New Species 05 Brawn (18 page)

She’s so soft all over.
Her body was not muscular the
way their women were. Everything about her was unfamiliar and yet he wanted to
hold her forever. Protect her. Keep her. His hand stopped tracing her skin and
he closed his eyes.

He was Species and had no business thinking about a human
female, wishing he could be with her long enough for her hair to grow to her
waist. There would be no future with Becca because they were in hell, captured
and confined by the monsters who’d tormented him for most of his life. Their
ugliness had even touched the one beautiful, perfect thing in his life and he
held her a little tighter.

He knew he should expect that they would be rescued but his
hope had died. He’d never tell Becca, crush her spirit that way, but too much
time had passed. Even if a miracle occurred twice in his lifetime and someone
came to set him free from a cage, Becca would probably be lost to him forever.
The memories they made would be overshadowed by the horror. She’d never be able
to look at him without reliving their nightmare.

Another soft noise drew his attention, his eyes opened and
he turned his head. The Species male in the other cage was off his cot and
stood watching him silently. Brawn carefully extricated his body from Becca’s.
He used the blanket to keep her warm, tucked her in and moved to the corner
nearest the other cage.

“Are you well? I am Brawn.”

The male tilted his head, peered at him with confusion and
he understood. “When I was freed from Mercile I chose the name.” He refused to
say his old number, had sworn to never utter or hear it again and feared the
male might try to address him as such. “Can you speak? You are 919, correct?”

“Yes,” the male rasped. His gaze lowered to stare at Becca,
a soft snarl came from his throat and rage twisted his features.

Brawn moved, blocked his view of the cot and gripped the
bars. “Easy. She is not the enemy.”

“They all are.”

“Not all. Some humans are good. They freed me and many
others from the testing facilities.” He kept his voice low. The males who
worked for the female doctor believed it was safe to talk softly so he figured
it probably was. “How long have you been here? Do you know?”

The male shrugged his shoulders. “A while.”

Brawn understood. It was easy to lose track of time with no
light to show the days pass. His gaze drifted to the other cage and the
sleeping male who hadn’t woken since they’d been there.

“Who is he?”

919 glanced at the form. “358 is in bad shape. He breathes
but he is weakened. They tested him for days straight with too many drugs too
close together and in the insanity he harmed his body much by smashing into the
walls.” He stared at Brawn. “He will be physically fine but when the drugs wear
off I fear his mind will not fare well.”

“What about the other I smell?”

“880.” Rage tensed the male’s body. “He wasn’t known to me
and there was a female with him.”

Alarm gripped Brawn. “Human?”

“One of us.” The male revealed his fangs as he snarled,
showing off his canine traits. “They murdered her in front of him as
punishment. They were here before we were brought. I never spoke to her and
they kept them back there.” He pointed to the concrete wall blocking their view
of the back of the room. “I could hear them softly talking and he cared for
her. I think she was ill. When the humans killed her, he went insane.”

Brawn mourned the loss. He wondered if these were some of
the missing Species from the Colorado testing facility who were unaccounted
for. A female had been on the list. Their numbers were not known to him but
he’d read the reports.

“He doesn’t speak?”

“Not to me but they killed her right after we arrived,” 919
growled. “He howled for days, tore up the cage and the stench of blood was
strong. They had to drug him and tend to his severe injuries. I saw him pass
out a few times. They have to go by when they drug and move him. I believe he
tried to end his life by using the bars.” The man touched them. “His mind is
gone. It happens.”

Brawn knew that well. “Were there any others?”

The male shook his head. “Not until you and her.”

“Have you ever heard the word Colorado?”

“No.”

The double doors opened and two humans stepped into the
room. 919 snarled, backed away from the bars and began to pace. Brawn inched
closer to Becca, watching the enemy with dread.

They approached the other cage and 919 snarled louder,
backed up as far as he could get and the humans laughed as they pulled their
weapons.

“What’s wrong?” The blond human snickered. “You have a
problem getting sucked off by a machine? I wish my dick got as much action as
yours does.”

