New Species 11 True (33 page)

The guy holding her shook her hard and it stopped the fit of
coughing. He moved in a way that told her he was about thigh-deep in water and
her legs were in it up to her hips.

“Stay quiet,” he demanded, out of breath.

She tried to scream but the gag made it come out muffled and
closer to a whimper. He freed a hand from her waist and grabbed her throat.

“I can still snap your neck.”

Something splashed behind them and the guy carrying her
stopped walking.

In seconds someone gasped in air. “Fuck. We aren’t getting
paid enough,” the other male whispered.

“Tell me,” the one holding her grumbled. “Did you cover up
our escape route?”

“Yeah. They should have no clue how we got out of there.”

The one holding her trudged on through the high water. It
was too dark to see anything and Jeanie could only feel terror and misery. She
was soaking wet and almost everything hurt. She didn’t fight, just tried to
keep breathing. The gag was so wet it kept threatening to choke her since she
couldn’t even spit out the water.

They paused and she was lifted, her bare legs scraping more
concrete. It got her out of the cold water though. The guy who’d taken her
climbed up beside her, his body bumping hers and he grabbed her hair.

“Stand.”

She couldn’t see anything, unsure of how he could. She
struggled to her feet and his arm wrapped around her to lift her off her feet
again. He walked with her in front of him, their legs bumping with every step.
He stopped and it sounded as if a metal hinge squeaked before he advanced.
Seconds later it squeaked again, as if he closed a gate or door. It was so dark
she couldn’t tell which it was.

“How much longer?” It was the second man and he was close
behind them.

“We’re somewhere under the street. Keep your damn voice
down. The stairs are ahead and there’s a seal on it. We won’t have to worry
after that. We’ll be free and clear.”

“Are you sure they don’t know about this place?”

“No. That’s what the boss said. He said he stole the
building plans and they have no clue or they’d have installed security. We were
able to get this far without coming up against anything but some padlocks. Do
you want to carry her? She’s getting heavy.”

“I breached the house because you’re too big so you can make
sure she doesn’t slow us down.”

They stopped and the one holding her eased her down onto her
bare feet. He didn’t let go though. He bent enough to put his lips near her
ear.

“Listen to me. There’s a hole two feet in front of you.
There’s a ladder. If you don’t do exactly what I say, you’ll plunge about
thirty feet to your death. Do you understand me?”

Jeanie managed to nod.

“If you run, you’ll fall right in the damn hole. You have a
chance of surviving this so be good and don’t get stupid. I’m going to let go
of you but steer you with my arm. Just turn and face me.”

“Should we give her a light?” The other one was close.

“Nah. This is funnier. Maybe she’ll fall. We get paid for
her whether she’s dead or alive.”

“The boss prefers her alive. He wants to know what she told
the NSO.”

“But dead is good too.”

“You’re mean.”

The guy gripping her snorted. “Tell me something I don’t
know. Turn around, princess. You better be real smart and listen close.”

She turned when he let her go, very careful not to move her
feet much. The floor was cold and she was pretty sure they were in some kind of
tunnel system since they’d said they were under the streets. A drainage system?
Why wouldn’t the NSO know about it? It wasn’t a mystery who would hire them to
kidnap her. She really wanted to live because that meant coming face-to-face
with the man who’d lied to her and used her.

Her kidnapper fisted her upper arm. “Take one step back and
remember it’s a hole. You want to step down about ten inches and you’ll feel
the first rung.”

The next few minutes were terrifying as she blindly took
instructions from a man she didn’t trust. The metal ladder was rough, the rungs
spaced apart the way he said they would be. Each one dug into her bare feet in
the center when she carefully placed them as she lowered into the unknown. It
was so dark she couldn’t make out a thing.

Her foot finally landed against solid ground and she stepped
down, stood still, too terrified to move. Was she on a ledge? The air was
colder but she couldn’t smell anything but dirty water from the gag. It tasted
bad too. Composing a list of diseases she could catch from stagnant water
helped distract her from the danger she was in.

