Forgotten (11 page)

“
You can do that?” she
blurted before she thought about it. “I mean, you can…can touch him
without feeling like you’re going to have a panic
attack?”

“
Why would I have a panic
attack?” Mimi asked, clearly confused as Rone released
her.

“
I don’t know.” Kate
looked away. “Never mind. It’s complicated.”

“
Kate does not remember
me. And…she fears me,” Rone said. There was a sorrow in his voice
so deep it made Kate ache. “I believe it has something to do with
the agent which caused her to lose her memory in the first place
but I cannot be sure until I take her up to the Mother Ship to be
examined by the doctors there.”

“
The Mother Ship?” Mimi’s
mild brown eyes widened. “You’re going to the
Mother Ship?”

“
I haven’t…exactly decided
yet,” Kate muttered.

“
You haven’t? But
Kate—he’s your
husband.
And just
look
at him.” Mimi gestured at Rone’s muscular, bare
chest. “I mean, come
on—
it’s like you won the husband
lottery
.
He’s
gorgeous.”
She looked hastily at Rone. “Uh, no offense. I just
meant…”

“
None taken.” Rone cleared
his throat. “I think I will go back to the kitchen for a moment.
May I help myself to some refreshment?”

“
Oh, sure.” Mimi still
seemed a little dazzled. “I mean, anything you want in the fridge.
Just go for it.”

“
Thank you.” The big
Kindred nodded and disappeared back around the corner. Clearly he
was trying to be tactful and give them some time and privacy. And
just as clearly, Mimi was going to take this opportunity to dish
the dirt with Kate—not that there was much dirt to dish since she
couldn’t remember anything. Still, there was a gleam in her
roommate’s brown eyes that said she couldn’t wait to get Kate
alone.

Chapter
Seven

“
Okay now, come on, let’s
talk.” The minute the big Kindred disappeared, and before Kate
could protest, Mimi was dragging her back to the master bedroom.
When she opened the door, some of the cats were lying on the bed
while others paced around the room restlessly.

“
Oh! What is everybody
doing in here?” Mimi stared at them blankly.

“
Sorry. They don’t like
Rone.” Kate sighed and plopped down on the side of the bed.
Immediately, St. John, a huge, black Persian-mix came and settled
on her lap. She stroked him absently as she talked. “They all
hissed at him when we came in the door.”

“
They did?” Mimi sat
beside her and immediately gained two cats of her own, which came
to see if there was any food and decided to stay and be
petted.

“
Uh-huh.” Kate nodded. “He
says cats never like him. He even told me my mom’s cat, Mr.
Sissykins, hated him. And then…then he told me that when the cat
died he helped me bury it and that I cried because it was right
after my…my mom passed away and…”

“
Wait.” Mimi stopped
stroking one of the cats in her lap and put a hand on Kate’s
shoulder. “I thought you told me you didn’t remember how your mom
died.”

“
I don’t. And I don’t
remember her funeral, either. Or losing Mr. Sissykins—it’s all part
of that three year memory gap I told you about. But this guy…he
seems to know everything. Seems to know all about me!” She shook
her head. “It’s just…weird.”

“
It’s normal if he’s your
husband.” Mimi looked at her seriously. “Is he? I mean, is he
telling you the truth, do you think?”

“
I don’t see how he could
be lying. You saw all those pictures he has—pictures of our wedding
and honeymoon and all these places we’ve traveled around the
universe. God, Mimi…” Kate ran a hand through her hair. “It’s
like…like he knew some other girl. Some girl who looks just like me
and who had an amazing, adventurous life. But I don’t know her—and
I don’t know this life he’s talking about. It’s so
strange.”

“
But if it’s true it
sounds like it might be
wonderful.”
Mimi leaned forward, beaming. “Maybe you should
give him a chance.”

“
What—just leave and go
with him up to the Mother Ship? If that’s really where he’s
planning on taking me?” Kate demanded.

“
Kate, come on…” Mimi took
her hand and squeezed. “Use your gift. What does it tell you? Does
this guy mean you any harm?”

“
Well…” Kate frowned. On
one hand, the Knowing
had
warned her that Rone had a Beast inside. On the
other hand, he seemed to have it completely under control—he had
even said he would never let it all the way out around her. And if
she had really lived with him for three years it must not be a
danger to her. “I don’t think he wants to hurt me,” she said
slowly. “He could if he wanted to but he won’t. That’s my gut
feeling.”

“
Then you should go with
your gut,” Mimi said decisively. “Look, Kate—the whole time you’ve
been with me, you’ve been wondering what happened to you. Where you
came from. What happened during those three years you can’t
remember. Now this gorgeous guy shows up, telling you that he’s
your husband and shows you all kinds of un-fakeable pictures to
prove it. It’s clear he’s in love with you and he’s been out of his
mind with worry for you. So what’s the problem? Why aren’t you
jumping to go with him?”

“
Because…” Kate shifted
uncomfortably. “Because of the way I feel when I’m near
him—especially when I touch him. I mean, my heart starts pounding,
my hands start sweating, I feel like I can’t get a deep enough
breath—like someone is squeezing my lungs closed. It’s
awful.”

Mimi frowned. “That
is
strange. I didn’t
feel anything like that when he…uh, when he hugged me.” She blushed
rosy red again. “Look, I don’t want to sound like I’m trying to
take your man but did you notice he smells
amazing?”

“
No, I didn’t,” Kate said
shortly. “Every time I get close enough to smell him I feel like
I’m going to crawl out of my skin with panic. You know I
actually
shot
him
at the mall?
That’s
how freaked out he makes me.”

“
You
what?”
Mimi stared at her. “You shot
at your own husband?”

