New Species 02 Slade (29 page)

with the pregnancy. We just don’t know what to expect

because this has never happened before. I’m terrified.”

“We will get through whatever happens together.

You will never be alone, Trisha. We considered you one

of us before but you truly are New Species now. Your

child is one of us and as the mother of that child, you are

officially a part of the NSO. I extend all rights to you as

such. You will have our full support, we will take very

good care of you, and you will be protected at all times.”

He rose to his feet and rounded the desk, grabbing his

phone. “Get me Brass right now and send him to my

office.”

Trisha relaxed. This could have gone really badly.

She’d expected the worst, maybe him blowing up at the

news. The baby put his people in jeopardy. Justice

getting very excited and being happy about her baby

was a hell of a lot better than anything she’d imagined.

“We’ll send you with Brass to the Reservation. He’ll

protect you with his life and he’ll have a lot of help,

Trisha. I know how much trust you have in him to keep

you safe. I’ll tell everyone that I want a doctor out there

and you volunteered to go. No one will become

suspicious about that. That was what I’d planned to do

before your attack. I had wanted you on hand when the

medical center there was built. I’ll have some of my men

pack up your home for you and move your things. I

don’t want you lifting a finger.” He chuckled. “You’re

going to be very spoiled so get used to it.”

Justice sank back into his seat while Trisha watched

him speed dial. He told people he had decided they

needed a doctor at Reservation and Trisha had been kind

enough to agree to go. He set up a flight for her in less

than an hour and then called there to let them know a

team headed their way. Someone finally knocked on the

door and Justice hung up.

“Enter,” he called out.

Brass walked into the office and closed the door

behind him. He’d obviously been on duty since he wore

his uniform. He grinned when he saw Trisha and winked

before his attention fixed on Justice.

“I was told you needed me.”

Justice grinned. “I’m sending you with Trisha to

Reservation. They will be expecting you. I’ll let you pick

two of your closest friends to take with you to help

protect her.” Justice stood and chuckled. “Isn’t this the

best news? Congratulations, Brass!” Justice suddenly

strode forward and hugged the surprised man. “You’re

going to be a father!”

Trisha felt sucker-punched but it was nothing

compared to the expression on Brass’ face. His eyes

widened and his mouth fell open.

“Uh, Justice?”

Justice released Brass and grinned at Trisha. “Yes?”

She shook her head at him. “It’s not him.”

“What is going on?” Brass had a confused look on

his features.

Justice ignored him and kept staring at Trisha as his

smile died. “But he is at your home at night. I told you

that I’m aware of everyone’s movements inside

Homeland. You are dating him.”

“We’re just platonic friends who watch movies

together. He’s not the father of my baby. I’ve never slept

with Brass.”

“Baby?” Brass gasped. His attention flew to Trisha.

“You’re pregnant?”

She nodded. “I’m sorry about this. I thought Justice

called you to be my bodyguard because he knows we’ve

become friends. I never guessed he might believe you

were the father of my baby.”

“You’re pregnant?” Brass suddenly growled

viciously. He backed up and crossed his arms over his

chest as his focus fixed on the floor.

Trisha noticed his dark reaction and it left her

speechless.

“This is dangerous for her and for all of us,” Justice

warned softly. “You are her personal bodyguard. No one

finds out about this pregnancy. Clear, Brass? Is this going

to be a problem for you?”

Brass met Justice’s gaze. “I’d protect her with my life.

No one will know about this from me. What are my

orders?”

“There’s a helicopter leaving with her in an hour.

Pick two males you trust with her life and tell them they

are part of your team. This will be an extended

assignment. Don’t pack a light bag. I’ll use the cover that

I’m assigning her to oversee the medical center at

Reservation for now.”

“Understood.” Brass didn’t even glance at Trisha

when he walked out of the office. The door closed softly

behind him.

Confused, Trisha frowned.

Justice studied her. “You didn’t know he had

feelings for you? You might have thought of him as a

friend but I think he was slowly courting you.”

“I didn’t know.” It stunned her. “I thought he might

like me but he never asked me out so I dismissed the

idea.”

“We’re sometimes hard to read. I’ve noticed with our

kind they either come straight at what they want with the

aggression of a pit bull or they try to ease upon

something they want until they can pounce on it when it

is the last thing you would expect.” Justice sighed. “So

who is the father?”

Trisha lifted her chin in defiance. “I won’t tell.”

Justice’s eyelids narrowed. “What?”

“It was just sex. It didn’t mean anything. This is my

baby.”

Justice looked slightly angry as his arms crossed his

broad chest. “Who is the baby’s father, Trisha? You need

to trust me. Casual sex or not, a Species would want to

know if he were about to become a father.”

She bit her lip. “I don’t think so.”

His arms tightened against his chest. “You admitted

you’ve had sex one time in two years. I smelled sex on

you once.” He studied her face carefully. “You had my

scent on you and I know I’m not the father. You had

Brass’ scent but you but you obviously haven’t had sex

together.” He sucked in air. “You had Slade’s scent on

you too. It was strongest but I assumed that was because

you’d been alone with him for days and— Of course.

Slade is the father.”

She let her head drop. “Please don’t tell him.”

