Page 23 of Tempting Jupiter
A shock wave rippled through the hull. Jupiter stretched an arm across her to keep her from falling to the floor.
“What was that?” Sen crouched in the hallway, ready to defend them.
Feeona patted Jupiter’s hand where it had slid up to grasp her uninjured shoulder. “That was the nearest of the escape-pods disconnecting and engaging its thrust engine.”
Jupiter frowned. Her words made little sense to him. “Escape-pods?”
“Yes.” She nodded slowly. “Small vessels the crew can use to leave the ship in emergencies.”
“The small rooms your device opened,” Sen said. “Those were escape-pods?”
“Three of them,” she answered. “This ship has dozens. Standard safety feature. We need Fitz to believe we got off the ship. It’s the only way they’ll stop looking long enough for us to find a better place to hide.”
She pulled against Jupiter’s restraining hand and this time he decided they’d played out this battle for dominance long enough. He slipped an arm under her knees and one under her shoulders. She hugged her injured arm close to her chest as he lifted her. She was trembling, but her free arm curled over his shoulder. Jupiter chuffed his approval.
When Sen looked to him for direction, Jupiter considered what needed to be done. “Clean-up anything that could give away that we’re here then follow.”
Jupiter carried her deeper into the ship past the many rooms that lined the hallway. At the end of the corridor a spiraling ramp led to the lower decks. They went one level down and stopped when the woman moaned in pain.
Jupiter growled in the back of his throat. “You need medical care.”
Lips pressed together, tight and bloodless, she nodded. “There might be a med-bay. Most likely place is this level.”
He hadn’t been in a med-bay, but it had to be something like the medical center in the arena. He’d recognize it.
Sen had followed them down the stairs. He slipped past and started down the corridor, opening doors as he went.
Jupiter followed, cradling Fee close.
“Here,” Sen said, as he stepped aside.
Jupiter entered the small room that looked much as he expected. Familiar instruments were neatly stored in purpose-made bins that attached to the walls and ceiling. He strode to the med-bed in the center of the room and started to put Fee down.
“No, wait,” she protested. “Over on the bench.”
He hesitated. A molded shelf, barely suitable for seating, extended across one short wall. It had to be a joke. “I assure you the examining table will be uncomfortable enough to suit you.”
“Gee, thanks.” Her attempt at a grin did little to hide the strain tightening her features. “Sweet of you to think about that for me, but the supplies I need are over there and I’ll be able to find what I need more quickly than I can tell you.”
Not sure of the wisdom of his choice he put her down where she wanted, near the compartment-covered wall. She ran her fingers from label to label as she read. “Here.” She opened a shallow drawer. She pulled out a hypo-injector then shoved the drawer shut, moving on to the next set of compartments. Another drawer yielded rows of tiny injection cubes.
With shaking hands, she dropped the tiny cube into his palm. “Load this one.”
His fingers fumbled and Sen came in and took it from him.
The woman retrieved a pre-filled spray from another drawer. “This is it.”
“You need more than pain meds and quick patching,” Jupiter argued. “The burned flesh could become infected, if it’s not removed and it will scar if it isn’t stitched.”
The Arena Dogs were allowed to scar because Roma wanted them to look tough, not because the Dogs wanted it that way.
Her lips lifted weakly and she patted his cheek with her good hand. “You sureyou’renot a medic?”
“It is as you say. I have had need of much medical care.” His voice came out softer than he intended. She was growing shakier, and he could no longer find the spirit to banter with her as if nothing were wrong.
“The injector isn’t a pain med, it’ll speed up the healing. The spray will debride the burn. After the spray, you’ll need to use the silver nozzle built into the overhead to neutralize the enzymes and clean away anything still in the wound.” She gripped at his shoulder, ready to be lifted back into his arms. “I’m not worried about sutures or scarring. I just need you to do the nozzle part and then slap a bandage over it. You can do that, right? I expect to be unconscious pretty quick after the spray.”
As he carried her to the med-bed, he couldn’t look away from her eyes. The sparkle of mischief that normally resided there had faded, but they still captivated him. Her inner strength impressed him. Her obvious faith that he would take care of her when she lost consciousness amazed and humbled him. He’d done nothing to earn her trust.
