by Lolita Lopez
“It’s not nothing.” He grabbed the box, swept her up in his arms and carried her back to the bed. After he arranged all of the tubes, he sat on the bed facing her and tipped her chin with his thick fingers. He forced her gaze to his. “Tell me.”
When he used that tone of voice, she was powerless to refuse him. “I’m poor.”
He frowned. “I don’t understand what that—”
“I’ve never had running water or an indoor bathroom,” she interrupted. In a rush, she said, “I grew up without electricity. I had to chop wood and keep a fire to stay warm. Almost everything I own is used or mended or handed down from someone else. The last new thing I was ever given was the dress my mother made for me before she died. I wore it until the seams gave. I didn’t go to school. All I have in the whole world is what’s in my pack. I don’t...” She glanced away as another wave of shame hit. “I don’t have anything to give you.”
His fingers gently tilted her chin again until she met his stern gaze. “You don’t have to give me anything, Brook.”
“I do,” she insisted. “If I’m going to be your wife, I have to bring something with me. If we were back on the mountain, I would have my cabin and my land, but I don’t have anything worthy of you—"
He silenced her with a very unexpected kiss. It was her first kiss—and what a kiss it was! Butterflies swarmed her belly, and the machine tracking her heartbeat sounded an alarm as Cipher’s lips moved against hers. They were both smiling when they separated, but she was breathless and trembling. Her flushed face must have given her away because he asked, “Was that your first kiss?”
Shyly, she nodded and started to tell him it was incredible, but the door to the room opened and Risk stepped inside with a frown on his face. “Can you wait to give my patient a heart attack until after my shift ends? Let Stinger handle the long reports this time!”
Abashed, Cipher grumbled, “Sorry, Doc.”
“Since you’re already awake, let’s get your morning checkup out of the way.” Risk placed his hands under a wall dispenser that shot a blob of green foam onto his open palm. He rubbed his hands together, and the biting, artificially clean scent filled the air. “How are you feeling?”
“Much better,” she said, fascinated as she watched him tap a glossy panel on the wall by her bed. It was some sort of data screen that had all of her medical information. He swiped his fingers over test results and the record of her vitals and adjusted the flow of her medications and fluids. “That is amazing.”
Risk grinned at her. “Wait until you get to your new quarters and see the entertainment console.”
“Entertainment console?” she glanced at Cipher.
“It’s a screen similar to that but larger. You’ll be able to watch all sorts of programs, attend classes, chat with friends. Things like that.”
“You’re lucky you picked Cipher,” Risk said as he clicked on a small flashlight and checked her pupils. “He gets first dibs on all new tech that comes on this ship. You’ll get to play with all the fun stuff before anyone else.”
Catching Cipher’s gaze, she said, “I’m very lucky,” and meant it.
“So,” Risk said and adjusted the ticklish tubes sitting in her nose, “we have you on supplemental air because your oxygen saturation levels are lower than they should be. While you were asleep, we did some testing. We scanned your lungs.”
She swallowed anxiously. “Do I have it?”
“It?”
“Purple lung?”
“No,” Risk assured her quickly. “You have some minor damage from years of working in those mines. We have some treatments that will help purge your lung tissues of the pollutants, but the scarring will always cause problems.”
She processed that information for a few seconds. “My dad died from pneumonia. He coughed all the time and got sick every winter. That last time he got sick, he couldn’t catch his breath. He gurgled and spit up pink froth.” She closed her eyes as the terrible memories assailed her. “It was awful to watch him drown right there in his bed. There wasn’t anything we could do.”
“No, there wasn’t,” Risk agreed.
“Am I…?” she faltered, and Cipher gripped her hand. “Is that how I’m going to die?”
Risk shook his head. “No. You’ll have issues with coughing in certain situations and catching a cold or other virus that causes congestion will make you miserable for a bit. We can treat all of those things, and we can give you medications and treatments to prevent them as well. Tomorrow morning, we’ll send you to the respiratory techs for some testing on your lungs. When we get the results, we’ll be able to create a regimen of breathing treatments to help clear your lungs.”
