She knew Hank—hadn’t she lived with him for more than half her life? She’d seen the way he could bullshit people and make them think he was a wonderful policeman and everyone else was criminal scum. It was one reason he had risen in the ranks from deputy to Sheriff of Crate’s Corners. Everyone thought he was such a great guy, when underneath he was a horrible excuse for a human being.
Like an apple you buy in the supermarket that looks so nice and shiny on the outside but when you cut it open, you find out its rotten and there are worms crawling in it, Mia thought, staring resentfully at her ex-husband.
It was an apt analogy, but it wasn’t going to help her get out of this situation. In fact, she didn’t think anything was going to help her out of this situation. She was pretty sure she was going to die today and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.
Oh please! she thought again, and felt like crying. Oh please, I don’t want to die this way! I was supposed to spend the rest of my life with Storn. I was supposed to have a little happiness after all those years of misery. Don’t I deserve that? Just a little bit of joy? Just—
“Courage, daughter! One who loves you is coming,” a voice whispered in her ear.
Mia sat up straight and looked around. What in the world? Who had just spoken to her? A glance at Hank showed that her ex-husband hadn’t heard anything. He was still staring straight ahead, driving with an angry look on his red face.
“Who are you?” she whispered softly, keeping her voice too low for Hank to hear. “What do you want?”
“I am one who cares,” the voice replied. “Things look dark now, but help is coming. You must be brave.”
“I…I’ll try,” Mia whispered. Suddenly she had the strangest sensation. It was as though someone was hugging her—enfolding her in warm, soft, strong arms. And as they hugged her, she felt new courage filling her.
I will survive this, she told herself, straightening her spine. I’ll do whatever I have to in order to live through this and see Storn again!
But Storn had been forbidden to come down to Earth, she thought. The Kindred of the High Council were afraid that seeing him might freak the humans out. Which, to be fair, was probably a pretty accurate assumption. So who was going to come for her?
Mia didn’t know, but she did know that the warm feminine voice in her ear and the comforting hug she had been given had restored her hope. Someone was coming for her, she was sure of it.
She just had to live long enough for her savior to get to her.
23
Storn looked around in dismay at the unfamiliar landscape of Earth. He had gotten down to the Kindred HKR building in Tallahassee—what an odd name!—but there the trail had ended.
The entwined scents of Mia and her abductor had cut off abruptly in the parking area and Storn thought he knew why. He could see the human vehicles—most powered with stinking fossil fuels—rushing past on the streets outside the tall HKR building. Clearly Mia’s ex-mate must have put her into one of those and taken her somewhere—but where?
There was no way of knowing where they had gone because her scent was closed up in the vehicle. The bitter, dirty smells of fluorocarbons in the many vehicles’ emissions covered and obscured even the slightest trace of it. Storn had never smelled such a polluted planet—it was a wonder the humans could stand to live here at all! How was he supposed to find Mia’s sweet scent when it was hidden by all this filth?
If I can’t follow her scent trail, I can’t find her. And if I can’t find her, he’s going to hurt her—maybe even kill her!
Storn stamped his hoof on the rough paving in frustration and despair. What was he going to do? How could he find the female the Goddess had set aside for him to love and cherish? How could he protect her from her vicious ex-mate? How could he—
“Courage, warrior—I will guide you.” The warm, feminine voice filled his ears and a sweet scent filled his nostrils, blocking out the disgusting filth of the vehicle emissions that were all around him.
Storn knew who it was at once.
“Goddess?” he asked, his voice hoarse. “Mother of All Life, is that you?”
“It is I, warrior. You already know that your female is in grave danger. I will lead you to her but you must be ready to fight for her life.”
“I’m ready,” Storn vowed. “I swear it, Goddess—I won’t fail!”
“The danger will be great,” the Goddess warned. “You may lose your own life in trying to save the life of your beloved.”