“I’m sorry, Trisha. I must. He’d want to know. He has

a right to protect and watch out for you since you are

carrying his child.”

She allowed the tears to fall when she looked up.

“He never contacted me, never called me, never once

tried to see me in the weeks he lived here after he

returned. Please don’t tell him. I can’t see him.”

Justice softly cursed. “You thought there was more to

the sex than it being casual and his actions hurt you.”

Why lie? She nodded. “Yes. Please, Justice. I can’t

stop you if you are set on telling him but keep him away

from me if you do. Please?”

“I don’t understand.”

“He didn’t want to be with me anymore once we

were rescued and I sure as hell don’t want him trying to

spend time with me now because of this pregnancy. He

made his choice.”

He studied her for a long time. “I understand but I

have to tell him, Trisha. I will make your feelings known

to him and I will tell him that he blew it.”

She wiped at tears. “Yeah. That’s a good way to put

it.” She stood. “Thank you for taking this so well.”

“Thank you for—” Justice moved and hugged a

surprised Trisha. “For being pregnant and giving all of

us hope of having children. I’m sure everything will

work out and that this baby is going to be born healthy.

We’re a hearty bunch and tough to kill. This baby will be

half New Species.”

She cried while Justice held her. She hugged him

back, admitting she had needed someone to comfort her

all day, since she’d realized she was pregnant. The shock

had been that great. Justice rubbed her back and pulled

her closer, consoling her.

“I’m sorry for the pain you are in. Slade should know

how special you are and he never should have let you

go, Trisha. I wouldn’t have if you were mine. This

should be a happy occasion and he has hurt you.”

She sniffed and pushed away from Justice. He

released her as she wiped at her tears again. “Thank you.

That’s the nicest thing you could have said to me.” She

looked up at him. “There is one more thing I want to ask

of you.”

“Anything.”

“I’d request for you to tell Ellie and Fury that I’m

pregnant. They haven’t conceived but they probably

could. I know they want to have a baby. It might just be a

simple problem with low sperm count or Ellie just might

need a little help with producing her eggs. One round of

fertility drugs might help her get pregnant. I can order

tests that I’m sure they’ll agree to have once they know.

They will know they have hope of conceiving. They are

the only other full human and New Species couple and

they are the only two who need this information. Both of

them are trustworthy.”

Justice nodded. “That’s fine. I’ll do that. Don’t worry

about it. I’ll handle it all and I’ll have Dr. Ted Treadmont

handle their tests. I know it’s not his field but he can do

some simple testing, right?”

“He’s trustworthy. Yes, Ted can handle that.”

“Good.” Justice handed Trisha tissues from one of

his desk drawers. “Here. Blow your nose. You can use

my bathroom to clean up. We don’t want anyone to get

suspicious and you crying would tip off someone that

something is wrong.”

“Sorry.”

“You’re emotional. I hear that’s normal with

pregnancy.”

“Yes, it is. God, I hate to imagine what a nutcase I’ll

be in five or six months.” She shook her head. “I already

feel sorry for my security detail.” She walked to the

bathroom door and then stopped, turning. “I feel so bad

about Brass. Do you think he’ll still be my friend?”

“He will be. He was disappointed but I didn’t see

real hurt in his eyes. He’ll get over it.”

She hoped so. She walked inside the bathroom and

closed the door.

Justice heard water running. Full humans didn’t have

their keen senses. He always had to remind himself of

that fact, taking his own hearing for granted. He sat down

at his desk. He experienced joy and sadness over the fact

they were able to breed. He wanted to have a child one

day but the fear of how the humans would react if they

found out made his gut twist. He dialed the

headquarters office at Reservation and asked for Slade.

“Hi, Justice. You actually caught me inside the office.

I just had a meeting with one of the builders. The

security fence is finished. It will be fully functional by

next month with the motion sensors and electronic

surveillance. They were grunting and groaning over the

deadline for the clubhouse but it’s on schedule. In two

months they should be finished with it. There’s nothing

else to report.”

“I have news for you, actually.”

“All right.”

“I’m sending Dr. Trisha Norbit up to Reservation.”

Silence.

Justice bared his teeth, showing his anger. Obviously

Slade wasn’t thrilled with the news. The next sound he

heard confirmed his suspicions. He heard a sigh finally.

“All right. Is she going to be here for a reason?” Slade

didn’t sound happy.

“Yes. Is this a secure line?”

“Of course. Is there a reason it needs to be? Has

something happened? Has she been targeted? I thought

everything had settled down about that by now. I feel

obligated to tell you that I think she would be much safer

there if you are sending her up here because she’s gotten

more threats. There’s a hell of a lot of open space for

someone to breach Reservation than there is at

Homeland.”

“There are too many people here who will see her. I

think it’s best if she is sent there. It’s remote and easier to

shield her from the public. She is coming so make all the

arrangements. I want her put in a remote but comfortable

location that is extensively secure. I’m sending three

personal officers with her to protect her at all times.”

“The danger is that high?” Slade’s voice tensed and

his tone turned into growl. “Is she well? Has an attempt

on her life been made?”

Justice suddenly smiled over the fact that Slade

obviously cared. He bit his lip. “She’s in extreme

danger.” He managed to keep his tone cool. “She’s fine