The irony, however, was that what they were - oh, God, he couldn't even put into words what was doing - saved the surgeon's life: V was so horrified, he had to look away, and the ostrich routine kept him from tearing a hole the size of a sewer pipe in Manello's neck.
As Vishous stumbled back out, he heard all kinds of scrambling from the bath. And then it was a case of him going asswipe-AWOL: He slammed into the bed, rebounded, knocked over a chair, bounced into a wall.
At this rate, he'd find his way out in a week. Or so.
"Vishous ..."
As Payne came up to him, he kept his eyes on the floor, and ended up with a clear shot of his twin's bare feet. So she'd regained feeling in her legs.
Yay.
"Please spare me an explanation," he bit out before glaring over at Manello. The bastard was soaking wet, hair slicked to his head, scrubs sucked into his body. "And do not get used to her. You're here only until I don't need you anymore - and given how well she's doing? It ain't for much longer - "
"How dare you - it is for me to choose with whom I mate."
He shook his head at his sister. "Then pick something other than a human half your size and a quarter your strength. Life down here is not what it's like in the clouds, sweetheart - and the Lessening Society's slapped a bull's-eye on your chest just like the rest of us wear. He's weak, he's a security risk, and he needs to go back where he belongs - and stay there."
Well, didn't that make his twin furious: Her icy eyes went nuclear, her black brows slamming down. "Get. Out."
"Ask him what he did all morning long," V demanded. "Wait - I'll tell you. He sewed me and the Brotherhood up because we were trying to defend our females and our race. That human? He's a lesser waiting to happen, in my opinion - nothing less, nothing more."
"How dare you! You know naught of him."
V leaned in to her. "And neither do you. Which is my f**king point."
Before shit got really out of control, he spun around to leave, only to catch sight of them all in the mirror on the wall. What a f**king tableau they were: his sister, naked and unashamed; the human, wet and grim; himself, wild eyed and ready to kill something.
Rage built up so fast and so high, it broke free before he even recognized the emotion.
Vishous took two steps over, reared back his head, and slammed his face into the glass, shattering the reflection to f**k and gone.
As his sister screamed and the surgeon shouted, he left them to their own devices and stalked off.
Out in the hall, he knew precisely where he was going.
Out in the tunnel, he was oh, so very aware of what he was about to do.
As he went, the blood dripped down his cheeks and off his chin, the red tears falling onto his chest and his abs.
He didn't feel any pain at all.
But with any luck, he would. Very soon.
Chapter Thirty-five
By the time Payne got herself dressed and went out into the hall, her twin was gone.
The blood on the floor told her in which direction he had headed, however, and she followed the trail down the corridor and into the glass-enclosed space marked Office. Inside, the little specks of red cut a path around the desk and disappeared through a door, so she went over and opened up -
Just a closet. Nothing but supplies of papers and writing instruments.
There was more to it, however. There had to be. The track of droplets terminated at a wall of shelving.
Patting around, she searched for a lever or release to shift the casing over, all the while replaying the scene of the mirror smashing.
She had such fear, not for herself, but for Vishous - and what she had driven him to. Again. She had wanted a relationship with her brother. Not like this, though.
Never this toxic interplay.
"You getting anywhere?"
She looked over her shoulder at her healer. Standing in the doorway to the office, he was still wet, but no longer dripping, and had a white towel wrapped around his neck. His short, dark hair was askew, as if he had rubbed it dry and left it as it stood.
"I cannot find the way through." And wasn't that apt on so many levels.
Payne wasted some time just staring at the neatly lined-up stacks of yellow pads and boxes of pens and orderly rows of things the purposes of which she could only guess at. When she finally gave up and stepped out, her healer was still in the doorway to the office, still staring at her. His eyes were black with emotion, his lips thin ... and for some reason, his expression made her realize how fully clothed he was.
How fully clothed he had always been whenever he had lain with her.
He hadn't let her touch him, had he.
"You agree with my brother," she said darkly. "Do you not."
It was not a question. And she was not surprised when he nodded. "This isn't a long-term thing," he said with horrible gentleness. "Not for you."
"So that is why I have not had the pleasure of your sex."
His brows flared briefly, as if her candor discomforted him. "Payne ... this can't work between us."
"Says who. It is our choice whom we - "
"I've got a life to go back to."
As her breath grew tight, she thought ... how incredibly arrogant of her. It had never occurred to her that he had somewhere else to go. Then again, just as her brother had pointed out, how much did she know of him?
"I've got family," he continued. "A job. A horse I have to go see."
Payne walked over to him, approaching him with her head high. "Why do you assume it is an either/or? And before you try, do not waste words telling me you do not want me. I know it is true - your scent does not lie."
He cleared his throat. "Sex isn't everything, Payne. And when it comes to you and me, even that's just about getting you to where you are now."
At that, another chill ran through her, sure as if there were a draft in the room. But then she shook her head. "You wanted me, healer. When you came back here and saw me in that bed - your scent was nothing about the condition I was in, and you are a coward if you pretend otherwise. Hide if you will, healer - "
"My name is Manny," he snapped. "Manuel Manello. I was brought here to help you - and in case you haven't noticed, you're on your feet. So I have. Right now? I'm just waiting until you people rip into my brain again and leave me strapped to separate night from day and dreams from reality. This is your world, not mine, and there is only either/or."
Their eyes locked together, and in that moment, if the facility had been on fire, she would not have been able to look away ... and neither, she realized, would he.
"If it could work," she said roughly, "if you were allowed to come and go as you pleased, would you stay with me."
"Payne - "
"My question is clear. Answer it. Now." As his brows rose, she could not tell whether he was excited or repulsed by her brashness, and she did not care in that moment. "The truth is what it is, spoken or not. So we might as well have it all out."
He slowly shook his head. "Your brother doesn't think - "
"Fuck my brother," she countered. "Tell me what you think."
In the strained silence that followed, she realized what she had just said, and wanted to curse anew. Dropping her head, she stared at the floor, not in meekness, but out of frustration. Females of worth did not use words like that, and they did not pressure people for a tea towel, much less something like this.
Indeed, a proper female would stand by as the eldest male of her family handled the big decisions in her life, shaping the course of everything from where she lived to unto whom she was betrothed.
Outbursts. Sex. Swearing. Any more of this and she was going to make Vishous's wishes come true, because her healer - Manuel, that was - would find her so unattractive he would beg to be taken away from her with no memories of their time together.
Would she never fit the Layla standard of feminine perfection?
Rubbing her temples, she muttered, "You are both right - just for the wrong reasons. You and I could never last, because I am not a good match for any male."
"What?"
Tired of everything ... of him and her brother, of herself, of females and males in general ... she waved him off and turned away. "You say this is my world? You have that so very wrong. I do not belong here any more than you do."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
Verily, he might as well get the true picture of things on his way out. What the hell.