Brides of the Kindred(26)

“Hey, are you okay?” Kat sat beside her on the bed and put an arm around Sophie’s shaking shoulders.

Sophie swiped at her eyes and sniffed. “I just can’t believe this. I can’t believe she’s gone. We ought to be eating blueberry pancakes right now and dishing about the latest Hollywood gossip or something stupid like that. Not packing up her clothes to send to her. And I don’t even know how many to pack. Some of them? All of them? I mean what if…what if she never…never comes back?”

She sobbed again and pressed a hand to her mouth. She was closer to Liv than to any other person in the entire world. The idea of never seeing her twin again, or of only seeing her once or twice a year, which was about how often Kindred brides got to visit their home planet after they were taken, was horrible—unthinkable. And yet she had to think about it because it was true—Liv was gone and might not be coming back.

“Hey, don’t cry.” Kat squeezed her arm. “Listen Sophie, don’t count Liv out yet. You of all people should know she’s no shrinking violet when it comes to men. Remember how she pitched Mitch the minute she found out he was cheating on her? She threw the ring at him, kicked him out and broke the lease on their condo all in the same day. And she never went back to him—not once.”

“Yeah.” Sophie sniffled. “I know. Liv can be pretty tough when she has to be. Not like me. I’m a marshmallow.”

“Exactly.” Kat nodded kindly. “Which is why it’s a good thing Liv got drafted instead of you. Our girl can stand up for herself. She’s not even going to let that big jerk get to first base, you’ll see.”

“But what if he doesn’t give her a choice? You saw the way he was looking at her—like he wanted to eat her up!” Sophie tried to picture the dark haired Beast Kindred that had claimed Liv but instead all her mind would conjure was the other one—the big blond man with the spiky hair and the fangs. “I mean he could be…doing things to her right now,” she added, trying to suppress a shiver.

“Look,” Kat said firmly. “If there’s one thing I know for certain about this situation it’s that the Kindred are not allowed to use force when it comes to convincing a human woman to have bonding sex with them. They were very clear about that during that trial I told you and Liv about.”

“What if he’s using something besides physical force?” Sophie asked, wiping her eyes again and snatching a Kleenex from the box of tissues beside the bed to blow her nose. “I mean, she’s been dreaming about him for months—she told me so. He’s been inside her head for so long—what if he’s brainwashed her or something?”

“Did she act like someone who’d been brainwashed?” Kat demanded. “You heard her—she’s determined to hold out the entire month and come back to us. Don’t worry, Sophie. Liv is tough. She won’t let us down.”

“I hope you’re right.” Sophie blew her nose and blotted her eyes on another tissue. “Well, I guess I’d better get this stuff to her since she seemed to want it right away. Should I send her anything else?”

“How about a note?” Kat suggested. “Write and let her know we miss her already and we’re counting on her to come home.”

“Good idea.” Sophie nodded. “Do you want to come with me back to the HKR building to drop this off?”

Kat shook her head and stood up. “I’d like to but I need to run down to the office and get a little more information. I want to be sure we leave no stone unturned when it comes to getting Liv back, you know?”

“Thanks Kat.” Sophie stood and gave her an impulsive hug. “You really are a great friend, you know?”

Kat hugged her back. “So are you and Olivia. The two best friends I have and I’m not about to lose one of you to some big alien jerk. Okay?”

Sophie gave her a watery smile. “Okay. Let me know if you find anything else out.”

“I will,” Kat promised. “And watch yourself down at the HKR building. You don’t want to be mistaken for a bride and whisked away.”

Unbidden the image of the blond Kindred warrior with the ice blue eyes rose in Sophie’s memory again and she shivered. “Absolutely not! Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.”

“Good. See you later then, doll.” Kat nodded and left her to finish packing.

Sighing, Sophia went to her twin’s closet and looked at the rows of colorful scrubs hanging there. What else should she pack? What would Liv be most comfortable in and what would be most likely to make the huge Kindred warrior who had claimed her keep his hands to himself?