Justice

Chapter Twenty

Justice awoke to a strange, faint noise, something unfamiliar, and opened his eyes.

Jessie remained tucked securely in front of him, their bodies still pressed tightly together and she breathed slowly and steadily, sleeping. Whatever had disturbed his sleep hadn’t been her. He listened, putting his senses on alert and picked up the sound of a vehicle approaching.

He turned his head, glanced at the clock and realized there were a few hours before the sun rose. No one should be driving near his home at that time. Security patrolled the grounds but stayed far from his house the way he’d ordered them to do after he’d chewed them out for invading his privacy every time he roared. He carefully eased his hold on his mate and slid from the bed without waking her.

He rushed out of his room, down the hallway and into the living room. The lights were still on from when he’d brought Jessie home so he dashed into his dark office, moved to the front window and shifted the curtain slightly to peer outside. An SUV pulled over and parked down the hill a little, past Tiger’s home, in the empty lot next to Jessie’s old home, and the engine died.

His heart raced. Something was wrong. They hadn’t had the headlights on before they parked and no interior lights came on when the four doors opened. All the NSO vehicles had fully working equipment and that included lights. Someone had removed them to make sure they failed. The five dark figures emerged and left the doors wide open. The only reason to do that was to avoid noise.

His gaze narrowed, fixed on the five. He realized they wore all black from head to foot. Their faces were either covered with dark masks or had been painted to disguise their features. They approached the house next door where Jessie had lived. He studied them long enough to notice the way they moved and used too-familiar hand signals to communicate. They were going to divide up and surround something or someone.

Justice fled the office to rush down the hallway to one of the spare bedrooms where he had a better view after they moved out of sight. He saw one dark figure leap over the gate that led from the front to the backyard of the cottage next door. It was clear their target had to be Jessie.

Rage flashed through every fiber of his body. He dropped the curtain, backed away and yanked up the phone on the nightstand. He punched in Tiger’s home number, his mind plotting what to do. It rang until the machine picked it up. He hung up and dialed his cell phone. It rang three times.

“It’s four-thirty in the morning,” Tiger growled, a little out of breath. “This better be really good to disturb me when I’m busy.”

“Five of our males surrounded Jessie’s cottage. They came in stealthily, dressed to hide their presence, which means they plan to attack,” Justice growled. “Call males you trust and get to my house. Move. They obviously don’t approve of my choice in mates.”

“Son of a bitch,” Tiger snarled. “I’m not at home. I’m at the women’s dorm. I’ll grab some of the males still here and we’re coming. Don’t engage them until we arrive.

You’re outnumbered.”

Justice hung up and dialed the gate shack next. It rang six times, no one answered and he clenched his teeth. Either the officer on duty was in on it or the five males next door had done something to him. He had no immediate backup. Justice ran back toward his bedroom.

He reached the bed and lunged for Jessie. One of his hands clamped over her mouth while his other one gripped her hip. He dragged her body from the center of the bed to the side of it, lifted her off the mattress completely and Jessie gasped against his palm. He leaned down to hiss in her ear before she had time to struggle, “Five Species are at your house. Be quiet, get dressed and stay at my side. I can see in the dark well enough to lead you.”

Jessie nodded in understanding. He eased his hand from her mouth, lowered her until her feet took her weight and snagged her arm. The closet was close. He opened the door and pulled her inside. The door closed and he flipped on the inner light, momentarily blinding them both.

Jessie grimly studied him with her beautiful blue eyes and pride surfaced that his mate seemed so calm. She wasn’t wasting time battering him with questions or reacting with hysterics to what he’d said. He released her, grabbed a shirt and thrust it at her. He tore open a drawer, got them both boxers and dressed next to her in the tight space.

“You said five?” she whispered as she rolled the waist of her borrowed boxers.

“Yes. Species, and I assume they are male.”

“Shit.”

He couldn’t agree more. He allowed his anger to take control and he knew blood would be spilled if the males realized she wasn’t home and dared come to his house to search for her. It would be death for them without question. He’d kill or die to protect his mate.

He wanted to flee with her but there could be more of them out there waiting, coming on foot. Inside the house he at least could hold ground until Tiger arrived with reinforcements. He pushed back shock that his own people had come after his mate. It was horrifying and something he’d never considered.

Jessie tried to hide her terror as she yanked on the shirt Justice had given her. She didn’t care if was inside out or on backward. The information he’d shared barely registered in her sleep-fogged brain but they were in deep shit, he’d said they were Species and that had to be pretty bad. They wanted her.

