Fueled by Lust: Cato (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Celeste Prater

  “Of course not,” Cato muttered. “Wait. Did you say we have to take her back home? What’d you find?”

  Kallon motioned him over and pointed to a thin, portable scanner lying next to Luna’s head. “See that dark line right there?” At Cato’s nod, he elaborated. “That’s a brain tear. It’s deep within the cortex. This is why her body knows to stay in the coma. It’s trying to heal on its own, unsuccessfully I might add. Their equipment will never identify this. She’ll suffer a stroke within the week and that will be that.”

  Cato felt his stomach drop. “We can’t fix her here? How can she travel? Could she die from being moved?”

  Shaking his head, Kallon began packing his satchel. “We’re in the process of building a similar trauma unit. It will be a while before it’s functional. The one back home is too big to bring here. Even if we could, we don’t have that much time to waste. Moving her isn’t a problem. The injury can’t get any worse unless she suffers another catastrophic blow. We’ll just make sure that doesn’t happen. Think about it, Cato. We’d have to get her out of here anyway. As soon as I heal the obvious injuries, they’ll have her in a lab within seconds trying to figure out how she did it. We can’t move her as she is now, so we’ll need to time this perfectly.”

  Nodding, Cato shoved a chair against the door and slumped against the wall. He couldn’t think straight, much less listen for anyone approaching. Let the staff scratch their heads trying to figure out how a comatose patient accomplished that trick. He reasoned one good shove on the door bought him a few seconds to ghost it before they got all the way in. At least it was a good plan if he stayed conscious. He didn’t think it was normal for floor tiles to be warping and flashing black spots.

  “Cato. Sit down. You’re pale. Talk to me.”

  He knew he was squashing the shit out of his spikes, yet he couldn’t seem to pull his hand out of his hair. He vaguely registered his butt hitting the hard plastic, but at least the black dots had disappeared. Why did his voice sound like he was talking into a long tube?

  “She doesn’t know about us. Hell, she doesn’t even know me. What am I going to say to her when she wakes up on Insedivertus? ‘Hi. You don’t know me, but can you hop on up into this flying machine? The moons? Don’t worry yourself, sweetie. Pretend you don’t see them.’ Fuck me! She’s going to freak. I thought I had more time to figure this out.” He heard the scrape of metal on tile and watched as Kallon’s knees lined up with his.

  “You worry too much, Cato. She has to remain in stasis for at least three days after the surgery. We’ll have her back by then. She’ll never have to know. Not until you’re ready. So, relax. Now, clue me in on that first bit of info you threw at me. Petrus said she was your female. How can she not know you?”

  Cato knew he was losing his shit. Severus was going to get a huge, heartfelt apology when he caught up with him. No wonder he looked like a crazed beast when Cassie went missing. Just the thought of Luna taking her last breath made his brain cramp and leak every ounce of smart juice right out of his fucking ears. Kallon’s calm physician voice was a lifeline he was willing to grab and swing on for a while. Five deep breaths later, he felt sane enough to have an intelligent conversation.

  “It’s a long story. Let’s just say that someone cracked her skull before I had a chance to introduce myself properly.” Feeling less wobbly, Cato looked up at Kallon. “Let’s do this. What do you need me to do?”

  Kallon smiled, pushed back in his chair, and went into immediate doctor mode. “I have to pick up a few items first. While I’m gone, you’ll need to find something to help move her. We can wheel her out on a gurney or in a wheelchair. I’d prefer the chair since it’d be less obvious when we hit the exit. Get some more warriors here, too. They’ll need to run diversions while we work. Two should be good enough. Call for the helicopter to be ready. We’ll need to fly as close to the vortex as possible.”

  Confident he had his shit together, Cato stood and walked over to Luna’s side. He ran a finger across her palm and wanted desperately to tell her it was going to be okay. “Consider it done. Anything else?”

  “One more. Do you know if she’s your mate?”

  Cato looked up at Kallon now standing by the door. His hand was on the knob and the urgency of the situation was evident on his face despite his calm question. “No. I don’t know. It doesn’t really matter to me if she is or not. She needs help.”

