Marius by Madison Stevens Page B

don’t want the boys to know?”
    Silence fell between them, and whatever she was feeling from before started to shatter around her.
    “It’s not like—”
    “Get out,” she said. If she had to listen to his excuses, she would likely start crying, and the last thing she wanted was to be weak around him.
    He looked like he wanted to say more but stopped himself. Rachel watched as he turned and walked out the door.
    This was stupid. This whole place was stupid. In the past week, she had cried more than she had in the past ten years. She was not going to cry over that asshat, even if it had felt good, and she wanted more.
    Rachel sighed. Too bad she wasn’t a different sort of woman and couldn’t find relief with just anyone.
    She picked up her shirt and slipped it over her head just as the door opened.
    Marius stood in the door and despite herself, she couldn’t help but feel happy. She liked him. She wanted him. There was just something about the two of them that worked. When he hasn't being a jackass, at least.
    “Something’s wrong,” he said.
    The smile that had started to form fell, and the doctor in her rose for the occasion.
    “What?” she said and grabbed her coat and stethoscope from the desk.
    They passed through the door and into the hall.
    “The men I sent to check for anything unusual a few days ago are now exhibiting the same types of symptoms as Lucius,” Marius said. They rounded the corner, and she could see the six hybrids filling the waiting area. “Most seem to be pretty moderate except for Rufus.” He turned and whispered quietly, “He’s somehow much further along.”
    Rachel nodded and swallowed. Poor Rufus didn’t look well. His skin was pale, almost translucent, contrasting greatly with his red hair. She could see the veins under the skin, covered in a sheen of sweat. It was clear that he had not been able to take care of himself or moderate his fluid levels.
    “We need to know the path he took, but no one can go that way,” she said. “As a matter of fact, we really need an essential-personnel-only quarantine.”
    Marius raised his brow, and she didn’t really know what to say. It was extreme but so were these sorts of results. What if more people came in like this? They didn't exactly have the capacity to handle dozens of seriously ill people.
    “Please,” she said. “Just talk with Titus. I’ll call him later to give an update once I’ve gotten the men settled, but I need to make sure everyone is safe.”
     
    Marius watched Rachel direct the well hybrids to help those that needed it. She began her examination of Rufus. Guilt ate at him as he thought about what they had just been doing minutes before all this. The hybrids were in danger, and he couldn’t even control himself around a woman that wasn’t staying.
    He shook his head. He didn’t have time to be thinking about this. It was going to take some real work to convince Titus to shut things down at Rachel's suggestion.
    As he walked to the car, he thought about the general dislike most of the men seemed to have of her. There was a part of him that understood, but some of the reasons seemed to stem from something totally irrational. It was as if they had filtered all their fears of the Horatius Group into one person, which seemed totally unfounded and unrealistic. There hadn’t ever been any indication that she was working with anyone outside, and although her methods might be a bit outside the box, the men had certainly pushed her to use those methods.
    Marius sighed and slipped into the car. It started up, and he drove along the smooth newly paved road. Despite his protests, he was glad they had spent the money on the roads. It was a sign of a town and in the end, that was what they were becoming. Not some compound of soldiers. Not just the fake Luna Lodge. But Luna Town.
    He smiled at the thought. Maybe one day they would find more like themselves and build. The smile slipped a little despite himself. More men