Blood Diamond (15 page)

I turned my attention to the catheter, wondering if I could pull it out without doing too much damage to myself. I decided against it. “I don’t suppose you can unhook me from this thing, can you?”

“No.”

I had to give Elliot credit; he was either really patient, or I had been repetitive about my questions in the unknown number of times I had bothered him. Returning to my investigation of the IV drip, I decided I had no idea what I was looking at. All I could infer was there was a doctor somewhere. “Where’s the doctor?”

At my question, my twin glanced over at me. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but him looking refreshed, chipper, and relaxed wasn’t it. “You’re actually awake?”

I considered putting my newfound sarcasm to the test, but I determined it to be too much work, so I replied, “I think so?”

My brother pulled out his cell, dialed a number, and held it to his ear. “Anderson here. He’s awake.” Hanging up, he stowed it back into his pocket. “How are you feeling?”

The temptation to indulge in a colorful commentary about the state of my aching throat was held at bay by Evelyn’s presence. Asleep or not, I couldn’t bring myself to say what I was thinking. “My throat’s killing me,” I grumbled.

My brother’s mouth turned up in a smile, which he covered by bending over to retrieve a water bottle from the floor. He twisted off the cap and handed it to me. The prick of the catheter reminded me to use my other hand. I drained half the bottle before stopping to catch my breath.

It didn’t help with my aching throat.

“Want a cough drop? The doc left some of the good ones for you, figuring you might want them. You got lucky, you know. Dr. Wilson says you narrowly avoided a crushed windpipe. Your knee’s not too bad, either. Some bruising and swelling, but she doesn’t think it’s broken.” My brother pulled out an orange prescription bottle from a pocket and offered me an oval pill.

I took it warily. Despite its off-white color, it tasted like oranges for about three seconds before it numbed my tongue and throat as I sucked on it. “What happened?”

Setting aside his tablet, my brother sighed, shaking his head. “A lot.”

“Doesn’t look like I’m going anywhere soon, Elliot,” I replied, pointing the water bottle at the IV.

The corners of my twin’s mouth turned up. “Oh? We’re going by first names today, are we? Which one do I get to call you by this time?”

Some battles weren’t worth fighting, especially not when we had finally managed to be together for more than ten minutes at one time. I shrugged. “Whichever you want.”

Elliot’s smile faded, and my brother’s anguish showed in his eyes. “I thought I had gotten you killed, Dante.”

I sighed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know what else to do. Evelyn had overheard them planning an ambush. She was the only survivor, and they’d shot her with silver. The team you sent me with walked right into a trap.”

“I figured as much. There wasn’t a lot left of them by the time we arrived,” my brother reported grimly. “I guess that explains why she’s refused to change back into a human. She knew we’d recognize her.”

When I glanced at the Fenerec, she flipped her tail and cracked open an eye to glare at me.

Wiggling my toes out from under the blankets, I nudged her with my foot, smiling a bit when she turned her ears back. “Go change.” I turned back to my brother. “Did Zachary bring her any clothes?”

“He did, for the both of you.” Elliot got up and went to the door, retrieving two gym bags; one was pink and the other was black. Opening the bathroom door, he left them inside. Evelyn jumped down from the bed and, with a swish of her tail, went inside.

Shaking his head, my brother closed the door. “I have been told that if I so much as ruffle her fur, I’ll be walking the plank.”

Laughing with a sore throat hurt, but I did it anyway. “What else did Zachary tell you?”

“Only that if I knew what was good for me, I’d leave you and your new girlfriend alone, grateful you had found someone who could hold your attention for more than five consecutive seconds.” My brother arched a brow at me, and his expression relaxed. “Which I am, of course.”

I scowled. “It was one date, and we blew up your truck.”

For a moment, I thought my brother’s eyes were going to pop out of his head. “
You
were the one who blew up my truck?”

“It was either that or let them make off with more than thirty pounds of C4 plus a warhead and its launcher. Of course I blew up the truck. With the rest of the team dead and the ways out of the park blocked, I was out of options. What happened to the Red Beast’s video relay? I know you had one installed.”

My brother looked sheepish. “It wasn’t turned on.”

