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He leaned down a little until his face came into the light. His brown eyes were kind of scary combined with the severe look on his rugged features. “I remember who you are now. You split on him before when he needed you. You didn’t even have the courage to say goodbye.”
Shit. The guy really was a close friend of Moon’s.
“He felt something for you but you refused to give him a chance. Why are you here? Are they paying you a lot of money?”
“I’m not on the clock.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’m not on the NSO payroll. I came because they said I was needed. There was no obligation for me to drop everything to drive here but I did as soon as I got the call. I’m staying because Moon needs me. This isn’t about money. I want to help him.”
He regarded her with suspicion, not bothering to hide it. “You aren’t here on official business?”
“No.”
“Then you aren’t really his head shrink. Is that right?”
She could guess where he was going with the conversation. “I was asked by the NSO to help him. You can’t throw me off Homeland. I was invited and I’m staying.”
He leaned back, hiding his face once more in the shadows. “Ethics won’t be an obstacle this time between the two of you, will they?”
She could feel the blood drain from her face. Moon must have told his friend the things she’d said and reasons she’d given to keep him at arm’s length. Her shoulders squared and her spine stiffened. “No,” she blatantly stated. “They won’t. He’s not technically my client.” A shaky breath later she spoke again. “Do you have a problem with that?”
He backed up. “No. I’m wondering if using your body is really the only way to reach him or if you’re looking for an excuse to get close to him. Proceed, Dr. Yards. Know I’ll be watching. You cross a line that I don’t like and I’ll carry you to the gates myself. Am I clear?”
“Perfectly.” He was good at communicating his feelings. “You tell me another way to reach him and I’ll be happy to try it.”
They stood silently until she turned and walked toward Moon again. Harley didn’t have an alternate plan or he would have spoken up. Moon was furious, pacing his cell, and glared when he spotted her returning to him.
“Easy,” she whispered. “It’s me.”
He gripped the bars, attempting to tear them apart, his muscles straining. She lowered to her knees again when she was about five feet from his cell and stayed there, looking at him.
“Moon? Calm down.”
He slid down to his knees, still holding the metal bars. His sharp canines flashed as he softly growled at her. She evaluated the decline of his mood. She sat on her butt and waited until some of his rage faded. She hoped their food wouldn’t arrive any time soon because he had always been stubborn. It was going to take a while to get him to trust her.
“I’m sorry about that.” She kept her tone soft. “Your friend is really worried about you.”
He growled and released one of the bars to reach out to her. She knew a decision had to be made in that moment—either trust him or not. She had been honest with Harley. Moon could have killed her earlier if he’d wanted her dead. She leaned forward and reached for him too. Fear crept up her spine as she imagined the worst. He could yank her closer to the cell to either bite her or snap her neck.
The tips of his calloused, rough fingers brushed against hers. He stopped growling, seeming fascinated by the feel of them. She held her breath, not knowing what he would do but he just rubbed their fingers together. She relaxed.
“I’m not your enemy, Moon.”
He looked up at her then and she met his gaze. It came as a shock when he suddenly gripped her hand and pulled her closer. Her ass slid along the concrete as she gasped, praying he wouldn’t break bones when his fingers tightened even more. She tried to struggle but it didn’t do any good. Her shoulder hit the metal bars of his cell.
Another hand suddenly had her by her ribs, curving around her side. She stared at him with only the bars separating them. He sniffed at her. His focus lowered to the front of her shirt and a soft whine came from him.
He’s not hurting me. That sank in. He could. Easily. He kept her close. She stared into the depths of his brown eyes while he refused to look away from her breasts.
“Moon?”
He softly growled, a look of concentration on his face. She wondered what he was thinking so hard about but he released her hand suddenly, distracting her thoughts. She sucked in air when he cupped her breast, caressing it. He was gentle as he squeezed. He looked up then, holding her gaze.
“Joy.”
