New Species 03 Valiant (31 page)

you could bring me your identification. They’ll accept a

faxed copy of it as proof that you do exist.” He laughed.

“So, do you mind coming down here? It shouldn’t take

more than maybe ten to twenty minutes. Just bring your

wallet with you and your license.”

She sighed. “Sure. Let me get my shoes and find my

purse. It’s a good thing the sheriff returned it to me. It’s

around here somewhere. Did security say it was all right

for me to leave? I’m supposed to stay inside the suite.”

“I obtained permission from Tiger before he left.

Someone will be there to escort you when you are ready

to leave. Thank you, Miss Shasta. This is a big help. I

know Valiant wanted this done quickly and I can’t get the

marriage license without submitting proof of who you

are.”

“I’ll hurry.”

She hung up and walked into the bedroom. A t least it

would distract her from worrying about Valiant for a little

while. Her purse still sat on the closet floor where Valiant

had placed it after the sheriff had brought it with him to

interview her. The New Species had to check it first and it

had been delivered later that day. She’d also learned that

the sheriff had her car safely towed to her house when

he’d retrieved her purse from the crime scene.

She brushed her teeth and hair again. She didn’t

bother with makeup. The quicker she could get back, the

better, her mind was still on her coworkers. She didn’t

want to miss their calls when they got her messages.

Flame stood outside in the hallway when she opened the

door. She smiled at him.

“That attorney called and said he needed me and my

purse.” She lifted it to show him. “A nd here we both

are.”

Flame smiled. “He called. A re you ready to go? His

office isn’t far. I’ll call for a Jeep and I’ll drive you there.”

“Thanks.” They left the suite.

Flame used his radio to ask for the vehicle to be

pulled up in front of the hotel while they waited for the

elevator and by the time they walked out of the lobby, it

had arrived. Flame helped her climb inside and rounded

the vehicle. He drove from the hotel to where a two-story

office had been constructed. He parked and helped her

out.

The reception area was empty and silence filled the

air. It seemed the building wasn’t currently in use. Flame

hesitated. “I’m not sure where his office is. I haven’t been

in here before. Only a few human employees work at

Reservation and I haven’t been assigned this post. Did he

tell you where it was?”

“No.”

Flame sighed. “Let’s find him. I’d make some calls

but we’re on high alert right now and I don’t want to

bother anyone when I can sniff him out.” He drew in air

a few times through his nose and pointed to a hallway to

the left. “This way. Male, human, and recent. His

aftershave stinks and not in a good way.”

She grinned. “Most guys are clueless and wear stuff

that reeks.”

“We tend to be sensitive to smells. Most of our

people use natural-scented products. Humans don’t.”

Tammy followed him through a maze of hallways.

“A re you on high alert because the two women were

taken in town?”

He nodded. “Yes. We have tightened all incoming

security and put our snipers on top of the walls in case

someone decides they want to try to breach Reservation.

We will never forget the attack that happened at

Homeland.”

She’d heard about that on the news. A hate group

had attacked the New Species Homeland right after it had

opened. They’d rammed the front gate and a bunch of

men with guns had invaded with trucks.

Deaths had resulted from that attack. Luckily those

killed had been mostly the hate-group members.

Tragically, a few human security guards who worked for

Homeland had also died. It had been shocking that

something like that could happen. Obviously the New

Species were afraid of another attack and she didn’t

blame them.

They found Charlie A rtzola on the second floor in

one of the offices. He sat behind his desk digging inside a

drawer. He glanced at them both when they entered and

he smiled.

“That was quick.”

“I told you I’d escort her immediately.” Flame leaned

against the wall right inside the office.

“Have a seat, Miss Shasta.” The attorney jerked his

chin at a chair. “You and your men can come inside and

have a seat too. There’s four chairs and they may as well

get used.”

“It’s just us. I’m fine standing.” Flame relaxed his

stance.

The attorney nodded. “I’m looking for the notes I

made. I’m very sorry about this. I was nervous and think

I wrote the information down wrong. I might have just

put in a wrong license number and the computer system

will find you so we don’t have to fax it to them.” He

leaned over farther behind his desk as Tammy took a

seat closest to him. “A ha! I found it. I’m sure this is just

an error. I probably just have it off by one or two digits.”

He closed the desk drawer.

Tammy leaned back against her seat and set her

purse on her lap. The attorney straightened. She barely

had time to react before seeing it wasn’t a paper he lifted

from behind his drawer. It was a weird-looking weapon

he pointed at Flame and fired. Tammy gasped. Flame

grunted behind her and crashed to the floor.

Tammy jerked around in horror to stare at Flame

sprawled on the carpet. The gun hadn’t made a loud

sound. Flame had fallen on his side by the door. She

gawked at him, too stunned to do anything else for long

seconds. She didn’t see any blood as she sat motionless.

She finally regained the ability to move. Her head turned

toward the attorney to discover he’d pointed the strange

gun at her.

“You will do exactly what I tell you to if you don’t

want to die, Miss Shasta. I have no qualms about killing a

woman.”

Her mouth opened but no sound came out. The gun

was no more than three feet away, pointed right at her

face. She knew he wouldn’t miss at that close range. The

attorney slowly rose from his chair with a frown twisting

his lips. The wide muzzle never wavered.

