Timber nodded grimly. "They shot Torrent. He is pissed but fine. They tagged his vest hard enough to leave some bruising."

Tiger's gaze wandered around Security, watching his males hard at work, keeping an eye on everything with the cameras. "Has Justice and Homeland been informed?"

"Immediately. We had to warn them about potential attacks on Jessie. One of our human employees was attacked. The idiot humans thought she was Justice's mate."

"Why would they think one of our human employees was Jessie?"

"She has long red hair. She had left for lunch with a human male and they were returning when the idiots attacked the gate. Some of them saw her and assumed she was Jessie. They broke the windows of the van she was in and dragged her out. The smoke made them run and they dropped her. She will be fine. I ordered Smiley to stay with her. He escorted her to Medical for treatment. We have the shooters and driver who brought them here in custody. They have been prepared for transport to Homeland."

Tiger growled. "You should have contacted me immediately when this happened."

"You were tending to the Wild Zone incident. It was all handled well. The only real destruction done was to the van the two humans were in. We are taking care of that. Good thing we pay for insurance for this stuff with the money we fine the idiots. The repair bill will be costly. The driver of the truck hiding the gunmen reversed his truck into the front of the van when they attempted to flee and then the windows were smashed in an attempt to get to the human female when the protesters attacked. They also dented the van greatly since they tried to overturn it."

"Son of a bitch," Tiger snarled. "Is the human female well? Is she going to quit? It is hard to find trustworthy humans."

"She is well. I just spoke to Midnight. The human has been treated and has asked to go back to work. We offered her a few days of paid vacation to recover but she refused."

"I will go smooth things over with her. What is her name?"

Timber hesitated, thinking. "It was an odd name. Zane? Zany?"

Tiger's heart almost stopped beating. "Zandy?"

Timber nodded. "That is the name. Small human female, green eyes and long red hair."

"Fuck!" Tiger snarled. "I'm going to Medical."

Timber gaped at him. "You know this female?"

Tiger spun and sprinted out to his Jeep, not bothering to answer. Zandy had been attacked. The details sank in as he drove quickly to reach her. He wanted to know why she'd left Reservation for lunch and what human male she'd been with. He decided it had better have been with Richard Vega. The male loved his mate and that would mean it hadn't been a date. Just the idea of another male touching her made him want to roar with rage. She'd been hurt and he hadn't been there to protect her.

He took ragged breaths, trying to control his rage. A mixture of jealousy and fear gripped him hard enough to make his chest hurt. They hadn't agreed on any dating terms. Had Zandy gone on a date? He shook his head. That didn't matter at the moment.

She'd been attacked by humans and he was tempted to call Timber to put a hold on the prisoners. He'd love to spend five minutes with each of the males until he made certain they were injured as well. The thought of what could have happened to her left him with a deep need to reach her side as quickly as possible. He punched the gas to an unsafe speed and took a turn too fast. Species stared at him as he passed but he didn't give a damn.

Zandy put on the new set of clothes. Midnight had brought her a gray T-shirt with NSO lettered on the front pocket and matching sweatpants. Her torn clothing had been thrown away. Her knee throbbed. Dr. Harris told her to go home and keep off it for a few days but Zandy had refused. The last thing she wanted was to go home to her empty house. She'd rather be around people after her close call with nearly being kidnapped.

Dr. Harris wasn't happy with her decision. He held out a plastic bag. "I put a few shake ice packs in here too. Do you know how to use them?"

She smiled. "Um, I shake them?"

He grudgingly smiled back. "Yes."

"Thank you."

"Your purse was retrieved from the vehicle you were in." Midnight handed it to her. "We are glad that you weren't really harmed. Are you sure you don't want a few days to recover? There is no shame in that. You are human and not used to this kind of stress."

"Honey," the doctor said softly, "we're not invalids just because we aren't as tough as you. She wants to go back to work. I'd do the same."

She smiled at him. "You are very brave. For a human."

"I'm glad you think so." He turned to Zandy and asked, "Do you want crutches? That knee is going to hurt worse in the morning. You're already limping."

"I'm good. I won't lie and say it doesn't ache but I banged up my knees worse when I was a kid. I was a bit of a tomboy and liked skateboarding."

"I saw the faded scars and wondered."

"We lived on a hill."

"Got it." He grinned. "I hope you wore a helmet."

"I plead the Fifth."

"Don't forget to take the pills I gave you for the pain and the ones I prescribed to help reduce any swelling. They are inside the bag. Use condoms for a month if you're on birth control. They will mess with it since it's also an antibiotic. I'd rather be safe than sorry to help you prevent any infection. I cleaned the cut well but you were in contact with the pavement. I have no idea what kind of germs you were exposed to. Stay off that knee as much as possible. I know you have an office job and work behind a desk. Have someone else fetch anything you need. Elevate it if possible."