“Okay.”
Risk glanced at Cipher and said, “I’d like to send her over to the Mercy so they can put her in the tube a few times a month.”
“The tube?” she asked, eyes wide. “What is that?”
“It’s not as bad as it sounds,” Cipher hurriedly reassured her. “It’s a chamber where your body can receive oxygen and other therapies in a pressurized environment.”
“We have one here, but it’s malfunctioning. Until we get it replaced, we’re sending those patients to the Mercy.”
“Is that far away from here?” She didn’t like the idea of being away from Cipher. This world was so new and intimidating.
“It’s an hour away,” Cipher explained. “Mercy orbits a little higher than we do. It’s the main hospital ship for the sector.” He squeezed her hand. “I’ll be with you.”
Her fears eased, she listened as Risk continued a rundown of her initial blood testing and told her about the vaccines she would need. She couldn’t meet either man’s gaze when Risk asked questions about her period. It made her incredibly uncomfortable to talk about something so private. Her father hadn’t been able to bring himself to explain it all to her. He had sent her down the mountain to Miss Kay for supplies and answers. Having two men questioning her about her body functions was absolutely mortifying.
Clearly sensing her discomfort, Risk let the issue drop after establishing that she had an irregular cycle and had never been sexually intimate. “Your weight concerns me,” he said, changing the subject. “You’re very lean. Too lean,” he added. “It’s why your cycle is irregular. We’ll get a nutrition plan arranged to help.”
“I’ve always been small,” she said. “Even when we had a lot to eat, I was smaller than everyone else my age.”
“How big were your parents?”
“Not very big,” she said, trying to recall her mother’s size. “Mama was a little taller than me and only a little heavier. Daddy was short enough to walk upright in most of the tunnels.” She eyed Cipher and tried to gauge her father against him. “The top of his head might have reached you right about here.”
“Genetics, then,” Risk decided and tapped something into screen where all of her medical information was displayed. When he was done, he reached into the pocket on the front of his shirt and retrieved a small metallic card in a clear, shiny sleeve. He waved it in front of the screen and Cipher’s information popped up on it. “Cipher filled out the forms last night so you’re officially his mate. This is your ID chip.”
She took the card from him and turned it over in her hand. The protective film made it a little difficult to read to all of the numbers stamped into the surface of it. In the very center of the card, there was the tiniest little sliver of metal. It wasn’t any bigger than a grain of rice. “This thing holds information?”
“It does.” Risk pulled a metal tray on wheels over to the bed and then walked to the dispenser for more foam to clean his hands. After he pulled on a pair of those strange gloves again, he waved his hand in front of a drawer, opening it and taking out a sealed package. He placed the package on the tray and tore it open along the perforated edges. It unfolded like a blossoming flower, draping the tray with bright blue cloths and exposing a set of medical tools. “This looks like it will be painful, but I promise it’s
nothing more than a pinch.”
“What kind of a pinch?” She shifted away from the tray and eyed the menacing tools. “Because Gertie Bluestone pinched me one time at a summer picnic and gave me a bruise bigger than a plum.”
“Not that kind of pinch,” Risk promised. He held out his hand for the card, and she gave it to him. He made quick work of removing the chip from the sealed card, loading it into a syringe and cleaning her wrist with a small wipe that left her skin feeling numb. “Okay. On three,” he said, holding the syringe above her skin. “One. Two.”
She scowled at him as he pushed the needle into her skin before three. Grudgingly, she admitted he was right. It was only a tiny pinch, and it was done.
“Okay?” Cipher asked, rubbing her back as he stood at her other side and held her hand.
“Yes.” She smiled up at him. Her stomach growled, and both men laughed. “Sorry.”
“Your breakfast tray should be here soon. You’ll have to hit the mess hall,” Risk told Cipher. “We’ll keep an eye on her for you.”
