by Dale Mayer
She frowned. “Anything wrong?”
He never said a word and just returned behind her. She opened her mouth to speak again when Levi picked up her hand and pressed her fingers into the same place on his wrist. And she felt some kind of hard material inside.
Her gaze widened in fear as she understood. This specialist now knew she didn’t have one. Her mouth fell open and she leaned in close. “But now he knows?”
Levi nodded, bent lower, and with his lips against her ears, murmured, “He’s here to give you one.”
“But isn’t that dangerous? For you?”
“More for you. Don’t say anything to him. Cry if you need to, the pod will fix any damage afterwards.”
“Oh God, it’s going to hurt, isn’t it?” And her heart started to race. She clenched her fists. She was such a baby with pain. Tears burned in the back of her eyes. She couldn’t do this.
As if understanding, Levi wrapped an arm around her shoulders and squeezed gently. “Easy.”
She swallowed hard. There was no choice. She had to have whatever that thing was Levi had. She couldn’t even ask for details without letting the specialist know the extent of her ignorance. And that would only bring more questions. And more problems. She hated the subterfuge, the necessary lies. She’d never been any good at those.
Not to mention the way words tended to blurt from her mouth without warning.
Levi started to massage her shoulders, making her realize she’d frozen in place, her muscles locking down.
Just when the wait seemed interminable, the specialist walked over again – holding a gun of some kind in his hands. She gasped in shock, and Levi gripped her shoulders. Not quite forcing her to stay in place, but letting her know he could if needed.
She didn’t want to watch what happened so she kept her gaze forward. The stranger snagged her arm and turned it palm up.
Something cold was placed against her skin.
She closed her eyes and held her breath.
There was a hard pinch then nothing. She frowned. Was that it? All that worry over nothing. Just as the thought filtered through her brain, her head lolled to one side and she blacked out.
*
Levi let his breath escape slowly when Dani’s head drooped to the side.
“Hold her still,” the stranger said.
Levi grabbed her shoulders to stop her from slumping down in the chair, then crouched down and slid his arm under her head, his other arm wrapping around her ribs to hold her still. “I’ve got her, go ahead.”
The specialist nodded and proceeded to do the quick laser surgery to open her wrist. Levi knew he was taking a chance doing this. At birth, the newborns were tagged within the first hour of life. When they hit sixteen, the tags were switched to the ones they’d have for the rest of their lives.
At birth, it was easier as the bones and tissues were soft, pliant. The initial tags were easily replaced as the body was already well accustomed to their presence. Dani had never had a foreign object implanted under her skin. Her nerves were fully grown. Any damage at this stage and she could lose the use of her hand. Scar tissue was yet another problem. He could only hope to get this over with and get her back into the pod quickly.
He watched the man work fast and efficiently. When Dani’s wrist was open, he had to look away. There was little blood with the high intensity laser, but holy crap. He gritted his teeth, and being unable to help himself, he dropped a kiss on her head. After another long moment, he risked a second look at the surgery, relieved to see the tag lying nestled in the muscles. He could only wonder how the body adapted to such a thing. But his society had been using ID implants for a long time. They appeared to be the answer. They couldn’t be lost, transferred, or stolen – when removed from the body, an alert was automatically sent to the Registrar.
“Is this going to work?” Levi asked. At least the specialist appeared to be competent.
He nodded. “Should.”
“It’s registered?” He couldn’t help asking questions. If this didn’t work, Dani’s life was in danger. And that was unacceptable.
The specialist nodded again. “It is. When I get this closed up, I’ll start the programming.”
Ah. Right. The whole computer world that his society ran off of. Dani had to be included or else she’d always be an outsider. A fugitive. And that would be very difficult. There were fringe groups in his world, as there have been in every century. They lived free of the government restrictions and regulations but barely eked out a living, always on the run from the military. He sighed, staring down at the gentle soul in his arms. She didn’t deserve that. She didn’t deserve any of this.
“Done.”
Levi looked up, relief flooding through him. “Are you?” He studied Dani’s wrist. The laser had closed the wound. It was red and puffy but surprisingly healthy looking. The man waved a healing wand over it, and that improved the look of the skin again. He exhaled. “Will she be in pain when she wakes up?”
The specialist shrugged. “It’s possible. The body needs time to adapt. Her wrist will ache. The fingers could go numb off and on and could potentially swell.”
All things the pod could help her with, so it was minor in the scheme of things that could go wrong. The specialist stood and collected his instruments. He repacked his bag then opened a side pouch and removed a comp unlike anything Levi had seen before. The man pulled a chair forward and sat down. Using an odd-looking antennae, he angled the comp so it faced Dani’s wrist. He clicked a few buttons and a series of lights under her skin lit up. Levi’s eyebrows shot up. He hadn’t realized how much programming went into this.
But the stranger seemed to relax back into his chair now that he realized the system was active. He bent his head and worked his thumbs on the keyboard. The lights on Dani’s arm continue to beep and flash, then settled down to a steady pulse.