“Move two feet to the left,” her captor demanded from above.
“Otherwise I’ll step on you.”

She inched to the left, her feet carefully dragging on the
surface she stood on to make sure she didn’t step into a void. The bastard
laughed as if it amused him. His boots echoed loudly when he brushed against
her. He must have jumped the remaining distance and landed next to her. He
grabbed her arm again.

“Make sure you seal that good, up there.”

“Got it.” Something metal protested before thumping loudly
high above her head.

The one steering her shoved her again, forcing her to walk
ahead of him until he reached up and planted his hand on the top of her head.

“Duck. Keep bent a bit. Otherwise you’re going to slam your
head on the tunnel. It gets narrow here until the next chamber.”

A faint light shone down the rounded tunnel when they
turned. She could make out more as they walked, horrified that she’d been
right. They were in some kind of drainage system. Dirt stained the concrete but
unlike the one other time she’d ventured into one as a teenager, this one had
no signs of graffiti of any kind.

The tunnel ended and she stared at the open chamber that was
a few feet down. Camping lanterns had been placed on the floor around the space
and a metal lawn chair placed in the center. The jerk gripping her lifted his
hand off her head and straightened, reaching for his face. She turned her head
to peer up at him as he removed night-vision goggles and shoved them up, on the
top of his head.

It was the blond who’d tried to kidnap her from True’s
apartment. She was positive it was the same man. He was wet, his hair plastered
to his head and face, but there was no mistaking it as he frowned at her. “The
chair.” He jerked his chin. “Walk there or I’ll put you there.”

She raised a hand and pointed to the gag, too afraid he’d
hit her if she tried to remove it.

He shook his head. “That’s up to the boss.”

He pushed her forward, almost making her fall down the two
steps. She regained her balance with no help from him and collapsed into the
chair. The T-shirt she wore was plastered to her body. She reached down to tug
it to cover her knees—grateful she wore True’s big shirt—and got it done just
before the blond grabbed her wrist and slapped on handcuffs. He locked one end
of the cuffs to the side of the chair and stepped back.

She turned her head when boots sounded and watched another
man come out of the tunnel they’d just left. He yanked off his night-vision
goggles completely and frowned at her as he walked closer and down the steps.

“I hope this guy shows soon. I want to be paid and get out
of here. We delivered her.”

“I want to change out of these wet clothes.” The blond
cursed and turned away, walking to a duffle bag that had been dropped along one
wall. He crouched and unzipped it. To Jeanie’s disgust, both men began to
strip. She closed her eyes, refusing to watch. The noises echoed in the room.
She tried to forget they were underground, something she’d always had a phobia
about, but it seemed a miniscule problem compared to the others she faced.

She’d been kidnapped and the man who’d claimed to be Agent
Brice was apparently on his way to their location. Some of her fear was
replaced by anger. The handcuffs were a mere annoyance since the chair wasn’t
bolted down.

I’ll stand up and use it to beat him
, she silently
promised. The image of doing just that helped keep her calm.

* * * * *

True became aware with a roar of rage. He sat up, shoving at
the male hovering over him. Dr. Harris cried out, barely flinching away from
the punch aimed at his face. A strong hand clasped True’s fist and prevented
him from making another go at striking the human. Justice crouched on the
living room floor and shifted into position to get in his face until he was his
only target.

“Easy,” Justice ordered. “You were drugged but we got to you
fast enough to counteract it. You’ve been down for about fifteen minutes.”

“Jeanie!” He twisted his head, saw the room full of Species,
but she wasn’t there.

Justice released his fist and gripped his shoulder. “We’re
searching. They took her this time but they can’t go far. We’re in lockdown. I
heard you about the same time that Darkness got your text and sent out a
general alarm. Nothing is getting in or out of Homeland. We have everyone awake
and hunting for them. There’s nowhere they can hide for long.”

Grief tormented True with the intensity of pure agony. He
tore out of Justice’s hold and tried to get to his feet. Dizziness knocked him
back on his ass as the room and the faces of the Species around him blurred.

