Cheating Time

by T. R. Graves

  "I'm anything but an audience. You on the other hand are nothing more than her physician, will never be anything more than her physician. Mind your business and refill her MicroPharm so I can take her back to our tent."

  Begrudgingly mollified, Thorne went to work and took great care to make sure Barone saw nothing more than his backside while he added particles to the MicroPharm reservoir and applied ointment to the visible snakebites.

  While Thorne worked, Barone mused, "Carlie, do you remember our kiss?"

  Gulping, I closed my eyes. I wanted nothing more than to pretend for the rest of my life that he'd not ever laid a hand on me, but I couldn't.

  "I know you thought I was a pervert… think I'm a pervert. The truth is that your grandfather and your parents refused to give me a complete genetic sample from you. I'd long suspected you were special and they were hiding something from me and the scientific community. I decided to take matters in my own hands. I got you alone, kissed you, and retrieved my own genetic sample.

  Thorne's eyes closed. He'd just gotten confirmation that his suspicions were correct. He was as sickened by and disgusted with Barone as I was.

  "That's when I learned what they'd been hiding. That's when I found out that you have the potential to be the longest living human ever to officially exist. Imagine my surprise when I ran a match and found out that our children would live almost twice as long."

  Every muscle in my body tensed, and while his open admission that he'd kissed a sixteen-year-old girl, one who'd never been kissed before, should have brought him shame, it didn't. He felt no humiliation when it came to doing what he had to do when it came to furthering his cause, immortality. No cost too great. For me… for the sixteen-year-old girl, it brought shame. It also brought betrayal and contempt.

  He'd kissed me to get to get the genetic sampling my parents had refused him. I only thought I loathed this man minutes ago.

  Before I knew what was happening, I jerked up. At least, I tried to. Thorne saw in my eyes the moment insanity took over. Craving Barone's instant death more than I'd ever wanted anything, I had a fleeting glimpse at what a crime of passion looked like. For everyone's sake, Thorne held me back.

  "Carlie, when Tawney is in the state of inertia, where will she live?" Barone, unaware of the war raging inside of me, mused.

  As if a bucket of ice-cold water had been poured over my head, I stopped fighting. I stilled. The fight that had inflated me whooshed from my body and left nothing behind to hold me up. Curving in on myself, I slumped. Then, I lay back, closing my eyes again, and remembered that I'd given Tawney's life for my own.

  He'll do worse to you. You might as well get used to it.

  A single tear dripped from the corner of each eye while I let Thorne refill the particles. A few seconds later and catching me off guard, I felt palms on the sides of my head and thumbs stroking away the tears.

  "Carlie, can you open your eyes? I want to look at your pupils and make sure there aren't any unexpected effects of the particles."

  I almost started crying for real when I came eye to eye with Thorne, when I saw despite his quiet, gentle words, he was experiencing his own internal battle. My scientific equal was as angry as I'd ever seen him, and the regret over my situation and the subjection he felt over not being able to intervene—not without risking Rorie's life—was wearing on him in a way that made me add him to my list of people who needed more from me than just immunity.

  He needed someone he could really talk to. Keeping those raw and powerful emotions locked up and never sharing them, never having anyone who could take on at least a few of his burdens seemed cruel. Thorne was too good of a person to bear these kinds of crosses without a confidant who will listen without judging, reacting, or burdening him even more.

  Okay. I might not be the person for the last two.

  I might react with anger over what he was going through and my own situation might add more of a burden to him, but I definitely wouldn't judge. I knew why he did what he had to do. Rightfully so, his priority was Rorie. If he ever put anyone above Rorie, he wouldn't be the man I'd come to respect, and I wouldn't have been able to care for him so easily.

  It was time for me to lighten his load. Rather than wallowing in my situation, I sucked in a breath meant to give me strength, smiled at Thorne, and gave him a small wink, one that suggested he and I would get through this together. He smiled back, and before Barone got too curious about Thorne's assessment of my eyes, he went back to work.

