Joy lifted her arms when Moon shoved down one side of the bedrail so he could scoop her up. It warmed his heart that she didn’t argue. The bedding came with her since he didn’t want her to be cold. Her good arm wrapped behind his neck and she cradled the injured one against her stomach.
“I wish I’d been able to get clothes,” she mumbled. “Now I’ve lost my only good outfit because I bled all over it and my car is at my condo. I don’t even have my purse or keys.”
Trey accepted the bag of saline from John. “We have a few men at your place already, Dr. Yards. Tell me what you want and I’ll have them grab it before leaving the scene.”
“Why are they there?” Moon frowned, not enjoying the idea of team members trampling through her personal quarters.
“To clean up the mess and make sure they deal with any issues that have arisen. They are answering questions from the police and handling the press.”
“Call me Joy.” She flashed Trey a grin that sent a flurry of jealousy through Moon. “I’d love it if they could get my purse and both suitcases in my room. I have a travel case under the counter in my bathroom too. It’s blue. They can’t miss it.” She turned her head, peering at Moon. “Am I too heavy? I could walk.”
He growled, stalking around the hospital bed with her in his arms. Did she really expect him to put her on her feet after she’d been so hurt? It was irritating and insulting. Trey had to scramble to stay within a close distance since the bag in his hand was hooked to Joy.
“I can’t wait for the drugs to leave your system.”
Her smile faded and she tucked her chin. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m in a bad mood,” he admitted. He hadn’t even gotten the satisfaction of killing the bastard who’d shot her. She was too soft-hearted. “You handle stressful situations in a way that I find difficult to understand.”
“I’m feeling really good.” She looked at his mouth. “I bet I could think of something to do that would cheer you up.” She used the hand resting on the curve of his shoulder to knead the muscles there. “Mr. Grumpy needs to relax and find his sense of humor.”
Trey laughed. “Morphine?”
“I don’t know what they gave her. She’s very happy.”
“Enjoy it,” Trey laughed. “It beats the alternative.”
It was a reminder to Moon that Joy could have died. The two of them were going to have a long talk once the pain medication left her system. She never should have taken a bullet meant for him. He could withstand more damage to his body and heal faster than she could.
Trey glanced over at him as they hurried down the hallway side by side. “I meant she could be bitchy or worse, whining from the pain. I didn’t mean, hell…you know. I saw all the blood at her place. I bet it was scarier than shit before the medics arrived.”
Moon didn’t want to talk about how helpless he’d felt, even if he liked the human. Tim and the team were waiting at the end of the corridor. Tim took point.
“Let’s keep to the stairs and avoid the lobby. No one stops us.” He ordered the team to surround Moon with Trey on his left side. “The pilot is ready to take us to Homeland. We’ll go straight out the back door to the helicopter.”
Moon wasn’t looking forward to what awaited him. His quick trip into the out world had turned into a possible publicity firestorm. It had been selfish to break the protocol that kept all Species out of the spotlight. He should have gone through proper channels and asked for an escort to take with him when he left Homeland.
He hadn’t wanted to admit Joy had left him again or seem weak to everyone by stating how much she mattered to him. Harley’s teasing had really stung his pride. Moon didn’t blame his friend for finding humor in his obsession with Joy. He’d have done the same if their roles were reversed but it had made him act in an irresponsible way. That responsibility rested squarely on his shoulders.
He refused to dodge the truth. Many Species looked up to him, as if he were a role model. He’d failed them by his impulsive act. He hadn’t considered all the risks. It wasn’t as if he’d known things would become violent or that a crazy human would show up at Joy’s home with a gun but a dozen other worst-case scenarios popped into his head now that he had hindsight. The direst one was that now Joy was linked to him. She’d become a target of anyone who disliked Species.
The soft female in his arms soothed some of his shame. His only real regret was that True had done him a favor and now there would be no way to conceal how he’d left. It would be a matter of fixing a security weakness, which meant he’d have to be honest so others didn’t use the same way to leave Homeland. Somehow he’d make it up to the male if he was reprimanded in any way. It was a given that Moon would demand to take full responsibility.
