Cyborg Nation (40 page)

“Was there an attempt by the captain and crew to extort a commitment from you to contract with them on co-habitation?”

The man to Reuel’s right barked that question out at her, catching her so completely unguarded that she couldn’t prevent a rush of blood to her cheeks. “Not that I was aware of,” she lied. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t and yet she found she was extremely reluctant to discuss something that intimate and personal in such a setting.

“No promises? No threats? But they did discuss the possibility with you?”

Bronte’s stomach coiled into a knot and tried to strangle her as the one question she thought most critical was dropped in her lap. “They asked me if I would contract with them, promised all the sort of things men usually promise a woman, and I said yes. …. And we did contract,” she added.

She relaxed a little when they didn’t pursue it. Instead the man to Reuel’s left, the High Councilor, Damon, asked her to recount her capture and, when she’d finished, asked her to tell them about her captivity on board the ship.

She hadn’t anticipated the line of questioning and stumbled over her testimony because she wasn’t certain what to say that would make it sound as if they’d been doing what they were supposed to and at the same time unthreatening to her. They couldn’t have been ordered to hold her in a cell, she reasoned, because there wasn’t one, and yet she was uneasy about telling them she’d had the run of the ship from the beginning. She compromised by pointing out that she’d never been left alone, at any time.

Lie number two.

Kane, whom Caleb had said was the head of the Department of Socio-Economic development, went back to picking apart the claim that there’d been a contractual agreement between her and the crew, which led Bronte to hope that Gideon and the others had acknowledged the contract.

Assuming Caleb hadn’t also told them she’d said they were companions.

Reuel drew her back to the crash.

Damon followed by asking at what point she’d been informed of the reason she’d been taken.

They went round and round, jumping from one subject to another and then back again to ask her the same questions over and over, each time subtly changed, but still the same question until she began to wonder if they were even listening to her answers.

Caleb had warned her they would pick everything apart until they were certain they had the truth. She didn’t care if that was what they did because the truth was they hadn’t done anything wrong, but she was worried that the ‘truth’ they arrived at
wouldn’t
be the real truth.

And yet the longer they questioned her the more tired she was and the more unnerved and fearful until it became harder and harder to respond carefully and make certain that none of her answers could be twisted to mean something she hadn’t intended.

After hours of questioning, when she’d finally reached a point of exhaustion and shattered nerves that she couldn’t focus at all any more, they began to pelt her with one question after another so rapidly that she didn’t even have time to think of a response, let alone answer, before they hit her with another one. Terrified she’d say the wrong thing, she stopped answering at all, glancing from one man to another with each new question, but merely staring at him while she tried to formulate an answer.

“Why were you so distraught at the med center if you were not mistreated in captivity?”

“Why would you willingly agree to contract with your captors unless they had threatened you with harm?”

“They turned off the proximity detector because they were preoccupied with non military matters, were they not?”

When they finally halted the barrage of questions, Bronte merely stared at them, trying to sort them in her mind and decide which to answer and how to answer them. Finally, she turned to look straight at Gideon and Gabriel and Jerico for the first time, meeting each of their gazes for several moments. She’d failed them. She knew she had. “I’m sorry,” she said when Gideon met her gaze.

“You do not answer to them! You have no need to fear them. It is clear they are guilty on all counts and they are unlikely ever to be released again.”

Bronte turned to look at Damon, and then Reuel and Kane, her fear and distress instantly transformed into rage. “You …
assholes
!” she yelled at them, coming to her feet. “I am
not
afraid of them! I
love
them and that is why I agreed to contract with them! And you should be
ashamed
even to question their loyalty or their integrity! You can lock me up, too! Or send me home, because there is no way in hell I’m ever going to trust any of you or willingly do a damned thing for any one of you!”

Reuel’s eyes narrowed on her. “You are overly emotional because you are human … and you are gestating. Otherwise, I might take exception.”