  "Do you want to know why you are so attracted to her, Angleton?" Barone sang from behind Thorne.

  Thorne didn't answer. He ignored the president and kept working. Apparently, the question had been rhetorical.

  "You're attracted to her because before I knew better, I wanted you to be."

  I cocked a brow that told Thorne my pheromone theory had been solid.

  "There are four people within the borders of our nation that have the genes necessary for me to have what I need in order to create the superior race. You are one of those people. When I programmatically merged your sperm with Carlie's egg, I found that the two of you were destined to have children with IQs over two hundred. Every scenario I tried, I got the same results."

  This news was a little more difficult for Thorne to ignore. A shocked stare met mine, and with it and for the briefest moment, Thorne allowed himself to think of me as the mother of his children. Just as quick, he mourned the children we'd never have together.

  "Why are you telling us this?" I snapped.

  It took a few seconds before he answered. "The two of you will never marry as planned, but you will co-parent genetically altered children."

  It was Thorne who spoke this time. "I'm not sure what that means."

  Happy to finally share his plans, Barone said, "Carlie's eggs will be fertilized with something better than a single sperm. They will be fertilized with a sperm that will be modified with your intelligence, St. Romaine's strength and agility, and my charisma."

  My anger returned. I was just about to give Barone a piece of my mind when we heard people enter the infirmary. A second later, the curtain separating the exam room from the rest of the tent was snatched open.

  A wave of relief shot through me when I saw a larger-than-life Jayden standing before me. He scanned the exam room until he'd made sure I was there and safe. He wasn't angry enough for me to think he'd heard anything Barone had said. That didn't mean he wasn't worried. He was, and he was drenched in sweat. I couldn't have been more relieved that he was back. Safe.

  Given his appearance, he'd run like it had been a matter of life and death to get to where Sean and Simon were camped out and back to me. I planned one day to tell him thanks for doing that.

  For doing everything he'd done for my family and me.

  Snapping me from my thoughts, Barone jumped up and backed as far as he could against the wall of the tent. Apparently, he wasn't accustomed to anyone but him commanding a room. I almost giggled when I saw Simon's giant exotic cats. They were as majestic and imposing as anyone or anything I'd ever seen. For Barone, they were dangerous and terrifying.

  "What the hell is this, St. Romaine? You were supposed to bring Sean and Simon. Not zoo animals."

  Jayden shrugged. "They're my brother's pets, and they go where he goes."

  "Manniless!" Barone shouted.

  Dammit! Is every person I hate at this camp?

  Charging in as if Jayden weren't near and someone was trying to kill the president, the former Lead Surrogate, Isaiah Manniless, ran into the infirmary tent, looking around and trying to decide exactly who he was going kill for Barone. He looked at Jayden as if he were his first choice.

  At least he did until he saw Sean, Jayden's double. Isaiah's stare bounced between the identical twins as he tried to figure out which of the two men took his Lead Surrogate position from him and left him with guard duty. Which was going to die.

  "Don't just stand there like an idiot! Shoot these animals," Barone yell
ed, nodding his head and waving his arms in the direction of the cats. "Shoot them now!"

  Without any hesitation at all and like any loyal soldier would, Isaiah whipped his gun from its holster and aimed it at the first animal, one of the male black panthers, Jadbalja.

  Of the four intimidating cats, there were two males that were clearly larger and more dominant than the smaller, more graceful females. Each male and each female was distinguished by the pureness of their coat. There were a male and female black panther and a male and female white panther.

  None had the same eye color. The black male's, Jabdalja's, eyes were the violet hues of the purple pansies in Gran's genetics lab. Bagheera, the white male, had the jade eyes of a Surrogate. A pure white Sasha had irises as magnificent as the gold typically reserved for tigers, and Vixen's eyes, hers were midnight blue and stunning when coupled with her pure black coat.

  There were reasons beyond the pureness of their coats, the brilliance of their eye color, and the intelligence they obviously possessed that made me take notice of these exotic animals. I couldn't help but notice that all four pairs of eyes had suddenly dilated and fixed themselves onto the threat within their midst. Isaiah.

