“Shiver,” he said a little louder, “stay with me.”

Blackness claimed her.

Chapter Two

Tim Oberto shot his team an infuriated look. “You damn near allowed her to die.”

Trey Roberts, his second-in-command, cleared his throat. “Sir, how was the team supposed to know it would upset a rescued female that much? The woman in question was an employee. How many New Species have been murdered at their hands? I’m sorry the New Species female was that distressed but employees of those hellholes aren’t our priority. We immediately got that woman medical help once the situation exploded. She’s going to make it.”

“She almost didn’t!” Tim yelled. “I know it’s your job to stand up for the teams but we both know they f**ked up. Justice is going to be up my ass because we upset one of their females. She attacked one of our men, trying to defend that employee. Did she ask for help for the injured woman, or not, before she threw him into a wall to get his boot off the employee’s ass?”

“She did,” a team member admitted. “But hell, the bitch had a gun when we reached that floor. She sat there facing us with a weapon and it’s lucky we didn’t just open fire and blow her head off. I would have taken the shot if she’d been a man.”

The doors opened and Tim flinched as Justice North and a dozen large New Species males stomped into the room. Tim recognized how angry Justice was by the narrowing of his catlike eyes and the fact that his lips were parted enough to reveal his sharp canines. Tim waited as Justice stalked closer.

“What is your directive?” Justice snarled.

Tim straightened his shoulders and met Justice North’s heated stare. “To assist in the rescue of all New Species.”

Justice nodded. “You’re our team. The government assigned you to assist us but you answer to the NSO first and foremost, Tim,” Justice growled. “That means all New Species. When a female Species demanded medical attention for a human, she should have been given what she wanted. First contact is very important. She thinks your team is just as bad as the humans who kept her captive. Is it true the human had already been shot when your men roughed her up and handcuffed her, almost allowing her to bleed out on the floor?”

Tim flinched as his gaze shifted to Trey. “Is it?”

Trey sighed, addressing Justice. “I was a floor above them but I have spoken to that team leader. It appears so, sir. She was suffering from a gunshot wound and holding a weapon in her lap. Two security guards were dead on the floor next to her. The team assumed they’d turned on each other to prevent us from gaining any information if they were arrested.”

“The Species female,” Justice snarled, “said the human was beaten by the team. She swears the human’s face was bleeding and bruised only after they arrived. Is that true? Did someone hit the human?”

Trey cleared his throat. “I questioned them about everything that happened. One of the men smacked her with the butt of his assault rifle to knock her down. Her face got bruised then or from when they secured her on the floor.”

Another growl sounded and one of the New Species males stepped forward. True was a big son of a bitch—six foot six, wide shouldered and broad chested. His dense biceps stretched the black shirt sleeves to their limit. Shiny blond hair fell to his shoulders and his dark-brown eyes narrowed with anger as they fixed on Trey. Tim tensed, hoping a fight wouldn’t break out since he was aware that particular New Species, whom they’d rescued on a previous mission, was still learning to control his temper. The day had already been a total clusterfuck and he didn’t want it to worsen.

“She’s a small human who was already bleeding. There was no cause for your team to rough her up or use handcuffs. A small child could have dealt with her in that condition. She was helpless.”

“I wouldn’t have done it but I wasn’t there to control the situation,” Trey muttered. “I did bust their asses.”

Tim inched closer to get between them. Those were his teams so it was his mess. “I understand you’re upset, True.”

“Upset?” True snarled. “No one should abuse a female—human or Species. This is why I protest being forced to stay in the rear when the team enters a situation. I wouldn’t have allowed that to happen but she was already down when the team allowed me out of the elevator. I didn’t realize she was injured. The stench from the blood of the dead guards and the explosives used to open the doors masked her scent.”

One of Tim’s men snorted. “She works for Mercile or whatever company name they are using now. Who cares? How many of your kind has she helped kill? No disrespect, sir.”

True snapped his head in the direction of Chris, the team member who’d spoken. “We don’t abuse females. I don’t care if they work for our enemy. She’s a helpless creature.”

“She works for a company that is an offshoot from Mercile,” Tim reminded everyone, sending Chris a dirty look to silence the idiot. The guy was new, had a bad attitude, but he’d deal with him later. He focused on the New Species again. “Her welfare wasn’t our priority. That would be saving New Species. I’m sorry your female got upset, Justice. The truth remains the same, though. The woman your female was upset about wasn’t some innocent victim we attacked. She worked for Cornas, which we all know is Mercile with a new name, and she’s as guilty as hell under New Species law. The badge clipped to her coat had her name and picture on it. Not to mention, she was found only feet from the doors where your people were caged, on the same floor where over a dozen of your kind were being held. That woman is either going to spend the rest of her life in prison or she’s going to get the death penalty. They will decide her fate at Fuller, once she’s transferred there.”