Do Or Die [Nuworld 4] (17 page)

she was in the trailer. She yanked off her headscarf and threw her gloves on the

counter.

Syra let out a snort and covered her mouth quickly. Tara turned her attention to

Ana but her expression didn’t change. It was Torgo who spun around and faced her.

“Young lady, you made a real big mistake earlier today.” He pointed a finger at her.

Tara stood up. “What did she do?”

Ana’s eyes grew wide as she looked from her mama to her uncle. “I didn’t do

anything,” she wailed. “Papa even said it was a good idea to send scouts up there. It

was Gilroy’s fault—not mine. He’s the one who got all hot and bothered and tried to tell

me I couldn’t go.”

“You’re not going.” Tara narrowed her brow as she crossed her arms.

“I know I’m not. That’s not the point. The point is that he told me in front of

everyone how I was going to handle things.” She fought back tears that burned at her

eyes but then let her mouth open in confusion when Tara suddenly laughed out loud

followed by an uncontrollable snicker from Syra. Torgo turned to study the two

women.

“Let me guess. You told him off in front of everyone, right?” Syra waved one hand

out in front of her while holding the other to her chest.

“And she was out of line to do that,” Torgo barked.

Syra walked around the table still laughing. “Of course she was, my lord.” She ran

her fingernails up his broad chest. “Everyone knows a man isn’t a man if he can’t keep

his claim in line.”

He growled at her, but realized quickly he was grossly outnumbered by all the

women in the room.

“The curse of the Bryon men is their Runner women,” he grumbled, and both Tara

and Syra burst out in a fit of hysterics. “I’ll be outside with the rest of the scouts

whenever you’re ready.”

“Sweet child, you’re going to deal with that for the rest of your life, I’m afraid.”

Tara walked over and gave her daughter a hug. Ana collapsed into her mama’s arms,

not realizing until just that moment how much she needed her mama to hold her. It was

exhausting trying to be strong all the time.

“Yeah, your mama couldn’t find a race with docile men,” Syra said, and then Jolee

laughed.

Ana stood outside with Jolee and watched as twenty scouts flew off toward the

north. Tara decided to go with them at the last minute. It was a clear day, the sky a

faded blue, and Ana wished more than anything that she was going with them. No, she

had to stay here and anticipate the “punishment” she would receive later at the hands

of Gilroy. Only the sound of her stomach growling distracted her from her thoughts.

“I’ll monitor them on the landlink for the rest of the day,” Jolee told her and Ana

suddenly realized she was in charge. “Trev will be in here this evening and will link the

landlink with Lord Darius’, so you can monitor their activity if you like.”

Okay, so she wasn’t in charge.

Ana was disappointed to see Fulga getting ready to leave when she arrived at the

house. She met her pulling around the side of the house in the old jeep she used when

running errands.

“There you are, m’lady.” She stopped the jeep and rested on the steering wheel as

she smiled down at her. “Look at how that babe is growing in you. I daresay it seems

like you’re still a babe yourself, it does.”

“That seems to be the general consensus,” Ana mumbled and attempted a weak

smile. “I sure am hungry, though. Is there anything to eat?”

“Ah, yes, there be some cold meat in the fridge and you can cut yourself off some

cheese if you like. I’ll grab some things in town, I will. If I don’t stop by and see my

grandbaby it’ll be the death of me, it will. But I should be back before long. Will there be

anything you’d be needing?” Ana watched the long skin under Fulga’s arms jiggle

slightly as she talked.

“No, I’ll be fine. Have fun.” Ana walked into the kitchen and pulled the plate of

meat out of the fridge. She poured herself a big mug of milk and felt like hauling it all

up to her bedroom and pouting. She wasn’t left in charge and her claim wanted her to

sit docilely at home until he decided to give her attention. Something was going to

change.

“There you are.”

She looked up as Andru walked into the kitchen. He took a piece of meat from the

plate and stuffed it into his mouth then surveyed her condition with solemn gray eyes.

She could always talk to Andru with any problem she ever had in the past. He always

came up with great solutions. But she knew she wouldn’t like hearing his solutions to

these problems.

“Look at your face.” She put down the plate and cup and walked around to better

survey the purplish-green cut next to his cheekbone. “You know, I think I can do

something about that. Here, sit down. I’ll be right back.”

This was what she needed—a distraction. She had some knowledge about

ointments and salves. Hanging around with the she-witches had taught her a thing or

two. Her mood picked up drastically when she realized she could take charge of this

situation. Within minutes she came running down the stairs, out of breath, holding a

brown cloth bag in her hand.