Wondering how her companions had taken that announcement of impending fatherhood, Bronte glanced at them quickly. Gabriel and Jerico were merely staring at her blankly and she wasn’t sure if they’d even caught that part. Mostly, she was fairly certain, they were just so stunned and appalled that she’d called their respected leaders assholes that they couldn’t think beyond that. Gideon was another matter. His gaze was riveted to her belly and there was no doubt in her mind that he was reeling. She just couldn’t tell if he welcomed the announcement or not.

“If you care for your companions as you claim,” Reuel went on, “how could you have so little concern for their off-spring?”

“That’s as unjust as any of the rest of this!” she said angrily. “How can I set the needs of my babies above the needs of my companions when it’s the same thing? They need their fathers
! I
need them! They did not disobey any of their orders. They didn’t do anything wrong!” She swallowed convulsively, studied them hopefully and then, in desperation, changed tactics. “Alright! You were right! It was me! I realized as soon as I’d had time to consider the situation that I’d be much better off with them to protect me than without them and I set out to seduce them into contracting with me.”

“All of them?”

She nodded vigorously.

“Even though it is not the custom on Earth to have multiple partners in co-habitation?”

“Right! I didn’t know that part then, so I was thinking about getting one to commit to the agreement but I figured any one would do, so I focused on all of them and figured if I could convince one maybe he could get rid of the other two and take me home.”

“Which was it?”

“What?” Bronte asked blankly.

“You were trying to get one or all to commit to a contract, or you were trying to convince one to take you home?”

“Whatever worked.”

“You would say anything to protect them, would you not?”

Bronte swallowed convulsively. “Which truth do you want, damn it! Because obviously the
real
truth just won’t fucking do for you!”

Reuel settled back in his seat. She couldn’t tell from the gleam in his eyes if he was amused or on the verge of blasting her with his temper. He jerked his head at Caleb. “Escort her out while we consider her testimony.”

She wanted to protest, but she realized she’d done enough damage. When Caleb caught her arm to lead her out, she merely threw an apologetic look at her companions. It was a big world, she reflected as he led her outside of the building. Maybe she could figure out a way to help them escape?

Assuming, of course, they weren’t ready to throttle her for totally botching her attempt to get them off already.

“That was not well done,” Caleb growled when they had reached the sidewalk.

“You think?” Bronte snapped angrily.

“Did you set out to insure that they would be found guilty?”

She narrowed her eyes at him instead of bursting into tears, which was what she felt like doing. “Yes! That’s exactly what I set out to do. I wasn’t satisfied with the fact that they’d already decided to crucify them for
nothing
!”

He studied her in silence for a moment. “It is true that you love them?”

Her chin wobbled threateningly. “I know it probably doesn’t seem like it when I screwed everything up, but I do. You have no idea how good they were to me or to what lengths they went to to protect me out there!”

He frowned. “But that was after you had contracted with them, according to what you said.”

She bit her lip. She hadn’t considered that. “I was already in love with them,” she said with a touch of surprise. Tears filled her eyes. “It was the craziest courtship, I’m sure, that was ever devised! I don’t know what I’m going to do....” She broke off as she averted her gaze from his and saw them emerging from the building. For a moment her heart seemed to stop. When the three of them stopped on the steps, scanned the people gathered on the street and sidewalk and finally settled on her, however, she whirled away from Caleb and dashed toward them.

Doubts plagued her—that they’d be angry with her—but she ignored the warning bells clamoring in her head. Gabriel met her first, rushing toward her with his arms out to catch her in his embrace. She hugged him back tightly. “They let you go?” she exclaimed when she drew away.

“Yes!” Jerico said chuckling as he dragged her from Gabriel’s arms and embraced her, covering her mouth in a kiss that made her feel hot, wet, and tingly all over. She smiled up at him dizzily when he released her and finally turned to Gideon.

His expression was taut, and uncertainty quivered through her. “Are you still angry with me?” she asked hesitantly.

He shook his head, pulling her close abruptly and holding her so tightly against him she could hardly catch her breath. “I was never angry, Bronte,” he murmured against her hair, “only afraid that I would lose you.”

