Wolf Rain (Psy-Changeling Trinity #3) - Nalini Singh Page 0,94
her here while I ran to her car to grab the kit. You know healers—everyone in the pack is coded into her car’s security.”
“That’s because if anyone dares take my car for a joyride, they’ll be in big doo-doo with every single other member of the pack.” The brunette smiled at Vashti as she got to work, her hands gentle and competent, and her voice soothing and warm.
“Doo-doo?” Alexei shook his head. “What did I tell you, sweetheart? Wolves are definitely more sophisticated and elegant.”
The healer snorted. “Ignore him, kitten. He’s a boy, and as I’m raising two boys, I can tell you they’re mostly dirt and mischief—with a side helping of interesting bugs.”
Memory knew they were joking around in an effort to raise Vashti’s spirits, and it was working. The girl’s joy was an innocent thing, her pain and fear forgotten for short bursts as she tried to laugh. All the while, her blood continued to flow.
Clay cradled the little girl’s head with one hand, his other holding hers. “Noor can’t stop talking about you,” he said in his deep timbre. “She’s very proud to have a ‘big girl’ friend. I’m going to talk to your dad about bringing her over to visit you.”
Vashti’s happiness bubbled again.
Memory clenched her gut and hoped. Vashti was bleeding out, her psychic presence weaker and weaker because Renault wanted Memory. If Vashti died . . . Memory bit down so hard on her lower lip that she tasted blood.
Chapter 35
Psychopaths who kill for killing’s sake are ill-disciplined individuals who waste resources. At the core, they are driven by primordial urges that negate any assertions of intelligence.
—Amara Aleine
RENAULT’S PULSE RACED. He wasn’t used to the lack of control. Neither was he used to being the one who ran, being the weak one. But he’d realized he was outnumbered the instant the two changelings entered the basement—he’d already stretched his telekinetic abilities; he hadn’t had enough power to hold off the two aggressors.
As it was, he’d barely made it to his hiding place.
That he now lay on the floor, his cheek resting on the rough carpet, was a humiliation he would not forget. He’d punish Memory for this, for running from him, for her disloyalty after all he’d done for her, how well he’d kept her.
She would pay and pay again.
The next time he drew her out, he’d have to ensure she came alone. It could be done. He knew everything about Memory, every fear and every guilt. Something crackled in his pocket as he turned. His ace in the hole: the lock of hair that belonged to Memory’s mother, a memento he always kept close because it marked the day he’d found Memory.
Yes, she would come when he called.
Chapter 36
Empaths do an overwhelming amount of good. But, as with any other group, those of Designation E have their flaws and their vulnerabilities, and these elements of their psyche can have a catastrophic impact on their mental health.
—The Mysterious E Designation: Empathic Gifts & Shadows by Alice Eldridge (Reprint: 2082)
MEMORY SAT IN a hard plas chair while hospital announcements echoed against the cool white walls. She was waiting for Alexei to return from the small café attached to the hospital—he’d volunteered to go down and grab coffee and food.
Two hours had passed since they’d found Vashti. Neither Clay nor Tammy had eaten dinner yet, and Memory’s bones were pushing up against her skin. Whatever she’d done to track Renault, it had required huge amounts of fuel. But Memory wasn’t hungry. A rock was lodged in her abdomen.
Stable at last, the small E Renault had hurt slept in a room on the other side of the wall at Memory’s back. Vashti’s father was inside with her while Tammy stood conferring with the medical team at the end of the hall—it turned out that Tamsyn “Tammy” Ryder, DarkRiver’s senior healer, was also a highly qualified doctor who had full privileges at this hospital.
Clay kept watch close by the medical team.
There was no need to keep watch at this end; Vashti’s room was the final one in this hallway, with only a wall to Memory’s right.
“Empath?”
Jerking at the unexpected voice, she found Vashti’s father standing in the doorway to his daughter’s room. It took her a second to realize he was addressing her. “Yes,” she said, though her insides twisted at claiming the title. She’d brought a monster to this man’s door.
“My daughter would like to speak to you.”
A sudden cold shivered through her blood when she entered