Was that a Urilqii message?
“Indeed,” said Doctor David. Amusement filled his tone.
“Welcome to our mind-speak.”
“They’re reading my mind?” Wasn’t anything sacred?
“You’re broadcasting,” said David. “So, of course we would respond to your request.”
“That’s impossible.” In fact, it was unbelievable.
The doctor shook his head.
“No, Mr. Sinclair,” he said, a gentle correction in his tone.
::It’s who we are. It’s what we were born to be.::
Liam flinched away from the voice in his head. He couldn’t accept this. Hell, he flat-out refused to accept this.
“But regardless, we are here.” David nodded, as if agreeing with some conversational point Liam wasn’t privy to.
“Furthermore, your strength is amazing, especially if we consider your newness to the link. Then again, you’ve been attached to Mike for months. The link has had time to mature and grow in strength.”
“Mike?” That fucktard! “What does he have to do with this?”
“Ah.” Another gentle smile. “Speculation is that your and Mike’s interaction that summer evening switched on the gene and connected the two of you—”
“What?”
The doctor flinched. Liam grabbed hold of himself, or at least he tried to. The threads of his frayed control flickered and danced in his vision. Or was that something to do with the mind-speak?
“I’ll handle this, Doctor.”
Liam jerked his head up from his hands. Mike stood in the doorway, his voice like campfire smoke on a spring night. “It’s Jace, Doctor. :: Will you see to him? The pain in his head has returned, as has the vomiting.::
Liam’s heart leapt with delight—until he realized it wasn’t Mike but Steve, his twin. Disappointment squashed the momentary pleasure as effectively as a boot onto an ant. Wait…how did he know it was Steve and not Mike? But he did. He just knew.
Ah, jeez, the aforementioned “full immersion.”
Steve had forecast correctly. It wasn’t hard to individually recognize those two now that he’d, apparently, been assimilated.
Yeah, resistance was futile. Had he even had a chance to resist?
The doctor quit the room, and Steve’s attention switched to him.
::Just a kiss?::
The question sounded like a box of tumbling rocks. And the answer was no. Liam’d been in all the way. Hell, he’d even chased the guy onto and all over this military base. Oh, shit! The entire cabal knows what I’ve done!
::It’s a beautiful blend, :: said someone with warm, plummy tones.
Liam flapped a hand madly beside his head, in a frightened attempt to dislodge the bee inside his brain. Steve huffed a chuckle, and Liam delivered a frown, just in case the guy didn’t realize how unsettled he was.
Dimples tweaked the sides of Steve’s face.
Okay, yeah, he probably did know how Liam felt. “Ah, jeez…”
A wave of amusement washed across Liam. His skin tingled when he realized it didn’t originate with him. He stared at Steve.
The light twinge of pain in his eyes alerted Liam to his bug-eyed expression.
Steve crossed the floor over to the bed. He reached out his hand, took a fistful of blanket across Liam’s feet, and pulled. The cloth slid away, once again revealing his nakedness, before Liam realized his intent.
“The fuck?” His voice was an ignominious squeak. It was no wonder Steve didn’t seem impressed by the protest.
Instead of an apology, Steve said, “Up.”
“What?”
“Get up. Let’s go.”
“Uhhhh…where?”
Steve cocked his head and leveled a narrow-eyed gaze at Liam.
“I thought you wanted to get into Mike’s face,” he said. “Did you change your mind?”
::Hell no!:: Liam bounced his ass across the bed and got to his feet. That goddamned Mike is about to get an earful, he swore to himself. Momma Sinclair had raised no coward. But wait… He swept the bed, the room, his memory. Nothing.
“Where’re my clothes?”
Steve stifled a laugh. His gaze flicked to the blanket and Liam’s body a couple of times. He crossed his brawny arms over his chest and planted his feet more firmly on the floor A suspicion crossed Liam’s mind. “You’re kidding, right?”
“Or did you want to wait for Doctor David to sign off on your release? I’m fairly certain that won’t be happening anytime soon.”
Steve didn’t pause for a reply. “I can wait.”
What the hell. He wasn’t a child of Clan Sinclair for nothing.
Liam yanked up the blanket, folded it into a long length, and went to work.
“You know,” he said, as he wrapped his body, kilt-style, “I’m not sure I can control that mind-speak thing. Maybe I’ll be shouting all the time? Controlling my thoughts isn’t something I’m used to.”
“You’ll manage it,” said Steve. “You learned how to control your farts, didn’t you?”
Liam barked a laugh. “Yeah, I guess I did.”
The pillowcase made for a tight but usable belt. Good thing I’m not a large guy. Finally, he was ready.
“Okay, let’s go, but I don’t think I need an escort. I’m sure I can manage.”
Steve moved to the threshold. He gave an absent answer as he peeked into the corridor. “You’ll need a Urilqii to open the infirmary’s outside door.”
“Oh.” Uncertainty swept him, and this time is was his.
Steve made eye contact over his shoulder, waved with his hand, and slipped out of the room. Liam followed into the corridor, trying hard to look more confident than he felt. They hadn’t taken more than five steps when a blast of temper filled his awareness.
::Get him back here, Sergeant!::
::I said I’d handle this.::
The box-of-rocks voice seemed to be Steve’s. The angry one was probably the doctor’s. Liam imagined himself a small, tiny mouse and tucked himself into the shadow Steve cast on the floor.
They passed doors and desks. The outside lights warmed and brightened as they traveled toward it.
Anger sizzled. ::He’s not cleared to leave the infirmary.::
::He’ll be with Top, at least for a time. After that, the cabal will watch him.::
At a corridor junction, Steve looked both ways, then turned right. His stride lengthened. Liam trotted to keep up, bare feet
