The senator turned to walk away.
“Oh, Senator? One more thing,” Meg started. “If you ever try to use surveillance on me in this or any other room, I will have every human being in this place—from patient to Monarch—instructed to rip out your eyes with their bare hands. You may be able to fend off the first wave of thumb-gougers, but there are a lot of people in this asylum, most of who aren’t terribly hygienic,” Meg just shrugged. “I wanted to give you fair warning, you know, in the interest of our mutually beneficial arrangement.”
The Senator’s jaw hung slack for a moment before he realized what he was doing and snapped it shut.
Meg smiled smugly. “You see, Donovan, I know everything everyone in this building knows—except you, of course. Nifty little trick, isn’t it?” she posed. Her hands were clasped behind her back and she added a slight shrug of her shoulders.
The Senator tried to fight the reflexive urge to swallow the saliva pooling in his mouth. He couldn’t decide if he wanted to rip that smug expression off her pretty little face or kiss her like the formidable opponent she had become.
He shook his head and blinked once. “I’ll have them removed immediately, Ms. Winter.” He nodded and turned for the second time to leave. As he did, Meg reached down to touch the black silk scarf peeking from the top of another bag. “I’ll know when you do, of course. I’ll expect workmen within the hour. It would be a shame to waste the beautiful red frock you bought for me.” Meg made a tsking sound with her tongue and shook her head slowly in feigned lament.
“As you wish, Meg.” He turned away for the third time and this time made it to the door without the girl stopping him.
“Nothing is ‘as I wish’,” Meg whispered to no one. She dropped the fake smile and felt unshed tears spring up into her eyes. Taking a deep breath, the multifaceted girl decided it was time to go wake her dance partner.
Chapter 71 Just a Flesh Wound
Meg started by sending him waves of calming emotions, then she gently shook him awake. She had bested the Punisher, but she was no fool. Sleeping in the body on the floor of her bathroom was an amalgamation the likes of which few had witnessed. She wanted to be sure she was waking the right alter.
“Gideon?” she began. “Gideon, please wake up. We have work to do.” She nudged him more firmly but stopped when his eyelids began to flutter and a moan escaped his throat.
“Gideon? Please be there.”
The beaten soldier opened his eyes. Meg sighed with relief that the eyes she was looking into were honey yellow.
“I’m on the floor.” He looked around him.
“Yes,” she started, “Do you remember me stitching you up?” Meg nodded toward his thigh. Gideon tried to sit up but had to lie back down and gingerly feel his leg.
“Nice work. The stitches feel not too tight, not too loose and are closely spaced. You had good training.”
“If you say so,” Meg offered a half smile as she helped him sit up and lean against the edge of the bathtub for support.
Gideon sighed and seemed to melt back into the porcelain tub relaxing.
“So will you be my date to this stupid cocktail party slash dance Arkdone wants us to attend tonight?”
Gideon’s eyes widened. “You want me to get all dressed up and go to a party with you tonight?”
Meg nodded. “Please?”
“You’re kidding, right?”
Meg shook her head slightly.
“I don’t even know if I can stand on this leg, let alone dance on it.” Gideon grimaced as he tried to move it.
“Look, I stitched you up beautifully. You said so yourself. The bleeding has stopped. All we have to do is add a bit of skin glue and wrap you up. You’ll be right as rain.” Meg smiled winsomely. “Please don’t make me do this crappy social alone with the Senator and Michelle.”
“I’ll go, but I doubt I can dance.”
“Sweet, thank you, Gideon.”
The metamonarch nodded shyly and looked down at his leg again. “Do you want to tell me what happened?”
“Do you really want to know?”
He nodded hesitantly at first then looked up and answered, “Yes” decisively.
“I’ll tell you what—I’ll help you make your way back to your quarters so you can get cleaned up. I’m going for a run. I’m hoping by the time I come back, the cameras will have been removed from my room. I’ll get dressed and meet you in the foyer in two hours. It might do you well to take a nap.”
“I’m supposed to be protecting you,” Gideon frowned. “Going for a run around the complex could be dangerous.”
“Who is more dangerous than me?” Meg shrugged. “Maybe the Winters were right to fear me. Sometimes I scare myself,” she confessed softly.
“Sometimes I scare myself, too.” Gideon’s eyes darkened one shade as he looked up.