I couldn’t help myself; I laughed so hard I broke into a coughing fit. Hissing at the pain in my throat, I drank down the rest of the water. “Good,” I wheezed, relieved that no one would know that a very lovely and very naked woman had been crawling around on my lap.

Judging from the way Elliot’s eyes narrowed, he was suspicious of me. I kept quiet and waved the empty bottle at him. With a sigh, he handed me another one.

“Tit for tat. What happened out there?” he asked, sitting back down on his chair, once again propping his feet on the bed.

“You’re not wearing any socks,” I observed.

“Neither are you. And? What happened?”

When I was confident I heard the shower in the bathroom, I relaxed and said, “I waited until dark to check your damned envelope. All but one of the rogues were dead, as were your Inquisitors. I went after Evelyn because I wasn’t going to let her just die out there. I had no idea what the hell was going on. For all I fucking knew, the Inquisition was getting rid of me, a rather notable thorn in their side. When I found out there were a bunch of Normals going around killing Fenerec and Inquisitors, I decided to get out of there. I couldn’t leave the truck, so I decided to get rid of the fucking thing with a lot of explosives. Classy picture, by the way. I still have it, and I will ruin you with it,” I announced in a hiss.

My brother arched a brow at me. “I needed a cover letter.”

I mimicked his expression, lifted the bottle to take a drink, and flipped him my middle finger. “I need a raise.”

“You do not, you make more than I do in a year,” my twin protested.

“Bullshit. Aren’t you a multi-zillionaire CEO now?”

“I saw your taxes. You made more,” my brother said, snatching up his tablet. With a few swipes, he turned it to show me my taxes from the previous year.

I narrowed my eyes. “What are you doing with that?”

“I’m the executor of your estate, idiot.” My brother smirked at me. “Looking over these numbers, though, I’m regretting the fact that I’ve already notified the feds that you aren’t actually dead. I could have been a rich, rich man.”

“So it really wasn’t the Inquisition?”

My brother shook his head. “Of course not. I’d never authorize it, for one. Second, if someone tried it, I’d hang them—and everyone else involved—from the tallest tree I could find. They wouldn’t dare. I’ve made it absolutely clear you’re not to be touched, period.”

At the way my twin’s jaw whitened from him clenching his teeth, I believed him. I nodded, satisfied with his answer. “How did you track my new cell?”

Relaxing at the question, my brother sighed and set his tablet aside. “When word got out you had been killed, one of your folks called one of my folks with the number. We got the pings from the feds to track the phone. We lost the signal at a hotel in Miami. We weren’t able to recover the phone.”

It was my turn to smirk. “Evelyn broke it and flushed the bits down the toilet. You owe me, by the way.”

My brother looked baffled. “For what?”

The bathroom door opened, and Evelyn emerged. The white satin dress she wore clung to her, highlighting her soft curves and bringing out her rich tan and the red tones of her hair. I held my breath, my eyes widening. A slit ran from her ankle all the way up to her hip, and the v-cut of the top showed off a sprinkling of freckles and a glimpse of cleavage.

“So
you’re
the real reason we were interrupted,” Evelyn murmured in her husky, smoky voice, her jade eyes focused on my twin. For a moment, I worried about whether or not she was going to slap Elliot, but then she smiled. “I suppose I’ll forgive you—this once.”

My brother’s mouth opened, but he didn’t speak. A knock at the door saved us from Evelyn. She smirked as she crossed the room, swinging her hips as she moved. She showed off a lot of leg. I turned my attention to my brother, who gawked at the Fenerec. Glaring at my brother didn’t stop him from staring at Evelyn.

“Who are you?” Evelyn asked, holding the door open a crack with the chain still in place.

“I’m Dr. Wilson,” a woman replied. “Mr. Anderson called me.”

After a moment and a scowl, Evelyn shut the door to undo the chain and let the doctor in. The woman looked old enough to be my great grandmother, but there was nothing frail about her as she strode to me. “How has he been?”

My brother vacated his chair to sit at my feet. “About as normal as he gets,” he replied.

“Good.” Dr. Wilson turned all of her attention to me. “How are you feeling, Mr. Jackson?”

“A bit numb, but otherwise fine.” I watched her warily as she stepped closer. Her grip was firm as she pressed her fingers to my wrist, her eyes fixed on her watch.

“No vertigo or nausea?”

