Their Memoriam: A Reverse Harem Romance (Utopia Inc Book 1) Read online

  I swallowed.

  Not even me.

  “That woman…”

  “Is dead,” Rossi said, rounding on Kenton. Violence perfumed the air. “We don’t speak of ill of the dead. So be useful or be quiet.”

  “Or what?” Kenton didn’t know what was good for him. The corners of his mouth flattened, and he dropped the apple he was holding.

  “Or I’ll pound your rude ass into the dirt.” Rossi didn’t raise a fist or flex. He didn’t need to posture to prove his physical superiority.

  “Bring it on.” Kenton, however, seemed dramatically out of character.

  “Stop,” I ordered and approached. There was something off about Kenton’s eyes. They weren’t quite focusing, and his pupils were pinpricks. Narrowing the distance between us let me see the sweat dotting his brow.

  “Woman, don’t give me…” The man who’d stroked my neck the night before, concerned, staggered as he swung toward me. I had no idea if he meant to hit me or not, because Rossi caught his hand. The next thing I knew, Kenton was flat on his back in the dirt.

  An alarm went off on my tablet. Kenton’s vitals were going haywire.

  “Don’t hurt him,” I ordered Rossi, and dropped to my knees. From my pocket I pulled out three of the hypos I’d brought with me. One of them was epinephrine. Drool gathered at the corner of Kenton’s mouth and his trembling became violent jerks.

  I tried to push up his sleeve, but he flailed at me. Rossi gripped his wrist, then ripped open the man’s shirt, trapping Kenton’s arm with the fabric.

  “That work?”

  I don’t know why he trusted me or acted so swiftly, and I didn’t care. I needed a good muscle to get the epinephrine in and I injected him. His heart was racing dangerously, and his blood pressure rose. His body reacted violently against something, and I needed to arrest the reaction before it killed him.

  After depressing the hypo, I put two fingers to his throat. The artery bulged, and his face was reddening. For sixty long seconds, I waited it out. Then his reaction slowed, his pulse coming down, and he sucked in a noisy breath of air.

  “I need him upstairs,” I said, rising and looking around for the apple he discarded. I really hoped it was only the apples he ate, as we didn’t have time to search what seemed like endless fields for more discarded food.

  Rossi hoisted the now unconscious Kenton over his shoulder. I pulled on gloves before I picked up the apple, then I followed him as he strode confidently through the orchard.

  The citrus scent struck me as more diabolical than inviting this time.

  Once inside the lift, I glanced at AJ. He’d defended my mother, me, and then helped without question. “Why?”

  He twisted to glance at me, a scar bisecting his eyebrow emphasized when he raised them. “Why what, love?”

  I brushed aside the endearment. I didn’t have time for those. “Why did you trust me down there?”

  “I’ve trusted you since the first day we met. Not likely to change now.”

  In one horrible moment, something inside me broke, a fracture that ruptured my very being, splintering my already cracked world into a thousand tiny slivers.

  He knew me?

  By the time the lift opened on B Level where the infirmary along with my lab were housed, the thought continued to ping around my synapses. We didn’t have the luxury of time for me to dissect the morsel of information.

  “Computer,” I announced as Rossi braced the lift door with one arm so I could exit. “Illuminate path to infirmary and notify Dr. Morgan we need him here immediately.”

  “Acknowledged.” The path lit along the wall panels before the synthesized voice completed the syllables in the word. The hatchway for the infirmary was three meters past my lab and located on the opposite side.

  The hatchway to infirmary swished open, and the lights turned on.

  “Put him there,” I said, picking out the bed closest to the door. There were five of them, all told, and monitoring equipment, including private screens for each bed. In a room visible at the opposite side was a large tube—likely an MRI or CT Scanner. Every item was so new, they gleamed.

  The interior air was cold, ionized…a different filtration system? No sooner did Rossi set him down than the computer alarms went off on the med screen. Kenton’s blood pressure was dangerously low, and his color had gone sallow beneath his tan.

  “What next?” Rossi asked, but I didn’t slow down. I needed food sample, and blood work, and the doctor.

