“Freeze just the way you are, sweet thing.” He lifted her out away his body to dangle over the edge of the porch roof and let go.
Trisha had a horrible sense of falling and grunted when two strong arms caught her around her upper back and behind her knees. Slade had dropped her about seven feet down into Valiant’s waiting arms. She stared in shock at the ferocious New Species. He spun and bolted into the woods with her clutched close to his massive chest. Panic hit her hard when he sprinted away with her. They reached a thicker part of the woods far from the cabin but he kept going.
“We’re far enough,” Brass stated, running alongside them.
“Take me back,” Trisha demanded. “I need to help Harley. I could do things a medic can’t during the flight.” She could still hear the sound of the helicopter. They’d probably have a hard time stabilizing him and she wasn’t sure where the nearest trauma center was located. “I need to monitor him and—”
“Shut up,” Valiant snarled.
Trisha’s fear overrode her outrage at being taken away from her patient. She sealed her lips as the guy kept going with her held inside his massive arms, taking her farther from the cabin.
Valiant finally slowed and glanced down at Trisha, frowning. “You should eat.” He looked away, peering at their surroundings.
Trisha was thrilled to see Slade jog out of the woods behind them. He grinned. “Clean getaway.” He approached Valiant and opened his arms. “I’ll take her. Thanks.”
Trisha met his gaze. “Harley needs—”
“The humans have him and you’re not going back.” Slade’s dark gaze narrowed. “You can argue with me but it won’t change anything. You saved him and now it’s up to them to make sure he survives. Our priority is you and the baby. Harley knew it would be dangerous when he took the job and accepted the risks.”
Tears spilled down her cheeks. She wanted to protest but realized as she heard the helicopter growing fainter that they’d already scooped him up and transported him away. She couldn’t do anything more for him. She just had to hope that the life-flight crew were top notch and that his lung didn’t collapse. His heart could stop again. A hundred other things that could go wrong began to filter through her head until she pushed them back. She couldn’t do anything more for him and worrying about all the “what ifs” wouldn’t do anyone any good. She was a professional and knew she needed to let it go until she heard news from the hospital.
Valiant transferred her from his arms into Slade’s. “Those men destroyed the inside of my house.” Valiant growled in anger. “I was out hunting and smelled them. They were gone by the time I reached my home but I followed them this way.”
“I’m sorry.” Slade watched him. “Thank you for the help.”
“She’s one of ours.”
Slade nodded. “Mine specifically.”
Valiant arched an eyebrow. “It now makes sense why you threatened to kill me for touching her. You should feed her more. She’s too skinny. You should at least be breeding a bigger one if you are going to be mounting a human. I can feel all her bones.”
“I’m not skinny,” Trisha protested softly, using one hand to wipe her face. She sniffed and her anger stirred. It may have been the stress and trauma but she felt insulted. “I needed to drop ten pounds before I got pregnant. I eat plenty too. You’re making me feel as though I’m not taking care of myself. I’m healthy to the point of having excess weight I could lose.”
Slade cleared his throat. “Where? I’m partial to your breasts and I love your ass just the way it is.”
“You know I’m going to get bigger, a lot more so, in a few months, don’t you?”
Slade nodded. “I can’t wait to see you fat.”
“I won’t be fat,” she sputtered. “Pregnant is not fat.”
“Where should we take her?” Brass moved closer.
“You can take her to my home,” Valiant sighed. “Just for one day.” He shot Slade a warning look. “Only one.”
“Thank you. Your place is the closest and I need to stash her until darkness falls. I want to move her to my house unseen. It’s going to be a mess out there right now after this happened. In a few hours things will calm.” Slade shifted her in his arms. “I want her under cover quickly.”
Valiant nodded. “Even better. Let’s go.”
“You can put me down,” Trisha informed Slade.
He shook his head. “You are barefoot. Just wrap your arms around my neck and relax.” He suddenly grinned. “Unless you want me to put you on my back again.”
