“Dankyo? My head of security? I sent him away to help with the crash investigation. I’m sure, if he was here, he would have told me you were too dangerous to approach. Not that I would have heeded his advice. I’ve been looking forward to your company.” He smiled down at her.
How did she reply to such talk? Dankyo would’ve been right, in a way. If she let loose in the way her ability and training allowed, she was dangerous. She said nothing—it seemed the safest choice.
“And this,” he said, turning to the other man, “is the esteemed Dr. Eastway. Your name, agapi mou?”
He mocked her again. She shot a murderous look his way and was startled to see him grin back, as if they shared a joke. She tugged again, unsuccessfully, to pull her hands from his. Instead of letting go, he moved his thumb in soft circles at her wrist.
The feeling was disconcerting, awakening a tingle in strange places.
“Claire.” She frowned, finding the pace of her breathing had quickened. “My name is Claire.”
“I am pleased to meet you, Claire.” Theo raised her hands and kissed the backs of her fingers.
Shock rendered her speechless. Her face heated. The casual application of mouth to skin unnerved her, almost more than a kiss on her lips. Inkline had accustomed her to that. She’d grown the equivalent of calluses in her mind.
“Dr. Eastway is going to use galvanic electricity to help heal your wounds. It’s safe, though not yet a widespread device. We’ve tried it on many battle wounds. Doctor?” Theo gave her hand a squeeze, then stepped aside to let the doctor take his place by the bed. He went to lean against the wall between the chest of drawers and the bathroom.
“In case you’re wondering,” Theo continued, “the other survivors have been sent onward. I can’t do the same with you because of our ridiculous law regarding frankenstructs. If I send you on, you’ll be euthanized.” He watched her carefully. “You understand? It’s too dangerous to send you on.”
She nodded. Does he think I’ll faint or something?
She eyed him, then decided the doctor warranted more attention. Galvanic energy…electricity? Voltaic electricity she understood—it ran lights, small engines, powered some weapons. While she pondered this, she couldn’t help, every so often, flicking a look at Theo.
He bothered her. Threatening? Maybe. But not, she sensed, in the way she normally classified threats. Though hard muscles glided beneath the cloth of his shirt, his strength didn’t concern her as much as his aura of control.
Another glance and this time, she found him intent on looking at her. She fought down a blush, made herself look back at him for several seconds, before returning to the doctor. A mistake, there, perhaps, as left unchallenged, Theo’s regard seemed to sear the surface of her neck and face.
This, her training had not prepared her for—she was meant to obey commands, to kill as efficiently as possible, and not face down men who simply stared. She found herself having to fight off an urge to ask him what he wanted of her. Even knowing he was on the wrong side didn’t dispel this urge, though it made her more determined than ever to resist her impulse.
Although, really, which exactly was the wrong side? She’d never been asked which side she wanted to be on. In an offhand way, she’d been bred in a vat and created, like a vehicle made from spare parts—or as the other frankenstructs laughingly called the process, brewed and glued.
The doctor busied himself checking dials on the machine and setting switches. This man, doctor or not, bore a resemblance to Inkline—balding, cold in attitude. He made her want to sneak to the opposite side of the bed. Slowly, she forced herself to relax.
“Let’s see your leg.” Dr. Eastway grabbed the bottom of her dress and flipped it up, exposing the sutures on her thigh and the lower edge of her panties.
Damn him! She hissed and stiffened. Like all humans, he thought she was a thing. She sat up and grabbed his hand, bent back a finger to immobilize him. Almost…almost tempted into sharp time, so she could fracture that hand, and only stopping herself in the last second.
No. Mustn’t. That would be disastrous, to show them what she could do. “Take your hand off me!”
Chapter Two
The doctor froze. She’d snared his hand and looked likely to break it off at the wrist.
Striving not to smile at the man’s predicament, Theo pushed away from the wall. He’d hoped the doctor wouldn’t be quite so prickly.
“Dr. Eastway, Claire seems to be disconcerted by your bedside manner.” The wounds in her thigh are deep. This needs doing. “Perhaps, Doctor, if you could instruct me? Claire, release him, please.”
Claire stared at the doctor, anger evident in the rigid lines of her body. She glanced across at him, frowning. Slowly, she opened her fingers and let go of the doctor’s hand.