Dealers' Choice - Susan Hayes Page 0,2
galaxy. She’d seen the scars left from some of the darkest acts any sentient being was capable of. Then, she’d come to the Drift and discovered the work of the Gray Men.
She despised that name. Gray indicated there was something morally nebulous about the group and their actions. There wasn’t. The secretive cabal was as black as the shadows they hid in. Five of their victims were now her patients, including the two males filing into the sim-pod behind her. The door slid shut with a near-silent hiss, leaving the three of them alone in a brightly lit, white-walled room that felt far smaller than it had been when she’d shared it with Tianna.
She turned to face the twins. They stood side-by-side, forming a tall, brooding wall of pure muscle, one wearing a gray shirt, the other, navy blue.
As always, part of her was tempted to reach out and touch them. It was an impulse she would not give into. She couldn’t. Not so long as they were her patients. And while Victor was moving forward with his recovery, something held Ward back. Even now, she could sense the tension in him, the way his emotions seethed like a storm trapped inside a force field. Her job was to calm that storm before containment failed, and her instincts told her she was running out of time. “I should start off by admitting this is a simple program. To protect your privacy, I learned how to do the coding myself.”
Vic cocked a brow. “You taught yourself how to design sims just for us?”
“For a few of my patients, yes.”
“So, what is it, exactly?” Ward asked.
“In your case, it’s a digital avatar of someone who brought you both a lot of pain. Instead of talking to me about your feelings concerning this person, I thought it might be better if you could talk to them directly.”
Both males froze. It was an eerie thing to witness because cyborgs became still in a way no other being could. Vic eventually exhaled and raked a hand through his hair, leaving it rumpled. “You didn’t tell us that part.”
“But I did tell you this would be challenging.”
“You want us to talk to an avatar of her.” Ward’s tone on the last word was cold enough to freeze the surface of a star.
“I’d like you to consider it. For today, all I ask is that you stay while I activate the program. You don’t need to interact with her at all.”
She’d been prepared for resistance, even anger. But she’d never considered Ward’s next move.
He closed the distance between them in a heartbeat, using the speed all of his kind had. He raised his hand, letting his fingers hover over a lock of her hair without quite touching. “If I do this, I want something from you.”
The words sent a thrill down her spine. Not of fear. She wasn’t afraid of either of them. They’d never hurt her. Despite the darkness and violence in their souls, they weren’t like that. “That’s not how this works. This isn’t a negotiation. You know that.”
He twined a strand of her hair around his finger. “I also know I’d rather suck vacuum than chat with the bitch who used us as her personal playthings for years. So, if I’m doing this, I’d like some incentive.”
“What is it you want?”
He released her hair and raised his gaze to hers. “Two things.”
“I’m listening.”
“Wear your hair down the next time we see each other.”
She nodded noncommittedly. “And the other?”
“Go out to dinner with us.”
That was not what she’d expected from him. Vic had tried to ask her out a few times, but never Ward.
Vic spoke before she could. “Wolf? What the fraxx are you doing?”
“Moving forward. That’s what we’re supposed to be doing, right?” He didn’t take his eyes off her. “Dinner. Hair down. Deal?”
“I don’t date my patients. You know that.”
He smiled. It was barely a flicker, but for one brief second, she saw past the mask to the man she was trying to help him rediscover. No sardonic comment, no over-the-top humor. Just a genuine smile. Right then, she knew she’d agree to his request. She’d do whatever it took to bring these two back from the brink of the abyss.
“We know your rules. But that means if we’re ever going to get you out on a real date, we need to get our shit together.”
“You’re telling me that going out to dinner with you two wouldn’t be a real date?”
Victor stepped up