Chained (Brides of the Kindred) (39 page)

Maggie felt a sick, stabbing pain in her
gut—it was as though someone had slipped a knife made of pure guilt right into
her stomach and was twisting it viciously.

“You guys…” she began. “I don’t know how
to tell you this but—”

“Then don’t,” Kor’s deep voice came from
behind her.

Maggie looked back at him. “What?”

“You heard me. Don’t say anything. You
don’t have to.” He was already moving away from her, gathering his things.

“What are you talking about?” Maggie
asked. “What are you doing?”

“Leaving. It’s clear I’m not wanted—here
or with your family.”

“Kor, that’s not true! Please stay,”
Maggie begged.

“Why? To hear more about how much your
family loves your fiancé? To hear how much
you
love him? No.” Kor was
pulling on his shirt as he spoke.

“Kor, wait! Just give me a chance to think
about this,” Maggie pleaded. “I mean, this is all so sudden and we never said…”

“Never said what? That we’d be together
forever? That we loved each other?” he growled. “Tell me, something Maggie—can
you deny you’re going back to him?”

Maggie felt miserable. “I…I
have
to,” she whispered. “Please, Kor, try to understand—he just got hit by a
bus.”

“I don’t know what a bus is and I don’t
care. He’s not the one you love, Maggie. Or is he?”

“I…I don’t know.” Maggie twisted the tiny
engagement ring around her finger in agitation. “I can’t…this is all so…”

“That’s all I need to hear.” Kor’s eyes
were glowing red. “If you don’t know, if you aren’t
sure
how you feel
about me, then it’s clear you don’t feel the way I do. So I’m leaving.”

“Kor, no! Don’t!” Maggie reached for him
but he shook off her hand.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart—you’ll be safe with
Salix. He may be a son of a bitch but he always gets the job done when there’s
a payday involved,” he snarled. “You’ll get back to your family and your
precious fiancé in one piece.”

Salix, who was still holding out the
portable viewscreen showing Maggie’s family, nodded gravely. “Indeed. I have a
ship standing by right now and the Kindred Mother Ship is all set to fold space
for us. You can be home before last meal time, my dear.”

“Hear that?” Kor gave a sharp, angry
laugh. “You can be home in time for dinner.”

“But…” Maggie shook her head. This was all
moving so
fast.
Just a few minutes ago she’d been intertwined with Kor,
having the most moving sexual experience of her life and declaring her love for
him. Now he was walking out the door and she was going home to see her family
and Donald. It was as though she’d been on some wild fantasy ride that the
theme parks in Florida were famous for and now the ride was over and the
operator was telling everyone it was time to get off. How had her life changed
so quickly? And what was she going to do?

“Goodbye, Maggie.” Kor nodded at her shortly,
just as he had when he was leaving her at the spa. His eyes were unhappy and
glowing a bright, dangerous red. “Have a nice life. I hope you enjoy it.” He
looked at Salix. “Get her safely home or I swear to all the Gods I’ll find you
and rip your fucking skin from your bones.”

“Not to worry,” Salix said smoothly. “Miss
Jordan will be safe in the arms of her family and beloved before you put your
head on the pillow tonight.”

“But…” Maggie’s mouth felt numb and her
lips wouldn’t work except to say that one stupid word. “But…but…”

“Goodbye,” Kor said again and then he was
stepping out the door and leaving her behind. Walking out of her life a second
time and this time, Maggie was certain she’d never see him again. Ever.

“Oh my God,” said Tammy from the
viewscreen. “Did you just get dumped? Over
Donald?
Are you crazy,
Maggie?”

“I…I…” Maggie buried her face in her hands
and felt the hot tears sting her eyelids. “Oh, God…” she whispered thickly.
“What am I going to do?”

“Just come home, honey,” her mother said.
“Just come on home.”

Maggie supposed she would—what else could
she do?

Chapter Thirty-two

“I told you she never
loved you,”
whispered the dark voice in his head as Kor
strode away down the narrow underground corridors.
“She was just using
you to get the implant out—she planned to go back to her fiancé as soon as it
was accomplished. As soon as she didn’t need you anymore.”

Kor knew some of the thoughts the dark
voice was feeding him were unfair and deep down he also knew he’d been hasty.
Maybe he should have given Maggie more time to think, to consider her options…

If she had to think
about it, she didn’t really love you in the first place,
the voice whispered.
You need to forget her, Therron.
Forget her and embrace your roots—finish your quest to find your origins and
your true people, not those lying Kindred. Come to the Black Planet and all
shall be revealed.

Yes. The Black
Planet.
The thought solidified in his mind like an
anchor, something he could grab on to keep from drowning in loss and grief. He
would go to the Black Planet and see what the dark voice was talking about. He
would banish all thoughts of Maggie and purge his heart of love for her.

