Primal Law (Alpha Pack #1)(13)

"Yes. I wouldn't do anything different, and I don't believe you would have, either. They were going to murder her, and I had about two seconds to decide." He stood unflinching in the face of the man's formidable anger. His actions had been the right course and he wouldn't apologize, nor would Nick respect him for doing so.

They stood regarding each other for several long moments. His three friends moved slightly toward Jaxon in unspoken support of what he'd done, even Aric. It was a gesture not to be taken lightly. Jaxon had broken a hardand-fast rule by bringing a civilian into their world, a world precious few could comprehend-or could be trusted to keep quiet about once they knew.

Nick's stance relaxed, just a little. "No other witnesses?"

"No. We would've scented them."

Their leader studied each of them at length before his expression finally softened, replaced by weary resignation. "All right. Jax, I want to speak with you and our guest in my office. Now."

After he turned and strode off, Ryon muttered, "Well, at least he's not going to rip your throat out."

Jaxon managed a small smile. "Yet."

"Good luck, bro," Zan said, wincing in sympathy. The others chimed an agreement, and they took turns butting knuckles with Jaxon before wandering to their own quarters.

Beside him, Kira watched them go, unconsciously biting her lower lip. In his opinion, she'd held up pretty well in spite of everything, resorting to humor-tinged sarcasm when she was afraid or feeling unsure instead of going off the deep end like many would have. Even so, she was quickly reaching the end of her rope for tonight.

"Come on," he said, placing a palm on her lower back to gently guide her forward. "It won't take him long to grill us and lay down the law. Then we can hit the sack."

She was silent for a few moments as they walked. When she spoke, her voice was tired. "I don't have anything to wear. All my stuff is at my apartment in Vegas."

"I'll loan you a T-shirt to sleep in tonight. In the morning, I'll borrow some clothes from one of the ladies until we're able to replace your things."

"Thank you." She paused. "I gather that sending someone to pack my belongings is out of the question."

Looking down at her, he nodded. "Too dangerous, at least right now, and the risk of leading more of your pursuers here is too great. You don't have any pets, do you?"

"Unfortunately, no. I like dogs and cats, but I'm not home enough to have one. It wouldn't be fair to leave it alone so much."

Admirable, and advantageous. He would've gone after her beloved pet, but was glad they had one less worry. Another thought occurred to him. "Is there any evidence you might've left behind that could clue in whoever's after you as to how much you know?"

"No. To tell you the truth I don't know anything, but I never put my suspicions in writing. My laptop is at home, but I never dared to use it to research gene splicing. Instead I accessed different ones in the common areas at work, where it would be hard to prove who was online."

"Whoa, hold up." Halting outside Nick's office, he frowned at her. "Gene splicing? NewLife does medical research, right?"

"Yes."

"Then what's so unusual about genetic testing, or whatever?"

"It wouldn't be remarkable, except-"

Nick interrupted. "Why don't you both come in and we'll get the answers we need?" He turned, expecting them to follow.

Jaxon steered her inside, shutting the door behind them. They seated themselves in a couple of chairs in front of Nick's desk, while the man himself parked his rear on the edge of the desk and folded his arms. Gripping the armrests, Kira spoke first, eyeing his boss nervously.

"There aren't many answers I can give you, beyond how I met your men and was lucky enough to be rescued by Jaxon."

If Nick was surprised by her use of Jax's first name, he gave no indication. His manner was as direct as always, though his tone was kind and patient as he began the interview. Nick might be one tough son of a bitch, but Jaxon had never seen him treat a woman with anything but courtesy. Unless she deserved to be treated otherwise.

"You're Kira Locke," he stated, startling her.

"Y-yes . . . But how did you know my name?"

"Quite simply? I'm a PreCog. I sometimes 'know' things or 'see' events before they happen. Earlier, I had a vision that my men would return early and bring you with them. But I couldn't see the reason, which is what I was asking the others about when you and Jax walked up."

Poor thing was stunned. She stared at Nick, mouth hanging open. Jaxon and everyone at the Institute who was involved with the Alpha Project had years to come to grips with the often terrible reality that not everything that went bump in the night was the wind. Kira's learning curve was going to have to be a lot quicker.

Jaxon laid a hand over hers, rubbing the soft skin on the back with his thumb, trying to comfort the anxiety he could scent coming from her in waves. She glanced at him in surprise but didn't pull away. Heat seared his hand, spread through his fingers, his limbs. Shot to his groin. He had to let go or embarrass himself in front of her and his boss. Withdrawing, he forced himself to concentrate on putting her at ease.

"We all have special abilities, which you know. You've seen some of them, and it's going to take some adjustment for you to fully accept. But right now, what's important is telling Nick what led you to us."