“Stand up slowly. I will shoot you in the back if you

try to run.”

A fter a long moment of trying to get her body to

move, she managed to rise to her feet. Her purse slid to

the floor since her fingers refused to hold onto it. The

attorney motioned toward the door with the weapon.

“We’re going to walk outside to my car and you are

going to get inside the trunk. I’m going to kill you if you

don’t. Do you understand me?”

She swallowed. “Why are you doing this? What do

you want?”

He glared at her. “Someone I know wants to talk to

you. He’s deeply worried that you’ve been compelled into

marrying a New Species.”

Her brain began to function. The attorney wouldn’t

be threatening to kill her if someone just wanted to talk

to her. He was lying about that. She bit her lip and took a

tentative step. She didn’t see any way to get away from

him without being shot. He couldn’t miss her if he fired

the weapon.

Her gaze dropped to the fallen New Species. He

wasn’t moving at all but she still didn’t see blood. A s she

took slow steps toward Flame and the door, she realized

two things. Flame’s eyes were closed but his chest rose

and fell, proof that he was still breathing. She had to step

over his arm and then his leg to exit the office.

She glanced back at Charlie A rtzola. He stayed close

and still pointed the gun at her. She walked, following his

orders as he directed her where to go. Tammy’s heart

pounded with fear but Tiger’s earlier words surfaced in

her memory.

The New Species were on high alert. The attorney

would never be able to get her off Reservation without

them finding her. When she’d brought her catering van to

the gates they’d searched every inch of it. She had to

trust that they’d check the trunk of the attorney’s car and

find her. They exited the building from a back door

where a nice four-door sedan had been parked.

He made Tammy wait as he unlocked the trunk. He

moved back, aiming the gun at her chest. “Climb inside

and be very quiet. The trunk is too small for me to miss

you if I fire through the backseat. Do you understand

me? You better not scream when we go through the

checkpoint. I’ll kill whatever New Species you tip off.

Your life is only in danger if you make me shoot you. My

friend really does want to talk to you, Miss Shasta. He’ll

be angry if I have to kill you so do us both a favor. Get in

and keep quiet.”

“Who told you to do this to me?”

“It doesn’t matter. A ll that matters is you’ll walk away

from this in the end if you don’t give me any problems.”

Tammy wanted to scream and launch her body at the

guy and attack him. Of course she didn’t believe that she

wasn’t in danger if she complied. The attorney was a big

liar. She felt torn. Fight or do what she was told?

He softly cursed, seeming to sense her dilemma.

“This is a special dart gun filled with strong drugs

designed to take down and kill New Species. You

wouldn’t stand a chance of survival if I shot you. Get

inside the trunk and be quiet.”

A s long as she was alive there was hope that she’d be

saved when they reached the gate. “I’ll do it. Just don’t

shoot me,” she managed to say. “I’m going.”

The trunk was small. Tammy had to lie curled in a

ball on her side, her knees pressed to her chest. He

looked down at her grimly as he reached inside his

pocket to fish for something. He pulled out a syringe and

gripped the cap with his teeth to jerk it open.

“What is that?” Terror pulsed through her.

“Something to make sure you stay quiet. You’ll be

fine. I just can’t risk you screaming when we get to the

checkpoint.” The attorney jabbed the needle into her

outer thigh through her pants.

Tammy groaned from the sharp sting of pain. She

stared up at him with terror and hatred. “Valiant is going

to rip out your guts and feed them to you. That’s his

favorite thing to do.”

He clenched his teeth. “You’re a sick animal whore.”

He slammed the trunk closed.

She fought when the darkness surrounded her and

she wasn’t under direct threat from the gun any longer.

A fter a few ineffective hits to the roof of the trunk, horror

spread through her mind when her limbs began to grow

heavy. Her hands refused to fist anymore, her arms

drooped at the elbow, and finally fell limply to the floor

of the trunk.

Panic came next. Whatever drug he’d injected her

with seemed to paralyze her. She could breathe fine and

blink, stare into darkness, but the rest of her body

refused to function. She tried to scream but her throat

had even been affected. She could barely swallow and

couldn’t even push her tongue against her teeth. She

screamed inside her mind but the sound didn’t pass her

lips.

The car started. Tammy tried to calm down, realizing

how dire her situation had become. Think! The New

Species checked trunks. She’d seen them do it to a car in

front of her the first day she’d visited Reservation. Two of

the security officers had checked Tammy’s van next.

They’d done a very thorough job. They’d even

opened the mini refrigerators inside the back of the van

and opened sealed trays to make sure they carried food

and not weapons. They’d used handheld devices over the

food to make certain nothing had been stashed inside.

She’d be found. Charlie A rtzola wouldn’t get her off

Reservation. She knew large, thick walls enclosed the

entire place with only two entry gates. He wouldn’t be

able to get her out except to go through those

checkpoints. Tears of frustration slipped down her cheeks

and she couldn’t even wipe them away. They’ll find me.

The car slowed at one point but didn’t stop before it

picked up a lot of speed. A long time passed. The car

finally stopped. Hope soared inside Tammy. A t any