She wound her arms around his neck, remembering their time after the SUV crash and how the muscles of her thighs had ached for days afterward from clinging to him. Valiant led the way with Slade following and Brass trailing behind.
“Where’s Moon?” Trisha twisted her head, searching but she didn’t see him. “Is he okay? He wasn’t shot too, was he?”
“He’s unharmed. He planned to stay with Harley.” Brass answered. “He’ll guard him while he’s inside the human hospital.”“Will someone let us know how Harley is doing?” Trisha met Slade’s gaze. “Please? I’ll worry until I hear if he made it.”
He nodded. “I’ll make sure you’re updated as soon as I have news on his condition.”
“Thank you.” She knew he would keep his word.
* * * * *
Valiant lived inside a large two-story house. Trisha stared at it, surprised. It was an old Victorian, in pretty good shape. Someone had lovingly restored the place unless it had been built to mimic an older house. Either way it appeared authentic and impressive.
“This is land we bought adjoining the old resort,” Slade explained. “An old woman lived here but her son had died. She was all alone and not doing so well. Now she’s in a retirement center with a full-time staff to care for her. We were able to buy up a lot of properties in the area that surrounded the resort. We paid them nearly twice the market price to make them happy.”
Valiant walked up the wide porch steps. The double doors were broken and Trisha winced. One of the stained-glass doors had been smashed and she knew it would be impossible to replace. Brass used his foot to sweep the glass to the side as Valiant ushered them inside his home.
Trisha stared at the beautiful woodwork inside the nice entryway and at the hand-carved banister that led to the second floor. Her doubts of the real age of the home vanished. The beautiful woodwork shone with love and pride, craftsmanship that no longer existed except for the very rich. Valiant led them through double doors into a large living room. Trisha stared in horror.
“They wrecked most of the house,” Valiant growled. He walked to the overturned couch and straightened it. “Put her down there. Between the three of us we should be able to make her more comfortable.”
“I’m so sorry,” Slade told him sincerely. “We’ll help you replace what was destroyed.” He gently eased Trisha down to the couch before he moved away.
Trisha watched quietly while the men righted furniture. She was grateful no one had taken a knife to the antique furniture. Valiant left to retrieve a broom and a dust pan. It didn’t take the men long to clean up.
“Can I use your phone?” Slade glanced at Valiant.
“They didn’t damage the one in the kitchen. Use it.”
Slade disappeared. Brass took out trash. Valiant studied Trisha grimly as she watched him back.
“I saw what you did for Harley. I heard you say you are a doctor.”
She nodded. “I work at Homeland.”
“Did you ever work for Mercile Industries?” Anger made his exotic, cat eyes a scary sight.
“No. I never saw a New Species until after you’d all been freed. Slade was brought to my emergency room directly from the testing facility he’d been rescued from.”
He relaxed. “You look too young to be a doctor.”
“I started medical school at fourteen. I’ve always been kind of smart.”
“You really work at Homeland?”
“Yes.”
Valiant smiled, all traces of his anger disappearing. “You are attracted to Slade? He’s kind of gruff.”
She smiled. “He has his moments.”
“I hear some of our women are kept at Homeland. Do you take care of them too?”
“When they need me.”
“Will you do me a favor when you return there?”
“Yes,” she agreed instantly. He’d helped save her life.
His cat-like golden eyes narrowed. “Don’t you want to know what I want from you before you answer?”
“You helped save my life and I owe you. What do you need from me?”
He hesitated. “I want a mate. Will you talk to the women and see if anyone is interested? It gets lonely out here. I want a big, sturdy woman. I’d prefer a feline mixed species but as long as she’s tough I wouldn’t be picky.” He paused. “I frighten most of my own kind. Our women don’t scare easily since they were raised in testing facilities. I bred with a feline female once inside while in captivity and she didn’t scream at the sight of me or beg the men who brought her into my cell to take her away. All the others refused me. Primates were especially terrified when they were introduced to me.”