Do Or Die [Nuworld 4] (15 page)

When Tara said nothing and Ana smiled broadly, Syra winked at her and added, “The

age of searching never leaves some of us. I’m not going to pass up on an adventure like

this. Tara, why don’t you come up with about twenty more soldiers and we’ll leave

after lunch.”

Ana clapped her hands. “Yes. This is perfect. I’m going to take Lara down. She’s

caused more grief than she is worth. And that leads me to my second plan. I’m going to

go over to her trailer and let her know that she and I got off on the wrong foot

yesterday. I was her friend once before and I know what makes her tick. I’ll drown her

with kindness and wear down her defenses until she opens up to me.”

“Syra and I were talking about paying her a visit ourselves when you showed up,”

Tara finally spoke.

“Great. Let’s go.” Ana jumped up.

The three women stopped suddenly outside Lara’s trailer as her door opened

quickly and Andru stepped out. He looked incredibly handsome for some reason and

smiled at the three of them calmly as if there was nothing at all odd about him exiting

Lara’s trailer. Lara appeared in the doorway wearing a long blue nightgown. She

looked very ill at ease and pale. Her expression didn’t improve much when she saw

Ana and the other women.

“Good morning, ladies,” Andru said gallantly. He then singled Ana out and took

her hand. “Your pregnancy makes you glow, dear sister.”

Ana looked up at him sheepishly not knowing how to react in front of everyone.

When she saw the mischievous look in her brother’s eyes however, she knew exactly

what he was up to. He had a “family be damned” expression on his face. No one was

going to tell him how he could or could not treat his sister. And he was making his

point loud and clear.

“Lara, good morning. We’ve come for a brief visit, if you’re up to it?” Tara spoke

calmly although her tone wasn’t too friendly.

Lara shrugged. “It seems to be the morning for it. Come in.” She stepped to the side

and swept her hand through the air, indicating they could enter. Tara and Syra

proceeded but when Ana attempted to follow, Andru grabbed her wrist.

“Why are you here?” he whispered close to her ear.

She didn’t look up at him, afraid he would see her relief that Lara’s comment about

morning visitors enlightened her to the fact that her brother had not been here all night.

“We’ve come to introduce her to some of her family.” Ana shrugged and looked

longingly at the door to the trailer. “Uncle Balbo has confirmed that she is Reesa’s

daughter and lived with the Freelanders up until two winters ago.”

Andru placed two fingers under his sister’s chin and raised her face to his. His gray

eyes devoured her instantly, searching her thoughts for the information he desired.

“Let me know when you finish this meeting. I want to meet with you…privately.”

Ana could smell the coffee on his breath as he looked down at her.

“Andru, don’t you have work to do?” Tara’s tone was polite but her underlying

meaning was clear.

“Of course, Mama.” His gallant expression returned but his fingers moved from

Ana’s chin to her hair. He watched his mama’s eyes follow the movement but showed

no indication that he was concerned or doing anything out of the ordinary, which in

fact he wasn’t. Andru always played with her hair.

“Lara, enjoy your stay with the Blood Circle Clan.” He nodded to her and Ana

thought she saw panic enter her eyes. What had Andru said to her? She’d never seen

Lara look ill at ease before.

“I’m not feeling very well this morning,” Lara said after the three women entered

her small trailer. She moved into the kitchen as if to offer coffee but then turned and

looked confused as if she couldn’t remember where she left something.

Tara walked well into the living area before turning to face the woman. She took in

the trailer’s contents quickly. It was simple. A good-sized wooden square table was

pushed into the corner of the room and alongside the same wall was a mounted

monitor with keyboards underneath. There was a thick braided carpet on the floor and

two framed pictures of the ocean hung on the wall. The kitchen looked sparse, nothing

on the counters other than an empty mug. A coffeepot released steam on top of the

stove but otherwise there was no indication that Lara had eaten any breakfast.

Without her headscarf, Tara could see that Lara looked thin. Her color wasn’t good,

but no doubt Andru’s visit upset her. This wasn’t the same woman she’d met the day

before. All of her confidence and worldliness were gone. Whatever Andru had said to

her, it had scared all sense out of her. She could only imagine what despicable things

her son might have conjured up for his visit. And how long had he been here? She

knew he wasn’t home when she got up that morning. His bed was made and she

couldn’t tell if he’d slept in it or not.

“We won’t stay long. I can tell you don’t feel well. Our doctor would be happy to

look at you if you like.” Tara’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. She was all business when

she turned to face her niece. “I wanted you to meet another one of your relatives. This is

Syra, she is Balbo’s daughter.”

