Read Do Or Die [Nuworld 4] Online
Authors: Lorie O'Claire
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.