The Six: Genesis | A Reverse Harem Novel

Twenty-Eight

"You okay, Blue?"

"Yeah..." Blinking away the tears gathering in my eyes. "I—I don't know what I did that."

"When was the last time you slept?"

I throw back my head and laugh. "Sleep? Who has time for sleep?"

"You need to make time. Standing in here, staring at Gatlin isn't good for your health—especially your mental health. To help him, you have to take care of yourself."

"I'm fine."

"No, you aren't." He points to the door. "Let's go."

"Where are we going?"

"I'm escorting you back to your suite, and you're going to get some sleep. When you've had at least eight hours, then we'll try this song and dance again."

Crossing my arms, I regard him from the floor. "And if I say no?"

"Then I'll carry you."

"You're not carrying me anywhere!"

"Those are your options, Blue—walk or be carried—either way, you're going to bed. Do you think Gatlin would want you wasting away in here? You can't help anyone until you help yourself."

"More of your sage advice?" I sneer, stumbling to my feet. "Fine. I'll go to my suite, but you can't make me sleep."

"I think you'll fall right to bed once your head hits the pillow, but I will happily carry your ass back to your room if I catch you in the halls in less than eight hours. Got it?"

"Has anyone ever told you, you're an asshole?"

"Just you, princess."

I know Charlie is right. Ryker has said the same thing to me several times, but I can't let this go. There must be something I can do.

Taking immunosuppressants over time can cause a host of health problems and he may end up developing a dependency on them. With there being limited options: pills, liquids or by IV, he'd have to spend some part of his day accepting he'd never have full control over his body again. From vomiting, fatigue, diabetes, and weight gain to hair loss, acne, mouth sores and tremors.

I'd never understood how much organ recipients had to deal with. It hurts my heart. I can't imagine only helping Gatlin, but he's at the top of the list.

Charlie leads me to my suite. He doesn't speak, but I can feel his eyes scorch my profile every few minutes. But until I'm in my suite, I can continue to consider the issue at hand.

How do I correct his organ rejection? Or stave it off without the long term use of pharmaceutical drugs? And if I do solve it, how do I keep his body from rejecting the augmentation down the line?

What if this is only the beginning? What if this will only get worse and worse until there's nothing I can do? No.

I should never have gotten involved. Maybe I should have listened to Catrina and Levi. They could be right. They could have somehow guessed this procedure would go wrong.

"Hey!" Charlie taps my chin. "Get out of your head and get some sleep."

"Yeah, yeah, I hear you, Hendrix." Rolling my eyes, I step away from the door. "Eight hours. Start the clock now, Iris."

Iris responds. "Eight hour timer set for Blue. How else may I help you, Guard Hendrix?"

"Can you order me a pizza with cheese, spinach, and tomatoes?"

"What kind of crust would you like?"

Their voices drift off into the distance when I door closes. Exhaustion drags my shoulder downward. I barely make it to the bed before my legs give out.

Sprawled across the tossed sheets, I close my eyes and imagine Gatlin's here with me. He's happy, whole and smiling at me like I'm the most beautiful thing he's ever seen.

Sadly, it's nowhere near as wonderful as the real thing.

It's only been two weeks and I already miss his deep voice, his annoying, overbearing protectiveness, and his passionate kisses. Desperately, I want his arms around him and his lips on mine. His tongue in my mouth and his cock inside of me.

We didn't have a single night where we could have...

The one thing Catrina wants and begged for is going to someone else. Someone she hates. Someone I can't even consider losing.

"Stop thinking about it, Blue," I mutter, forcing my body to move. "Charlie said to get some rest. Shower, sleep, and then we can look at this with fresh eyes."

I'm glad Charlie suggested sleep when I awake. He was right. It did put things into perspective.

After all, how did Catrina and Levi know what I was planning to do to Gatlin when we arrived? And who told them? Though neither has the clearance to engage the systems for augmentation on themselves or others, they do have access to the instruments.

And with a cursory glance at the logs, I discover the culprit with a plan meant to destroy everything I've built. Too bad for them, it didn't work, and even worse, I'll have to tell Ryker.

They'd done the worst thing imaginable. Not only had they hacked my systems to make me believe Gatlin went into organ failure, but they'd also added a coagulant to his blood to create blood clots—subsequently creating an actual organ rejection. Fucking idiots!

They could have killed him! And if he would have died... I would've...

Bursting out of the room, I shoot down the hall. Iris clocks me moving and alerts Charlie. His voice carries across the entire compound, but I don't care.

I can save him. And while I'm at it, I can cut ties with the one person who's willing to hurt someone else for their own benefit. Should I be ashamed when I say I'm happy to see them go?