“
I didn’t know he was my
husband at the time!” Kate protested. “Anyway, that’s why he has
his shirt off. I was treating the bullet wound—from a safe
distance, that is.”

Mimi’s brown eyes widened.
“Bullet wound? You mean you actually
hit
him? I thought maybe he was half
undressed because you guys were, uh… She cleared her throat in
obvious embarrassment. “Having a little reunion.”

“
No, absolutely not,” Kate
said flatly. “I was treating his wound—not that there is one,
anymore. He healed right up as soon as I cleaned it out with
hydrogen peroxide.”

“
Wow—that’s
amazing!”

“
It was pretty cool to
watch,” Kate conceded. “It healed up right in front of my eyes.”
She sighed. “Then I touched him to see if it was really healed and
the skin-to-skin contact flipped me out. I jumped across the room
so fast it probably looked like my hair was on fire and my ass was
catching.”

Mimi giggled. “Kate, you
crack me up. But is it really
that
bad?”

“
It’s really that bad,”
Kate said grimly. “Of course, Rone—that’s his name in case you
didn’t catch it—thinks it has something to do with the thing that
made me forget everything in the first place.
That’s
why he’s wanting to take me
up to the Mother Ship.”

“
Well,” Mimi said
thoughtfully. “I can certainly understand why it would be hard to
go with him when just being near him gives you a panic attack. But
if they can cure that on the Mother Ship and maybe give you back
your memory too, well, wouldn’t it be worth a little discomfort
just until you got there?”

“
I guess so,” Kate said
reluctantly. “But what about my job? I’m supposed to work
tomorrow.”

“
Kate…” Mimi gave her a
level look. “Will you listen to yourself? Do you really want to
spend the rest of your life working at a jewelry store? I mean,
with a gift like yours, you could be doing so much
more.”

Kate couldn’t help remembering that she’d
been thinking the exact same thing herself earlier that night,
while she was trying to sell the extremely hairy customer his
Rolex. Thinking of that, made her wonder if everyone else in the
store was all right…and what the authorities must think.

“
What about the police?
They’re going to want to know what happened. And
I
want to know if
everyone else is okay. Rosalie and my customer…”

“
The other clerk and the
customer are fine—not a scratch on them,” Mimi said firmly. “I
gathered that much before I heard you’d been abducted. The guy
robbing your store got shot in the neck but the police think the
guy who abducted you—er, your husband, I mean—they think
he
did it.”

Kate sighed. “Of course. Because why would a
sweet-looking little thing like me have a gun or know how to use
it?”

“
You’re
lucky
that’s what they
think,” Mimi said. “And anyway, forget about them. If they come
looking for you, I’ll tell them you’re a Kindred bride and your
husband came for you. He thought the robber was attacking you so he
retaliated.”

“
Well, that’s pretty much
what happened aside from the fact that I was the one with the gun,”
Kate said grudgingly.

“
See? So it’s going to be
fine. And you know they don’t mess with the Kindred—those guys have
diplomatic immunity in every freaking country in the world,” Mimi
pointed out. “So there’s no reason for you not to go.”

“
Except one…” Kate
squeezed her friend’s hand. “I don’t like to admit it but Mimi,
I’m
scared.
Not
just because of the panic feelings I get when I’m with him. I’m
scared of losing this…of losing you and this whole life. It’s all
begun to seem so
normal
to me. It’s hard to give that up and go flying
off into the unknown with some guy I’ve never met before—even if
he
is
my husband,
you know?”

“
Of course it’s scary,”
Mimi said gently. “But you’re brave, Kate—one of the bravest people
I’ve ever met. I know you won’t let fear stand in the way of
finding your happiness. You don’t belong here—not really. I’ve
known it from the moment I found you.”

“
I guess not,” Kate
admitted. As much as she loved Mimi and felt grateful to her, she
had to admit that the past six months she’d been in a kind of
holding pattern. It was like she was waiting for something or for
someone. Like she was waiting for Rone? She didn’t know.

“
You need to go out and
find yourself—find out about your past so you can plan your future.
And you know…” Mimi gave Kate a reassuring smile. “If you don’t
like what you find, you can come back here anytime you want. You’ll
always have a place with me—you know that, right?”

“
I know.” Kate felt tears
stinging her eyes. She leaned forward and gave her friend a big hug
which dislodged all the cats from both their laps. They jumped to
the floor, hissing indignantly, but neither girl paid them any
attention. “You’re an amazing friend, you know that?” Kate
whispered.

“
I know.” Mimi gave a
sobbing little laugh. “I
should
know—you tell me all the time.”

“
Because it’s true.” Kate
pulled back with a sigh and swiped at her eyes. “All right,” she
said, lifting her chin. “I’ll do it. I’ll go to the Mother
Ship.”

“
Be sure you call me as
soon as you get there,” Mimi said anxiously. “I want to know you’re
okay.”

“
I promise,” Kate said,
smiling. “Okay, help me pack.”

Chapter Eight

“
I’m glad you decided to
come with me.” Rone cast her a sidelong glance as he angled his
shuttle in towards the docking bay of the huge Kindred Mother
Ship.

“
Mmm-hmm,” Kate murmured
noncommittally. She had been mostly silent through their trip from
Earth to the Kindred vessel and Rone had decided not to press her
to talk. Thanks to his heightened Wulven senses, he’d heard much of
her conversation with her friend and knew that he owned Mimi more
than one debt of gratitude. In addition to sheltering Kate all this
time, she’d also convinced his very reluctant mate to take a chance
and come with him.

I’ll have to send her
flowers,
he thought.
Once I get things settled with Kate.

If
he got things settled. The longer his mate went without
remembering her former life and the more she flinched away from him
if he got even a millimeter too close, the more worried Rone
became.

This is fixable,
he told himself firmly.
Stop obsessing over it and
do
something about it.