Chapter 36

“All right. Perhaps I am. I tell you I am not sure what it is, exactly.”

“Tell me about this doctor.”

“You sound like a shrink.” Nikoloz rubbed at his temple. That headache was back. The one that felt like a road crew using a jackhammer behind his eye. “The doctor…middle-aged, balding, tall, thin, near-sighted. Sadistic…is that what you wanted to hear?”

“Keep talking, partner.”

“Called me his little mouse. Wanted me humiliated, wanted me afraid of him. “

“I’m getting the picture. You can’t stand being fondled.”

Nikoloz winced. “Perhaps I could have chosen a better term. I do not enjoy being treated as a toy, as a possession.”

“I get that, Kolenka. I really do.” Vincent put a hand on his undamaged arm. “This doctor pushed all your buttons and you had no way of controlling your emotions with all those drugs in you.”

“How do I convince the shrink that I am all right now?”