Found (31 page)

“Don’t worry about Sylvan,” she said, looking
down at her hands as Rast worked. “He’ll understand. I was always
getting into trouble when I was younger. He always said watching me
while my parents were away made him more nervous than fighting a
hungry
vrana.
He—
”
Realizing she was babbling, she
made herself stop. “Are…are you almost done?” she asked, daring to
look up at him briefly.

“Almost. Just need to put a band aid on it.”
He fished a small flat, rectangular packet out of the little white
box and opened it. “This is kind old fashioned,” he said, sounding
apologetic as he applied the adhesive tab to Nadiah’s cut. “But I
don’t have any wound-seal or flesh-glue in my kit. There.” He
finished and sat back a little as though to examine his handiwork.
“That’ll do for now but you’ll want to have a doctor look at it
when you get back to the ship. Or maybe a plastic surgeon.”

Nadiah frowned. “You have a surgeon who deals
with inanimate petroleum products? Why should I consult someone
like that about my wound?”

His lips twitched and it looked like he was
trying not to laugh. “A plastic surgeon is someone who deals with
cosmetic damage. You should see one so you don’t get a scar.
Wouldn’t want to ruin that gorgeous face of yours.”

Nadiah put a hand to her cheek. “You…you
think I’m gorgeous?”

Rast’s face went red and he frowned. “Forget
it. Just see one, okay? And don’t try a stunt like that again.
Standing up in a moving vehicle is really dangerous—you could have
been killed.”

“I’m sorry if I upset you,” Nadiah said
contritely. “But I just got so excited. This is exactly what I saw
in my dream.” She gestured to the kissing giants. “But they’re not
alive, are they? Is it some kind of art?”

“It’s a statue based on a famous picture.
After World War II, one of our greatest global conflicts, was over,
there was a lot of celebration. A sailor returning from the war
grabbed a nurse and kissed her. Someone snapped a picture and a
local artist decided to turn it into this.” Rast turned to look at
the kissing figures as well. “The piece is called
Unconditional
Surrender.
”

“I can see why,” Nadiah murmured. Hopping out
of the convertible, she went to get a closer look at the huge
figures.

The male giant was dressed in a blue uniform.
He had an arm looped around the neck of the female and was bending
her back, forcing her to rely on his strength to hold her up while
he kissed her senseless. The female wasn’t fighting his fierce
embrace. Rather she almost seemed to welcome it as she clung to
him.

What a romantic depiction,
Nadiah
thought.
He’s so focused on her, so fierce in his desire.
For some reason her fingers crept to her own lips as she remembered
the luck kiss at Sophia and Sylvan’s joining. Detective Rast had
come up and was standing right beside her. Nadiah cast him a
sidelong glance and saw that he was looking at her. Quickly she
dropped her hand and looked away.

“Um, so is this where she—Tabitha—disappeared
from?” she asked, trying to sound casual.

“You tell me.” Rast walked up to the base the
statue was standing on and patted the female giant’s shoe. “You’re
the one that saw the abduction, right?”

“I
did
see it,” Nadiah acknowledged.
“But only briefly in my vision.” She turned to face him. “So now
that I’ve confirmed it, what do you want from me? Why bring me all
the way down here to Earth?”

Rast ran a hand through his hair in a
frustrated gesture. “Because…damn it. I hate doing this, but…can
you get readings on people from touching things that belonged to
them?”

“I don’t know,” Nadiah said honestly. “I
haven’t had the Sight for very long. I guess I could
try.”

“Okay, wait here.” Rast walked back to the
car and she could hear him muttering to himself, “Can’t believe I’m
doing this. So stupid…”

When he came back he was holding a clear bag
filled with fabric in one hand. “Here.” He thrust the bag at
Nadiah. “See what you can get from those.”

“Is this her
tharp
…er, her clothes?”
Nadiah took the bag gingerly.

Rast nodded. “The ones she was wearing when
she disappeared.”

“But what do you expect me to learn from
these?” Nadiah asked. “I already told you where she was and who has
her.”

Rast frowned. “Just get what you can, all
right?”

Nadiah narrowed her eyes at him. “If this is
some kind of test I don’t see how I can possibly pass it. Why are
you asking me to use a power you don’t believe in?”

