Choosing Rose (Other World Series Book Six) Read online

  “I wanted to see him before the Corporation picked him up,” Marissa said as she placed one hand on Solomon’s back and rubbed. “Please, Solomon?”

  “Maybe. He’s not much to look at right now. The thing’s drying out like a fish. We’re going to do a few more days without hydration and then we’ll rehydrate. Maybe I’ll try and sneak you in -”

  “He won’t last a few more days.”

  Both Marissa and Solomon turned. Solomon gave her an oddly guilty look before hurrying forward and pecking her on the cheek. “Rose, I didn’t hear you come in. You know Marissa, of course.”

  “I do. Hello, Marissa.”

  “Hello, Rose.” Marissa gave her a cool look before turning and staring out the portal window again.

  “Marissa is just, uh, helping me with some data before the portal opens. She’s going to be watching today.”

  “I heard. Solomon, we need to talk about Subject 10387.”

  Solomon frowned. “Is there something wrong?”

  “In private.” Rose stared at Marissa.

  “Marissa, could you give us a moment, please?” Solomon said.

  Marissa turned and stared at him. “Seriously? You said I could watch the portal opening.”

  “It’s not going to happen for another few hours,” Solomon said. “Plenty of time. Don’t worry, you won’t miss it.”

  “Fine.” Marissa gave him a huffy look and walked past them before slamming his office door shut.

  Rose frowned at Solomon. “Is she always this disrespectful to her boss?”

  “Marissa is just very passionate,” Solomon said. “Now, what did you need to speak to me about?”

  “You lied to me about Subject 10387. You figured out how to rehydrate him on the second day.”

  Solomon shrugged as he studied his tablet. “You’re a lab monkey, Rose. I’m not required to tell you everything.”

  His dismissal of her job stung but she ignored it. “There’s a difference between lying and holding back the truth, Solomon.”

  He sighed and glanced quickly at her. “When I offered you this job at the lab, you said you wouldn’t let our personal relationship interfere with it. Do you remember that, Rose? Yet, here you are questioning me about my -”

  “I would ask the same questions even if we weren’t engaged. You’re letting Subject 10387 suffer needlessly.” She couldn’t bring herself to tell Solomon his name or that he spoke English. It felt like a violation of trust to Vida. “He needs to be rehydrated now.”

  “He’s fine,” Solomon said dismissively. He scrolled across the screen on his tablet and she felt a burst of uncharacteristic anger toward him.

  “He is not fine. He’s dying, Solomon.”

  “Hardly.”

  “His internal organs are shutting down.”

  “He can survive it for another day or two.”

  There was a knock on the door and Peter, another lab tech, stuck his head into the room. “Solomon? There’s a problem with Subject 10387.”

  “What kind or problem?”

  “He’s, uh, been partially rehydrated.”

  “What? Who the fuck…”

  Solomon turned and stared at Rose. She gave him a defiant look and he squeezed the bridge of his nose. “Leave us, Peter.”

  “Should I go ahead with the tests today or…”

  “No point now,” Solomon said. “Leave.”

  Peter closed the door and Solomon glared at her. “What the hell did you do, Rose?”

  “He was dying.”

  “He wasn’t!” Solomon shouted. “For fuck’s sake, Rose, do you have any idea how many days of testing you’ve just fucked up?”

  “You were torturing him, Solomon! Maybe he’s not a human, but that doesn’t give you the right to-to torture him. If the Eternity Corporation found out that you were -”

  “Oh my God, Rose. Even you can’t be that fucking naïve.” Solomon rolled his eyes. “The Eternity Corporation does a lot worse to these things that come out of the portal than I ever will. I have a limited time with these creatures and thanks to you, I have to start all the fucking tests over again.”

  “Solomon, you can’t let him dry out like that. It hurts him, okay? You can’t possibly be okay with that. You’re a good guy, you’re not -”

  “I’m paid to do a job, Rose, and I do it. You should be fucking fired for what you’ve done. Do you get that? I can fire you and send you out on your ass for this little stunt. I am so sick and tired of your fucking bullshit!”

