She glanced at True and some of the fear eased as she stared at his enraged expression. He won’t allow that to happen. What if he can’t stop them? What if they send an entire SWAT team to his apartment to arrest me? He’d fight them. I’ll go with them willingly before I watch him get killed protecting me. She refused to allow that to happen.

The primate male took a step back and nearly tripped on his chair. Jeanie didn’t blame him for being affected by True’s anger. It would frighten her too if he ever looked at her that way or made that sound. The New Species straightened his shoulders, though, and calmly stared back at True after a few long seconds as he seemed to restrain his instinct to flee danger.

“Death,” he confirmed. “Tim believes it was unusually cruel to know Species were being abused but to withhold the information while it continued so the anonymous tipster could send us the evidence we received to gain a higher payment from the NSO.” He jerked his head in Jeanie’s direction. “Tim has ordered all of us to seek more proof that can link her to being that tipster.”

“She is innocent.” Jinx used his hand to indicate the New Species should sit down. “Thank you for the information but we don’t need to hear more. No one is going to kill Shiver and she isn’t serving any time at Fuller.”

“We agree.” True glowered at Jinx. “Stop wasting precious time flirting with my female. We need to track down this Agent Brice and force him to confess that he lied to Jeanie.”

“She’s yours?” Jinx wrinkled his nose, sniffing the air. “She smells of you but she’s not your mate.” He rose and bent forward as his hands fisted. His knuckles flattened on the table as he braced his weight with them, putting his face inches in front of True’s. “Mates are safe. What is wrong with you? Is she good enough to take to your bed but not to your heart?”

Jeanie’s mouth fell open at the blatant verbal attack on True. She expected him to physically retaliate but his response stunned her more than the sudden turn of events. He leaned back in his chair and sighed. “She refused.”

Jinx frowned, shifting his gaze to her as he straightened. “Why?”

Chapter Thirteen

The double doors of the library were thrown open and Jeanie turned, watching as a group of New Species males entered the room. All five of them drew to a halt, standing almost shoulder to shoulder in a line they formed while the one in the center crossed his arms over his chest. She recognized him immediately.

Justice North scowled. “What is going on here?”

Jinx spoke first. “We’re having a reunion with Shiver. What are you doing here?”

He didn’t answer right away, instead his gaze located Jeanie. Being the target of that cool stare wasn’t the most pleasant experience in her life. Justice North was as powerful as they came in the New Species world. He held press conferences on a regular basis, even rubbed shoulders with the President of the United States, and she knew her future ultimately rested in his hands. It was rumored that he pretty much ruled Homeland and Reservation. His word was law.

“You’re the cause of all the disagreements amongst my people.”

She wasn’t sure how to respond and decided to remain silent.

“She doesn’t appear dangerous,” the dark-haired male at his right muttered. “Tim called her a walking time bomb but there’s not enough of her to create much damage if she explodes.”

“Knock it off, Jaded,” Darkness sighed. “This isn’t a time for jokes.”

True left his chair and moved into a position that placed him between Jeanie and the other men but she could still see them. “Why are you here?”

Justice arched a dark eyebrow and the smile he’d cracked disappeared. “Am I not welcome?”

“Of course you are,” Luna quickly stated. “We’re just surprised to see you.”

“Why are you here?” True wasn’t letting it go.

“There’s no need to be rude,” Darkness growled. “We have news and Justice wanted to be the one to share it.”

“Relax, True. Stand down. She’s safe. I came to inform you that her cell phone has been recovered exactly where she said it would be and the data on it processed.” Justice’s arms dropped to his sides and his gaze fixed on her. “The information matches what you’ve told us.”

“I knew it would.” True’s gruff tone softened. “She won’t face Species law.”

“The hell she won’t.” Tim stomped into the room.

Justice turned and sighed. “Why are you here, Tim?”

“You hung up on me.” Tim glanced around the room, his attention lingering on Jeanie. “She could have easily used a second burner phone to pretend to be this so-called Agent Brice. That’s what I was trying to tell you before you so rudely cut me off. I have to play devil’s advocate here.” He advanced on the tall New Species leader but stopped a few feet back. “Those texts don’t prove a damn thing except she’s smart enough to think ahead in case she was ever caught.”

“Were you able to trace the other number?” Justice crossed his arms over his chest again, waiting for an answer.

“It’s a dead end. We called it and got nothing. The carrier company doesn’t keep records and was useless. She either destroyed the second phone or removed the battery.” He jerked a thumb toward Jeanie. “She’s still a suspect.”