Brawn - Laurann Dohner [78]
No one answered. Bobby peered in the window and waved everyone forward as he dropped to his knees. He picked the lock and had it open by the time Flame reached his side. They glanced around the small living room and Bobby turned to Flame.
“Someone is definitely living here.”
Flame walked farther inside the home and inhaled. “It’s a female who lives alone. I only pick up her scent.”
His heart rate increased with excitement that this might be the right place when he spotted a crib in one of the two bedrooms. Everything for the infant smelled new and unused. The second bedroom was the woman’s and he pulled back the covers, leaned in and pressed his nose against the sheets. One good whiff and he knew they’d finally located the right female. He could smell her, the faint scent of pregnancy, and Species.
Flame pulled his cell phone as he turned to face the human team. “This is the right place. She must be coming back soon, her things are here, so implement the plan.”
Bobby grabbed his radio. “Call off the search. We found her. Return to base and stay out of sight.”
Flame dialed Reservation. “We found her but she’s not here. I believe she should come back soon. I scented what we expected to find. I’m going to wait in hiding for her to return. Have the helicopter standing by and fueled. I want it sent the second I have her.”
He hung up and glanced at the men around him. “I can handle her. I think it’s best if I make contact alone. Go ahead and return to base.”
Bobby, the team leader of the task force assigned to Flame, hesitated. “Are you sure? I’ll stay behind as backup.”
“No. This isn’t a dangerous situation. We’re doing a favor for Trisha. Her cousin ran away from an abusive husband and she was worried. She won’t fight or cause harm. I’m just going to give her a message.”
“Oh.” Anger tensed Bobby’s features. “We’ve been busting our asses for that?” He spun, stomping away.
Flame let him go and hated making him angry. He liked the team but they hadn’t shared why they were looking for the female, didn’t want to tell them why she was really so important and didn’t plan to. The less they knew the better but they’d needed them to make contact, knock on doors. Anyone opening a door to a Species would have been alarmed and word might have spread. It wasn’t something they wouldn’t gossip about or worse, call the police over. That meant the reporters would get a whiff of a story. The female might have heard they were in the area and fled.
Flame watched the men leave. The NSO was terrified that if it got out they could have children with humans, it would cause a lot of problems. They trusted the task force but the tabloids offered too much money for some to resist. Keeping that information known to Species and their mates only was essential. Everyone who knew the truth was personally invested to protect that secret. He closed and locked the front door, found a good location to wait and leaned against the interior wall. He had patience.
* * * * *
Becca smiled and rubbed her stomach as the baby kicked softly. She was sure that was the fluttering feeling she kept getting. It made her happy every time, assuring her all was well inside her belly.
“I know.” She lifted her hand to grip the wheel with both of them. “This dirt road is kind of rough and sucks. You feel that, don’t you?” She slowed the car a little on her way to the cabin. Talking to the baby had become a favorite pastime. “We’re almost home.”
She parked in front by the door, shut off the engine and released her seatbelt. She stood, stretched a little and wiggled her butt. The bumping around on unpaved road always made her rump feel a little numb. She shoved the door shut, opened the back passenger one and leaned in to grab the two grocery bags.
“Hungry? I am starving! We