She just blinked. “I’m glad?”
He insisted upon carrying her since she didn’t have shoes and Brass followed them to a waiting SUV parked outside. Brass opened the back door for Slade to deposit Trisha on the back seat. Both men climbed into the front.
“You need to crouch down when we drive closer to the main areas,” Slade ordered softly. “I’m going to park inside the garage when we arrive at my house. You can’t go near any windows or outside once we reach it. No one is to see you.”
“But?”
“No buts,” Brass growled. “You are to stay hidden. You trust us with your life and we both agree that would be the safest. No one is to know where you are.”
188
“Fine,” she conceded, too shaken to argue the point. “Has there been any word on Harley?”
“He’s in critical condition but he’s tough and made it through surgery,” Slade informed her softly. “Moon is sure he’ll pull through. You saved him, Doc.”
“Good work, Trisha. I was sure he was gone.” Brass gave her a grateful look. “I would have been devastated losing my friend. He’s a brother to me in my heart.”
Trisha leaned back and relaxed, thrilled that her friend would survive. “He’s tough and we all know how tough all you guys are.” Her stomach chose that moment to grumble. She chuckled. “I’m starving.”
“We’ll get you fed when we get to Slade’s house.” Brass turned on the seat to continue to watch her. “We won’t be able to get your clothes to you immediately. The cabin is a total loss and I’ve been informed that they removed your stuff but it is damaged or dirty. I’m afraid you will have to wear Slade’s until we can get you more or have yours cleaned.”
“Loss is right,” Slade sighed. “Tiger sent a man out to pull the truck out of the living room and a large portion of the loft totally collapsed. The entire structure is unstable. Those assholes driving a full-sized work truck through the front of it just made more construction nightmares for me. It’s going to have to be leveled and another one built.”
“Is there anywhere else I’ll be stashed or will I be staying at your house for a while, Slade?” Trisha hoped he’d keep her close.
“You’re going to be living with me. The house is far enough away from the hotel area and the new buildings being put up that there’s no reason for anyone to come there. We just don’t want you peeking out windows or stepping outside just in case anyone gets nosy. At night we can take you for short walks outside to give you a break from being contained. We remember how it is to long to be outside. Brass is going to stay with you when I’m at work and Moon should be returning sometime in the next few days. Justice will send a replacement for him to the hospital soon. We didn’t want to bring in a new guard for you since the less people who know about your pregnancy, the better.”
“But all my guards will be New Species, right? So that’s totally safe. They wouldn’t leak any information about the baby.”
“True,” Brass agreed. “But Justice is playing it safe. You’re important to us, Trisha.
You are our first conceiving female.”
She frowned, not liking the term. “You make me sound as if I’m a horse.”
Brass turned to face forward in his seat. He mumbled something that made Slade laugh.
“What? That’s not fair. You know I couldn’t hear that! Come on, guys. Play nice with me.”
189
Slade cleared his throat. “He said something to the effect that with our dicks it wasn’t a bad analogy.”
Brass laughed. Trisha rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Some people are full of themselves.”
Slade glanced back at her and his teeth flashed when he grinned. “Want a reminder when we get to the house? Maybe you’re forgetting my size and you need a visual reminder.”
“I’ve seen horses when I worked for a veterinary hospital. You wouldn’t be getting near me if you actually resembled one from the waist down.” She paused. “But you are larger than anyone else I’ve ever been with. Does that sooth your manly pride?”
Slade growled. Brass chuckled. Trisha grinned from the back seat until she was ordered to crouch down. It was dark outside, she didn’t see the reason for hiding, but she didn’t want the men to growl at her, something New Species seemed to love to do when they were irritated or emotional. Slade pulled into his garage and she heard the automatic garage door come down. He was the one to open the back passenger door.
“Are you going to sleep there or are you going to come inside the house?”
She flipped him off and sat up. Trisha glanced around the garage. It was a double garage and a Jeep sat on the other side of the SUV. It was a tight squeeze to get out until the door closed as Slade led her into the house.
“Oh. My. God,” Trisha gasped.
Slade spun around to face her. “What?”
She gawked at the kitchen. “You’re a slob!”
Trisha curled her lip at the piles of dirty dishes in both sides of the sink. The stove…
