Do Or Die [Nuworld 4] (9 page)

unnecessarily. Andru hurled a shovel of snow over his shoulder then turned to look at

his friend. “She doesn’t have the leadership qualities. I daresay, Andru, she got every

drop of Runner blood your mama had to give the two of you, but you got all the

leadership qualities.”

“I know, my friend, which is why I chose you.”

“Gilroy can’t lead the Runners.” Beel stood up and wiped sweat from his forehead

even though it was cold enough to see their breath.

“I know. Ana will lead the Runners.” Andru leaned against his shovel and shared

the plan he and Gilroy had devised so many winters ago. “I’d rule both nations if I

could. Crator knows that’s true. But Mama won’t hear of it. So I’ve done the next best

thing. You may be right about her Runner blood, but Ana submits and that is one thing

Mama will never do. My sister has more Gothman in her than she cares to admit. If she

had a Gothman claim she would obey her man. She’s always obeyed me so the man had

to be someone she would trust the way she trusts me. That’s where Gilroy comes into

the picture. We tell her what to do and she does it. The Gothman and Runners will

continue to be the most powerful nations in Nuworld…and it will be thanks to the two

of us.”

* * * * *

Ana slept soundly until the following evening then woke up famished. She found

her Runner pants and one of Gilroy’s flannel shirts. She could tell by the indention of

the pillows that Gilroy had slept with her the night before, but as far as she could tell he

didn’t make love to her.

“Look who’s joined the living.” Andru stood at the stove with a wooden spoon in

his hand stirring something in a large pot. “Hungry?”

“I’m starving.” She smiled and walked over to see what he was making.

“Hi, beautiful.” Gilroy walked into the trailer just then and caught her in his arms.

He kissed her passionately but her stomach growled and he pulled away from her,

laughing. “Get this woman some food.”

“What are you men cooking?” She walked over to the stove.

“Beel and I are cooking that pig you killed outside over the fire and Andru here is

boiling some apples we had with us.” Gilroy stood behind her and his hands quickly

worked their way under her baggy shirt and rubbed her bare tummy, his thumbs

stroking the bottom of her breasts.

“Not to mention…” Andru pulled open the oven door, “sweet potatoes and onions

should be ready within the hour.”

He stirred the apples and then scooped some up into the spoon. “Are they sweet

enough for you?”

With Gilroy standing behind her, his large hand caressing her, and Andru in front

of her feeding her, she had the same sensation of comfort that she felt when she woke

up in between them. She met her brother’s eyes and smiled as he brought the spoon to

her lips. It would never be the same between them again. She knew what it was like to

be taken by her brother now. She’d heard other women talk about his pleasures before

but now she had firsthand knowledge. It was their secret and she would respect his

wishes and not talk about it, but somehow the knowledge made her feel even closer to

him. Her eyes must have revealed her thoughts because he smiled affectionately as she

licked the apples off the spoon.

* * * * *

Ana was the last one up again the following morning and noticed the trailer had

been stripped of everything that identified they’d been there. She was stiff and sore

after passionate lovemaking with Gilroy the night before. But when she realized the

men were packing she hurried outside to see how she could help.

It took longer to get home than Andru anticipated due to the many times Ana’s

voice came through their comms announcing she was going to land for a few minutes.

“You can go on without me,” she said as she walked back toward their parked

gliders after asking them to stop for the fourth time since they’d left that morning. “I

know how to get home and I’m sure you’ve bugged me and my glider more times than

I care to think about.”

“No, there’s safety in numbers and I wouldn’t be surprised if your she-witch sister

is looking for you. You have a fair bit of knowledge on her, you know.” Andru could

tell by the look on her face that she hadn’t thought of that. He watched Gilroy run his

fingers through his hair and could tell he noticed her surprise as well. “You’ll bring her

down, my sister, of that much I’m sure.” Gilroy glanced up at him and half smiled.

Andru contacted Darius and told him when they were minutes from the house. The

four of them landed in the backyard as their parents walked out the back door to greet

them.

“Come here, my lady.” Gilroy reached to help her off her glider. “Let your parents

make a fuss over you.”

“Thank Crator you’re alive and well.” Tara headed directly to Ana.

“Sounds like she’s better than well.” Darius punched Gilroy in the arm. “You didn’t

waste any time, did you?”

“It was all that cold weather,” Beel muttered, causing everyone to laugh.

“Speaking of which, let’s get you inside.” Tara started walking with her daughter

leaving the men to follow. “I want to talk to you. Andru sent several coded

transmissions warning me of some corruption directed toward the Runners. Are you up

to talking to me about this right now?”