The other one aimed the Taser. “They are fucking animals.
What do you expect? He’s too stupid to appreciate his dick getting so much
action. It’s not like any of us are allowed to leave here to hunt up some
pussy. I’d take a toy any day compared to my hand.”

They targeted the male, he howled when the electric volts
shot through his body and he fell to the floor. Brawn snarled, hated to watch
the male taken down and a soft hand gripped his arm. He nearly hit Becca from
pure reflex alone but his palm halted inches from her face.

Wide, terrified eyes peered at him and he cursed. He hadn’t
known she’d woken. He dropped his hand and watched as the humans shot another
Taser dart into the already suffering male. He jerked and twitched until he
passed out. The men unwrapped the chains from the door, opened it and entered
the cage. They just grabbed 919 by his arms, dragged him out and took him away.
Brawn didn’t relax until the doors closed. He turned to apologize, staring at
Becca and hated that he’d frightened her.

“I’m sorry. You startled me when I was stressed.”

Becca’s pounding heart slowed. “It’s okay. I should know
better than that. My dad is military and yeah, never sneak up on someone with
any kind of training.” She stepped closer and shivered. “That poor guy.”

“You’re cold.”

She smiled, touched that he was so concerned. “I was really
warm until you got up. You put off a lot of body heat.”

“Lie down.” He tried to urge her to return to the bunk but
she ducked around him, walked to the bars and stared at the double doors where
they’d taken the other male.

“We need to get the hell out of here,” she whispered. “If
you won’t go with my plan, we’ll think of something else. We all need to be
saved.”

“Becca, it’s too dangerous.”

She spun to face him and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Being here is dangerous. Those monsters need to be stopped.”

He approached her. “I agree but they’ll kill you and these
bars are thick.” He reached around her with both hands, gripped them and pinned
her loosely between his body and arms. “You won’t risk your life.”

Her gaze narrowed but she sealed her lips. He was determined
to keep her safe but it was an illusion.
It was a good one though
, she
silently admitted, staring up into his sexy gaze. She bit her lip, the memory
of what they’d done before she’d slept fresh in her head and decided being held
captive wasn’t totally horrible. Of course discovering they’d starred in a
live-action porn flick for the benefit of the guards hadn’t been the high
point.

It reminded her that it couldn’t happen again no matter how
much she wanted him. They’d have to escape first and then…what? Would she ever
see Brawn again? Would he remain at her house or return to Homeland?

The thought of never seeing him again was a bad one. She
suddenly dropped her arms and stepped against him, tucked her head and rested
her cheek against his hot skin. His heart pounded in her ear and she hugged
him.

“I’m freezing,” she lied.

Solid, muscular arms wrapped around her and he curled his
body tighter. “I’ll warm you.”

Becca wanted him to hold her for as long as it was possible.
He’d do more than keep the chill away though. She was falling for him.

Chapter Ten

Tiger’s cell phone vibrated in his pocket and he lifted it.
“Report.” He listened and grinned while he met Trey’s curious gaze.

“One of my males found their scent inside a warehouse. Let’s
move all our teams to the area. They’ve pulled back to wait for a full
assault.”

Tim jumped to his feet in an instant. “Let’s go.”

Tiger frowned. “You say here at command center. We’ll go.”

Tim wanted to argue but Trey spoke first.

“It’s for the best. I’ll go in and find Becca, Tim. We’ll
bring her to you.”

Tim nodded, sat hard on the chair and his hands fisted in
his lap. “I can handle anything that was done to her but just bring her back to
me alive.”

“I’ll do my best,” Trey swore softly. He glanced at Tiger.
“Let’s go.”

Tiger jumped down from the large van that had been their
mobile command center. He jogged with Trey at his heels, the human kept up with
him easily and it reminded him that the task force was made up of good males.
They reached the building a few blocks away quickly to greet the waiting
assault team. Twenty Species males and fifteen human task-force members were
preparing for the worst. Tiger took the lead and commanded the teams.

