The Gender Lie(38)

With a roar, I planted a foot on one of the mooring beams on the dock and leapt with all my strength toward the boat. I grabbed hold of the railing, my body slamming hard into the hull, the murky water of the river churning barely a foot under my feet.

I gasped for air as Owen leaned over, grabbing my wrists and yanking hard. I pulled myself up, helping him assist me. Within seconds, I was sprawled out on the deck with Owen on his knees beside me, his chest heaving.

I ripped off my collar and looked at him, still struggling to catch my breath. “That… was… fun,” I managed.

He rolled his eyes and leaned back heavily onto his hands. “You have… a weird definition… of fun.”

I let out a laugh as Alejandro sailed us into the night.





17





Viggo





Three days later




A rhythmic beeping caught my attention. It was high-pitched and constant, like a whining drumbeat that never changed. It was disturbing my well-deserved sleep, forcing me to rise to consciousness.

I cracked open my eyes and tried to look around the room. A sudden fit of coughing overcame me, causing me to awaken even further. Someone murmured something gentle that I couldn’t quite make out. Something was pressed to my lips, and I felt cool liquid pass through them, into my mouth.

It took me a moment to realize it was water, and when I did, I realized how dry my throat was, and how desperately I wanted a drink. I began sucking down mouthful after mouthful until the container was removed. I groaned in dismay, wanting more than I had gotten, but there was a gentle shushing, and I felt my head being lowered.

Suddenly, I was exhausted. I felt the tension drain out of me as the dark reclaimed me.



The next time the beeping woke me up, I felt more like myself. My first memory, as brief as it was, had prepared me for what to expect next.

As I peeled back my eyelids, I did so in small cracks, letting the bright light in slowly. It took an annoyingly long time, but after a while, I could make out shapes and colors. I saw the IV running from my hand, and followed the line up to a clear bag holding what looked like water, but which I knew must be a saline solution.

I inhaled a slow, shallow breath, feeling a sharp ache in my side as I did so. Looking around, I saw a woman sitting in the corner of the room, looking at some papers. I licked my lips, feeling inordinately dry again, and stared at her.

“Wa—” I tried to say, but my voice came out raw, practically silent. I tried to gather some saliva in my mouth, but there was practically none. Looking over at the woman, I coughed. She looked up, her blue eyes growing wide. “Water,” I breathed, and she immediately stood, moving over to the tray beside me.

I watched as she poured water out of a yellow pitcher into a cup, and then kept a steady eye on the cup as it traveled from the tray to my mouth. I greedily drank, trails of it sluicing from the corners of my mouth.

I panted when it was finished. The woman lowered her hand, her brows drawing together in an inquisitive stare. I nodded, watching as she poured me another cup and held it to my lips.

I flexed my hands while I drank, and realized I could move my arms, if I moved slowly. My arms and legs felt heavy and weak at the same time, a languidness that could only be explained by lack of use. I slowly reached up and claimed the cup from her, and she gave me an encouraging smile and a nod.

“I’m glad to see you’re recuperating so quickly, Mr. Croft,” she said cheerily.

I pulled the cup away from my lips, gauging the saliva ratio in my mouth. “Who are you? Where is Violet? What do you want?”

The woman smiled and stood up. “I’m Dr. Elizabeth Tierney. Violet is downstairs. As for what I want… well… if you could just keep drinking water, then that’d be a great start.”

I frowned as she poured more water into my cup. “Not who are you,” I said after a long sip. “I don’t care about your name. Who are you with? Am I a prisoner? I need to see Violet. Get her now.”

Dr. Tierney took a step back. “Okay. I’ll send a runner down to Desmond’s office to let them know you’re all right.”

I watched her as she crossed over to the door and opened it, speaking with someone on the other side in a hushed voice. I was suspicious by nature, and looked around for anything I could use as a weapon if need be.

I toyed with the idea of pretending to go back to sleep. That way, if someone other than Violet walked in, I would know without raising any alarms. Dr. Tierney had closed the door and returned to her chair, burying her head in files and avoiding my gaze. I watched her for several minutes, still toying with the idea of faking sleep, when a whirlwind of arms, legs, dark hair, and a delightful set of gray eyes burst into the room.