. They are really protective of women.”

“You have no authority here,” Harris snapped.

True snarled, giving the man a cold stare. “Stop giving her the healing drug.”

“Do what he says,” Jericho rasped from behind him. “We don’t kill females. I wasn’t aware she no longer needed the drug to survive or the harm it could cause to her body if you continue to dose her.”

“Neither one of you has any medical knowledge,” Harris protested. “I’m not being mean, damn it. This could help human mates if they are hurt. I’d rather test it on her than someone we care about.”

“I care if she dies,” True rasped.

Jericho stopped next to him. “I have excellent hearing and heard the risks. They aren’t worth it.”

True gave the male a grateful look for backing him up before turning his head and growling at the doctor. “She belongs to the NSO now. You stated it. Do what we say. Stop giving her the drug.”

“You do work for us.” Jericho’s voice deepened. “That’s an order.”

“I’m on it.” Paul removed the bag he’d just hung. “I’ll go get plain saline. Let’s not fight. I don’t want to get my ass kicked,” he muttered. The nurse rushed around them and fled the room.

“I’m calling Justice.”

“You do that.” True wasn’t concerned with Harris’ threat. “Tell him it could have killed her. I’m sure he won’t be happy.”