5

Chapter One

Southern California

Eleven Months later

Ellie sighed and adjusted her headphones to a more comfortable position. Heavy metal music poured out of the MP3 player she dropped into the front pocket of her cotton capri pants. The warm temperatures made her sweat even at eleven o’clock at night, despite the very slight breeze that fanned her skin. She glanced toward the open windows. The air-conditioning system of the dorm had gone out again. The maintenance teams were still fixing glitches on the newly constructed building.

She approached the balcony doors she tended to leave open and stepped outside to enjoy a nice breeze to help cool her overheated body. She sipped the cold water from the small plastic bottle she’d grabbed from the mini-fridge when she’d entered her apartment. She leaned against the railing to stare down at Homeland from her perch on the third floor. She’d just finished her nightly workout. The breeze felt heavenly on her skin. Her attention strayed to the security walls approximately fifty yards ahead.

They towered thirty feet high and guards patrolled the perimeter on the catwalks overhead. Below her stretched grass and a few trees that made a park-like setting between the dorm building and the outer wall. The new five-thousand-acre Homeland had just been completed and Ellie had spent her second day living there. No one strolled along the sidewalk that twisted through the grass and trees below.

The very quiet building disturbed her a bit but she’d been warned to expect it. Most of the women hadn’t been moved into the dorm yet but once they were, Ellie hoped everything would go smoothly. She really wanted to make sure Homeland worked according to plan. It would house the survivors from Mercile Industries, an oasis from the rest of the world where they could live, and adjust to freedom within a safe community. They needed a safe haven.

She’d only known about Mercile Industries running one illegal testing facility but once it had been raided, three more existing ones had been discovered. She closed her eyes, still sickened over the number of victims involved that had been reported on the news coverage over the past months. Those testing facilities had been raided by government and law enforcement agencies, the victims now released, but not all of them had survived long enough to be rescued. The numbers of dead subjects were in the hundreds and those losses had broken her heart.

Ellie forced her eyes open. Two years prior she’d worked at Mercile’s administrative building when she’d been approached by Officer Victor Helio. He had explained there were rumors about a secret research facility that forced human beings into being test subjects for illegal drugs. The police had tried to get undercover agents imbedded inside Mercile but they’d refused to hire anyone from the outside. As an existing employee she didn’t raise suspicion when she’d asked for a transfer to one of their research and development testing facilities. She’d been so horrified by the concept of humans suffering that she’d agreed to spy for them. It had taken six months to be granted the request and months more to gain access to the lower floors of the research building, but then she’d met 416 and others living their hellish existences. She’d been proud of her part in bringing down the original testing facility. She’d risked her life to smuggle out those files but it had been enough evidence to have a judge grant search warrants that resulted in a full assault on the facility.

She sighed. Classified information and victim-protection policies were the terms she heard every time she’d asked about him. She knew some of the subjects hadn’t survived the actual rescue from her testing facility. They’d been murdered before law enforcement breached the most secure lower areas where a lot of the victims had been kept. For all she knew, 416 had died floors below the surface, locked inside his cell, never knowing help had tried to reach him. It broke her heart to consider that possibility.

Ellie jerked the headphones from her ears, turned off her MP3 player and dropped them on the desk, fighting back the anguish she suffered every time she thought of 416. She’d wanted to be there when the warrants were served, to stand guard outside his door to protect him. She owed him that and so much more. She’d begged Officer Helio to allow it, but he’d refused. She wasn’t law enforcement and she’d been firmly told they wouldn’t risk an informant they needed testimony from to make their case against Mercile.

“Shit,” she cursed.

She couldn’t forget those dark eyes, the look on 416’s face when she’d abandoned him that day inside his cell, or the way he’d growled at her. She’d only wanted to save his life but he had no way of knowing why she’d allowed him to take the blame for that technician’s death. He must have thought her monstrous and cruel. Hot tears blinded her but she blinked rapidly to hold them at bay. She’d cried buckets of them since that awful day she’d left him on the floor.

The Homeland-issued phone rang, startling her. Her cell phone was her only contact to the outside world but no one called her on it. She’d distanced herself from her friends and family. Everything about her life had changed while working those months for that testing facility. She could no longer tolerate her divorced parents using her as a weapon against each other or tearing into her over her own divorce. There were genuine problems with the world and her time could be spent making a real difference. Now her focus centered on helping the New Species and it gave her a sense of worth by doing something to right a wrong. It gave meaning to her life and that’s what she needed most. She answered the phone on the second ring.

“Ellie Brower.”

“Ms. Brower, it’s Cody Parks with security. I’m calling to inform you that we have a late transit arriving with four women. They were compromised at the hotel and we just received notification they are here.”

“I’m on my way to the door now.” She hung up.

Damn. The media must have somehow found out four of the rescued women are in the area. Protocol stated that, if a flight came in after dark, the victims should be placed with guards at a hotel to be transferred to Homeland during daylight hours. Security had deemed it easier to protect them while in transit during that time but obviously hiding the survivors inside a hotel hadn’t been as smart as they’d thought. She could only hope the women hadn’t been overly traumatized by whatever had happened. The real world could be frightening enough for those poor survivors without media vultures circling them with their shouted questions and flashing cameras.

It took mere seconds to slip on her shoes and grab her security card. Ellie left her room and purposely avoided the elevator. The thing moved too slowly for her patience. She jogged down the flights of stairs to the entryway. The windows were clear but were made of a type of glass that was strong enough to withstand abuse of the worst sort. Outside she spotted four women approaching the entry with two guards trailing behind, carrying four suitcases. She increased her pace.

Cody Parks, the “go to” man in security, greeted her with a smile. “Evening, Ms. Brower. Sorry for the late arrival of our newest residents.”

Ellie smiled. She directed her focus to the A****n-like women. The shortest of the four stood at least six feet tall. There were already ten women living inside the dorm, all of whom were tall, muscular types as well. Ellie felt short and tiny compared to them. Her smile widened as she glanced at each one but none of them returned the gesture. They looked tired, angry and out of sorts. Sympathy welled inside Ellie.

“Welcome to your new home.” Ellie spoke softly. “I know you have been through a lot but you’re safe here. I’m Ellie, your house mother.”

Two of the women frowned. One woman, the tallest and most kick-ass-looking one of the small group, glared. The fourth one, a blonde, spoke.

“Our what?”

“Your house mother. It’s just a title,” Ellie explained quickly. “I’m not really trying to be your mother. I’m the one you will come to with problems, if you have questions, or if you need something. I’m here to help you in any way possible. You can talk to me about anything and I’ll always listen.”

“A head doctor,” the shortest, dark-haired woman snapped. She bared her sharp teeth at Ellie.

“No,” Ellie corrected. “I have basic nursing skills but I’m not a doctor. I know all of you had to see therapists. I’ve had to see a few of them myself and I hate them too.” She gave them a sympathetic expression. “I’ll show you to your rooms, give you a short tour around the dorm, and we’ll get you settled. I—”

“Ms. Brower,” Cody Parks interrupted.

Ellie turned her attention on him as the women walked through the doors. They glanced around the large entryway toward the living-room area. She knew they needed a few minutes to get their bearings.

“Yes?”

“There’s been a meeting called in twenty minutes. They requested you be in attendance since you’re in charge of the female housing. The head of their new council demanded to be briefed fully on Homeland. He wants to make certain his people aren’t being mistreated in any way. He just got appointed to the position and needs the reassurance.”

Dismay filled Ellie. “But it’s so late. I’d like to get them settled and it will take longer than that.”