Page 58 of Healing Creek
“The medic said he’d never seen anything like it.” Jupiter shook his head. “We don’t understand how her blood could have caused you to heal so quickly, but it did. Afterward, she needed rest. I should have thought. I thought the danger was to you.”
Obviously, if someone had cut the vines in the ravine to get rid of Creek, they could also have gone after Grace…in eight fucking hours. And she was vulnerable. Weak from saving his life. Creek pushed up from the bed and swung his legs over the side.
This time Jupiter didn’t try to stop him. “Go slow until you know your strength,” he cautioned.
Saturn stood at the com station. “I’m not getting an answer from Zachary. I’ll have to go and look for—”
Creek held out a hand to stop him. “I can’t wait. Grace could be in trouble.” He pulled sensors from his chest.
Neri burst through the door. “She’s not in the room where we left her, and I checked with the kitchen—she hasn’t requested a meal.”
“Damn,” Creek muttered again. “Jupiter, are your mates still in the ship at the top of the ravine?”
“No, they moved the ship as soon as we let them know we found the base.” Jupiter put a hand out to help Creek get up from the bed.
Creek took the offered hand and jumped down. “Can you get in touch with them and ask them to fly a search pattern starting from the base and extending outward. I want to know about any transport in the area.”
Neri frowned. “Shouldn’t we search the base first? She might be here somewhere.”
No. She would be at his side if she could be. But he didn’t say the words aloud. “We’ll look everywhere until we find her. Where is Maximus? Mercury?”
Jupiter stepped aside. “In the conference room. They’re discussing the situation with the breeding program.”
Creek strode down the hall toward the meeting room. By the time he reached it he was practically running. He shoved the door aside, not stopping until he had the attention of the four people inside.
Mercury sat with his mate, looking concerned. “What’s happened?”
Creek got straight to the point. “Grace is missing.”
Samantha gasped and clutched Mercury’s arm. “We have to find her.”
Maximus unfolded his tall body from the chair and went straight to the com’s panel. He used a base wide call to instruct all residents and staff to gather in the assembly hall. “We can at least determine if anyone else is missing,” he explained.
Eve crossed her arms and sat back in her chair. “There’s no danger here. There’s been no perimeter breach. I’m sure she’s just gotten lost in a new place.”
Jupiter approached Maximus for assistance in making an external com to his mates on theHawleyand the two men left, promising to join them in the assembly hall.
Things were happening fast. Creek should be reassured, but he wasn’t. Worry was a stone in his belly. Something was wrong. His mate was in trouble.
Neri spoke from behind him. “Creek, you should sit. Your body has been through a lot. Give yourself time to gain strength.”
Samantha reached for a pitcher of water on the table and began to pour a glass for him. “Water is always good at times like these.”
He felt unsettled and anxious to do something, but he sat and drank the water.
Eve leaned forward in her seat. “Your recovery is miraculous, Creek. Did you know Grace could do this?”
Creek hated to admit that he hadn’t known something so vital about Grace, but he had no choice. “No.”
“I don’t think she intended any of us to find out. It’s possible she might be feeling worried about your reaction?” Eve didn’t sound concerned. Only curious.
“My reaction?” Creek slammed a fist against the table. “Grace does not fear me, and I am not the one who was trying to test her DNA!” Creek couldn’t understand how she’d healed him or why, whatever this was, she’d felt the need to hide it from them all—even him. He’d known there was something.
Neri sat next to Creek and wrapped her hand around his fist. “Creek, before you lost consciousness you called my name.”
Creek stopped for a moment to think about that. “Yes, to tell her to stay with you.”
Neri shook her head. “You didn’t say that. I saw how she looked. She thought at death your thoughts were of me. When one’s heart is sore, it can make one act rashly. We must consider that she might have left voluntarily. She might simply be taking a moment to deal with her emotions.”
