Jordan cocked his head. “Really? Tell me more.”
He wasn’t hurting her. That had to be a sign of getting through to him. “Agent Brice told me that was how I could help the most. He said they’d know I was telling them the truth and they could get their search warrant for the New Mexico facility if I gathered evidence. I finally got enough proof that he was able to get them freed. I did that at Cornas Research too. He sent me there.”
“How did he know about Cornas?”
“He had an informant already stationed inside but she was too afraid to smuggle out anything. I don’t know her name. He said he couldn’t tell me that because she’d be in danger. He worried I might accidentally blow her cover.”
“What kind of information and evidence did you give to this agent?”
“He wanted pictures but that was impossible. They take our purses and do a pat down when we go in and out of the building. They have a no-cell-phone policy so anything that could take pictures or record images was kept at the front desk where we had no access to it during our shifts. I’d sometimes stain my clothes with New Species blood I had drawn so I could give it to him for testing.” She relaxed a little. “Sometimes it would be saliva samples from one of New Species or hair samples. I also swiped some test pills, which I smuggled out by hiding them inside my bra.”
“Hair?”
“Yes. I’d cut a lock of hair from somewhere it wouldn’t be noticed. It was difficult to do but occasionally they’d have an injured one drugged unconscious so I could get close enough to them when we were left alone. I wore my hair in a ponytail a lot. It was easy to tuck some of their hair in with mine if it closely resembled my color. The guards never checked that. They’d just run a scanner over my head.”
“So you’d sneak up on some knocked-out bastard and defile his body?”
Jeanie wasn’t sure how to answer that. It sounded awful when he put it that way. “Agent Brice said they could do DNA testing with blood and saliva. Hair samples can be used to test for drugs and chemicals. He needed those to prove New Species were there. I never hurt any of them. Ever. I wouldn’t do that.”
“Fuck,” Chris swore from behind her, his hold tightening on her wrists. “Do we even want to ask where she took it from? You sick bitch. Were you molesting them too when they couldn’t fight back?”
Jeanie twisted her head, staring up at him, aghast. “No! I took it from their heads near the base of their skulls. What is wrong with you? I said I tucked it in with my own hair. Ewww! I didn’t take pubic hair. New Species don’t even have any.”
Jordan gripped her jaw again and painfully jerked her head to face him. His fingers dug into her skin enough to make her cry out. “Shut it, Chris. How do you know that, Ms. Shiver?”
She glared at him, beyond fear. “You’re hurting me.”
“Too damn bad. Answer the question. How do you know they don’t have pubes if you weren’t molesting New Species?”
“Everyone knew that. They also have fanglike teeth and some calluses on their palms and fingertips.”
“You can see that with their clothes on.”
“I was in and out of the treatment center where they kept some of the injured New Species. I’ve tended to them and changed bedding when they were heavily drugged. I didn’t molest them or do anything sick. I wouldn’t be here if I had. They would have killed me.”
“Not if they were drugged.”
She jerked her face out of his hold but the man behind her kept her immobile in the chair from the shoulders down. “They’d have smelled me on them when they woke up if I touched them wrong. I’m not stupid.”
She tried to calm down but it really pushed her buttons, being accused of the hideous things they’d implied. “Do you know what I could do to you right now if I were a New Species and you were this close to me?” She clenched her teeth and took a calming breath. “I could bite into your mouth and tear your lips off or butt you with my forehead and break bones. I was this close to them all the time when I had to take samples. None of them hurt me because they realized I would never hurt them. I gave them my trust and they gave me theirs in return. They knew I cared.”
A vicious snarl echoed around the room, making it impossible for her to tell from which direction it came. She figured it out fast, though, when Jordan was shoved out of the way and 710 took his place. His dark-mahogany irises were clearly visible in the harsh overhead light when he crouched, staring at her. Anger lines around his mouth clued her in to his bad mood.
“You admit you worked to gain our trust to use against us?”
“Let me handle this.” Jordan gripped 710’s shoulder. “I’ll deal with her.”
710 bared his canines and growled. “Back off. She’s mine.”
Jordan released him, taking a step to the side. “Okay.”
Jeanie frowned. “I never used anything against you.”
“Why gain our trust? Why make us feel as if you cared?”
“I wanted you to know I was in your corner. I couldn’t exactly say I was there trying to get you free. There were cameras everywhere and if I ever whispered that fact to you, what if you let it slip to the guards in anger or told another New Species to give them hope? I couldn’t risk it. Our lives were at stake.”
“We need to find out what was on that mainframe,” Jordan stated. “Focus on that.”
