“He will. He wants you back.”
Alli wanted to fall completely apart but it wouldn’t do any good. The logical side of her knew that. “Will you promise me something?”
Breeze leaned back, releasing her other hand. “What?”
“You need to let me see him first if the worst-case happens.” She mentally plotted kidnapping him again. She’d hire whoever the hell she had to, no matter how much it cost, to save Obsidian if they felt he was too dangerous to live. They’d flee the country. Mercile employees had done it and were still on the loose. “Promise me.” She held her breath, praying.
“I promise.”
“Swear on your life,” Alli prompted.
Breeze smiled. “You got it.” Her smile faded. “You will get to say goodbye to him if he’s too stubborn to listen to reason.”
“Thank you.” She’d have to believe her since she didn’t have any other choice. Her gut instinct told her that Breeze wouldn’t lie to her.
* * * * *
Justice pulled Jessie onto his lap as he watched Fury crawl on all fours closer to Salvation’s back. The child sniffed, his little body tense and slowly turned his head.
“I can’t sneak up on him anymore.” Fury pulled his son into his arms, the boy giggling, dropping his toy to cling to his father instead. “He’s becoming more aware of his keener senses.”
“He keeps trying though,” Ellie teased, stepping into the living room with a tray of snacks. “Is Daddy trying to steal your toys again and make you jump when he scares you? Bad Daddy!”
Jessie laughed. “I’m going to think it’s a riot if those are the first words he learns to speak.” She sobered. “Of course that’s better than some of the things our future children will pick up at our house.” Her head turned to study her mate. “They’ll be of the four-lettered variety judging by the way my mate reacts to phone calls.”
Justice shook his head. “I have a defense.”
“You hate being called after you leave the office? What was the emergency anyway? You left too fast to tell me what was going on.”
Justice glanced away to stare at Fury. “Obsidian attempted to kill Destiny at the men’s dorm.”
“What was he doing there?” Fury nuzzled his son’s cheek, handing him the plastic truck. “Is Destiny harmed? Obsidian?”
“Destiny was injured but he’ll heal. Obsidian was taken to Medical to be checked over as well. Trisha wanted to make sure he doesn’t slip back into a coma. She said it’s doubtful but she is being cautious. I agreed.”
Ellie sat next to her mate and son on the floor. “Sounds typical of newly freed males. They enjoy fighting and are aggressive.”
“Uh-oh. I don’t like that look.” Jessie peered into her mate’s eyes. “He’s not really settling in, is he? You’re worried? There was the fight with Jericho, then he was belligerent with you and Fury, and now this. What was he even doing at the dorm? He had been moved to Allison’s last I heard today. Did they get into another argument?”
“The males were giving him a tour of his future home and Destiny challenged him over Allison. He’s protective and worries Obsidian might be too rough to be around her.” Justice sighed. “Kregkor happened to be in his office when the incident report came in to alert Medical that both males were being brought there. That was why I was delayed getting here. He’s suggested we put Obsidian down for being too dangerous.”
The mood of the room changed, the tension level high.
“We don’t bust our asses to locate and save Species just to kill them. I know we have to consider the option but Obsidian is a special case. That guy has been through hell and he’s going to need more time to adjust to being here. It’s that simple.” Jessie cooled her temper. “The shrink is an asshole anyway. I had a run-in with him before I left the office. I hope you told him to kiss your ass and leave. He’s barely here anyway. He’s about as helpful as a tick on my ass.”
Humor struck Justice. “A bloodsucking bug?”
“That’s exactly how I think of him after he pissed me off.” Jessie shrugged. “He stormed into my office to demand I have Allison arrested. You were in a meeting so he decided I would be the one to annoy.”
“Arrested for the kidnapping?” Ellie sounded annoyed. “It’s none of his business. That issue was dealt with.”
“He didn’t agree with our punishment for her.” Fury handed his son a cracker. “He said it was a reward to offer her a job at Fuller Prison. I told him he hadn’t been to that facility and no one would enjoy spending time with anyone who used to work for Mercile. Those prisoners would have been her patients if she’d taken the job.”