Justice and the council members were going to be disappointed. It wasn’t as if they’d lock him up for what he’d done but everyone would hear the story by morning. He climbed into the waiting helicopter and sat, keeping Joy in his lap. Trey took the seat next to them, hooking her saline bag above their heads.
Moon held Harley’s gaze. He didn’t say a word but he knew him too well. They were going to argue when they were alone. It wouldn’t be pleasant.
I’ll make this right no matter what it takes.
Moon didn’t bother to take a seat since there wasn’t any sitting room left. Two of the council members weren’t there. They had stayed at Reservation, but Jaded and Bestial were currently in residence at Homeland. He wished it were Brawn and Cedar instead. They were more easygoing.
He glanced around the room, seeing that Slade, Fury, Justice, Darkness, and Jericho were among those present. Breeze’s absence was noted and grieved. She’d have at least brought a sense of humor into the grim situation. He took a position in the center of the office instead of leaning against a wall. Harley hovered close, as if he were protecting his back.
Justice waited until the door closed before he spoke from the seat behind his desk, addressing Slade instead of him. “Trisha is treating the shrink?”
“Yes. She spoke to the hospital and they’ve emailed all records to Medical. Joy will fully recover. The human male wasn’t a skilled marksman and only managed to pierce the flesh of her upper arm. The bullet missed the bone and arteries. My mate is examining her now to make certain they didn’t miss anything. She’s in good hands.”
Justice put his elbows on his desk and bent his arms to rest his chin on both fists when his gaze fell on Moon. “I don’t even know what to say except I’m glad everyone is alive.”
Darkness growled. “That’s it?” Almost-black eyes glared at Moon. “How did you leave? I’ve spent the past ninety minutes reviewing the camera footage along the walls and at both gates. You were not caught on any of them.”
“Easy,” Fury warned. “We’ll get to that.”
“If he could get out, someone could sneak in the same way,” Darkness protested. “We could be breached at any moment. My team needs to know how he did it.”
“I exited from the hidden gate we recently constructed. I knew cameras hadn’t been installed there yet.” Moon took a deep breath. “It’s not True’s fault. He’s new and I’m higher ranking. I told him I was going on patrol on my motorcycle and used my authority, believing he wouldn’t question it if I lied by stating it was something I occasionally do.” He closed his mouth, not admitting more. He wasn’t going to give up True for showing him compassion.
“You lied?” Jericho made that deep sound in his chest that set everyone in the room on edge. It wasn’t exactly a growl but more of a disturbing grumble. “Why? Are you still suffering from the drugs? You were to turn yourself in to Medical immediately if you weren’t completely in control of your actions. You ditched the males assigned to keep an eye on you. They weren’t even aware you were gone until the call came in to Book.”
“It wasn’t the drugs.” He held Justice’s gaze. “Joy left me again. She did that before at site four and I just had to accept her loss. We knew so little about the out world then, or how to find humans who lived there. I wasn’t about to let her run away from me this time without going after her. I know I could have asked for an escort but my pride wouldn’t allow it. I thought I could return before anyone missed me.”
“Pride?” Jaded’s bright-green eyes flashed with anger as he hissed the word. “That’s what this was about? You got the urge to go hunting because a female got away from you?” He shot a frustrated look at Justice. “I think he should be returned to Medical. He’s obviously still feeling a bit primal from the drugs. He was released too early.”
“She’s mine,” Moon stated, refusing to allow them to blame his actions on side effects from the attack. “I’ve had strong feelings for Joy since we met and having her back in my life only made me realize why I’m so drawn to her.” He gazed at Justice. “She’s mine, Justice, and when she left me again it drove me to do something stupid.” He glanced around. “I’ve teased males when they found their mates. It was funny watching them go a little nuts but it’s not amusing when it happens to you. It’s humiliating that I am so hung up on a female who has rejected me not once but twice. I didn’t want anyone feeling sorry for me by asking for help. I wanted to talk her into coming back here.”
