What was going on? Was this some kind of joke? No, I couldn’t see Jackson or Canyon being so cruel. Canyon had woken from a sleep that should have made him basically comatose to save me. Jackson was nothing but kind. No, they liked me.
And they wanted me to date both of them.
This was really happening.
I was halfway through trying to figure out what I owned that was warm when the monitors in my room came on. Makenna stared out at the camera. Our leader had a warm smile and a glint in her eyes.
“Well, we did it. Thanks to intel I got two nights ago, we beat Sandler Cartel in a major battle and they have turned tail and run back to Sandler Space. Don’t worry. We aren’t leaving them there to regroup. We have plans for Evander. This galaxy won’t be run by despots bent on domination but by the people who live here. Self-rule, that’s the end game.” She winked at the camera. “See you soon.”
Every time I saw our leader, which was never in person, she sounded slightly different. The last time she’d talked to us, she’d made some joke about engineering. I shook my head. Paloma said there were things to talk about in terms of Makenna. I sighed. I had to figure out how to get that information without bringing her into hysterics. The first weeks after pregnancy were hard on the mother’s body. Maybe I would just wait.
I had so many questions, and everyone kept saying later. What was the matter with me? I was lucky to be here. Why was I making demands?
I…
I had to get out of my own head. Everything was all muddled around in there. I needed coffee. I was going to replicate two coffeemakers. I’d no sooner stepped out the door than I collided with Rohan.
He caught me before I could fall backward. The jarring made me cry out, pain temporarily silencing any other thoughts. Pain was amazing like that. Nothing else could exist when it caught my attention.
“Waverly,” Rohan’s voice was low. “You’re still hurt.”
He picked me up, which was not a great call. “Oh. Careful. My back.”
“Everything hurts when the back does. Be still in my arms. Why are you still injured?”
I snickered. “Just talented that way, I guess.”
He set me on the bed on my stomach. I’d never had so many people in my room before. This was the third one today. I had Jackson here once when he’d first assigned the place to me. Paloma and Tommy, once. And Tina once. Three people in one day was a lot for me. I needed to save up some rations and change my comforter. It was warm, but the pink was kind of not me.
“Where does it hurt?”
I tried to point and then decided that was fruitless. “Mid-back. I think I just woke up too soon in the med machine. I may need to go back in for more detailed healing.”
“Maybe.” He placed his hand on my back, and he rubbed, gently, and then increased pressure as he went. I groaned. It hurt but it felt good at the same time. “If you’re just stiff, it’s not a med machine thing. It’s a breathing and relaxing thing.”
He was right. I might just be stiff. Or, it could be that I’d taken a fall and had the crap kicked out of me. Sometimes back injuries could take a while to show up. Either way, there was no problem with just sitting here and breathing for a minute.
“Thank you.”
He sucked in a long breath. “Don’t thank me. I failed you.”
I lifted my head. “How did you do that?”
“I didn’t hear you screaming.”
“Rohan.” I was suddenly not quite so relaxed. I rolled over. “You were in a healing sleep after time traveling. There was no way you could have heard me.”
He lay down next to me on his side. “Canyon did.”
“Well, okay, Canyon did. It was really bizarre that he did, and then he was in very bad shape. Pale. It was awful and arguably my fault.”
He scrunched up his face. “How is that your fault?”
“That being my fault makes about as much sense as this being yours.”
Rohan sighed. “Fair enough. I want to kill those men who hurt you. I came here first to see for myself that you were okay.”
“Ro.” Canyon and Jackson had called him Ro. I hoped it was okay. “You might have to get in line. When Canyon and Jackson left here, I got the impression they were going to cause them bodily harm. I should have stopped them, but you know, I didn’t want to.”
He laughed, throwing his head back, and then he stopped just as abruptly. “Canyon woke. Came here. Rescued you. Went back to bed, and then came back here before I ever woke up?”
“No.” I could see the confusion. “He woke. Rescued me. Brought me back here. Spent the night here. And then woke when Jackson came. They left together.”
