Page 62 of Dauntless

My stomach lurched. I reached the bucket, which had been moved closer to the bed, and made it just in time before I emptied the little I had left in my stomach, then wiped my mouth on a corner of the sheet. Subsequently I tugged the sheet the rest of the way off my body. I was too hot to bare it covering me anymore anyway. I was covered in sweat. Surprisingly, between my shallow intakes of air, I’d catch a whiff of my shampoo and body wash. When did I bathe? I didn’t remember it.

Stop. I admonished myself as my head throbbed. Thinking took up too much energy, and I didn’t have much left. Though all I could do was wait. And as time moved on, I no longer cared if it was Loren or even Dimitri. I’d do whatever Dimitri wanted if he’d come for me. Then suddenly, as if my prayers were answered, the door opened, and Dimitri stormed in. The dark wool coat he had on still had snow covering it.

He stopped at the side of the bed. His arms crossed. “You’re sick. How can this be? Did you take something I didn’t see?”

I hesitated as I struggled to comprehend what he was talking about.

“Answer me, damn it. Now!” he yelled.

I coughed. “No, Simon.”

“You’re lying,” he growled and started to pace. I dizzied following his speed. “You must have. Your health screen said you had no allergies. You can’t be reacting to the drugs. You didn’t react when they gave you the same thing on the boat. You’re… you’re doing this on purpose.”

I didn’t know if that was a question to answer, but I didn’t have an explanation to give him.

“You better pull yourself together,” he demanded, his tone harsh. “If you don’t, I’ll leave you behind.”

I exhaled. That didn’t seem like a bad prospect to me. It was the first bit of hope I had of returning home, but I remained quiet. The door opened again, and another man entered the room. A slow shift of my head and I could see him. A stocky, sandy-haired male with a fake tan, dressed in a salmon sweater and khakis. I assumed him to be Loren’s husband, Mr. Olson.

He snorted. “You gave her too many drugs over the last two days.”

“Did I Thomas? Or did you put too much drugs in the water bottles?” Dimitri replied irritably. “She is an example of your sloppiness and incompetence.”

I gasped. Days? I’d been here for a couple of days? They had been right all along about the drugs. It took my memory. My stomach sunk. Was this what they did to Angel?

My head screamed as Thomas’s voice filled the room. “I can’t call a doctor, and you didn’t bring your nurse. What are we going to do?”

“Calm the fuck down,” Dimitri said. “And stop talking in front of her. I’ve got to go. Put her in a bath to get her temperature down.”

“That won’t work,” Thomas complained. “I don’t think it’s safe to bring her in the house. I can put her in the snow for a while. That should work the same.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Dimitri said abruptly. “She’d die.”

“She’s sick and probably dying anyway,” Thomas said coldly. “She’s more trouble for us alive. She could tell someone what we did. We kill her and dump her off a boat later. No one knows her whereabouts. We’ll all be safe.”

I shifted on the bed to try to move away—a useless attempt to get away from Thomas. I had underestimated him. He was just as dangerous. He’d kill me to prevent getting caught. I didn’t want Dimitri to leave me with him.

“I’m dying, are you’re thinking of getting rid of me too?” Dimitri said tersely and scoffed. “She dies, you and Loren will go to jail. I’ll make sure of it. Now go do as I say and get her ready. I’ll be back in a couple of hours, and she’d better be alive or the both of you won’t be.”

My heart beat so hard I could feel it pounding in my ears. He sat down on the edge of the bed. “Get Loren in here to clean this room up. I don’t want her lying in filth. You get her dressed in something of Loren’s for our travel.” He touched my hand. “I’ll be back soon.”

My eyes widened, and I coughed. “Don’t. Please. Take me with you…” I murmured.

He cupped the side of my face and smiled. “Oh, you want me now? You’ll have me for a while yet, Gia. You can relax, but don’t give Thomas a reason to punish you while I’m gone. If you behave, I’ll have a doctor check on you before we leave Washington. Now thank me for my generosity.”

“Thank… you, Simon,” I murmured, though even with my sickness, I wasn’t completely lost to him, yet. I needed to keep him wanting me alive. I needed to pretend to obey.

“Good girl,” he said. I swallowed down my repulsion when he patted my head like an obedient puppy. He then turned to Thomas and said, “don’t disappoint me again,” before leaving me with him.

Thomas glowered at me then went over to the door. He opened it and yelled out, “Loren. Get down here.”

She appeared at the door jamb with a lunch bag in her hands. “Yes, Sir.”

Thomas wiped his hand down his face. “Get inside here and don’t dawdle.”

Loren dropped her head. “Yes, sir.” She rushed to pass Thomas who pushed her along, making her stumble inside.

“The path ahead has not been shown to Dmitri. He will see my way once it’s done.”

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