New Species 03 Valiant (30 page)

smiling at him or if she should try to shake his hand.

“It’s nice to meet you,” she rose to her feet but

stayed in place.

He smiled at her but she noticed he carefully made

sure his sharp teeth weren’t noticeable when he faced

her. She almost smacked her forehead as she realized

why she hadn’t recognized him. That was why she hadn’t

gotten it was him. It wasn’t just the hair and eyes but he

smiled without showing his sharp teeth every time she’d

ever seen him on TV or in pictures.

“It is good to meet you as well, Tammy.”

“Did you see the baby?” Valiant closed the door.

Justice chuckled. “I did. He’s perfect. Slade and

Trisha are very proud and happy. We all are overjoyed

with his healthy birth.”

“A nd the boy is Species.”

Justice seemed to beam with joy. “He is definitely

Species.”

“I had wondered if the human traits would be

stronger than Slade’s.” Valiant spoke softly. “I hope, if

my mate and I have a child together, that it will resemble

me. Tammy believes our baby would be adorable.”

“We all hoped Species traits would carry on when the

baby was born. It is a good thing to no longer be alone

and know we will live on in our children with future

generations.” Justice paused. “But to have a child who

would appear fully human would be a blessing too. To

just be given the gift of them is enough.”

Tammy kept silent, not sure what to say, as she

watched the two men talk. She wondered if she should

give them some time alone but then Justice looked at

her. He chuckled as he glanced at Valiant.

“You are so small.” Justice studied her. “Forgive me

for my amusement but Valiant was adamant in some

discussions we held that we should never be with

humans and if any of us were going to mate with one,

they needed to be strapping, large females. I find it

humorous that he would claim you. I mean no offense

but it is,” he grinned, still hiding his teeth, “amusing.”

“I understand.” Tammy smiled. “I’m not offended.

He’s huge and I’m not. Would you like to have a seat?”

“I unfortunately can’t stay. My life is filled with

schedules that always keep me on the move. I will be

here for the day to meet with security and I have an

appointment with the person who does my hair.” He

reached up to touch it. He sighed heavily. “Our public

relations team demands that I lighten it before I go

before any cameras.” He met her gaze. “Do I appear

more frightening with dark hair, to you?”

“I didn’t recognize you at first. I thought you looked

familiar but I didn’t know why until I heard your name.

Your eyes seem darker right now too.”

“I am forced to wear contacts too. A gain, they seem

to think humans will accept me easier if I appear softer.

They also change my looks when I’m traveling in public

to try to hide my real identity since I’m so well-known.”

“You look fine to me,” she admitted. “But different.”

“Thank you.”

Valiant studied the other man. “A re you staying in

the hotel tonight? We’d enjoy sharing a meal with you.”

“I wish I could but I have to hold a press conference

tonight at Homeland for the evening news. A helicopter

will fly me home after my last meeting this afternoon. I’ll

probably eat dinner on the ride home. One day I wish to

take a few days off. Unfortunately, I don’t see that

happening any time soon. I will be back the day after

tomorrow. I have to fly in for a meeting with the mayor

of the town before I go back to Homeland for an

interview with a local newspaper. It’s endless.”

“You should find someone to claim.” Valiant gave

him a sympathetic look. “A mate would make you

happy.”

Justice chuckled. “I don’t have the time, Valiant.

Every day is usually this hectic. There are always

meetings and conferences or places I need to go to for

more meetings. No female would wish to share my

burdens.”

“You have a hard life.” Valiant inched closer and

grasped his shoulder to give it a squeeze before his arm

dropped. “You have sacrificed much for us, Justice. We

all owe you and appreciate it.”

Justice shrugged. “Someone had to do it, Valiant. I

was the best at adapting to humans and had the best

ability to blend in. It was just natural that I took the job.”

“If there is ever anything…” Valiant left the rest of

that sentence unsaid but his meaning was clear.

“Thank you and I already know that.” Justice smiled

at Tammy. “It was very nice to meet you and welcome to

the family.”

Valiant closed the door after the departing New

Species leader and walked to Tammy. He had a sad

expression on his face. “I do not envy him his life.”

“He’s a busy man, that’s for sure.”

Valiant nodded and suddenly pulled Tammy into his

arms. “I am glad that my only responsibility is to make

you happy. He carries the weight of all New Species on

his shoulders.”

“A re we going to take the last name of North too

when we marry?”

Valiant nodded. “Yes. It is an honor to carry the

name he chose. I support him and everything he has

done for our kind.”

“What did that mean when he said welcome to the

family?”

“You are one of us now. You are family. We do not

have parents or uncles or cousins the way humans do.

have parents or uncles or cousins the way humans do.

We only have each other. Family is very important to us

and all New Species is considered such. Together we

stand strong.”

Sadness filled Tammy. “Do any of you know who

your birth parents are? I mean, you had to have parents

once, right? A t least a mother who carried you.”

Valiant growled. “We are all orphans. Our parents

abandoned us to hell. They allowed Mercile to create us,

we were nothing more than donated material to them,

and the females who birthed us were done as soon as

they cut our umbilical cords. We learned that from some

of the doctors who were arrested.”