Cipher seemed hesitant to leave her. She intertwined their fingers. “I’ll be fine. You should go eat. If you need to work, I’ll be okay here.”
Reluctantly, he admitted, “I need to debrief again and meet up with Raze. I’ve also got to meet with logistics to get our new quarters sorted.”
“Go,” she urged. “I’ll be here when you get back.”
He wavered but finally nodded. After a quick kiss, he trailed Risk out of the room. Not long after both men were gone, another medic knocked and entered the room with a breakfast tray in hand. “Good morning, ma’am. I’m Chance. I’m one of the medics who will be treating you today.”
“Good morning, Chance.”
He placed the tray on the rolling table next to the bed. “Do you need help with anything?”
“No, I—”
The clatter of metal interrupted her. A second later, a man erupted in anger and shouted, “Fuck off, Risk. And you, too, Vee. Get the fuck out. Go. GO! And take your fucking sedatives with you.”
The crash of shattering glass startled Brook. She stared wide-eyed at her open door and then glanced at Chance who had taken a protective position in front of her bed, putting himself between her and any danger. There was more bellowing, this time from a deep and even angrier voice, and then another clang of metal. A door slammed, and she jumped, fisting the sheets in her hands as she waited for something else to happen.
When it stayed silent, Chance relaxed and turned back to her. Apologetically, he said, “I’m sorry, ma’am. There’s a patient on the floor who isn’t feeling so well. He’s a bit difficult. You’re safe, though. He wouldn’t hurt you, not after what you—" He stopped suddenly as if realizing he had said too much.
“Is it the man from the mine? Terror?” she asked softly.
Chance glanced over his shoulder to make sure they were still alone. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Can I visit him later?” She wanted to apologize for leaving him behind.
Chance furiously shook his head. “No, ma’am. You absolutely cannot leave this room. You’re a new bride, and there are men on this ship who will try to steal you away from Cipher.”
“What do you mean? Anyone can steal me?”
“Until you’re in a permanent collar? Yes.”
She scooted back on the bed, eying him warily, and he held up a hand. “I’m not going to steal you, ma’am. I have a mate waiting for me back on Prime. Our parents arranged it.”
“That’s a thing?” she asked, curious about this new culture.
“For those of who have pure bloodlines, yes.”
“What’s a pure bloodline?”
“You know the men you see around here with pale hair? Almost white?” He gestured to his own head. “This is what our ancestors on Prime looked like. Some of us belong to very old families that took mates only from Prime, not from any of the new planets we conquered. It used to matter,” he explained, “but the old ways are dying out and only the older generations care about that kind of thing now.”
“Like your parents?”
“Like my parents,” he echoed. “But, thankfully, my chosen mate is a girl I’ve known most of my life.” He tapped the face of his watch and held it out for her to inspect. On the small screen, there was a photo of Chance and a beautiful blonde woman. “Nika,” he said. “This was taken at my father’s retirement party a few months ago.”
“She’s gorgeous. You look very happy together.”
He nodded and drew back his arm. “Her brother and I are friends. We all grew up together so I kept in touch with her. One thing led to another, and now we’re engaged.”
“That’s sweet.” Brook smiled at him. “When will you two get married? I mean—mated?”
“Five weeks,” he said, grinning. “I get our new quarters assignment a few days before she arrives.”
“Maybe we’ll be neighbors,” she suggested.
“Not likely, ma’am.”
“Why not?”
“Your man is a highly ranked officer with connections to the SRU and Shadow Force. You’ll be allotted one of the best apartments available. Nika and I will have a starter home in one of the lower levels of the mated housing section.”
“Is that how everything is doled out here? By rank?”
Chance nodded. “Rank and valor points.”
She wasn’t sure if that was fair or not. She didn’t know enough about Cipher’s world to understand how points were amassed and ranks were earned.
“I have other patients to tend, but I’ll be back later to pull those lines if your labs come back within the ranges Risk wanted. If you need anything, tap this button right here.”
