“Don’t lie,” Bane said.
Her head jerked up to meet his gaze. Anger smoldered in his eyes, his jaw angled up as if he expected her to lie.
“I can scent lies,” the visiting Jutak added. “Bane knows this.”
Her chest heaved. Fear took on another form. What if they didn’t believe her? Or thought she made up the attack?
Teyla directed her to sit on the edge of Bane’s bed and flipped the kit open. She withdrew several sanitizing wipes and dabbed at the burning line on Dharma’s throat.
“Start talking, Dharma, or I’ll have my Unit Leader shut this entire facility down until I found out what happened to you.”
Bane’s threat wasn’t spoken lightly. She knew it. Sensed it. And still chose to say, “I’m not important enough to shut down this place.”
His rumbling snarl caused Teyla to jump though she didn’t stop working. “Try me, Dharma. If you don’t tell me every single thing, every detail regarding the injuries you entered my room with, I’ll be on my comm with my Unit Leader and he will contact the Jutak Commander himself and this place will be closed tighter than our compound on Enotia. Until. I. Know. Who. Did. This!”
He ended the last on a roar, leaning forward enough to be face to face with her so she didn’t miss a word.
Her throat closed on an emotion she couldn’t place or explain. His response, this reaction was almost as if he cared. He couldn’t. His behavior toward her was typical of injured soldiers here for therapy. It wasn’t personal. It wasn’t because they had...feelings for Dharma. She certainly didn’t have feelings for them.
But Bane was different. He should have been a simple assignment and instead he was turning into something more. And that was dangerous for Dharma to even contemplate.
Very dangerous.
Taking a deep breath to regain control, she gave him a simplified version of what he wanted. “Someone followed me in the stairwell. I didn’t know anyone else was in there with me until it was too late and they attacked me.”
“Why were you using the stairs? Was the shaft being serviced?” Bane fired the questions in a harsh snap.
Teyla flinched then disposed of the bloody sanitizer sheets in a red mini bio-container. Next she withdrew a neutralizer and ran the slim silver rod over the side of Dharma’s cheek. Instant relief as the bruise healed.
“What else am I missing?” Teyla murmured to Dharma.
She lifted her left arm and her torn sleeve fell away, revealing the knife slashes. Bane let out a low rumbling growl. “Vee, check the stairs.”
The soldier rushed from the room. Dharma risked a glance at Bane. He watched Teyla clean the neat slice marks on her arm. Proving he hadn’t forgotten where he’d left off, he faced her. “Stairs. Why?”
Dharma cleared her throat. “I don’t like the automated shaft. It makes me feel closed in.”
Which was the truth. It brought back bad memories for her and she wouldn’t ever volunteer to be in such a small space.
“Did the attacker say anything?” he questioned. “Did they steal something from you?”
She was already shaking her head. “No, she didn’t take anything, but she asked about you.”
Vee came back in. “No scent. Blood splatter on the third floor where the attack appears to have occurred. Trail leads up to this floor. More blood. All hers.”
Bane nodded but never looked away from Dharma. “She?”
Nerves coiled in her belly. The Jutak warrior was Serpine. She recognized the diamond-shaped eyes now. Serpines were ruthless killers and didn’t take betrayal lightly. Their ruler, the Supreme Matire, had been known to kill those who opposed her publicly.
“The person who attacked you was female?” Bane’s friend asked, drawing closer.
“Yes.” Dharma avoided meeting his unusual gaze as she answered. She knew all about the Serpines’ ability to hypnotize their prey.
“All done,” Teyla announced and stood. She closed the med kit with a snap and looked to Bane. “Should I notify security? We can’t have staff being attacked here.”
Dharma stood, holding in a wince. Her body still ached. Bane lunged and caught her hand in his. Squeezed. “You didn’t finish. This female who attacked asked about me?”
Dharma licked her lips, her fingers curled unwillingly around his. The warmth of the physical contact soothed. “She wanted to know about your condition. If you were able to walk yet.”
Bane eyed Vee, an unvoiced communication taking place. When he spoke next it was in a tone as icy as the glaciers in the mountains of her home world. “What did you tell her?”
“Nothing. I mean. I said you still couldn’t walk. The cybernetics seem to have failed.”
Bane flinched and remorse for her actions pulled at her not for the first time.
“Thank you, Dharma.” He turned to Teyla. “I believe you should follow your security protocol and do what needs to be done.”
It was a dismissal for both of them. Dharma knew he and his teammate were going to have a much deeper conversation when she and Teyla left the room.
Worry gnawed at her belly and prickles of sweat dampened her upper lip as they left together.
***
Vee eyed him in concern. “The attack was clearly an attempt to discover the status of your condition. Since Mannid from The Pit is dead, who else would be interested in your recovery?”
Bane had no idea. “It might not be personal. This place is a known medical research facility for military personnel. It isn’t a hard guess that the odds are in favor of a Jutak warrior coming here at some point for treatment.”
Vee nodded. It wasn’t common for them to seek treatment off of Enotia because their own medical advancements were ahead of many worlds. Bane’s situation was different and they both knew it. Regret flashed in Vee’s eyes and the corners of his mouth tipped down. “You know I can never repay you.”
“No!” Bane slashed his hand through the air. “We’re not going back to that.”
To the accident that put him in this bed, left him partially immobile.
Vee glared, but Bane remained unfazed. Eventually, the expression on his face must have convinced Vee to let the subject go.
“What about what happened here? Should I tell Torkel? Do you want the place locked down and the staff questioned?”
“No.” It wouldn’t matter at this point. Without the identity of the attacker they’d have to depend on the facility finding out who it was. “Hunter should arrive soon. My time here is almost at an end.”
Whatever Dharma’s attacker hoped to discover would be irrelevant after Bane left and his records became sealed security files. His only concern at this point was the misfortune that Dharma had been used to get details on him.
Vee gripped Bane’s shoulder as he leaned forward. “If I discover anyone here has sought to harm you, my vengeance will make my matire’s past actions pale in comparison.”
Vee straightened and slid his knitted mask over his face, obscuring his features and highlighting the deadly glow in his green-gold eyes. “I will be in contact.”
Bane slumped back in his bed. He had to return home soon. The attack on Dharma was a perfect example of why it was never safe for a Jutak to be exposed this long away from Enotia. It jeopardized him and those around him.