“I told you he should be taken to Medical,” Dr. Harris
protested. “We’re not sure what they gave him but it was a lot. He needs to be
monitored for at least twelve hours. He—”

“No,” Justice snarled. “Get out if you’re going to start
with that again, Harris. No disrespect but his mate has been taken. None of our
people would consider it forgivable if we allowed him to stay drugged while she’s
in danger.”

“Yeah, because dying from heart failure is so much better.
There are dozens of you to track her down. Why does he need to be part of it?”

“Because she’s his mate,” Darkness stated in a chilly tone. “He’d
rather die than not do everything to get her back. And he’s the only one who
can be absolutely sure it is her scent beneath all this masking odor they used.”
The male bent, peering at him over Justice’s shoulder. “Are you with us?”

That drew True’s attention. “Yes, I’m okay. What odor?”

“The strong smell of trees.” Darkness sniffed. “Smell it?
But it’s off. Not a natural scent. Human hunters use sprays to mask their
scents when they are in the forest stalking game or hidden in the trees. That’s
what they used here.”

True realized that was what he’d smelled in the living room
and he could pick it up now. He grew angrier as he sniffed the air.

True wanted to nod but feared he’d have another dizzy spell.
He took a deep breath, hoping it would alleviate the dizziness, and tried to
rise to his feet—a little more slowly this time. Justice assisted him as he
straightened and clasped his hands, hauling him up. He was unsteady but the
male still released him after a few seconds, knowing it was a matter of pride.
True locked his legs and took several more deep breaths. It helped.

“I need to find Jeanie,” he rasped.

Darkness held his gaze as he stepped closer. “There’s blood
in the bathroom. You know your mate’s scent better than anyone. Tell us if it’s
hers, if you’re able.”

Rage and fear surged through True at the thought of her dead
or severely injured. He took a step and stumbled. Justice and Darkness were
abruptly there to grip his arms. They leaned in enough to support him and they
helped him walk. It got easier as they made their way down the hallway. More
Species were in the bedroom.

The sight of the destroyed door was devastating to him.

“She tried to lock them out,” Darkness quietly informed him.
“She was smart. She knocked the dresser over and placed a chair between it and
the door. It slowed them getting in and they had to break the chair to gain
entry.”

“Be grateful,” Justice muttered. “My mate would have rushed
out and fought them.”

“I told her to run,” True managed to state.

“She tried.” Darkness kicked some of the broken chair out of
the way. “She is a good mate to listen to you and try to follow your orders.”

“You were next door.” True gave Justice an accusing glare. “What
took you so long to get here?”

He winced. “We woke when we heard you yell something but
didn’t catch what you said. I believed you were sharing sex with your mate. We
listened but it grew silent so I began to kiss Jessie.” He paused. “We didn’t
hear anything else until Jeanie screamed for help and a loud bang sounded. I
leapt from bed but it took me a few seconds to get on my pants and secure
Jessie with a weapon. I rushed over and found you on the floor. She was already
gone when we searched the house.”

True dropped his gaze. “I’m sorry I snapped at you. I knew
you would get here as fast as possible. This is my fault.”

Justice growled, seeming to disagree, but said nothing as
they led him into the bathroom. It was another sight that stunned him. The door
had been kicked in and the floor was littered with the grit and shattered bits
of tempered glass from the broken shower door. Someone had obviously slid
through the goopy substance that covered the floor. The double vanity area had
a big hole where one of the cabinet doors should have been and pieces of it
were shoved inward, as if someone had slammed into it.

“She locked the door and set a trap for them. She’s
resourceful,” Darkness muttered. “When one of them crashed through the door, he
not only hit it but the open shower door. It was enough resistance that it
knocked him off balance and he slid in the stuff she dumped on the floor. Looks
as though a large boot slammed into the cabinet and there’s blood from the one
who collided with it. Not much but a little.”

“That’s not Jeanie’s blood. Her feet are small and she was
barefoot.”

“The window.” Justice steered him toward it. “She got out
here.”