Page 17 of The Brotherhood

Sinrik put the phone back to his ear, staring at her as she lay back on the bed. “What do you mean, you think you’re hungry?” he demanded. “I’m confused how you can bethispregnant and not know something that simple.”

“I need… my husband,” she gasped, her legs moving restlessly. “He needs him.”

“He who?” Sinrik turned with his phone. “I need a medical transport on level four immediately.”

“The baby,” she whispered, confusing him.

“I’m sending you in for lab work,” he ordered, wrangling his anger. “Why would you request to come here and risk your life, your baby’s life? What kind of love does that? Surely not a mother’s love or even a wife’s love. Your husband isn’t much of a husband if he thinks this is love either.”

“I understand your anger. And… my husband would agree. You both share the same ignorance.”

He snapped a glare at her. “Donotpatronize me. You don’t know me, nor do you understand me and I can one thousand percent assure you that I am nothing like your husband. Your love equations are at the very least skewed to hell and at the very most entirely false.”

“They aren’t,” she assured back, the words delicate wisps of silk.

“How are you doing that?” he said, finally realizing it. “Your voice and your words, they have an energy.Areyou an upgrade?”

She lolled her head, fixing her confused gray eyes on him and he realized it wasn’t just her words, it was every bit of her, she was saturated with whatever was wrong with her. “Upgrade?”

“Have you received any artificial intelligence upgrades?” he reiterated, realizing his patience was razor thin while a part of him required he tread carefully.

“I…” Her head shook with a narrowed gaze. “No.”

He realized she might not know that answer if she’d belonged to any of the alphabet agencies before he’d destroyed them.

The medical team arrived, and two soldiers entered. Sinrik stood between them and her, the odd need to shield her growing by the second. “I’ll carry her to the transport,” he informed, turning and carefully working his hands under his instantly protesting prisoner.

“What are you… I don’t need carrying, I can walk,” she cried, wrapping her arms around his neck when he ignored her. “This is silly and so very unnecessary,” she went on even as his own protests raged in his muscles.

At the med-bed, setting her on it became an all-out war. He could easily carry her to the lab on the floor above, because despite her protests, the tremble in her body demanded him and no other, unless they had a death wish.

She was surely infected with something and whatever it was affected him.

He won the war and lowered her to the bed, but he lost the next one that required he accompany the two soldiers to the elevator, his hand refusing to leave the transport.

He pulled his phone out, calling Med Lab One. “I need Morgue’s results sent to my phone immediately. I also want the digital footage report from his last mission and all relevant information attached.”

He hung up as she turned on her side. The light moan that escaped her registered as a threat. Not to him, to her. And the fact that he wanted to crush it meant whatever she possessed or whatever possessed her was the reason for it.

CHAPTER 5

Bat Baby

Beth struggled to stay awake as they moved her to a medical room. Would they have the right equipment here? And where exactly was here? It was dark. No windows. Were they underground?

She focused her eyes on her surprising host who remained right next to the bed. This so-called monster of mayhem was turning out to be as ferocious as a storm in a teacup. She sensed zero threat in him. So far. With her. She didn’t doubt he had a dark side. Everything about him promised it was right there, just around the bend. His appearance alone was terrifying enough. Zero hair halfway up his head with the dark brown remnants slicked back tight, skin filled with ink. He reminded her of the soldier who’d brought her in. Morgue. The other nice monster. Both were built for wars fought with bare hands and bared teeth. Both seemed to hail from the same tattoo parlor where all the ink was used to doodle upon every inch of skin to be found. The point where it disappeared under clothes implied a continuation of the same strategic mess. Maybe the mark of chaos? Messy mayhem?

She remembered the look in Morgue’s eyes when she told him to take her. The hard, methodical glint had shifted, and his blue gaze seemed to see as if for the first time.

‘As you wish.’

That was all he’d said.

Was she a monster whisperer now? That fit with the rest of the crazy symptoms she’d been having. She was literally having hunger pains, not just pangs. And she was equally hungry for food and Bishop. No, Bishop, then food. Bishop, his bite, and his glorious mind blowing, soul slaying sex. Oh God, he was likely losing his mind right now. She needed to find a way to tell him she was safe and unharmed and explain why she did the stupid thing she did. She hadn’t planned any of it. It just happened. Her mouth opened and she’d said all those things.

She really needed to just tell this man everything. And what was she supposed to call him? Master? Surely not Mayhem. She returned to the reason shesensedshe was there. To teach him something about love. What, exactly? The faster she did that, the sooner she could leave. Before that, she needed to figure out how to quit using that crazy persuasion thing. It was forcing odd connections with everybody. And this guy didn’t want any kind of connections at all judging by his open scorn toward love as a whole.

She was a silly girl with the frilly love ideas thinking she can save the world.

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