“We’ll follow you,” Trey acknowledged. “Your people are
better at tracking than mine.” He glanced at his men sternly. “Remember, no one
harms the New Species no matter what you find. Are we clear? They could be
heavily drugged. Just contain and hold him until the NSO team arrives if you
find one on your own.”

Tiger glanced at his men. “Remember that there may be
breeding drugs involved. Sedate Brawn if he’s not clear-headed. Talk to him
first to make sure he is rational before you release him.”

The two teams studied each other and tension was palpable.
Usually none of them minded working together but this was a special
circumstance. All the humans on the task force knew Tim’s daughter and Tiger
worried about their reactions if they found her harmed or worse. One moment of
rage or grief could make a human take action and kill Brawn or another Species.

Tiger was tempted to have them hold back and send in Species
only but he knew that would cause long-term issues. The task team needed their
trust, they’d given their word to remain calm and he had to accept it. Of
course he didn’t have to blindly trust either. An idea struck him.

“Let’s mix our teams.” Tiger glanced at Trey.

Trey nodded. “Sure.” He addressed his men. “NSO calls the
shots. You listen up good, boys. Break into teams and one of them is in
charge.”

The human males separated into small groups. Tiger quickly
assigned a few of them to lead, dividing the rest so they were distributed to
each team. “Let’s surround and go in.” He purposely located and stared at
Brass.

“Are you sure you scented them?”

Brass checked his sidearm. “Positive. I didn’t follow the
trail inside in case there were alarms or cameras but Brawn has been there. I
backed away fast and was careful not to tip them off. I also didn’t smell
explosives.”

“Let’s move,” Tiger commanded, motioning for Trey’s team to
take the entry breach assignment with his own team while the other teams
surrounded the building.

The moment Tiger stepped in the door of the warehouse he
inhaled and nodded at Trey. “They were here but it’s very faint. If they’d left
the doors open or there were any broken windows their scent wouldn’t have
lingered but I’m picking up Brawn and your female.” He inhaled a few times.
“Many human men. I think under ten but that could be off if they weren’t here
recently. I smell…” He inhaled. “Another human female. It’s barely there but
that’s what I’m picking up. It’s pretty stagnant in here.”

“Shit,” one of the humans sighed, pointing to the open van
door. “See that big cage and someone left this behind.” He fingered an assault
rifle. “Military issue, old school, so we’re looking at someone who was
probably ex Army or Marines.”

“This may be a breeding facility,” Tiger reminded grimly.
“Expect the worst. I’m worried since I’m picking up two female scents.”

“Damn,” Trey looked shocked. “They are really putting a lot
of pressure on your man to perform if they brought him two women.”

Tiger shot him a frown, not amused with the grim humor. “It
would not be enjoyable for either party involved.”

Trey nodded sharply. “You take point.”

Tiger took the lead. He inhaled and followed the faint
scents to an archway that led to a stairwell. He looked down and held back a
curse. He hated going underground and reached for the flashlight on his belt.
His gaze scanned for cameras or sensors but spotted none.

“This is why we lost his signal. They are underground.
There’s enough building to mask it.” His gaze roamed the assembled men. “Watch
for surveillance cameras, sensors and don’t forget to keep inhaling for
explosives. If one of my males raises a hand, halt! We go silent now to prevent
them from hearing us coming. Take it damn slow. Better to creep in than let
them now we’re here before we know what we’re facing.”

Trey turned and made hand motions to his men to make sure
they understood their orders. Tiger didn’t signal his team. Species hearing was
extremely sensitive and they would have heard every word spoken.

Tiger pulled his gun. He hated them but being shot at
without one would be worse. He waited for Trey to turn after silently talking
to his men before taking the first step downward. His body was tense, his gaze
constantly moved and he hoped they weren’t walking into something horrible.
Recovering dead bodies would be the worst scenario he could imagine, besides
being blown to hell.

* * * * *

Brawn knew Becca had fallen back asleep as he held her. He
was tired but he wasn’t ready to sleep after watching them bring 919 back to
his cell. The male didn’t sleep this time, instead he paced his cell and acted
insane. They’d over drugged him from the strong smell coming off him.