Mission: Planet Biter (Veslor Mates #4)(20)

He held her tighter and kept vibrating, making that noise. It helped her stop crying.

“We can’t give her a sedative yet,” the woman whispered. “Can you get her to drink some water, Mr. Roth? I’ll go handle Mead. He looked pretty upset when he stormed out. He’s just trying to protect our patient. You have to acknowledge this isn’t exactly something we’ve seen before.”

Roth unwrapped his arm around Vera. “I’ll get her to drink this. Can we be alone? She is calmer when we are.”

“Sure. I don’t think you’re going to molest her or anything, but I can’t close the door all the way. Those orders came directly from Kane. I’ll be close. Call out if you need assistance or she feels hungry. She should eat something. Those nutrient patches we have on her are helping but they aren’t equal to a real meal.”

“I will try.”

It amazed Vera that Roth could talk and still vibrate, with that rumbling noise coming from his chest. “You’re so talented… You’re a superhero.”

“I’ll leave you to it,” the woman whispered. Something creaked, probably the door again.

“I have water,” Roth said quietly. “Will you drink it for me?”

Vera felt emotionally overwhelmed again. “I’d do anything for you, after all you’re doing for me.” She hated to move her ear away from his shirt and that soothing sound, but she did it, opening her eyes.

Roth met her gaze. “I’m going to adjust your blanket. It’s slipped.”

She glanced down, and he was right. One of her breasts was exposed. Not the side he’d held. It likely happened when she’d hugged his middle. She leaned back farther and grabbed it, covering her boob. She quickly glanced at him, but he was staring into her eyes. With his other hand, he lifted the cup to her mouth.

“Small sips at first.”

“Right. I don’t want to puke. I’ve been rationing what I had for…” She took a sip of water and swallowed. It was a little cold. She took another sip but then eased back. “I lost track of days.”

“It was intelligent of you to avoid eating food that could have been contaminated.” He stopped rumbling.

She missed the sound but didn’t complain. “The start of everything going wrong was triggered during a meal. The first person who killed someone was our cook, and his victim was eating. I started linking death with food and didn’t want to eat anything that New Worlds had supplied us with. We all had access to the company kitchen and food storage rooms.”

“Take more sips.”

She complied. “I can’t think of anyone on the pods who would have done this. I mean, they were a suicidal idiot if they did.” She took another sip. “Unless they were killed by one of us crazies.”

“Don’t think about it.”

“I can’t stop. Doctor Jeth and Doctor Hazel tested everyone. We all had that drug in us. Myself, Nancy, and Doctor Hazel had the lowest dosages.”

“Did the three of you work or spend time in areas without vents?”

She frowned at him. “Um, no. The vents are all over the pods. I had two in my sleeping room and one in my private bathroom. They’re everywhere. One was also near my workstation. I used to complain about how cold I’d get when it blew on me. I would…”

She paused, her mind racing.

“Vera?”

“I would put on extra layers. You know, wear two long-sleeve shirts instead of just one. I always pack some because I’ve been frozen out before.”

“Frozen out?”

She gave a sharp nod. “Sorry. Um, they keep the temperature too cold. Security always oversees that. I was on this ship a few years ago and I swear, it was like living inside a refrigerator. They kept the temperatures that cold. We almost had a mutiny. Not really, but a lot of us were pretty mad that they wouldn’t bring up the heat a little so we’d be more comfortable.” She paused. “I also traded Gene for two extra blankets to keep me warm while I slept. I burrowed under them at night like they were a tent. Maybe that’s why I was less exposed?”

“Gene?”

“Gene Tiddle. He was our go-to guy in the pods to get extra supplies. He was the site manager. I gave him my desserts for two weeks. The cook is under orders to limit us to only one after dinner, or we’d go through our supply too fast. Like rationing. Gene had a sweet tooth.”

“What about the other two females? Were they also cold and wearing layers? Did they trade for more blankets? It would mean more of their skin was covered.”

“I don’t know about that, but Doctor Hazel and Nancy went outside often with whatever security officer was assigned to drive them.”

“Why did they go outside?”

“Doctor Hazel is…was…not only a people doctor, but a veterinarian. An animal doctor. It was her job to take samples from the wildlife. You know, to figure out if they had any diseases that we were susceptible to or had venomous bites that might kill us. Phase two teams need to know that, since they’re sent out there to collect stuff to sell. Security officers double as hunters. We have these net things that they can shoot to trap an animal. It doesn’t kill them but it tightens around their bodies until they can’t move. Doctor Hazel would take blood and tissue samples. Nancy was her assistant. I also think she just wanted to leave the pods because she was bored. Then the two of them would run all the tests.”