The gruff way he said her name made her want to cry. Her hand trembled as she reached through the bars to touch his face. He didn’t jerk away but allowed her to gently caress his jawline. “Yes. Do you remember me?”
He released her suddenly and pulled back until they weren’t touching anymore. She didn’t budge, just remained leaning against the bars where he’d dragged her. He stood and growled, staring across the room. She turned her head and wished Harley hadn’t stayed so close. He must have remained hidden in the shadows instead of leaving. He’d stepped back into the light.
“Move away from him, head shrink.”
“Go away,” she ordered.
Moon snarled, seeming to agree with her order.
Harley frowned. “Get the hell away from him.”
“I think he remembers me. He said my name. Didn’t you hear him?”
Harley stormed up behind her just as she felt fingers wrap around her throat, cutting off her air. Moon had her. It hurt her ears when he howled so close behind her.
Harley froze.
“Go,” Moon snarled.
“Fuck. Release her, man.” Harley growled back.
“Go,” Moon demanded again, tightening his hold.
The big Species in the biker jacket backed up a few feet. “Let her go.”
Moon reached down and gripped her upper arm while keeping a firm hold on her throat. “Kill. Go.” He forced her to her feet, yanking her hard against the bars.
She’d become a hostage. It was that simple. Moon wanted the other male to leave and she was his leverage. He could easily snap her neck. She’d have begged him to release her but she could barely breathe.
“Shit.” Harley backed up. “Don’t hurt her.”
The elevator doors opened and Rusty walked into the room, carrying a tray with two plates. She came to an abrupt halt. “Oh shit.”
Harley glanced at her before looking back at his best friend. “We’ll leave. Do not hurt her.”
“How did the human get so close to him?” Rusty retreated a few steps.
“She let him. Whoever asked her to come here made a mistake. It might end up being a fatal one.” Harley sidestepped closer to the Species female. “We’re leaving, Moon. Watch us. Don’t hurt that female.”
Both of them got into the elevator and the doors closed. The fingers loosened on her throat and arm. She shoved away from the bars on her butt and completely broke his hold when she threw her body forward. She hit the floor on her hands and knees. Gasping for air, she crawled out of Moon’s reach.
“Come,” a deep voice rasped from behind her.
Moon wanted her to return to the side of his cage. She shook her head, touching her sore throat that had to have red marks on it, if not bruises. Species were too strong. She had risked her life getting so close to him and it had almost gotten her killed. She wouldn’t make that mistake twice.
“Come!” he snarled.
Joy turned her head in his direction but couldn’t look directly at him. “No.”
Tears blinded her as she looked away. He might know her but she sure didn’t know him at the moment. The guy she’d fallen in love with never would have done that. She was lucky to be alive.
Chapter Three
“What were you doing?” Tiger was furious and not making any attempt to hide it.
“Showing Moon he could trust me.”<
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Joy was tired after spending a restless night in the house they’d assigned her. She’d asked to be escorted there after what had happened. She had needed time away from Moon after her close call. Her visitors had arrived after breakfast.
“She has no right being near him.” Harley wore a heavy-metal-band T-shirt with his jeans today. The biker boots must be something he wore daily. “He obviously doesn’t want her dead but next time he could force us to unlock the cell to save her life. It’s pure luck he only wanted to be left alone with her. He’s in no shape to be reasoned with.”
“Agreed.” Justice North grimly studied her. “You shouldn’t have gotten that close to him.”
“He spoke.”
Justice’s black eyebrows arched. “He did? No one told me that.”
“It was just a few words,” Tiger informed him. “He’s still dangerous and not himself.”
“He didn’t say anything to us when we were inside his cell securing him.” Justice looked at Harley. “Why didn’t he tell us to stop? He had no problem fighting us while we restrained him.”
“You did it?” Joy had wanted to be there. “Is he okay?”
“He’s angry.” Tiger shrugged. “No one was hurt.”
