Roark knew what he thought of himself. When Samantha’s friend had called him an “asshole” she had been right. In fact, she had been too kind.
“I am an asshole,” he muttered, staring down at the incontrovertible proof on the medical tablet. “A complete asshole.”
“I’m guessing you didn’t take the news well when Samantha came to see you?” Liv asked tactfully.
“Didn’t take it well? I called her a liar and accused her of cheating!” Roark closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Gods, I have to find her and apologize to her. What an idiot I’ve been!”
Suddenly the door to the private room in the Med Center where he was consulting with the human doctor banged open and Samantha’s friend, Meg, charged in.
“Oh, Liv—thank goodness—there you are!” she exclaimed. “I’ve searched and searched but I can’t find Sammi anywhere aboard the Mother Ship. Did she come back here to see you?”
“No, I’m afraid not.” Liv frowned.
“Oh.” Meg’s face fell. “I thought she might have come back to ask about the DNA test.” Her eyes flicked over Roark. “Like he did,” she added, looking at him like he was something she’d scraped off the bottom of her shoe at the park where the humans walked the loud, barking animals they called ‘dogs.’
As it happened, Roark felt like something scraped off the bottom of a shoe, so he didn’t reply.
“The Mother Ship is a big place, hon,” Liv said to the extremely upset Meg. “I’m sure she’s here somewhere.”
“Unless she left because she was so upset!” Meg exclaimed. “After he fired her and sent her away!”
Roark felt shame filling him like hot bile.
“I am…deeply sorry that I hurt her,” he said, his voice coming out low and hoarse. “I would also like to find her—to apologize for my actions.”
“I doubt she left the Mother Ship,” Liv said. “But just in case, let me check with my hubby, Baird. He’s the head of the Kindred Fleet so he’ll be able to find out for us.”
She closed her eyes for a moment, concentrating, and Roark knew she was reaching for the mental link she had with her mate. The link he had despaired of ever having with a female himself. But might such a link be possible with Samantha? After all, if she could get pregnant with his seed, might he not also be able to bond her to him?
If she ever wants to bond with you, after the way you acted! sneered the little voice in his head. It’s much more likely she’ll never want to see you again!
“Oh dear.” Liv’s voice shook him out of his reverie and he looked up to see her frowning.
“What is it? Where is she?” Meg asked anxiously.
“Baird says that one of his pilots took a human woman matching Samantha’s description down to Earth a couple of hours ago,” Liv said. “He said she seemed extremely upset, though she didn’t say about what.”
“I know what she was upset about!” Meg glared at Roark, who was feeling worse by the minute. “She probably went back to stay with her family—she’s really close with her Aunt Vicky. Do you have a think-me, Liv? I’ll call Sammi and make sure she’s okay.”
“Sure. Here you go.” Liv rooted around in her desk until she found a thin circlet of golden wire and handed it to Meg. The Kindred Mother Ship had made recent changes so that communicators much like human cell phones were usable, but the think-me was still the fastest way to communicate, since you could push your thoughts directly into another person’s mind.
Meg put the golden circlet on and closed her eyes, concentrating hard. After a moment she murmured,
“Sammi? Don’t freak out, it’s just me, Meg. Are you okay?”
She paused for a moment and Roark knew she must be getting a mental answer from Samantha.
“All right, hon—sorry to disturb your nap,” she finally said. “You take care and be safe down there with your aunt. I promise I’ll come visit you later in the week. Love you.”
Then she took the think-me off her head, a look of relief on her face.
“She’s okay. She’s in an Uber headed for her aunt’s house. She was all worn out—I couldn’t get her at first because she was sleeping.”
“See? I told you she was all right.” Liv smiled at Meg reassuringly.
Meg nodded.
“I don’t love the idea of her being back on Earth because of that damn stalker. But as long as she stays with her aunt and uncle, she should be fine.”
“Stalker?” Liv raised her eyebrows in alarm.
“Yeah. Some creep who followed her all the way from California to Florida,” Meg told her. “He wouldn’t leave Sammi alone and she was actually in fear for her life. That’s the whole reason she came up here in the first place.”
“Poor girl!” Liv shook her head. “Men can be so horrible! Well, human men, anyway,” she added.