  She recoiled from his red, throbbing face and the spittle that was flying from his mouth. She had never seen Solomon act like this and a trickle of fear went down her spine. “Solomon, you’re scaring me.”

  He glared at her before stepping back and raking one hand through his dark hair. “Fuck, I should never have hired you.”

  “Are you firing me?”

  “I don’t fucking know. Honestly, I don’t have time for this bullshit. I’ve got a portal opening in less than three hours and a meeting with the Corporation in half an hour, where I need to come up with an explanation for why my tests on Subject 10387 are now fucking useless. Just… get out of here, Rose. Go back to your fucking cubicle and enter data in your fucking computer while I figure out how to fix this mess you’ve gotten us into.”

  “Solomon, torturing and -”

  “Get out!” He roared at her.

  She stumbled to the door and yanked it open. Marissa nearly fell into the room with a startled squawk and Rose stared at her in disbelief. “Were you eavesdropping on us?”

  Marissa straightened her lab coat, her pale cheeks flushed, before glancing at Solomon. “Is there something I can do to help you fix the problem, Solomon?”

  “Like what?” Rose said. “You’re just a lab tech, like me, and -”

  “Go, Rose!” Solomon glared at her. “And stay away from Subject 10387. Do you hear me? Don’t go anywhere near him.”

  Feeling like a toddler who’d been reprimanded, she walked out of his office. The door closed firmly behind her and with her cheeks burning, she returned to her cubicle.

  * * *

  Rose, don’t do this. Please, you’re going to get us fired or something worse.

  She ignored her inner voice and checked her watch as she stopped in front of Vida’s room. Fifteen minutes until the portal opened. She had spent the last three hours in the lab, staring blankly at the latest tests on Vida. Knowing he was being deliberately tortured ate at her belly like acid. How could she be so stupid? Did she really think that the lab even gave one shit about whatever came out of the portal? She should never have taken the job here, but she had, and she’d be damned if she sat back and let her employer torture an innocent person.

  Rose tried to look nonchalant as she pressed her card against the lock. For a moment, nothing happened and her stomach curdled. Had Solomon already changed her security clearance? The light clicked to green and she took a deep breath and walked into Vida’s room. Daryl, one of the techs, was studying the computer screen above Vida’s bed. He glanced at her before shaking his head. “Boy, you fucked up, Rose.”

  She bristled. “I wouldn’t call refusing to let someone die a slow and painful death, fucking up, Daryl.”

  “Oh yeah? I don’t think Solomon agrees. The water you poured on this blue moron has fucked up his research. He has to start all over again and I hear he’s pretty pissed with you.”

  “He’s not a moron,” Rose snapped.

  Daryl glanced at Vida and shrugged. “He looks like a moron. Guy can’t even speak English.”

  “He’s from another world, you idiot.”

  Daryl just rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Why are you here?”

  She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. “Solomon wants to see you in the lab.”

  “Why?” Daryl gave her a suspicious look. “The portal opens in less than ten minutes. Why would he want to see me now?”

  “He didn’t say, and I didn’t ask,” Rose said. “Maybe he’s final
ly going to let you watch a portal opening.”

  Daryl’s eyes lit up and he gave Rose a spiteful grin. “Aw, did Solomon’s wittle girlfwiend get kicked out of the wab?”

  Rose didn’t reply, and Daryl laughed before heading toward the door. “About time Solomon let someone else watch. You don’t even have a goddamn degree.”

  “Screw you, Daryl.”

  He grabbed his crotch and pumped his hips at her. “Is Solomon gonna withhold sex to punish you? Anytime you need that itch scratched, you come see me, sweetheart. I’ll scratch it for you.”

  She made a noise of disgust and Daryl laughed and strolled out of the room. She hurried over and shut the door before glancing at the security camera mounted just below the ceiling. Fuck, she’d forgotten all about the cameras. Her resolve wavered before she marched forward resolutely. If she couldn’t erase the video before they watched it, then she’d just have to accept that she’d be fired.

