Galilee Rising(72)

He pauses, and then raises an eyebrow. "Who says I haven't? Fucked him, that is. It was just the two of us for many years. Many cold, lonely nights in that compound with only each other for comfort."

His grin grows as the revulsion on my face intensifies. "You're lying," I say.

"Don't you wish I was," he says. "No, you don't have a sibling, let alone a twin, so you wouldn't understand. Since birth you have a built in friend and built in competitor all through life. A comfort and a nightmare. And there are times you feel like one person. You're both in your own microcosm, a hostage to one another, and yes, there's no room for anyone else. And try as you might, you cannot be happy without them. And you hate them for it. But how can you hate someone you love so much?"

"I don't know," I say.

"Because you can't know, so please refrain from judging and commenting on concepts you know nothing of," he says with an undercurrent of anger. Cain's quiet for a few tense seconds as he studies me. When his shoulders relax, I know I've passed his test. "No, my brother could never love you. You're far too low-brow. Uma had class. She was bright. Beautiful. You're just…common. You couldn't turn his head if it was on a top."

"Fuck you asshole," I hiss.

"Have I hit a nerve? I suppose I must have. It must be hard having a penchant for falling in love with men above your weight class."

"You don't know what the fu--" I stop myself. I'm getting too emotional for this conversation. "Look, if you're going to kill me, then just fucking kill me already. I'm bored with you."

His grin grows. "Really? I'm having fun." Those sapphire eyes catch mine, and the smile slowly falters. He points the gun to the side, away from me. "I'm actually not here to kill you. I mean, I will if I must, but that is not the purpose of my visit today."

Those words should bring relief, but I'm still at Defcon 1. "Then what the hell do you want?"

"I wanted to meet the newest addition, gage your threat level." His nose twitches. "Minimal. Which is a disappointment. Your work with Alkaline was impressive, but it must have been the exception, not the rule. All bark, no bite. Shame." The gun returns to my chest. "But really I want access to your computer. I have research to do. I searched the majority of the house but couldn't locate it. You will show me where it is and how to use it. Were you lying when you said you had a gentleman coming over?"

"No."

"Well, then we best get to it. Don't want you to miss your adulterous fun. Get up."

Fuck. Going to a second location never ends well. With the gun still on my person, we rise. Cain picks up the satchel from the floor he must have brought. I don't like it, but I lead the way toward the fireplace. For a second I'm convinced he's lying, that he's going to shoot me in the back of the head. I press the button under the fireplace, and it slides open. Still no shot.

The psycho keeps the gun against my shoulder the entire way down the ramp. "Huh. It's smaller than I imagined." I slowly march toward Doris. I'm about to enter the password that sends a warning to the others, but Jordan moves the gun to my temple. "No tricks, Miss Fallon. And familiar faces show up while I'm here you're the first to go, then your old friend upstairs. As I said, I don't want to kill you, but I will. Correct password please." Fuck again. I do as he says. The main screen pops up. "Looks simple enough. Suppose it'd have to be for you to use it."

"Gee, I can't tell you how wounded I am by your low opinion of me," I say, deadpan.

I get a quick smile from the villain. "I am sure you'll recover from the disappointment." He sets the satchel down and reaches into his pocket. My breath catches when he pulls out a syringe, using his teeth to get the cap off.

"What--"

Before I can form a defensive tactic, the needle pierces my neck. Whatever's inside burns through my veins. As the darkness envelops me, and I lose function of all my limbs, I hear the words, "Say hello to my brother for me."

Fade to fucking black.



*



A stinging chemical smell. Brendan and Dobbs above, shouting my name. Black.

Sirens. Jostling around as a car moves. Black.

Bright lights. Doctors and nurses circling me. Black.

When I open my eyes for the fourth time, I manage to keep them ajar for more than a second. Four walls, machines attached to my arms, antiseptic smell, and a gurney. Hospital. The right side of my head throbs, and when I touch it there's a bandage over my matted hair. My neck where that fucker injected me is sore too. At least I'm alive.

Brendan is asleep in a chair in the corner snoring lightly. My attempt to sit up fails the first time, but the second successful one alerts my guard. He lets out a snorting snore, and his eyes fly open. "Oh, hey," he says, sitting up as well.