  Kallon shook his head. His voice came low and sympathetic. “It’s more than that, Cato. She has to at least be an Occasio, otherwise we’ll be held up at the gate. It’s been a while since you’ve returned home. They’ve cordoned off the site and it’s heavily guarded. The Senate, with the emperor’s blessing, instituted security checks before entry is granted. I’m pretty sure I can convince them to bypass that rule since she’ll be oblivious to what’s going on. The Senate can be stodgy old bastards sometimes, but I don’t think they’re heartless. However, it would make for a quick trip to the trauma center if you could show up with a heated necklace. You feel me?”

  Nodding, Cato glanced down and clasped her cold fingers. “I hear you. Thanks.”

  “I’ll give you two hours to get everything in place. We’ll want to move her while it’s dark. Good luck.”

  He heard the soft click of the door and opened his mind. Maxim. Tell me you hear me, buddy. After several unsuccessful attempts, relief washed over his body at the familiar voice moving through his thoughts.

  Hey, cuz. You ready to come back for round two? I think me and Caelius can guard you this time. I can walk you from your truck and pretty boy can distract the ladies just in case someone wants to smack you again.

  Cato couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face. Just like Maxim to jolt him out of his sudden funk. Asshole. I can take care of myself. I need you to help me out with something else, though. Did the Trejani give you permission to fly again?

  Maxim grunted. Yes, he did. That was a whole year ago and he only grounded me for a month. You need to go somewhere? As long as it’s not Dallas, then we’ll be okay.

  Cato chuckled at the memory. No worries. I don’t need to land in the LaBare parking lot at the last minute for their strip-off contest, so you should be good to go.

  Cato could picture Maxim puffing his chest out as soon as his wicked laugh filtered through. Hey, they said we were lightweights. Thought it was hilarious to call us chickens forty minutes before the contest. Sure didn’t think it was so funny when I walked off with the gods damn trophy though. Where we going?

  To the vortex. Kallon has a critical patient and we need to leave in about three hours.

  Ah, shit! Which warrior?

  Earth female. Someone beat the hell out of her and she’s going to die if we don’t get her to the trauma center. I need you to meet me at the hospital emergency entrance in an hour. Bring another warrior with you. We’ve got to sneak her out.

  Crap, Cato! Whose mate?

  Cato squeezed Luna’s hand and closed his eyes. I think she’s mine.

  Chapter 11

  With video monitors in the front hallway and the south exit reprogrammed to look at ceiling dust bunnies, Maxim in mist form by the nursing station, a stolen set of hospital scrubs folded neatly on the bed, and the Cadillac of wheelchairs shoved into a corner, Cato stared at the wall clock and knew he had less than thirty minutes to stop being a pussy. One touch to the wrist and he’d know. Simple.

  “Sure, nothing to it.” Cato shuddered and thought of his friend. Was this what you went through, Severus? Did your heart leap around your chest and try to escape from fear of splintering in two if your necklace remained cold on your skin?

  He wished his buddy was standing here right now so he could answer all the questions flying around in his brain pan. No wonder Severus had refused to wear his necklace for so long. “Is ignorance truly bliss?” Cato shook his head and grunted. “Obviously not, or the big bastard wouldn’t have put the damn thing back on.”

  Severus had got
ten lucky. Cassie had been his mate, after all. However, they both knew there were stories of warriors that’d met different fates. He could readily sympathize. He’d be a walking zombie if he had to forget about his Angeli when they returned to Earth. He suddenly wished he was more like the Trejani. From what he’d heard, Drusus had the princess spotted, pressed against a wall, and tagged in under an hour. No wonder he’d one day be the leader of their race.

  “To hell with it!” Cato pulled her wrist to his lips and laid a solemn kiss to her skin. He could feel her heartbeat fluttering against his lips and wondered what would happen next. He’d heard varying phrases used to describe the Occasio surge, ranging from white-hot, searing pain shooting through the chest and exiting the nuts to a ball of swirling fire exploding throughout the body.

  As his back hit the floor and he gazed helplessly up at the ceiling tiles while he tried not to swallow his tongue, words like “atomic bomb” and “orgasmic super train” flitted around in his brain. Son of a bitch!