She watched Justice face the back of his closet, grab the hanger bar filled with his suits and yank the entire thing out. He released it, everything hit the floor and he pushed on the wall near the top, his fingertips searching for something. There was a click and it sprang open on one side. He grabbed it and the hidden cabinet door opened.

Her lips parted but she pressed them together, not saying a word about the two handguns mounted to the wall and the bags of spare clips next to them. She just watched as he grabbed a bulletproof vest. He spun, shoving it at her.

“Put it on.”

“You.”

His eyes narrowed. “Do it. We don’t have time to hold a debate, Jessie. I heal and move faster than you do. My kind will fight another Species hand to hand but you are human and I’m not sure they’ll give you that respect. They might have guns and shoot you. Wear the vest.”

He had that determined look that clued her in that arguing with him would be a waste of time. She accepted the heavy vest, put it on and tried to make the too-large garment fit. Justice wasn’t strapping on weapons but instead turned, thrusting them at her. His weapons stash was impressive as she glanced at them.

“Nice. I take it you’re keeping the shotgun?”

He shook his head. “We don’t use weapons on each other, Jessie. We fight with our bodies. You on the other hand are not Species. You would lose to one of our men if it came to that. I won’t lose you. You need help surviving if it comes down to it.”

“Do you think they’ll come here?”

“They will figure out where you must be since you are not next door. They must want you badly to risk so much and I’ll assume they’ll come here next.”

“Shit.” Jessie checked the safeties on the guns, made sure they were off and popped the clips, seeing they were fully loaded. “I’m so sorry. This is because of me.”

Justice moved lightning fast to grab her chin, forced her head up to meet his gaze, and softly growled in anger. “You didn’t do this. Mates are precious, to be protected at all costs and considered Species. Those males are to blame for betraying us.” His hand dropped away. “I want you to go sit in the tub in the bathroom. There are only two entries there. Kill anyone who gets past me. It means I’m dead.”

Her mouth dropped open. “They wouldn’t dare hurt you. You’re their leader.”

He grabbed four clips for the handguns and shoved them down the front of her vest. “I guess they want to fire me. Move, Jessie.” His gaze softened. “Tiger and some men are on the way. Trust him. He’ll get you to safety and back to your father if something happens to me.”

“You gave me both guns.” She offered him one, butt first. “Please take one.”

“Species don’t use guns to fight each other but you need them. Don’t fight them hand to hand. Just pull the trigger before they can attack.”

Jessie stared into Justice’s dark eyes. “I’m not hiding inside the bathroom while you’re facing five of them by yourself. I can shoot and I’m staying by your side. These guns and I can even out the numbers pretty quick.”

He suddenly leaned forward to kiss her lips. “I love you.” His smile died and his eyes narrowed. “We don’t have time to vote on my plan.”

An alarm screamed throughout the house and Justice cursed. “They have breached our home. Get inside the bathroom. I can’t concentrate if I don’t know where you are.

Do it or you’ll get us both killed.”

He flipped off the light, grabbed her arm and shoved open the closet door. She was propelled forward by his strong hold, led into the bedroom where he quickly checked before he left her there.

Son of a bitch. He was going to face off against five Species males alone because she had breasts…or it might be because she was human. She couldn’t see him telling any of the muscular Species females to hide in the bathroom while he fought. They were kickass and he’d have kept a Species female at his side to help even out the odds.

Jessie resisted the urge to follow him, knew it would distract him since he seemed certain she needed his protection and hoped that no one would really dare attack Justice. Species adored him and appreciated all the sacrifices he made. It was inconceivable that any of them would wish him harm.

She could barely make out the dim interior of the room, seeing more shadows than anything. Her gaze drifted to the best location to set up an offense—that being the far corner away from the one window and the open door to the bedroom.

The tub was the exact size and model of the one inside her old home. It was perfect, would provide cover and she climbed into the big thing, crouching down to make a smaller target. She shifted the clips inside the large vest so they weren’t digging into her breasts and gripped the guns in both hands. Her gaze darted back and forth from the window to the door.

The window was big enough for a person to come through and the open doorway to the bedroom would allow her to keep track of what was going on in the rest of the house. Of course the screaming alarm grated on her nerves. It was muted somewhat in the back of the house but she wished for a com link to Justice. It was a mental “to buy in the future” on her list of things to do.

The alarm cut off and only eerie silence remained. She hoped that was a good thing.

Maybe the males had fled when they realized security would hear it and come rushing to Justice’s aid. They sure came when he roared so sirens would definitely bring them running.

