Smiley(39)

She glanced at the bed and shuddered. No way was she going near the place where Gregory had sex with his paid women, especially if it involved violence. She sat on the floor instead and hoped that Beth would call the police when she got home after her outing with her sister.

Beth is going to know something is wrong. She had to have faith in that. She’ll call the police and they’ll come here looking for me. I just have to keep it together until then.





Chapter Eight




Smiley had never had an issue with being called to Justice North’s office but a sense of dread clung to him. He entered and took a seat without being asked. Justice, Fury and Bestial were already present.

“What has happened now?” He glanced at all three males. “I know it isn’t good.”

“No.” Justice cleared his throat. “It’s not.”

“Is Vanni well?” Smiley couldn’t shake the fear that the drug may have harmed her.

Fury leaned forward and braced his elbows on his knees. “The Woods Church is holding a press conference this morning. Pastor Woods is accusing you of drugging and raping his son’s fiancé. He’s saying it happened in the human world so you should face human laws. He wants you charged and prosecuted in the human courts.”

Smiley hadn’t seen that coming. “I didn’t do it.”

“We know,” Bestial growled.

“We need to find Vanni and have her tell them we were both drugged.” Smiley stood. “She knows I wasn’t responsible.”

Justice stood. “She’s holding the press conference with them. I understand that you wished to believe she was innocent but it’s become clear she did drug you. They set you up and she was part of it.”

Jericho entered and paused by the door. “I’m sorry.”

Smiley turned his head and glared at him.

“You need to admit you were wrong about that female.” Sadness flashed in his red-hued eyes as Jericho took a deep breath and expelled it. “I was hopeful for you but she’s accusing you of a forced breeding. She plans to stand in front of cameras and tell them you drugged and harmed her.”

“There is good news,” Justice stated. “The video clip doesn’t support that. She was clearly the sexual aggressor.”

“They’ll use the drug to blame her behavior.” Fury sighed and shook his head. “This is a mess. Tim wants to send a team to grab her before the news conference.”

“I told him no. It will only make us appear as if we have something to hide.” Justice came around the desk and stopped in front of Smiley. “Regardless of how this plays out, you are safe. They don’t have the right to come here to demand we deliver you to their authorities. We will fight this and prove it was them. It just might take time.”

“Why would anyone believe I would need to drug a female to share sex?” Smiley’s temper flared.

“The Woods Church has always stated we must drug or pay females to make them agree to be mounted by us.” Jericho snorted. “Tell the news cameras to pan our gates and get shots of the females who show up here with signs asking us to take them as mates.”

“Not the best strategy.” Justice smiled though. “Some of them are fresh out of prison or believe they’d find sanctuary here from whatever crimes they are about to face. I read the background checks on the regulars. We have our public relations people on this.”

“It would be better if our research on Ms. Abris had found something useful,” Fury said. “She’s clean.”

“You investigated Vanni’s life?” Smiley took a seat. “What did you discover?”

“She has two siblings. One is mated with two children and one is a New York police officer with a mate and one child. Her mother was a full-time housewife, while her father is retired. None of them have criminal records. Travanni was a good student, never in trouble and everyone interviewed had positive things to say about her. She works as an executive secretary in the same building as her fiancé. They met last year, dated and became engaged.” Justice paused. “She pays her taxes, owes only a few thousand dollars in debt on credit cards and most of her charges were for her upcoming wedding. We found nothing in the statements that indicated any illegal activity.”

“Those are some of the things she told me. She didn’t lie.” Smiley frowned. “Wouldn’t she have made up a false background if she wished to fool me?”

“Did she tell you she came with the Woods Church?” Bestial cocked an eyebrow.

“No. She said it was a vacation.” The silence in the room agitated Smiley. “You’re sure she’s going to say I drugged her and was to blame?”