  “Find some hazard gear, return to the garden, and collect samples. Dirt, bark, trimmings from everything near the lift.” I had the apple and I was already bagging it. I needed my lab to section and test it. “If you can identify anything he consumed, we need it, but avoid coming into contact with it yourself.”

  “I was just there, and I’m fine.” Despite the statement, he didn’t sound like he was arguing. “But I’ll get it done.”

  The hatchway swished open and Dr. Morgan entered dressed in slacks and a long-sleeved, button-down shirt. A professional aura radiated around him, one the man following him didn’t share.

  Benedict, my emesis suffering team member, wore a t-shirt with an open tropical shirt over jeans, and a pair of what looked like cowboy boots. Still scruffy, he didn’t seem to have done more than rake his fingers through his disheveled hair.

  However, he wasn’t the one suffering nor useful to the current calamity.

  “What do you have for me?” The physician didn’t wait for my response before turning to the bed.

  “Possible anaphylaxis. I’ve already given him a shot of epinephrine, but he lost consciousness before I could determine how long he’d suffered from the symptoms. According to his medical jacket, he has no known allergens.” I held up the partially eaten apple. “He was eating this, so I’m going to test it. Rossi is going to search for other potential hazards.”

  “Got it.” Bless the man! Morgan proved a hero. He retrieved surgical gloves, then went to work without another comment. Satisfied I wasn’t needed, I swept out with my apple. My lab would be safer from all the chaos, and I could hide amidst my research. The machines could do most of the work on the apple.

  Rossi waited a beat after I exited to follow. He wasn’t alone. Apparently Benedict decided to follow me instead of staying in the infirmary. At the entrance to my lab, I dared a glance toward the large man who seemed to fill every space he occupied.

  “Was there something else you needed?” I’d been clear on the kind of samples we needed.

  “Not at all, Doc. Just wanted to make sure you were where you needed to be.” The statement rang a warning bell within me, but I didn’t have time to disseminate.

  “I am, thank you.” The hatch opened, and I entered. Maybe Benedict had been following Rossi, but no such luck. The floral shirt wearing man followed me inside. The AJ leaned against the open hatchway, his expression fierce.

  “Do you need me to remove him?”

  Yes, I actually did, and with all the force his intense eyes promised.

  If the potential threat bothered Benedict, he didn’t show it. “Back off, big guy. I’m here to help. I’m not good with the medical stuff, but I know equipment. Put me to work, gorgeous.” Not once did he glance at Rossi. Instead he stared at me.

  My gut tightened at the notes of familiarity in his greeting. They were all strangers as far as I was concerned. Patients at best. But I’d done my due diligence. They’d all survived their emergence from the lifepods.

  “Doc?” Rossi’s verbal reminder that he was still present soothed and aggravated in equal measures. “Your lab, your rules.”

  The familiar phrase stabilizing my footing, and I flicked my gaze from one man to the next. They couldn’t be more different. Both fit in their own way, and a little rough around the edges, but that was where the comparisons ended. Rossi was all coiled, tense strength while Benedict seemed almost lackadaisical, easygoing, and too—something. I couldn’t put my finger on it.

  “I
owe you, Doc. You kept me upright when I was puking, and I thought I was going to die. I can’t do anything for the other dude, but I can for you, even if it’s just go get your coffee. Put me to work.”

  What I should do was send him with Rossi, but the antipathy in his expression didn’t promise a welcome reception on his side of the equation. “Fine, you can stay.” I hoped I wouldn’t regret this. When he reached a hand toward the Mass Spec, I snapped, “Don’t touch anything.”

  He withdrew the hand and slid it through his hair, messing the sandy brown more. “Yes, ma’am.”

  AJ waited. Though his steady gaze fixed on me, I didn’t doubt for an instant whether he knew exactly where Benedict was or not.

  “I’ll be fine,” Relenting, I assured him. Maybe he identified me with someone else he knew. Or maybe he had known me prior to the project. The discrepancy between the last date I remembered and the current one couldn’t be explained outside of a social-mental experiment or lifepod induced amnesia.