“You’re my brother’s daughter?” Lara seemed somewhat cheered up as if they’d

just quit talking about an ugly topic.

“Looks like I am.” Syra smiled and walked over to Lara. She didn’t hesitate but

gave the woman who was about the same age as she was a big hug.

When Syra pulled away there was a wary expression on Lara’s face. Her face had

colored and she almost looked like her usual self, Ana thought.

“Why are all of you suddenly being so nice to me?” Lara looked from one of them

to the other. “This is certainly different treatment from yesterday.”

Tara shrugged and Ana noticed a triumphant look on Mama’s face as she spoke.

“We’ve confirmed that you are who you say you are. And we want to welcome you to

our family.”

“You’ve talked to my family?” Lara looked worried, but only for a brief second, and

then her expression clouded over. “It’s nice to meet you, Syra. We’ll have to get together

sometime.” She gestured at her own appearance. “But, as you can see, I haven’t had a

chance to prepare myself for the day. If you all will excuse me.”

“Of course.” Tara smiled and she and Syra moved to the door.

The other two were out of the trailer and Ana stood in the doorway when she

turned to face Lara. “Could I stay and visit with you a bit longer? I’ll wait while you

shower then maybe we could get something to eat.”

“A person’s got to eat.” Lara shrugged and walked toward the back of her trailer.

Ana got permission from her mama to take Lara out of the clan site and into Bryton

so they could eat at one of the restaurants. Tara consented but then immediately

contacted Gilroy and asked that guards be posted in the area to keep an eye on them.

Gilroy told her he would see to the matter personally and she had no doubt in her mind

that he would.

“Okay, what gives, Ana?”

Tara confiscated Lara’s glider the day before when she ordered that the woman not

leave the clan site. So Ana and Lara flew together into Bryton and now slowly walked

down the main street. Lara seemed indifferent to her surroundings and instead focused

her shrewd eye on Ana.

“What do you mean?” Ana pointed to a restaurant across the street and the two of

them walked toward it. She noticed several Gothman warriors loitering on the street.

During the daytime, usually only women and children were seen on the streets of

Bryton. Ana had a feeling they were there by instruction…to watch them.

“I came here yesterday and told you in no uncertain terms who I was and that I was

the rightful heir to the Runner clans and today you act like we’re old friends.”

“We are old friends, kind of. I mean we’ve been through a lot together and, well, I

liked you.” Ana pulled the large wooden door to a local diner open and was

bombarded by warm air and a variety of food smells. Had she only just eaten a couple

of hours ago?

“Besides,” she continued, once a large Gothman woman showed them to a table.

“My Uncle Balbo contacted the Freelanders and confirmed your story…that you’re

Reesa’s daughter. As for your claim to the Runner nation…well, Patha left it to my

mama and now it falls to me. Your family line doesn’t change that.”

Lara’s expression hardened and Ana reached across the table and covered her hand

with her own.

“Look, I’d like to be friends. So you don’t trust me. Everyone says I’m an open book

so hang around with me for a while and draw your own conclusions as to whether I’m

trustworthy or not.”

“You are an open book and far from ruler quality. You’ve been protected, Ana. Is

this your idea to hang around with me? I certainly don’t think it was your mama’s and I

know it wasn’t your brother’s.” Lara shuddered involuntarily and then stuck her chin

out stubbornly as if refusing to acknowledge an unpleasant thought.

“My brother wasn’t very nice to you, I take it?”

“That’s an understatement.” Lara chuckled nervously.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“You want to know what your brother did?” Now there was her evil chuckle. “I

know you’re not a virgin but you’re damn close. I’d hate to destroy the pedestal that

you have him on.”

Ana straightened. “I know what my brother can be like. I won’t say I always

approve but I might be able to offer protection. I’m not without influence, you know.”

“No, I don’t know that, but I’ll tell you.” Lara accepted some of the hot tea Ana had

ordered for both of them and munched on a thick pretzel before continuing. “He came

over early this morning and entered my trailer without the common courtesy of

knocking, like he owned me, which he made perfectly clear that he does not and that he

has no intention of ever owning me. He walked straight back to my bedroom. I was

asleep in my bed. He pulled back the covers, pulled up my nightgown and stuck his

laser straight up inside me.”

Ana had prepared herself for a horror story, but Lara was so blunt she couldn’t help

but cringe. The food in her mouth didn’t go down right and she coughed as her eyes

quickly watered.

“Now, now, sister.” Lara chuckled and looked completely like her old self. “You

forget I’m the one who walked in on you all snuggled up in between those two men of

yours, quite naked too.”

Ana refused to look nervous at Lara’s bold public comment. Lara waved her hand