Page 28 of Kiss of Fury

One week later

Fury limped into the barn, every muscle aching after being thrown a dozen times. Demon plodded along, but a gleam of triumph glinted in the animal’s eyes. The horniger had an unbroken winning streak. He and Steel had worked with the animal for a month but were no closer to getting him to accept a rider than when they started. Demon had gotten used to people, would eat out of their hands, enjoyed having his coat brushed, would walk around the paddock led by a halter, and even appeared excited to see familiar faces, but the beast drew the line at being ridden.

Anyone who tried found themselves soaring through the air within seconds. The other ranch hands had given up; only he and Steel persisted. They didn’t like to lose. This had become a test of wills, and he refused to be bested by a beast.

Still, he respected the animal. “You’re a formidable opponent, Demon.” He opened the stall gate, and the victor marched in.

“That you, Mike?” a voice called.

“It’s me.”

Dusty emerged from a small office and hocked a wad into a spittoon. “How’d it go?”

“Same as usual.”

“I dunno how you boys handle it,” the lead ranch hand said. “Anybody else would be allbrokeup by now. You humans must come from hardy stock.”

Humans didn’t, but cyborgs did. They were bioengineered to keep on fighting even if critically injured. Altered biochemistry enabled their bodies to repair themselves. But that didn’t mean they didn’t feel pain. They did; they just had the ability to ignore it.

“I’m hurting today.” Fury chuckled.

“Why don’t you take a break and callyermissus? She left a message for you. It’s near quittin’ time anyhow.” Dusty handed him an MCD.

Mike went into the office to contact her. “What’s up?” he asked when she appeared on the screen. Her hair had been clipped into a knot on her head, but damp wisps had escaped. Shadows ringed her tired eyes.

“I need a big favor,” she said.

“Anything,” he replied.

“Can you pick Brody up from school and see that he gets dinner? I won’t be home until late tonight.”

“I’d be happy to,” he agreed, although the prospect of spending several unsupervised hours with the kid seemed daunting. He’d never been alone with the boy before. What if he did or said the wrong thing?

“Thank you. We had twenty patients come in from another settlement. They’re all experiencing extreme intestinal distress.”

“All the same race?”

“All different. Which means each case has to be treated individually.”

Because Verity sometimes discussed her work, he understood that a safe, efficacious treatment with one being could be fatal to another. Physiology and biochemistry varied from one species to the next.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take good care of him.”What am I going to do with the boy?He’d always had Verity as a buffer.

“I know you will.” She smiled.

He lived for her smiles—and for her company, her conversation, and the nights when they lay in bed and talked, even though her closeness tortured him, too. He carried around a permanent woody. Althougheager to take their marriage to the next level, he let her set the pace. But he hoped it picked up soon.

* * * *

“Where’s Mom?”

“She had to work late, so it’s just us tonight,” Fury said.

“How late?”

“I don’t know. There’s an emergency at the infirmary. A big group of aliens came in from another settlement,” he explained. Three unfamiliar conveyances were parked outside the clinic.

“Are they gushing blood everywhere?”

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