Jessie glanced at everyone. “You’re going to love this one. You ready?”
Ellie lifted a cracker off the tray. “Will I choke if this is in my mouth? You have that tone.”
“Yeah. Don’t eat it just yet.” She smirked. “He stated that Obsidian is being molested and raped by one Dr. Allison Baker. He called him his helpless patient.”
Everyone laughed except Justice. “He didn’t say anything about that to me.”
“Well, he sure did to me.” Jessie faced him. “I had to hear a fifteen-minute rant. I pointed out that Obsidian is twice her size and weight, stronger than three normal guys combined, and explained the Species sex drive to him. You’d think he’d know since he’s the NSO shrink. I told him we were glad she didn’t press charges against him. Species males go after what they want with about as much finesse as a bull in a china shop.”
Ellie laughed. “True but we happen to love stubborn men.” She leaned against Fury, winking. “I love you.”
One of Fury’s arms wrapped around her waist to pull her closer. “I love you too.” He glanced at Justice. “What did you say to the head shrink when he suggested we kill Obsidian? I hope you snarled a little and showed him how displeased you were.”
Justice shook his head. “I have to play nice with him. And don’t call him that term. I’ve been assured by him that it’s offensive.”
“Kregkor is offensive,” Jessie muttered.
Justice nodded. “Agreed.” He held Fury’s gaze. “I refused to agree to kill Obsidian. Kregkor argued but we came to a compromise. We have to pretend his opinion matters for a while. Our public relations team believes it would look good if we had him on our staff, considering what all of us have endured. It makes leery humans happy to believe we are all in therapy.”
“You all underwent that crap when the original four facilities were discovered.” Ellie frowned. “It wasn’t effective. It only made things worse from what I heard.”
“It wasn’t fun,” Justice agreed. “They didn’t understand us and wanted to hear about our feelings.”
“We were pissed,” Fury muttered. “They told us that was natural.” He had a disgusted look on his face. “It just annoyed us being forced to talk to the head shrinks and wasted our time.”
Justice hesitated. “That’s why we call them that but let’s agree not to say it in front Kregkor. He gets called that often by Species he requests to speak to and hates it.”
Fury snorted. “He doesn’t understand us. It’s a waste of time sending our people to him.”
“So what was the compromise?” Jessie rubbed his chest.
“Obsidian is territorial over Allison and he won’t allow anyone to get close to him either. I think some time apart would do him some good. We can’t have him attacking any male he finds threatening by attempting to kill them. Taking her out of the equation for a little bit will prevent that from happening. Kregkor demanded she leave Homeland immediately and I agreed to have her sent to Fuller.”
Jessie paled. “As a member of the staff, right? Not as a prisoner?”
He reached up and caressed her cheek. “Allison will work there.”
She blew out a relieved breath. “How long will she be gone? I got the impression her and Obsidian might have growing feelings. You can’t expect them to just forget about each other if that’s the case.”
“I didn’t specify a timeframe. Kregkor was happy she wouldn’t have access to Obsidian and I thought her being gone would help Obsidian bond with our people. We’ll see how he does without her and we can bring her back at any time if she works at Fuller. It will also give Allison a way to redeem herself for stealing Obsidian. Her motives were pure and she saved his life. I’d really like her at Medical again.”
“We had to punish her,” Fury concurred. “But that doesn’t mean it has to be forever. She is an excellent doctor who risked everything to save one of our males. We want her on our side.” He smiled at his son and kissed his forehead. “Besides, Salvation loves her and she makes him smile. I trust her with his life.”
“Kregkor is handling telling Allison that she must leave. Breeze insisted on being there. She also wants to be the one to tell Obsidian about the decision that has been made.” Justice watched the baby intently. “I agreed to both since I’d rather be here with my friends and mate.”
Jessie leaned in, her lips brushing his ear. “He is adorable. Do you want a son?”
