Nuworld: Claiming Tara (28 page)

was with the whore.” Anger replaced her tears, and her
temper raged once again.
Patha frowned. “Tara, what did you do?”
“I killed his precious mistress, if that’s what you’re
wondering.” She stood and walked to the door, then turned
and looked at the two of them. “I will get the children, and
we’ll be back. We’re going with you.” She reached for the
door.
Patha grabbed her arm. “Tara, where is Darius?”
“He’s where I found him.”
Patha looked her in the eyes, studying her as if seeking
an answer he hadn’t heard yet. “You didn’t kill him, did
you?”
Tara yanked her arms from his grasp and turned her
rage on him. “How dare you!”
“How dare I what?”
Reena gasped as her eyes shifted from papa to daughter.
Patha, on the other hand, didn’t look away from Tara.
He crossed his arms, waiting for her answer. He appeared
to Tara as he had over so many winters—the patient, but
stern gaze that awaited her confession of the truth. Never
had she been able to lie to the man, and in truth she had
never tried. She saw no reason to change that pattern now.
“How dare you be more concerned for that man than
me? I have been wronged! And you’re asking if the man is
alive or dead?” Tara’s voice shook with anger. Her fury
locked her jaw. She spoke through clenched teeth as she
glared at Patha. “He was going to have sex with another
woman. Who knows how many women he’s been with? He’s
a liar and a dishonorable man! In my eyes he no longer has
any title, or rank. He’s not anyone you should care about
at all! You should care about me, papa.”
Patha sounded too calm. “You’re a strong woman, Tara.
You can straighten him out.”
“I’m not going to do anything with him.” She wanted
emotion out
of
her
papa.
A
reaction—anything. “He’s
broken my trust and that can’t be restored. There will be
no second chance.”
“Tara, this is bigger than simply your emotions.” Patha
was straightforward. “The two of you have an obligation to
two different races. You must stay and work it out with
him. You’re under contract. It’s as simple as that. These
people need your strength.”
“I’m not the one who broke the contract.” Tara opened
the door and ran from the trailer.

Syra answered the caller, which was the first thing that
had gone right since she’d left. It would be easier to get the
babies out of the house if Hilda weren’t involved.

“Syra,
I need you to do something for me.” Tara
concentrated
on
sounding
as calm and
pleasant
as
possible. Inside her head, her thoughts spun around like a
mean wind storm, making it really hard to focus on what
she was saying.

“Hi, the babies are fine.” Syra
assumed
Tara was
checking up on her.
“Great, I knew you could handle it. Now, I need you to
load the babies into the groundmobile for me. Pack a bag
with several of their outfits and a blanket or two. I’ll also
need a basket with some food in it. Can you do that for
me?”
“Sure. Where are we going?”
“I thought I’d give you the rest of the afternoon off. The
babies and I are going to say goodbye to several people in
the clan before they leave,” Tara lied. “I’ll be there in a
minute.”
Syra was loading the groundmobile when Tara pulled
up. She pushed her bike onto a flat trailer parked nearby.
Syra watched with curiosity, but left to get the babies, who
were still in the house.
Tara backed the groundmobile up and attached the
trailer to the back of it. She then ran inside to her bedroom
and hurriedly pulled out several outfits and threw them
into her bag. Suddenly the frenzy in her brain came to a
stand still. It was as if all thoughts clamouring against
each other in her brain stilled. Tara saw, and thought, with
pure and perfect clarity.
She paused in front of Darius’ dresser. There was a
small box buried under his clothes in the bottom drawer.
Her hands were colder than ice when she lifted it, rested it
on his folded clothes that filled her senses with the painful
smell of him. Tara knew there were several small bags filled
with gold coins and a few priceless jewels in the box.
One
of
the
bags of
coins
had been payment
for
protection. Darius had told her about it. Right after he’d
become
Lord of
Gothman,
a feud
between several
prominent families in Bryton had been brought to his
attention. The eldest son of one of the families had been
murdered by several members of another family. They’d
accused the young man of raping one of their unclaimed
daughters, then refusing to claim her. The family with the
murdered son had sought retribution and a blood bath had
followed. Darius had resolved the feud. At the moment,
Tara didn’t remember how he’d done it. But the two
families had sent Darius a gift of gold coins and rare jewels.
Darius had put the coins and jewels in a bag and in this
box. It had been his first command decision and the bag
was his reward. He planned to never spend it but keep it as
if the coins and jewels were a trophy.
She hesitated before dumping the contents into her bag.
He’d robbed her, and now she was robbing him. She would
need money and Gothman money was no good outside of
Gothman. The gold coins and jewels would satisfy any
merchant. She dropped the empty bag into the small box
and didn’t bother burying it back under his clothes. There
was a strange empty sensation inside her when she turned
and left their bedroom.
