She needed to remember facts if she was to survive. They’d said they wanted to transport ten more New Species and they’d come from Colorado, where the hidden testing facility had to be. She calmed slightly, forcing her mind to concentrate on that information.

Valiant would try to find her, he wouldn’t give up, and they’d have to figure out that jerk of an attorney had taken her. She hadn’t seen him so maybe he’d try to flee the state. Maybe the police would catch him and make him tell where she’d been taken. She clung to that bit of hope.

“Don’t fall asleep,” Mike ordered her. “We’re almost there.”

She opened her eyes and glared at him. “I hope you roast in hell.”

He sat forward and made a fist. “You want to know what a little hell feels like?”

“Don’t,” Pete ordered from front. “You heard what the doctor told us before he left. We aren’t to hurt or touch her unless we absolutely have to. I bet she’s scared shitless and is baiting you to kill her. Can you blame her?” He laughed. “I’d want someone to kill me.”

Mike dropped his fist and leaned back. “Yeah. I’d want to die before one of them got their hands on me too. Fucking beasts. Want to bet on if he kills her or not? Twenty bucks says she’s toast.”

The driver hesitated. “Sure. I’ll take that bet. The doctor is pretty smart and he’s sure the beast will want to f**k her once he gets a load of how she smells. We’re here.”

“Great.” Mike smirked at Tammy. “We’re under instructions to take you right to 927. The doctor is already here, waiting.”

The van stopped a few minutes later. Pete climbed out and opened the side door. Mike crawled over to a side cabinet and opened it. He pulled out a pair of shackles with a length of chain that was about six feet long. He glared at Tammy as he unlocked the cage and jerked the door open.

“Stick your hands out now.”

“Go to hell.” She hugged her waist, refusing to give him her wrists.

Mike glared at her. “Do it or I swear, you’re going to suffer.”

She hesitated, knew he’d get in trouble if he hit her, but held out her wrists in the end. She could fight but she’d lose. Either way, they were going to take her wherever they wanted so she could go on her own steam or be bleeding when she arrived.

Mike shackled her wrists and tossed the chain toward Pete, who grabbed it and wrapped it around his fist. Mike didn’t touch Tammy, careful not to, as he unlocked the chain securing her collar to the cage.

“Move,” Pete ordered her.

She had to scoot on her butt to the opening of the door. She breathed in fresh air and climbed outside. The collar was heavy around her throat. She glanced around but only saw a white industrial-looking, two-story building. The parking lot was small and overhead lights glared down from above as though it were daylight. All she could spot were trees, assuring her the unfamiliar building was remote.

“Let’s go, you stupid bitch.” Pete pulled on her chain.

The metal double doors were locked with a key pad. Pete punched in five numbers, blocking her view with his body to make certain she couldn’t see. The door beeped and both men led her inside the well-lit, large room that appeared to be an old reception room of some sort.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the building had been abandoned when she spotted broken windows at the back of the room high on the walls or the layers of cobwebs and dust covering a few outdated desks that had been left behind. She tried to spot any clues to tell her what company used to own the place but no logos or names were painted on the walls. They led her down a dark hallway with a lot of pitch-black openings and the smell of mold assaulted her nose. They kept her between them, holding the chains that assured she couldn’t run.

A scary snarl, though faint, came from somewhere ahead. She jerked to a halt and wanted to spin around to flee. The men holding the chains pulled them taut between them, trapping her in place.

Mike laughed. “She’s a little spooked.”

“Who the f**k wouldn’t be if they had a brain? Pull on her and I’ll follow. I’m sure the doctor is tired of waiting.”

Tammy’s gaze adjusted to the bright lights as they entered another large section of the warehouse. Concrete floors and walls with at least a fifty-foot ceiling greeted her. A wall had been constructed at some point to cut the room in half but it didn’t reach the ceiling, which she could view beyond it. Long, fifteen-foot lights had been strung at intervals above her from one side of the room to the other. They’d all been turned on until their bright strength nearly hurt her eyes.

“You’re finally here,” the older man in glasses stated, walking around the wall that divided the room.

It was the man Tammy had seen when she’d been sprung from the trunk. She now had a face with the title. His icy-green eyes swept over Tammy, then back to the two thugs who worked for him.

“It’s about time. He’s awake, has been fed, and I tossed him in an extra five pounds of meat to make certain he wouldn’t be hungry. He didn’t finish it all but I assume he’s full. I’ve made certain he’s got nothing to feel cranky about. Now we’ll get to see if he’ll breed with her.”

“Should we strip her down before throwing her in? It might motivate him to want to f**k her more.”

“No.” The doctor frowned at Mike. “She was living with one of them and I’ll assume her clothes will hold his scent. We need to retain as much of that as possible in hopes he’ll accept her. Just toss her inside the way we discussed. Immediately join me inside the monitoring room. I don’t want him killing her just because he wants the satisfaction of having an audience to perform a grisly task for.”