“Damn,” Harley muttered. “I apologize.”
He glanced back. “Don’t. I’m the one with a weakness.”
Justice stood, drawing his attention. The male frowned. “It’s called being in love. It’s more frightening than confronting your deepest fear and opens you to being hurt beyond the physical plane.” He placed a hand over his heart. “It might seem as though it’s a weakness to you but it is proof that we are more than numbers, experiments, or whatever else Mercile intended us to be. It takes bravery and strength to feel such strong emotions for one person when we were denied from birth the chance to ever care about anything or anyone. I’m not saying it’s easy or painless. It is probably one of the most complex things I’ve experienced. Jessie is my life. My heart beats for her and I will admit to all that I wouldn’t want to go on if I lost her.”
Justice glanced around the room before he smiled at Moon. “The unmated ones don’t understand and are currently looking confused or horrified.” He chuckled. “I’m hopeful they’ll know the ups and downs of falling in love one day. It’s a gift and a curse at times but everyone should experience it. It’s a part of life and we are survivors.”
Moon would have spoken but a lump of emotion closed his throat. He wanted to thank Justice for understanding exactly what he was going through. He suddenly didn’t feel as if he’d become a horrible example to other Species by being somehow flawed.
“It wasn’t as if we had parents to give us guidance when we fell in love or ever saw examples of it to watch and learn from.” Justice dropped his hand to his side. “I made a mess of things with Jessie at first while I tried to figure out what the hell I was doing. I had no idea how to deal with the insane jealousy and possessiveness that suddenly had me wondering if I’d lost my grasp on sanity. Her being human only made it more confusing. You should have at least spoken to one of the mated males when you realized how much you love Joy before doing something so rash as to endanger your own life. We would have gladly assigned a team to take you to her if you’d asked.”
“I’m sorry.”
Justice nodded. “I know, Moon. You’re a good male. It’s been trying lately, hasn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“Bottom line, you’re healthy and safe at Homeland with your female.” He glanced at Jericho and Darkness. “Fix it so there are cameras on that new gate and make sure whoever is guarding it knows that no one is to leave that way unless it comes through proper channels first.” He turned to Fury. “Let’s hold a meeting tomorrow to figure out the best reading materials we can find to cover what to expect when falling in love and get them passed out. We need to reach out to our people so they are more aware of what is involved and develop better ways to handle it. We don’t want a bunch of males sneaking beyond the safety of our walls to seek out females.”
“I’m sorry,” Moon muttered.
“You should be,” Jericho rumbled again. His eyes narrowed, the red in them pronounced. “I don’t see any reason to take this lightly, Justice. A human male was injured by Moon. That’s going to cause us problems with the out world.”
“He shot my female,” Moon growled, his temper surging. It was one thing to know he was wrong to have left Homeland without permission but he didn’t feel an ounce of remorse over making Douglas bleed.
Jaded stepped between them. “No fighting. Jericho wasn’t implying the human didn’t deserve it. He’s only stating a fact that it drew attention to us. We’re always evolving and learning from our mistakes. I agree with Justice. This is something that needs to be dealt with because falling in love is a phenomenon that is increasing with our people. I’m not concerned about the human public getting upset because a Species beat on one of their own when it’s clear that the male was a menace to their society. They should thank Moon.”
“Phenomenon?” Slade chuckled. “I can’t wait for the right female to cross your path, Jaded. I’m going to remind you of the term you used when you’re doing irrational things in the name of love.”
“No more teasing,” Fury ordered, attempting to appear stern but failing when humor curved his lips upward. He did make a point of staring at Jericho. “Keep questioning the prisoner from Fuller about the drug trials at Mercile.”
“He doesn’t know anything that is useful to us concerning Moon. The drug given to Moon is new, something they hadn’t developed.”