Syra was talking to Hilda, who’d just returned when
Tara went back downstairs. Tara decided what she would
say to the obvious questions as she approached the old
lady.
“Did you have a nice time?” Tara asked as she walked
past Hilda to go out the back door.
“Ah, it was nice to see everyone.” Hilda followed Tara. “I
see you took my advice on the nanny.”
“Yes, it was a good idea.” Tara turned and smiled calmly
at Hilda.
“Where are you going?”
“We’re going to go say goodbye to several of the Runners
before they leave. I’ll be gone most of the day. I’m leaving
Syra here, if you don’t mind. I told her she could have the
afternoon off, but I don’t see why you can’t put her to work
if you like.” Tara checked to see that she had everything
she needed.
“Have fun, my lady. I’ll spend the time getting to know
the girl.” Hilda waved as Tara slowly drove down the
driveway.
She followed the road to town until she was sure anyone
watching from the house no longer saw her. Tara then
pulled off and started heading for a back lane that would
turn south. There was no doubt she’d be followed, and all
measures would be made to stop her. Her load was heavy,
and she would not be able to travel quickly. She turned to
look at Andru and Ana who were turning their heads to
watch the surroundings move past them. Her stomach tied
in knots. She knew it would stay that way until she was
out of Gothman.
The first hour passed peacefully. She drove through the
meadows on the backside of the hills. If Darius had been
up on the cliff he would have seen her. Tara looked in that
direction. Even if he stood at the cliff, she wouldn’t be able
to tell at this distance. More than likely he wasn’t in the
mood to adore all of the land he controlled. At the moment,
he probably didn’t feel in control of much of anything.
That thought cheered her up. Even as she decided her
happiness came from relishing in his misery, and that
someone else’s pain had never given her peace before, her
mind seemed to relax. She actually started to enjoy the
beautiful day
and
forced
all thoughts
of
what had
happened out of her head. If she were going to get through
this it was imperative she not think about Darius.
The landlink next to her started blinking. There was
little doubt as to what the message might say, and without
looking to see who was, she tapped delete. Her comm
blinked. Someone was trying to reach her. Tara ignored it.
There wasn’t anyone she wanted to talk to—and it had to
stay that way.
It wasn’t much longer before she heard the sound of
motorcycles behind
her. She’d expected this. Darius
wouldn’t let her go without a fight. There was no way she
could outrun the bikes with her load. Tara drove with one
hand and
opened
the
suitcase
on the
floor
of
the
groundmobile with the other. Inside were several hand
bombs and two eliminators.
She pulled an eliminator out and set it on the seat next
to her. She had already covered her babies with Runner
blankets made out of the same black material as her
clothing. The material would repel laser fire, or even shots
from Gothman bang sticks. It didn’t guarantee Andru and
Ana wouldn’t be hurt. Nor would Tara rely on the
possibility that Darius would order his men not to fire on
her or his children. All she had was her own skills and
training to protect herself and her son and daughter.
Glancing over her shoulder, several of the bikes were
close enough now that she saw the men’s faces. She
detonated one of the hand bombs and threw it. Three
motorcycles skidded sideways across the field as the bomb
exploded. Turning to focus her attention on her babies, she
spoke soothing words to them and made sure the blanket
remained in place around them.
“We’ll be through this part soon, my dears,” Tara
promised, and rubbed Andru and Ana’s arms and legs
through the blanket. She placed her flat palm on one
child’s head, and then the other. They were securely belted
in, but the rough ride wasn’t pleasant and neither infant
liked it. “I know you’re too young to trust your mama’s
skills. But I promise we’ll live through this. I love you, my
sweet babies.”
The
other
motorcycles in pursuit
slowed
at the
explosion. She pushed the groundmobile to go as fast as it
was capable.
Gothman territory ended not too far ahead. Then she’d
be in Freeland territory. It didn’t take long before it was
clear the Gothman warriors would follow her outside of
Gothman. Darius probably assumed no one would stop
him if he chased her to the borders of Southland. He knew
so little of Nuworld. Tara counted four Gothman as they
increased speed in an attempt to pass and force her to stop
the groundmobile.
“Hell be doomed,” she hissed, as one of the bikes
swerved dangerously close to a front tire.
She couldn’t make any sharp turns with the trailer
hitched behind her. And she couldn’t fire at all four of them
at once. “But I can take you out one at a time,” she yelled
through the wind. Tara leaned around the windshield and
shot the rider who had attempted to drive into her.
Tara noticed none of them had drawn their weapons.
Maybe they did have instructions not to shoot her. Another
guard pulled along the other side of her, while the third
came close to the trailer behind her. Tara swivelled her
head back and forth in an effort to keep tabs on what all
men were doing. The groundmobile bounced over a small
gully in the ground, and Tara cursed. Andru howled in
protest, and Ana’s tiny fists shot forward, knocking the
blanket down to the babies’ waists.
