Adna finally acknowledged the furious-looking security guard. “Can we send someone into the abandoned area to investigate?”
The Nobek glowered. “We’re short-staffed as it is. After that riot, the patients are violently agitated. I can’t spare anyone for this guy’s flight of fancy.”
“I’m telling you, check your surveillance monitors! Nesof’s shuttle is out by the maintenance department! Damn it, why isn’t anyone in any branch of enforcement capable of doing their job?” Almon was ready to throttle the fool.
“Can you check, please?” Despite wording it as a request, Adna’s tone had the command of a Dramok—the type that warned the younger man to disobey at his own risk.
The sentry rolled his eyes, and he gave the monitor for the maintenance pad a cursory glance. “Nothing. Can I throw this idiot out now?”
Almon shoved past him, stabbing his finger at the holographic image. “In the corner, where the light doesn’t reach. See the gleam of metal?”
Adna yanked on the security guard’s upraised fist, tugging him out of the way to peer closer. “There is something there. Make yourself useful and zoom in.”
“I’m not paid enough to deal with this shit.” The other Nobek folded his arms over his chest.
“Fine. Leave now and look for a new job in the morning. I have the authority to fire you.”
Scowling, the guard gave in and punched the area coordinates in for a closeup view. He blinked at the telltale silhouette of the shuttle. “Shit.”
“Run an identification. Tell me who it belongs to.”
More clicks. Almon fretted at the time passing. What was Nesof doing to Joseph at that moment?
“It’s registered to Nobek Nesof.” All at once, the younger Nobek looked ashamed. “I owe you an apology, sir. Both of you.”
“Forget it. Just send someone over there,” Almon commanded.
The kid looked between him and Adna. “I can’t. We’ve got a mess here with our patients, and it’s all hands on deck.”
“He’s right, Almon. The situation in Ward Eight hasn’t calmed much, even with the patients locked in, and we’re hurting for security at the moment.” Adna grabbed the desk com unit and shoved it toward the guard. “Com the police to send someone over to help. Tell them it’s an emergency.”
“At least bring down that containment barrier so I can go after Joseph. He’s in danger.” Almon didn’t care that he was begging an unscarred Nobek half his age for help. Pride would lead to Joseph being killed, not saved.
Adna gripped his shoulder. “You’re barely on your feet, Almon. Do you think I don’t notice you swaying like a tree in a storm? Wait for law enforcement.”
“I can’t. Joseph’s my clan. Let me save him.” Almon’s voice rose in desperation.
The security guard simultaneously operated the com and his computer. “Containment barrier’s down, Nobek Almon. You can access the restricted zone.” He straightened and spoke into the com. “Yes, I need to speak to Investigator—?”
Almon was already rushing away. He shouted over his shoulder, “Kavug or Enforcer Trib!”
“Almon, wait! If Nesof is half as dangerous as you believe—”
He ignored Adna’s shout, reaching the outside and running as fast as he could to reach the barrier. A minute later he was beyond the boundary, attempting to pick up Nesof’s trail. He paid no heed to the growing weakness in his body and the encroaching gray that kept filling his vision.
He ignored all but his panic that something terrible might have already happened to Joseph.
* * * *
Euphoria mixed with growing lightheadedness that left Joseph weak. The tunnel that was his eyesight narrowed until he lost his peripheral vision. Yet he twisted beneath Nesof as the orderly ripped his clothes off. He writhed when his assailant began kissing him. His squirming didn’t stem from sexual pleasure, however. Bound as he was, Joseph did his damnedest to avoid Nesof’s eager mouth and hands as the Nobek frantically explored him.
“At last, you’re mine. Finally, I can touch you, enjoy your beautiful body, fill you with me. Do you know how hard it’s been for me to wait until this moment?” Nesof moaned and fondled every inch, the scent of his arousal a choking fog in the air.
Kalquorian intoxicant usually had the power to leave Joseph aching with desire, desperate for sex. He wasn’t sure if his injuries negated any lust or if his absolute abhorrence of Nesof kept him from responding to the Nobek’s attempts to arouse him. He had no care for what kept his manhood soft. He was shrinking, in fact.