  When sensation returned to his hands, he reached up and grabbed at the necklace beneath his shirt. He expected to find the mineral seared into his chest cavity. Instead, he found a warm tooth resting peacefully against his skin. “Fucking A! Ah, Angeli. If I ever tell you that you knocked me off my feet, I won’t be lying.”

  Cato pulled his knees up and planted his boots against the tile. He panted a few times from the effort. At least his legs were working. He started to laugh and hoped the nursing staff didn’t hear him. There was no way in hell he could pull a mist while his dick was still trying to figure out if it should shoot a load in his pants or give up the ghost. It was as confused as he was. Reaching out an arm, he slapped around and tried to find the leg of a chair. If he could stop laughing long enough, maybe he could pull himself up and get his shit together before Kallon came back.

  “Need some help?”

  Cato narrowed his eyes and tried to focus on the hand hovering over his chest. He grinned when he saw Kallon’s wide eyes and big smile. “Yeah. Think I do.”

  Kallon snorted, yanked him up from the floor, and then pushed him backward into the chair he’d been trying to find. “Well, I guess that answers our question. If I hadn’t seen it for myself, I wouldn’t have believed it. She literally knocked your dick in the dirt. Was it as good as they say?”

  Scrubbing the tears of laughter from his eyes, Cato groaned. “Better. Worth every stroke symptom.” Glancing to Luna, he felt his chest warm. My baby. All mine.

  “Good. I’m looking forward to the day.” Kallon set his satchel and a black case on the chair next to Cato and walked over to the wheelchair. “Nice. She’ll be comfortable. Hey. This is great. I didn’t think of it.” He tapped the beige neck brace attached to the chair arm. “It’ll keep her head from flopping around like a bobblehead when we’re hauling ass out of here.”

  Cato laughed and managed to shuffle back over to Luna. He picked her hand up and kissed the scraped knuckles. He’d wanted to do that since Bryan had taken the liberty. He pointed to the shelf beside Kallon’s head. “Got some straps, too. Didn’t think it was a good idea if she slid out on the floor.”

  Joining him by the bed, Kallon slipped his hand under Luna’s head and gently pulled the pillow from beneath. He tossed it into a chair and looked up expectantly. “I’m ready to start. What’s the plan for the staff?”

  “As long as they don’t approach the door, they’ll be fine. One step toward us and Maxim will give them something else to worry about. We should have close to two hours before they need to rotate back through here. Ulixes has a van running outside and ready to back up to the south exit on Maxim’s signal. As soon as we hit the vehicle, I’ll send a message to the hospital administrator. Her benefactor has checked her out and moved her to a secure location. Their security system didn’t meet expectations, as will be evidenced by their inability to see us leave the facility. A substantial donation to their trauma unit should keep them happy and the cops out of our hair for a bit. How much time do you need?”

  “That’s plenty. We’ll start with the cast.”

  Cato watched as Kallon propped Luna’s broken arm on a long, metal bar and clipped five evenly spaced metal rings around the plaster. He peered down at a gray tablet and tapped it with his index finger.

  “Okay. You’re going to see a blue line advancing up the arm. That’s the laser. As soon as I tell you, unclip the ring behind it and pull the material away. Got it?”

  “Yep. Ready.”

  They worked together for ten minutes and successfully removed the thick cast. Kallon attached three dime-sized, flat discs along her arm. He touched the pad screen, looked up, and smiled.

  “Fifteen minutes and the arm will be good as new. Bring the black case over and set it on the bed. I’ll need you on the other side.” He gently and efficiently removed the bandages from around her head and Cato didn’t miss the anger that flashed in his eyes, or the muttered “Bastard” issued between clenched teeth. His light green eyes flipped up and Cato knew they shared a common emotion. If the attacker lay broken and dying on the floor beside them, he’d receive no help from this physician.

  Kallon took a deep breath then stretched a yellow mesh tube as thick as his wrist along the outer edge of Luna’s head. Each end touched the top of her shoulders.

  “On the count of three, unclip the end. Just run your thumb over the small lip and it’ll release. Ready?” At Cato’s nod, he started the count. “One, two, three…now.”

  As soon as the catch released, the tube took on a life of its own. The mesh split evenly across the top and a clear, malleable substance extended up and out, then gradually draped the entirety of Luna’s head without touching her skin. Her face lit up with a soft, blue sheen and a low hum let them know the healing process was underway. The steps were repeated for each hand and above her liver.

