Page 31 of Healing Creek
Samantha pushed back her chair and stepped into Diablo’s path. “Yes. I made sure myself.” She stroked hands up his broad chest. “I know what you’re worrying about and I’m telling you our secret is safe.”
Grace realized what she wasn’t saying and hurried out the reassurance she knew they needed. “I didn’t tell them about the baby. I didn’t even know about it the last time I saw them. I would never tell them about that. I swear.”
Hadn’t she thought herself that a baby would mean they might no longer need her sister. Of course, she decided, there would be no benefit to her sister. They were never going to release her alive.
“I wouldn’t lie about this. Don’t you see, I’ve already accepted the fact that if I don’t go with them…” She took a shaky breath. “My sister is going to find out that Morgan and Roma don’t have me anymore and she is going to stop cooperating. Just by telling you this I’m condemning my sister to die sooner. But I know she’d rather die than help them enslave another generation of Arena Dogs.”
Samantha looked at her with sympathy in her eyes. “Oh, Grace, no. You’re not responsible for whether your sister lives or dies. Grand Owens and the rest of the Roma owners are the ones to blame. Not you and not your sister.”
Mercury spoke calmly. “Why is your sister researching our genetics?”
Oh damn. She was really hoping they wouldn’t ask that question. “She found lab notes from the geneticist who created the Arena Dogs. It turns out the reproductive problem is more of a feature than a flaw. The geneticist engineered the problem when she realized how your people would be used. You see she didn’t know she was creating slaves until—”
“Your sisterfoundthese notes?” Diablo growled.
“She found them all right.”
“Grace,” Creek barked. “What aren’t you saying?”
She sighed. “The geneticist was our great aunt.” Heavens save her. Had she just admitted that, right out loud?
“Your relative is our dreaded creator?” Mercury spoke without emotion, as if his mind was too busy accessing the new information.
“She was.” Sadness mixed with her anxiety as Grace tried to imagine what it would have been like to know the woman she’d come to understand through the journals and logs she left behind. “When Roma discovered she’d sabotaged the project by making it impossible for Arena Dogs to reproduce, she knew they would torture her to get her to undo it. She killed herself.”
“And you’re afraid your sister will sacrifice her life as well,” guessed Creek.
Grace nodded.
Mercury moved around the table and Creek got to his feet to block him from approaching Grace. The two men stared each other down. Grace got to her feet and pulled on Creek’s arm until he moved. He kept ahold of Grace’s hand, twining their fingers together as he stood at her side.
She was so grateful to him. She might have melted to the floor in a puddle without his support. Instead, she faced Mercury, spine straight, eyes lifted.
“It seems your family, like mine, has reason to hate Roma,” he said, and Grace nodded. “This changes much of what we believed about our creator. And it seems like we have a common ancestor.” Mercury clasped her arms, claw tips gentle against the soft fabric of her top. “Welcome to the family, our brave little sister.”
Chapter Twelve
TheAbundance
EarthAllianceBetaSector
2210.194
Creek settled Grace on a bench in the garden—his fragile but strong butterfly. Despite Mercury’s assurances that they didn’t find fault with Grace for withholding important information from them, her skin was pale and the pulse beneath her skin still beat too fast.
“It will be all right, Grace. You can trust Mercury.”
“What will they do with Patel and Santos?”
“Mercury is known for strategy. Together we will figure out what is best.”
“I hope you’re right. I’ve been trying to figure out what is the best thing to do for my sister for days.” She looked up with pleading eyes. Pleading for understanding. “I want my sister to live, but I don’t know how to help her. Those men know where she is, or they can find out.”
He thought about how to comfort her. “One thing I know is that Mercury understands the bonds of pack…of family. After he, Lo, and Carn were free they risked their lives to return to Roma and free Hera. I don’t believe he’ll do anything that will place your sister in more jeopardy.”
Grace pushed to her feet and paced. “I can’t think about it anymore. My head and my heart feel like they might explode. She was already in trouble and I’ve only made things worse.”
Creek got to his feet and stepped into her path. When she came to a halt less than a meter from him, he stepped close and cupped her face. “You’re not to blame for your sister’s peril.”
