“Come out, kitty cat.”
The voice sounded closer. Ellie’s heart raced while she eased into the small space. There wasn’t much room but she managed to wiggle under the counter and get the cupboard door closed. She had her knees pressed to her body and her head bent in a balled position in the darkness. She tried to control her breathing to prevent them from hearing it. Her ears strained for the slightest noise. All she could do at that point was pray they didn’t find her until help arrived.
“I’m not going to kill you. I just want to talk.”
Ellie clenched her teeth. The guy obviously believed her to be a complete moron if he thought she’d believe him for a second. There was no way she’d attempt to talk to those insane jerks without bulletproof glass separating them. To allow them get close to her would be the fastest way to die and she wanted to live.
* * * * *
Justice continued to glance at different screens to watch what took place inside the women’s dorm. He flipped his phone out and hit speed dial. He’d just seen Ellie Brower hide inside a cabinet under the island in the kitchen. His gaze tracked the four intruders who searched the lower section of the house. They’d realized the elevators were out and they were blocked access to the second floor by a large steel door that cut off the stairs. The men split up and moved room to room on the first floor of the dorm, searching for Ellie.
“Our women are secure on the third floor but the human female is hiding inside the kitchen. It’s just a matter of time before they find her. She’s trapped. There are four heavily armed males inside and they gained entry by breaking down the front doors.” He hung up.
Darren Artino spun to frown at Justice. “Who were you talking to?”
“My security team is on their way.”
Darren’s mouth dropped opened and then slammed shut. “Security is my job. Communications are still down. I can’t exactly call my security guards and order them to give anyone permission to enter Homeland. They blocked off the front gates by using employee cars to barricade it to prevent anyone else from coming inside.”
“They are already here,” Justice growled. “They are my men, my people.”
Darren’s face reddened with anger. “My job is to protect New Species, not have them leave the safety of where they are to confront these crazy bastards. We almost have it contained. Call them back and order them to return to safety.”
“‘Almost’ won’t save that female.” Justice jerked his chin toward the screen showing the kitchen. He softly cursed. One of the intruders had just stepped into the kitchen.
Chapter Seven
“Kitty, kitty, kitty,” a male voice called out, as if she were a cat. He started yanking open cupboards on the other side of the kitchen.
Ellie’s entire body trembled and her hand clutched the knife hard enough for the wood handle to dig into her palm. She closed her eyes and listened as he slammed things. Suddenly something hit the counter above her. She bit back a moan of terror.
Her luck ran out as the cabinet door jerked open next to her. He reached inside and grabbed her left arm. A brutal grasp dragged her out of her hiding spot with one hard yank.
“Got you, you little cat bitch.”
“I’m not a cat,” she informed him in a shaky voice. “I’m as human as you are.”
He jerked her painfully to her feet and glared down at her. He appeared to be in his mid twenties, stood about five foot eight, with a stocky build. A tattoo peeked out from his T-shirt collar.
“I don’t care what you are, bitch. Now you’re dead. This is our country and you damn two-legged animals need to die.” He reached behind him to the waist of his jeans to withdraw a handgun.
Ellie saw the weapon and understood he planned to just shoot her. Pure terror flashed through her as she plunged the knife at his chest. She stared into his eyes when the blade struck him, slid through the shirt, into skin, and watched his green gaze widen with shock. He stumbled back, dragged her by the arm, and she tore her hand from the knife handle imbedded deep in his chest. Blood poured down the front of him and onto her. His arm with the gun rose as he tried to make a last-ditch effort to shoot her. Ellie grabbed his wrist with both hands and struggled to keep him from pointing it at her.
His hold on her arm tightened, caused her pain, but then it eased as he weakened. His knees gave out and he collapsed onto them to the tiled kitchen floor. A horrible moan, along with bright red blood, poured from his mouth. Ellie moaned in horrified distress as the man’s gaze locked with hers, his pain, terror and rage clearly displayed there. He lost his hold on her arm. He also released the gun, which crashed to the floor a second before he slumped backward.
Ellie stared down at him mutely. He sprawled on his back with his calves twisted under his thighs in that awkward bent position. His eyes were open wide, blood pooled on the white tile and he took a few more ragged gasps. A slight bubbling noise reached her ears. His hands jerked, twitched, and he blinked before he took his last breath. The knife handle protruded from his chest by his heart where she’d stabbed him. She swallowed the bile that rose up just as glass broke nearby. The sound had come from another room, forcing her attention from the dead guy at her feet.
Instinct took over. She dived for the gun on the floor. She grabbed it with both hands, the weapon cold and heavy, and struggled to her knees behind the island, peering over the counter at the only entries into the kitchen. The open archway to one of the living spaces and the archway to the dining area were her only escape routes. She used the island to shield her body and pointed the gun between those two openings. She planned to shoot anything that moved.
She didn’t have long to wait before someone made a noise from the dining area when they knocked over a chair. She trained the gun in that direction, made sure her body remained behind the island, and used the top of the counter to hold her hands steady in the double grip she had on the weapon. She trembled, scared,