Yes,
hissed the voice
.
Yes, come, my son. Come, Therron. Come see
for yourself that hatred cures love. And in the absence of love, there is no
pain. No pain…no pain…

Kor’s eyes glowed hot and red and he
followed the voice, followed where it led to leave the pain of losing Maggie
behind forever.

* * * * *

“I can’t believe he’s gone,” Maggie said
dully. “I can’t believe I’m going home.”

“You’re not just going, my dear—you’re
there
. Look—the Kindred Mother Ship.”
Salix pointed out the familiar shape of the vast white ship orbiting Earth’s
moon.

They had just come through the fold in
space—a red gash that Maggie knew was a carefully controlled tear in the
space-time continuum which allowed the Kindred ships to travel anywhere in the
known Universe in no time at all. She and Kor had traveled using worm holes
that were known to be stable but that wasn’t necessary for the Kindred.

“Home,” she whispered, and a single tear
rolled down her cheek.

“Now, now—no crying in my ship,” Salix
said, frowning. “You should be
happy
. Just look at you, all decently
dressed in a nice outfit that doesn’t show off your naughty bits.”

“Yes…” Maggie looked down at herself.
After all the bizarrely tight and sexy outfits she’d been forced to wear the
past six months, she was officially back to normal. The bounty hunter had
thoughtfully synthesized her a pair of jeans and a baggy gray t-shirt along
with a pair of tennis shoes and some white socks. A plain white bra and some
granny panties were part of the deal, too.

Maggie couldn’t imagine anything less sexy
or provocative. Anything more blah and boring and normal. The outfit was the
kind of thing she’d always worn but now it felt
wrong
, somehow, even
though the clothes fit her perfectly. Jeans and t-shirts and tennis shoes
belonged to the life she’d left behind—the life she used to have before she met
Kor.

I’m not that person
anymore,
she thought, twisting her fingers in her
lap.
I’m different now…changed.

“And you’re about to see your loving
family again,” Salix continued cheerfully, unaware of her inner monologue. “Not
to mention your fiancé.”

“My…my fiancé,” Maggie said and another
tear rolled down her cheek.

“Well, maybe I
shouldn’t
mention
him, then,” Salix said doubtfully. “My apologies, lovely lady. Did you truly
care for the big felon I found you with?”

“Care for him? Yes…yes, I cared.” Maggie
swiped at her eyes. “But I couldn’t just go off with him, could I? Not when
Donald just got hurt and he needs me.”

“That would be for you to determine,”
Salix said neutrally. He sighed. “For now, we’re almost there. I suggest you
try to pull yourself together.”

Maggie sniffed and sat up straighter.
There was no point in being upset. No point in letting herself dwell in the
past. No matter how exciting her time with Kor had been it was over now—he was
gone and she was sure he wasn’t coming back.

Chapter Thirty-three

“Margaret, could you pass me the bedpan?
All these fluids they have me on are running right through me.”

Maggie tried to repress her irritation at
Donald’s whining, nasal tone. He was, as she knew from nursing him through hay
fever and numerous colds, not the most pleasant person to be around when he was
sick. Still, he was her fiancé and she was going to stick with him no matter
what—if he still wanted her after hearing what she had to say…if she ever had the
nerve to say it.

It had been three weeks. Three long,
grueling
weeks since she’d returned to the Mother Ship and then back home to Earth. Her
family had welcomed her with open arms and had taken her directly to see Donald
who was still in Tampa General at the time. He had a long recovery ahead of him
but he was getting better, slowly but surely.

The first two weeks hadn’t been so bad,
Maggie thought. Donald had been in the hospital and knocked out on pain meds
most of the time. But the third week they finally sent him home…back to his
apartment which he kept immaculately neat and extremely organized. Or he had
until he’d broken his leg. Now it was up to Maggie to see that everything went
where it was supposed to be.

They had never gotten around to moving in
together but she was staying with him for now and sleeping on the couch because
Donald claimed she wiggled too much in bed and jostled his hurt leg.

Maggie told herself she was nursing him
back to health… although really it felt more like she was waiting on him hand
and foot.

“Here you go, Donald,” she murmured,
passing the small plastic basin. “Do you need help?”

“No, I do not,” he snapped irritably.
“Just because I have an external fixation device bolted to my femur does
not
mean I cannot relieve myself without assistance.”

“
Sorry
.” Maggie sighed and turned
her head away as he took care of business. “I didn’t mean to insult you. I just
thought—”

“Here—take care of this.” He was already
passing the half-full basin back to her. It sloshed as Maggie took it, making
her want to gag. Still, she took it dutifully and went into the bathroom to
empty it and wash it out.