It was enough that his cock confirmed that he did not want Nesof in any fashion, no matter what the bastard did to him.
“What’s the matter, my love? Is it the ties? You don’t enjoy bondage?” Sure of his dominance as ever, Nesof untied Joseph’s wrists and ankles. Free from the cords, Joseph shoved against the Nobek, fighting as the man covered him with his weight and smashed his lips to Joseph’s.
The Earther’s strength was nonexistent. He couldn’t budge his attacker, not even when the orderly gripped his shaft and pulled, once more trying to make him hard. When that failed to work, Nesof switched to using his mouth on Joseph, his efforts growing more desperate by the second.
Joseph felt a stirring in his gut at last, but not the kind Nesof was looking for. The Earther did his best to spray his assailant with the rush of nausea that overcame him, but only succeeded in fouling himself and the sleeping mat. It had the desired result anyway. Nesof jumped up with a horrified shout, springing to the middle of the room.
Joseph smirked as he wiped at his chest and stomach with the bed linens, though there was little humor to be had in the situation. “I told you I was concussed. Besides, you make me sick. You’re no Almon. You’re not worthy for him to wipe his ass on.”
Nesof stared at him. Stunned disbelief gave way to rage, reddening his face, clenching his fists, pumping up his muscles. Joseph sneered, beyond caring. Better this than the monster fucking him. Besides, Almon hadn’t shown up to rescue him, so perhaps his love was dead after all.
If I can’t have the life I dreamed of with him, then maybe it’s not worth living.
With that in mind, Joseph sneered at the bastard who’d ruined his chance at happiness and love. “With Almon, I’ve been with a real Nobek. You aren’t shit compared to him.”
Nesof screamed, a shriek of fury that possessed no sanity. He stormed toward the mat. Joseph fell back and waited for him to finish it all.
Instead, the door behind Nesof hissed open. The orderly hadn’t finished turning when Almon tackled him, his roar as unfathomably crazed as Nesof’s had been.
It took the smallest fraction of a second for the tableau to assert itself on Almon’s mind. Nesof, pumped with anger, looming over a naked and defenseless Joseph. The swollen features of his lover, his body shaking. The sour reek of vomit and another Kalquorian’s arousal.
Maniacal rage imbued Almon, pulsing his own muscles, pushing the effects of the poisoning to the background. He filled with lethal power, crackling with it.
With the urge to pull one limb after another off Nesof, Almon leapt on him, knocking them both to the hard floor. The next instant, they were rolling on the ground, pounding and kicking and biting at each other.
It quickly became clear that Almon had gained the upper hand, and his hands slickened with Nesof’s blood. Nesof managed to brace his feet against the other’s stomach, and he launched Almon off him. It gave the orderly a chance to gain his feet. Almon was already setting to attack before he hit the ground. He jumped as if he had springs on his legs. Nesof had succeeded in bracing himself for the impact, and their massive bodies collided.
From there, they lurched all over the room, punching and tearing at each other. Almon had the dim notion that Joseph was forced to crawl about in an effort to avoid the battling Nobeks. Deciding that the best way to protect his lover was to destroy Nesof, Almon concentrated on his foe.
After a few minutes that felt like hours, Almon realized the strength
was siphoning from his body. Though his fury remained intact, the poisoning was winning out over waning adrenaline. Nesof began landing more and more blows, while Almon’s efforts met with less success. His arms weighed heavily, fighting his demands to lift and punch. His legs braced wide, beginning to shake from the exertion of keeping him vertical. The room tilted, and his balance wavered.
Scenting his weakness, Nesof closed in with a furious assault. The flurry of blows came too fast to dodge. Pain exploded throughout Almon’s head and torso, and his surroundings slanted hard to the side. Almon realized he was toppling over like a felled tree, but there was nothing he could do to stop it. He slammed to the floor, all breath leaving his lungs.
Crushing weight fell on his chest. Nesof hung over him, saliva dripping from his screaming mouth. More fists, crashing against Almon’s skull. He tried to lift his arms to defend himself, but they refused to move. They were pinned to his sides, hemmed in by Nesof’s legs.