  I’d had no one to help my emergence, it was entirely possible my brain had been affected—a sobering, and somewhat sickening thought, and one I added to the list to address once the current emergency was over.

  “Have the computer alert me if you need me,” Rossi said with a firm nod, then he pinned a look at Benedict. “Behave yourself. She’s in charge.”

  “So the computer told me, big guy.” A smirk turned up the corners of Benedict’s lips. It added a rakish edge to his scruffy look. “I got it.”

  Wait, the computer had informed them all I was team lead? The men exchanged a couple more barbs, but I’d already checked out of their conversation. Instead, I slid the bagged apple into the isolation chamber. The heavy-duty gloves would protect my hands while I sliced the apple up, then I’d test the pieces.

  The whole time I worked, Benedict said nothing. I’d entered the samples into the Mass Spec and began the first round of tests. The blood was running for a standard chem panel, but blood work could be hit or miss if I didn’t know what I needed to search.

  Finished, I began a search of the database for what was planted in the garden. The seed names were all generic—corn, soy, wheat, beans. Then there were the fruit trees. Dozens of different varieties.

  A cup appeared in my periphery followed by a plate, and I jerked out of the data to find Benedict leaning against the desk next to me. Honestly, I’d forgotten he was even there.

  “What is this?”

  “It’s tea.” He made a face. “And a sandwich.”

  Why had he brought…?

  “I checked the biosphere log, and sure enough there was a detail breaking down what you’ve consumed in the last forty-eight hours or so. Your calorie count is way too low, and I’d bet so is your sodium based on the sheer volume of water you consumed. Both are mistakes when dealing with sterile, dry air environments like this one. Anyway, this is an orange honey tea, good for immune boosts, and a turkey and swiss sandwich, because they’re tasty and you didn’t have anything decent like roast beef.”

  I’d never been one to reorient from one task to another swiftly, not when I had a puzzle to solve. I focused too much on the components I was trying to sort and put back together. “You made me food.” The banal phrase was the only one I could summon past the inventory list.

  “Yep, I did.” He grinned, a real smile this time, adding a charming edge to his rakishness. “I’m not just a pretty face.”

  “Why would you do that?” Not the investigating the logs, though now that he mentioned it—if the computer recorded everything I’d consumed. Pivoting away from him, I stared at the screen. “Computer, show consumption record for Kenton, Andreas. Everything in the last…four hours.”

  It was an arbitrary number. It wouldn’t help us to go back to the moment he woke, at least not yet. First, I wanted to see if I was able to achieve what I’d sent Rossi to find. We’d still need the samples, but the screen began to scroll with three items.

  Egg x2.

  Where had he found those?

  Apple x2.

  I knew that, hence the apple in the Mass Spec.

  Winter cherries x12.

  “Oh hell.” I jerked out of the chair.

  “Find something?” Benedict leaned past me to read the screen, the heat of his arm brushing against mine.

  “Computer, put me through to Doctor Morgan.”

  “Acknowledged.”

  “Doctor Morgan, it looks like Kenton ate about a dozen winter cherries. It’s possible he thought they were cherry tomatoes. They are…”

  “…part of the nightshade family. I’ll begin with activated charcoal. I’ve already got him on a respirator. Thank you.”

  The communication zipped off and I frowned.

  “Computer,” Benedict said. “Put me through to Rossi in the garden.”

  “Unable to comply. Communication access on the garden level is limited to the area immediately around the lift.”

  “Of course it is,” Benedict muttered, then knocked his knuckles once against the desk next to the plate and the tea. “Eat and drink, beautiful. I’ll go find the Neanderthal and let him know we identified what the idiot did.”

  “He’s not necessarily an idiot.” Why was I defending him? The foolish man had eaten something without knowing what it was.

  “Sure he isn’t, he just ate some poisonous crap. Could happen to any of us.” The wryness in his voice wasn’t lost on me.