  The Surrogate Soldier was intuitive enough to stop and assess the danger he was in, to realize that as soon as he killed one member of the group, as soon as he killed Vixen's mate, the other three would pounce on him and maul him until there was nothing left but a bloody carcass. He was outnumbered and smart enough to know it.

  "What the hell are you doing? I've ordered you to shoot them!" Barone, ignorant to the reality that after these massive animals had killed Isaiah, their immediate threat, they would focus all of their vengeance on Isaiah's leader. Barone.

  "Sir," Isaiah said, trying to keep calm and steady while looking for a way to edge his president out of the danger they'd so clearly gotten themselves into. "I'd like you to ease your way over to me. Behind me. From there, you and I will make our way out of this tent. We'll have other chances to kill them. Right now, we just need to get out of here."

  It wasn't until that moment that Barone comprehended just how much of a threat these wild animals were to him and Isaiah. On his way past me, he grabbed my hand and tugged, silently suggesting I follow him out of the tent.

  Interestingly enough, I knew the threat wasn't directed toward me so I pulled back.

  Using a placating tone, Barone said, "I am to be your husband, and I expect you to come with me."

  The hair on the back of my neck prickled. Some of it had to do with being ordered around. The other part of it had to do with the instant understanding that he and Isaiah were going to leave the tent and make sure that Jabdalja, Vixen, Bagheera, and Sasha were trapped and killed. The threat they offered to the president would be eliminated. The animals' deaths would be swift and decisive. And unjust.

  Rather than go slow like Barone and Isaiah. Rather than make my way to the tent's door. I—acting as if I'd known these animals my entire life and was confident they wouldn't try to kill me like they so clearly wanted to do with Isaiah and Barone—popped up and ran to stand between the two largest ones. I had the raven-black Jabdalja and Vixen on my right side and the snow-white Bagheera and Sasha on my left. I'd never felt more powerful.

  "John," I said, purposefully using his name and solidifying our relationship. Acting the part of future First Lady, I held my head high, squared my shoulders, and bowed my chest. If I didn't show the confidence required of this position, my request would be ignored, and I knew it. "I want to add these animals to my immunity list."

  Chapter 32

  Brought to Heel

  Carlie

  Barone's flat-grey eyes leveled on me and his mouth dropped. He saw my request as the test it was. At the same time, he saw it as defiance, and he didn't like it one bit based on his grinding teeth and thinned lips.

  "You're kidding me, right? If you think I'm going to offer protection to these beasts, you've lost your ever-living mind. You'll come with me and stop acting as if you have a say in your future… or theirs. If you defy me on this, I'll rip our contract to shreds, hold St. Romaine hostage, and make you do whatever I want you to," Barone said incredulously.

  Fighting back the fear that demanded I beg for Jayden's life, I remained calm and nodded. "You could do that. The difference is if you force me to do anything against my will, I'll challenge you every chance I get and spend all my time looking for ways to escape and make my way to Jayden. No one will ever mistake me for the happy bride, and you'll look like the deviant you are," I promised, and my words were as cold and flat as my affect.

  Barone tilted his head to the side. For the first time ever, he saw me as someone to be respected, not one to be underestimated.

  As if spurred to action by a malevolent thought, he turned his attention to each one of the panthers, studying each individually before saying, "You only have three more immunity spots."

  Dammit! I thought he'd ignore that fact.

  "For my future wife, I'm more than happy to add all four animals to your list." Just when I thought Barone might not be as bad as I'd made him out to be, he finished with his conditions. "In exchange for me not killing one of these four cats tonight, I want to change the conditions of your list," Barone sang happily. Spitefully.

  At some point during my conversation with him, Jayden had slowly inched his way near me and stood ready behind Jabdalja. As if they'd been born and raised together and their thoughts were similar, Sean mirrored Jayden's stance behind Bagheera. I couldn't see Thorne, but I felt him behind me.