The orderly’s face faded in encroaching darkness, Nesof still pummeling Almon’s head, a never-ending drumming that diminished with Almon’s failing sight. With pain eroding, a single thought held importance. Almon gathered the vestiges of his strength to shout.
“Run, Joseph. Get away!”
With Almon’s cry ringing in his ears, Joseph ran down the long tunnel his vision insisted was there. He raced toward the Nobek lying on the cracked tiles and the monster battering him. The end of the channel never came closer, and it was impossible to gauge distance. Joseph swung the metal rod he’d found, carelessly dropped by the smugly confident Nesof. He prayed it would find its mark.
The dark head of the distant figure that was Nesof rocked to one side. But it was the shock vibrating through Joseph’s arms that told him he’d scored a hit. He didn’t pause to aim his next blow, but swung and swung wildly, knocking the receding figure to and fro.
“Leave my Nobek alone, you bastard! I’ll kill you, motherfucker! Kill you!”
Swinging, chasing the shadow as it hunched and fell over. An ear-shattering roar, and another dark figure rising, a demon from hell, lunging at the first. Unable to tell from the twisting silhouettes who he was supposed to be attacking, Joseph squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again.
For a wonder, it helped a little. The tunnel remained, and the men were as distant as before, but Joseph could tell it was Almon on top of Nesof. His lover’s fists pistoned and turned the orderly into a gory mess.
Some beast shrieked, a wild animal set loose. Joseph realized the feral cry had come from his own throat when he brought the metal bar down on Nesof’s skull.
He hit him again. And again, in between the sluggish but powerful blows from Almon. He hit even when the tunnel drew in tight again, the light at the end shrinking to a pinprick.
Arms up. Arms down. Vibration racing through to his shoulders. A hit.
Growls. Almon, victorious. And alive.
The tunnel closing. Light, gone.
Strange, muffled squeals. Sounds of an animal dying.
Bands of steel, circling Joseph. Rod torn from his grip.
Someone pulling at him. Shouts. Almon’s defiant roar.
“Medic! Call a medic in here! No, fuck that mess on the floor, he’s done.”
“Joseph! Where are you?”
“He’s right there, Almon. Stop fighting!”
“Kavug, you asshole! Get off me! Joseph!”
Joseph forced his lips to move. They were numb. All of his body felt numb. Where was he? “Turn—turn the light on. I can’t see shit. Want—I want Almon.”
“Easy, Joseph. Remember me? Enforcer Trib? We’re going to take you and Almon to receive medical help.”
“Almon? I want Almon. Please—”
“He’s here. Nobek, take his hand. There you go.”
“Almon!” Joseph could feel himself fading, and he needed his Nobek before the black tide took him away. “Almon, where are you?”
At last the voice he needed answered him, choked with emotion, following him down into the abyss. “I’m here, Joseph. I’m with you.”
Chapter Nineteen
His finger hovered over the send button on his computer. He could have voice commanded it far more easily, but he feared spoken words would be too shaky.
After all I’ve been through, this is what freaks me out? Joseph laughed at himself. After being the captain of a rogue battlecruiser, sentenced to spend two years in a mental institution, nearly losing his lover to poisoning, and helping to kill a crazed stalker, his issues verged into the ridiculous.
His finger came down over the button and pressed. Off went his article to the editor of the new essay-based national online periodical. It marked the beginning of his writing career in truth, his first regular submission for the column named “Joseph’s Journal”.
He’d scored the spot with Solomon’s help. It meant writing a monthly article addressing integrating as an Earther male into Kalquorian society. His opening theme was titled, “Love for an Earther: Slow, Sudden, and In-Between”. His support group had approved of it when he read it to them, but it was based on their experiences. He had no idea what to expect from the readership at large.
He bit his lip as he stared at the confirmation that the column had been received. As he struggled with conflicting feelings of elation and dread, Almon walked into his office.
“Did you send it?”
“It’s off. It publishes in a week.”