"Thank you. I'll take the pills as soon as I get to my office."

Midnight offered to escort her out but Zandy refused. Smiley was pacing outside in clear view of the front windows. She limped out there and he turned, his expression grim.

"Allow me to carry you."

She shook her head. "No, I'm okay."

"I called for transportation. You shouldn't be standing from the amount of blood I saw on your pants. I strongly suggest you go home." He paused. "You've had a trauma. Your family should care for you."

"I live alone. The idea of staring at my walls isn't real appealing. I'd rather be around someone right now."

"I understand." His expression softened and his pretty brown eyes fixed on her. "I could request to end my shift and take you to my home. I'm not offering to share sex but someone should care for you. I have a large television and I'm safe."

She highly doubted his version of safe and hers lined up. Midnight and the doctor thought the New Species was attracted to her. The only man she wanted fawning over her had blue eyes and purred during the heat of passion. Her mouth opened to tell him no thanks but the sound of a car careening around a corner drew her attention first.

The Jeep was speeding at them and she recognized the driver instantly. Tiger's streaked hair was easy to spot and so was his enraged expression as tires locked up on the pavement when he hit the brakes. The vehicle came to a screeching halt by the curb. He was out of it the second the engine cut off.

"This is Tiger," Smiley stated, as if she didn't know who stormed around the front of the vehicle to reach them. "Hello, Tiger. I take it you heard what happened. She is well. How did it go with Vengeance?"

"Give us a moment alone," Tiger snarled, his gaze locked on Zandy. "I need to speak to her. Take a walk."

Smiley gawked but backed away. He spun on his heel and went to the end of the building. He'd seemed pretty shocked at Tiger's abrupt dismissal and she could relate, stunned a little herself. Tiger waited until the other man had moved away before he stepped closer. He ran his gaze down her body before meeting her eyes again. His hand lifted and he gently gripped her jaw, forcing her head to tilt a little to get a better look at the cut on her face.

"Why did you leave Reservation and who were you with? Are you all right? Who did this to you?"

She wasn't sure which question to answer first. "I'm okay. Richard and I went shopping for his wife on our lunch break and the protesters attacked while we were in line to get back inside the gates."

A deep growl rumbled from his throat. "Where are your clothes?"

"They threw them away. The shirt was history and the pants were bloody."

He sniffed and another growl came from him, the second one deeper and almost scary. Rage narrowed his eyes and she hoped it wasn't directed at her. His touch remained gentle where he held her jaw.

"I still smell blood."

"I'm okay. I got a few scratches. My-"

"Where?"

She paused. "My knee got the worst of it. I have a scratch on my chest and you can see my face. I didn't get a good look at the men who tried to grab me but they thought I was someone else."

His other hand gripped her hip. "I heard the attackers thought you were Jessie. I can't believe they thought you were her. Your hair is much lighter and shorter than hers. Humans are stupid. You shouldn't have used the front gates. Didn't you realize it would be dangerous?"

She let that one slide since he was obviously upset and didn't she really want to be lumped into the same category as the protesters at that moment by reminding him she was human. His words made her feel a little defensive though.

"I guess we missed the news conference last night when Justice North announced he'd gotten married to the woman they mistook me for. I had no idea it wasn't safe to leave the front gates. I take it that you know her?"

He nodded. "I know her very well and you two look nothing alike." He took a deep breath. "I am agitated. I'm sorry. I should have called your office the moment I found out Justice had to tell the press about his mate and warned you it would antagonize the protesters."

Zandy studied him and a hint of jealousy struck. How well did Tiger know the other redhead? It was going to bug her if she didn't ask. "Did you ever date this Jessie?"

His mouth tensed. "No. She is Justice's mate. I've never mounted her. Why would you ask that?"

She hated the fact that she was glad he'd never slept with the woman she'd been mistaken for. The idea of being a replacement version of a woman he'd lost to another man had set her on edge. "Curiosity, since some people think we look so much alike. Never mind. It's been a stressful day."

He caressed her cheek before dropping his hand. "I don't want you leaving Reservation. It's not safe. The protesters are out in full force and some have even shown up at the gate you use. That's a long stretch of road I don't want you traveling and someone could follow you home. They already attacked you once, thinking you were Justice's mate. I insist you stay here for a few days until things calm."

Disappointment hit her that he wasn't inviting her to stay at his place. Smiley had offered to take her home and he didn't even know her. It was a painful reminder that Tiger didn't want anything long-term between them. It was what they'd agreed on and she'd made her bed. Sleeping in it suddenly seemed really lonely and painful.