He wasn’t hurting her. That had to be a sign of getting through to him. “Agent Brice told me that was how I could help the most. He said they’d know I was telling them the truth and they could get their search warrant for the New Mexico facility if I gathered evidence. I finally got enough proof that he was able to get them freed. I did that at Cornas Research too. He sent me there.”
“How did he know about Cornas?”
“He had an informant already stationed inside but she was too afraid to smuggle out anything. I don’t know her name. He said he couldn’t tell me that because she’d be in danger. He worried I might accidentally blow her cover.”
“What kind of information and evidence did you give to this agent?”
“He wanted pictures but that was impossible. They take our purses and do a pat down when we go in and out of the building. They have a no-cell-phone policy so anything that could take pictures or record images was kept at the front desk where we had no access to it during our shifts. I’d sometimes stain my clothes with New Species blood I had drawn so I could give it to him for testing.” She relaxed a little. “Sometimes it would be saliva samples from one of New Species or hair samples. I also swiped some test pills, which I smuggled out by hiding them inside my bra.”
“Hair?”
“Yes. I’d cut a lock of hair from somewhere it wouldn’t be noticed. It was difficult to do but occasionally they’d have an injured one drugged unconscious so I could get close enough to them when we were left alone. I wore my hair in a ponytail a lot. It was easy to tuck some of their hair in with mine if it closely resembled my color. The guards never checked that. They’d just run a scanner over my head.”
“So you’d sneak up on some knocked-out bastard and defile his body?”
Jeanie wasn’t sure how to answer that. It sounded awful when he put it that way. “Agent Brice said they could do DNA testing with blood and saliva. Hair samples can be used to test for drugs and chemicals. He needed those to prove New Species were there. I never hurt any of them. Ever. I wouldn’t do that.”
“Fuck,” Chris swore from behind her, his hold tightening on her wrists. “Do we even want to ask where she took it from? You sick bitch. Were you molesting them too when they couldn’t fight back?”
Jeanie twisted her head, staring up at him, aghast. “No! I took it from their heads near the base of their skulls. What is wrong with you? I said I tucked it in with my own hair. Ewww! I didn’t take pubic hair. New Species don’t even have any.”
Jordan gripped her jaw again and painfully jerked her head to face him. His fingers dug into her skin enough to make her cry out. “Shut it, Chris. How do you know that, Ms. Shiver?”
She glared at him, beyond fear. “You’re hurting me.”
“Too damn bad. Answer the question. How do you know they don’t have pubes if you weren’t molesting New Species?”
“Everyone knew that. They also have fanglike teeth and some calluses on their palms and fingertips.”
“You can see that with their clothes on.”
“I was in and out of the treatment center where they kept some of the injured New Species. I’ve tended to them and changed bedding when they were heavily drugged. I didn’t molest them or do anything sick. I wouldn’t be here if I had. They would have killed me.”
“Not if they were drugged.”
She jerked her face out of his hold but the man behind her kept her immobile in the chair from the shoulders down. “They’d have smelled me on them when they woke up if I touched them wrong. I’m not stupid.”
She tried to calm down but it really pushed her buttons, being accused of the hideous things they’d implied. “Do you know what I could do to you right now if I were a New Species and you were this close to me?” She clenched her teeth and took a calming breath. “I could bite into your mouth and tear your lips off or butt you with my forehead and break bones. I was this close to them all the time when I had to take samples. None of them hurt me because they realized I would never hurt them. I gave them my trust and they gave me theirs in return. They knew I cared.”
A vicious snarl echoed around the room, making it impossible for her to tell from which direction it came. She figured it out fast, though, when Jordan was shoved out of the way and 710 took his place. His dark-mahogany irises were clearly visible in the harsh overhead light when he crouched, staring at her. Anger lines around his mouth clued her in to his bad mood.
“You admit you worked to gain our trust to use against us?”
“Let me handle this.” Jordan gripped 710’s shoulder. “I’ll deal with her.”
710 bared his canines and growled. “Back off. She’s mine.”
Jordan released him, taking a step to the side. “Okay.”
Jeanie frowned. “I never used anything against you.”
“Why gain our trust? Why make us feel as if you cared?”
“I wanted you to know I was in your corner. I couldn’t exactly say I was there trying to get you free. There were cameras everywhere and if I ever whispered that fact to you, what if you let it slip to the guards in anger or told another New Species to give them hope? I couldn’t risk it. Our lives were at stake.”
“We need to find out what was on that mainframe,” Jordan stated. “Focus on that.”