  Fired? What if they do more than fire you, Rosie? What if they throw you in jail?

  She ignored her frantic inner clamoring. Solomon was her fiancé for God’s sake. He would undoubtedly be pissed if he discovered it was Rose who freed Vida, but he wasn’t going to throw her in prison.

  He was so cruel to you earlier, Rosie!

  Yeah, he was, but he always got weird and kind of mean before a portal opened. It was just his way of dealing with the stress.

  This is such a bad idea, her inner voice moaned.

  No, what was a bad idea was watching a man die when she could save him.

  She set the plastic bag on the floor and gave Vida a nervous smile. “It’s time to leave.”

  His amber eyes studied her silently as she grabbed the covers and threw them back. “Can you – oh my gosh! Oh, Vida.”

  She stared in horror at his legs. They were heavily muscled, but the skin was split open in multiple spots. His hospital gown fell to mid-thigh and dried blood coated his legs from the edge of the gown to his ankles. His feet were just as bad, the soles cracked wide. She could only imagine the pain he was in.

  “Can you walk?” She asked.

  He hesitated before shaking his head. She scurried to the sink and filled the jug with water. She unstrapped his legs and poured the water over his legs and feet before returning to the sink. It took eight jugs of water before his skin was somewhat healed. She was pouring the ninth jug over his feet when he moved his legs experimentally.

  She glanced at his face and he said, “I can walk.”

  His voice sent a weird little shiver down her spine.

  “Good.” She dropped the jug and unstrapped his arms. “Sit up slowly.”

  He sat up and she helped him swing his legs over the side of the bed. He swayed and she steadied him with a hand on his chest. He was so big they were the same height even with him sitting and her standing. She studied his face as he closed his eyes and sucked in a few deep breaths.

  “Vida, do you feel faint?” His blue skin maybe looked a little less blue…she couldn’t tell for sure.

  “A little.”

  “I’m sorry, but we have to hurry,” she said with a nervous glance at the door. She didn’t think the security team monitored the cameras in these rooms twenty-four hours a day, but she didn’t know for certain.

  She opened the bag and pulled out a pair of hospital pajamas. “These were the biggest ones I could find.”

  She knelt and slid the pants over his feet and up his legs. “Can you try standing?”

  He pushed up off the bed and when he swayed again she said, “Use me to balance.”

  He rested one heavy hand on her shoulder as she pulled his pants up underneath the hospital gown. The pants were way too short, but they fit well enough around his waist and hips.

  She stared up at him. This was the first time she’d seen him standing and while she knew he was big, she was unprepared for just how big. The top of her head only came up to the middle of his chest and even after being trapped in a bed for a month, he was still heavily muscled and powerful looking.

  She leaned around him and untied the gown before peeling it off his upper body. Despite the water she’d given him earlier, his skin was cracked and bleeding again and she winced. His upper body was hairless, and she stared at his abs for a moment. Holy moly, he looked like he was carved from granite. Lust was making an unexpected appearance in her belly and, without thinking about it, she traced her fingers over his abdominal muscles.

  His hand tightened on her shoulder and she raised her gaze. There was an inscrutable look on his face and she blushed furiously. “Uh, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

  He didn’t reply, and she said, “I have a boyfriend. Dr. Solomon is my fiancé, actually.”

  More silence and feeling incredibly stupid she reached for the shirt. She shook it out as he let go of her shoulder and sat on the bed again. She helped him into the shirt. It was much too small and clung like a second skin across his chest and shoulders.

  “I’m sorry,” she said again. “It’s the biggest size we have.”

  He just shrugged, blood was already beginning to seep through the shirt, and she bent and pulled hospital slippers out of the bag. She put them on his feet. They were ridiculously small, but she crammed them on anyway.

  “This will work until I get you out of here,” she said as she straightened. “We have to move quickly. Can you?”

  “Where are we going?” He asked.

  “We’re leaving the lab.”

  “To go where?”

