“I will take her word that she isn’t armed,” Xairn interrupted coolly. “And I will allow her into the cell with Lauren. She has been missing human companionship. Perhaps seeing another of her kind will make her feel better.”
“Thank you.” Kat stood by impatiently while he opened the door to the cell and then stepped in at once. “Lauren,” she said gently, taking a step forward and extending her hand. “It’s all right—I’m a friend.”
“I just can’t believe…after all this time…” Lauren stepped forward slowly. Hesitantly, she took Kat’s offered hand. “Are you real?” she whispered, squeezing her fingers. “Are you really real?”
Kat smiled at her. “Last time I looked I was. Large as life and twice as natural.”
Tears began to stream down Lauren’s face. “I’m sorry,” she sobbed, blotting her eyes on the black cloak she wore. “I just…I just…”
“Hey, it’s all right. It’s okay.” Impulsively, Kat pulled her in for a hug. Lauren trembled and cried against her and Kat didn’t blame her a bit. God only knows what this poor girl has been through. Finally the sobs slowed and then tapered off to sniffs and hiccups.
“S-sorry,” Lauren said, pulling away. “Didn’t mean to cry all over you.”
“It’s fine,” Kat assured her. “I’m sure if our positions were reversed I would have done the same thing. I’m Kat, by the way. I’m a friend of your cousins, Olivia and Sophia Waterhouse.”
Lauren frowned. “Who? I don’t have any cousins.”
“Yes, you do. Your mom tracked them down and didn’t want to tell you until she was sure they wanted to do the whole family reunion thing. And they do, by the way—they can’t wait to meet you.”
Lauren looked dazed. “Wow…I don’t know what to say—I’ve always wished I had more family. I’d love to meet them too. I’d love to meet anyone on Earth right now.”
“Oh, they’re not on Earth—they’re on the Mother ship. Both of them are mated to Kindred warriors,” Kat explained.
Lauren’s amber eyes flickered to Deep and Lock, standing on either side of Xairn outside the glass cell. “And you are too? Is one of those guys your husband…uh, mate?”
Kat felt a pang of sorrow but she pushed it away and gave Lauren a smile. “Nah. Well—we do have a kind of connection but it’s not complete. And we’re going to get rid of it.” She eyed Deep. “Irreconcilable differences, you know?”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Lauren murmured.
“What about you?” Kat asked, trying to phrase the question delicately. “How has, uh, Xairn been treating you? All right?”
“He’s been a perfect gentleman,” Lauren said quietly. “I know what you’re probably thinking about why they took me and it’s partly true. The AllFather wants to…wants to…” She shook her head. “I can’t think about what he wants to do. It’s too awful. But Xairn has promised to protect me from him and take me home.”
“Do you believe he really will?” Kat asked in a low voice she was pretty certain couldn’t be heard through the thick glass. “Look, it’s okay—you can tell me the truth. The guys I’m with are armed—we’ll keep you safe.”
Lauren got a stubborn look in her amber eyes. “I know how it must sound—like I have the worst case of Stockholm syndrome in history. But honestly, Xairn has never hurt me and I do trust him. He’s very repressed—I mean, wouldn’t you be if you had his father for a dad? And I get the idea he went through some pretty bad things in his childhood, though he won’t talk about it much.”
Kat nodded noncommittally. “Sounds like he has major issues.”
“He does. Seriously though, he’s one of the good guys. Even though he’s one of the bad guys—if you know what I mean.”
Searching her eyes once more, Kat and found nothing there but sincerity. She nodded. “Yeah, I know. But this whole idea of him taking you home…don’t you think it would be better if you came with us instead? We’re going straight back to the Mother ship and from there it’s a hop, skip, and a jump to Earth.”
Lauren bit her lip. “Probably… But I don’t exactly know how…”
“How to talk to him about it? Leave it to me.” Kat put an arm around her shoulders. “Right now, we’ve got to get out of here before we can start dividing up the carpool. Come on.”