Levi looked down at his own arm. There were no lights. No beeps. But if he bought anything, there was a series of lights as the system went through its security checks. He wondered how long this would take and how much information he’d need to give to make Dani a history. She had to have a full background for the databanks to be happy.
He waited quietly for the stranger to work.
The man looked up. “Her name?”
“Dani Summerland.”
The stranger keyed it in. Without looking up, he asked for her birth date.
Doing the math quickly from the little he knew, Levi picked July 1st, 24 years earlier.
There were several other questions as to gender, which he could easily answer. Then came the harder ones. Family history. He stalled. He could give Dani’s real parents’ name. He’d seen their names in Milo’s file, but he had no dates for them. He gave up their names willingly enough and waited, hoping more wasn’t required.
“We’ll put down that the records were destroyed in the Felonia Crash, shall we?”
Relief washed through Levi. So much information had been lost in that disaster. It was the perfect answer. “That works.”
The specialist switched to a series of questions about her medical history. He, of course had no idea, but the pods hadn’t found anything major so he presumed she had none. At least as far as the database was concerned, she was incredibly healthy.
He had no idea what other information was being placed in Dani’s fake background. And he didn’t care as long as it was neutral and wouldn’t raise any flags if checked. She needed to have flaws, just not big ones.
There were a few more questions about her education and schools. Not knowing many, he used the same schools that he’d gone to and gave her a degree in IT systems. At least that was something he could train her for. And since so many people had a similar education, it was a common course for her to have completed.
Then finally it was done. Dani was a single orphan female, twenty-four, educated, healthy.
The specialist said, “Last section. We have to connect to her financial information.”
>
Levi nodded, ready for this. Last night when he realized what this process was going to mean, he’d opened some accounts under Dani’s name. He punched in his access code on his comp then brought up the account. With a few swift clicks, Dani was connected to the credit system of his times. He’d transferred a moderate chunk of money to help her get established, but not enough to raise any alarms. He had no idea what she was going to need over the next year, and he knew he’d use what money he had to make her life as good as he could make it.
That was the least he could do.
But she’d need so much more.
The specialist packed up the comp and closed his bag. He turned to Levi and held out a porter. Levi stilled. This would be the first time he would see the price for Dani’s tagging. He reached for it, took a look, schooled his features to not react, then held the unit to his own wrist and pushed the buttons, allowing the payment from his account. He wanted to laugh at the mockery of the company name on the bill. He’d just paid for cosmetic upgrades for Dani. How true. It would be hard to consider any other body modification that would match this expense.
When it was completed, he handed the unit back to the specialist, who nodded, put it in his pocket, and proceeded to walk out of the apartment.
Feeling odd, yet relieved about the whole thing, Levi reengaged stealth mode on the apartment. There was a part of him that wondered if he wouldn’t be better off relocating so as to not be found again.
He’d paid the bill. But he’d also opened himself to potential blackmail in the future. And Dani, now safe from the government, was in danger from the very men who’d helped save her. There was one other thing he could do to protect her – but it was a last resort. And it would involve his family. He wasn’t quite ready for that step yet.
His mind raced for ways to protect them both. She moaned just then and he realized she needed the pod. He could work the rest of the details out later. Surely Milo could find something on these men to help balance the scales.
When both had secrets to hide, the playing field was levelled.
And that would best.
But first he had to see to Dani.
Chapter 12
Dani woke to tears rolling down her cheeks. She tried to swipe them away and cried out, instinctively hugging her hand up to her chest. She was being carried in strong arms again. A protective caring set of arms. Levi.
“Easy, Dani. It’s over.” Levi’s comforting voice washed over her.
She tried to understand what was going on. Levi was speaking, but she didn’t understand what he was saying.
“I’m taking you back to the pod. An hour in there and you’ll feel much better.”
The pod. Healing. Her sore wrist. And then she remembered. The stranger. Tagging. For some reason, this injury, this injustice done in an attempt to make everything right…had become the last straw.
Maybe because she was tired, maybe because she hurt, and maybe it was just because it had all become too much, but once she started, she couldn’t stop the tears.
“It’s going to be all right, Dani,” Levi’s worried voice whispered in her ear. “I’m so sorry we had to do this.”
“It’s all right,” she sobbed as the tears poured out. “It’s not your fault.”
“And yet it is.” He sighed as they entered the pod room. “Milo is my brother and he brought you here for me. I certainly didn’t ask him to do this, but because of his actions, your life has been ruined.” He laid her down on the pod. She moaned as her arm was jostled.
“I’m so sorry,” Levi said. The pain in his voice was so evident she wanted to reassure him it was fine – only it wasn’t fine. Her wrist throbbed.
“I am, too,” she whispered, lying back and shuddering. “I had no idea it would hurt this much.”
“It shouldn’t,” Levi said quietly. “He gave you something for the pain, but I’m not sure your body can handle the drugs of today.”
Not a nice thought. “The pod might help.” She curled into a ball, her injured arm lying on her side so that the pod’s rays could gain access. She closed her eyes, tears still leaking through.