  Kallon stepped back and looked at the wall clock. “Fifteen minutes.”

  Cato eyeballed the equipment and waited impatiently for some sign of recovery. Eventually, he opened his mind and called to Maxim just to distract himself. How’s it going, amici?

  Lovely. I’ve sent the cleaning staff on a hunt for their missing cart and a particularly active nurse is mystified as to why Mr. Freeman’s monitor keeps going off. Half the staff is gathered around it right now. Your girl’s chart is buried under a pile of hospital gowns just in case some nosy doctor decides he wants a last minute look-see. For the finale, I plan on a vending machine, free-for-all dump. That should have all heads in one spot when you get ready to roll out. They do love their Twix.

  Cato chuckled. I knew I picked right. You’ve got a devious mind, Maxim.

  Any time, cuz. How’s your female?

  Looking down at Luna’s hands, Cato felt his eyebrows rise. Getting better by the second. The hand trauma is almost completely gone. I’m watching her nails knit back together right in front of me. This is some wicked cool gadget. Could’ve used it when you dropped that damn weight on my toe last month.

  Hey! I apologized.

  Cato couldn’t help the gasp that came out of his mouth. Son of a bitch!

  Damn Cato, I’ve said I’m sorry before. It’s not that much of a shocker.

  She’s beautiful. Cato barely registered Maxim’s soft chuckle.

  Go check out your female. I’ll let you know if anything tries to distract you.

  Uh, yeah. Okay.

  Mesmerized, Cato watched Kallon pull the clear material away from Luna’s head. It was her. The exact image of the woman from his dream had replaced the swollen, battered form. She was stunning. He blinked a few times, then looked up to catch Kallon smiling.

  “You’re a lucky bastard, Cato. She’s magnificent.” He picked up the tail of her braid and waggled it between them. “I knew I was going to like her. Let’s pack up and get the hell out of here. Sound good?”

  Nodding, Cato stuffed the remnants of her cast in a trash bag and helped Kallon repack the black case. His body felt like it was on autop
ilot as his mind churned out question upon question. How in the hell had he replicated her face in his dream? There was no picture of her in the suitcase. Her brother shared the same dark hair, yet they didn’t resemble each other in facial features. A sense of urgency swept over his body as he picked up the hospital scrubs.

  “I need to change her into this. I don’t want to take her out of here in that flimsy gown.”

  Kallon nodded and pulled the sheet down to the end of the bed. “You get the pants and I’ll slip the shirt over her head.”

  Cato grabbed Kallon’s arm as he started to roll the gown up her thighs. A low growl rumbled from his chest. He swallowed hard and tried to suppress a barbaric need to bare his teeth. “I don’t want you looking at her. I hope you understand. I’ve got this sudden urge to snap the bones in your wrist and I’m not sure I can stop myself.”

  Kallon laughed and raised his hands in surrender. “Understood. If it helps at all, Cato, I prefer males. There’s nothing on her body that I’m interested in. Trust me. She’s a patient, nothing more. Tell you what. Let’s keep the gown in place and we’ll slip the scrubs on underneath and pull the gown off last. Deal?”

  Cato nodded. “Okay. I can live with that.”

  Kallon’s wary eyes flicked to his. “You’re not going to be happy, but I’ve got to remove their antiquated catheter. Unless you’ve done this before, I have to touch her to replace it with ours. Nothing will be inserted. I’ll make it quick with very little skin contact. Are you okay with this?”

  Cato closed his eyes and took a shuddering breath. “Fine. Hurry.”

  “Done. I contacted Maxim and he switched off her monitor. She’s unplugged on this side, too. Get the scrubs.”

  Together, they each inserted a leg into the pants and worked the material up her thighs. Cato slipped his hand under the small of her back and lifted as Kallon slid the pants over her hips. While the physician focused on unfolding the scrub shirt and untying the gown string at her neck, Cato’s curiosity got the best of him. Slowly he rolled the hospital gown up to reveal her belly. Shaking his head, he placed a palm on her warm skin and ran his thumb back and forth over the magnificent phoenix staring up at him in all its colorful glory.