Joy paced the living room of the cottage and chewed on her bottom lip. Harley watched her from the couch, his arms crossed over his chest.“Is that helping any? This exercise of yours?”She resisted the urge to flip him off. The male was annoying but she knew he was worried about what was going on with Moon at Medical. So was she. Harley had told her about the object in Moon’s arm.“You should have told me about his arm before we left Medical.”“Would you have left?”She stopped walking. “No.”“That’s why I didn’t tell you.”“Doesn’t the NSO have antimissile systems or something similar to shoot anything down if someone launches an attack?”“We have armed guards with weapons to deal with anything that is a threat. We aren’t sure why anyone associated with Mercile would put a tracker inside Moon but that’s the nastie

Joy unlocked the front door to her condo a little after ten o’clock that night. It had been a nightmare dealing with the problem at work. She’d managed to reach the hospital within two hours but she hadn’t expected the three-ring circus she encountered there. Her boss had called in a legal team to protect their clients’ rights.The lawyer had demanded she respond to him in whispered answers to every question from the police. He’d been the one to speak to them directly after filtering what she said. It had been a slow, annoying process that had taken hours.She kicked off her shoes inside the door and locked it. She hit the switch and light filled the open-concept living space that combined the kitchen with the living room. The seven-hundred-square-foot home wasn’t big but it was affordable. A long counter she used as a dining table was the only thing that separated the rooms. The lone barstool was a reminder of her solitary life. She

Joy had a hard time opening her eyes. Her tongue seemed swollen and it was tough to wake. She tried to roll but a big hand pressed against her chest to hold her in place. She was able to finally shove away the haze and peer up at a dim light above her. A fuzzy shape blocked it suddenly. She blinked and stared into dark, beautiful eyes.She’d survived being shot by Douglas. The professional side of her wondered what had happened to him but she wasn’t naïve enough to question Moon about his fate. It had been a miracle she’d talked a Species out of killing someone who’d attacked with deadly intent. It only showed how much New Species had acclimated since their release. They’d learned to quash their tempers while using reason instead of acting on pure impulse.“Joy,” Moon rasped. “You will be fine. They said the bullet passed through your arm but you lost a lot of blood. It missed the bone.” His voice turned gruff.

Joy watched Moon closely, still reeling from hearing him say she was his mate. He sat on the edge of her bed as he took her hand. They had a lot of issues to resolve. Relationships were complicated but he loved her. They had a foundation to build upon.“You shouldn’t have gotten out of bed.”“I’m glad I did.” She wasn’t sure where to start so she went with the thing that worried her most. “Can you ever forgive me for leaving you at site four? It’s the biggest regret of my life.”“Joy—”“Please let me finish.”He nodded.“I really didn’t see a way of staying. I thought it would cause you more harm than good if we slept together. You don’t know how many times I lay awake at night wishing I had the nerve to visit you at Homeland after it opened. I was too afraid you’d either refuse to see me or worse, wonder why I even bothered to c