“This might be a dream…” Snuggling up, he drifted off into that warm embrace, that sharp scent masking Damian’s, feeling his lips on his hair. Not seeing those steel eyes burn softly, watch over him.
Chapter 17
Theywokewithastart to a sharp knock, and in that fleeting moment of semi-consciousness, Damian didn’t know where he was, his back drenching with panic. He sat up, but Gabe had wedged himself against him, so his arms went around him, breathing in his neck. Their clothes too much between their bodies. Watching that door open, alert, their hearts beating hard. A man stepped in with a wide smile, dark brown hair cut short, maybe in his forties.
“Hey… I’m doctor Pierce.” He was holding a large bag, which he put on the table. “May I? I’m here to check if all is fine with you.”
Gabe managed to nod, but could not speak.
The man pulled a chair close, smiling. “So, who would like to be first?”
Gabe peeled Damian’s arms off his torso. “Me…” He sat on the edge of the bed, feeling Damian sit next to him.
The doctor smiled and wrapped a tension meter on his arm, pumping it, his eyes on the dial. “Excellent. A bit high, but you must be stressed out. Now, let’s see your throat. Open wide.” He examined Gabe’s throat then, checked under his arms. Listening to his heartbeat, his breathing. “What did you eat there?”
“Animals… mainly. Fish, seafood, moss, algae, some kind of roots… I’m not sure.”
“Yucca?”
Gabe turned to look at Damian, seeing that same mild shock run down his face.Yucca. After six years, they had a name for that life-saving plant they just called potato roots.
Gabe turned back to the doctor. “Possibly…”
He smiled, his eyes going to Damian. “Your turn.” He did the same routine, then made some notes on charts. “You’re both in relatively good health. A bit lean, but that’s not an issue, plenty of muscles there. Here, some vitamin supplements for you… and a bottle of mild tranquilizers… if everything is too much.”
Damian almost knocked those bottles out of his hand. A soft rage in him.
He waited until the doctor had left and stood, pacing the room. “We can’t stay here… I don’t want to be here.” Breathing hard, almost wanting to burst the door down.Get out. Get back home. Impossible. Somehow, he knew, the thought unbearable.
Gabe caught him mid-stride and held him tight. “We can’t…” He looked at him. “Not now, ok? We need to be brought… home… or wherever they want us to be.”
Damian’s eyes flooded with despair. “I can’t stand this… I don’t want to go back to… that life…”
“We have a new life. With us. No one can take that away.”
Damian looked at him, and his lips curled up, bitter. “You’re so sweet… but you don’t know… you have no idea…” Blowing a breath, his eyes drifted to the table, to those bottles of pills. He stepped there, abruptly, and swept them up. To that small window, then, which he pried open. He tossed them out into that vast blue ocean. Breathing to get his focus back, that razor sharp focus he could conjure for his hunts. He turned to Gabe. “Fuck this. And all of them. They won’t get us.”
Gabe rushed into his arms, holding tight, feeling him breathe, his heart beat against him.
Later, another knock and a marine stepped in, pushing a large cart in. “Lunch time. Let me know if you need anything else. The phone is on your wall with the extensions. Just call the kitchen.” He put a small fridge in the corner and filled it with drinks. “Here. I’ll come back later. Bon appétit!”
He left, and they stepped to that cart. Plates of meat and mashed potatoes with some vegetables, two cakes, and two glasses. Gabe opened the fridge. Coke. Sodas. Water.
He looked at Damian. “What do you want to drink?”
“Just water. None of that sugary shit.”
Gabe took the water bottles out, the whole thing like a dream. He served them and they sat to eat, sniffing that food. A bite of meat, and Damian almost spat it out. So many spices and some kind of coating on it.Sweet. Spicy. Fuck…The potatoes were fine, but he ate gingerly, not to override that shrunk stomach. After a couple of bites, he pushed the plate away, watching Gabe do the same, their eyes drifting to the desserts. Damian smiled and put the cakes in front of them.Chocolate.
He toasted Gabe with his fork. “How will this taste?”
Gabe licked his lips. “I have no idea… I can’t remember…” He sliced a bite off with his fork and pushed it into his mouth. His eyes welled up at that sweet and bitter taste, that chocolate coating and crème melting on his tongue. Almost too much.
Damian did the same and kept quiet, eating a few bites. He then pulled Gabe up, sitting with him on the bed. “So… this is it, then. Back to reality… whatever that is…”
Gabe looked at him, holding his hand. “Your friend will be here soon…”
“Friend.” Damian scoffed; his eyes lost in memories. “Friend… more like partner in crime…. Harold was my vice-president… probably leads the firm by now…”