She drew away from him finally and looked up at them. “I missed you so much!”

Gideon studied her solemnly. “It is true that you are carrying our baby?”

She smiled at him wryly. “I’d planned to make the announcement a little more intimate than that,” she said irritably. “But, yes! I am—I’m carrying
all
of your babies! I’m so proud I feel like I did it all by myself!”

Gideon frowned. “All? You have one of each in your belly?”

She chuckled. “Yes—
not
something I could do. I think your nanos decided to protect their ‘own’. It’s the only thing that makes any sense, because I did have a paternity test run so I could tell you positively who had fathered the babies when I found out I was carrying three and that’s what came up—each one of them carries the DNA for each of you!”

The three grinned at each other uneasily, then Gideon frowned. “This is many at once,” he said slowly. “This is not as it should be, is it?”

“It’s not common,” Bronte said. “But it happens—never like this, of course, but I can handle it.”

Gideon looked unconvinced. “You are certain this will not … harm you?”

“I’m not questioning my adoptive nanos anymore. I’m stronger and healthier than I ever was before. I’m carrying three babies, each by a different father, and they’re strong and healthy in spite of the fact that I was nearly killed. And they are part cyborg, not just carrying your human DNA.
They
will take care of everything. All we have to do is wait and while we’re doing that, I’ll make sure you three learn how to take care of them because there is no way I can handle the care and feeding of three at one time!”

The three men exchanged a horrified look at that, but they didn’t argue.

“We should go at once to arrange the contracts and this time make certain that they are properly registered so there can be no question!” Gideon announced. He studied her face for a moment. “You will do this?”

She gave him a look.

“
Will
you do this?” he asked.

She smiled. “Yes!” She turned to look at Gabriel questioningly.

“Will you contract with me?” Jerico asked as Gabriel opened his mouth.

Gabriel glared at him.

“Yes!” Bronte responded. Chuckling at the look on Gabriel’s face, she captured his cheeks between her palms and went up on her tiptoes to kiss his lips. “Absolutely, yes, Gabriel!” He grinned at her, folding his arms around her when she would’ve escaped and kissing her thoroughly. His expression was somber when he finally lifted his head. He swallowed audibly. “I love you, Bronte. I have missed you more than you can imagine.”

Bronte felt her color fluctuate. Warmth filled her. “I love you, too!”

She glanced uncomfortably at Gideon and Jerico when she finally pulled away from Gabriel. They were glaring at Gabriel indignantly and she couldn’t help but chuckle.

“We should go now and sign the contracts,” Gideon growled, sending Gabriel one last resentful glare.

“Yes! Right now!” Bronte agreed, and then abruptly remembered Caleb. He was standing where she’d left him, watching the four of them. She hesitated and then moved toward him. “Thank you for taking such good care of me!” she said when she reached him.

Glancing up at her companions, she tried to urge them to thank him, as well, but saw they’d bristled and were glaring at him.

“Anyway!” she said brightly. “I appreciate everything! We should go!” she told her companions. “I’m going!”

Chapter Twenty Four

As delighted as Bronte was that she had a home where they could live until they could make other arrangements, she knew even before they’d gotten there that it was going to be seriously crowded. She just hadn’t fully appreciated the size of her men!

When they’d all crowded into the living area, Gideon, Jerico, and Gabriel stood looking around with varying degrees of doubt and displeasure. Bronte felt a mixture of eager anticipation and nervousness as it descended upon her abruptly that they were well and truly bound … and alone.

“I should show you everything!” she announced brightly. “There are only two bedrooms and two baths, but I think we can make do until we find something bigger,” she chattered uneasily as they crowded behind her in the tiny hallway that connected the two rooms.

“We should prepare a feast to celebrate,” Gideon said pensively as they all stood in the hall and glanced into the rooms.

Instantly diverted by their stomachs, Jerico and Gabriel brightened and headed into the food preparation area. “I am sick of prison food! That is certain!” Jerico said, leading the way.