Rohan raised his eyebrows very slowly. “Where did he sleep? In that chair?”
I pointed at the bed. “Here.”
His next words were clipped. “And he left you in the chair.”
Okay, now he was being deliberately obtuse. “We slept in the bed together.”
He jumped up, which jarred the bed, and I winced. Yes, I was going back into the med machine. Cash would be on now. He’d put me in it without arguing with me.
“Sorry,” Rohan spoke through clenched teeth. “I’d never hurt you for anything in the world. I’m having a hard time with the idea of Canyon sleeping in your bed.”
I sat up slowly. I needed to get some help for my back and if Rohan wanted to yell at me he could do so while I walked, tenderly, to the Med Bay. I started moving. “You don’t think I’m good enough for Canyon or you think I somehow used him? Made him stay with me? Tricked him because he can’t see me?”
Rohan opened the door for me. “What?”
“You are having a hard time with Canyon having slept in the bed with me because you don’t think Canyon should be with me.”
I limped forward, and Rohan scooped me up. He must have gathered I wanted to go to the Med Bay because he started walking that way. “I don’t want Canyon to be with you in your bed, foolish woman, because I want to be in it with you. I want you for myself.”
“What?” I shouted and then lowered my voice. “Rohan…”
He interrupted me. “I liked when you called me Ro. Do that, please.” We’d reached the Med Bay. “You like Canyon better than me.”
“I am having the strangest day. First Canyon, and then Jackson came and said he wanted to be with me. So they agreed, apparently days ago, that if I liked both of them then they could share me, if that was what I wanted. Now you’re saying you like me?”
Rohan burst open the door, causing Cash to jump. He spilled something all over the floor. “Fuck. Rohan. You scared the shit out of me.”
“Sorry.” He set me down gently on the table. “Her back is not okay.” Rohan turned his attention back to me. “Are you telling me that Canyon and Jackson had already come to some sort of arrangement for both being with you and not one of them thought to talk to me when I am so clearly in love with you?”
Cash whistled through his teeth. “Well, okay. This is happening.”
“You’re in love with me?”
He pointed at me. “Since the moment I saw you.”
I opened and closed my mouth. I had to be hallucinating. Only, this felt very real. “On the space station when I was about to be sold and I had on clothes that didn’t fit?”
“Yes.”
My head hurt. “Do we need to have your eyes checked?”
“Waverly, we can talk about your insecurity another time. I am in love with you. Do you have feelings for me or are you entirely devoted to Jackson and Canyon?”
He was officially speaking with his mouth so tight he was barely moving his lips when he uttered words. I reached out to touch the side of his face. “I have feelings for you, too.”
Ro’s shoulders slumped a bit. “Good. That’s good. That I can work with. I couldn’t be there. Canyon was. I see there are actual benefits to the way this works. Okay, stay here with Cash. He’ll make you feel better. I’m going to have a word with Canyon and Jackson.
We’ll sort this out. Don’t worry.”
He turned on his heel and stormed from the room.
Cash approached me slowly, something in his hand. I looked down. It was a lollipop. The kind we gave to the children. “I thought maybe you could use this.”
He was right.
8
The Stars
The med machine shut off, and I tried to open my eyes. They didn’t want to comply. Maybe I’d just stay in the blissful, painlessness of this place for a while longer. Yes, this was how I was supposed to feel when I got out of a med machine. I hadn’t the last time. I’d been pretty conscious considering how hurt I had been.
Why was that?
The top of the machine opened, and Cash stared down at me. “You’re awake, sort of. That’s good. Your muscles are healed. There was no real damage. All will be well.”
That was good. I closed my eyes.
“Waverly,” Cash said. “Try to sit up with me.”
I didn’t want to, but Cash was insistent. I couldn’t remember for a second why he was bothering me. I could just sleep. But then I did. My back had been hurting. “Feels much better.”
“That’s good. Swing your legs over here. Weird that it didn’t get fixed the first time around but no matter. These things happen.”
