Do Or Die [Nuworld 4] (25 page)

lodging. She finally looked up at Lara who seemed incredibly anxious to get her out of

her trailer. She couldn’t leave yet. She knew nothing. And there was no way she would

go home to the punishment she would inevitably receive from all three of those men

without having something to show for it. She decided to go out on a limb.

“The other day when I was doing some work for my mama I discovered an

anomaly on our long-range tracker. I did some investigating and concluded it was a

clan. But when I searched further, I discovered all the clans were accounted for.” She

looked up at Lara’s blank expression. The woman wouldn’t fool easily. She had to be

convincing. “We provided all the Runner equipment that a person would need if they

wanted to start a clan. So I’ve concluded that is exactly what you’ve done.” She raised

her hand quickly as if anticipating Lara’s interruption. “Now at first, I admit, I was

mad. But as I continued to study it I realized that more than mad, I was envious.

There’s no way I could pull something like this off and you’ve done it. Through no fault

of your own you were separated from your papa and we both know that if he’d known

you, known how incredible your skills were, you would be heir to the Runner clans and

not me.”

Ana stopped talking but didn’t look at Lara. She chewed her lip and bought her

time. Lara was digesting this, determining the validity of Ana’s confession. She couldn’t

sound too anxious. Ana took a deep breath, forcing herself to move slowly. Finally, she

shot a look up at Lara, just long enough to see the intent stare the woman gave her, then

she focused on her hands.

“That’s not how it happened and I can’t change any of that. But I’ll say it again. I

want to help. You’ve created your own Runner clan and I feel safe to say you’re the

leader. What did you name it?” She looked up as she asked the question to catch Lara’s

initial reaction.

The woman’s eyes sparkled but her glare was venomous. She licked her lips slowly

as if preparing to devour Ana. Ana maintained her composure. She could do this—

actually it was kind of fun. Surprisingly, she felt no fear. Her look must have appeared

rather triumphant because Lara moved back to the spot where she’d been sitting,

plopped down, crossed her legs and folded her hands shrewdly over one knee.

“The Norther Clan. And yes, I’m the leader. It’s in my blood, dear sister, what can I

say?” She smiled, but her look wasn’t friendly. The expression on her face changed and

her blue eyes appeared to be turquoise gems glowing but the look was absolutely evil.

“You realize, my little niece, I guess that’s what you are, isn’t it? You realize that little

bit of information just cost you your life.”

Ana couldn’t believe the coolness in which she responded. “That would be a very

foolish move on your part, ‘aunt’. Before I came here I detected three Gothman just

south of here. A friend of mine went out to distract them, so to speak, and although

she’s quite beautiful I’m afraid they might be a little preoccupied with my whereabouts.

You see, I didn’t tell anyone I was leaving, and those men of mine do tend to be rather

protective. I told her to give me an hour but I’m afraid that once they see your trailer

here they will insist on searching it.”

Lara cursed. She looked around the room as if determining if anything would

incriminate her and then finally returned her gaze to Ana.

“Fine, then. You leave me no choice.” She stood up and began to walk down the

hall but then turned to Ana. “Stay here. I’ll be back in a minute. Then, since you’re so

damned determined to be part of this, I’ll take you with me to the Norther Clan site. But

first, we need to throw those men of yours off our trail.”

Ana was out of the trailer before Lara shut her bedroom door. She pulled the flat

landlink from her coat and hurried toward Meah’s trailer. She looked over her shoulder

more than once but didn’t see Lara following her. She hoped whoever was in her

bedroom would distract her for at least a few minutes. As she hurried past the

protection of one of the neighboring trailers she stopped and peeked around it. Sure

enough, Lara stood in her open doorway. Her expression was irate as she searched the

rocky field filled with trailers. Ana hurried forward until she came to the trailer that she

hoped was Meah’s.

Ana pulled her coat off when she was safely inside and then drew the curtains over

the large living room window. She placed her comm over her ear and called Tara. There

was a large grin on her face as she tossed the small disc up and down in her free hand.

She’d done it. The disc held the entire conversation she’d just had with Lara. And they

said she didn’t have what it took to be a leader!

“Can I send this to you?” Ana asked her mama after explaining the conversation

that she’d had with Lara.

“Better not.” The pride in Tara’s tone made Ana smile even more. “So now what do

you have in mind?”

Ana tingled with victory from her mama’s question. This was her mission and her

mama was giving her full rein. Not once had she ever felt this fulfilled. Today she felt

like a leader and she couldn’t be happier.