  “I didn’t see any warnings in place.” It was a weak excuse. I wouldn’t eat a single thing grown there without testing it. The genetic modifications done to our crops had left our DNA open to broken strands, or worse. The pandemics that spread across our world had benefited from the broken genetic structures passed from one generation to the next.

  “Weak argument, gorgeous. But I won’t pick on the sick boy. I’m pretty sure dumbass will have learned his lesson.” Then he winked. “Make sure that food is gone when I get back.” He disappeared through the door, then reappeared halting the hatch’s closing motion, and he waited till the door swished fully open before adding, “And I’ll be checking the trash and the computer. Remember, big brother is watching.”

  He waved a finger at the ceiling, then he was gone.

  The corner of my mouth turned upward, and it took me a moment to realize I was smiling. Odd didn’t begin to describe the interaction, but the room’s return to quiet and order seemed somehow emptier than it had been before.

  After stripping off my gloves, I tugged the sandwich and tea closer. They both smelled wonderful, and my stomach growled.

  It wouldn’t be sensible to let it go to waste. The first bite, however, was fantastic. What had he put on the sandwich?

  Peeling up the bread, I stared at the spicy mustard. Was there some file on my personal tastes somewhere?

  Efficient? Maybe.

  Creepy? Definitely.

  More puzzle pieces that didn’t fit.

  Chapter 5

  Guilt is perhaps the most painful companion of death.- Coco Chanel

  With the poison ingested identified, Dr. Morgan reported Kenton’s condition had begun to rapidly improve. Genuine relief invaded my tiredness. Adrenaline fueled rushing through the facility hadn’t done much for my mood. The machines continued to hum as the tests ran. I’d finished my sandwich and tea. Both served as a bit of a restorative.

  Though Benedict warned Rossi we didn’t need the samples anymore, AJ had brought them regardless. Maybe I was overthinking the whole incident, but I went ahead and sectioned each sample and ran the tests anyway. Now, however, I had too much time to think and far too many unanswered questions.

  The door hatch hissed open and Benedict leaned inside. “Let’s go, beautiful. We’re having a meeting in the infirmary, since dumbass can’t move yet. The other doc is keeping him on the monitors and back on IVs.”

  Though grateful for something else to think about, I didn’t want to go meet with all the men. They were going to ask questions which had no answers. On the ot
her hand, not attending wasn’t an option. We were all in this together.

  Theoretically.

  Checking the equipment, I typed in my password then set the results to deliver to my tablet before I carried it with me and followed Benedict to the infirmary. Inside, Dr. Morgan leaned against the counter housing a sink and sanitizers. He glanced toward us as Benedict and I entered, and the warm smile he’d favored on me earlier flashed again.

  Damn, he must have made a fine physician. I wanted to trust him on the smile alone.

  Kenton sat up in the bed. His color had improved, though he still seemed too pale. The IV bag hanging by the bed was three quarters full. If I had to guess, I’d say it was his second. The drip had been turned down, but it continued to flow. His vitals had also improved, stabilizing, but his blood pressure was still low compared to his baseline.

  A few feet away with his arms folded, Rossi leaned against a different bed. When I glanced at him, he winked then nudged a rolling chair with his foot and sent it toward me.

  “Doctor…” Kenton spoke as I caught the chair back. “I think I was rude earlier. Please accept my apologies.” Tired note in his voice or not, there was something perfunctory about his phrasing.

  “You were ill. I don’t require an apology.” After sitting, I stole a look at my tablet. No results, which meant nothing to distract me from the awkwardness of this encounter.

  Benedict crossed over to a free bed and hopped up onto the edge of it. No one rushed to fill in the silence, so he dug into his pocket and withdrew a lollipop. Unwrapping it, he waved it to include all of them. “I’ll go first, since we’re all in such a rush. What the fuck are we doing here?”

  “Where is here?” Doctor Morgan tacked onto his question. “How did we get here?”

  “How were we selected?” The last from Kenton. All valid questions. The only one not asking anything, however, was Rossi.

  All of their gazes, however, zeroed in on me. I hadn’t been wrong. They wanted me to provide the answers. “I have no idea.” When in doubt, the truth was the only recourse.