Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 140780 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 704(@200wpm)___ 563(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140780 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 704(@200wpm)___ 563(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
There had to be a logical explanation why we affected each other so much. Why she made my entire system turn haywire with a single look.
The air grew so thick with unspoken things, I struggled to breathe.
A throat cleared loudly as one of the doctors interrupted our staring competition. “In that case, we’ll get going then.”
My gaze snapped to the eldest doctor. “Not yet, you’re not. You’re not dismissed.”
“Listen here, you can’t just—”
“I can and I am.” Letting go of Whisper’s ear, I crossed my arms. “I have one more task before you can leave.”
“Look, I think we’ve been extremely accommodating,” Harry muttered. “We’re leaving—”
“Remove these cuffs from my wrists.” I held up my arms and the silver bondage trapping me. “And yank this torture device out of my heart.” I tapped the vitalsync core. “Do that and I won’t just let you leave, I’ll ensure you’ll never have to work again if you don’t want to.”
“What the hell does that mean?” Harry asked.
“It means get these fucking things out of me and I’ll give you whatever you want.”
Chapter Fourteen
I LAY BACK DOWN ON THE DESK—trying to be obedient so they would do what I asked. It wasn’t comfortable. I would’ve preferred being unconscious again but...I wouldn’t let them out of this room unless they did what I commanded.
Whisper would be only too happy to provide the threats if they tried to be difficult.
Arching up on my elbows, I looked at the two doctors standing stiff and awkward by the door.
“Do it,” I hissed, interrupting the stagnant silence. “Remove them and you can go.”
With a heavy sigh, Harry and Roger shared a glance then moved to flank me on the desk.
“Lie down,” Roger ordered.
Having men this close to me. Men towering over me like they had when they’d inserted the very thing I wanted them to take out.
Fuck, it was hard.
Every part of me wanted to slaughter them, but...I gritted my teeth and lay back.
Grabbing my wrists, each doctor inspected a cuff, manipulating my arms almost in synchronisation. Wordlessly, they turned my palms up and down, studying the metal.
“Why do you have vascular access ports?” Harry finally asked. “Why one on each wrist? Why not in the usual place on the chest?”
Before I could reply—not that I had any intention of doing so—Harry pressed along the edge of the cuff. The skin had long since turned into scar tissue. His touch sent nasty vibrations right to my bones.
I fought the urge to kill him.
“You were bled regularly?”
I held his stare. “Are you sure you want to know?”
“Permanent shunts like this can sometimes become fused with the vein itself.” Roger returned my hand to the desk. “Without imaging, haemostatic gel, or a surgical team...” He straightened as if fortifying himself to give bad news. “If we tried to remove them like this—in a room not equipped and with no emergency gear on hand—we could run the risk of rupturing.”
“So?”
“So?” Harry scoffed. “You’d bleed out in under a minute.”
“Wait.” Rook sucked in a breath. “It’s that dangerous?”
“I don’t care,” I hissed. “Just get it over with.”
“Your haemoglobin levels don’t match your blood volume,” Roger said, frowning at my arm. “You can’t afford to lose any more—”
“I’m not arguing with you.” My teeth ground together. “I’ll ask nicely one last time, then the panther will ask instead.”
Whisper helpfully exposed his fangs with a rabid snarl.
The two doctors tensed but Harry shrugged. “Hey, it’s your funeral. I’ll agree to remove the ports. But that thing in your chest? I’m not touching it.”
I went deathly still. “You don’t have a choice. That’s the most important part.”
“Anything dealing with the heart must be done in a controlled, sterile environment where we can monitor every vital you have,” Roger said, keeping a careful eye on Whisper. “We’re not refusing to be awkward. It would genuinely be a life-threatening procedure, and your chances of survival would be negligible.”
“Whisper—”
Whisper snarled and strode forward.
Roger rushed, “We don’t have ventilators to work your lungs while you’re under general anaesthesia. We don’t have imaging. We don’t have the necessary tools. It’s just not possible. Regardless of whether you order the cat to eat us alive or not.”
“I don’t think you understand. This is non-negotiable. I need it out of me. I need my heart back.”
Roger shifted closer, looming over me. “Then I might as well just kill you now and save us the stress of trying.”
Whisper hissed and stalked toward him.
I didn’t call him off.
“Fine.” Roger sagged. “Fine, alright? Tell that bloody beast not to bite me.” He pointed at the vitalsync core and the raw, angry skin around it. “May I?”
Nodding, I stared straight at the ceiling as Roger leaned closer.
My skin crawled as he inspected it from all angles, touching the green and red lights that were currently off, making me flinch as he prodded at the inflamed flesh that had never accepted the implant.