Her eyes glared daggers at me.“You said three!”She tried to sit up.
“Stay down.”I glared right back at her.“You were too tense.”
“I hate you.”Her eyes drifted shut.
“Fair enough.Let’s finish getting you taken care of.”Hopefully it wouldn’t take me too long to find the supplies I needed.
“Slings are in the bottom drawer on the left,” she told me.“Meds and nanos should be in the wall cabinet.”
“Thanks.”The only reason I didn’t think she had read my mind was that Ihadmentioned next steps.But once again, her instincts on where to find everything were eerie as fuck.
It took me a moment to gather the supplies, pausing every moment or two to glance over at her.She was a mystery...and a problem.
When I was back at her side, her eyes flickered open and she stared up at me.Tension lines still bracketed her lips, but she didn’t complain.“Pills or bots first?”I held up each label so she could read them.
“Bot shot first,” she said.
I pressed the nano dispenser against her left biceps and slowly pulled the trigger.There was no way to see the bots being dispersed, but a little green light on top of the dispenser flicked on when the nanos had been delivered.
The pain pills were the dissolvable type, so I handed her the sealed packet.
She studied it a moment.Smart.
It took her two tries and I was just on the verge of offering to help when she ripped the package open with her teeth and tilted the pills into her mouth.
“Guuuhh.”She grimaced and made a choking sound.“I can’t believe you gave me the fake grape flavor.That’s the nastiest.”Lacy handed me the crumpled packaging for disposal.
“Second worst,” I argued.“The fake watermelon is grosser.”Though beggars couldn’t be choosers.I’d been in enough hairy situations that I could tolerate any of the lab-made flavors.
Not wanting this to devolve into an argument, I held up the sling I’d found in the supply cabinet.“Ready for this?”
“How long do I have to wear it?”
“The system says overnight to give the bots time to work without having to continually repair the same injury over and over as you move the arm.”
Her sigh echoed around the room.“Fine.”
It was easier to maneuver her into the sling than it had been to remove her coveralls.Easier for me, at least.By the time we got her arm in place and the sling secured, she was yawning.
I wasn’t letting her fall asleep just yet.My quest for answers kept being put off as I handled the problems caused by her presence.“So, Lacy Dupree.Why did you steal my ship?”
8
Lacy
I’d just startedto doze, swaying slightly to the side, but his question jolted me awake.“What?”Super smooth, Lacy.
Dax leaned against the cabinet next to the bed, his very fine backside propped against it, his arms and legs crossed.The casual pose belied the tension radiating off him.When I continued to stare at him, he sighed and repeated the question.
“Why did you steal my ship?”
“Borrowed.Iborrowedyour ship.”The words slipped out and I slapped my hand over my mouth.Shit.That was not what I’d intended to say.I wasn’t going to say anything at all.
I wished I hadn’t handed him back the pain pill wrapper; I was acting like he’d given me some kind of truth serum instead of the pain meds.
Then I remembered the taste—the one that still lingered at the back of my throat.Nope, those had been standard-issue grape-flavored pain pills.Gross.
“That’s not a thing,” he countered.“You took my ship without permission.That’s stealing.”