"Okay."

"There is space open in human housing. It's similar to your apartment buildings. I'll assign officers to guard you. Some of the protesters have tried to breach our walls and I want to make sure you're safe. I will try to check on you but I'm not sure how late my shift will end. It's going to be a long day and worse night. We've learned that they tend to think just because the sun goes down that it will be easier to sneak onto NSO lands."

"I don't have any clothes. I'll need to take at least one trip home to get my stuff."

"No. I'll order you clothes from our store." He glanced down her. "I apologize but we don't get too many small females staying here. You'll probably have to wear more sweats and T-shirts."

"There's a dress code for work."

"Don't worry about that. I'll make certain no one says anything. You are safer here at Reservation until this blows over. We'll extend the same courtesy to all NSO human employees."

That killed her assumption that he'd done something special for her by asking her to stay where he knew she'd be safe. It drove home another reminder that they didn't have a relationship. It stung.

"Fine. You do that. I need to get to work. I guess I'll see you later."

She turned away from him and he had no choice but to release her hip. The limp was noticeable as she headed toward Smiley. He saw her coming and came at her quickly.

"Zandy?" Tiger hissed.

She paused and turned her head to meet his gaze. "Yes?"

"Is something wrong? Are you angry with me?"

She swung back around and limped so close to him that she had to tilt her chin up to stare into his handsome face. He looked past her and held up his hand to halt the officer. His hand dropped to his side.

She was in pain and had been assaulted, her patience already at the limit. They didn't have a real relationship but she wanted to be honest. It was probably the last time they'd talk anyway. She might as well give him a piece of her mind.

"I'm having a shit day if you haven't noticed. I'm sure you are too since I know you're the head of security here. I guess when I saw you speeding around that corner I assumed you'd heard what happened and it shook you up enough to want to see me." She paused. "Hell, this is why I don't get involved with men. I suck at it and we don't have a relationship, right? Thank you for caring and checking on me. I know you need to get back to work. We're fine." She turned away again.

Tiger's hand clamped down on her arm to prevent her from getting away from him. He stepped around her until he blocked her path. "Are we in a relationship?"

Her gaze dropped to his NSO work shirt. "I don't know. Are we?" She gazed back up at him.

"I wanted to invite you to stay at my house but you'd already told me no. I didn't want to be rejected a second time. I also have to work long hours and my home is too far from the office to sleep there while this crisis is happening. You'd be out there alone. I wanted to keep you close."

"It wasn't a rejection. I just said no because we barely knew each other then."

His exotic eyes narrowed. "We know each other extremely well now."

Sexually. "I don't know where we're heading and it's scary. I missed you today and hoped you'd invite me to meet you later." I'm falling in love with you.

"I missed you too." He hesitated. "I will come visit you tonight and we'll talk."

"Okay." She wasn't sure if that was bad or good.

"It might be late."

"I understand."

His cell phone buzzed and he reached for it, never looking away from her eyes. "Yes?" He paused. "Understood. I'm on my way." He hung up. "I have to go. Some of the humans outside the gates are acting up again." He lifted a hand and waved Smiley forward. "Try to take a nap before I arrive." His voice lowered even more. "I plan to do a lot more than just talk to you." A soft purr came from him before he backed away.

Zandy's body instantly responded to the sexy noise. The idea of seeing him later and possibly spending another night sleeping together had her nipples growing taut and her belly quivering. Him licking his lips only reminded her of what he could do with that tongue and her clit throbbed.

He faced Smiley. "I'm reassigning you to Zandy today. Take her to work and I want you to stay close to her building until after her shift is over. She'll be staying at building H, apartment HJ until this mess ends. It's too dangerous for her to leave Reservation. I'll have officers meet you there later. Wait for them if they are running late. She isn't to be left unguarded."

"Understood."

Tiger glanced at her one more time before he strode back to his Jeep. Another one turned the corner, probably the transportation Smiley had called. She resisted waving at Tiger as he drove away. The officer next to her sniffed loudly and she jerked her head to stare at his face.

He frowned. "Forget about that one, Zandy."

"What?"

"You are aroused and Tiger isn't a male you wish to pursue. He isn't the type to take a mate. He avoids sharing sex with human females."

Her cheeks warmed as she blushed. Oh hell. "Is there anything you guys can't smell?"

He hesitated. "I'm not opposed to taking a mate and open to a possible lasting bond with a female. You're injured and having a stressful day but keep me in mind if you wish to share sex. Just think about it."

A new officer watched them from the waiting Jeep while Zandy limped toward the passenger seat. She wasn't going to touch that one with a ten-foot pole. Not the man or the offer. She wasn't even sure how to respond.