Time ticked by and not knowing drove her a little insane. She bit her lip, stood and stepped over the edge of tub. She wanted a view outside, a chance to see if anything was going on and hesitantly approached the window. She shoved one gun between her thighs, listened to make sure nothing moved on the other side and felt for the lock. She pushed it down and slid the glass open along the track, breathing in fresh air. Her hand gripped the second gun again, lifted it and felt safe with the weight of both resting against her palms.

Nothing moved in the dark backyard or near the outline of the pool, where the dim glow of lights at the bottom of it provided some sight. She backed away. Her gaze turned to the doorway to make sure nothing crept up on her. She heard a soft thump and her focus jerked back to the open window in time to spot a large figure rush from one side of the yard toward her.

Maybe it’s security but what if it’s not? Fear had her backing away from the window and hurrying back to the tub where she stepped in and crouched. She aimed the guns at the backyard, held her breath and her heart raced.

A shadow darkened a corner of the window. They sniffed loudly and growled. It was a soft, vicious noise and assured her it wasn’t anyone happy to catch her scent. A Species male would smell her since she’d stood there. Her fingers tightened on the triggers while she waited for him to make a move.

Justice heard the faint sound of a footstep on tile and it gave away the location of one male. He was near the end of the hallway that led to the bedrooms. The approaching intruder wore shoes that squeaked, new ones did that sometimes when the soles weren’t broken in and it clued him to the fact that these males weren’t well trained. None of his officers would make that mistake. They were too skilled in stealth to make noise.

He wondered if he’d made a mistake, judging them to be Species, but no humans could move the way he’d seen the males outside walking. Their grace and fluidness was too animalistic, whereas human men were stiffer and stepped heavier. It confused him since all his males had to undergo training yet these weren’t skilled. He leaned against the bedroom wall next to the open door to the hallway. He didn’t want to go far from Jessie. The position allowed him to protect the bedroom windows and the entrance from the hall. He glanced at the bathroom door to be assured she was safe so far.

Another sound caught his ear, one he identified as a window sliding open. He gritted his teeth after determining it had come from the bathroom where Jessie hid but gunfire didn’t pierce the quiet house. Jessie would have shot anyone trying to breach the house through the smaller room. It must have been another window and he’d misjudged the direction.

He heard another slight sound, wood scraped plaster, and he realized the intruder moved down the hallway closer to the bedroom. A table sat eight feet from his bedroom. He’d obviously bumped into it, once again betraying his lack of training.

Rage gripped him as he inhaled, picking up the distinctive Species scent. They were his males coming after his mate. The five males were obviously willing to kill him to get to Jessie. They had to know he would die to protect her from harm.

He picked up the stench of sweat, grease and something metallic. His fingers arced into claws. The Species male had brought a gun or knife to the fight, weapons to be used against Jessie. He sprang from his hiding spot into the hallway. A roar tore from his throat as he grabbed the male, lifted him and slammed the heavy body into the wall.

Plaster gave way from the force, the male hissed in surprise and pain and the fight was on.

A punch caught Justice in the jaw, the force enough to make him stagger back and he lost his hold. His opponent hit the floor in a crouch and pounced, slamming into his chest. Justice used his teeth to rip into skin. The male tried to crush his ribs in a bear hold.

The male cried out and Justice grabbed the man’s chest, dug in and broke bones.

The body was dead under him when they crashed to the floor. Justice pushed up off the body and spit out blood. He tensed, seeing movement at the end of the hall. He roared again and rushed after the retreating shadow.

Jessie heard Justice roar, then a loud hissing noise and a big boom. There was no mistaking the vicious sounds of a fight and she wanted to rush out of the bathroom to jump right into it. She held still though since the dark shape remained at the window.

The person still waited to attack and she kept her attention on him. She knew Justice was still alive when he roared out again. The fight seemed over and she could only pray he’d won.

There was movement at the edge of the window. A hand gripped the frame and a large shape filled the space in the blink of an eye. It crouched on the windowsill. The male sniffed and his head seemed to turn to stare directly at her. The menacing shadowy shape didn’t appear human or Species. It looked scary as hell and large. Jessie squeezed the trigger on both guns, fired repeatedly and the shadow fell backward after she nailed it with four bullets.

She held her ground, waited to make sure he didn’t rise up to attack again but he didn’t. Seconds ticked by and the sound of another fight filled her ears. Furniture crashed at the front of the house, animalistic snarls and fists hitting flesh tormented her.

