One glance at Vanni made him aware of her nakedness and he tried to cover her with the flimsy garment. The thing was long enough to go from her breasts to her knees. He took a second to close her limp legs. Protecting her modesty seemed important at that moment. He reached out, grabbed the handle and shoved the door open.
“Get a medic!”
He wouldn’t leave her side. He adjusted the skirt over her and brushed his fingers through her hair. “Vanni? Come on, open your eyes.”
Heavy footsteps sounded and Brass leaned into the SUV through the open door. “What is wrong?”
“She’s out. I don’t know if I hurt her or not.”
The other door was yanked open and Ned was there. Smiley wanted to attack when the guy touched Vanni. He grabbed her wrist and batted Smiley’s hand away from her hair to press his fingertips against her throat.
“What are you doing?”
Ned met his gaze. “Checking her pulse. It’s slow and steady. What happened?”
“I don’t know.”
“They were sharing sex and now she’s unconscious,” Brass grouched. “I don’t smell blood.”
Smiley was glad to hear that. His sense of smell wasn’t as acute as the canine’s. It meant he hadn’t caused internal bleeding. “Is she all right?”
Ned released her and frowned. “I think she just passed out. Her heartbeat is stable. I don’t exactly have a blood pressure monitor on me but I probably should examine her.” He reached for the skirt covering her body.
“Don’t.” Smiley lunged, bumped his head on the roof of the SUV again, but effectively stopped the human when he leaned over her still form and grabbed the backs of the seats to keep from falling on top of her. It put his face inches from Ned’s and he showed his fangs to make the threat clear.
Ned almost tripped, making a hasty retreat. “Okay. Don’t bite me. Fuck.”
“It’s the drug.” Snow arrived at the other side of the SUV. He pushed Ned out of the way, his cool stare fixing on Smiley. “Easy, Smiley. Where’s your normal chipper attitude?”
“Fuck you. He isn’t going to see her naked.”
Snow blinked a few times and frowned. “Okay.”
Shane arrived, a little out of breath. He stared at Vanni, and Smiley didn’t like it. He rumbled gruffly. Shane’s hands went up. “I have medical training. You yelled for a medic.”
“He won’t let us examine her,” Ned whispered. “He’s scary pissed and defensive.”
“Under the circumstances, that’s normal,” Brass reminded them. “Smiley? Look at me. Sit down.”
Smiley eased his ass down and released the backs of the seats so he was no longer leaning over Vanni but kept close. He focused on her. Her expression was peaceful. She didn’t seem to be in pain.
“Smiley?” Brass’ voice softened. “She probably just passed out. It’s a painful drug and humans aren’t as tolerant of it as we are. It’s for the best.”
That whipped his head around to glare at Brass. “How can you say that?”
“She isn’t suffering. We need to get her to Homeland before she wakes. I’m listening to her breathing. I’ve spent enough time around human females to know how they breathe when they are sleeping. That’s all it is unless you think you broke some of her bones. Did you become too aggressive?”
“No.” He was sure of that.
“We need to get her to our doctors.”
It made sense. He nodded sharply. “Drive.”
Brass hesitated. “Shane and Ned, I want both of you to travel with them in case she needs medical help. If she wakes in pain, you can call for a helicopter once you reach an isolated area where one can land without causing a stir. A backup team will follow in the other SUV. Snow and I have to stay here with Justice.”
Shane climbed into the driver’s seat and adjusted it to fit his long legs. The engine roared to life. Smiley relaxed a little now that some of the fear had eased. He had to believe she was just exhausted or the drug had knocked her out. It beat the alternative that she was gravely ill.
Smiley’s dick hardened painfully and a sharp stab of pain hit his gut. He groaned.
“Smiley?” Brass leaned into the SUV again. “What’s wrong?”
“Pain,” he rasped, holding his stomach, his breathing erratic.
“Sorry. I don’t want you to suffer,” Brass stated.
Brass gripped his shoulder and Smiley glanced at him when the male forced him to turn. Smiley saw the fist a second before it landed on his jaw.
Chapter Four
“I would hate to be in the other SUV,” a man stated.