Lark’s heart went out to him as she pushed herself up from the floor on wobbly legs. Her shoulder blades ached, her ribs felt bruised, and her foot was throbbing, but at the moment, none of that mattered. Not in the face of such heartrending dejection.
She wanted to hug him, wrap her arms around him, and hold him close as she told him everything would be okay but she wouldn’t risk another episode like what just happened. She was tapped. She wouldn’t have the strength to restrain him again so soon.
“Um,” was hesitantly uttered from across the room. “Can I get up now?”
Shit. She’d forgotten Kong was even there. “All clear,” Lark told him.
She looked at Grady, tilting her head down so she could see his face. He wouldn’t meet her eyes. So much remorse… She cleared her throat. “Right? You’ve got it under control?”
Grady nodded. Finally, he looked up, his eyes holding hers. “For the moment. But this can’t go on.” He looked over at Kong, his expression filled with determination as he rose to his feet. “I think it’s time to talk to that neurologist.”
Kong had told her a little about the doctor one of the teams had grabbed on the Ohio operation. A neurologist who had worked on the chip that had been implanted in all of the Resurrection soldiers’ brains. But he hadn’t gone into much detail, only saying that they’d taken him to help Grady and the other soldiers once they got them out.
After that, she’d told Kong to bring her to Grady. She no longer just wanted to hear about the man she was so attracted to, she’d wanted to see him and talk to him – hear about their relationship from the source. So, while she didn’t know all the details of why they’d taken the doctor, based on what just happened, she could hazard a guess.
“He can help?”
Grady said something, but she couldn’t hear him through the sudden roar of blood in her ears. All at once, her head felt too light and spots edged her vision. The room felt like it tipped under her feet and she threw a hand out to steady herself.
She closed her eyes, trying to breathe through the swirl of nausea churning in her belly. There was a moment of weightlessness and she opened her eyes to find herself in Grady’s arms.
Her hearing had cleared enough for her to make out his words. He told her she’d overdone it, that she needed to get back to bed, but it sounded like she was hearing him from underwater. Her eyes didn’t want to stay open. They were so heavy…
The last thing she remembered was a warm, tender kiss against her forehead and Grady’s voice as he quietly told her, “Rest now. I’ll see you in the morning.”
His desire to wait to speak with the doctor until Lark could be at his side now seemed so stupid he wanted to kick himself. This could have already been dealt with, but no, in his ridiculous need to let Lark run point on this, he’d put her life in danger. He could have killed her tonight, Kong too, and all because of that chip in his head.
She’d kissed him and he hadn’t even been able to enjoy it for two seconds. This had to be dealt with. Now. Tonight. Because he sure as hell wanted to do more than kiss Lark.
“Are you up for this?” Kong asked as they strode purposefully for the brig. “If you’re not, if you’re feeling all trigger-happy, I can handle the questioning.”
Grady glared at him. “I’m fine.”
Kong held up his hands, palms out in front of his chest. “Okay, man. I trust your judgment, but let me tell you, being on the receiving end of your weapons systems is scary as fuck. I almost had to change my underwear.”
That brought Grady up short and he halted. When Kong stopped as well, Grady scrubbed a hand over his bristly scalp. “I’m sorry about that.” He shook his head. “I shouldn’t have waited this long. I should have questioned Doctor Blackmore as soon as we got back.”
A big hand clapped down on his shoulder. “You had other things on your mind. I get it. I did too.” Kong looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. “We’ll figure it out. Whatever it takes.”
Grady nodded and they resumed their approach.
The brig was dimly lit at this time of night, the prisoners probably sleeping. A guard was sitting behind a desk, his face lit up by whatever he was looking at on his phone. When he saw Grady, he stood, his hand hovering over his holstered sidearm. Warily, he looked at Kong. “Is he supposed to be here?”
Everyone at Black Bay knew that Grady had a vendetta against the Resurrection doctors. He hadn’t exactly made a secret of that. He’d followed Doctor Dietrich here intending to kill her but right now, he wasn’t feeling that haze of rage that usually clouded his thoughts when it came to her. Was it because of the energy he’d just expended, fighting for control over his automated weapons system? Or was it because he’d decided the neurologist took priority – the chip recognizing that as the primary mission at the moment?
“I’ve got him,” Kong told the guard. “We’re here to see Doctor Blackmore.”
The guard nodded and pointed to the second door down the hall. “He’s in there.” He threw Kong a set of keys. “Sleeping last I checked.”
Kong went in first and flicked on the overhead light. Doctor Blackmore sat up on his cot with a gasp, clutching his blanket to his chest as he blinked rapidly.
“Hiya, Doc,” Kong began as he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall. “We’ve got some questions for you.”
The doctor seemed confused until he focused on Grady. Those bleary eyes cleared almost immediately as he scooched back slightly and swallowed hard. “Commander.”
The haze of rage began to seep in at the address, but Grady strangled it. This was too important for his judgment to become clouded. “You can call me Carter.”
Doctor Blackmore nodded. “Carter then.” His eyes flicked to Kong and then back to Grady. “What is this about? No one has said. I don’t even know why I’m here.” Drawing in a breath, he squared his shoulders. “I’m a US citizen. I have rights.”
