“Let them rage all they want.” Liam’s voice was hard. Remembering Naomi’s accounts of their treatment of her and her sister, and with the memory of Beth’s wounds and scars fresh in his mind, he had no sympathy for the imprisoned women. “They’re mad because they lost their whipping boy. They’ll get over it, or not.”
“We may have to move the mink to a more controlled environment,” Hector told him. “She’s a danger to the keepers in the larger enclosure. We can easily dart the big cats when we have to come in to clean the enclosure, but she evades us. That little shit is devious, and she’s vicious. If you ask me, the reason she doesn’t Change to human is because she can’t anymore. She’s completely lost to her animal, like that Beatrice.”
“Hmm.” Liam thought about that. “And the sisters? The cougar and the coyote?”
Hector shrugged. “They’re not as bad as the other two. But Valerie, she’s even worse than Beatrice. It’s also not really the right environment for a mink, but they wanted to keep the family together.”
“That wouldn’t be my call to make. You need to talk to an administrator,” Liam advised him. “I’m only authorized to make decisions for Beth. But you should bring it to their attention, for sure.”
“I think I will,” Hector said, nodding decisively. “Let me go get that furniture arranged, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Chapter20
Swipinghis key card in the lock, Liam opened the door to their hotel room. He stood blinking on the threshold, taking in the scene before him. Naomi was seated on the floor in the middle of the room, surrounded by stacks of books of every kind. She beamed up at him.
“There was an overstock clearance sale at the school district.”
Stepping inside, moving carefully to avoid tripping over books, Liam sat at the table by the window, scanning the piles of books in fascination.
“Somehow, I think I didn’t understand the full scope of your love of books.”
Naomi grinned at him, looking pleased with herself. “People always underestimate book lovers.” She sobered, some of the glow in her eyes fading. “How is Beth?”
He sighed, running his hands through his hair. “She’s pretty beat up. Apparently the others are taking out their frustrations on her. I had her moved away from them, with Maroulla’s approval.”
Naomi rose from the floor, and came to sit beside him. “Did she talk to you?”
“Yes. She still doesn’t remember what happened that night, with her fiance. She’s not like the other Rogues. I could sense her grief over his death.” He hesitated. He wanted so much to tell her that he didn’t think Beth was a Rogue, but he also didn’t want to get her hopes up. “She says to tell you that she’s glad you’re doing well, and that she misses you.”
Her lips quivered. “I miss her too, so much. We did everything together. It feels almost like part of me is missing, not having her beside me.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to come see her? I know you don’t want to see your mother and the others, but she’s well away from them now, and out of telepathic range of them, also. We’re hoping that she’ll Change, and talk to us.”
Naomi hesitated, wavering between doubt and the yearning to see her sister again.
In fact,” he continued, “I need to go out shopping after we have dinner, and get her some clothes. I could definitely use your help with that. You know what she likes, and her sizes and all.”
Her whole expression changed, the animated spark returning to her face and she bounced a little. “Of course! I know exactly what she likes, and we always shared the same size.” Her gaze went to her new acquisitions on the floor. “And I can take her some books to read.”
She laughed suddenly, and rose to her feet, stepping over piles of books to join him at the table. “Okay, you convinced me. I really do want to see her, if she’s not all psycho like Mom and Beatrice.”
“And like your other sisters,” he said reluctantly. “I’ve read the transcript of their hearing before the Council. They were raving, and they Changed right there in the Council chambers, trying to attack anyone in reach. They finally had to be tranquilized and caged.”
Naomi paled, looking ill. “Beth, too?”
He shook his head. “No. She was silent the whole time, even when your mother told the Council about her killing her fiance. She never attempted any defense, but accepted her sentence and let herself be led away peacefully.”
“It’s hard to defend against something you know you did,” Naomi sighed. She looked at Liam. “But I still love her. Is that wrong?”
His hand closed over hers on the table. “Not at all. She’s your sister, and you’re always going to love her, no matter what.”
“Well, I don’t love my mother, or my other sisters,” she said frankly. “I’ve always been afraid of them, and I hate them. I mean… really, hate. I don’t feel any compassion for them, not even a drop.”
“Considering they’re full-on psychopaths, that’s not a bad thing. They never had any feelings for you, so of course you never developed any for them.”
She blinked, taking that in. “I never thought of it that way,” she admitted. “But you’re right. I have about the same warm fuzzy feelings for them as I have for, say, Ted Bundy or Jeffrey Dahmler.”
Liam grinned at her. “There ya go.”
