New Species 02 Slade by Laurann Dohner Read Free Book Online

case.
    Underwear followed. She took one pair of high heels, a
    pair of slip-ons, and decided to wear the comfortable
    running shoes she had on. She also packed up a few sets
    of sweats to sleep in.
    She walked into her bathroom to pack her overnight
    bag. Makeup and personal items went inside it. She
    remembered her shampoo and conditioner in case they
    were heading for a hotel. She hated samples. Her hair
    was too long for them to be of any use.
    A black SUV pulled up and honked in front of her
    house. Trisha glanced at her watch to see he’d arrived
    fifteen minutes early. She clenched her teeth. Slade did
    enjoy aggravating her. She grabbed her purse, her
    suitcase, and slung her overnight bag across her
    shoulder. The weight of all her luggage made her
    struggle to get out the front door.
    No one came to help her. She stared pointedly at the
    security guard driving the SUV but he just watched her
    as she closed her front door and fought with the keys to
    lock the deadbolt. Some of her irritation eased since the
    driver wasn’t Slade. She relaxed, took a deep breath, and
    turned. She tried not to groan as she moved down the
    sidewalk. Her suitcase was heavy and the bag dug
    painfully into her shoulder.
    The back door opened on the vehicle and Slade
    jumped out. He smiled at her, glancing at her bags. With
    a shake of his head he walked to the back of the vehicle
    to open up the hatchback. He stepped out of her way,
    chuckled, and waved her to put her things inside.
    “Gee, thanks for the help.” She shot him a nasty look.
    “I said we were going to be gone two days, not two
    weeks, Doc. I guess you can stow your own gear if you
    think you can wear all that crap you have jammed into
    those bags.”
    She did groan when she hefted the suitcase up to
    dump it into the back of the SUV. “I didn’t know what to
    pack and I had to bring different kinds of clothes. It
    would have saved a lot packing if someone,” she glared
    at him as she tossed in her overnight bag, “told me
    where I was going and what this is about.”
    He closed the hatchback. “Let’s go, Doc. We don’t
    have all day to stand here chatting.”
    Trisha was pissed. She gripped her purse in a
    stranglehold. The door to the back of the SUV still stood
    open, she moved before Slade could and climbed inside,
    knowing he’d been sitting there. She shot him a mean
    smile while getting comfortable in the still-warm-from-
    his-butt seat. She slammed the door and turned to ask
    Justice what was going on. The vehicle was empty except
    for the driver and Slade, who opened the other door
    across from her and climbed inside. The door closed.
    “We’re picking up Justice last?”She hated the
    hopeful tone in her voice.
    Slade put on his seat belt. “Buckle up, Doc. Nope.
    Justice already left. We’re meeting him in a few hours.”
    She sighed, securing her belt. “Where are we going?”
    She gave her attention to the security guard behind the
    wheel in front of her. “I’m Dr. Trisha Norbit. What’s your
    name, driver?”
    “Bart,” he shared cheerfully. He met Trisha’s gaze in
    the rearview mirror. “We’re heading up north to a
    private resort.”
    Trisha frowned uneasily. “Why?”
    “Oh,” Bart started the SUV, “Mr. North has set a
    bunch of meetings up there. They figured it would be
    remote enough to make the press really uncomfortable if
    they wanted to attempt to follow him there and camp out
    to see what he’s doing. We’re hoping they don’t find out
    about it until after the fact.”
    Trisha ignored Slade. “What kind of meetings? Do
    you know?”
    “Oh sure.” The young guy was really talkative,
    which suited Trisha. “Mr. North wants to buy some land
    up there for New Species. He’s set meetings with all the
    officials out there and the guy who wants to sell the land.
    I heard he wanted you present in case someone has any
    questions about medical crap.” He took a breath. “You
    heard those stupid rumors about how people