“I’m so sorry, Valiant.” She hugged him, heartbroken

over his past. “I always said love is all you need to form

a family. My mother abandoned me. I will never

understand how she could do that but I’m grateful she

gave me life. I wouldn’t be here without her.”

He stared into her eyes. “Where is she? Does she

live?”

Tammy shrugged. “I have no idea. She dumped me

with Grandma and we never heard from her again. My

grandma thought she probably died. She said my mom

would have at least contacted her for money otherwise. I

used to pray that she’d show up one day to tell me she

loved me and how sorry she was over leaving me. You

know?” The pain still made her chest ache a little. “That

she’d tell me she made a horrible mistake. A fter a few

years I realized it wasn’t going to happen. I began to

hate her a little and that turned into outright anger. I

don’t want to see her now if she is alive.”

Valiant smiled. “You have me now and I will never

leave you, Tammy. You belong to a large family. He or

she will always know love and how it feels to be a part of

a large group who will love them greatly if we ever have

a child. Our child would never suffer loneliness or pain.

Or ever experience a loveless life.”

Her heart broke a little more for him. She heard the

pain in his voice. Had anyone ever loved him as a child?

She’d at least had her grandmother to love her. Tammy

tightened her hold on him.

“I love you, Valiant. I love you so much.”

“I love you too and you make me happy that you

love me.”

The doorbell chimed. Valiant growled. “I was going

to take you to our bed.”

“I would have let you.”

The doorbell chimed again. Valiant released Tammy

when she stepped away from him. He stormed to the

door, looking irritated. Tammy had to fight a grin. He

had no patience whatsoever. Valiant flung it open.

“We have a problem.” Tiger stood there looking

grim. “Sheriff Cooper called us. Two more women have

been taken from the town. They need our help to track

them. I need your help, Valiant. I know it is not Tammy

this time but these women work for us. You are one of

our best trackers with your stronger sense of smell and

though other males from the Wild Zone have keen senses

like yours, I can’t trust any of them around humans. The

humans lost the tracks in the woods. Will you help?”

Valiant studied Tiger. Long seconds passed.

“Valiant?” Tammy waited until he glanced at her over

his shoulder. “Please help them.”

He blinked at Tammy before he nodded. “I will do

this for you.” He moved toward the bedroom. “Let me

change my clothes. I will be with you in a minute.”

“Thanks,” Tiger whispered when they were left alone.

Tammy nodded. “Do you think this is related to the

men who took me? Their boss should be in town by now

unless you figured out who he is. Did you?”

“The survivors haven’t broken and given up the name

of their boss yet. We have no idea who hired them to

kidnap you. I don’t know many details but the sheriff said

the women are roommates and they work here at

Reservation. They are both cooks who decided to live in

town instead of accepting human housing inside the

gates. Someone broke into their home and took them.

The neighbors heard screams and witnessed at least six

men removing the women by force. It happened half an

hour ago. They found the van they were taken away in at

the location where you were found.”

“I hope you find them.”

“Me too.” Tiger sighed. “The sheriff thinks they were

targeted because they worked for us. This means that all

of our human employees need to be warned and we will

offer them protection here again. I don’t know where we

will put them but we look after our own. There aren’t

that many of them at least. Slade is notifying them and

will handle those arrangements.”

Valiant returned wearing jeans, a black T-shirt, and

running shoes. He walked to Tammy, looked down at

her, and said, “I will be back soon. I will miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too and thank you for doing this. Be

careful.”

“A lways.”

Tammy watched the two men leave. She sat on the

couch and began to worry. She wondered if she knew the

two women, if they were locals she might have grown up

with, and wished she’d asked Tiger their names. She

stood suddenly and walked to the phone to dial her boss,

Ted, at home. The phone rang six times but his

answering machine picked up. She left him a message to

warn him that he might be in danger just in case New

Species hadn’t thought to contact subcontractors who

dealt with them.

She was worried about Ted and all the people she

worked with. They’d done more than a few catering jobs

for Reservation since that first one when she’d met

Valiant. She proceeded to call her other coworkers but

got their machines as well. She left them messages and

included the phone number printed on the phone so they

could call her back. She wondered where they all were,

hoped they were out on a job, and not also kidnapped.

Seconds later the phone rang. She grabbed it up.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Miss Shasta. This is Charlie A rtzola. We just

met, remember? I am at my office down the block and

there seems to be a problem.”

She sighed. “Did I forget to sign something?”

“No. It’s just that I can’t find you in the system. It’s

as if you don’t exist.”

“Excuse me?” She was shocked. “What system? I

don’t have a criminal record.”

He laughed. “No. I mean I ran your driver’s license

number but you don’t exist according to the database. I

need to fax a copy of it to get your marriage license since

there’s some kind of computer glitch. I’m sure it’s just a

misunderstanding but we need to clear this up. I called

the hotel and asked if someone from security could

escort you to my office. I’m sure we can sort this out if