Page 63 of Kidnapped By the Beast
Dr. TOo-loo’s four eyes widened in dismay.
“Oh dear…they used a officer on her, did they?” He leaned closer, his face drawn with sympathy. “Oh, I’m so sorry, my dear.”
Lexi swallowed hard, nodding miserably. She was afraid if she answered him, she would start crying again and this time she wouldn’t be able to stop.
“It’s got some kind of metal nubs on it,” Dr. Brandt said, his voice still choked with fury. “I can see them all around the base and I’m pretty sure they cover the whole fucking thing.”
“Yes, yes.” Dr. TOo-loo shook his head sadly. “I’ve seen this kind of thing before. The nubs on the outside of the device are treated with a substance that forms temporary chemical bonds with the inner skin of the victim. Painful bonds, you understand—designed not to break when the punishment ends so that the device must be torn out. That’s part of the cruelty.”
“Fucking barbaric!” Brandt snarled, his chest heaving. The bed shifted under Lexi as his big body tensed.
T’linga laid a trembling hand on her mate’s arm.
“Isn’t there something we can do to help her?” she pleaded. “Lexi is my friend—it hurts my heart to see her pain.”
Dr. TOo-loo’s expression turned thoughtful.
“You know…actually, yes. I do have something. A kind of solvent I’ve been working on, carried by the very Bacillus Aurum we study. Wait here—I’ll bring it to you at once.”
He hurried from the room, the ends of his white toga flaring behind him. Lexi lay stiffly, listening to her own ragged breathing, every pulse of her body reminding her of the awful thing still inside her.
Please, Gods, please let him have something that works, she prayed. There didn’t seem to be any kind of Emergency Room here—no doctors standing by to help her with this kind of situation.
Her eyes burned with tears. She wanted the damn thing out of her but couldn’t take any more pain. Not now.
Moments later, Dr. TOo-loo returned, a small vial clutched in one purple hand. The liquid inside glowed faintly blue, like liquid moonlight.
“Here we are!” His voice was high and triumphant. “This ought to do the trick.”
Brandt rose from the bed at once and crossed the room to meet him. The two men bent their heads together, speaking in low tones. Their voices rumbled too quietly for Lexi to make out the words, though she strained desperately to hear. Every nerve screamed for relief.
Her heart pounded as she watched the vial of blue liquid change hands.
Please let it help. Please, anything to get this thing out of me!
At last, Brandt straightened and turned back to the bed. His massive body filled her vision, but this time the look in his eyes wasn’t only fury. It was grim determination.
“Thank you,” he rumbled over his shoulder to Dr. TOo-loo and T’linga. “We’ll let you know if we need anything else. But for now, what we most need is privacy.”
“Of course, of course,” Dr. TOo-loo agreed quickly. “Come, T’linga—let’s leave them alone.”
The two of them slipped from the room, the door sliding shut behind them.
Brandt came back to her side, sitting heavily on the bed. He cupped the back of her head in one big palm and showed her the vial. The blue liquid shimmered under the lamplight.
“All right now, sweetheart,” he rumbled, his voice low and reassuring. “I think we have something here that’s really going to help you.”
Lexi’s eyes widened. Relief surged through her chest so fast she almost sobbed.
“Oh thank God,” she whispered, reaching for it with a trembling hand.
But instead of pouring it on her or pressing it to her lips, Brandt uncorked the vial—and lifted it to his own mouth.
Lexi froze, her hand suspended in the air, as she watched him tip back his head…and drink the glowing blue liquid down in three long swallows.
33
BRANDT
