This chapter might not make it too clear who our lovely Aria will end up with but I like giving a girl options. :p Hope you enjoy and as always reviews are so appreciated!
Chapter 2
Conversation in the SUV stopped abruptly when Shane cursed and slammed on the brakes, the tires screaming to stop on the dark pavement. The image of a woman in a white blouse and black skirt appeared starkly in the headlights only to disappear with a sickening thud.
Everything seemed to freeze for a second and then the vehicle doors were thrown open. Brass and Ascension made it around the front first, dropping to their knees beside the still female form. The other males crowded around, looking down at the woman in worry.
The woman moaned softly as Brass quickly checked her over for serious injuries. Finding nothing life threatening, Ascension leaned forward, helping Brass lay the woman out flat on the pavement illuminated by the SUV headlights.
The human woman lay still, dark hair straying across her face. Her clothing was disheveled and torn in ways that the impact with the vehicle didn't explain. When Ascension reached out and slowly stroked her hair back he revealed a split lip and a cheek reddened with a hand print.
Ascension growled, drawing Brass's attention.
When the male caught sight of the damage he growled as well. "Someone struck her."
Both males crouched over her fallen body, protective instincts raging, and scanned the vicinity. The others dispersed, circling the SUV to see if they could spot anything. Nothing seemed out of place. The streets were lined with parked cars and the buildings were mostly darkened store fronts. A few feet away a large shoulder bag lay on the ground, it's contents spilling out on the street.
"I don't see anything but I smell human males nearby." Ascension grumbled softly. "We need to get her out of here."
Brass nodded. "We should call an ambulance. I don't like the idea of us transporting her to the hospital ourselves. She may have internal injuries."
Ascension was about to argue when Zest yelled from behind the SUV. "A news fan just turned the corner and they are coming our way!"
"Shit!" Brass cursed, digging a hand into his long hair in frustration and mussing it from it's ponytail.
Ascension didn't wait for Brass to make up his mind. He slid his arms beneath the female and, with the help of Wager who steadied him, got to his feet. Without a word, he carried the woman around the vehicle and climbed into his seat in the middle row. He settled the small female as best as he could on his lap, letting her dark head rest against his shoulder as he held her tight.
The other males piled in and Brass came around, urging a shaken Shane into the passenger seat so he could drive. The doors slammed shut and the SUV was off, it's pace calm as if nothing had happened.
"We need to get her medical assistance." Brass said from the front seat, not taking his eyes off the road.
"Why don't we take her to Medical at Homeland? They could handle whatever she needs there." Ascension pointed out, staring down at the bruised beauty in his arms.
Brass ground his teeth together and was about to shoot the idea down when Wager spoke up from the back seat. "Do you really want to drop off a battered female to the hospital with a news van trailing us? It won't look good no matter how Justice tries to spin it."
Brass growled, defeated by such sound logic. "All right, let's head home."
Ascension wasn't sure why but the tightness that had been gathering in his chest since he'd seen this woman in the headlights, a look of horror on her face, loosened and he took a deep breath. The air that filled his lungs was full of the aroma of warm woman and the distinct scent of her blood.
XXX
Aria tried to blink and felt like someone had filled her eyes with sand. Dear lord what had happened to her. Her whole body ached.
Opting to keep her eyes closed she tried to bring her hand up but her shoulder throbbed in protest. She didn't bother to stifle the groan it caused. She felt like fate had run her over. Thinking back she couldn't remember why work had been so difficult. It had been like any other large party. Pandering to the tons of wealthy folks pretending they were better people because they had money was never too hard. Annoying but not difficult. It certainly didn't explain the pain she was feeling.
"Oh good, you're awake. How are you feeling?"
The voice was pleasant, deep and male, and didn't fit at all into where she thought she was. Struggling, she blinked open her eyes and winced. The room around her wasn't her own. Instead of her comfortable little apartment she was in a white room with a man staring down at her questioningly.
"Miss Keegan? Are you still in pain?" The man asked, coming closer to the side of the bed.
Aria blinked hard and forced out a mumble. "Where am I?"
The man smiled reassuringly at her from the side of the bed. "You're safe. From what I heard, you ran out in front of one of our SUVs and gave the males quite a scare."
Her brain paused to process and she thought hard before everything came back with startling clarity. Her body jack-knifed into a sitting position and she swayed at the change in her brain's equilibrium.
"Whoa. Not so fast." The man beside the bed quickly reached out, putting an arm behind her back and fiddled with something at the side of the bed. When he withdrew his arm the head of the bed had been tilted up so it supported her new position.
"Those assholes attacked me! They were waiting in that alley and when I past by they grabbed me." She said aloud as she processed the last things she remembered.
The man at her bedside growled softly. When he spoke his voice was rougher than it had been moments before. "What did they want from you?"
Aria shuddered. "Nothing good. One of them tried to kiss me and I bit him. I managed to get loose and I ran but..." She winced, her head aching as she tried to piece together what came next. "I don't know how I got away."
"From what the night nurse told me, you ran in front of one of our SUVs. Maybe as you tried to get away. Shane stopped the car but it gave you quite a jolt. Our team brought you here so we could tend to your injuries."
Aria looked down at herself and found bandages wrapped in different places around her arms. The blanket came to her waist and the medical gown came to her throat but she ached underneath them both. Frowning she met the man's eyes. "Am I okay?"
He nodded, leaf green eyes brightening. "You were pretty banged up but nothing serious. A bunch of scraps, bruises and a few cuts. Your ribs are probably bruised and you took quite the hit to the head but there's no sign of concussion. If you rest you'll be fine in no time."
A sigh of relief escaped her and she smiled at him. "Thanks for taking such good care of me."
With a stunning smile he patted the back of her hand where it rested on the blanket. "It's not a problem, Miss Keegan."
"Please, call me Aria. Miss Keegan is way to formal for me." She grinned at him.
"Okay, Aria it is. I'm Field."
She tilted her head in interest. "Field. That's nice but definitely an unusual name."
He grinned at her. "Thank you. I chose it when I was freed. I saw a movie with large open fields and couldn't imagine a more peaceful place to be.
"Chose?" She looked at him carefully and finally picked up on it. The pronounced cheekbones, flatter nose, full lips and the fangs that peeked at her when he smiled. "My god, you're New Species!"
Field's smile faltered and he nodded slowly, as if unsure how this news would be received. "Yes, I am. You're at the New Species Homeland."
Aria stared at him, stunned, for a full minute before a huge smile broke across her face. It tugged at her swollen lips and stung until she was sure she had split her lip again but she couldn't help it. "That is so cool!"
"It is?" Field asked hesitantly.
She nodded. "It really is. I'm very pro-Species." Suddenly she blushed and flustered. "Damn, this wasn't exactly how I wanted to meet one of you. I'm a mess."
Field laughed and grinned at her. "Considering it was one of our SUVs that did some of that damage, don't worry about it. We're the ones who look bad in this scenario."
She giggled and Field grinned back at her. Wow, she'd been almost run over / rescued by New Species. Who would have guessed such a bad night could have such an upside?