Dealers' Choice - Susan Hayes Page 0,63

words were mushy as she tried to talk past her split and swollen lips.

“How long have you been awake?” he started toward her, but Caldwell held up a hand.

“Hold on just a few seconds more, scans are almost complete.”

Vic stopped, then growled in frustration. “Make it fast.”

“I have a cyborg and a Torski as teammates and my commander is named after a dog. Do you really think growling at me is going to work? Dr. Virness, can you confirm what you said before? That Vivian was not on board?”

“I’m pretty sure. The woman I saw on the vid-screen in the shuttle had some odd expressions and movements that I didn’t see in her projection. I wondered about that, but it didn’t sink in until now. That wasn’t a hologram of her, it was a digital avatar. She wasn’t being projected in from somewhere else, she was actually there, but as a digital construct. The Grays have all sorts of tech, right? They could do that? Make an avatar of herself so she could…well, sort of be two places at once?”

Vic caught the dark look that passed between the three Nova Force crew. Fraxx, the Grays did have that kind of tech. Caldwell nodded the all-clear, and Vic went to stand at her side. He rested a hand on her good shoulder and kissed her gently, making sure to avoid the bumps and bruises on her face. “You can tell us more about that later. All I care about right now is how you’re doing.”

“I’m fine. Well, mostly. But the medic can fix me up, right…?” Xori stared up at Caldwell. “I’m sorry. I have no idea who you are.”

The lieutenant gave her a friendly smile and winked at her. “I’m Lieutenant Crispin Charles Caldwell the 15th. But you can call me Trip.”

Vic growled again and crowded in closer to Xori. “Are you in pain? Do you want more pain-blockers?” He was pretty sure they were questions the medic should be asking, but he didn’t like the idea of the overly charming lieutenant saying anything to his female.

“Pain’s there, but it’s not going to kill me.” She touched her lip and frowned. “I remember getting shot, but why does my face hurt?”

“Because you took a round to the shoulder and landed face-first on the deck.”

“You have a split lip, a chipped tooth, a broken nose, some contusions, and I see they implanted you with one of their chips. I’ve got a field up to block any signals and we’ll have that out of you soon.” Caldwell looked over at Vic. “Nice job with the dressing on her shoulder. Nothing here we can’t fix.”

“I’m sorry, blossom.”

She frowned at him. “For what?”

“You got hurt because I wasn’t there.”

She huffed. “Don’t do that. This isn’t your fault. None of it is. I got kidnapped because the Grays are power-hungry gurani. I got shot because I choose to make myself a target.”

“But I should have—”

She raised her one good hand to stop him talking. “You should have what? Taken all my choices away from me? Forced me to comply with how you wanted things to go? Because that’s what the Grays do, and you’re not like them. You’re one of the good guys.” Her hand fell back to her side like she was too tired to hold it up anymore.

“Okay. I think that’s enough talking. I need to put you under so I can fix your shoulder and get that chip out of your neck. You ready, Dr. Virness?” Caldwell asked.

“One more question first, please. Where’s Wolf? Is he alright?”

“We’re both fine. He’s debriefing the others. He’ll be here soon.”

“Good.” Her eyes fluttered closed. “Alright. I’m ready.”

“See you soon, blossom.”

The medic moved to her side, injecting her with something that made her relax with a soft sigh that nearly tore his heart out of his chest.

“She’s our everything,” he told Caldwell as he reclaimed his spot by the wall.

The blond man nodded. “I’ll have her patched up and resting comfortably before we make it back to Astek. A day or so in the med-center there, and then you can take her home. Now, I need you both to step outside, please. And Nyx, you can take Eric with you, but he needs rest, okay?”

“Yes sir. Come on, Magi. Lets get your sexy, slightly singed ass back to our quarters.”

Vic followed them out into the corridor, then connected to Ward. “She’s going into surgery now. Their medic says she’s going to be fine.”

“I hate not being