“You’re sure?” Justice was grim.
“Yes.”
“Damn.” The Species leader shook his head. “These humans are good at hiding from us with their connections in other countries. I’ll bet the one who shot Moon is already back with the person who hired the mercenaries who were paid to steal Beauty. I will have Jessie make some calls to get an update from her brother. He keeps promising that the ones responsible will be found. I believe he’s getting closer to discovering their location.”
“I want them to pay for what was done to me and everyone harmed during the attack on Reservation,” Moon stated.
“We all do.” Justice ran his fingers through his hair, frustrated. “It seems we have a bit more patience to learn. Our enemies are cunning but we’ll never give up. We’re done here. Meeting adjourned.”
Moon hesitated. “That’s it? You aren’t going to confine me to my house or lecture me?”
Justice resumed his seat. “Do you want me to?”
“No. I’d like to return to Medical and speak with Joy.”
“That’s what I thought. I know you regret the trouble you caused and it won’t happen again. You need to figure out how she feels about you but don’t allow your pride to stop you from being totally honest with her. That’s my best advice. She won’t see it as weakness if you admit you need her in your life as a mate. Come talk to me or another mated male if you need advice or if you feel compelled to do something you know is wrong.” His gaze sharpened. “That’s an order.”
“I will. Thank you.” Moon fled the office, feeling grateful that most of them had been so understanding.
Harley stayed at his side until they reached one of the Jeeps parked outside. He grabbed Moon’s upper arm, halting him from using it to drive to Medical. “I wish you’d told me your plan to leave Homeland.”
“You would have tried to stop me and I had to see her.”
“I would have gone with you as backup in case you ran into trouble. You did and I wasn’t there to help. That torments me. We’re brothers. You let me make jokes when you could have told me how raw you felt inside. I wouldn’t have given you any shit over it.”
It was a good description to fit his emotions. It was tough to hold his friend’s gaze. “I need your respect. It’s important to me that I always keep it.”
Harley suddenly yanked him into a hug. “You always have that.” He stepped back. “You could cry like a human little girl and I’d still have your back, man.” He grinned. “It might disturb the hell out of me but we’re bros. I’d hand you tissues and buy you a teddy bear.”
Moon started to laugh. “Trey’s right. You’re such a dick at times. I wouldn’t want you to change though.”
“Okay.” Harley grew serious. “So what’s your next move? How do you plan to get Joy to become your mate? I’m here for you. Name it and I’ll do it. Should I snag handcuffs from Security so you can chain her to you? She sure couldn’t get past the gates to leave again if she were dragging your body behind her.”
“My body?”
“Yeah. In case she knocks you out trying to run away. She’s kind of sneaky, isn’t she? It’s a human thing, I guess, but they are cute. I see the draw.”
Moon turned and climbed into the Jeep. “You’re doing wonders for my confidence.”
Harley jumped into the passenger seat. “You want my advice? Sex. Lots of it. Keep her too tired to run.”
Moon started the engine. “You’re not being helpful.”
“I am. I’m throwing out backup plans in case talking doesn’t work. I wouldn’t know what to say to convince any female to move into my house and stay there. Do you?”
Moon was at a loss. “No.”
“You’ll figure it out. You’re smart. Besides, she did have a few of the task force members bring some of her belongings. I heard Trey giving them the list over the headset on the helicopter. They’ll arrive in a few hours when that team returns. That means she wants to stay here for a bit at least. That’s half the battle won.”
He’d forgotten about that. “John said both of her suitcases were heavy. I’m hoping that means she brought lots of clothes.”
“Who knows what humans pack? She might have brought her favorite barbells.”
“I don’t think Joy lifts weights.” Moon was very familiar with her body and appreciated that she wasn’t muscular.
“Everyone loves to work out.”
“Not all humans do.”
“Right. I don’t understand that.” Harley turned his head and frowned. “Who is John?”
“I’ll tell you about him on the way to Medical.”
* * * * *
“It’s going to be an ugly scar, isn’t it?” Joy had to look away from her arm as Trisha worked to change the bandage. There wasn’t much blood at least and none of it was fresh.
“No. They did a really good job. The stitches are first rate. You need to take it easy and keep the arm immobile for a few days. Keep it dry so when you shower, put plastic over it. I have something you could use for that. It’s going to be difficult to wash your hair one-handed but the wound needs time to heal. I’m giving you a sling as a reminder and to limit your movement.
“You really need to take better care of yourself. You lost a lot of blood. Not enough to need a transfusion but enough to make you feel weak and wobbly for several days. The pain meds will make you a little groggy until they wear off. Especially since you haven’t eaten enough, nor gotten much sleep, and you’ve been so focused on Moon that you’ve ignored your health. Your body was already worn down and now you’ve gotten hurt on top of it. I’m ordering you to stay in bed and food is on the way. Eat, then sleep, in that order.”
“Okay.”
The doctor finished and stepped back. “Now that we’ve dealt with the physical side of this, we need to discuss a few things.”
That piqued Joy’s curiosity. “What do you want to talk about?”
Trisha pulled over a stool and sat next to her bed. “I wanted to prepare you for what is to come.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re involved with a New Species. I don’t know the specifics of your relationship with Moon but what happened in your home is going to—”
Joy stopped her right there. “I appreciate you taking the time to explain his elevated levels of aggression but I’m not afraid of Moon in any way. Are you worried that I would be after he attacked my client? It was self-defense. I’m very impressed that he was able to avoid killing him. It showed great restraint.”
“That didn’t even cross my mind. I’m glad to hear it though.”
“Oh.” Joy felt a bit foolish. “Okay. Sorry.”
