Reginald didn’t answer. Instead, he very cautiously fastened a tourniquet around Sam’s arm, then began drawing blood samples. He took so many samples that Sam could actually feel his nanites struggling to replace the lost blood. But although he could feel the effects of the blood loss, Reginald was the one who was visibly pale and shaking by the time he finished.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“I don’t want empty apologies,” he growled. “You chose this path.”
“But you don’t understand.”
How many times had he heard a new recruit make that same statement? He had no more sympathy for it now than he’d had then.
“I understand more than you think. You had a choice; you made a decision. Now you have to live with it.”
Reginald opened his mouth but a look at Sam’s face dissuaded him from replying. Instead, he turned back to his work, carefully labeling and storing the blood samples, then entering all of the records.
“I’m finished for tonight.” According to Sam’s internal clock, it was close to midnight. “I’m afraid I have to turn out the lights again.”
He didn’t let a flicker of expression cross his face. The youngster sighed and left the room, turning off the lights as he went. Sam immediately resumed his work on the chains. He had been able to make some slight progress while Reginald was occupied but he had to keep his movements subtle and restrained. Alone in the dark once more, he could apply greater force.
As the night wore on, he could feel the restraints weakening but he could also feel the dawn approaching. He had to be free before Mingol returned. The doctor was arrogant enough not to drug him while he was chained to the table but if he realized that Sam was about to free himself, he wouldn’t hesitate to pump more of the paralytic drug into his system. The knowledge that time was passing beat at him as he strained his muscles, searching for every last reserve of energy. He knew that the sky must be beginning to lighten and with one last burst of strength, he finally managed to get an arm free.
Once that arm was free and he could add its strength to his bound limbs, he broke through the other restraints more quickly, but it still took longer than he would have liked before he was free. He had just climbed off the table when his extended senses caught the sound of someone approaching. Gathering the chains in his hands, he moved silently to one side of the door panel. As it slid open and a figure stepped inside, he dropped the chain around his neck. Reginald. Not the prey he had hoped for but perhaps he could use him to find Addie.
“Where is she?” he growled as he tightened the chain around the youngster’s neck.
“Sam, I’m here. Let him go.”
A wave of relief washed over him, followed by what he knew was an unreasonable anger at her concern for the lab assistant.
“Why are you so worried about him? He’s Mingol’s creature.”
“Sam, please. He’s trying to help us.” When he still didn’t drop the man, a soft hand tugged urgently on his arm. “Please don’t do this in front of Kami.”
He looked over to see the child watching with wide eyes. With a muttered curse, he let the chain drop. Reginald bent over, clutching his neck and coughing.
“How is he helping us?”
“He came to me last night.”
He couldn’t suppress the growl and she frowned at him.
“To tell me that Derrick would be gone this morning.”
“Are you sure it’s not some kind of trick?”
“He was called back to New Arcadia to meet the Managing Director,” Reginald said, his voice hoarse. “I heard him making the arrangements when I went to report that the, um, preparations were complete.”
“Did he know you heard him?”
“I don’t think so.” For the first time, a shy smile crossed the assistant’s face. “I crept away and then made a lot of noise when I came back. He told me I was clumsy as well as useless.”
“Reggie unlocked the lab for us this morning too,” Addie said. “He’s really trying to help.”
A small hand tugged on his pants leg and he looked down to see Kami staring up at him. “Can we go now? To your house?”
The look of entreaty in the big purple eyes made something in his chest ache.
“All right, little one.”
“You should go before anyone sees you,” Reggie urged.
“What about you?” Addie asked anxiously. “The system will have recorded the fact that you opened the door.”
The assistant rubbed the red marks on his neck. “And S-756, I mean Sam, overpowered me. It’s not my fault if Dr. Mingol didn’t restrain him properly.”
“Somehow I doubt he’ll see it that way.”
“No, but I thought about something he said last night. Things are different on Mars. I might not be as easy to replace as he thinks.”
“All right, but please be careful. He’s a bad enemy to have.”
To Sam’s annoyance, she reached up and gave the youngster a kiss on the cheek. He glared at Reggie as he tucked her back under his arm.
“Let’s go,” he growled.
“Carry me,” Kami demanded.
Addie shot him an uncertain glance. “You don’t need to be carried, baby.”
“It’s too early. I’m tired.”
As she sighed and started to bend over, he reached past her, scooping the little girl up in his arms. She squealed with delight and wrapped a skinny arm around his neck. “You’re so tall. Just like the giant in Mama’s story. His name is Sam too.”
Addie’s cheeks turned pink as she hastily looked away. She had been telling her child about him? And why did he like the idea so much? He pushed the thought aside to consider later. Right now, the important thing was getting the hell out of this place.
“Thank you, Reggie.” He gave the young man a nod and, before Addie felt compelled to thank him again as well, herded her out of the room and down the corridor.
He moved as quickly as possible, but he had to temper his pace to Addie’s slower steps. Even so, she was half-running at his side. She could rest once they were free, he thought grimly. They were almost at the airlock when a man appeared in front of them. As he started to hand Kami to Addie so that he would be free to fight, Addie slipped around him.