“Because I’m desperate, all right?” Rast shot
back. “The first twenty-four hours are critical. Tabitha was
standing right here, by this statue when she disappeared. Her
friends said she was there one minute and gone the next. We have
the clothes she was wearing and nothing else.”

Nadiah shrugged. “I’ll try. But I won’t
promise anything.”

“I’m not asking for a promise. Just do your
best.”

“All right. But I’m doing this for
Tabitha—not for you.” Opening the clear bag, Nadiah put her hand in
and felt the strange material Earth people wore to cover
themselves. It was soft but dead, not living like her own
tharp.
S
he couldn’t imagine wearing such stuff close to her skin for
any length of time.

“Well?” Rast looked at her sharply.
“Anything?”

“Sorry.” Nadiah shook her head. “I don’t see
anyth—” Suddenly the bright, sunny Sarasota day disappeared from
her view and a cloud of blackness replaced it. Nadiah drew in a
breath at what she saw.

The girl who looked vaguely like Lauren was
lying face up on a bare metal floor. She was naked and stiff, her
sightless eyes staring at the metal ceiling above. It was clear
from the look on her face that she had died in agony. Her fingers
were curled into fists and her lips were frozen in a snarl of
pain.

But it’s over now. All over now for her. Oh
Tabitha, you poor thing…

“Hey.” Rast’s voice, surprisingly soft, cut
through the horrifying vision.

“What?” Nadiah blinked and the dead girl was
gone, replaced by the bright Florida sunshine.

“You’re crying again.” Rast cupped her cheek
gently and swiped a thumb under one eye. “What did you see? Is she
okay?”

“She’s beyond our help.” Sniffing, Nadiah
handed him back the bag of clothing. “She’s dead.”

“What?” Rast looked startled. “How can you be
sure?”

“Because I saw her, lying naked and dead on
the floor.” Nadiah pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes,
wishing she could push the vision away. “I saw her and now I can’t
unsee her. Goddess, I
wish
I could.”

“Well at least you’re not offering any false
hope,” Rast muttered. “Most of you people just keep stringing them
along—”

“
You people?”
Nadiah took her hands
away from her eyes and glared at him. “Just what do you mean by
that, Detective?”

He shrugged uncomfortably. “You
know—psychics. Mediums. Anybody who deals with that spirit world
mumbo-jumbo.”

Nadiah put her hands on her hips. “Don’t you
dare label me like that! I am a full blooded daughter of Tranq
Prime with the Sight and I assure you, you have never met
anyone
like me before.”

“You got that right, sweetheart.” He raised
an eyebrow at her. “But that’s not necessarily a good thing.”

Nadia poked a finger at him. “I am here at
your
request. I came down to a strange planet and subjected
myself to horrible visions all to gratify
your
curiosity.
And
this
is how you treat me?” Her hand itched to slap him
but she curled it into a fist at her side instead.

Rast must have seen the instinctive gesture
because a mocking smile curved one side of his mouth. “You want to
slap me, is that it? Go ahead, sweetheart—take your best shot.”

Nadiah’s hand shot out before she could stop
herself and she did just that. The flat
smack
of her palm
against his cheek seemed inordinately loud.

Rast put a hand to his face where a red mark
was already growing, his truegreen eyes filled with surprise. “Ow,
that’s quite a punch you’re packing. Didn’t really think you’d do
it.”

“Think again before you offer me another free
shot, Detective. I won’t hesitate to take it.” Nadiah was breathing
hard, still tense with emotion. Her hand stung from slapping him
and there was a dull ache around her heart. She blew out a breath,
trying to get hold of herself. “Take me back to the HKR building.
I’ve had enough of you and your attitude to last me a
lifetime.”

He seemed about to say something else but
then he simply nodded. “Fine, let’s go.”

Nadiah didn’t speak a word to him on the way
back. She kept her eyes closed and let the warm breeze blow through
her hair. She tried not to think of the vision she’d had but it was
no use. Over and over she saw the wide, sightless eyes, the
clenched fists, the agonized expression.

And in the background she seemed to hear low,
hissing laughter.

Lauren lay in the darkness and tried not to
cry. Her whole body felt like it was bunched into a knot but she
was afraid to move. Afraid to let herself go the way she wanted to.
Beside her Xairn shifted and she held her breath, waiting. Then he
turned on his side and his breathing became soft and even
again.

