“She should be dead. She isn’t going to bounce back as quickly as we—or she—would like. The extent of the effects of heatstroke can take some time to manifest, and with her unusual physiology, I simply don’t know what to expect.”
“She’s concerned that she’s not free to leave,” he said, warning Patty to be prepared for a difficult patient.
“Frankly, I’m concerned about that as well. I don’t like deceiving her, Adam. I don’t like it at all.” Patty shook her head, eyebrows lifting as if to ask, What are you going to do about her?
“I can’t very well let her go off to be killed when the answers we need—that the world needs—could be right there inside her. Look, I originally set out to bring her on staff, and that’s exactly what I’m going to do. I still believe her work with near-death could challenge us all. She doesn’t need to know that we’re studying her, specifi cally.”
Patty was already shaking her head again, getting her steam up.
Adam raised a hand for her to let him finish. “I know it’s only a half-truth, but that’s all she’s going to get. That woman eluded the wraiths for two months. A wraith war is coming, and if we don’t take advantage of every scrap of knowledge, we’ll have nothing to fight with. We’re already running out of time.”
“It’s not right.” Patty’s gaze met his, as if an accusation of wrongdoing would deter him from his path.
“What part of this whole situation is, Patty? Just run your tests. You needed to take them because of her hyperthermia anyway.”
“Not all of them,” she corrected, “and the others I took in order for her get well, not to study her. It’s her consent, Adam, that bothers me. It should bother you.”
Adam’s head ached. “Give me an alternative. I can see what’s coming. I know you can, too. How do we fight an army of wraiths?”
“It’s still not right.” She shrugged helplessly.
“Are you going to run your tests or not?” Adam had no time or patience for stalling.
“If I say no?”
Adam put a hand on her shoulder and gentled his voice. “I’ll find someone else to do it. I can find someone else, regardless. I can’t have you breaking down on me, not now.”
She shifted her weight forward. “No, I’ll do it. Anyone else won’t stand up to you. Won’t stand up for her. I won’t see her made a prisoner, though. I can tell you that much.”
“Look, Talia’s a little overwhelmed right now. Perhaps her wanting to leave won’t become an issue. I’ll be back this afternoon to show her around. I’ll convince her to stay with as much truth as I think she can handle.” He hadn’t remotely considered Talia’s leaving a possibility, not after the hell she’d been through, or he’d have been prepared for her question. Smoothed it over a bit.
Adam gripped the back of his neck with one hand to loosen the corded muscles that seemed to grip his skull.
But as long as he was making women mad at him…“I want to start testing the extent of Jacob’s rapid healing again.”
Patty’s eyes glittered. “Don’t push me, son. No matter what that poor man has become, I won’t be part of any purposeful harm. No harm. I draw the line there.” Patty drew an emphatic imaginary line between them.
“He’s a cold-blooded killer and you know very well what the aim of this institution is.”
Patty’s face flushed. “I was at Jacob’s christening. I saw him graduate from Harvard. Your mother borrowed my hand-kerchief. I will not purposely cause pain until the moment we can euthanize him. Even then, my aim is to see that he goes as peacefully as possible.”
The argument went back six years to the family “intervention” in Jacob’s disturbing new lifestyle. Dr. Patricia Riggs, Mom’s childhood friend and the Thorne family doctor, was on hand for discreet support. No one doubted she’d keep her evaluation of Jacob’s condition within the Thorne family. Mental illness? Drug addiction? They should be so lucky.
Patty was in the room when Jacob “kissed” Mom, witnessing the extent of Jacob’s transformation. She saw what came after, as well. Adam wasn’t proud of that. Now she still honored the friendship regardless of the risk to herself.
Ah, hell. She deserved a little honor back, not him snapping at her.
Adam exhaled his frustration and dampened his tone. “You’re a softy, Aunt Pat. Always have been.”
The Aunt Pat had Patty’s nose reddening, eyes rapidly blinking against tears. Pat with no family of her own, no family but the fucked-up Thorne brothers.
“I need to get back. Get Dr. O’Brien back in bed,” she said, voice high and broken.
“Okay. I’ll be around, say two o’clock?”
“That’ll be fine. Try to keep the tour short. She’s bound to get tired quickly.”