“Carlos, we’re leaving.”
“Good.” The man’s eyes flicked over Sam, surprisingly sharp in a round, good-natured face. “I disabled the outside monitors.”
“Oh, thank you, Carlos.” She started to step towards the older man and Sam tugged her firmly back against his side before she decided to kiss this one as well.
Amusement flitted across the man’s face before he asked, “How are you traveling? I believe that all of our rovers have trackers.”
Sam looked down at Addie. “Did you tell Blackie to wait?”
“Yes.”
“Good, that means I don’t have to carry both of you. Let’s go.”
He swept her down the corridor as she called another thank you over her shoulder. They reached the airlock without encountering anyone else. Addie pulled on a breathing mask, then carefully fitted one on Kami’s small face.
“At least he made sure she had a mask,” she muttered.
“Auntie Seena gave it to me,” Kami piped up.
“Auntie Seena?”
Addie gave him a puzzled look but there was no time to worry about it now. He ushered his girls through the outer door and onto the planet’s surface. As the thin air filled his lungs and he felt the familiar dusty ground beneath his feet, he gave a sigh of relief. “Let’s go home.”
Chapter Twenty
“Where did you leave Blackie?” Sam asked. He was still carrying Kami and she couldn’t help but think how right her daughter looked in his arms.
“Over there, at the entrance to the canyon. Do you think he’s all right?”
Sam nodded at her. “He was designed specifically for the Martian environment. I’m sure he’s fine.”
“But he must’ve been lonely.”
Sam
gave her an odd look. “We are both accustomed to being alone.”
“You don’t have to be anymore.”
She stepped closer and put her hand on his arm. To her dismay, he didn’t immediately react and she saw his eyes flick from her to Kami. Uneasiness crawled through her stomach. She knew she should’ve told him. The remainder of the walk was completed in silence. Even Kami was unnaturally quiet, looking all around with her eyes wide.
“Have you been outside before, baby?”
Kami shook her head, her thumb automatically heading for her mouth, only to be blocked by the breathing mask. Instead, she took a firmer grip on Sam’s shirt.
As they approached the entrance to the canyon, Sam gave a low whistle and a moment later Blackie trotted up to them. If Kami’s eyes had been wide before, they were enormous now and she squealed with delight.
“Horsey!”
Blackie tilted his head, almost as if he were studying the little girl, then nudged her very gently with his nose. She squealed again and almost threw herself out of Sam’s arms in an attempt to hug him.
“He appears to have another fan,” Sam said dryly over her head and the two of them shared a smile before his face suddenly shuttered.
Her heart aching, she turned her attention to Blackie, running her hands through the small flexible tubes that made up his mane.
“I’m sorry I left you for so long. Were you worried I was never coming back?”
“I’m sure he understands,” Sam said, then looked startled at his own words. “But we should get going. Even without the external monitors, we can’t be sure that no one is watching.”
He gently put Kami down before turning to Addie and lifting her onto the horse’s back. His hands didn’t linger but she could still feel their warmth against her sides. He lifted Kami up in front of her and as soon as her arms were securely fastened around her daughter, he sprang into the saddle behind her. He pulled her closer, his big body strong and hard behind her, and even though she could feel the distance between them, being in his arms once more felt so right.
“Make him go fast,” Kami demanded, apparently unfazed by the experience.
Sam laughed. “Not until we reach flatter ground. Home, Blackie.”
Did he even realize what he just said? Or the fact that the horse immediately took off in the correct direction?
Within a few minutes, they were emerging from the rocky foothills onto the vast valley floor. Blackie’s hooves kicked up a little trail of red dust behind them, but they were no more than a small speck in the landscape. The pale orange sky arched over their heads, reaching down to the tops of the craggy mountain ranges, and she realized that she no longer felt like an alien on this planet. It had become home.
The further away they moved from the lab complex, the more she relaxed. Once again, a restless night caught up with her, and she found her eyes closing. She forced them open and tightened her arms around Kami. Strong, muscular forearms reached past her to encircle her daughter’s waist.
“Go to sleep. I won’t let her fall.”
No, she knew he would never let anything happen to Kami no matter her parentage. Her body relaxed a little more, soothed by the rocking motion of the horse. Kami started telling Sam about her adventures, her chirping little voice occasionally interrupted by the low rumble of Sam’s responses. This felt so right, as if this was the way it should have always been. For right now, she would allow herself to relax into the fantasy that she was with her husband and her daughter and everything was right with the world.
Sam knew the moment Addie fell asleep. He carefully adjusted his grip to make sure that she wouldn’t tip to either side.
“Don’t you think, Mama?” Kami asked.
“Your mama is asleep, little one, but I’m sure she would agree.”
The little girl twisted around, looking first at her mother’s face, then up at him.
“She doesn’t sleep much.”
“Then it’s good that she’s sleeping now.”
