No one answered. Bobby peered in the window and waved everyone forward as he dropped to his knees. He picked the lock and had it open by the time Flame reached his side. They glanced around the small living room and Bobby turned to Flame.
“Someone is definitely living here.”
Flame walked farther inside the home and inhaled. “It’s a female who lives alone. I only pick up her scent.”
His heart rate increased with excitement that this might be the right place when he spotted a crib in one of the two bedrooms. Everything for the infant smelled new and unused. The second bedroom was the woman’s and he pulled back the covers, leaned in and pressed his nose against the sheets. One good whiff and he knew they’d finally located the right female. He could smell her, the faint scent of pregnancy, and Species.
Flame pulled his cell phone as he turned to face the human team. “This is the right place. She must be coming back soon, her things are here, so implement the plan.”
Bobby grabbed his radio. “Call off the search. We found her. Return to base and stay out of sight.”
Flame dialed Reservation. “We found her but she’s not here. I believe she should come back soon. I scented what we expected to find. I’m going to wait in hiding for her to return. Have the helicopter standing by and fueled. I want it sent the second I have her.”
He hung up and glanced at the men around him. “I can handle her. I think it’s best if I make contact alone. Go ahead and return to base.”
Bobby, the team leader of the task force assigned to Flame, hesitated. “Are you sure? I’ll stay behind as backup.”
“No. This isn’t a dangerous situation. We’re doing a favor for Trisha. Her cousin ran away from an abusive husband and she was worried. She won’t fight or cause harm. I’m just going to give her a message.”
“Oh.” Anger tensed Bobby’s features. “We’ve been busting our asses for that?” He spun, stomping away.
Flame let him go and hated making him angry. He liked the team but they hadn’t shared why they were looking for the female, didn’t want to tell them why she was really so important and didn’t plan to. The less they knew the better but they’d needed them to make contact, knock on doors. Anyone opening a door to a Species would have been alarmed and word might have spread. It wasn’t something they wouldn’t gossip about or worse, call the police over. That meant the reporters would get a whiff of a story. The female might have heard they were in the area and fled.
Flame watched the men leave. The NSO was terrified that if it got out they could have children with humans, it would cause a lot of problems. They trusted the task force but the tabloids offered too much money for some to resist. Keeping that information known to Species and their mates only was essential. Everyone who knew the truth was personally invested to protect that secret. He closed and locked the front door, found a good location to wait and leaned against the interior wall. He had patience.
* * * * *
Becca smiled and rubbed her stomach as the baby kicked softly. She was sure that was the fluttering feeling she kept getting. It made her happy every time, assuring her all was well inside her belly.
“I know.” She lifted her hand to grip the wheel with both of them. “This dirt road is kind of rough and sucks. You feel that, don’t you?” She slowed the car a little on her way to the cabin. Talking to the baby had become a favorite pastime. “We’re almost home.”
She parked in front by the door, shut off the engine and released her seatbelt. She stood, stretched a little and wiggled her butt. The bumping around on unpaved road always made her rump feel a little numb. She shoved the door shut, opened the back passenger one and leaned in to grab the two grocery bags.
“Hungry? I am starving! We missed breakfast when we ran out of milk and it took longer to get to town than normal thanks to that logging truck hogging the road. I wasn’t about to try to pass him.”
She hefted the bags, used her hip to close the door and climbed the porch steps, careful not to trip. The chair next to the door took one bag as she used her keys to get inside, turned and grabbed the bag again. Her foot shoved the door closed behind her.
“I want a big ole steak. Doesn’t that sound good? And milk.” She walked into the kitchen, dumped the bags on the counter and reached in for one of the meat packages. “Sorry for the tummy rumbling you’re hearing.” She chuckled. “I bet it’s pretty loud in there where you are since I can hear it out here.”
She grabbed a pan she’d left on the stove, pulled it to the front burner and tore open the plastic. Starved was an understatement. Hunger seemed to plague her constantly. She dumped the steak into the pan and tossed the packaging in the trash next to the stove.
“Five minutes, kiddo. We’ll be slurping milk and chowing down on a T-bone.”
She turned to put away the rest of the groceries and movement caused her to gasp. A tall man dressed in jeans and a black T-shirt stepped into her kitchen from the dining room. Terror gripped her instantly. She hadn’t locked the door when she’d entered the house and her frightened gaze jerked up to his face.
“Oh shit,” she muttered. It wasn’t just some random stranger bent on robbing or killing her. He was a New Species. His light-red hair was windblown and his catlike eyes blinked at her. His hands slowly rose, palms out at his side.
“Easy, female. I am not here to harm you. I came to talk. Doctor Trisha sent me. I’m Flame. Don’t be alarmed.”
Becca backed up. Alarmed? A New Species was inside her cabin. Her hands darted protectively over her stomach and his gaze lowered, noticing her reaction. He looked at her, held her gaze and remained where he stood. She backed up more.
“Careful. There’s a hot pan behind you.” He tensed. “Don’t get burned.”
“Get out,” she whispered, heart pounding.
She stopped moving but panicked inside. She’d made a huge mistake trusting that doctor and they’d obviously traced her call. They would have had to do that to find her. The proof stood in her kitchen, watching her.
“Doctor Trisha is worried. You’re safe and no one will harm you. She just wants to make sure you and the baby are fine. She flew to Reservation two days ago when she talked to you last. She didn’t trace your call. We did, to the local cell tower that relayed your call. Do not be angry with her. She didn’t break her promise but had no control over what we did.” His gaze lowered to her stomach again and he sniffed. “Your baby is New Species and you need special care during your pregnancy.”
“Just forget you found me and go away,” Becca pleaded as she blinked back tears. “Just leave me alone.”
He met her gaze again and sorrow filled his exotic eyes. “I can’t do that. You and your baby need to see a doctor. You are about halfway through your pregnancy. If we left you alone you would be in for a shock when you hit your fifth month. That’s when your baby will come full term.”
Becca’s mouth fell open. It took her a second to recover. She’d guessed the baby might develop faster but nothing had prepared her for that. ”What?”
“It’s a Species baby. It will be male, it will look Species and it will be born at around five months, full term. We develop faster. You told the doctor enough for her to know the father of the baby is like me. I’m feline. The baby will have features like the father. You won’t be able to pass your child off without anyone taking one look and knowing what he is. Hate groups will come after you and your child. They will try to kill you both. Mercile Industries might come after you and your child as well.” He paused. “Some of the employees are still out there avoiding capture, being hunted, and they might try to use you both as leverage against us or worse. You are putting yourself and your baby in severe danger by not coming to us. We would never hurt you or your child. We’d never take him away from you. Your pan is burning. May I turn off the fire under it?”