His fingers move again. Six.
Sixty seconds.
Mason’s eyes widen slightly and he nods toward the hall. I canna hear them but Dr. Williams and the nurse must be coming back.
Feck. The light is still blinking red on the flash drive.
Four fingers, tapped hard against his thigh.
Abort.
I canna do that. Not yet. It’s not finished, it’s not.
Mason makes the signal again, harder.
“This is a sterile space!”
Dr. Williams is back and there’s twohugeorderlies standing behind her.
Bursting into tears is hardly an effort.
“I’m sorry! I’m just so scared, Alice. This is all so much and I’m afraid of the pain and what if something goes wr- wr- wrong!” From the corner of my eye, I see the light turn green, I pull the drive out with one hand while I wildly wave the other, trying to channel my inner Italian.
She’s not looking like a kindly grandmother any more. “Do you understand that you have contaminated this OR? We will have to close it and run the sterilization protocol again. This sets back our surgical schedule. You could be impacting the successful outcome of another patient’s surgery.”
I cry harder.“Mi dispiace,I’m sorry!”
Mason takes my shaking hand, squeezing it when he feels the flash drive in my grip. “We are terribly sorry, Dr. Williams,” he says coldly. “My wife has been so frightened of what is to come. I thought showing her the room would comfort her.” He steps around her, pulling me with him, eyeing the muscular orderlies with a contemptuous sniff. They’re both dressed in spotless blue scrubs, but it’s clear what they’re here for.
“We will return to our stateroom,” Mason says. With a haughty flick of his hand, he sneers, “do bill me for the additional cleaning. Come, darling. I’ll help you get dressed.”
“We’re not finished with your examination,” the doctor says sharply.
Like a message from heaven - or more likely, Xenia - the lights flicker overhead and there’s a soft chime from the doctor’s phone. Checking it with a frown, she nods. “Very well, I’ll set up a time this afternoon to go over instructions for tomorrow. Until then, no solid food after three and then clear liquids only.”
“Send me the bill for re-sterilizing the room?” I start laughing the minute we’re back in the room, “like the twenty-five million euro bill the Bianchis are paying isn’t enough?” I’m laughing much harder than the comment deserves, but I’m both shaky and giddy and I sit down abruptly.
“Are you all right?” Mason smiles politely, like he’s seen other people do it and understands that it’s appropriate for the situation. I remember how rigid he was during my examination, patting my back like touching me was physically painful.
“I dinnae know how ye do this shite all the time.” I’m rubbing my stomach, trying to make it settle down. “Do we have to set an appointment to see our ‘wellness coach?’ We must get these flash drives over to Xenia and Catriona.”
“Already done.” He’s rapidly tapping out a text on his phone. “Go change into something you’d wear to see a wellness coach.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know,” he shrugs. “Those stretchy pants you girls wear?”
Stifling a chuckle, I say, “I’ll go see if Guilia has any Versace leggings in her wardrobe.”
A smiling Ian, dressed in a set of white joggers and a t-shirt withThe Zephyr’semblem on it, pleasantly escorts us past the guest in the “wellness room” and into the back.
“Well, where aretheygoing?” The woman is frowning petulantly, wearing a big diamond necklace with her lounge pants and a push-up sport bra that’s sending her breasts bulging ominously over the straining spandex top.
Ian flashes her a dazzling smile. “That’s the cryo room, Mrs. Melendez, it’s quite… uncomfortable,” he says in a soothing British accent. “I’ll be back to lead you through those cool-down stretches in one moment. We can takeallthe time that you need.”
He hustles us through the door as she readjusts her top.
Xenia seizes the flash drives. “Yes! You beautiful bitches, I knew you could do it!” A hundred different images flicker across her three monitors like fireflies. I dinnae understand any of it, but the Evil Genius chortle she’s letting out tells me she knows it’s good.