Kami nodded emphatically, her silky black hair flying around her face.
“I missed her.”
“I’m sure she missed you too.” But why hadn’t she told him? Looking at Kami’s features and noting once again her resemblance to her father, he suspected he knew why but once again she had made a decision without including him. That stung even more than the knowledge that she had a child with Mingol.
“Are you the giant in Mama’s story?”
Kami’s question interrupted his troubled thoughts.
“I don’t know. What did the giant do?”
“He broke out of his chains and saved the princess of course. And they all lived happily ever after.”
He certainly hadn’t done anything to save the princess, but he didn’t want to say that to the little girl watching him with so much hope in her eyes.
“I don’t know, little one. I don’t think the story is over yet. But I hope so.”
She nodded again. “I think you are. Did you know I flew on a real spaceship?”
“You did?” he asked with an encouraging smile.
“I did.”
Once again, she started chattering about her adventures, and he listened patiently. She focused mainly on the excitement of the trip, but she let enough slip about her father to paint a picture of a man who, if not outright cruel, was at best neglectful and disinterested. Anger filled him and had it not been necessary to make sure that Addie and Kami were well away from the lab, he would have been tempted to return and wait for Mingol. The man’s day of reckoning was long overdue.
By the time they turned up the slope leading to their habitat, Kami too was half-asleep, but her eyes sprang open when he brought Blackie to a halt.
“Is this it? Is this our new home?”
The question struck him with the unexpected force. He hadn’t hesitated to bring them here, to remove them from GenCon’s clutches, but what was going to happen now?
“Yes, little one. This is your new home.”
Addie’s body stiffened against him and he realized that not only was she awake, she had caught his hesitation and the way he had altered his answer. They needed to talk and the sooner the better. But first, they had a child to attend to.
“Hold onto her while I get down,” he said.
As soon as they were both off the horse, Kami darted around, exploring her surroundings. To his amusement, Blackie trotted along behind her.
“Is she always this energetic?” he asked.
“Yes, at least when Derrick isn’t around. He wasn’t very… tolerant of normal childish behavior.”
The strain in her voice tugged at him and he found himself putting his arm around her and drawing her close. She stood stock-still for a moment then relaxed against his side as they continued to watch Kami.
“There are only two bunks,” he said finally. “I should build out the other dome that I brought back.”
The knowledge of why he had brought it back hung between them. Could they get back to that state of happiness?
“I can sleep with Kami,” Addie volunteered, her voice stiff.
“No. I still want you in my bed.”
“Do you?”
The combination of hope and doubt in those big purple eyes made him long to reassure her. He was tempted to ignore her secrets, sweep her into his arms, and forget the past, but they couldn’t move forward until they dealt with it.
“We’ll talk tonight,” he promised, and despite his own doubts, he leaned over and kissed her gently.
“You kissed Mama.” Kami stood looking up at them, her eyes wide.
“Yes, I did.”
She studied them thoughtfully for a minute, then beamed and ran off once more.
“I wonder what’s going on in that little head,” he said.
Addie laughed a little shakily. “There’s no telling. Let me get Kami some lunch and then we can help you.”
“Help me?” He raised his eyebrows.
This time her laugh was m
ore certain. “I suspect my help will consist of keeping Kami out of the way. Do you want something to eat too?”
“No, I had some protein packs on the trip. I needed to replenish my energy because of all the blood that Reggie took from me.”
Her face fell and he could’ve kicked himself.
“I didn’t know that’s what he had planned,” she whispered. “I never meant to lead you into a trap.”
“I know, Addie. He tried to make me think otherwise but I never believed him.”
“Really?”
“Yes, but we still need to talk. Tonight.”
She nodded and lifted her chin. “I know.”
Addie took a protesting Kami inside as he began to unload the trailer he’d brought home the previous day. As he started to assemble the new dome, he thought about the original living module. The bunk beds were fine, but the rest of the area was not suited for a little girl’s bedroom. Perhaps he needed to get another dome just for her. She had informed him on the ride that her favorite color was purple, and he tried to remember if he had seen anything in that color since arriving on Mars. He was considering the possibility of getting someone to create a dye before he realized what he was doing.
He forced his attention back to his current task and refused to think about the future.
After lunch, Addie and Kami rejoined him. As Addie had predicted, Kami had a thousand questions about the building process but he found he didn’t mind. He was also impressed by how quickly she seemed to understand the assembly process. He gave her one small panel and with only a little bit of help from Addie, she managed to put it together.
“Look what I did!”
“That’s wonderful. You’re a big help.”
Her little chest puffed up. “I’m very helpful.”
“You certainly are, baby,” Addie agreed. “But the sun is starting to go down. Time to go inside.”
“I want to stay outside and help Sam.”
They exchanged a look over her head.
“It will be too cold for you,” he said gently. “Maybe you can help Mama with supper instead.”
“I guess.” She scuffed at the dirt with the toe of her boot before reluctantly following Addie inside.
A Fistful 0f Cyborg (Cyborgs On Mars Book 2) Page 13