“I’ve heard. You’ve been counting it down since you got the column. I keep expecting you to tell me the hours, minutes, and seconds too.” When Joseph’s shoulders drooped, Almon winked at him. “I’m teasing you, scaredy-man. Don’t think for a single second that I’m not bursting with pride at your accomplishments.”
“If it is an accomplishment. The editor might decide it’s trash and cancel the whole damned column.”
“Bullshit. It’s good, and the editor will think so too. In fact, we need to go out and celebrate your success.”
Joseph disagreed, but that didn’t stop him from gazing at his Nobek with blatant adoration. Almon was strong and hale once more, the injuries sustained from Nesof’s poisoning and beating already a memory. A quick recovery hadn’t stopped his lover from taking advantage of the paid month off his boss had offered him, however. And why not? Almon deserved to goof off. He’d been through hell on Joseph’s behalf.
There was also the matter of Joseph enjoying his Nobek being around as much as possible. If such a thing as too much Almon existed, he couldn’t imagine it. Especially when it came to extended wake-up sex. And having after-breakfast sex. And midday sex. And all the other sex. Joseph delighted in Almon staying at home and indulging in his clanmate.
“Let’s wait to go out to celebrate. I want verification the column’s been well received.” Excuses, excuses. He was terrified of jinxing any potential success.
“It will be a triumph. And we are celebrating today. And every victory going forward: the day the column comes out, the first positive comment, the first deposit into your account, your first writing award, your second writing award, all your hundreds and thousands of writing awards, your interstellar bestselling book tours—”
Laughing, Joseph went to the lug and put his palm over Almon’s mouth to interrupt the ridiculous spiel. “Cut it out, you silly creature. If I don’t stop you, you’ll throw a party every time I successfully dress myself.”
Almon pressed the silencing palm to his lips to kiss it before pushing it aside. “I’m more inclined to rejoice when you undress. But, your fantastic column aside, we have another reason to celebrate.”
“What’s that?”
“I heard from both our lawyer and the territorial prosecutor himself.”
Joseph’s heart leapt at his grin. “No charges?”
“No charges.”
A massive weight slid off Joseph’s shoulders. The prosecutor had already told their legal representative that the case for unwarranted killing was weak. With all circumstances t
aken into consideration, Joseph and Almon’s actions were within the laws of self- and clan-defense—even without the formal legal standing of clanship.
It had looked as if they’d be cleared all along, but hearing it confirmed was a relief. Only a last concern remained. “What about the charges against you for digging into Nesof’s private files?”
“The prosecutor said he’s filing my actions under justifiable cause, especially since Nesof’s parent clan doesn’t wish to pursue the issue. They’ve got lawsuits of their own to duck, given the investigation opened into his past.”
It had come to light that one of Nesof’s surviving fathers had paid off the coroner to issue a quick cause of death certificate for Nobek Merel. The training camp the siblings had attended had verified their parent clan had been quick in their attempts to hush allegations of Merel’s abuse of his younger brother. The potential that they had tried to keep Nesof’s potential murder of his elder sibling under wraps had been obvious. The prosecutor was livid that the orderly had gone on to work in treatment centers where the possible abuse of three inmates and the questionable suicide of a patient had happened under his watch.
Joseph chose to concentrate on his and Almon’s good news: they had survived and faced no legal penalties. “We definitely have to celebrate. Although, it does seem kind of odd to make merry over getting away with murder. I’m not thrilled to have had a part in killing yet another Kalquorian.”
“Self-defense,” Almon reminded him gently. “It wasn’t a cold-blooded killing.”
He was right, especially given the alternative. “Since it saved you, I can live with the guilt.”
“Excuse me? I believe it was I who saved you,” Almon huffed.
“Oh, is that what you think?”
“It’s what I know.”
“Perhaps your pride is struggling with owing me your existence twice over, but you might have to get over it. Oh, fine, if you’re going to be that sensitive, I’ll pretend to believe we’re even now—”
With a bellow, Almon picked Joseph up and tossed him over his shoulder. The Earther laughed as his Nobek hauled him out of the office, heading toward their sleeping room. His guffaws continued, though they were interrupted by yelps brought on by Almon’s hard hand paddling his ass.
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