Lauren let out a stifled breath of relief.
She loved Xairn as much as ever—more if that was possible. But it
had been almost a week now and having him here on Earth with her
just wasn’t working out the way she’d hoped.

To start with, she shouldn’t have invited her
mom to go on their shopping trip. Her mother was a wonderful,
caring women but she had very definite ideas on fashion. Whereas
Lauren would have taken her new man to Wal Mart or Target to get
some sensible clothes, her mother had insisted on taking Xairn on a
tour of all the most expensive boutiques and department stores in
Sarasota.

That was how Lauren learned that Xairn, while
alien in many respects, did share one almost universal
characteristic with human males. In other words, he
hated
to
shop. Not that he said as much to her mother, but Lauren could tell
by the impatient look in his eyes and the clipped tone of his voice
as they went from store to store to store trying on more and more
clothes.

He also didn’t like the fact that Abby was
footing the bill for his expensive new wardrobe. Lauren had been
forced to take him aside and beg him to let her mom pay. She was,
after all, only showing her gratitude to him for saving Lauren’s
life the only way she could. Xairn had grudgingly agreed but he
hadn’t been happy about it.

Lauren had to admit that her mom had good
taste—Xairn did look fabulous in his new
GQ
wardrobe.
Fabulous but very unhappy. He asked her several times why they
couldn’t simply find a few functional pieces and leave it at that.
“I have never owned this much clothing in my life,” he protested
near the end of the day when Abby tried to get him to try on just
one more Armani suit. “Where will I wear all of it?”

“Mom, he has a point,” Lauren had said
wearily. “He’ll probably just be helping me in my shop. That fancy
suit won’t look too good once it’s coated in cake flour.”

“Oh, all right.” Abby had thrown up her hands
and sighed. “We’ll just take what we’ve already got. You can take
that off, Xairn.”

“Good.” Xairn’s voice had been almost a
growl. Instead of going back into the dressing room, he’d ripped
off the suit jacket and begun unbuttoning the Egyptian cotton
shirt. Unfortunately, that put his chest on display. Lauren heard a
muted gasp from her mother as the raised black lines of the brand
came into view.

“My God,” she whispered to Lauren, her eyes
still fixed on Xairn’s muscular chest. “What the hell did you do to
him, sweetheart? Why did you tattoo your name across his
chest?”

“
I
didn’t do it,” Lauren protested,
feeling embarrassed.

“But honey, that’s
your
handwriting,”
her mother protested. “I’d recognize it anywhere.” She gave Lauren
a disapproving look. “He’s a very handsome man and I can understand
you wanting to mark your territory, but did you really have to sign
him like a Christmas card?”

“I didn’t—”

“Lauren did not do this.” Xairn came to stand
in front of them, his bare chest still exposed. Other people in the
shop were staring now and Lauren could feel her cheeks getting
hot.

“She…she didn’t?” Abby faltered, looking up
at him.

“No. Another did it, but I allowed them to do
it willingly, so do not blame Lauren.” Xairn frowned. “She is
burned into my flesh as she is burned into my heart. I love
her.”

“You do?” Abby didn’t sound entirely happy
about it.

Xairn’s eyes narrowed but Lauren was relieved
to see that they didn’t flash back to their old color scheme this
time. “Would I be here, allowing myself to be dressed and undressed
like some sort of doll if I didn’t love her? What male needs such a
ridiculous array of garments?”

“Xairn!” Lauren said helplessly. “Please,
Mom’s just trying to get you the right clothes to blend in.”

“To blend in where?” Xairn looked down at the
expensive slacks he had on with a sneer. “A male harem, perhaps?”
He shook his head and looked at Abby. “I appreciate your generosity
but I am through with this. I am going back to Lauren’s living
space.”

And that had been the end of the shopping
trip.

Lauren had apologized to both of them
separately but the damage had been done. Xairn thought her mother
was controlling and officious and her mother thought he was some
kind of a nut who was willing to get himself tattooed with her
daughter’s name after only knowing her for a short time. The only
consolation, as far as Lauren was concerned, was that her mother
thought it was a tattoo. If she knew that the signature was a
brand, that Lauren’s name had actually been burned into Xairn’s
flesh, who
knew
what she might have thought?