Dark and Light (A Kindred Tales Duet)

“He knows I don’t have money for a lawyer,” she said, wiping at her red eyes with the tissue Rochelle handed her. “But I’ve got to get one somehow. If he reports my mom to ICE and then tries to get the kids, I need someone to defend me in court. Only how am I going to pay for it?”

“Oh honey, I wish I had the money to lend you.” Rochelle gave her a troubled look. “That no good asshole! I never liked him, even when you two were together. I always thought he was beating on you.”

“He was,” Luci admitted. “That’s one reason I left him. That and the fact that he scared the kids so bad and I was afraid they might be next.” A long, shuttering sigh escaped her. “You know what Frannie said to me the other day? She said she thought Raze was going to be her new daddy because her real daddy was so mean.” Luci sniffed. “Can you believe that? Even my five-year-old knows what a piece of mierda her father is—and now he’s going to try and take her and the boys away from me!”

Rochelle frowned.

“He’s not taking your kids or deporting your mom. Girl, you have to fight this!”

“I want to—but how?” Luci swiped at her eyes again. “Tony’s got way more money than me and he’s got all the leverage since he knows my mom is illegal!”

“You’re going to get yourself some help,” Rochelle said firmly. “From the person who started all of this.”

“What?” Luci frowned, confused. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about Mr. High and Mighty Kindred,” Rochelle said, frowning. “He’s the reason Tony is getting after you, isn’t he? Didn’t you say it was because he saw Raze with you and the kids that he lost it and got so nasty?”

“Well, yes, but…” Luci frowned. “But I hate to ask for help from him. Not after the way things ended between us.”

“Look, one thing I do know about Kindred is that they defend women. Even if the two of you aren’t together anymore, he’ll still help—I’m sure of that.”

“But…” Luci bit her lip. She hated to ask for help from the big Kindred, especially after he had rejected her so finally.

“But nothing.” Rochelle crossed her arms over her considerable bosom and gave Luci a stern look. “I know you don’t want to swallow your pride, but it’s either that or lose your mom or your kids or maybe both. Those ICE bastards don’t play, girl! You need help and since Raze started this whole thing, he ought to be the one to help you finish it.”

“I don’t know about him starting it, but he did say that if I needed anything, I only had to ask,” Luci admitted reluctantly. “He even said he’d leave a lifelong pass to the Mother Ship for me at the Human/Kindred Relations building.”

“Well, there you go!” Rochelle threw up her hands. “The HKR is a just a few blocks down from us. You could walk there. You need to get your ass moving right now and go take the first shuttle up to the Mother Ship to talk to him!”

“It is Friday night and I’m not scheduled to work tomorrow,” Luci said thoughtfully. She usually did do Saturdays at the clinic, but she had this one free. “I don’t have to be back here until Sunday.”

“Call your mom, ask her to keep the kids, and get going,” Rochelle advised her. “Look, I’ll drive you myself if you don’t want to walk it, since your car is down at the overflow lot. Come on—we’re going now.”

The more she thought about it, the more Luci had to admit there was nothing else she could do. She hated to ask the big Kindred for help but she couldn’t lose her mom or her kids and Raze had offered to do anything he could for her if she ever needed anything.

She just hoped he would keep his word.

Fifteen

The Kindred Mother Ship was a big place—like a giant city floating in space, Luci thought, as she looked around her in awe. She wished she had time to explore it all, but she was on a mission to find Raze. She had already taken the tram to the center of the ship, which was dominated by a kind of park-like area surrounded by picturesque shops and eateries, but she wasn’t quite sure which direction to go from here.

Let’s see now, Raze said he lived in the Unmated Males Section, but where is that?

Luci looked at the vast expanse of green and purple grass and the green artificial sun shining down overhead. There were couples picnicking and kids playing.

Towards the rear of the large area, she saw a grove of green and purple trees. Several women with green hair and eyes were moving around there and Luci wondered if they were some kind of gardeners. If they were, they were like no gardeners she had ever seen before—all of them went barefoot and wore long, flowing robes.