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“Ouch, ouch, and more fucking ouch. Two cracked ribs, nothing displaced, and a hamstring tear. That won’t be fun to heal. No internal bleeding, though. Excellent.”
She worked around me because I didn’t move, couldn’t move away from Cass, and Doc didn’t ask me to.
“This head wound needs closing. She’s concussed.” Doc looked at me. “I can stabilize her in the transport.”
“I’ll get her there. I’ve got her.”
Doc patted my arm. “I know you do. Can you carry her without jarring those ribs?”
I nodded and adjusted my grip. Cass’s hand locked in my shirt. Her knuckles were purple and swollen, but she wasn’t letting go. Neither was I.
Monica and Tambi had zip-tied the two Kelvane and stood together, concern on their faces as Doc worked on Cass.
“What about junior?” Monica nodded toward the young Kelvane in the corridor.
Tambi holstered her weapon. “I suggest we let him walk. He can send a message back to his boss about what happens when you fuck with us.”
“No. Keep him. I want to speak to him,” I said. “We’ll put him in a room on my ship.”
The young Kelvane pressed against the far wall, staring at Cass.
“Why did you help us?” I held his gaze. “You could have run or joined in.”
He blinked. “I just... I couldn’t let them finish her. It was wrong.”
I grunted. “I need more information about your job, but later. Come with us.”
“And these two?” Tambi gestured at the bleeding assholes on the floor.
“Leave them for my uncle to find. It’ll send him a clear message.” I stood with Cass in my arms, one thumb softly rubbing her collarbone.
“Put me down.” Cass’s mouth was against my throat. “I can walk.”
“No, you can’t.”
“Rennick!”
“No. I’m never putting you down again.”
She chuckled. “That we need to negotiate.” But she didn’t argue anymore. Her hand stayed locked in my shirt, and her breathing steadied against my chest, our bond settling her in a way nothing else would.
I carried her through the corridor and into the elevator, and I didn’t put her down.
Tambi hit the panel once everyone was inside, and the elevator climbed. Monica leaned against the wall and closed her eyes, and when she opened them, she looked at Cass in my arms and said nothing.
Monica, who had a wisecrack for everything, looked at the two of us and kept her damn mouth shut.
Cass’s team saw what was happening between us, and not one of them said a word about it. That was the scariest thing about this whole damn situation.
Chapter 21
Cass
The dermal patch on the back of my head itched like a bastard, and I wasn’t allowed to scratch it.
Doc had set me up in the captain’s berth on board the Hollow Chorus, since Kelvane had more advanced medicine and Rennick insisted upon it. The berth also had a biometric scanner built into the headboard that monitored vitals without Doc having to babysit me.
The biofilm wrapped around my ribs compressed in slow, rhythmic pulses that pushed anti-inflammatory gel through my skin. The neural-repair sleeve on my hamstring hummed as it fixed me.
