The first thing Alex became aware of was flowers, no, the smell of flowers. His eyes were still closed. He couldn’t place them, it was earthy, but slightly sweet, pleasant, comforting. It reminded him of his grandmother’s garden.

“How’s the pain?” a woman asked, and he turned his mind to that.

“Still there,” he replied as he opened his eyes. “But it isn’t bad.” It felt like a low hum at the back of his mind. Static, just loud enough to be noticed.”

“That’s good. It means there isn’t any nerve damage.” She was running a scanner over him. He thought she was the woman who’d been there when Tristan brought him in, but he wasn’t sure. He’d been focused on the Samalian.

That woman had been wearing a white smock, this one had on a powder blue dress.

“Shouldn’t that tell you what is and isn’t damaged?”

She smiled at him. “When it comes to pain, there’s no better sensor than the patient. Do you need me to reduce it? Take it away maybe?”

He shook his head. Life as a pirate and mercenary had taught him to endure pain. It was surprising the number of people who didn’t appreciate being robbed and how many of them liked to resort to violence to stop him. Most of them had expected him to fold and drop after a few punches, but if Anders had been good for one thing, it was teaching him to never fold.

He let out a breath and looked down his body, to see what state Tristan had left him in. His left arm and right leg were in a regeneration chamber, and as with every other time he had a limb in one of them, the moment he knew about it, the limb began itching.

He knew it was in his mind. The unit controlled what he could feel, and pain was the only thing, as the doctor had said, it was a good barometer. It didn’t stop him from wanting to grab a stick and insert it in to reach the spot.

“How is your other injury?”

Alex looked at her, wondering what she meant. Well which one she meant, it wasn’t like Tristan had been stingy with his blows.

“Tech told me that you two had sex on the hill,” she said in a perfectly normal tone, nodding toward his midsection. “He said he was a little rough.”

Alex’s face went hot, and he looked away. He’d managed to forget that, until now.

She squeezed his arm. “It’s nothing to feel ashame of, we all get carried away once in a while, and he is rather large.”

Alex stared at her. How did she know that? Had she and him? And why did he feel angry at the thought she might have had sex with Tristan? Why did he care who the Samalian had sex with? He’d attack him, forced himself on him. He should be glad someone else was the target of that.

“Whoa, calm down. I didn’t do anything with your man.”

Alex almost snapped at her, but caught himself in time. Tristan wasn’t his man. His man was dead. He forced calm to return. He couldn’t lose it, not here. If he told them what Tristan had done, who he really was. They’d do the right thing and try to capture him.

He’d kill them all.

“I’m the only doctor here, so I’ve had to give him a few checkups over the years. I’m sure you’ve noticed he isn’t body shy.”

Alex nodded. Annoyed at the relief he felt. He wasn’t interested in that monster, why did he feel this way?

The words slipped out before he’d decided what he’d say. “I initiated it, and he was enjoying himself so much I didn’t feel right telling him to stop.” He was nowhere near as good a liar as Tristan was, but mercenaries learned to lie, or they died. “He was sorry afterward,” he added, remembering the kiss and nuzzling. His belief that was Jack.

She patted his shoulder. “There’s no permanent damage, and I gave you a generalized Healer injection. So it’ll heal quickly, but you should abstain for a few days after you leave here.” She checked her datapad, nodded at what she saw there. “How long have you known Tech?”

“Five years, subjective,” he answered after considering what he’d say.

She tucked her pad against her chest, and did her own considering. “Was it on a job?” she sounded like she was trying hard to withhold judgment.

“What do you mean?” he tried to figure out if she might have worked out something of who ‘Tech’ claimed to be.

“You’re not the first mercenary I’ve treated.” He indicated his body, and the scar on his cheek. “You have a dozen badly set bones, signs of more mistreated injuries. I don’t know anyone but mercenaries to just endure them, instead of taking the time and paying to have those repaired after a job. So, was he a job?”

Alex got her defensiveness now and almost laughed. As if Alex could have ever pulled a job on Tristan, or maybe this ‘Tech’ was more vulnerable. He hadn’t seemed much of that persona.

He shook his head. “It was social. I wasn’t in the life then.”

Her relief showed, and Alex wondered what she might have done if he’d said that yes Tech had been part of a job. As a doctor she had plenty of skills to make his life miserable.

“What about you? How long have you known him?”

“For the twelve years I’ve lived here. That’s subjective, although the difference isn’t much. I only take a short trip to Efgan ever three or four years. Might be fifteen objective.”

“Do you know him well?”

“As well as one knows Tech,” she answered with a smile. “He’s a bit of a loner, living far from the town. But we all like him. He’s always willing to help. He fixed the scanner a few years ago and didn’t charge me anything. He saved me thousands. My savings would have been wiped if I’d had to get a company repairman here, not to mention the months of waiting until he got here.”

He was surprised at the warmth in her voice. Anytimes he’d seen Tristan interact with people in town, he hadn’t been any friendlier than he had to. “How can you say he’s a loner just because he lives away from people? This place is pretty far from town too.”

“Yes, but I don’t live here. It’s here because I also treat the animals, and no one wants those smells close to town. I don’t mind telling you that I’m not the only one happy you’re here. Some of us have been worrying about him.”

“Why?” Alex wasn’t sure he’d managed to keep the disbelief from his voice, but she didn’t react to it.

“We were afraid he’d never find anyone. He hasn’t shown any interest in anyone in town, for a while I thought that he and Joanifer might, but then she married Hurbur, although that hasn’t stopped them from flirting.”

Yeah, Alex was sure having her watch Tristan, and now him, run naked, and then act self-conscious could be mistaken as flirting. He hadn’t known she was married. He wondered how her husband took her interest in Tristan.

“Well, now you’re here so I know he has someone special in his life. I didn’t know he could fret so much about someone, before you came.”

She focused on the regeneration chamber on his leg as she finished speaking, so she missed the snarl on his face before he could force it back to neutrality. Tristan cared? Showed how much he had them all fooled.

When she was done with the check he asked. “Do you know what he does for a living?”

“Don’t you know? You live with him.”

“He doesn’t talk about it, and I respect that he doesn’t like it when I go in his workroom.”

“Like I said, he keeps to himself, but considering how he can repair just about anything here, I’m guessing he’s some sort of researcher for one of the corporations. They’ve hidden him here and every so often he flies back because he can’t risk transmitting his discoveries over the net.

Alex had to keep the smile from forming. He wondered if everyone in town had come up with such amusing stories to explain their mysterious Tech. Maybe he should tell them his story. Maybe he could tell them of the monster living among them, they might—no. Tristan hadn’t hurt anyone here. He wouldn’t be the cause.

“Can you tune down the pain a little? I’m going to try to get some sleep.”

She checked something on her datapad. “I can do that, I’ll check in on you in a few hours, and if you’re awake when Tech arrived, I’ll send him in.”

Alex closed his eyes and was immediately asleep. He woke up a few times during the day, for food and use of the bathroom.

When night came, and Tristan still hadn’t shown up, he wasn’t surprised, but he did feel hurt. After what he’d put him through, didn’t he deserve at least a visit? The illusion he was remorseful?

He fell asleep berating himself for thinking He’d get anything from Tristan other than pain.