I shook my head. “Throat’s sore, but the cough drop helped.”

“And water,” she observed without looking away from her watch. “Good. Your pulse is steady. Leave the knee brace on until you get to shore and see another doctor. If your knee can’t hold your weight, go get it seen right away. It’ll be sore and stiff, but I don’t think there’ll be any long-term problems. I’m going to draw blood and take it to the lab to make sure there’s nothing else wrong with you, but I think you’re clear. The dose was within thresholds, especially for someone your size.”

I pretended to understand what she was talking about. While I remembered being kicked and pumped full of something, I couldn’t recall if anyone had told me
what
I had been drugged with.

“Mr. Anderson, get him mobile. He needs to walk to get the kinks out,” the doctor informed my brother.

When Dr. Wilson pulled out a syringe, Evelyn tensed, her eyes narrowing. I watched the Fenerec as the doctor stole a vial of my blood before removing the catheter and gathering up the IV’s drip stand. “Call me if there are any problems, Mr. Anderson.”

“Of course,” my brother said, walking the old woman to the door. They talked for a few moments before she left.

I rubbed at the inside of my elbow, which bore several puncture marks from the IV being inserted. Like the rest of me, the spot ached. “I need a shower,” I grumbled.

“If you can manage the hike across the ship, our room has a jacuzzi,” Evelyn said, grinning at me.

My brother stared at me, startled. “You’re sharing a room?”

When I swung my legs off the edge of the bed, I was dismayed to see that someone had taken a pair of scissors to Max’s uniform. “I’ll shower and change here. There is zero chance of me crossing the ship like this.” It was bad enough wearing someone else’s clothes, but I refused to be seen looking like some castaway left to rot on an island.

Both Evelyn and Elliot tensed as I lurched to my feet. My knee ached, but it held my weight. The brace proved to be a tight one-piece wrap, much to my relief. The metal and plastic monstrosities used by professional athletes would have left me hobbling like a cripple.

“This room only has a shower,” Evelyn warned, staring at my knee.

My stomach chose that moment to remember it existed, gurgling in its frantic need for food. “I’m taking a very quick shower, changing into real clothes, and I’m going to find something to eat. If I don’t, I’ll really die,” I threatened.

My brother chuckled. “Let my poor, abused brother shower and shave. He’s going to take one look in the mirror and start wailing when he sees what we had to do to get that tape out of his hair. Why don’t we get to know each other a little better while we wait? Fortunately for all of us, dinner is in about ten minutes.”

I lifted my hand to my head, running my fingers through my tangled hair, my eyes widening at the thought of what they had done to my head while I had been unconscious. I retreated to the bathroom, evicting the pink gym bag and grabbing the black one. Turning to Evelyn, I said, “Keep your clothes on.”

“For now,” she teased, blowing a kiss in my direction. When I flushed, she laughed.

Chapter Eight

While I was awake and somewhat functional, not even a cold shower dispelled the lethargy clinging to me. I stared at the ruins of my new beard, wondering how any of it managed to survive the abuse of duct tape removal. At least someone had left an electric razor in the bag, along with a change of clothes. Despite my brother’s teasing, I couldn’t find any evidence of someone having taken a pair of scissors to my hair. It looked ruffled and unkempt, but otherwise intact.

Stifling yawn after yawn, I changed and took my time making myself as presentable as possible. Maybe Evelyn could shower and change in ten minutes, emerging as beautiful as any goddess, but it took me a lot more time and effort.

Through the door, I heard the murmur of conversation. My brother’s voice was accompanied by Richard’s deeper tones. After straightening my tie, I heeded the gurgling of my stomach and left the privacy of the bathroom. My knee protested, but I managed to walk without limping too much.

While the cabin was a double, it wasn’t large enough for the ten people crammed into the room.

Zachary saluted me from his perch on the bed. “Looking good, Boss.”

“I’m wrinkled,” I muttered, wondering where they expected me to stand. Evelyn wiggled her way through the crowd, examining me from head to toe.

With a faint smile, she smoothed my collar and fiddled with my tie. “Good effort, but a little crooked.” 

“He is,” my twin agreed, shaking his head and clucking his tongue. “You were taking so long that they came looking for you. They didn’t believe me when I told them you took longer than most women when getting ready.”