Лорен Донер - Smiley

“Do you feel like yourself?” Dr. Harris studied Smiley.

“I’m a bit irritated but I’m fine.” He’d feel better if they located Vanni and brought her to Homeland so he knew she was safe. “The stomach cramps are gone.”

“How are your levels of aggression?”

“Still high.” He wouldn’t lie. The urge to hit something was there but he resisted. The last thing he wanted was to be restrained if they worried he would hurt someone. “It’s manageable.”

“Some of our tests have been confirmed. It is a form of the breeding drug, albeit a milder version. I wish I could send it off to a friend of mine to look at but Justice said no.”

“The last thing we need is to hand another weapon against us over to unknowns.” Fury’s phone beeped. He retrieved it and he glanced at the screen. “I’m with Justice on this. It’s too risky. Hang on. I have to take this.” He rushed out of the room.

“What would the milder version do to a human?”

“I’m not sure. I’d have to examine her. I was told she escaped custody.”

“Is she going to die?”

“I don’t know.”

It infuriated Smiley. “What do you know?”

Dr. Harris backed away. “Calm down.”

“I just keep thinking she woke up in pain and ran away. She’s probably suffering and some male could come across her. He could do anything to her.” His voice took on a gruff sound and his hands fisted. “She’s defenseless.”

“Listen to me,” the doctor urged, “I tested both drinks. The amount of the drug was higher in your drink than in hers. You’re cranky but fine. The pain is gone. You’re just moody as shit. I’m sure she’s probably the same. I read the report. According to her height and approximate weight, I don’t think it was a toxic amount.”

That made him feel better.

“Unless she has health issues. Those are things I can’t factor in.”

He wanted to hit the doctor. “Go.”

“Smiley, I really think I should run a few blood tests on you.”

“Get out before I strike you. I’m about to.”

Dr. Harris left in a hurry. Fury returned.

“Who called? Have they found Vanni?”

Fury hesitated. “Someone responded to the APB the police put out. A witness said he saw a female fitting her description getting into a truck with another female. She appeared to be fine but the witness remembered her because her skirt was ripped near the hem and she wasn’t wearing shoes. He thought she might be homeless.”

“Were they able to track that truck?”

“He didn’t catch the license plate or where it headed. They pulled her driver’s license information and two police officers are parked outside her apartment. No one answered when they knocked. They are watching in case she returns home. We’ll find her, Smiley. The good news is that she’s with a female. No male took her.”

“All right.” He took deep breaths. “I need an outlet for the rage. I’m not in pain but I’m pissed.”

“We’ll go to the training room. I’m sure someone will spar with you.”

He nodded. “Let’s do that.”

“You may wish to shower first.”

Vanni. Her smell was on him. He hesitated, not willing to lose that connection. It wasn’t rational though, he realized. “Okay.”

Fury studied him, worry evident.

“I’ll be fine.”

His friend nodded. “I know.”

Chapter Five

Vanni knew Beth hovered at the bathroom door of their shared apartment because she was worried. They’d been best friends since first grade. “I’m okay.”

“I don’t see how. I still can’t believe what you told me in the car.”

She looked at Beth. “I wish it was a lie but it’s all true. I need a shower.” She began to strip and shoved the skirt down. The engagement ring fell out of the pocket and bounced on the tile flooring. She stared at it, a reminder of her new reality.

“I can almost read your mind. You look so sad, Vanni. This wasn’t your fault. You were drugged.” Beth paused. “You don’t have to tell Carl. I might not like him but I know how much he matters to you. We could say you got a bad case of food poisoning and I came and got you from the hotel.”

She shook her head. “No. It’s over. He lied to me about why we went to the hotel in the first place and became a total jerk. You were right about him.”

“Which part? That he was a selfish son of a bitch or that he was a user?”

Vanni frowned.

“Come on. He asks you to marry him and immediately stops touching you? You haven’t had sex with him in four months.”

“He was afraid it would reflect badly on his reputation. I understood that. When our engagement was announced in the papers, they did a story about his dad too. It would have looked terrible to have a preacher’s son having a woman stay late at his house. The reporters suddenly became interested in him and his life.”

“That’s lame. I said that and I stand by it. There’s something off with Carl. You said the sex wasn’t even good and he rarely touched you. He probably has a boyfriend stashed somewhere. He got you to say yes and dried up the affection. It screams to me that he likes guys and he needed you as a front to hide it.”

Vanni wasn’t sure. “Either way, we won’t be getting married now.” She bent, picked up the ring and put it in the drawer so it wouldn’t get lost. “I’ll give that back to him when he returns to town.”

“Tell me more about this New Species. All you said was that you both were drugged and had sex together. Was that any good at least? I mean, you remember it, right?”

“I’ll never forget. I remember it all.” She turned on the water and let it warm then closed the toilet lid to sit so she could look at the bottom of her foot. She hoped it wasn’t cut. She gasped when she sat, aware of being tender.

“Are you okay?”

Vanni examined her sole. “It’s just a bruise. I don’t see any cuts or blood.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about. Did he hurt you?”

Vanni looked up. “No, he didn’t hurt me.” She stood. “I’m just sore.”

“In a good or a bad way?”

“What does that mean?”

Beth arched her eyebrows and smiled. “Was he big? They look big. Is that why you flinched when you sat down?”

“Beth!” Vanni scowled. “Don’t be disgusting.”

“I’m being honest. You should see the way you were walking. It wasn’t just the limp but you’re a bit bowlegged. Was he like Justice North with those gorgeous kitty eyes?”

“No.”

“He’s like Fury? He’s canine and so hot. I envy Ellie. It was so damn sad but dreamy when they were shot at and he just swooped her up to get her to safety. Can you imagine any guy taking a few bullets to protect a woman? That’s loyalty to the extreme.”

Smiley’s face surfaced in her memory. “He wasn’t like either of them.”

“He was a primate?” Beth leaned against the wall. “What do they look like? I haven’t seen pictures of them that really show their features.”

“He had beautiful eyes.” She turned around and stepped into the shower.

“Shit!”

Beth scared her and Vanni spun, almost slipping in the wet tub. “What?”

“I thought you said he didn’t hurt you.”

“He didn’t.”

Beth stepped into the bathroom and grabbed their small makeup mirror off the vanity. She approached and offered it. “It’s a good thing you are calling it off with Carl or he’d know some other guy nailed you. Check out the bruises on your ass. He has big hands.”

Vanni grabbed the mirror and twisted, getting a look at her butt. Bruises were forming on both cheeks in the shape of handprints. “It doesn’t hurt.”

Her friend accepted the mirror back. “Let me guess. He nailed you standing up, grabbing your ass. That takes skill.”