She lifted up, stepped over the tub and risked rushing to the window to make sure she’d taken out the threat who’d come after her.

She peered outside, made out the shape of a male and he wasn’t moving. She pushed the window closed, locked it with her thumb and ran toward the bedroom.

Anyone trying to come through the bathroom window would have to break it to get inside and it would warn her. The need to find and help Justice drove her fear back and made her reckless as she flipped on lights, more worried about being blind in the dark than giving away her location.

Glass broke down the hall as she lunged in that direction, only pausing to flip on a switch to light her way to the living room. The sight that greeted her was shocking and horrifying. A big male lay sprawled on his back, his shirt torn away over his ribs and his skin was torn open. She fought the urge to be sick as she visually examined the dead body. Blood was all over the place—sprayed on the walls and pooled in the carpet. The man on the floor wore black, his face was smeared with black face paint and he had a black cap on his head to hide his hair.

It wasn’t Justice so she moved forward. She had to step over the body, her bare foot sank into warm wetness and she knew it was blood. She kept going though. The sound of the fight still raged nearby. She kept her guns trained and ready to fire at anyone who came at her until she reached the large, open, dark area of the living room.

She hit the light switch with her elbow to turn on the lights and gaped at the destroyed room. The couch was knocked over, the glass coffee table shattered, a bookshelf was sprawled facedown to spread a mess of books five feet to her left but what held her attention was the two fighting males who sprang apart in the center of it.

Justice wore boxers, blood smeared over his body and he looked fierce as he snarled at the black-clad male. He didn’t spare her a glance as he circled his opponent but she couldn’t stop staring at the deep scratches on his back, arms and the damage to one cheek where he’d been struck hard enough to show the forming bruise.

The other man bled heavily from his face—his nose broken, his lip split and one cheekbone damaged. His black outfit hid any other injuries but one arm appeared wet, probably blood, and some skin near his side showed where the material had torn.

“Get back, Jessie,” Justice gruffly ordered. “I heard gunshots. Are you harmed?”

Jessie caught movement from the corner of her eye and twisted her head in time to see another attacker rush from the kitchen. She didn’t think, just saw the black clothing, the black, paint-smeared face and aimed the guns. He moved faster than a human but her bullets didn’t miss. He shrieked loudly, a high-pitched wail of pain and dropped to the floor to land on what used to be the coffee table. He didn’t move.

“I’m fine. I’ve got your back, honey. Do you want me to shoot the bastard near you?” Jessie’s voice shook but her hands didn’t.

“Stay out of this and there’s two more.”

“There’s only one besides that asshole you’re fighting. I killed someone who tried to come in through the bathroom. That’s who you heard me shooting at. I don’t miss.”

Justice growled and Jessie knew he was pissed but she’d deal with his anger later.

She shoved the gun in her left hand between her thighs, using the wall to keep her balance and dropped the clip out of the gun in her right hand. She dug out a fresh clip from her vest and popped it in. She grabbed the gun from between her thighs.

“You have your human fight for you?” the man who’d attacked Justice spat. “You are too weak to lead us.”

“Who are you?” Justice snarled. “I don’t even know you and you dare come after my mate?”

Justice tensed and a roar tore from his throat as he sprang for the other male. He pushed up from a quick crouch and sailed into the air. He had to have strong legs to do that. Seeing it stunned Jessie but she had to admire the beauty of the move. He flew about five feet until his body slammed into the other man.

They went down together in a roll and growls tore from their throats. They fought like animals, slashed with their clawed fingers and bit. Justice used his legs too. He managed to wrap one of them around the other male’s thigh and jerked hard. The guy under Justice howled in agony, having his leg bent at the awkward position.

They rolled again until Justice ended up under the male but he pushed hard enough to throw his attacker into a wall. The black-clad figure hit it hard enough to damage plaster. Justice jackknifed his body and ended up in a crouch. He threw his body at the man who was trying to separate himself from the drywall.

They went through the wall and Jessie gaped at the big hole they’d created. She hated to leave the safety of the hallway but she couldn’t see Justice anymore. There was an archway to the other room she had never been in. Her house didn’t have the same floor plan. She ran for the archway.

It was a home office almost as large as the living room. Justice and the Species were separated, on their feet circling each other, each searching for a weakness. Jessie inched into the room and put her back to the wall. She didn’t want someone to creep up behind her but she couldn’t go farther into the room. A huge glass slider revealed darkness outside. Someone could come at her that way and it was too risky to get too close.

“We will never be led by a lover of humans,” the other man barked. “You shame us.”

