Fury

“I didn’t have time to change,” she explained. “I had four women to settle in and less than twenty minutes to do that before getting here. I wasn’t given any notice they were arriving until they were at the door.”

The tense lines around Director Boris’ mouth eased. “Fine, Ellie. Next time, dress properly. You look as though you just walked out of the gym.”

“Close,” she admitted. “Would you like me to turn the lights up? It’s dim inside here.”

“No.” Director Boris sighed. “Some of the council members prefer it this way.”

Ellie instantly understood. She’d been informed that some of the survivors had spent years locked inside darkened cells, resulting in oversensitivity to bright light. She’d outfitted some of the apartments with those female survivors in mind, had even gone out to buy them sunglasses to put inside their rooms so they could wear them in the common areas of the dorm, and had dimmer switches added to some rooms for adjustable lighting. She spent a lot of time considering New Species feelings and needs to be good at her job, something that had become a near obsession for her.

She recognized a few more faces near her as she glanced around. She smiled at Mike Torres, from the male dorm, when he winked at her. He seemed to be a nice guy in his early thirties who had flirted with her during the first meeting, the day Ellie had arrived. The employee who’d given Ellie the rundown of her duties as dorm mother stood next to him. Dominic Zort nodded curtly. His job, in general, seemed to be keeping the departments cooperating and he did most of the hiring.

Movement from of the corner of her eye caught her attention. She turned. Someone moved in her direction from across the room but being the shortest person surrounded by a group of taller men didn’t help her identify who approached.

“Ellie?” Director Boris drew her focus back to him. “We’ll sit down over there.”

“Sure.” She took a step to follow Director Boris.

“You,” a male voice snarled roughly from behind her.

Ellie attempted to spin around to see who the scary voice belonged to but someone grabbed her. She made a sound, a mixture between a grunt and a gasp, but then her body lifted from the floor. Strong arms twisted her in the air. Pain shot through her back and the air was knocked from her lungs. Her eyes widened as she stared up into the face of one enraged…416.

Chapter Two

416 growled at Ellie, revealing his sharp canine teeth, and she realized her arms hurt where he gripped them above her elbows. He had slammed her flat on her back on top of one of the conference tables. He bent over her, his enraged face inches above hers, and the anger poured from his dark gaze. Pure terror flooded Ellie.

Her mouth opened but nothing came out. She sucked in air. He snarled louder, held her down tighter.

“What the hell? Let her go!” Director Boris gasped.

Ellie saw movement all around her from her side vision but she didn’t dare turn her focus away from the dark, furious glare of 416. He looked as if he was ready to tear her throat out with his sharp teeth, which hovered inches from it. Her heart pounded so hard she wondered if it would explode from her ribs. He’d survived and would kill her just the way he’d promised he would if ever given the chance.

“Let her go,” a male voice demanded firmly in a steely tone.

“What the hell is going on?” That came from another man who sounded shocked and whiny.

“Fury, let her go,” another man ordered in an unusually deep voice.

Fury’s rage-filled glare shifted away from Ellie’s terrified gaze when he jerked his head to the side. He growled at someone behind him.

“No. This is between me and her. Back away.”

Ellie swiped her tongue across her dry lips, relieved she could breathe again. The hands on her arms were bruising and it hurt enough that tears flooded her eyes. Fury glowered at someone behind him who kept his focus off her. Despite being in a room full of men, she knew she’d die in front of them when his attention returned to her.

“Let her go, Fury.” The male voice grew deeper, to a menacing growl. “Please.”

“She’s one of them,” Fury snarled. “She worked as a tech inside the testing facility. Back off now. It’s my right for vengeance.”

A distinctive noise cut through the room and Ellie’s eyes widened. She recognized the sound of a shotgun being pumped. She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat, afraid they might shoot him to save her. Damn it. She wouldn’t allow that to happen. All the terror dissipated at her concern for his life. She’d saved him once and she would do it again.

“It’s okay.” She spoke as loudly as she could. Her voice broke but she got the words out. “Don’t hurt him. Nobody shoot. Please.”

“Ellie?” Director Boris inched closer. “What is he talking about?”

Ellie gasped when her tormentor turned his head to glare down at her again. A chill ran down her spine from his cold, intense gaze and the knowledge that he would definitely carry out his threat. She had no doubt that he’d kill her on top of the table in front of everyone present.

“Fury,” another male voice growled. “Release the woman. We’ll settle this reasonably.”

“Mine,” Fury snarled, obviously so angry he couldn’t talk in a normal tone. His fingers tightened even more.

Tears slid from her eyes to roll down the sides of her face but she didn’t make a sound. She feared it would upset everyone around them, especially whoever had pumped the shotgun she’d heard.

“Ellie?” Dominic Zort sounded close. “You were an informant, weren’t you?”

She swallowed a moan of pain. Fury softly growled and his hands were brutal on her arms.

“Yes,” she gasped. “I know him.”