Laurann Dohner - Fury

Ellie yanked her hand away from the doctors. “Justice!” She yelled his name.

The bedroom door was thrown open in seconds. Justice looked like hell. His shirt had been torn, he had a busted lip, and sported a bruise over one eye on his forehead. He stepped into the bedroom and froze.

“Let him go now.” Ellie’s voice shook with anger and horror. “He didn’t hurt me. You did. Let Fury out right now, damn it!” She started to yell but didn’t care. “What the hell is wrong with everyone? Fury wasn’t raping me!”

Shock blanked Justice’s face. He opened his mouth but nothing came out.

Ellie grabbed the blankets covering her, threw them back, and felt grateful she wasn’t naked. She hadn’t been sure until she swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Someone had dressed her in a two-piece light-pink, baggy pajama set. She put her feet on the floor. Her head ached enough that she nearly regretted leaving the bed as she used it to push up to stand.

“Don’t get up,” the doctor demanded as she grabbed for Ellie. “You’re drugged. You need to stay down.”

Ellie slapped at the woman’s hands and turned her anger on Justice. She managed a step before her knees gave way. The doctor grabbed her but they were both heading for a crash onto the floor when Justice suddenly lunged forward to wrap his arms around both women. His strength showed when he gently positioned them to angle their fall to the bed. Ellie hit it and the doctor came down next to her on the soft mattress. Ellie lay there glaring up at him as she fought tears.

“He wasn’t hurting me. How could you think that?”

He hesitated. “You were tied down and screaming. He’s the reason you’re injured.”

Tears spilled down her cheeks. “We were having sex and it was great until you tackled him and threw him away from me, you son of a bitch. We were having fun, laughing, and then…” Her voice broke as she just stared at him. “You hurt me, not him. You did. Everything would have been fine if you hadn’t run in there, attacked Fury, and I wouldn’t have taken a header off that island.”

Justice backed up a step and grew paler. “But I heard you scream when we walked up to the front door. You were tied down when we rushed inside.”

Ellie looked at the doctor. “Don’t their women get loud sometimes at the end of sex?”

The doctor shrugged. “I don’t know. Some of our females have loud sex. That’s true.”

“He tied you down,” Justice reminded her softly. “That’s force.”

“It wasn’t. Are you deaf? We were playing and having a great time. Didn’t you notice he put a dishtowel around my wrists to keep the tape from touching my skin? Do you think if he tried to hurt me that he would have cared if I got red marks from the tape?” More hot tears tracked down Ellie’s face. “Where is he? Did you hurt him? Let him go. I want Fury right now.”

Justice turned away. “I’ll get him.” He walked out of the bedroom and slammed the door closed behind him.

Ellie turned onto her side on the bed and covered her face. She couldn’t stop crying. A hand brushed her back, the doctor trying to comfort her, and Ellie sniffed.

“Did they hurt Fury?”

“I don’t know,” Trisha admitted. “I treated one of the officers who came in with you. Fury did some damage before they took him down.”

Alarm at that news shot through Ellie and motivated her to sit up, wiping at her face. She stared at the doctor. “But you didn’t have to treat Fury? That means he’s okay, right?”

The doctor hesitated. “I don’t know. I’m sorry. If he’d really been hurt you would think they would have brought him here too or called an ambulance to treat him.”

“God!” Ellie rasped. “Why the hell did this happen? We were laughing and making love. Then this.” She shook her head and regretted it instantly when it made her dizzy from the movement. “Why can’t everyone leave us alone?”

Trisha’s look softened. “No one knows what to expect. I’m sure Mr. North and those two officers thought they were saving you.”

“From Fury?” Ellie ignored them as more tears slid down her cheeks. “Fury wouldn’t hurt me.”

Trisha reached over and took Ellie’s hand. “I’m sorry.”

The bedroom door almost exploded inward and Ellie and Trisha both jumped as Tom Quish entered the bedroom. His gaze jerked from Ellie to the doctor. “What the hell happened? I just received word that there’s a big problem here. Security informed me one Species is locked up and Ms. Brower had to be carried into your home unconscious by two Species men who looked as if they’d been involved in a brawl.”

Great , Ellie thought. Just fucking great. She couldn’t even speak. Now the director was involved in her worst nightmare too.

Trisha released Ellie’s hand. “How dare you come bursting into my house? This is my bedroom, Director Quish. As for what you heard, an unfortunate accident happened and that’s all.”

She moved forward, putting her body between Ellie and the director. He looked confused.

“What happened?” He sounded calmer.

Trisha straightened her shoulders and glared at the director. “What happened is that someone got past your security and scared Ms. Brower. She screamed. Mr. Fury, Mr. North, and the security officers were at the house,” the doctor lied. “I told you I saw some idiot with a camera today sneaking around by the clinic. It could have been the same guy.” She twisted her head to stare at Ellie with wide eyes. “Was the guy you saw peering into the window a short blond man wearing jeans and a green shirt?”

Ellie stared at the doctor, trying to hide her stunned surprise that this stranger would tell lies to protect her secrets but managed to nod. “That sounds like the guy who startled me.”

A frown marred the director’s face. “Then why is Mr. Fury in lockup?”

Relief flashed over the doctor’s face before she faced the director again. “Because he wanted to hunt the son of a bitch down and kill him. Ms. Brower was startled, fell back, and hit her head. It knocked her out cold when she struck the edge of the counter. You know how protective of women these guys are. She’s a guest in his home and some flash-happy jerk scared her, she got hurt, and he lost his temper. You know they can hunt and track with those animal instincts. Mr. North thought it would be a bad idea to allow Mr. Fury to kill the man since he’s a human. They didn’t see eye to eye in the heat of the moment. Mr. Fury is being detained until he can cool down.”

“That’s true,” Slade agreed from the doorway he leaned against. He wasn’t wearing the NSO uniform this time, instead he sported jeans and a black tank top. “I came over here to take a statement from Ms. Brower about the man she saw at the window. If you’ll excuse us, Director, I’m off duty but I’d like to get her statement as fast as I can. Maybe you could get your security guards to search for this guy before he causes more problems?”

Ellie watched Tom Quish’s face, seeing anger there. “Fine. If that’s the story you want to tell, I’ll run with it.” He gave Ellie a grim frown. “Are you all right, Ms. Brower? Is there anything I can do for you?”

“I’m fine now,” she promised softly. “But thank you for caring.”

He spun on his heel to march out of the room. Ellie stared at the doctor, still surprised that the woman would help her by lying. The doctor shrugged.

“I told you that you can trust me.”

Slade blew out a heavy breath. “I think I’ll go have a seat in the living room to prevent anyone else from barging in.” His gaze slid to Ellie. “They are bringing Fury to you and he should arrive real soon. He’s pissed as hell but fine.” His gaze swung to the doctor and he grinned. “You lie good, Doc.” Slade winked at her and softly closed the door behind him.