“Definitely. I prepared a report but Gilroy took it and then Andru used it when he

sent those transmissions. I was so close to finding out what they were up to when my

three bodyguards showed up and scared everyone off.”

“Ana and I are going upstairs for some time together,” Tara said over her shoulder.

“We’ll be down later. You four can swap your stories.”

Andru looked quickly at Gilroy who understood his meaning immediately.

“Don’t stay away too long.” Gilroy grabbed Ana’s hand and pulled it to his lips.

“Or I’ll come looking for you.”

“I’ll bring her back to you when we’re done.” Tara smiled lovingly at Gilroy.

But then her eyes shifted to Andru. Darius stood in between Andru and Gilroy and

didn’t miss the look his claim gave their son. Tara had noticed the look Andru gave

Gilroy and knew her son was capable of demanding more control than even his papa.

He wouldn’t control the Runners while she was in charge, and she made sure he knew

it with a simple look.

“I’ll talk to you after Ana and I are through,” she said to her son and then led her

daughter into the house.

“So what do you think of Lara?” Tara and Ana sat comfortably facing each other on

the couch in Ana’s new bedroom…that is, Ana and Gilroy’s bedroom. The servants had

moved Ana’s bedroom furniture into the private wing that had once belonged to

Darius’ mama before she’d passed on. Ana noticed some furniture she didn’t recognize

and wondered if Gilroy’s family had brought them over.

Ana shared all her adventures with her mama, even mentioning the fools’ festival

and telling her she found Andru and Gilroy there. She knew she had to account for a

time when Gilroy could get her pregnant. But she sure as hell wouldn’t account for

anything else that happened there. She told her mama that she had to steal away in the

middle of the night with Lara if she was to find out what the woman’s plans were.

“She’s obsessed with some kind of passionate crusade, Mama. I fear she’s quite

dangerous. I never found out what is driving her to do what she’s doing, but several

times she provided large amounts of Runner supplies to some faction way up in the

Norther country. I can’t prove this but I have a feeling she’s acting out of some kind of

revenge. She said she was a Runner but wasn’t raised a Runner.”

“And what about Mog? Do you trust him?”

“Do I trust him? Didn’t you have him keep an eye on me?”

“No. I knew his papa but I’ve never talked to him personally.”

“Hmm,” Ana muttered and thought about that for a moment. “It must have been

Andru who asked him to stay so close to me. He was with me every minute that I was

with his clan.” Ana looked up quickly and added, “Except, of course, when I slept. But I

trust him. His clan is small but he seemed a fair man.”

Tara stood up and walked over to the glass doors that led out to the snow-covered

balcony. “Ana, I’m concerned about several things here.”

Ana waited, not liking the tone in her mama’s voice.

“I’ve got a lot of work to do if you’re going to rule the Runner clans some day.”

“Mama.”

“No.” Tara turned around quickly and gave her daughter a stern look. “Runners

always come first. You were running from Andru and Gilroy. That much is clear to me

by what you’ve told me. If you knew they were watching you or having you watched

you should have sought them out. If you didn’t feel you could contact me without

compromising your position with Lara, then Andru could contact me. Why were you

running from them?”

“I knew they would bring me back here for the claim.” Ana didn’t want to discuss

this. Her anger at Gilroy and Andru had nothing to do with the Runners. Granted, she

carried the next heir to the Runner nation…she was the child’s mama, regardless of

who the papa was. “It will be much harder to find out what is going on up there now

that I am stuck here and pregnant. Gilroy is going to try to pin me down and not let me

do anything until this child is born.”

Tara smiled. “Your papa tried to do that. But Gilroy is commander and has work to

do here. He will be busy during the day and so shall we. First, we are going to find out

if Mog is working with Lara or not. We’ll have every clan that is up there for the new

winter checked out. If we can trust them then we’ll have them search for Lara. Second,

we’re going to find out where Lara was taking you that day Andru, Gilroy and Beel

scared them off. We’ll send some scouts up there.” Tara came back to sit next to her

daughter and held her hand. “I know you’ll be asked to report this entire conversation

to Andru and Gilroy. Your brother wanted to rule both nations but I wouldn’t let him.

He has worked so hard to own you, and now that you are in Gilroy’s hands he feels he

has everything taken care of. He will try to rule both nations by keeping you in line

through your claim.”

Ana looked down. She knew what her mama said was right. There was no way she

could deny Gilroy or Andru anything—history had already proven that to be true.