Best Friends (New Species #15)(94)

“Don’t make me take off my jacket, damn it. I’m not the enemy. I just want to talk to your female.”

“You think I’d hurt my mate?” Lash snarled.

“No,” Jaded snarled back. “I don’t. I trust you, Lash. She’s human, though, damn it! We try like hell to keep the peace with them. Her people don’t seem to know she’s missing yet but at some point, her family or friends will contact Sheriff Cooper about her disappearance. We’d like to fucking avoid having bad press. I want to have her call whoever she thinks might worry when they don’t hear from her to avoid a publicity nightmare. I can see the headlines now. New Species holding wedding guest hostage, or some such shit.”

Lash growled.

Jaded reached inside his pocket and withdrew something. “This is her phone. We were able to retrieve it from the vent. I’d like to give it to her and ask that she make whatever calls she needs to prevent humans from showing up at our gates. We’d also like to fix the air conditioning. Maybe you haven’t noticed because you’re still getting cool air down here, but that broken section she fell through means it’s no longer blowing it up into some parts of the hotel. There’s a shitload of pissed-off, sweating Species right now in the affected sections.”

Lash said nothing.

“I’m glad you found a mate, but let’s not make it some huge mess, okay?” Jaded’s voice lowered. “Nobody plans to take her away from you unless she demands it. I know you wanted time with her. I spoke to Snow and Jinx. I understand…but you need to understand we don’t need a shit storm of bad press or Species suffering heat stroke because it’s too warm in their homes. You like food, don’t you? The kitchen area was also affected. No air conditioning.”

“I won’t let you take her from me.” Lash crossed his arms over his chest.

Mary had heard enough. “I’ll put a message on my voicemail that I’m staying with a friend for a few days and cell reception is bad, so no one calls the cops,” she called out.

Lash spun and snarled, his gaze finding her fast. “I told you to stay put.”

“You’re so bossy.” She stayed against the artificial tree, glad it hid most of her from the other New Species. Her gaze went to Jaded Wild. “We’ll also let people in to fix the air conditioning.”

“I don’t want anyone near you.” Lash walked toward her.

“Do you know how miserable it is without air conditioning when it’s hot?” She glared at him. “You’re being selfish if you don’t let them fix it.”

“This is amusing,” one of the New Species in uniform snorted.

Lash reached her and stepped around the trunk, stopping inches away. “You should be in the bathroom. I told you to stay there until I came for you.”

“I’m not a pet you can order around,” she snapped. “Let them fix the air conditioning, Lash.”

“I don’t want males near you!”

Her anger softened when she saw worry in his eyes. “I’ll stay with you, but I do need to put a message on my phone. Mr. Wild is right. My parents and boss will worry if they call but don’t hear back from me. They know I was going to Mel’s wedding. I’d also like some clothes, and a bed on the floor. That mat isn’t the most comfortable thing, and you already know how I feel about you carrying me up there.” She pointed toward the ceiling, then lowered her hand, placing her palm on his chest. “You keep saying humans are unreasonable. Too bad you don’t seem to own any mirrors, or you’d see that you’re behaving like one right now.”

“We can’t stay here while a work crew comes in. They are aloud and will annoy me. I also don’t want them near you, either.”

She opened her mouth, not sure what to say to that, but a solution came to her fast. “We can stay in your bathroom. It’s huge.”

“They might have to bring in humans to fix it. No. I don’t trust them not to attempt to harm you. You’ll get mad if I kill them.”

Frustration rose, and Mary grit her teeth. He could be so paranoid.

“I can make a suggestion,” Jaded called out.

Lash snarled and turned his head. “I’m talking to my mate. Not you.”

“Stop being an ass,” Jaded growled. “You can stay in a suite on the top floor of the hotel with roof access. Justice keeps it available for when he and Jessie visit us. He likes to have an escape route. It would just be for a day, or maybe two. Work with me, damn it.”

Lash inched closer, wrapping his arm around her. “I don’t like feeling contained in one of the rooms up there. I’d rather take my mate to the Wild Zone.”

“I’ve been to your home, Lash. She’d be more comfortable here. Plus, you know the others will come visit you if they hear you’re back. I also doubt she’d like to eat just the fish or small game you hunted before moving to the hotel. The kitchen staff can still deliver meals if you remain inside the hotel. I’ll assign an officer to your door in case of attack if that makes you feel safer out of your lair.”

“We have air conditioning here. You said it’s out upstairs.”

Mary lifted her hand and smacked his chest. “But others don’t until it can get fixed. Stop being a jerk.”

He glanced down at her and amusement flashed in his eyes.