Page 101 of Under His Heel

They were having breakfast—fruit and eggs and crispy strips of bacon, a complete feast for Alex —when somebody pounded on the door.

Tracht looked at Alex, sighed, and got up from the table to open the door. Alex shuffled over to the couch and sat down behind it, so he was hidden from view from whoever was there. He didn’t want them to see him naked.

“Dr. Singh.”

Alex peered around the side of the couch, and yep, there was Singh, looking kind of pissed. She was kind of disheveled, actually, like she hadn’t slept well. Her hair wasn’t pinned as neatly as usual and her clothes were a bit rumpled.

Singh stepped past Tracht and looked around. “Where’s Alex?”

The door closed shut.

“Over there. Why?” Tracht pointed towards Alex, and Alex waved lightly.

“Oh, I don’t know. I was afraid I might find him also torn to ribbons.”

She must have seen to Parsons. Alex was kind of glad that Parsons hadn’t been bleeding all night.

“Well, as you can see, he’s fine. We were having breakfast, so if there’s nothing else…”

Singh’s expression morphed into fury. “Nothing else? Nothing else? Do not pretend that nothing is wrong, Tracht. Because that stunt you pulled with Parsons? That’s not what I signed up for.”

Oh shit. Alex hadn’t expected her to yell at Tracht. He looked back over to Tracht, thinking he’d be just as mad, but Tracht ended up sighing loudly.

“I lost control.” Tracht rubbed his brow.

“I saw that! And you know what Parsons said to me? Not to bother helping him, since you’d be flogging him all over again anyway.” She gestured wildly. “Tell me that isn’t true. Because I can maybe fix Parsons up before we dock in Cadmus, but not if you touch him again.”

“I won’t. I said that to scare him.” Tracht looked over at Alex. “Get dressed and leave. I need to talk to Dr. Singh in private.”

Uh. Alex hurriedly pulled on pants and a shirt, skipping underwear, and then stuffed his feet into sandals. He’d be uncomfortable and his ass would chafe but whatever.

He got out of there before Tracht actually did start to get mad.

As soon as he stepped off the elevator, he realized he had a problem. This was usually the time of day he and Tracht started making their rounds. He hadn’t really wandered around at this time on his own. He didn’t have his tablet with him, which meant he couldn’t just sit down and study, and honestly without Parsons he didn’t feel like hanging out in the lounge.

Oh.

Alex started making his way below deck.

He passed a few curious crew members on the early shift, one of who even asked where Tracht was. Alex shrugged and hurried on.

He got worried for a few seconds when he realized the door would probably be locked, but it slid open easily for him.

It shut behind him, and Alex fumbled to turn on the light.

Parsons was lying facedown on the cot, his back wrapped in bandages. A couple of them were tinted red where blood had seeped through. His skin shone with sweat, and the metallic smell of blood permeated the room. Alex hadn’t noticed it last night.

“The fuck are you doin’ here?” Parsons slurred at him. He struggled to lift himself up on his elbows, but gave up after a few second. Instead he glared, his eyes rimmed red and sunken low.

Alex got close and sat down, leaning against the beam in the middle of the room.

“Wanted to ask you some stuff.”

“Not in the mood.” Parsons answered. His voice was thin, but even so Alex could hear the anger.

Well, fuck him. He was the one who’d tried to screw Alex over. “Did you play me all along? Like, from the first day?”

Parsons laughed bitterly, which morphed into a cough. “I should have listened.”

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