Justice snarled. “You’re from testing facility five, aren’t you? You stupid bastard.

We built everything when we were freed so we could rescue you. You betray your own kind because of your hatred for humans? Did you not hear what I said to you? Did you not understand what our people have accomplished? We have found peace here.”

Testing facility five? Jessie’s mouth fell open. That was the one in Colorado she’d helped raid. She stared at the man still circling with Justice and knew his guess had to be correct. The intruder was one of the males she’d help free.

“I am the best and I will win,” the man growled. “I will lead our people when your body is cold and I will snap the neck of your human female. I will show our people that is how to deal with humans. Death to them all for they have done.”

Justice roared and attacked. He didn’t seem to notice when the male grabbed for something behind his back but Jessie did. As Justice reached him, a knife flashed. She tried to yell out a warning but it was too late. Jessie screamed as the male threw Justice away from him. The man she loved hit the floor on his back, groaning and grabbed for his bleeding body.

“Hey!” Jessie yelled, pure rage flowing through her.

The man turned and growled.

“Lead this, fuckhead.” She shot him in the face and emptied the clip into his body after he hit the carpet.

Jessie dropped the empty clip from the gun and ran to Justice. He clutched one hand over his hip but blood still soaked his boxers. His gaze locked with hers and she couldn’t miss the astonishment on his handsome features.

“He used a knife.”

Jessie jerked her head around, expecting the fifth male to attack. Justice bled badly and tears filled her eyes. She pushed his hand away and saw the ragged tear in his boxers. She dropped the guns on her lap, crouched on her knees next to him and tore the material wider apart. There was a jagged wound next to his hipbone that drew a sound of anguish from her. It looked bad.

A loud noise boomed and wood split in the living room. It sounded as if someone had kicked down the front door. She grabbed Justice’s hand to shove over his injury.

“Press here, hold it tight and don’t move. I love you.”

She grabbed the empty gun and reached into her shirt. Her hand smeared Justice’s blood all over her vest, shirt and breasts as she yanked out the clip. She slammed it into the empty chamber as she rose to her feet. She gripped both guns in her fists and spread her feet apart to plant them on both sides of Justice’s hips.

It was a bad place to be as far as tactical advantages went. Windows were all around them—a huge glass slider and the open archway that led to the living room.

There was no cover. Justice was too heavy and too hurt to move. The fifth male would strike and she hoped he’d come from the archway since that’s where she’d heard the house breached.

Her eyes scanned the room frantically. The second she saw movement she planned to kill the son of a bitch. He wasn’t going to get to Justice.

“Jessie, get out of here and find somewhere safe that you can see him coming.”

“Shut up. I’m not leaving you.”

“Please, Jessie.” His hand rubbed her ankle. “Save yourself. I’m fighting to stay here.”

Jessie glanced down at her mate’s pale face. His naturally tan skin was whiter than she’d ever seen it. Blood spread on the carpet near his hip and his boxers were soaked.

He smiled when their gazes met.

“You are so beautiful when you are on top of me.” His eyes closed and his smile faded as his head slumped to the side.

“JUSTICE!” Grief made her scream his name.

His chest rose and fell, assuring her he hadn’t died but she knew he would soon.

Jessie needed to apply pressure to his wound but she’d have to put down the guns to do it, something that would assure both their deaths. She put her bare foot on Justice’s bleeding hip and pressed down with as much weight as she thought would help but wouldn’t worsen the damage.

“Justice!” A male roared from the living room.

Jessie trained one of the guns at the archway when she saw movement. A familiar face suddenly entered the room and Jessie barely stopped her finger from pulling the trigger. Tiger stared at her while more males filled the space behind him, nine in all.

Reinforcements had arrived.

“He’s been stabbed.” Jessie’s voice broke. “Four of those assholes are dead but one is missing. Call an ambulance.”

Tiger’s stunned gaze dropped to Justice on the floor. Glass suddenly exploded from the right and Jessie jerked in that direction. Something large with a black face came crashing through the slider right at her and Justice. Instinct saved her life. She shot with both guns. A heavy body slammed into hers and threw her onto her back, away from Justice.

Jessie lay there hurting under at least two-hundred-fifty pounds of limp and lifeless Species male. She couldn’t breathe—the air had been knocked from her lungs. Forever seemed to pass but it was really only seconds. Suddenly the body was thrown off her and she gasp in air as her gaze locked with Tiger’s. He bent and offered her a hand.

“The medics are with me and they’ll do everything to save Justice,” he promised.

“Let me help you up.”