  “I – well, to my apartment I guess, and then I’ll figure something out.”

  She hadn’t thought this through, but she supposed that’s what happened when you came up with a rescue plan on the fly.

  He was giving her a skeptical look and she sighed impatiently before tugging on his arm. “Stand up, please. I know it’s not a great plan, but this is our best chance at getting you out of here, okay? Solomon and most of the other techs are preoccupied with the orb right now. We have about ten minutes to get out of the lab before someone notices you’re missing.”

  “Is it one that takes or gives?” He asked as he took a few unsteady steps forward. Pain flashed across his face, but he kept moving toward the door.

  “What?” She glanced at the security camera again. Already she was thinking about how she could sneak into the security room and erase the videos later.

  “Does the orb take or give?” He asked.

  “Uh, takes,” she said distractedly as she reached for the door.

  Before she could touch the handle, the door opened, and she stared wide-eyed at the two security guards standing in the hallway.

  “What are you doing, Ms. Morris?” The taller one asked.

  Crap. She rubbed her suddenly sweaty hands across her pants. “I’m taking him for some further testing. Move, please, we’re running behind.”

  The guards stared at each other before the big one sighed and entered the room. Rose backed up a step when he pulled the long, black wand from his belt. The wand emitted an electric shock and she swallowed thickly as he pushed a button and electricity crackled between the two metal prongs at the end of it.

  “Ms. Morris, we’ve been watching and listening to you from the security room,” the guard said as he glanced at the security camera. “This thing can’t leave the lab and you know that.”

  “He’s not a thing,” she said. “He doesn’t deserve to be locked up and – and tortured.”

  The smaller guard shook his head and took out his own wand. “Ma’am, step away from the creature and let us do our jobs.”

  “No!” Stupidly, she stood in front of Vida and glared at the two men. “You’re not zapping him with those things. It could kill him.”

  “Then tell him to get back in the bed,” the guard said.

  He raised the wand and Rose wanted to be brave, but she automatically took a step back. She ran up against the solid body of Vida and squeaked in surprise when his big arm slid around her waist.

/>   “Hey! Take your hands off of her,” the guard said as he took another step forward.

  “It’s fine.” Rose held up her hands. “Just calm down. It’s fine and - ”

  “Hands off of her now, asshole,” the guard repeated.

  Rose clutched at Vida’s arm when he lifted her up. He turned and set her to the side before giving her a gentle push in the back. “Move, little flower.”

  He gave her another push that sent her stumbling forward before he turned to face the guards. “Step aside, humans.”

  The first guard grinned at his companion. “Light him up.”

  Rose screamed when the guards lunged forward. Vida grabbed the biggest guard’s arm, stopping him from sticking him with the wand. The guard’s eyes went big and he screamed hoarsely when Vida yanked his arm to the right. There was a loud crack and the guard screamed again as the wand fell from his hand.

  “You broke my arm!” He wailed.

  Vida grabbed him by the back of the skull and shoved him head-first into the wall. He slithered to the ground, his eyes rolling up in his head as the second guard jabbed Vida in the side with his wand. There was a crackling sound and Vida’s big body froze for a second or two before he turned to stare at the man.

  “Oh fuck,” the guard whispered. He zapped Vida again. Vida made a growling noise and grabbed the wand from the man’s hand.

  “No, please,” the security guard whispered as he held up his hands. “Don’t kill me. Please don’t…ungh!”

  Vida pressed the wand against his stomach and the man jerked and twitched as urine darkened the front of his pants. Vida zapped him a second time and he fell to the floor. Her heart pounding in her chest and her legs shaking, Rose stepped over the guard with the broken arm.

  “Are you all right, small flower?” Vida asked.

  “I – yes,” Rose whispered.

  “Good. Let’s go.”

  “Are you okay?” She stared at the burnt mark on his shirt.

  “Yes, we must leave before more humans arrive.”

  “Right,” she said shakily.

  She followed Vida out into the hallway. Vida looked down at her. “Which way to the orb?”