Did they? He gave me some water, and I drank through a straw. My head would clear. I just had to be careful until it did. I had a date. I didn’t want to miss it. Unless I already had…
“How long?” My tongue felt sort of thick. I drank some more water.
Cash grinned at me. He was a very good doctor. “About an hour and a half. It’s a little past lunch time. You’re doing just fine, Waverly. Amazing, really. Been a rough twenty-four hours for you, but you’re pulling through really well.” He pointed at the machine. “You’re even holding on to this information. It’s all going to be okay.”
I set down my water. “Is it?”
Cash didn’t pretend to misunderstand me. “It was different for us. We were away from anyone else, surrounded by zombies, and they were my family. Then Diana came. Judge said she was making herself sick because she liked all of us, and we all agreed. Schedules were made. It flowed pretty easily. Our biggest problem was the zombies. Those four are very close friends. They’re going to have to decide if they want to be family.”
I held up three fingers. “Just three.”
The door burst open and Cash grinned. “Oh, look. It’s number four.” He walked past Ari. “I need some coffee. Could you watch my patient for me, Ari?”
“Ah, sure.” Ari was out of breath, and he was shoeless. What happened to him?
I pointed at his feet. “Everything okay?”
He ignored me, his gaze on the computer readout. I waited for him to follow the case. He’d gone doctor on me. When he saw I was okay, he’d converse again. I waited. I could really use some more water.
Ari walked to the sink, his eyes still on the readout and poured more water in a new glass. He might not even realize I still had one. He handed it to me. I sipped.
“Back is feeling better?”
I nodded. “Much. Thank you.”
His gaze finally met my own. “Ten years. I think that’s how many I just lost when I found out. I don’t check security reports. Not usually. I got up. You left me that food. I ate it.” He was the first one to mention it. I beamed. He’d eaten it. “Thank you for it, by the way. I showered. I was thinking about going for a run, and I picked up my tablet. There’s all this security conversation going on. Girl was attacked last night. I scan through it. Girl was you.”
His hair was damp. I’d noticed it right off, but there it was. And the lack of shoes. “Did you run through the snow barefoot?”
“Yes.” He shook his head. “Stupid. I… just came. I pinged Ro, asked him where you were. He said here. I thought maybe you were still hurt from whatever happened.”
I held up my hand. “It was awful. I’m not going to sugarcoat it. I was attacked. They…” It was hard to say it, but his steady gaze didn’t rush me. “They wanted to rape me and kill me. I screamed for help. Canyon heard me. He came. Saved me. They’re all in security with the attackers now. This morning my back still hurt. I’m here.”
Ari picked up the medical tablet from the side of the med machine. “Seems you’ve glossed over some things. Concussion. Damaged ribs. Contusions. Your back still hurt?”
I got down slowly. “Seems weird right? I woke up fast from the first run of the machine. Canyon didn’t look good. So we went back to my room. I wasn’t focused on it, not really, until this morning.”
Now I could move. Being without pain was such a gift, and the sad truth was I’d soon forget how lucky I was not to have it. I’d be grateful until I forgot. Or even if I remembered, the true intensity of how bad it was would flee. Right now, I was practically euphoric.
“Is he okay?” Ari watched my feet. He must have been looking to see if I was off balance.
“He is. He slept some more and was okay this morning. How are you doing post travel?” I was supposed to be looking out for him, not the other way around.
Ari smirked at me. “Pretty okay. No worse than I was before I went. I’m utterly horrified that happened to you.”
He was being sweet. I patted his arm. “They came after me because my last name is Sandler. They were pretty mad.”
His face fell. “Damn it.”
I shrugged. “I didn’t die.”
“You shrug when you say that?” He put his hands on his hips. “Yes, you didn’t die because the Super Soldier woke himself up from a sleep coma. Amazing. I… Waverly, please know if I’d been anywhere nearby, I’d have done anything for you.”
I believed him. “Thanks, Ari. I’d do the same for you.”
