Page 67 of Tribute
“That’s an order.”
He struggled to sit up on his pillows. “I am resigning from the fucking military.”
“You can do that as soon as you are out of the program. To get out of the program, you have to put up with me.”
“Fuck you.”
“That can be arranged.” Kai nodded and walked over to the door. “You can’t get out of this apartment, but you are free to move around inside. I’ll be in the kitchen if you change your mind and want something to eat.”
Aled ignored him and closed his eyes. Minutes ticked by, and he couldn’t find that peace anymore, couldn’t reclaim the floating silence ofUngrichspace because bloody Kai Mexr . . .
He shoved off the blankets and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Gods, he felt so weak, and his body looked wasted. All the piercings had been removed, and he felt curiously bare without the hardware. Pushing down on the soles of his feet, he managed to stand and stumble toward the door.
To his surprise it opened, giving him a glimpse of an apartment that contained little except black couches, a huge vidscreen, and a couple of fancy rugs. The large windows offered a view over what appeared to be a lake. It was all so normal that he struggled to believe it.
The smell of meat rose from the kitchen, and he lurched forward, using the couch and chairs to help him on his way. He leaned on the countertop that divided the kitchen from the table by the window. Kai looked over his shoulder.
“Eating takes a while to get used to again. There are protein shakes in the refrigerator you can just dump in a glass and drink.”
Rage bubbled in his chest, growing hotter and bigger and stealing his breath as he glared at Kai’s back. How dare the fucker stand there making conversation like nothing had happened? How fuckingdarehe be so untouched by everything he’d done?
Aled kept moving closer, his focus on one thing and one thing only. As if sensing danger, Kai looked up again and somehow managed to dodge to his left as Aled grabbed the knife that layon the chopping board, and tried to stab him. Aled was brought down with a controlled energy that made him shake with fury and buck to get Kai off him.
“Drop the knife, Price.” Kai’s calm voice in his ear. “I’m not your enemy.”
“Fuck you, fuck you, just . . .”
Kai slammed his wrist against the tile floor, and the knife slipped out of his hand. “It’s going to be okay. I promise you.”
“You fucking betrayed me. Youallfucking betrayed me.”
“May I remind you that you volunteered?”
He hated the calm reasonableness of Kai’s tone. “Not for that! Not to be used! I thought—” He’d imagined himself fighting heroically in the service of his planet. He was a fucking delusional fool.
“I tried to give you the necessary skill set to survive.”
“You are a liar. You’re a fuckingcollaborator.”
Kai’s grip tightened, and for a moment, vicious pleasure flooded through Aled at the thought of violence.
Kai took a deep, slow breath and relaxed his hold. “I did what I could to make sure you survived an impossible situation.”
“What the fuck do you know?” Aled whispered.
“I know. I’ve been there twice, remember?” Kai stroked his hair. “I know you hate me. That’s okay, but I’m not going to let you kill me. You need me. If I go down, your next option is Palk.”
“Good, I’ll fucking kill him too. Fucking military.”
“Now that I’d pay to see, but as I’d have to be dead before I let you go anywhere near Palk, it’s not going to happen.”
Kai was still stroking him, and as his rage abated, he wanted to cry. That wasn’t acceptable. He’d never cried in front of Kai and he never would.
“Let me up.”
“Sure.”
Kai released him. It took him a long time to get off the floor. He was still too weak to even consider a second attack, and Kai was ready for him now. He knew him well enough to sense that. By the time he was vertical, Kai had placed a cold nutrition box on the countertop and returned to his cooking.
