Page 64 of The Devil's Embrace

Paranoia swept through Calix now as well. The jumble of words pouring from the orderly’s mouth brought forth old emotions and fears he would much rather stay buried. The guilt was there as well, because right now Bruce’s cold body was lying on a slab, while the three of them were up here still breathing.

It should be them on that slab.

Should be Rhett.

Should be Cal.

Hell, should be Titus if what Rhett was saying had even a modicum of truth to it.

Rhett took a step to the side, as though he’d need more room to pull the trigger. It was foolish and made no sense, but then again, nothing he’d been saying this entire time did.

Calix reacted faster, pulling the trigger on his blaster once before turning the weapon on Titus.

The first bullet went straight through Rhett’s head and out the other side, pinging into the wall. The body stood there for a moment, wavering on its feet before toppling to the ground in a heap.

“Are you planning on shooting me next, Detective?” Titus asked, still as calm as he’d been with the other gun pointed at him.

“Cal?!” Troya’s voice came through the door, followed by banging. “Calix?! Open the damn door! Cal?!”

“Well?” Titus cocked his head. “Now’s your chance, I assure you, you won’t get another.”

“Chance?”

“Don’t play dumb. We’re past that point.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Rhett did.”

“Rhett was clearly insane.”

“Yet you believe him?”

“I never said that.”

“If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be aiming a gun at me, Detective.” Titus stood there, poised and graceful, as though in total control of the situation.

There was something comforting in that, something that made Cal want to take to his lead. Made him want to follow.

“Did you know I was broken?” he found himself asking. “Back then?”

“Yes.” There was no hesitation, no need to think his answer over. Just short and simple.

Cal exhaled. “How?”

“I saw the footage, remember? You were aroused when you stepped out of the car to check on Nero Quentin. Some would call that an abnormal reaction to having just hit someone with a vehicle.”

“Some?” he licked his lips. “But not you?”

“Calix, it was a misattribution of desire. It’s as simple as that and actually rather common. The fear and adrenaline you felt when you hit Nero increased your heart rate and your blood pressure, which in turn increased blood flow to your genitals.”

Cal grimaced at that term, but the director wasn’t done.

“For someone like you, someone who’d already experienced a blending of pain, fear, and pleasure, it’s not surprising your body reacted that way. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. In the eyes of society, it might not be considerednormal, but in the eyes of science…Well, that’s a separate matter.”

Calix searched his gaze, seeking out any signs of change when he asked, “Was it you? Did you get rid of the tape?”

He’d always thought it was Bruce but…The chief had never mentioned noticing he’d been hard in that video. Honestly, Cal was a bit surprised Titus had picked up on it. It wasn’t that noticeable, which was why he’d believed Bruce hadn’t seen. Why he hadn’t been worried about it all this time.

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