Page 91 of Mutant Mine

“I’m doing good, just settling in,” I say. “Thank you so much for everything. The room is lovely, and the clothes—”

“Mm-hmm. And how are you really?”

“Um,” I falter, “I guess I’m pretty tired. A lot has happened.”

“I’ll bet,” she says, with a sympathetic frown. “I’m sorry you had to go through all that.”

“It’s okay,” I say, waving off her concern. “I was lucky compared to everyone else.”

“Because you had Roth?”

“He saved my life.”

Selene nods. “The new relationship must be freaking you out a little too, right? On top of everything else that’s happened.”

Jesus. This lady is skipping small talk and going right for the big talk.

“Well, I wouldn’t sayfreaking out, exactly. It’s just been kinda…”

She shoots me a shrewd look. “…Intense?”

“Yeah. Really intense.”

“Weaver is intense too. Sometimes, when I’m with him, I just feel like I’m drunk or something.”

I sit down on the opposite side of the bed, picking at a ragged thread on my jumpsuit while I think. I haven’t spoken to anyone about this — not even Roth.

“I get that too,” I admit. “I get all… dizzy and swirly and dumb.” My cheeks go hot at the memories of lying in Roth’s bed, high out of my mind on him.

When I look up, Selene is giving me that sly look again, as if she can see right through me.

“And how’s the sex?”

“W-What?”

“I’ve been wondering,” Selene continues, as if I haven’t spoken. “How much has Roth told you about how he and I first met?”

“He told me about Watergap,” I say, fumbling to keep up with the change of topic. “He said you were…”

He said that she was one of the scientists.

Now that I’ve met her, the image is troubling. She’s so precise and well spoken, it’s easy to see her as a professional in a swanky lab. She’s sharp enough for it, too. But how can she have taken part in the evil things that Roth described? How can she be one of the people who did…thatto them?

My muddled feelings must show on my face.

“Don’t worry,” Selene says, and winks at me. “I’m the one who busted them out.”

“And you and Weaver were already…?”

“Yep,” she says. “Although I swear, I didn’tonlyhelp him because his dick got me high.”

That shocks a laugh out of me. Selene smiles, then her expression turns serious.

“There are some things you need to know, Rory,” she says, taking one of my hands in hers. “Things that I wish another woman had been around to tell me. It could have saved me a lot of confusion and heartache. So now I’m really glad I can do that for you.”

My heart flips. Please, no… What is she going to tell me? I brace myself for whatever it can be, my jaw tight.

One look at my face makes Selene burst into laughter.

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