Page 18 of Kailirex (Brides of the Mylos #6)

CHAPTER 18

STELLA

I didn’t care how many people stared at me, I was getting on that shuttle pronto and getting down there to my mom and dad.

I bit back a sob. Dad! Why had he collapsed while walking Sookie? Had someone tried to mug him? Was it his angina or a heart attack, or… I blinked tears away furiously as we ran through the shuttle bay’s doors and across the bay, A stroke? His doctor was always on him about losing weight and watching his cholesterol.

Gentle hands guided me up the ramp of a shuttle I was about to go right past.

“It’s this one, my love.”

I nodded, hurtling inside, relieved to see my brother and Piloris already strapped in.

“Sit and I’ll strap you in,” Kailirex said softly, moving in front of the nearest empty seat. I plonked my ass down, leaned around him as he made good on his promise, and demanded, “What happened?”

I immediately regretted my shrill tone as I took in Eric’s look of devastation.

“They don’t know yet. Mom called on her way to the hospital. She said Mr. Zanecki was with him when it happened and he got a jogger who stopped to call 9-1-1.”

“Mr. Zanecki? The landlord?”

“Yeah. Mom said she’d explain more when we get there, she just kept saying Zanecki’s grandson’s all at fault. But I have no idea why and she was too worked up to say.”

“As soon as the call ended, I contacted sickbay, who is liaising with the hospital they are taking your father to. If he requires surgery, I’ve asked he be placed in a pod and brought up,” Piloris added.

I glanced over at Kailirex, who was buckling up beside me. He’d promised me pretty much the same thing, that the Mylos doctors would make sure he was okay.

“Thanks,” I told them both and they gave me a nod.

“Okay, we are cleared for take off,” Tillin said, none of his earlier humor on display now. He was all business.

We cleared the landing bay and the Fleet in silence. It was only as we began our re-entry that Eric spoke. “So, I see you got the great big alien hickey too.”

“What?” I stared at him dumbly.

He pointed to the fresh bite mark on his neck. “We’re twinsies.” He sighed. “Not how I wanted Mom to find out.”

I began to cry. “Or Dad,” I sobbed. “What if it gives him another heart attack?”

“We don’t know that was what it was,” Kai reminded me, rubbing soothing circles across the back of my hand.

“What else could it have been?”

“His angina,” my brother supplied. “Shock. He’s right, we don’t know. All we know is he collapsed, and let go of Sookie’s leash. Mr. Zanecki yelled at a guy running past to call an ambulance, and a lady on her way to catch a cab caught Sookie and held onto her until Mr. Zanecki took her once they put Dad in the ambulance. Then he remembered to call Mom. Poor guy was stunned seeing Dad just go down like that, right there on the sidewalk.”

“And Mom says it was his grandson’s fault? Why, what was he doing?”

Eric shrugged. “Dunno. I’m not even sure he was even there.”

“ETA is twenty minutes,” Tillin called out.

I blinked. “Are you speeding?” I asked suspiciously.

“Maximum speed is authorized in case of emergency," came the reply. “Don’t worry, it’s perfectly safe. We’ll slow down as we enter cruising altitude just outside the city. Air traffic control has already cleared us a path.”

True to his word, we arrived several minutes later, though they had felt like hours.

“Hi! We were told to expect you!” A woman in a skirted suit called out as we exited the shuttle. “I’m Lucy Monahan and I’m from patient services. If you’ll just follow me, I’ll take you to your father.”

“He’s alright?” I gasped.

“He’s resting comfortably,” she said, taking us down a flight of steps. “Thanks to the Mylos, we have bio bed scanners which were able to assess his condition quickly. I can’t tell you anything more, HIPPA and all that, but I’m sure your mother will be happy to explain.” She opened a door on the landing, bringing us into a pristinely white corridor smelling of disinfectant. “We’ll just take the elevator down to the fifth floor where they’ve put him.”

“Wait - you knew to expect us?” Eric threw me a panicked look.

“Of course. The Fleet contacted us, letting us know your father was a Mylos by mating and asking for their own doctor to be primary and that you were on your way down.”

“Oh, shit. Mom knows.”

Ms. Monahan stopped in front of an elevator and pressed the button to request a trip down. “Your mother? Ah,” she said, taking a closer look at the bite marks on our necks. “Oh dear. She had no idea?”

We shook our heads numbly.

She fixed a bright smile on her face. “Well, I’m sure a double wedding will cheer her and your father up.”

I winced. “Once she gets over being mad we didn’t tell her we were applying to the programs.”

She licked her lips nervously, not knowing quite what to say about that. Luckily for her, the elevator arrived then, the doors opening with a faint ding.

“Here it is!” she said cheerily, looking relieved. She gestured for us to get on first, standing in front of us as if eager to not get any more involved in our mess. She pressed the button for the fifth floor and after a moment, the doors closed and the elevator gave a faint jerk as it began its descent.

“Feels kinda clunky after the one aboard ship.,” Eric commented.

“Yeah,” I agreed. “And unlike that one, it won’t go sideways to get us closer to where we want to go if it’s farther down a large hall.”

“You have elevators that move sideways?” Ms. Monahan asked, sounding surprised.

“We do,” Kai replied.

“So advanced,” she mused, then sighed. “Unfortunately, I don’t think that tech could be retrofitted into existing buildings.”

“It can’t,” Piloris informed her, “but I understand it’s going to be allowed in Mylos supervised new builds, primarily for the government as well as mixed use buildings over fifteen stories within the next six months.”

“Ah. I look forward to trying one sometime if they build one near me.” She gave a wry chuckle as the elevator came to a stop and the doors opened with another ding. “I admit I’d go in just for the ride if it wasn’t an intrusion.” She strode out of the elevator, quickly leading us down another too bright, sharp smelling hallway. She stopped suddenly in front of a door. “Here you are. He’s in a private room so, except for staff, you won’t be disturbed.” She turned the handle, opening the door.

Our mother sat in a chair next to our father, who lay in a bed straight out of a science fiction film with a wireless monitor over his head keeping track of his vitals. Looking up at us, she stood, not letting go of Dad’s hand.

“Well, while it's a good thing for your father under the circumstances, don’t think you don’t have some explaining to do,” she said, her eyes flitting from our necks to our mates, and back again.

“Oh boy,” Eric said, in what just might be the understatement of the century.