Page 12 of Stealing Mercury
She hadn’t bothered to check the others. Stupid. Carnage lay limp on the floor of his cage. She rushed over and reached in to check his pulse.
Diablo snarled and growled. “Don’t. Touch. Him.” He’d followed her as she moved past his cage to reach Carnage. His command turned into a steady snarl, but he didn’t make a grab for her.
Samantha held his gaze. “I’m not going to hurt him.”
Carefully she pressed her fingers to Carnage’s neck. His pulse was steady under her fingers. She remembered Resler saying something about Carnage’s whore. He must have been taunting him about their mate. Did these men really share one woman? He’d saidCarnage’swhore not theirs. Maybe Owens had it wrong. “I think he’s just out. If he seizes or doesn’t come around soon, call me. Okay?”
Diablo quieted. He tipped his head and his ears flicked. The very un-human gesture made her pulse race more than his growls.
She struggled to her feet, legs feeling rubbery, and started for the door.
“How?”
Samantha spun around. Mercury was on his feet, watching her with those stormy eyes. The one word had sounded dragged past his lips.
His gaze flicked toward Carnage and back. “How do we call you?”
Her cheeks felt tight, a smile barely contained. He might be stubborn, but the other two men meant more to him than his pride. “Just say,emergency response.”
“Emergency acknowledged.” The ship’s computer spoke in cold metallic syllables.
“Cancel emergency response.” She went back to his cage and picked up the stun-stick she’d forgotten in her concern for Carnage. “When the ship responds like that, you can talk to it the same as you would talk to a person. It’ll understand and respond. Within limits. Got it?”
Instead of answering, he pushed his hand forward. He pressed his palm high on her chest, warm fingers spreading against her bare flesh. Her shirt had torn at some point. She knew the skin there would have flushed golden during the fight, but it should have returned to normal.
Mercury’s thumb traced her skin, leaving a trail of heat. “The color changed when you were angry,” he grumbled softly.
Samantha gritted her teeth and counted in her head until her breathing slowed. Maybe Resler and Drake hadn’t noticed. A lot had been happening. She brushed his hand away and smoothed the fabric back into place. “I’d explain, but I don’t have time to give you a Cirrillian biology lesson.”
Mercury released her, only to palm her cheek. “You were injured protecting me.”
She knew there’d be a bruise across the cheek where Resler had hit her, but she might get lucky and avoid the shiner. She shrugged. “You returned the favor, so let’s call it even.” She should pull away from his touch, but there was something soothing about the heat of his palm on her cheek. Such gentleness from a man capable of terrible violence.
“No,” he said. “We’re not even. This was not for you to do.”
“I only did what you did for Carnage.”
“Pack protects pack.” Something dark whipped up the storm in his eyes before he pulled away and his gaze slipped to the floor. “You’re not a part of our pack. This wasn’t for you to do.” He wouldn’t meet her eyes. Grief or guilt? “Stay away from us.”
His rejection caused an almost physical pain. Silly. Angry, she bit back her urge to shout, igniting a fresh wave of pain in her cheek.
When she’d calmed, she spoke through the pain. “You’ll find I’m not so great at following orders.”
Chapter Four
TheDove
EarthAllianceBetaSector
2210.149
Before going to treat Resler, Samantha stopped at her quarters to change shirts. If she’d gotten lucky and Drake and Resler hadn’t noticed her Cirrillian coloring, she didn’t want to risk another incident. Once her color had come up, it was always easier to trigger it for a while. The two Roma men had a knack for making her angry.
By the time she got to the cramped med-bay, Drake had the other man stripped down to his briefs and feeling no pain. Eyes glassy, he barely registered her entry, but Drake didn’t miss a thing. His eyes cataloged her from the toes of her boots to the fresh shirt and pearlescent salve she’d spread across her cheek.
“You okay?” His voice sounded oddly soft with none of the usual swagger and cockiness. His sincere concern was the last thing she needed when she wanted to hang onto the rage fueling her.
Samantha nodded to give herself time to swallow and work up enough moisture in her mouth to speak. “I used the med-kit in my room. It’s not bad. How is he?”
