Chapter 9
The communications array was buzzing. Cal wandered over and pressed the button, unsurprised to see his brother Nojan’s face filling the screen.
“I’ve checked every single known database, and not just the major ones I accessed last night. There was one Dr. Grimm in the next galaxy over, but he died three years ago. There are two Dr. Dunkels. One is a seventy-year-old man, and one is a Haladoxian female. There are six Dr. Beyhards, and one vaguely matches the description you gave me, but the age is way off. And the other name, Sansha, has absolutely no hits.”
“So they’re not who they say they are. Interesting.”
Nojan nodded. “They’re hiding something over there. Maybe they’re trying to protect the Guardian.”
Cal shook his head. “I’ve spent a little time with these people now. They don’t seem like the good guys to me.”
“Then you better be careful.”
“Roger that.” Cal was about to end the transmission, but then he paused. “Nojan, can you do a little research for me? Find out the reasons why a person might come out of a catatonic state. Are there certain types of stimuli, for example, that might cause them to break out of their paralyzed state?”
His brother stared at him. “One of the patients?”
“Yeah. She’s been acting strangely around me. I guess she isn’t able to talk usually, but around me, she blabbers up a storm.”Not to mention using her mouth for other things…
Nojan’s eyebrow rose. “A female, huh?”
Cal scowled. “It’s not like that.” Even if it was like that, he wasn’t going to share with his brother the fact that he’d wanted to bend a mental patient over a desk and drown himself in pleasure. He was already teased mercilessly about his predilections. He’d never live this one down.
“Look,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “I’m on high alert over here for anything out of the ordinary. And apparently, the way the girl is acting is anything but ordinary for her.”
Although a hint of suspicion remained in his brother’s eye, Nojan nodded. “Got it. And I can go a step further and look into the patient in question. Do you have a name?”
“Gemmaline. That’s all I know.”
A beautiful name for a beautiful girl. And that body!When she’d pressed it against him, he’d been worried he might explode without even getting inside her. A rookie mistake from a seasoned pro like himself.
“I’ll find out the last name myself. Makes sense to hack RPS itself for the records.” As Cal watched, his brother hit some keys. “I’m in.”
“That was quick.”
Nojan shrugged, a cheeky grin on his face. “I’m a genius.”
“And modest too.” Cal laughed.
“Gemmaline Sanchez. From Region Five on Territh. She was committed by her mother at the age of nine and has been at RPS for fifteen years.”
Fifteen years. Shit. Cal would be upset if he had to hang around this dreary planet for a week. He couldn’t imagine being locked up in that awful sanitarium for most of his life. How had she managed it?
She’s crazy, his rational mind replied.It’s for her own good.
But was it? The couple times she’d latched onto him, she hadn’t seemed crazy, not really. If anything, she’d been frustrated by her inability to interact. Even though she’d come onto him, she hadn’t done anything violent.
He wouldn’t consider Gemmaline dangerous.Except to my libido.
What if she does that to other guys? an insidious inner voice whispered.What if you’re not the only one she wants?
This is ridiculous. It doesn’t matter who she wants. Still, his chest ached at the proposition. Apparently, she was more dangerous than he thought.
“Vartik to Calabez. Are you reading me?”
He shook his head to clear it. “Sorry, what?”
Nojan chuckled. “I said, according to her records, she’s classified as borderline cataleptic. Almost entirely nonverbal. You said she was acting strangely?”