“I’ve got it,” she announced as her brother watched her with a somewhat amused

look on his face. “I know how to make that cut heal quickly and the discoloring fade.”

“Are you going to work magic on me, m’lady?” The amusement in his face grew.

She looked up at him quickly, feeling the heat enter her cheeks. “Not on your life,

dear brother.” She managed a mischievous smile and then worked several of the roots

into a poultice.

“I talked to Gilroy before you came home.” Andru looked up at her while she held

his chin in one hand and applied the gooey ointment with her other hand.

“Oh.” Her anger started to build all over again. “I’m sure he had very pleasant

things to say about me.”

Andru sighed as Ana backed away to admire her work and ignored the expression

on her brother’s face.

“There. Let that sit on your face for about an hour then we’ll rinse it off and see how

it looks.” She walked over to the sink to wash her hand off and then stuffed a piece of

meat into her mouth.

“Ana, you don’t talk to Gilroy like that in public. Would you talk to Papa or me like

that in front of our guards?” His voice was calm and he sounded like he was explaining

something to her for the hundredth time.

“Am I or am I not heir to the Runner clans?” She dried her hands and grabbed the

chunk of cheese. “You’re heir to Gothman and you tell everyone what to do.”

“I don’t tell Mama what to do when I am on the clan site.” His calmness irritated

her, especially when he drove his point home so clearly.

“So I sit and wait until he comes home and beats me until I’m submissive.” Her

lower lip quivered, and he reached out and grabbed her. When she wouldn’t come to

him he stood and went to her, wrapping his fingers into her hair and pulling her face to

his iron chest.

“I promise you he won’t hit you.” He spoke soothingly and she let out an uneasy

breath. “Now, since this gook has to sit on my face for an hour and I certainly don’t

want anyone to see me like this, let’s fly down to the cliffs.”

She sighed loudly. “I guess I should tell Gilroy where I’m going. I feel like just

letting him wonder where I am.”

Andru laughed and released her. “I’ve already told him you were mine for the

afternoon.”

“I see. You told him you’d talk some sense into me, didn’t you?”

“Something like that.” He grinned and grabbed a bag to put the meat and cheese in.

Ana grabbed a couple of apples and then poured some milk into a large jug.

She smiled at him once they had their haphazard picnic lunch prepared. He

grabbed her hand and pulled it to his lips then kissed it gently. Then, still holding her

hand, he grabbed the picnic items and led them out the back door. Just like the old

days. Spending the afternoon with her brother pampering her didn’t sound half-bad.

Chapter Ten

“I don’t think I can rock-climb like I used to.” Ana stopped after trying to hoist

herself up onto a large boulder and grabbed her belly. Her muscles had tightened

around her baby in protest when she tried to follow Andru up the cliff to the spot their

parents had brought them so many times as children.

“Oh shit.” Andru had reached the top of the cliff and dropped the picnic items then

literally jumped down to where she was. “I’m sorry, Ana. I wasn’t thinking. Are you

okay?”

“Yeah. Everything just got real tight. The doctor said that was my body’s way of

telling me that I was overdoing it.”

“Well, we can’t have that.” He reached down and lifted her into his arms and then

easily climbed back up the cliff to the ledge where their picnic stuff was. He set her

down then unrolled a blanket and threw it on the ground for her. “My lady,” he said

with a bow, and she accepted the dry place to sit. He handed her the bag of food and

then leaned against one of the rocks, watching her as she began to munch on the food.

“What?” she asked as she looked up at him with her mouth full of food. “Don’t

start teasing me about getting fat.”

“I wasn’t going to.” His expression was serious now and she swallowed her food

and leaned back to stare at him. “Why did you tell Gilroy that the baby is his?”

“Because it is,” she said without blinking an eye.

“You need to learn to cover your tracks better if you’re going to lie.”

Andru walked over and sat down next to her. He reached inside his coat pocket

and pulled out a folded piece of paper and handed it to her. She opened the landlink

printout and stared at the test results with Dr. Digo confirming that Gilroy wasn’t the

papa. She didn’t look at Andru. He didn’t say a word. She wrinkled up the paper into a

ball, pulled her laser, threw the paper into the air, then shot it, causing it to burn in

midair and black ashes to scatter to the ground.

“Were you going to tell me the truth?” he asked quietly as he watched her little

stunt.

“No.”

Andru stared at the rolling hills that spilled into the horizon and struggled with the

many emotions that swarmed through his head. Ana was carrying his child. The