“I’ll go mix a pain cocktail.” He lowered the pod lid. “I’ll be back in a moment.”
She could hear his footsteps retreating. Thank God. She was set to have a royal bawl. She’d been holding back but now that she was alone, the sobs rolled free. Everything hurt and it seemed like her life was the absolute worst it could be. She cried and cried, letting the tears and stress and pain drain from her overwhelmed system.
She’d always been proud of her ability to adapt. She wasn’t sure she could in this situation. She’d try hard, but damn, this was a mind bender to set anyone’s balance off. Oddly enough, by the time she stopped bawling, she felt better. Just to be able to let go like that had helped her ease back the stress levels.
Sure, her wrist still hurt, but the coiled sense of being too full, too hurt, too…whatever was gone. She let the last of the sobs hiccup out before she took several deep breaths.
“Are you okay now?”
Levi’s worried voice came from the open doorway. Damn. She sniffled back the last bit of the tears. “Sorry,” she whispered, her voice thick and ragged, still clogged with tears. She knew her face would be red and puffy. She could only hope he didn’t open the pod. She didn’t want him to see her this way.
At the reminder of the pod, she brightened. Maybe it could heal her puffiness the same as it worked to heal the time travel damage. She turned slightly so her face was directly under the pod’s flashing lights. She didn’t know if it made a difference, but her skin immediately started to lose the tight hot sensation.
“Don’t be.” Levi stood there beside her and lifted the pod’s lid.
She rolled her face into the blanket. It was an instinctive yet childish reaction.
“Hey, don’t do that,” he whispered softly. “You don’t ever need to hide from me.”
That surprised a laugh out of her. “Sorry, I just know what I look like after I’ve been crying.”
“Crying is a great way to release all that pent up emotion. You’ve been through a lot.” He smiled down at her. “Give yourself a break. I think you’ve done wonderfully well.”
He lay down beside her and tugged her into his arms. Was he for real? Could any guy be this good? Or was it the men of this century, because if so, then wow!
And inexplicably, his acceptance brought on more waterworks.
Through her gentle sobs, Dani heard Levi’s distressed voice. “Please don’t cry, Dani. We’ll make it work out. I’m so sorry Milo did this, but I promise…I’ll do what I can to make it as good as I can. This really is a wondrous time to be alive. There are so many things I want to show you.”
He kept talking and murmuring gently as if the sheer mass of words would help calm her down.
It was working. She wiped her eyes, surprised to find the pod had adapted its size to accommodate the two of them. Truly there were many innovative things here. And maybe it was time she stopped being such a wet dishrag and realized what an opportunity she had.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, though he’d told her not to be sorry. “I don’t normally cry like this.”
“It’s like the physical effect on your body. There has to be some kind of emotional reaction, too. Tears only make sense.” He smiled at her. And damn if she wasn’t starting to like that smile. A little too much. He was worming his way into her heart. She really wanted him in her life.
She snuggled in closer and sighed happily. Maybe life wasn’t so rotten after all.
He dropped a kiss on the top of her head. She smiled. He really was a protector. Another kiss landed on her side of her head. She shifted slightly at the same time he slid down a little, and she found herself staring into his eyes. Huge, deeply magnetic purple eyes. Like how could that be? She so wanted eyes like that. Just gazing into them made her insides melt.
A tiny sigh escaped. He was so damn beautiful.
His eyes darkened.
She caught her breath.
Then he lowered his head…and kissed her.
*
The sweetness of her lips disarmed him and made the next kiss inevitable. His lips moved gently on hers. Tasting, exploring, feeling a response that set his pulse pounding. He deepened the kiss, needing more. Needing to know she wanted more.
That she wanted him.
Like he wanted her. He couldn’t believe how much. He hadn’t even known of her existence a few days ago, and it galled him to think his brother had actually found her and retrieved her for him. Even worse to know that Milo had been right – she did look perfect for him – at least at first glance.
She twisted beneath him, her feet sliding up his calf, hooking under his pant leg and stroking his skin. He shuddered, sliding his hand around her back and down across her bare midriff. He’d chosen the clothes without realizing how sexy they’d look on her. Small and delicate, the clothing looked like they’d been created with her in mind. Add her almost ash blonde hair, and she looked like a slave girl from centuries ago.
He paused. She was from centuries ago.
She moved, twisting her body until his hand rested just below her chest. His breath caught in the back of his throat. As if his hand had a life of its own, his long fingers smoothed upward to cover her small rounded breast.
She gasped and arched into his hand.
He bent his head and lapped at the pouting nipple through the soft as silk material.
Her moan turned to a groan, and she shuddered.
God, he shouldn’t be doing this.
It wasn’t fair.
She needed to heal.
She didn’t know what she was doing.
She couldn’t know what she was doing.
She was dependent on him.
Argh. He pulled back, panting. “No,” he groaned in a harsh whisper. “You’re hurt.”
“I’m hurting,” she corrected. “And it’s going to hurt more if you don’t kiss me again.”
