“Fucking hell,” Marvin muttered as he hit the brakes at a red light. He turned his head and stared at Lauren’s br**sts again before frowning at Mary. “I need some stress relief. I won’t take her pants off. Haven’t I been loyal? Haven’t I done all the shit you tell me to?”

140 growled. “Her mate will know. Do you want me to tell you what you ate for lunch? I can. She would also fight.” He turned his head and fixed his gaze on her. “Would you allow him to make use of your body in any way? He likes to open his pants and order females to put their mouth on him.”

Disgust made Lauren want to throw up and she snapped her head to meet the gaze of the man in the seat ahead of her. “I’d rather die and I can promise you, if you unzip near me you’ll need a trauma surgeon after I am done with you.”

Mary laughed. “I’m starting to like her just a little. The idea of someone biting your dick off is amusing.” She reached out and pinched Marvin’s arm again. “Stop being such a sick son of a bitch. Eyes on the road and shut your mouth unless it’s not related to thinking with your dick.”

“Bitch,” Marvin grumbled. “Stop doing that to my arm. It hurts.”

The light turned green and he stomped on the gas in anger. “Stop drawing attention to us, idiot.” She turned in her seat and glared at Lauren. “And I’m watching you too. The windows back there are tinted but don’t try to draw any attention. Got it? The car behind us will make sure we get away. If any cops show up he will do something to distract them.”

“She’s not stupid,” 140 said and sighed. “She knows you need her and she will survive if she just complies to get you what you want.” He shifted his gaze to the driver. “It is your own technicians you should worry about.”

“He’s getting damn mouthy,” Marvin cursed. “Sounds as if we need to remind him of his place.” He suddenly barked out a laugh. “Do I need to visit your mate again?”

“Shit,” Mary snapped and her hand flew out and hit the thug in the back of the head as 140 snarled loudly in the confined space. “You are a f**king idiot. You really want to taunt him in this car? I don’t want to die when he lunges across the seat and rips your head from your body.”

“She said she’d prefer to die than feel your hands exploring her body again. I’d kill you if you had harmed her or ever do. She’s mine.”

Lauren saw the pure anger on 140’s features, the way his hands fisted in his lap, and how his chest rose and fell harshly as he seemed to pant through a fit of rage.

“He isn’t going to do shit to her,” Mary swore, trying to keep the peace for once. “I took care of it when he molested her, didn’t I?” She twisted in her seat and stared at 140. “Calm down now. That’s an order. Remember our deal? You do as you’re told and no harm comes to your girlfriend. Marvin is going to keep his big mouth shut from now on or I’ll personally pinch something far more painful than his arm.”

The glimpse Lauren was getting into 140’s life made her angry enough to want to reach forward and break Marvin’s neck herself. Of course she wasn’t strong enough but she regretted he hadn’t been the one she’d had to stab with the letter opener. The fact that she’d killed someone was pushed back. She couldn’t deal with that now. Besides, the more time she spent with the arguing pair in front, the more justified it seemed.

“What is her name?” Lauren kept her voice down and hoped to distract the still-furious New Species.

He turned his chilly gaze on her and his nose flared. “Mine.”

She let that slide, not really believing that the woman had that name. His gaze jerked to the driver and she knew that statement of possession had been for the driver’s benefit.

“Is she feline like you or canine like…” She almost said Wrath’s name. “My mate.”

“She’s primate.”

“Oh.” Lauren hesitated. “I don’t think I’ve seen one of them yet.”

“I thought you were mated to one.” Mary frowned at her from the front seat. “A lot of them survived.”

Lauren met the bitch’s stare evenly. “I am. My mate is canine and all the people I’ve met at Homeland have either been that or feline.”

“Primates aren’t common.” 140 spoke. “They didn’t make as many of them. What is Homeland?”

“Shut up,” Mary snapped. “Don’t tell him a damn thing about the NSO. Got it, Lauren? Not a word.”

She was tempted to keep right on talking but 140 shook his head. She sealed her lips together and clenched her teeth. She would bet that Mary didn’t want 140 to know about any of his people being free. It would give him hope that he could be rescued too.

The car slowed and turned. Lauren glanced out the window and realized they’d entered an old part of town where a lot of businesses had closed due to the bad economy. It had really turned into a slum in the years since she’d frequented the area in her late teens and early twenties. Boarded-up windows became a common sight as they continued to drive down a few narrow streets.

“Do you know where we are?”

Lauren met Mary’s calculating eyes and shook her head. “The east side of town. I am a realtor and I know my properties.” They were actually on the border area of the south side and almost out of the city limits.