“Are you really well, Lauren?”
She nodded against him. “I am. I’m just glad it’s over.”
“You are very brave,” Shadow stated. “We found the male you killed inside your home. I was proud.”
Her stomach rolled at the reminder and she wasn’t sure what to say to that. Her silence stretched until the front doors of the SUV opened. Two human task force members climbed inside and both glanced back. A familiar face grinned at her from the passenger seat.
“Hey, Lauren,” Brian greeted. “We’re glad to have you back. How are you doing?”
“Much better. How are you? You were bleeding and out cold the last time I saw you.”
“I’m fine. What’s a little concussion and blood loss? That’s why I’m not driving you today. I heard what was going down, who was taken, and I wasn’t going to miss this assignment.”
“Thank you.” Emotion choked her voice. “Please thank everyone for me who was here today.”
“Let’s go home,” Wrath roughly snarled. “Now. Lauren needs a shower. Start the engine and return us to headquarters. I don’t know how much longer I can keep in control.”
Lauren’s gaze flew to Wrath. It surprised her at his blunt intentions to get her naked but she was amused by it too. “You missed me that much, huh?”
He growled instead of answering but he didn’t appear turned-on. His angry expression confused her as she watched him in the dim interior of the vehicle, hoping it wasn’t because she’d talked to Brian. She remembered that he thought the guy was flirting with her before.
“You reek of another male,” Shadow explained. “He’s already agitated because he was worried that we wouldn’t get you back alive and well. He had all kinds of horrible scenarios running through his mind of what those assholes could do to you. He’s highly stressed and the smell of another male on you makes it a lot worse. You’ll need a shower before he can calm down. It’s a Species trait. We don’t enjoy smelling another male on the female we have feelings for.” Shadow chuckled. “Sharing sex with him after ridding your body of the other male’s scent would probably put him in a much better mood too.”
Lauren stared into Wrath’s eyes, not sure she really understood the reason for his distress. She could accept that he wasn’t like other men. “He just kept me warm and nothing happened between 140 and me. I’m sorry you’re upset. I’ll let you wash my back, okay? It’s only temporary.”
“I know. I hate that I wasn’t there to protect you.”
She wasn’t sure how to comfort him. He was really upset and she just curled back into his body. His arms wrapped around her tightly.
Shadow answered a cell phone when it rang and listened for a few minutes. He hung up. “Our new people are on the helicopter safely. The on-flight doctor is looking over the female but it doesn’t look good. They are going to do everything they can.”
Sadness crept through Lauren. Poor 140. She lifted her head and met Wrath’s eyes. If I lost him forever… She pushed the thought away. She didn’t even want to contemplate a life without him.
“I could smell the sickness on her,” Wrath admitted. “Will it never end, Shadow? Will those assholes never stop hurting our people?”
“We’ll find them all,” Shadow swore. “We captured the humans and they’ll tell us what they did to the female.” Shadow paused. “By the way, you are brilliant, Lauren. I wanted to compliment you on your intelligence. We are all very proud of how you manipulated the human into calling Homeland. Wrath would mention this himself but he’s too emotional right now.”
“I was scared and Mark was desperate enough to go for any plan to get him out of that mess. He said he used to work for Mercile and ended up working for the woman running that hellhole. I’m sorry about the lies I said about being Wrath’s mate and the way I implied I could make deals for the NSO.” She met Shadow’s eyes. “I had to say a lot of things to survive and try to guide you and get you to come for us.”
“You did very well and the lies you told were good ones.” Shadow chuckled. “You amused and impressed Justice North. I’m sure he would like to meet you, Lauren. He said you are a very brave female.”
“That’s good to hear. I’ve seen him on television a lot. He seems really nice.”
Shadow grinned. “He is unless he deals with someone who worked for Mercile or betrayed our kind. Then, not so much.”
“We’ll speak of all this later.” Wrath brushed his fingers through her hair, stroked her cheek and pulled her tightly against him. “I need to hold you to assure myself you are really here.”
Lauren settled against him until they arrived back at headquarters. She still had no idea where it was located, had forgotten to pay attention again. Wrath helped her out of the SUV, scooped her into his arms and strode for the elevator with Shadow at their side.
“I can walk.”
Wrath ignored that and turned his head to talk to Shadow instead. “Could you please bring her food? Her stomach is growling.”
“Of course. I’ll send out someone to get her something good to eat. It shouldn’t take long and I’ll knock to let you know it’s outside the door.”
“Thank you.” Wrath stepped into the elevator when the doors opened. “I’ll put her clothes in the hallway. Will you dispose of them for me?”
“My clothes?” Lauren’s eyes widened. Why did he want her clothes thrown out? They needed to be washed but they weren’t torn or stained that she could see.
“I will,” Shadow agreed, pushed a button on the panel and spoke to Lauren. “He never again wants to see what you’re wearing. It will only remind him of how close he came to losing you.”
Shadow followed them all the way to Wrath’s room and opened the door for his friend since Wrath was determined to carry her everywhere. Lauren watched him close the door firmly behind him. She glanced at Wrath. They were finally alone.
He avoided her gaze, carried her into the bathroom and lowered his body enough to set her on her feet. The room wasn’t very big, Wrath was, and it was cramped as he bent to turn on the shower.
“Undress,” he urged, his voice gruff, as he adjusted the temperature of the water. “Hurry.”
“I’m really okay, Wrath. You’re being so sweet but you can relax now. We’re here, together, and everything is going to be fine.”
A snarl tore from his throat. He spun around and his hands gripped her arms. It didn’t hurt but he could move fast. His size was intimidating and it shocked her when his fangs were displayed.
“Don’t be afraid of me. I’d never hurt you. I’m enraged at myself for allowing you to come to harm. You are trying to make me feel better but nothing will do that. I never should have allowed you out of my sight. I should have made certain everyone at Homeland knew that I didn’t want to come back to find you gone and I should have insisted that they bring you to me immediately. I let you down, left you vulnerable to my enemies and you could have died.”
Tears filled her eyes. It broke her heart to see him so distraught and to realize how deeply he cared about her. “It’s not your fault, Wrath. Please don’t blame yourself. Do you know who you should be mad at?”
His hold gentled. “Who?”
“The assholes who took me but I’m glad it happened.”
Rage tightened his features.
“We never would have known about those five New Species if I hadn’t been kidnapped. I was scared, hungry, and it really sucked, but let’s not forget the bottom line. Five of your people are at Homeland now because I was taken. That makes it all worth it to me.”
“Your life is more important to me.”
Her heart raced and tears filled her eyes. “You mean that.” Hope flared that he was in love with her as much as she loved him. The words rose in her throat but she didn’t have the chance to tell him how she felt.