“I know, but not about this.” She nodded at her lap again. “I just…I don’t want to talk about it.” Silent tears slipped down her cheeks. “I prefer to just…just heal on my own.”
“You don’t have to do that.” Stone tried to keep his voice gentle, though what he wanted was to give way to the fury that tried to consume him at what The Beast had done to the little female.
“What?” Leela looked at him uncertainly, fear in her hazel eyes.
“I said, you can get medical attention without any authority figures on Earth having anything to do with it. You can go to the Mother Ship and get treated there.”
“The Kindred Mother Ship?” Her eyes grew wide with fear. “Oh, I couldn’t go there! What if he’s up there? The Beast?”
“He isn’t,” Stone said firmly. “Because he isn’t a true Kindred.”
“I don’t understand.” Leela shook her head. “He looked exactly like a Beast Kindred and that’s what he said he was.”
“He’s not, though,” Cassandra told her earnestly. “We have evidence that he’s definitely not a real Beast Kindred. He’s lacking certain…physical attributes that all true Beast Kindred have.”
“Is he human, then, and just pretending to be Kindred?” Leela asked uncertainly. “Because he has that weird tattoo, you know? That Live Ink? I’ve never seen anything like that before—I thought he must be some kind of alien.”
“He is an alien but he is not Kindred,” Stone said vehemently. “My people revere females—we would never brutalize or force a female against her will.”
“I used to believe that was true,” Leela said softly. “That…that’s the main reason I agreed to do the porn vid in the first place. I thought, ‘he’s Kindred—he won’t hurt me.’” She shook her head. “But I was wrong.”
“Please…” Stone leaned forward, his heart tightening when Leela leaned back, away from him, in response. He sat back, giving her space. “Let us take you to the Mother Ship for medical treatment,” he begged her. “Our doctors there know very advanced techniques. They can heal the damage that was done and they won’t ask questions.”
“Can they heal my mind? Can they take the memory of what he did away?” Leela’s eyes were filled with tears again. “Because that’s what I want—just to forget what happened. What he did to me.”
“I don’t know if they can do that, honey, but I know they can help you physically.” Cassandra stroked the girl’s arm again.
“I don’t know.” Leela looked down again. “I have class tonight—I shouldn’t skip it. I…I’ll have to think about it.”
“Do that.” Cassandra gave her a card with her number on it. “My partner has connections. He can take you up to the Mother Ship and get you looked at.”
“Just him?” Leela’s voice shook. “Would…would you be there too?” She shot a frightened look at Stone. “Sorry, I just…I don’t want to be alone with another man for a while.”
“Of course you don’t. I promise I’d be there too,” Cassandra murmured and Stone nodded.
Though the girl’s fear was like a dagger in his heart, he understood it completely. She had trusted once and been betrayed in the worst possible way. He didn’t’ blame her for not being willing to trust again.
“Then, I…I’ll think about it.” Leela nodded and tucked Cassandra’s card neatly into her pocket. “I’m sorry I couldn’t be more help. I only saw him twice—once at the Velvet Noose and once at Mr. Yarrow’s house to…to shoot the scene.”
She shivered and swiped at her eyes.
“It’s all right. Just call us if you think of anything else or if you decide you want to go to the Mother Ship to see a doctor,” Cassandra told her. “Thanks for the coffee.” She finished hers in a single gulp and handed the chipped cup back to the shivering girl.
Stone finished his as well, but left the cup on the makeshift coffee table. He could tell that Leela didn’t want him anywhere in her vicinity—not even to hand back his cup—and he didn’t blame her. He was too male—too Kindred—and her trust had been broken.
“Thank you,” he simply said and then he and Cassandra left—still no closer to catching The Beast than when they had started that morning.
Sixteen
“Somebody must know where he lives!” Cassie blew out a breath in disgust as they got back into Stone’s shuttle-car after interviewing the last witness.
“Apparently not. He appears to have vanished.” Stone frowned.
“We should go shake down Yarrow again,” Cassie suggested.
“We should arrest him,” Stone growled. “Leela made it clear her scene with The Beast was not consensual—he’s an accessory to rape.”
“Yes, but arresting Yarrow would mean we expect her to press charges and witness in court.” Cassie shook her head. “I don’t think she’s up for that right now.”
“You’re probably right. She seemed very concerned that anyone might find out she was doing pornography,” Stone said. “I doubt she would testify in the state she is in.”