“No need for that. Moon called 9-1-1 when you were shot and that means it hit the news as soon as they heard the police and ambulance respond to the call. Those bastards seem to have scanners glued to their ears so they can overhear all the emergency responders’ communications. I wanted to prepare you for how they work.” She paused. “I won’t sugarcoat it because I know what you do for a living. By now the reporters have probably spoken to all your neighbors, dug through your trash, and are trying to locate any friends or family they can hit up for interviews.”
A ball of anxiety formed inside Joy’s stomach. “You’re sure they know?”
“It has already hit some of the internet sites. The major television news stations will run the story on their first broadcasts in the morning and you can be sure there are some very busy newspaper employees scrambling to get it to print for the morning edition. The reporters had the address of the shooting to work with to discover your name. Moon stated he was New Species because the dispatcher thought it was a prank. He said a human had shot you and she naturally assumed he wasn’t quite…” She floundered for a description.
“She thought he was nuts.” Joy sighed. “The average person doesn’t describe another person as human.”
“Exactly. I was sent a copy of the 9-1-1 call and listened to it. I got the impression she believed she was dealing with someone who believes in UFOs.”
The ramifications of what Trisha was telling her sank in and she panicked for a moment. What had happened in her condo would be major news.
Breathe.
A hundred thoughts streamed through her head at once. She forced them all back to focus on her first priority.
“Can you please give me access to a phone? I would rather my parents hear about Moon and my being shot from me than some stranger knocking at their door or seeing it on television while they eat breakfast. I need to call them.”
“They didn’t know you worked with New Species or were seeing one?”
“No.”
Trisha stood. “I’ll get you one of the disposable cell phones we keep on hand in the reception area. You need to stay in that bed and this room doesn’t have a landline.”
“Why do you keep any at all?” She was glad for the distraction.
Trisha flashed a grin. “Let’s just say Species play and work hard. They come here for treatment when they get hurt. Their personal phones don’t always survive whatever brought them in so we keep a batch of spares to lend out until they get replacements. It’s how they keep in contact with Security in case they are needed somewhere.”
Joy was left alone to make a mental list of who she needed to call after her parents. Meg was a given. She would leave it up to her mother to contact other family members. The woman loved to gossip and was the artery of information that kept everyone linked.
Trisha returned.
“Here you go. I’ll give you some privacy and see if I can hurry them along on bringing you a hearty meal. Eating something will also help keep down nausea caused by the drugs.”
“Thank you.” She accepted the cell phone. “Where is Moon?”
“He’s in a meeting.”
“Is he in trouble for what happened at my condo? He had no choice but to take my client out of commission.”
“I’m sure he’s fine. This proves my point. He’s a big male who can take care of himself. Right now focus on yourself.” She left before Joy could ask any more questions. She dialed, flinching over the lateness of the hour. Her mother answered on the third ring.
“Hi, Mom. I’m okay. I’m sorry I woke you but there are a few important things I need to tell you. It can’t wait.”
“Who is it? What do they want?” Her father sounded groggy and annoyed in the background.
“What’s wrong?” Her mom’s voice sharpened. “What do you mean you’re okay? Why wouldn’t you be?”
She took a deep breath. “A client had a meltdown. I was hurt but I’m fine.”
“Oh my god, Joyce. I knew this would happen. Did he hit you? Stab you?”
She bit her lip. She couldn’t try to downplay it because they’d hear the details on the news.
“What happened to our girl? Is she okay?”
Her father sounded much closer, as if he were right up against the receiver. She could almost see them huddled together in the middle of their bed with the phone held between them. It would never occur to them to hit the speakerphone button. They never used it despite her taking the time to buy them an updated system for Christmas.
“I’m fine. I only needed a few stitches, okay? It’s going to sound much worse than what it really was.”
“What did one of those nutballs do to you?” Her father was worked up. “I told you to become a chef. Cooking is much safer. I warned you how dangerous it is to work with crazy folks.”
Oh boy, not this again. He always thinks everyone I deal with is a serial killer.
She sighed.
“Enough,” her mother ordered. “What happened?”
“I’m fine,” she repeated, knowing they’d overreact when she gave them the rest of the details. She was their only child and they were very protective. “I was grazed by a bullet.” That sounded better than stating she’d been shot. Silence. She winced. “It’s a scratch.” Another lie but she could live with it.
“What hospital are you at? Honey, get dressed.”
“Dad? I’m not at a hospital.” Medical at Homeland wasn’t technically one, at least not that she was aware of. “I don’t need you to get out of bed and rush to my side. I wanted to tell you that I’m fine before you see it on the news.”
“The news?”
Joy pulled the phone away from her ear. “Don’t yell, Mom. There’s one more thing I need to tell you. I’ve been seeing someone recently that you don’t know about. Our relationship is kind of new so I wanted to wait until we figured out where it was going before I introduced you to him.”
Joy hated feeling as though she was fifteen again but she did. It was her job to counsel people on how to relate to others but her parents had a way of negating all her training.
“Kind of new?”
Dad had to pick up on that, didn’t he?
“Well, we only started spending time together recently,” she hedged. “He was with me when I was shot at.” She chose her words with more care. “His name is Moon and he saved my life.” She was pretty sure Douglas would have taken more shots at them if he hadn’t ended up unconscious and bleeding on her living room carpet after Moon was done with him.
“Moon? What kind of name is that? Are his parents hippies?” Her dad didn’t sound happy.
“Tell me he’s not some rock star or actor,” her mother pleaded. “They always pick odd stage names and I read about them getting divorced all the time. Your father and I want you to have what we do.”