Page 31 of Equalizer
The wait gave Calvin several moments to sit with his own reaction, trying to make sense of it.
If I didn’t know what we know, I can understand their excitement. It looks like a miracle. So many people lose fingers, hands, feet, and legs in the mills and mines. Being able to heal or replace them would be the difference between poverty and being able to provide for the family.
But how long before the people providing parts aren’t satisfied to make do with whatever happens to be available? What’s to keep rich people from ordering their parts to match the rest of their body? What then?
Calvin didn’t need to be psychic to predict what would happen—hired assassins killing people who matched a shopping list for wealthy patients in need of replacements.
“I need time to think,” Louisa admitted when they reached the street. “Let’s have dinner tomorrow and discuss. Assuming any of us can get sleep after seeing that.”
Calvin hailed a carriage for Louisa while Owen got one to take them back to the train station. The driver couldn’t hear their conversation since he sat outside on a bench, but Owen still seemed unusually reserved.
“What did you think?” Calvin prodded, beginning to worry about his partner. He couldn’t shake the sense that something had happened earlier in the day that bothered Owen, something the other man wasn’t ready to talk about.
“It was every bit the abomination we expected,” Owen replied with an edge to his voice. “Although the audience certainly didn’t see it that way.”
“If the process actually gets put into practice, I wonder what the Church will make of it,” Calvin said. “There are some people who worry that bodies that aren’t intact can’t rise to meet the call of the Lord.”
“Screw that,” Owen replied. “What about all the soldiers who were injured doing their duty? Or the workers who got hurt on the job? What kind of God would keep someone from paradise because of that?”
Calvin raised his hands, palm out, in mock surrender. “I don’t believe that. I just said thatsome peopledo.”
The ghost of a smile touched Owen’s lips but didn’t reach his eyes. “Sorry.”
“I get the feeling that something happened today, something that’s bothering you a lot,” Calvin said quietly. “Whatever it is, whenever you feel like talking, I’m here for you. I won’t judge. I just want you to be okay.”
Owen risked giving Calvin’s hand a squeeze in the darkness. “Thank you. I just had a hard day. That’s all. I promise.”
Calvin believed him but thought he still saw something unresolved in his lover’s eyes. “Let’s go home. I can think of several ways to take your mind off your worries.”
Winston had a tray of shortbread and hot chocolate ready for them when they arrived at the train. He listened silently as Calvin and Owen took turns recapping what they had seen and their impressions.
“We’re meeting Louisa for dinner tomorrow night to compare notes once we’ve had a chance to let our impressions settle,” Calvin updated Winston. “Although I can’t quite picture the showman we saw tonight being the mastermind behind a resurrectionist scheme.”
Owen shook his head. “He wouldn’t have to be involved or even know about the scheme. Raising the concept for theaudience and breaking down revulsion by dangling possibilities works in the favor of the people who are stealing the bodies.”
“Everyone wants to live forever,” Calvin said with a sigh. “Desperate people will pay any price and look away to avoid seeing the harm done. I hate to think of a world where some people never have to get old, and other folks become spare parts.”
“This all sounds most disturbing,” Winston agreed. “Helping a person recover from losing a limb could be a blessing, with proper guidelines. Creating an army of soldiers who never die is something entirely different.”
Calvin shuddered. “Yeah, that occurred to me. Not the kind of future I’d like to live in.”
He and Owen often played cards before bedtime, but tonight they were both too jittery to focus. They took their leave of Winston early, retiring to their separate cabins to prepare for bed.
Soon, Owen slipped into Calvin’s cabin, and Calvin folded him into his arms. “I don’t know what’s on your mind—and you can tell me when you’re ready—but let me make you feel good.”
Owen answered with a hungry kiss full of longing and promise. They walked backward toward the bed and fell together, shedding pajamas on the way.
“How do you want it?” Calvin murmured, reaching down to stroke Owen hard.
“Just want to feel you,” Owen replied, peppering Calvin’s neck with kisses. “Feel you everywhere. Need to know I’m yours.”
“Always,” Calvin promised. “Never doubt that. I’m not going anywhere without you.”
In response, Owen kissed him again, and Calvin picked up an underlying desperation that was new. Something had clearlyaffected his lover, and while Calvin wanted to know so he could set things right, he knew Owen would tell him in his own time.
Their touches veered between claiming and tender, possessive and gentle. Owen’s hands slid across Calvin’s chest and down his sides and thighs as if exploring his body for the first time. Calvin chanced a firm but not rough touch, owning and confirming their connection. He added some oil, and they rutted against one another, eager for release.
Calvin made sure that Owen came first. “I’ve got you,” Calvin whispered. “Trust me and let go.”