He masked his expression before looking her way.
“You can’t hide anything from me. I see the longing in you to go over there and play with him. I think it’s about that time.”
A slow smile curved his generous mouth. “We should work on that.”
“You’re hiring Allison back for sure, right? She really is fantastic.”
He nodded. “Definitely.”
* * * * *
Obsidian wanted to go to Alli’s space but the female doctor had given orders that he couldn’t leave. Moon paced next to his bed in the small room, glancing at him from time to time.
“I shouldn’t have listened to Darkness when he said to allow you both to work it out with fists.”
“The male wanted to fight and he accused me of abusing my female.” An emotion close to regret filled Obsidian. “I didn’t mean to harm him so bad.” Maybe not but he was less burdened by guilt after he’d been told the male would fully recover within a week.
The door opened and Dr. Trisha North stepped inside. “Good news. You didn’t dent your head any worse than before. You don’t even need stitches.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I do need to give you a shot though.”
“No. I want to go to Alli. I’ve been here for hours.”
The door opened again and a familiar female stepped inside. He remembered her and her threats. “Breeze.”
“Obsidian. I like the name and I see you remember mine.” She held a tray in one hand. “Don’t be a baby and take the shot.” She stared at him defiantly despite his angry watchful gaze. “I’m not here just to see you get poked. We need to talk about Allison.”
“Breeze,” Trisha warned, removing the syringe from the metal surface.
“Take the shot.” The Species female continued to regard him. “Then we talk.”
“No.”
“What is it for?” Moon joined the conversation.
Trisha licked her lips. “Doctor’s orders. You’re not leaving here until you take this. Do you want to stick around a while longer, until you decide? That’s fine with me but I’m going home after this.”
“Give it to me.” He just wanted to see Alli. She had grown pale when she’d seen his blood and he hadn’t enjoyed the way she’d stared at him after learning he’d fought for her.
The doctor swabbed the skin on his upper arm and he clenched his teeth, expecting pain when the needle pierced his flesh. The Mercile technicians always made sure they inflicted as much pain as possible when they gave injections. Obsidian was surprised when he felt only a slight prick before she withdrew the needle and tossed the syringe into a box on the wall.
Breeze stepped closer. “How do you feel?”
Spots appeared before his eyes and lightheadedness made him sway where he sat on the edge of the table. A low groan filled the room and he realized he’d made that sound. Firm hands gripped him and he fell back, landing on the bed instead of the floor.
“What the hell?” Moon growled. “What did you do to him?”
“We needed him to remain calm,” Trisha whispered. “I gave him a strong sedative. I’m out of here now. What is said is none of my business. I can’t repeat something I didn’t hear.” She stopped by the door. “Good luck, Breeze. I’m rooting for him and your plan.” The doctor left, firmly closing the door behind her.
“What plan? Why have we drugged Obsidian?” Moon hovered closer, his voice deepening with anger. “What have you done, Breeze? This joke isn’t funny.”
“Notice me not laughing. Shit has hit the fan. The head shrink has labeled your angry friend as a dangerous threat to all of us.” Breeze bent over him, holding his gaze. “Don’t panic, Obsidian. You’re safe.” She stared at the other male.
“What?” Moon sounded shocked.
“Worst-case scenario with a newly freed male.” Breeze nodded, her expression harsh. “He threatened to attack Justice and Fury, fought with Jericho, and now this shit with Destiny.”
“Destiny challenged him and was insulting. He practically begged to get his ass handed to him with some of those taunts.” Moon growled. “This is bullshit. Sure, Obsidian shouldn’t have tried to kill him but he’s still figuring things out. We came from a kill-or-be-killed existence. What the fuck does the head shrink expect? Water balloon fights and slap matches when we grow angry at one another?”
Obsidian struggled with his body but couldn’t move. He flashed back to waking with Alli’s unknown scent that first time. He couldn’t even move a finger this time or control the rise and fall of his chest. They’d given him a strong drug. He had no choice but to seethe as he listened to the conversation.