“No, you look. That body almost landed on Odd’s head. Do you know what kind of damage that could’ve done? You could’ve killed him. You’re lucky he just wrenched his knee because I promise you this—if I had to choose only one twin to stay on this team, it would not be you. Clear?”
“Crystal, DB.” I turn to Odd and try to keep the emotion out of my voice. “Sorry, bro.”
His face is slack as he cuts his eyes to mine. “S’alright. I got the good drugs on board.”
I pat his face. “Perks of being related to a doctor.”
One eye blinks as he rolls the other. “Yeah, but you’re also the reason my knee is out of commission, so…”
He’s grinning, just giving me a hard time, so I swallow the guilt and paint on a smile. “Fair point. But yeah, you’re gonna need to stay off it for a couple of days, a week, max. I’m taking you off rotation for both teams for the next two weeks.”
His mouth drops open in protest. “What? That’s bullshit! You just said a couple of days.”
“Yeah, to not walk on it. You’re gonna need a couple of weeks before you can run on it.”
DB interrupts. “That’s ridiculous. You’re not going to leave him in pain with weeks of therapy and rehab. Get out your little box and make this better.”
Odd and I share an entire dialogue in one look.
He’s acting hella possessive.
No, he’s protective.
Yeah…around you.
He’d never cross that line.
Odd bites his lip and looks down, his expression shuttered. He’s right, of course. DB, whatever his sexuality, is a stickler for the rules.
“DB, man, you know we don’t have long-term testing on it.”
“You used it on Everett.”
“Not very much, and just because we had to move him out of the hospital as quickly as possible.”
“You used a whole pint of the stuff on Pocket!” he insists, talking about our bomb expert in Wimberley.
“How do you know about that?”
“Hedy told me.”
I narrow my eyes, fairly certain Hedy would never share those kinds of details with someone outside of the Cave.
Odd puts his hand on my arm. “Anders. It’s okay. If you’re not comfortable using it on me, you don’t have to.”
Of course he’d never pressure me to compromise my principles. DB, on the other hand, looks like he’d rip the syringe out of my hands and do it himself.
“Fine,” I huff out, reaching for my jacket pocket. I open the slim aluminum case with a thumbprint, grab a prefilled syringe, and screw on a fresh needle. Using a fraction of the suspension liquid, I make four quick jabs around Odd’s knee.
“That’s all?” he asks, flexing the joint.
“Yep, doesn’t take much. If it still hurts tomorrow, let me know. Stay off it tonight, at the fucking least.”
“Weird,” he says. “It kinda tingles.”
“Just be glad you don’t know what’s in it,” I say, glaring at DB as I put the syringe and needle back into the case and pocket it. “By the way, what’d we do with the kid we found?”
DB answers, “Thane took him to the gym. Nick and Roly are letting him stay at the apartment upstairs while Parker figures out how to get him home. His family’s been looking for him for over a year now.”