It’s no more than I
deserve after what I did,
she thought as she
washed her hands afterwards with the hottest water she could stand.
After
the way I cheated…and the way I still haven’t told.

At first she’d put off telling Donald
because he was out of his mind on pain meds. Plus, she told herself that
admitting her infidelity when he had just been hit by a bus would be
cruel—kicking him when he was already down.

Now, however, she had to admit she was
just keeping quiet out of pure cowardice. After all, she’d already lost Kor.
What if she told Donald and he hated her? What if he ordered her out of his
life and out of his apartment and said he never wanted to see her again? What
would she have left if that happened?

Well, you’d have your
self respect for one thing,
pointed out the
snarky little voice in her head.
And a lot more free time you didn’t have to
spend dumping bedpans.

“Margaret?” Donald called from the other
room, setting her teeth on edge. “While you’re in there, would you please be
certain the mouthwash bottle is back in its proper place at a forty-five degree
angle to the toothpaste? I know you moved it last night. I’ve asked you again
and again to put things back where you find them as long as you’re staying
here.”

Maggie took a deep breath. “Sorry,
Donald,” she muttered, turning the green Listerine bottle a fraction of an inch
to the left. During her adventures in space, she’d somehow forgotten what a
perfectionist her fiancé was. Really, his need to have everything in the exact
location he wanted it bordered on OCD—it was driving her crazy.

“And another thing,” he said as she
returned to the bedroom with its blue pinstriped bedspread and matching
curtains which
also
matched the pajamas he was wearing. “I noticed when
we were eating supper last night that you de-alphabetized my canned goods.
Creamed corn does
not
go before cream of celery soup as you very well
know. Please fix it.”

“You mean you noticed while you were
eating the meal
I
fixed you? The meal that met your
exact
specifications
down to the one-fourth teaspoon of salt and the napkin folded into a perfect
isosceles triangle?” Maggie demanded, exasperated.

“Yes, exactly.” Donald nodded without a
trace of irony. It irritated Maggie to no end that he either didn’t get her
sarcasm or chose to ignore it.

She thought with longing of the meals she
and Kor had shared on the little space ship he’d stolen from Lady Pope’nose.
They had cooked together, using exotic alien ingredients in the tiny
kitchen—laughing and stopping often to touch and kiss. Then, when the meal was
done, they had sprawled on the couch and watched a vid or simply talked as they
ate. It was lovely and so relaxed.

Maggie hadn’t realized how much she
enjoyed that informality until she came back to her fiancé and his precise
rules for dining. All meals had to be made exactly to specification and served
on a proper china plate at a perfectly set table. There must be only minimal
conversation and no other outside distractions during mealtime because it
interfered with digestion, according to Donald. Afterwards, dishes had to be
done immediately—by hand—and put back in their proper order. It was a joyless
routine, one she could never get exactly right—or not right enough to please
Donald, anyway.

“What do you feel like for dinner
tonight?” Maggie asked, trying to keep her voice even and the conversation
light. “Maybe we could try something new.”

Donald looked at her as though she was
crazy. “It’s Tuesday. We’re having pasta primavera with exactly three meatballs
each.”

“Oh, right.” Maggie sighed. “I just
thought maybe it would be fun to switch things around some. Maybe order a
pizza?”

“Pizza is Friday night.” Donald frowned.
“You know that.”

“Friday. Right. Sorry, how stupid of me.”

“You’re not unintelligent, Margaret, just
lacking in attention to detail,” Donald said seriously. “Speaking of which,
when you make the meatballs please be sure each one is exactly an ounce and a
quarter. Last time you made them they were all over the place—one and a
half…one and three quarters…one was even two ounces! I measured it on the food
scale.”

Suddenly Maggie felt like her head was
going to explode. She opened her mouth, not certain what was going to come out.

“Donald,” she heard herself say. “I slept
with someone else while I was gone. I…I cheated on you.”

“What?” He stared at her blankly and
Maggie clapped a hand over her mouth.

Oh my God, I can’t
believe I just spit it out like that! What a horrible way to tell him! Why did
I do it?

But for whatever reason, it was out now.
Her dirty secret. The thing she’d been trying to hide. Maggie lifted her chin. Now
it was time to face the consequences of what she had done, to be responsible
for her actions. She would have to tell Donald everything and let the chips
fall where they may.

“It’s true,” she said quietly. “I’m
sorry—I didn’t mean to tell you like that. I just…I couldn’t keep it inside
anymore.”

Donald frowned and a furrow appeared
between his bushy eyebrows—Maggie knew that meant he was thinking deeply.

“So you had coitus with another man,” he
said at last, slowly. “Was it purely biological or were your emotions
involved?”

Maggie knew she couldn’t lie anymore.

“My feelings
were
involved, I’m
afraid,” she said. “
Very
involved. I’m…I’m so sorry, Donald.”

