“Well, let’s have a look,” the policeman said mildly. He squinted down at the second stack of paperwork. “Says here that Torri Morrison agrees to sign over her entire inheritance of five million dollars to her husband, Charles Morrison—that him?” he added, nodding at Chuck, who was still out cold and making snoring sounds through his obviously broken nose.
“That’s him,” Torri said steadily. “He was sitting on my chest demanding I sign the paperwork before Vic came and punched him out,” she added, looking up at the big Kindred gratefully. She still couldn’t believe he was here!
“Well? What do you have to say about that?” the policeman asked Amanda, who was still fuming. “From where I’m standing, it seems like this lady…” He nodded at Torri, “Is telling the truth. You got another story?”
Amanda seemed at a loss for words for a moment, then she grabbed her blonde wig and yanked it off her head. The sudden movement revealed a patchy balding skull with only a few clumps of her original blonde hair left.
“Look what she did to me!” she shrieked. “Just look! Yes I wanted to kill her but can you blame me? She made me go bald!”
Unfortunately, this move only made her look manic, especially since she kept shouting how Torri had caused her to go bald and how she was going to burn the cabin down with her in it.
At last the police officer shook his head.
“All right, I’ve heard enough,” he muttered. “Come on, let’s go.” He went to take Amanda by the arm but she yanked away from him.
“Get off me! You can’t arrest me—I didn’t do anything wrong!”
“Last time I looked, breaking and entering with intent to commit arson is still a crime, young lady,” the policeman said sternly, frowning at her. “Now come on, hands behind your back.”
He cuffed the screaming, snarling Amanda and led her out to his police car, then came back just as Chuck was waking up.
“Hey, what happened?” He touched his swelling nose carefully with his fingertips and winced. “Ow! Who punched me?”
“I did,” Vic growled, glaring down at him. “And you got off lightly. I’ll kill you if you come near my female again.”
The big Kindred’s eyes flashed red and the threat was made in a flat, quiet voice that sent a shiver down Torri’s spine.
Chuck recoiled from him.
“Hey, you’re another one of those alien Kindred assholes!”
“The Kindred saved our bacon not so long ago, buddy,” the policeman said, frowning at him.
“What? Hey, who called the cops?” Chuck demanded uneasily, scrambling to his feet as he stopped looking at Vic and looked at the policeman instead.
“I did,” Vic said again. “I thought it would be better to let the human authorities take care of your crimes. If I did it myself, you might not like the result,” he added, his eyes flashing red once more.
“Are you this lady’s husband??” the policeman demanded of Chuck and pointed at Torri. “And did you come here tonight to make her sign divorce papers and hand over her inheritance to you?”
“I…I…” Chuck swallowed audibly, looking nervous. “You have to believe me, Officer, she’s lying! She just escaped from the mental hospital,” he added, pointing a shaking finger at Torri. “And he escaped with her.” He pointed at Vic as well. “They’re both a couple of escaped lunatics!”
His story might have sounded more credible if his toupee hadn’t still been on crooked. It was cocked up at such an angle that Torri thought it looked like a small bird had decided to make a nest on top of her ex-husband’s head.
Clearly the policeman didn’t believe a word of Chuck’s story. He just shook his head and motioned for Chuck.
“Come on, buddy, you can tell it to the judge. Let’s go.”
Shouting and fuming, Chuck was handcuffed and led away to the police car. The policeman came back a moment later to gather the paperwork Chuck had tried to make Torri sign as evidence, as well as the wig Amanda had left behind, and let them know they might be called to make a statement. Then he wished them a good night, thanked Vic for the part the Kindred had played in foiling the Scourge invasion, and left, closing the door behind him.
After he left, Torri and Vic just looked at each other. Torri’s heart was so full, she didn’t know quite what to say. All she knew was that she never wanted to lose the big Kindred again.
Sixty-One
Only when the policeman was gone and the door was safely shut, did Vic finally breathe a sigh of obvious relief. He looked Torri over once more, as though making sure she was really all right.
“You’re sure they didn’t hurt you?” he asked.
Torri shook her head and winced.
“Well, I mean I bumped my head pretty good when Chuck dragged me down and sat on me, but other than that and the fact that he and Amanda scared the hell out of me, I’m okay.” She gave him a tight hug. “I’m just so glad you got here when you did! And it was smart thinking, calling the police,” she added.
“Thank you. I was afraid I wouldn’t get to you in time and I wanted to be sure you got the help you needed,” Vic told her.
“I’m so glad they let you come back to me! But how did you know I was in danger in the first place?” Torri asked.
He looked troubled.
“Well, if by ‘they’ you mean Commander Terex or anyone else in charge aboard the Mother Ship, I’m afraid I was not released by them. It was the Goddess herself who deactivated my stasis chamber and warned me you were in danger.”
“Wow—the Goddess again!” Torri shook her head in awe. She had never been a very religious person, but she had a feeling she ought to find out more about the Kindred Goddess.
“So, since I was not released by my Commanding Officer, now that I know you’re all right, I should probably go back to the Mother Ship,” Vic said reluctantly.
“What? No!” Torri exclaimed. “Vic, you can’t leave me again! I’ve missed you so much this past week—I thought I’d never get to see you again!”
“I am just glad I was able to come and help you when you needed me. You were my first thought when I was coming out of stasis, you know,” he murmured, stroking her cheek. “Even before the Goddess spoke to me, I wondered if you were all right.”
“Well, I won’t be all right if you leave me again!” Torri cried. “We just got reunited—you can’t run off again right away!”
“I don’t want to,” Vic said, frowning earnestly. “But my loyalty protocols tell me I should return to the Mother Ship. And since you are no longer in danger and you’re not injured, I don’t have a good reason to stay.”
Torri wanted to cry with frustration.
“Aren’t I a good enough reason?” she whispered, nuzzling her cheek against his hand. “Vic, please don’t leave me—at least, not right away,” she added, when he started to protest. “I…I think I feel faint,” she added, swaying dramatically. “Maybe…maybe I bumped my head harder than I thought.”
“Are you all right?” Vic pulled her into his arms and looked down at her anxiously.