“We are going to make it through this,” Tara insisted,
but her babies were crying and didn’t hear.
She gripped the steering wheel with one fist, fought to
secure the blanket with her free hand, and dared to turn
the groundmobile just enough to delay either guard from
boarding her.
Tara wouldn’t risk shooting behind her, but had no
problem eliminating the guard next to her. She was down
to two Gothman chasing her.
“You really don’t know me that well, Darius, do you?”
Tara yelled as she kept her eye on the remaining Gothman.
“Not only did you think me easily deceived, but did you
think you would capture me with less than an army?”
The guard behind her boarded the trailer and began
climbing toward the groundmobile. She wasn’t sure where
he thought he was going, but if he crawled any closer, he’d
be on top of the children. The second guard also mounted
the trailer, letting his bike slide on its side to a stop. He
successfully detached the trailer from the groundmobile
and held on as the trailer slowed to a stop behind her.
She was able to move a lot easier without the trailer
attached and yanked the groundmobile in a sharp turn.
Andru and Ana were wailing in severe protest. It would
take a while to calm them down. Both were hysterical.
“I’ll end this soon,” she promised them, although she
knew neither heard her. They were screaming too loud to
hear anything. “How dare you send men after me and upset
your babies,” she yelled into the air, and her anger toward
Darius returned with a vengeance.
The guard hanging on to the back of the groundmobile
slid as she spun the vehicle around. She waited until he’d
crawled along the outside and was at the door to her side,
giving her an easy shot.
Tara fired her laser and the man propelled into the air,
then rolled over the ground for quite a distance. Instead of
watching his body spin like a pile of clothing caught in the
wind, she turned her attention to Andru and Ana. Their
faces were red and puffy from crying and her heart lodged
in her throat.
“I think we might have pulled this off.” Tara smiled at
her children, who both acknowledged her with frowns. Ana
let out a shriek, which Andru quickly imitated. “Just a little
bit longer, sweethearts,” she reassured them.
Now for
her
bike.
She
drove
head
on toward
the
remaining guard, who was struggling to start her bike. The
bike was still strapped to the trailer, and he used it as a
shield when he watched her approach. If he guessed she
would not shoot her bike, he was right. Tara stopped
within shouting distance and got out, her laser by her side.
“What are your orders, Gothman?” she asked as she
walked toward him.
“You need to come back with me, my lady.” His voice
shook as he spoke.
Tara noticed he was young. “You won’t be successful
today in capturing me. Do you realize that?”
The guard peeked at her from behind her bike.
“Are more coming?” Tara pointed her gun straight at his
head. He ducked down again behind her bike. She was
close enough to hear his breathing. “I’ll give you only one
more
chance
to
save
your
life,
Gothman.
Are
more
coming?”
“My lady, if we aren’t back soon, Lord Darius will send
out the next group of warriors.”
“I see. Well, if you start running now, you should be
seen by them before it gets dark.” Tara altered her aim by a
fraction, and laser fire sliced through the field, causing
several large rocks to fly.
The Gothman shouted his surprise and hunched farther
behind her bike.
She walked up to the bike and stood over it.
The guard backed away from her and slowly stood up.
He quickly raised his bang stick.
She shot it out of his hand, then cocked her head and
gave him a small smile.
The
guard
turned
and ran back
toward
Gothman
territory.
Tara let out a laugh as she let the man go. “Well, my
loves, I think we might have won round one.”
Andru and Ana must have realized there was a break in
the action, because both of them simultaneously let out
screams of protest over the experience they had just been
forced to endure. Tara hurried back to the groundmobile
and the twins.
“It’s okay. My sweet babies,” Tara cooed as she climbed
over the seat and grinned at their outraged expressions.
Both children wanted out of their groundmobile seats
and reached for her as she spoke to them. Their screams
turned louder now that they had their mama’s undivided
attention.
“Are both of you okay?” Tara pulled the blanket from
their squirming bodies, which resulted in tiny legs kicking
even harder. “It appears so,” Tara said with a laugh, feeling
shaky as adrenaline still pumped through her.
Tara reached behind the seats securing her children and
pulled a cloth bag free. “We don’t have time to get out and
play right now, my dears. But how about a snack while I
get us ready for another ride?”
The
children fussed,
showing their
disapproval, but
calmed a bit when she produced flat bread and an apple.
She peeled and diced before giving them small bites.
It took a long time to hook the trailer back to the
groundmobile. The twins were happy while they ate but
when they finished wanted to be held. She longed to oblige
her children but they had wasted enough time preparing to
drive again.
Tara made sure her babies were dry, then calmed them
with bottles. It was almost dark when she finally started
driving again. While the groundmobile and the trailer left
an easy trail in the tall grass for someone to follow, at least
night fall made it harder to see. It grew quiet once her
children slept. Tara had her thoughts and the pain in her
heart to keep her awake.