“No, no—let’s consider this.” He frowned
again. “I suppose since you’ve been unfaithful to me, this should be the end of
our relationship.”

Maggie gulped down a little sob. “I…I
suppose so,” she whispered.

“Well, then…” Donald took a deep breath,
his skinny chest expanding, and then let it out slowly. “Well, then,” he said
again. “At the risk of sounding unkind I must say… what a relief.”

“A
what?”
Maggie looked at him
disbelievingly.
“What
did you say?”

“I said it’s a relief.” Donald frowned.
“Look, Margaret, I haven’t wanted to say this but this past week as we have
been thrown into closer proximity than ever before, it occurred to me that you
really…”

“Really
what?”
Maggie demanded.

“Oh, what’s the colloquialism? Ah, yes—you
really get on my nerves.”

“What?”
Maggie stared at him, unable to believe what she was
hearing. “
I
get on
your
nerves?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Donald said calmly.
“Ever since you came back from your trip through space, you’ve been distracted
and moody—not your usual self at all. Worse, you’re simply unable to conform to
our usual protocol—you interrupt my entire routine.”

“Oh my God…” Maggie ran a hand through her
hair. “Did it ever occur to you that I’ve been distracted and moody because of
what I’ve been through? I was sold as a slave, Donald! Captured and implanted
with an alien device and sold to the highest fucking bidder! I think I have a
right to be a little ‘distracted and moody!’ Don’t you?”

Donald frowned disapprovingly. “I really
don’t care for either your tone or your language, Margaret. You never used to
swear.”

“I never used to be a sex slave either,
Donald. I’ve
changed.”

“Yes, I noticed that. Unfortunately not
for the better.”

“No, because I’m
miserable
now!”
Maggie exploded. “Here I’ve been waiting on you hand and foot, feeling so
guilty for what I did but you’re more upset that I de-alphabetized your creamed
corn than the fact that I slept with another man! Who, I might add, was
amazing.”

Donald frowned. “You know sexual
intercourse has never been my priority, Margaret, so if you’re trying to injure
my feelings by comparing me to some alpha-male Neanderthal—”

“Kor wasn’t just some Neanderthal!” Maggie
clenched her hands into fists. “He was warm and funny and kind and protective
and absolutely
incredible
in bed. He was everything you’re
not.”

Donald shrugged his boney shoulders.

“Well, Margaret, if you expect me to
change to conform to your new ideals, I’m afraid you’re going to be
disappointed. If, on the other hand, you wish to make an effort to return to
normal yourself, I may consider taking you back as a romantic partner.”

“Oh, you’ll
consider
taking me
back? How big of you.” Maggie began to pace. “No, Donald, I’m afraid I can’t go
back to the way I was before. And you know what? I don’t
want
to.”

“Well, then,” he said calmly, “I suppose
we should say goodbye and end the relationship.”

He was so cool and collected about it,
Maggie felt sick. Had their relationship really meant so little to him? All the
time she’d spent agonizing about cheating on him, all the guilt she’d felt when
she could have been enjoying Kor’s warm, gentle touch to the fullest—was it all
wasted? Looking at Donald’s calm expression, she supposed so.

“So this is it,” she said dully. “The end.
After five years we’re just going to go our separate ways.”

“Amicably, I hope,” Donald said seriously.
“I hope this won’t taint our professional relationship. You know I’m going to
be doing some research myself aboard the Kindred Mother Ship, don’t you? If I
see you there, I don’t want to cause a scene.”

“You mean you don’t want
me
to
cause a scene,” Maggie said. “Don’t worry, I won’t.” She ran a hand through her
hair again. “I guess I’ll go.”

She began to gather her things which
basically consisted of getting her purse and one overnight bag where she had to
keep everything because Donald didn’t want her personal possessions cluttering
his space.

“Don’t forget your toothbrush,” he said
helpfully. “I hope you didn’t place it in close proximity to mine. You know how
I feel about germs.”

“Yes, Donald. I know.” Maggie went in the
bathroom and grabbed the offending brush, somehow resisting the urge to drop
Donald’s tooth brush in the toilet as she did so. She
did
rearrange the
shampoo and conditioner bottles, though, which she knew he would hate. They
were too high up for him to reach in his current condition. It was a small act
but it made her feel marginally better.

She came out of the bathroom and walked
toward the bedroom door.

“Wait,” Donald said frowning as she put
her hand on the knob. “One more thing occurs to me.”

“What?” Maggie turned back briefly. “If
you’re worried about someone helping you until you’re fully recovered, call a
home health nurse. I didn’t get two Ph.Ds to empty your damn bedpan.”

“I was thinking nothing of the sort.
Actually, I have the name of a reputable home health company already—the
hospital sent it home with me.”