“He insisted that a background check be done on her and he’s right for that. She did have a strong tie to ex-Mercile employees. She worked with them.”
Wrath snarled. “Lauren is not my enemy.”
“Tim is worried about the rest of us.” Shadow suddenly grinned. “She’s so dangerous.”
“That is not funny. She couldn’t hurt a fly.”
“I’m aware. I saw her face when you were fighting with Vengeance. She’s not used to brutality. She practically begged us to call an end to it. She worried about your safety.”
He allowed that information to sink in. “She will worry about my duties with the task force. We put our lives in danger constantly when we go out to retrieve our enemies.”
“I wouldn’t mention that aspect to her. Let her believe you mostly do paperwork.”
“I will not lie to her.”
“I didn’t suggest you do but I just wouldn’t offer more information than necessary.”
He thought about that. “Do you regret agreeing to work for the task force?”
“No.” Shadow shook his head. “It’s been good for me. You?”
“The same. I met Lauren.”
Shadow smiled. “You seem more healed since she came into your life. I’m glad. Perhaps one day I’ll meet a female who challenges me to face my fears.”
“I hope so.”
Tim stormed out of the office with Brass behind him. Tim refused to meet their gazes but Brass smiled.
“We’re leaving to pick up your female, Wrath. Tim and his team are going to give us backup support. He’s irritated that we’ve left headquarters so much without more of the human teams backing us up. It makes sense, especially after we were taken prisoner. We came to an agreement.”
“Thank you.” Wrath meant it. He turned his attention on Tim. “Lauren is no threat to us.”
“Women are always bad news.” Tim spun, stormed for the door and yelled over his shoulder. “Don’t let her paint anything pink, damn it! It’s still my building.”
“Pink?” Shadow glanced at Wrath and Brass. “What does that mean?”
“I have no clue,” Brass sighed. “No wonder their females seem to enjoy our company more. Humans are strange.”
Wrath had to agree with that assessment. He didn’t care if Lauren wanted to paint or what color she chose. Just having her at his side was all that mattered.
Chapter Fourteen
Lauren was scared and angry at the same time. The backseat was a tight fit with 140 sharing the limited space. She’d given up playing unconscious after her New Species protector whispered for her to sit up.
Mary and one of her men argued at the front of the car. The other man remaining followed in another vehicle. There was no way Lauren was going to get a chance to escape but she did glance out the windows to track where they were going. She’d learned her lesson to be more aware of her surroundings after leaving the task force headquarters but having no idea where it was located.
“I don’t care what your opinion is, Marvin. Shut up. You’re giving me a headache.”
The thug driving shot the woman in the passenger seat a glare. “We should do some experimenting while we have her.” He glanced back at Lauren and his gaze lowered to her chest before he turned to face the road again. “I’ll warm her up before we hand her over to one of them.”
Mary snorted. “You’re so pathetic. You didn’t work for Mercile for the money, did you? It was the opportunity to grope women who couldn’t stop you. Forget her. You heard the animal about their sense of smell. You aren’t fucking up my chances of getting my sister back because you’re a pervert.”
Lauren stared at the balding head of the man in front of her and hated him instantly. She had a sinking feeling this was the man 140 had warned off about touching her. He was gross and seemed to have the morals of an alley cat.
“Your sister is a bitch and none of them are worth risking our lives over. They got caught so I say screw them.”
Mary reached over and pinched his arm. He howled, jerked away, and the car swerved.
“Don’t do that. I could wreck the car.”
“My sister is worth more alive to me than you are. Don’t you ever forget that.” She paused. “Plus she knows too damn much. She won’t talk but give it a month or two if they lock her up and I bet she’d sell out our own mother. Prison is a nasty place and we all want to avoid it. She could screw us over if we don’t save her ass and that goes for her team too. They know our names, we all worked together, and do you trust any of them not to turn us in to save their own asses if they are offered a deal?”
“Fucking hell,” Marvin muttered as he hit the brakes at a red light. He turned his head and stared at Lauren’s breasts again before frowning at Mary. “I need some stress relief. I won’t take her pants off. Haven’t I been loyal? Haven’t I done all the shit you tell me to?”
140 growled. “Her mate will know. Do you want me to tell you what you ate for lunch? I can. She would also fight.” He turned his head and fixed his gaze on her. “Would you allow him to make use of your body in any way? He likes to open his pants and order females to put their mouth on him.”
Disgust made Lauren want to throw up and she snapped her head to meet the gaze of the man in the seat ahead of her. “I’d rather die and I can promise you, if you unzip near me you’ll need a trauma surgeon after I am done with you.”
Mary laughed. “I’m starting to like her just a little. The idea of someone biting your dick off is amusing.” She reached out and pinched Marvin’s arm again. “Stop being such a sick son of a bitch. Eyes on the road and shut your mouth unless it’s not related to thinking with your dick.”
“Bitch,” Marvin grumbled. “Stop doing that to my arm. It hurts.”
The light turned green and he stomped on the gas in anger. “Stop drawing attention to us, idiot.” She turned in her seat and glared at Lauren. “And I’m watching you too. The windows back there are tinted but don’t try to draw any attention. Got it? The car behind us will make sure we get away. If any cops show up he will do something to distract them.”
“She’s not stupid,” 140 said and sighed. “She knows you need her and she will survive if she just complies to get you what you want.” He shifted his gaze to the driver. “It is your own technicians you should worry about.”
“He’s getting damn mouthy,” Marvin cursed. “Sounds as if we need to remind him of his place.” He suddenly barked out a laugh. “Do I need to visit your mate again?”
“Shit,” Mary snapped and her hand flew out and hit the thug in the back of the head as 140 snarled loudly in the confined space. “You are a fucking idiot. You really want to taunt him in this car? I don’t want to die when he lunges across the seat and rips your head from your body.”
“She said she’d prefer to die than feel your hands exploring her body again. I’d kill you if you had harmed her or ever do. She’s mine.”
Lauren saw the pure anger on 140’s features, the way his hands fisted in his lap, and how his chest rose and fell harshly as he seemed to pant through a fit of rage.
“He isn’t going to do shit to her,” Mary swore, trying to keep the peace for once. “I took care of it when he molested her, didn’t I?” She twisted in her seat and stared at 140. “Calm down now. That’s an order. Remember our deal? You do as you’re told and no harm comes to your girlfriend. Marvin is going to keep his big mouth shut from now on or I’ll personally pinch something far more painful than his arm.”
The glimpse Lauren was getting into 140’s life made her angry enough to want to reach forward and break Marvin’s neck herself. Of course she wasn’t strong enough but she regretted he hadn’t been the one she’d had to stab with the letter opener. The fact that she’d killed someone was pushed back. She couldn’t deal with that now. Besides, the more time she spent with the arguing pair in front, the more justified it seemed.