Enhanced: Brides of the Kindred 12 (The Brides of the Kindred) by Evangeline Anderson

old Mrs. Hurley who lived next door hadn’t already. Having the police
come might be a good thing—maybe they could stop Six from taking her. On the
other hand, she thought, looking up at him, they would probably just get hurt
or killed trying.
    As the thoughts swirled in her brain, Six
leaned down to the screaming man and squirted something from a small tube
between his wide-stretched lips. Randy’s eyes grew wide as a wad of gray-blue
foam suddenly filled his mouth. It looked like he was trying to spit it out but
it remained lodged firmly in place, effectively blocking his screams. The
sudden silence seemed eerie, especially since the source of the former noise
was still flopping around on her porch.
    “That is better,” Six said, turning to
her.
    “Oh, God…” Mei-Li felt faint. She stumbled
and would have fallen if Six hadn’t grabbed her arm.
    “Don’t touch me!” She yanked away from
him. “What is wrong with you? Why did you do that?” She nodded down at
Randy, still writhing mutely on her porch.
    Six shrugged his broad shoulders. “You
said I couldn’t purge or terminate him so I put him out of commission. In this
way you will know that the young ones you are leaving behind are safe.”
    “You think Dungston is the only asshole I
have to deal with?” she demanded. “You think I’ll go with you because you broke
his arms and legs?”
    “I think you’ll go with me because I have a
legally binding Claiming Contract which says I am entitled to take you,” Six
said, frowning.
    “Oh my God…oh, God…” Mei-Li shook her
head, not sure whether to laugh or cry. The worst thing was, he had a point.
Though her father and the World Security Council had been talking about
abolishing their deal with the Kindred, it hadn’t happened yet so the draft
that allowed unmarried women to be called as brides by the big aliens was still
in effect. Six could take her and there was nothing anyone could do about it.
    But surely she couldn’t be legally
obligated to go with someone who had just stomped a man nearly to death on her
front porch? Shouldn’t there be some kind of loophole for that kind of thing?
    “I don’t….I can’t even think right now,”
she said, putting a hand to her forehead.
    “You don’t have to think—you just have to
come with me.” Six motioned to her and Mei-Li stared at him in disbelief.
    “You think I’ll come with you after that?” She nodded at Randy. “After seeing what you did to him, how could I ever feel
safe around you? How could I ever—”
    His eyes blazed. “You think that I would
hurt you?”
    “Well…yes. After what you just did—”
    “I did this for you , to set your
mind at ease.” His deep voice was fierce. “But I would never hurt you—I
am going to protect you. With my life, if necessary.”
    “I…but I…” Her mind was a whirling blank.
Suddenly Six was bending down to get on eye-level with her. He searched her
face, giving her a long, level look.
    “I do not wish to frighten you,
Mei-Li—that was never my intention. But you must come with me now. Will you
walk or must I carry you?”
    “You…I…” Slowly but surely it was becoming
clear that she had no choice about going with him. This time a few harsh words
weren’t going to send the big Kindred away—he was going to take her whether she
wanted him to or not.
    “Well?” he demanded.
    “I…I’ll walk,” she whispered.
    “Good. My shuttle is parked just ahead of
your vehicle.”
    “What?” She pushed her glasses up her nose
and squinted out at the street. The only car she could see parked there was her
own. “But I don’t…don’t see anything.”
    “Naturally not. I have light refracting
technology that renders my shuttle invisible when necessary.”
    “You have what?”
    But he was already headed for the porch
door. He stepped over the supine body of Randy Dungston, who seemed to have
fainted again, as casually as though he was stepping over a pile of trash.
Looking back,