“Well, obviously Lara isn’t going to hang around and wait to see if Gothman enter

the clan site. I’ll wager she’s heading out, right about now. I’m guessing that trailer

won’t move an inch but Lara will disappear. So I put a bug on her glider. I need to hang

around and keep a low profile until Meah appeases the men and then I’ll take off after

her.”

“I don’t need to remind you that you’re in no condition to physically fight right

now.”

“I know. The timing here is lousy. I’m not too sure what else to do, though. One

way or the other, the bug will let us know specifically where the Norther Clan is, but I

need to know why she’s gone to all this trouble to create a clan. And who are the

people? They can’t be Runners.”

“Some of them might be.” Tara sounded thoughtful. “Her clan members are

probably stragglers who have expressed their loyalty to her over the winters while she’s

planned this. She probably knew she’d never get the Blood Circle Clan and maybe she

never wanted it. I think she despised Patha for sending her away and would rather

bring us down than try and claim leadership over us.”

“Good point. So we need to find out how she plans to bring us down.” Ana stood in

the kitchen as she spoke. There was a small window above the large sink and as she

watched people go about their affairs three men and a young woman caught her

attention. “Mama, they’re here. Papa, Andru and Gilroy are walking toward the

trailer.”

“If they come in after you, push the alarm on your comm and I’ll be there in less

than ten minutes.” With that Tara disconnected the transmission and Ana stared out the

window apprehensively. The child inside her gave her a swift kick as if he or she felt

her anticipation and was trying to find a better place to hide.

Chapter Fifteen

Meah had been grateful for the flight back to the clan site after being approached by

the Gothman. Never in her life had she stood in the presence of such incredibly virile

men. They towered over her, blond hair that attracted the sunlight and inky black hair

that reflected a darker shade. These men were more muscular than any she’d ever seen

before. And the way they looked at her, all three of them, she almost regretted taking

off her headscarf. Although that was the mission she’d agreed to, attract the men

toward her so they would question her and follow her to the clan site. Nothing could

have prepared her for the certainty with which they carried themselves, the demanding

way they spoke to her, and the sultry looks that charcoal-gray eyes and sky-blue eyes

consumed her with. If she’d spent a few more minutes in the isolated foothills with

these three sexual enticements, she would have submitted without a care in the world.

She now knew why Gothman men had the reputation they had.

The flight back allowed her to regain her senses. There was no way Meah would let

opportunity knock like this and miss out. Ana, heir to all Runner clans, needed her

help—and she needed Ana. Every moment of her life was spent helping her brother so

he could lead their clan. He just wasn’t cut out to lead naturally. He was shy, for one

thing, and if she hadn’t convinced one of her friends to literally seduce him and then

announce her pregnancy she was certain there would never be an heir to rule after her

brother. And he took forever to think something through. More times than not, she

would grow frustrated with his laid-back attitude toward ruling and making decisions.

There was no way she could continue to hang around her clan while her brother did as

his advisors suggested. Meah wanted out and here was her chance.

Besides, at that very moment, she walked alongside the man she’d known she’d

spend the rest of her life with since her tenth winter.

“Where is the leader of your clan?” Lord Darius asked as soon as they’d landed.

“Mog, my brother, is north of here overseeing some of our warriors,” she lied. “I

can lead you through our clan until you’re satisfied. I assure you, if your daughter was

here, I would know about it.” That much was the truth—she did know where she was.

Andru could tell he made Meah uncomfortable. What he couldn’t determine was if

she was lying or simply intimidated. He shot a side-glance at Gilroy, who walked on

the other side of her, and could tell he thought the same thing. What reason would she

have to lie? Was she working with Lara? There was only one way to find out.

Andru stopped walking, forcing the others to follow suit. He stood for a minute

simply surveying the clan site. In appearance, it looked very much like the Blood Circle

Clan, except he didn’t recognize anyone. Finally, he looked down at Meah until she was

forced to look up at him. Damn, she was beautiful—she had bedroom eyes and he could

tell she knew it. She didn’t falter in her return gaze, something he was unaccustomed to

in a woman. She was petite but very shapely in her Runner attire. The sun made her

hair look like black silk woven in a long braid. Under different circumstances he was

sure he could have her out of her clothes in less than five minutes. He forced those

thoughts out of his head. This woman didn’t strike him as stupid, and with a body like

that he knew she’d recognize the signs if a man were attracted to her. So, now that he

had her attention, he’d put her to the test.

“There is someone else we believe is here at your clan site. Her name is Lara and

she was being held in the Blood Circle Clan but managed to escape last night. We

trailed her here.”

To his surprise, Meah nodded. “She’s here.” She pointed through a group of