The sin eater had sharp teeth. He distinctly remembered those teeth pricking his chest. Had it left any marks behind? Nicolas tucked his arms around his stomach, pressing the fabric tight to his body. Maxwell could report him for disobedience if he wanted, but he wasn’t removing the shirt.
Maxwell studied him carefully for a moment, pushing his wire-framed glasses up his nose. “There are no cameras in these rooms, you know,” he said softly. “And anything you say to me in here is protected by doctor-patient confidentiality.”
“Is that still true if Sloan tells you it’s for the greater good?” Maxwell himself had received two cleansings since all of this started, but Nicolas didn’t know where his loyalties really laid.
Maxwell straightened, tipping his chin up. “Yes. I’ve watched that man do some horrible things lately. I’m a doctor. I don’t know how to stop him, but I took an oath to do no harm. You have good reason to worry, and if you don’t trust me, I don’t blame you. But I hope you know that youcan.”
Nicolas nodded, but he didn’t remove the shirt. “I do trust you—I think. But I’m not taking off the shirt. I just don’t want to answer those questions right now.”
“What questions?” Daniel asked.
“Danny,” he pleaded, and his little brother subsided. As much as it pained him, he’d tell Daniel the truth when they got away from HQ. He trusted Daniel with everything, even ifhe expected Daniel to seriously question his state of mind after he told him what happened.
Maxwell inclined his head. “So be it. Allow me to treat your back, at least.”
Nicolas obligingly turned his back toward Maxwell. The abrasions, he said, were shallow enough not to need stitches. He treated them with antibiotic cream, covered them with gauze, and gave him a prescription for some mild painkillers to get him through the week.
“I’m sending you home for the day,” Maxwell said. “You had a long night and a longer day. I doubt you’ve eaten anything since yesterday.”
No, he hadn’t. Sloan had withheld food during the interview, and the clock on the wall told him it was almost two in the afternoon now.
Maxwell fetched a new shirt for him, and Nicolas pulled it over his ripped one rather than take it off. Neither of them commented on it.
“I also don’t want you driving.” Maxwell winked at them. “Daniel, I’m ordering you to drive him home. Pick up some food on the way. Make sure he rests for the remainder of the day.”
Daniel smiled—one of the rare ones these days that actually touched his eyes. “Yes, Doctor. Come on, Nic. I’ll let you pick where we eat.”
He knew he should eat, but the thought of food turned his stomach. “I honestly don’t care,” he said. “You know what I like.”
People stopped and stared all the way to the parking lot. Nicolas felt brittle, like one wrong touch might shatter him. Was this how Daniel had felt after his cleansing? His little brother had withdrawn into himself after that day. Theothers in their squad treated him like his empathy for the traitors might be contagious. Nicolas had tried to temper their behavior, but he knew things had been hard for Daniel ever since.
It was a relief to finally get in the passenger seat of his car. A moment later the air conditioner was blasting and Daniel was tapping something on his phone.
“What’re you doing?” he mumbled.
“Ordering pizza. It should arrive at your apartment about five minutes after we do.”
Nicolas’s eyes slipped closed. “Perfect.” He leaned his head against the window.
Daniel patted his leg. “Just rest, Nic. You’ll be home soon.”
He dozed, feeling the gentle push and pull of the car’s momentum as Daniel steered them toward his place. It wasn’t a deep sleep, hovering in the haze between there and not. Behind his eyelids, he saw orange orbs glowing in darkness and felt sharp claws tickling his cheek. He wanted to arch into it, go back to that moment in the darkness when it was just the two of them and the rest of the world stopped spinning just for them.
He woke with Daniel’s hand on his shoulder, gently shaking him awake. “We’re here.”
Nicolas groaned. His head hurt from being pressed against the glass. He fumbled with his seatbelt and stood, stretching in the afternoon sun. His gaze swept up the side of the apartment building—and he froze.
In a random window, he saw twin points of glowing orange.
No way.Adrenaline flooded through his overtired body. He couldn’t tear his eyes away, and he didn’t know what hewas feeling. Fear and excitement fought for dominance, and his cock jerked behind his zipper.
“Nic?”
He finally tore his eyes away from the window to find Daniel watching him with a frown. “Yeah? What?”
“I said are you ready to go up? The pizza will be here any minute.”
“Yeah, of course. Let’s go.”