His sudden smile was infectious, and I grinned back. “Waverly, would you have dinner with me tonight? I’d really like to take you out.”
“Oh, that’s so nice of you. It would be fun to hang out sometime. But tonight of all nights, I have a date.”
His smile vanished. “Is that so?”
“Trust me, no one is more surprised than me with the way today has gone. I think all of the men have lost their minds. But I have a date.”
Ari hopped up on the med table. I wondered if his feet were cold. I made my way over to the supply cabinet, and I pulled out slippers. He still hadn’t said anything, so I handed them to him. “For the walk back. I don’t want to treat you for frostbite.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “Who’s taking you out, Waverly, and where are they taking you?”
“Are you asking so you can go report to my brothers? I don’t think they’d want to know, really. Quinn gave me this strange speech the other day about not having to say yes to anyone but I can’t make hide nor hair of it. I ask because you seem a little mad.”
He took an audible breath. “I’m not at all interested in talking to your brothers about this, and I’m trying not to be mad.”
None of this made any sense. “I have a date with Jackson.”
He smirked, but there was no mirth in it. I was still getting angry vibes off Ari. “With Jackson. Of course, you do.”
Okay, I’d had enough. “Look. I get it. I don’t know why Jackson wants to go out with me either. I don’t know why Rohan is saying he’s in love with me. I don’t know why Canyon wants to be in a relationship with me or why all three of them are saying they’d be happy to figure out how to work this out. Or, that’s not what Ro said but I’m pretty sure that’s where he was going. I get it. None of it makes any sense in the universe, but I haven’t had that much happiness, so if you could not rain on my parade by being an… I don’t know… an asshole about this, I’d really appreciate it.” I held out my hand to stop him. “I almost died last night. I’m not feeling like myself. Or maybe this is more myself. I don’t know.”
I turned to leave, and he jumped off the table. “Wait.”
Ari Bennett was raised wealthy on Sandler One. I knew his tone when he
told me to wait, and it was the one that meant he expected me to listen. I shouldn’t have found it so attractive, considering that I’d just yelled at him, he was spoiling my happy feeling, and I hated my father when he used the same tone.
Still, I stopped because I was always a contradiction, even to myself. I turned. “Something else?”
“I am having a little trouble—processing—what you just told me. I will. So I’m just going to put that aside into a little box in my head marked don’t start yelling right now and I’m going to tell you that I don’t want you to go with Jackson, because I obviously want you to go out with me. That’s why I asked you. That’s why I asked your brothers for permission to court you. That’s what a person does when they want to date Waverly Sandler. They go to her oldest male relative, Tommy, and they ask. I even went so far as to include all four of them in the conversation.” He took such a deep breath his whole body moved when he did, from his shoulders down. “A person who wants to date Waverly Sandler doesn’t just… ask her out without doing that first.”
By the time Ari had gotten to the end of his speech, he was shouting. So his little box where he wasn’t supposed to shout at me had clearly gone by the wayside.
“So much wrong with what you just said.” I might have stopped when he told me to wait, but I didn’t have to buy the bullshit he was spooning out.
“Which part?” The muscle ticked in his jaw again.
“The part where you think you want to date me. Okay, you went to my brothers and you asked. That is very nice. Fine. If we were living on Sandler One and my father hadn’t determined I was too ugly to marry off. So no one went to my oldest living relatives and asked them anything.” I put my hands in my pockets so he wouldn’t see them shake. “You don’t want to date me. Maybe for like two seconds you got it in your head. Maybe you were feeling lonely. I don’t know. You thought, gee, Waverly’s alone too. I’ll just ask about her. I don’t know why Jackson wants to date me. I really don’t. And Canyon and Rohan have their own ways with things. Maybe I fit for them somehow. But you, Dr. Ari Bennett, you are not interested in me. Period. So cut the territorial bull crap and go be with one of the women you’re actually attracted to.”
Dark Demise: Wings of Artemis, Book Seven Page 9