Free Peyton 313 by Donna McDonald

disappointment churned in his gut. He was appalled to realize he still wanted to kiss her again. His mind was obviously fucked up in a way he couldn’t understand yet.
    “You owe me an explanation. Answer the damn question,” he ordered, his voice hard.
    “Okay. You’re right, Captain Elliott. What I did to you isn’t any different. It is just as despicable as the original conversion. But I was—and still am—out of options to do anything else but try to restore you now. I don’t blame you for being angry at me or at the unfairness of your circumstances. Anger is a healthy response. It’s quite normal to hate someone for playing God with your life.”
    Kyra stood and walked to a file cabinet to pull out a drawer. She lifted a folder full of papers from its depths and brought it back with her.
    “With your cybernetics only partially engaged, I realize you can’t use your enhancements to tell truth from lies right now. The good news is that your confusion is an honest part of the human condition. Once your cybernetic memories are re-assimilated, you should be able to make an accurate determination using both parts of your brain. I’m only asking you to suspend your anger until I can finish telling you what I have to. This folder is a start. If you want to see where you’ve been the last decade, here’s your Cyber Husband record. I printed it out so you could read it.”
    Peyton reached a hand through the bars. He narrowed his gaze when she dropped the folder and kicked it across the floor. He stooped to drag it into the cage with him. “What’s the matter? Don’t you trust me, Doc?”
    “No more than you trust me right now,” Kyra said wearily, going back to her chair. She sat and watched as he thumbed rapidly through the file. “Do you recognize any of the women?”
    Peyton shook his head, but paused over one. “Some cause a vague emotional reaction.” He held up a picture. “Is this the one that stabbed me? Looking at her makes my gut clench in alarm.”
    Kyra nodded. “Yes. That’s the one. Trauma has a way of creating a mental record that can’t be removed or even blocked very well. Marshall’s Cyber Husband price was low because he had a low rating in bedroom skills. At the time I bought him, I didn’t see that as a red flag of any sort because I wasn’t buying him for that purpose. Back then I wasn’t smart enough to realize his sexual problems might have been caused by trauma during his military service. The human mind influences the physical body. This is true even for cyborgs whose human sides are kept unaware. It’s no different than a non-cyborg human staying in mental denial.”
    Peyton ignored her philosophizing. “Forget your other monsters, Dr. Frankenstein. We’re talking about me now. Is the woman who stabbed me still incarcerated for her actions?”
    As he waited for her to answer, Peyton stared at the photo of the woman who had almost killed him. She looked cold and unfeeling. Kyra Winters was trying to convince him that was the case for her as well, but why wasn’t he buying it? If her story was true, she’d killed two cyborgs already. His death might be her next goal.
    His gaze went back to his jailer who looked ready to weep any second.
    What the hell was he supposed to believe about Kyra Winters?
    When his gut clenched in sympathy again, but for her sadness, he warned himself not to get soft just because the mad scientist cried over everything. Ignoring the interest of his man parts in her was no easier.
    Kyra squirmed in the chair as she answered Peyton’s question. “The woman who stabbed you was never incarcerated. She was merely banned from purchasing through the Cyber Husband program again. Her story is that you tried to hurt her and she defended herself. Such stories are never questioned because of your military past and the fact that you still have all your physical enhancements. Fear of cyborgs has been purposely propagated.”
    Peyton frowned. “I may not