Relief was instant. “Good.”
“She has no right to be near him,” Harley repeated. “You don’t know their history.”
Joy wasn’t surprised that Harley was about to tell the others about her past with Moon. He had warned her he’d do anything to get her away from Moon. Harley was a man of his word.
“We’re aware of their history.” Justice dismissed it with a wave of his hand as he studied Joy. “I’m more concerned that you risked your life without consulting us first.”
“I was establishing trust. I can’t stop working with him to run a decision by you every time.”
“She allowed Moon to play with her breasts after flashing them at him.”
Joy winced at Harley’s harsh tone. “You’re making it sound vulgar but it wasn’t.” She hated the way Justice’s eyes widened in reaction. “It’s not what you must be thinking. Moon is interested in sex and it’s the only avenue I’ve found to motivate him to work with me.” Her cheeks warmed from embarrassment. “I’ll do have to get him to talk. I can’t help him otherwise. I didn’t flash my breasts either. I showed some cleavage.”
“He doesn’t want to talk,” Harley snarled. “He wants to fuck you.”
“Harley!” Justice snarled back. “Enough!”
“You know about what she did to Moon and yet you still called her?”
“Moon respects her.”
Harley snorted. “What do you know about what took place between her and Moon at site four, Justice?”
“She was his head shrink after he was released from Mercile and he spoke highly of her.”
“He trusted her and he wanted to fuck her but she bailed on him. She hurt him.”
The males in the room suddenly all turned their attention her way. Joy hugged her waist, trying to appear smaller in her chair. Her chin lifted though as she stared at Harley.
“I didn’t hurt him.”
“Bullshit. You chose your job over him. Do you think he was too stupid to know that? To figure out how little he meant to you for you to do that to him? He had feelings for you but you packed your shit and took off. You weren’t there to see how that affected him. He hated the other shrink he got stuck with too. She was a cold bitch who acted as if we were pets that needed to be handed meat treats to retrain us from the bad habits we picked up at Mercile.”
“It wasn’t like that.” Joy winced, guessing he spoke of Geraldine, her previous supervisor. The woman had no common sense. They’d never seen eye to eye on how to counsel the survivors but it made her wince inside if Harley spoke the truth. That sure hadn’t been in any of the notes she’d submitted about what was effective and what wasn’t.
Harley took a threatening step closer, his fists clenched at his sides, but halted. “It was exactly that way. He told you he wanted you and you allowed him to think he had a chance. You promised your body to make him open up in your sessions but then you fled when it was time to pay up.”
Embarrassment quickly transformed into anger. “I didn’t promise him anything. I kept telling him we couldn’t have sex. I was his therapist.”
“Ethics. Yeah. He mentioned that.” Harley growled. “Did you allow him to caress your breasts before while you were feeding him those bullshit excuses? You cock-teased him in your sessions to get him to talk and I’ll be damned if I allow you to do that to him twice, only to leave him high and dry again.”
“I did not!” She shot to her feet, glaring up at him. Her palm itched to slap the son of a bitch. “I kept it strictly professional when he was my client. He never touched my breasts or any other part of me except my hands the few times he wanted to make me uncomfortable by trying to intimidate me. I was clear that we couldn’t ever have a sexual relationship so don’t accuse me of leading him on. I didn’t!”
Harley flashed his fangs. “You are coldhearted and cared nothing about him.”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about, Harley. You’re wrong. That’s why I quit my job. I knew it was only a matter of time before he broke me down because I felt too much for him.”
“You admit your job was more important than he was. Otherwise you would have stayed with him.”
She gaped at him, ignoring everyone else in the room since no one spoke. “How could I have stayed with him? Do you know what would have happened if I had slept with him?”
“He would have been happy.”
“I would have been fired for having sex with him…and a lot worse.”
