She and Breeze returned to the dorm. Depression coursed through Ellie. Every time she thought she had a handle on the kind of horrors the New Species had suffered, a new one was exposed.

* * * * *

Ellie smiled at Fury. He hadn’t wanted her go to work but she’d argued with him that morning. Now he was going out of his way to make it up to her. Makeup sex couldn’t happen since Fury feared he’d hurt her somehow. Ellie’s smile died. She wished he’d realize she wasn’t as fragile as he believed her to be.

“I feel so bad for them,” she admitted.

“You’re softhearted.” Fury rubbed her cheek with his thumb. “They are free now. We’ll find more of them soon.”

“I wish I could do something nice for them.”

“What do you have in mind?” Fury pulled Ellie down on the couch to sit next to him.

Ellie curled against his side, loving to cuddle with him. “I don’t know. Breeze mentioned they were kept away from anyone except their abusers.”

“Yes. They call us animals but those men were truly the beasts. Some of those women were found locked inside basements. They were kept far from any other person to avoid their presence being discovered. They were never taken anywhere and never even owned clothing in some cases.”

Ellie shivered from the horrible images that tidbit created inside her mind. “They thought I’d tried to teach them how to use the kitchen so they’d have a new skills to take back with them to their former owners.”

Fury flinched. “I heard it was bad. Justice keeps them far away from all the men. He wants them to grow stronger emotionally before they are introduced to us.”

“But you protect your women. I’ve seen it.”

“We do but they’ve never had that, Ellie. They’ve been hurt and abused by men. It’s all they know.”

“Where have they been kept after they were rescued if they haven’t been around men? Were all of them discovered at once and brought directly here?”

“No. Justice contacted a church. They have a few secluded retreats without any males. They accepted the women with open arms to give them some time and peace to recover from what they have been through. They are to be sent here when the therapists believe they are strong enough. The first batch is a test to see how they do. Hopefully they are able to overcome their pasts and find a future.”

“And if they aren’t?”

“Justice has thought about making our own female-only community to protect them.”

“Those poor women.” Ellie snuggled tighter against Fury’s side and glanced at the television. Fury enjoyed watching baseball and a game would be on soon. “I wish I could think of something to do to help them.”

“You’ll come up with something.”

“Yeah. I hope so.”

The news came on before the game. Ellie sat up straight and stared in shock at the reporter who opened with the evening’s top story about the New Species. They flashed an image of Fury carrying Ellie to a car. He appeared furious in the photo and Ellie looked to be in pain.

“Son of a bitch,” Fury growled. He moved, stretching for the phone.

“Shush,” Ellie ordered him. “I want to hear this.”

“How the hell did they get a picture of that?”

“I don’t know.”

They both listened to the story. Fury finally clicked off the television and lunged to his feet. He dialed the phone as he stormed toward the kitchen. Ellie heard his furious undertones from the other room. She sat there, trembling.

The public now knew about her and Fury. The reporter stated she and Fury were the first New Species and human couple. They’d hinted that Ellie—they’d mentioned both of their names—had somehow been injured. The reporter claimed it may have been Fury who’d harmed her.

She closed her eyes and fought angry tears. Worse, she hurt for Fury. Why did people think he would hurt her automatically just because he happened to be a New Species? They even knew he’d been mixed with canine DNA, had mentioned that during the report. It obvious that someone inside Homeland had leaked that information to the press.

Ellie still trembled when she rose to her feet. She found Fury pacing inside the kitchen, talking on phone. Their gazes met. Fury paused, looking furious and pale. Ellie walked directly into him. One of his arms circled her waist and he rested his chin on the top of her head.

Ellie just held Fury until he ended his call. He hung up the phone and slammed it down on the counter. His other arm wrapped around her waist, holding her, while he rubbed her back.

“Justice is on it. He has to call a news conference, Ellie. He has no choice. They were hinting that you’re being hurt. We need the support of the public.”

She nodded against his chest. “I know.”

“There has to be a leak somewhere. They knew I’m canine. That’s not publically known. They cited our first names.”

Ellie winced. “Do you think it was Doctor Norbit? I’d hate to think she did this.”

“I don’t know but we will find out. I hate to say it but I’m betting it was her or someone inside the human security force. They have access to our files too. Someone informed me that Tom showed up at the doc’s house. Human security alerted him and that means they knew something had happened.”

Ellie pulled back from him far enough to peer up at his face. “I’m sorry they implied you hurt me. They are idiots.”