After he left, she shifted the tray of food closer and lifted the lid. She recognized the thin porridge, but everything else on the tray looked weird and inedible. There was a cube of something bright red and wiggly in one compartment of the tray. She poked it, and it watched it jiggle back and forth. There was a cold packet with a picture of a fruit she had never seen. When she picked it up, the contents were mushy, and she hurriedly put it down, making a face and wondering what the hell it was.
The bottle of water seemed safe enough, but the carton of juice held her attention. The image on the front was the same fruit from the cold packet she had just picked up and dropped. Curious, she bravely poked a straw through the foil seal on the top and brought it to her lips. She hesitated before tasting a sip.
“Oh!” It was delicious. Sweet with a slight tang, it exploded on her taste buds. Wondering if the cold packet of mushy stuff tasted the same, the ripped along the designated line and squeezed some of it into her mouth. Her eyes closed in utter happiness as the same flavor melted on her tongue. It was the juice but slightly frozen and creamy.
As she enjoyed her first breakfast in space, her thoughts turned to Terror. The fever dream flashed through her mind. The guilt of leaving him there to suffer darkened her mood. He might yell at her or throw things, but she had to apologize. She had to let him know that he did matter and that she would never forgive herself for leaving him with those monstrous captors.
She just had to figure out how to sneak out of this room first...
Chapter Seven
“You finally did it!”
Cipher jerked forward as Venom slapped him across the back in congratulations. “Yes.”
“Good for you, Ci.” Venom squeezed his shoulder. “Dizzy and I can’t wait to meet her.”
“Brook,” Cipher said. “Her name is Brook, and I’m sure she’ll be thrilled to make new friends on the ship.”
“Brook,” Venom repeated. “I like that. It’s...natural.”
“That’s one way to describe her,” Cipher agreed as he knocked on Raze’s office door. “Boss?”
“Come in,” Raze bellowed from inside. “Figured it would be you,” he said, gesturing to the open chair in front of his desk. “Sit down. You’ve got a shitload of forms to complete.”
Cipher dr
opped into the chair and took the tablet from Raze. Venom sat next to him and stretched out his long legs. “You already debrief?” the sniper asked.
“Just got finished with it.” Cipher logged into the tablet screen and groaned at the sheer number of forms waiting for him. “Are they serious with this? Three hundred and four pages?”
“That’s at least eighty more than when I claimed Dizzy,” Venom remarked as he leaned over to look at the screen.
“About two hundred less than when I claimed Ella,” Raze chimed in with a wry smile.
“Stole,” Venom corrected. “When you assaulted a pilot and stole her, you mean.”
Raze threw a stylus at him. Venom caught and whipped it right back. Raze snatched it just before it whacked him in the face. He frowned at Venom. “Easy, man, or you’ll have to deal with Ella.”
Venom grimaced. “The last thing I need is Ella and Dizzy ganging up on me because I gave you a black eye.”
“How is Dizzy feeling?” Cipher asked while scanning the next page. Venom’s mate was expecting their first baby and had been having a rough couple of weeks.
“So much better.” Venom grinned and looked happier than Cipher had ever seen him. “It was like someone flipped a switch. She hit fourteen weeks, and the sickness stopped overnight. She was sewing this morning when I left.”
At the mention of Dizzy making clothing, he glanced at Venom. “I may need to commission some things for Brook. She’s going to have problems with the standard clothing sizes offered. She’s very small.”
“Like Hallie small?” Raze asked.
“About,” Cipher confirmed.
Raze made a face. “Underfed her whole life, I guess.”
With a solemn nod, Cipher said, “She’s had a hard life down there.”
“Most of them do.” Venom tapped at his watch. “It’s painful to see some of them at the Grabs. They’re so thin and pale.”
“We think we know what it’s like to suffer and sacrifice, but some of these brides?” Raze shook his head. “It’s a fucking travesty. That planet is overflowing with resources, but they’re all starving down there.”