“Your job was more important!” Harley curled his lip in disgust. He turned his head to look at Justice. “She needs to be escorted off Homeland and away from Moon. We can’t trust her not to hurt him again. His well-being isn’t her priority and never will be.”
“Fuck you, Harley,” she snapped before she could leash her temper. “I’d do anything for Moon.”
He glared at her. “You left him when you knew he needed you.”
Joy shook her head. “How naïve are you? Did you hear me when I said they would have fired me if I’d slept with him? Do you think they would have allowed me near him after that? It was a classified location!” She tried to rein in her emotions. It was tough to do. “There were cameras and guards crawling all over the place. They would have figured it out fast if I’d allowed my relationship with Moon to progress into a sexual one. I would have been forced to leave there and they would have probably kept me in jail, awaiting trial for whatever charges they could pin on me to keep me locked up for as long as possible out of fear that I’d give up the location of that site.”
Harley frowned.
“I would have lost everything to sleep with him one time.” She sat down hard in the chair, hugged her chest again, and stared at her lap. “Don’t think I wasn’t tempted. I cared about Moon. You have no idea how much.” She swallowed, clearing her emotion-choked throat. “But I also knew it would hurt Moon more if we slept together. I always put him first.”
“How would it have hurt Moon more?” It was Justice who spoke.
She met his gaze. He didn’t appear angry. “Moon had a really hard time adjusting to life beyond Mercile. He was antisocial and confrontational with the guards. Imagine how much worse it would have been if he’d had to watch me being dragged off the property in handcuffs. He might have even tried to come to my aid, thinking he was protecting me. It would have made him hate the guards more than he already did or even gotten him shot if he’d killed anyone. The guards were ordered not to hurt Species except in a life-or-death situation if one was out of control but they had the authority to permanently put down the threat in an extreme situation. I wasn’t willing to risk his life or have them decide he was unable to cope with his freedom. Do you know what they did to Species unable to integrate with the humans who worked there?”
Justice sighed. “I know. They kept them heavily sedated and secured away from the others. A lot of our Wild Zone residents were brought to us after enduring that treatment.”
“Exactly!” She shifted her gaze to Harley. He didn’t appear as angry as before. “That’s why I left when I did. I knew it was only a matter of time before he succeeded in seducing me and that it could get him killed or sent to one of the hospital wards where he’d be heavily drugged. The thought of either of those things happening to him ripped me to shreds inside. I didn’t put my career above Moon. I did the only thing I could to make sure it had the best outcome for him. I figured he’d be angry at the very worst but it would all be directed at me. He’d be safe.”
Harley stepped closer and paused, studying her. “Shit.” He spun away, sighing. “I believe her.”
“Joy?”
She hated the way her gut twisted as she held Justice North’s gaze. “Yes?” He could ask her to leave. It was the worst thing he could do. He was silent for so long her stomach threatened to heave up her breakfast. It would tear her apart if she were sent away. She had no claim to even be updated on Moon’s condition. She’d have to wonder if he recovered or if he’d worsened. There would be nothing she could do about it. “Please let me try to help him.”
He blinked, saying nothing.
“Do you want me to beg?” Her pride would take a big hit but it was Moon. “I’ll do it. I got him to talk. He calms down around me. He said my name. Let me try to reach him.”
Justice glanced around at the men. “Leave us alone for a few minutes.”
“No.” Harley faced them. “Let her try.”
The NSO leader rose. He didn’t look angry but he did seem surprised. “You’re giving me orders?”
“Moon had strong feelings for her.” Harley didn’t back down. “He’s like a brother to me. We all care but I know him best.” He paused, glancing at Joy, then back at Justice. “We’re going to have to keep him heavily sedated at all times if he doesn’t come back from what was done to him. He’s too lethal in his current condition to even be set free in the Wild Zone. Hell, I’m sure we can also agree that every male would prefer to be kept in a near coma than put the rest of our people in danger. She did get him to talk and he released her the second they were alone. He didn’t want to kill her.”