  I approved of the way he'd led Simon and Rorie to the back of our small army and the fact that he'd planned to use the panthers as a first line of protection, Surrogate Soldiers as a second layer, and anything he could possibly offer as a third layer in his efforts to protect his sister and Sean's brother.

  I braced myself for Barone's next words.

  "Basically, I'm saying your immunity list is now full and can never again be changed. As deaths occur, names will be marked off. No new name will ever be added. Do you understand the new rules of the list, Carlie?"

  My eyes flickered to Jayden for his opinion. He offered me an infinitesimal nod. I glanced over my shoulder toward Thorne. His nod was just as imperceptible as Jayden's.

  I took a deep breath and blew out hard. "Okay," I agreed, knowing I would one day regret that concession.

  As soon as the words left my mouth, I heard a quiet meow. Everyone in the tent heard it. Sean cursed under his breath and pulled Simon closer behind him. A barbaric smirk flashed across Barone's face. Then he laughed. It was the deep belly kind that would normally follow a funny, unexpected practical joke.

  Fate and bad luck were the jokesters in this case.

  "What have we here, Sean?" Barone finally asked, weaving his way toward Simon.

  "My brother, sir. He's a genetic mutant. He doesn't know what he's doing," he said briskly. Protectively.

  "Hmm… I believe he knows exactly what he's doing. He's hiding at least one, maybe two cubs in his shirt. Have him pull them out and let us see them."

  Barone's request was benign on the surface, but there was no doubt in my mind that I was about to find out there were serious ramifications for standing up to Barone even when the infraction was small… and nothing I'd done tonight would be considered small.

  When it was clear to all of us that Barone wasn't backing down until he'd laid eyes on the cubs, Sean looked over his shoulder toward Simon and nodded. From the inside of each side of his summer jacket, Simon extricated two cubs that were so small they had to have just been born.

  When he held them out toward Barone and I saw their eyes were still closed, their ears were still flat against their head, and their cries at being moved were muffled by embryotic fluid, I knew without a shadow of doubt that they'd just been born that night. Possibly minutes before Jayden forced them all to the infirmary.

  When the soldier, Vixen, turned her attention away from her enemies and towa
rd the crying cubs, I understood she was the cubs' mother and admired the way she flanked me and her group despite the ordeal she'd so obviously endured that day.

  With utmost respectful, Simon bowed his head and spoke to Barone. "Sir, can I put them back in my coat? If they're not kept warm, they'll die."

  Barone's lip curled in disgust. He did nothing to mask his contempt for genetic mutants.

  "These two cubs are illegal exotic animals that are not under my protection," Barone explained, focusing his attention on Thorne and Sean, since they were instinctive protectors of their siblings, ones who would do anything to avoid a gory battle in these close quarters. "Serkis, I want you to prove to me that you have control of your animals. If they are as dangerous as the experts tell me, I'll have no choice but to put them down. Immune or not."

  My eyes narrowed and I stepped in front of the massive beasts, coming face to face with Barone. Isaiah stepped forward and acted as if a sixteen-year-old girl was the biggest threat to the president's security.

  Right now, he might be right.

  "Let the cubs stay with their mother. She'll grieve them if you don't, and leaving her in that condition would go against our agreement," I insisted.

  Barone shook his head. "No can do. You can't keep adding to your list. We just had that conversation. They'll be in my custody. When you please me…" Barone raised his eyebrows in challenge. "I'll conditionally gift them back to you. When you displease me, I'll take them back."

  "Treating me like a wayward child will not endear you to me, John," I said. The calm facade I'd been showing was crumbling hard and fast.

  I couldn't help it. My heart broke when I thought of those newborn cubs in the care of people who eagerly and willingly associated with Barone. Isaiah.

  Barone turned toward Isaiah and said, "Take these cubs to the very nice girl, Kali, we met today. She seemed like a natural born nurturer. I'm sure these newborns will get the care they need while with her.

  Barone was taunting me. Jayden had taunted me my entire life. It was the attack I was most prepared to defend. Rather than be baited, I stood by silent.